Alan Ball ("Six Feet Under", "American Beauty") is back with a new HBO original series. If you were expecting something with the sophistication or gravitas of either of those previous works, you're probably going to be sorely disappointed. Instead, "True Blood" is a pulp-tastic vampire story set in small town Louisiana. Based on the Southern Vampire series of novels by Charlaine Harris, the story centers around a young barmaid Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin - "The Piano", "X-Men") who just happens to be able to read people's thoughts. Everyone's except for the new vampire in town, that is.
The real star of the show is its backdrop and setting. Being the pilot episode there wasn't a whole lot going on here plotwise, but you can see how many story possibilities there are for the future. The difference between this and other vampire stories is that here the vampires are a known entity. They've recently revealed themselves to the world in a move known as the "Great Revelation", trying to become a viable part of society. This is made possible by the invention of a synthetic blood beverage called Tru Blood. Having vampires out in the open creates the possibility for stories centering around race relations and oppression with vampires playing the role of minority, as well as the standard vampiric "seduction of the innocent" tales.
The show is easy to follow, but the backstory isn't fully fleshed out within it. For that, there are a number of cool websites that detail the world of "True Blood". Since the Great Revelation, organizations have sprung up both for and against the integration of vampires into society. There's even a proposed Constitutional amendment that would grant vampires equal rights, complete with commercials for and against its passage. If you're interested, you can get a good summary of the buildup to the events of the show from HBO's YouTube channel. Good stuff for the most part.
As for the show itself, there are a number of things you're probably going to need to get over in order to enjoy it at all. First, the accents. The show is set in small town Louisiana so everybody has one form or another of the classic over the top Hollywood Southern accent. If this is going to bother you, you might be in trouble. I managed to get over it after about 30 mins. Second, being an HBO show the first 20 mins are chock full of graphic sex, and not very attractive sex at that. This goes hand in hand with the third issue. This show is not played for laughs... at all. Despite the otherworldly premise, everything is absolutely serious. If you're looking for the next "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", look elsewhere.
At the end of the day, I'm intrigued. Given the pedigree and thoughtful world-building there's the potential for this to become a great show. I'm far from the target demographic (although I have no idea who that might be) and it's far from great now, but I'm willing to give it some time to get there.
7 comments:
Vampires that aren't funny? That's never going to work.
So, now that I've read the post without skimming :-), I'm intrigued. That's unfortunate, since I cancelled my HBO subscription to cut costs. Jeff's roommate is an HBO junkie, so he's probably DVRing them; maybe I can just mooch...
So is anyone other than my parents watching this? I saw the 2nd episode yesterday and it was better than the first. I'm enjoying that it's not as plot-driven as your typical TV so far.
Jeff and his roommate, Charlie, are both watching and enjoying it. I watched the first half of the second episode, and it was pretty good.
I'm thinking this one might be a great candidate for Netflixing once it's out on DVD since I keep forgetting that it exists and my DVR can't keep up with all of the things that I already want to record. =) My life is hard.
You'll miss out on the gratuitous "cliffhanger" endings that way, but that seems reasonable. I'm still enjoying it, and it's already been greenlit for a 2nd season. That never happens to shows I like.
I think that Sookie's bro is a split personality vampire... he's always out at night. When his personality is human, he is human. Is this even possible? It is with JJ Abrams.
This show could go in a lot of directions. I continue to be intrigued.
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