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TV Preview: True Blood

BuzzSugar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:42:31 -0700

I don't think it will be a revolutionary statement that how one feels about Alan Ball's new HBO series, True Blood, will have a lot to do with how one generally feels about vampires. Me, they've never really been my thing; they're OK and all, but the mere mention of fangs wouldn't necessarily get me to tune in. This review, then, is for (and by) the vampire-agnostic.

So here's the takeaway: I don't doubt at all that True Blood could develop into a deeply fascinating series for people at all points on the vampire-fan spectrum. But in the two episodes HBO sent me, the vampire parts were something I just needed to get through so I could get back to Alan Ball's witty writing in the more human realm. The second episode is stronger than the first; I've heard from some critics who got a full batch of five episodes that each one gets better. But the fate of many a TV series has been determined in episode one, and in True Blood's case, that's cause for some concern.

True Blood's protagonist is Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a Louisiana waitress with an unfortunate "gift" for reading people's minds that makes her daily life a struggle to tune out the thoughts of those around her. It's somewhat of a relief, then, when a pale stranger named Bill (Stephen Moyer) settles himself into her bar one night and asks for a drink of Tru Blood, the synthetic blood substitute that has made it possible for vampires to live among humans. Sookie can't read his mind but still quickly figures out that Bill's a vampire; "Am I that obvious?" he drawls in return. Why yes; you just asked for fake blood at a bar at night. It's not hard to guess. For more on the highs and lows of True Blood, just

TV Preview: Alan Ball's Next HBO Show, True Blood

BuzzSugar — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:30:03 -0700

At Comic-Con, I was lucky enough to catch some footage of True Blood, Alan Ball's (Six Feet Under, American Beauty) HBO adaptation of the book series by Charlaine Harris, and I was hooked. Now there's a trailer for the series, which premieres on HBO Sept. 7, so we can all discuss the show: whether or not it looks to be of the same caliber as Six Feet Under, how distracting the Southern accent attempts may be, how smitten we are or are not by Anna Paquin in this role, etc.

In the series, Paquin plays a telepathic waitress in a Louisiana town who meets a vampire when he walks into her bar and she discovers she can't read his mind.

Have you read these books? Does the show look like it will do the book series justice? To watch the preview for True Blood,

True Blood Sucks In the Enthusiasm at Comic-Con

BuzzSugar — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:30:33 -0700

If you combine small-town drama and sexy vampires, the result would be True Blood, the forthcoming HBO series from Alan Ball, the man behind Six Feet Under. The show's cast and creator — along with Charlaine Harris, who wrote the Southern Vampire book series on which the show is based — showed up at Comic-Con on Thursday to explain to a cheering crowd what makes their show different from other vampire stories.

True Blood, which premieres Sept. 7, is the story of Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a telepathic waitress in a Louisiana town who meets a vampire when he walks into the bar where she works and she discovers she can't read his mind. The trailer we watched showed a mix of vampire effects (spiky teeth, bite marks) and small scenes of family life that would look familiar to any SFU fan — I could have sworn one dinner scene was shot in the Fisher family kitchen.

Ball promised the show would be free of "vampire cliches," which he defined as "blue light, contact lenses, and opera music." Instead, "we're trying to keep the magic as mundane as possible," he said, showing how it's just a regular part of the universe where the characters live. In this world, vampires have come back to live among humans now that a synthetic blood substance can keep them satiated, but (as Sookie learns) that doesn't mean there's no danger.

To meet the main characters, and to hear about some of the viral marketing HBO is doing for the show (including setting up a vampire/human dating service),

"Six Feet" Creator Brings Vampires, Paquin to HBO

Molly — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:23:53 -0700

Great news for "Six Feet Under", vampire and Anna Paquin fans alike — "SFU" creator Alan Ball is coming back to HBO and bringing a little bit of all those things with him. Ball is signed on to create a new series, "True Blood" about modern day vampires who live among humans in Louisiana and survive on a Japanese-manufactured synthetic blood. The show will be a mix of horror and humor, which is exactly the kind of awesome combination that only flies on pay cable. The pilot has already been shot and stars as mentioned Anna Paquin alongside smaller names like The Starter Wife's Stephen Moyer.

I absolutely adored "Six Feet Under" and can't wait to see Ball's trademark dark humor back on HBO. I also love seeing recently Emmy-nominated and Oscar-winning Anna just about anywhere. I had just about given myself over to Showtime exclusively in terms of my favorite cable dramas, but "True Blood" may draw me back to HBO.

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