May 21, 2009
True Blood - The Complete First Season
Christopher Sandlin READ TIME: 2 MIN.
It seems we can't get away from vampires these days. But in the HBO series True Blood, a vampire's seduction is hard to resist. Gay writer/creator Alan Ball previously wowed critics and viewers alike for six seasons with his award-winning show Six Feet Under. It's easy to draw parallels between the two shows: a morbid sense of content and style (literally and figuratively), gay undertones, family angst. While not as emotionally hard-hitting as Six Feet Under, True Blood is really a different breed of television, and one that's not to be missed...unless you're too squeamish at the sight of blood. Lots of blood.
Drawing from Charlene Harris' acclaimed series of books, True Blood is set in rural Louisiana, in an America coming to terms with the fact that vampires live among us, and want rights. Sultry, seductive and supernatural forces collide. Anna Paquin plays a waitress named Sookie Stackhouse (best name in TV history) who falls for a mysterious but gentlemanly vampire named Bill (Stephen Moyer). Paquin does a fantastic job and carries the show as the telepathic waitress. Supported by a great cast of secondary characters and interesting plot lines - mind-reading, shapeshifting, vampire fetishists and a serial killer, for starts - the first series is an exciting ride. Don't dismiss it as another monster melodrama, though. True Blood takes a bite out of social, political and moral issues we all deal with - whether living, dead, or somewhere in between.
Watch the behind-the-scenes features and commentary, and it's clear that neither the show's creator nor producers imagined their show would be an instant success. You wouldn't guess it, but the show's pilot was actually filmed in Los Angeles, rather than the backwoods bayous of Louisiana.
DVD Bonus Features
In Focus: Vampires in America: A mock-u-mentary about vampires in America.
Tru Blood Beverage Ads: French and American "Tru Blood" beverage ads.
Tru Blood Service Ads: Ads for vampire dating, vampire hotels and lawyers that service vampires.
Public Service Announcements: Both pro- and anti-vampire rights.
Six Audio Commentaries with the Cast and Crew, including Executive Producer and Creator Alan Ball, Anna Paquin (Sookie) and Stephen Moyer (Bill)
Christopher Sandlin is the Chief Correspondent (Gulf Coast) with EDGE. His work has been published in The Dallas Morning News, International Herald Tribune and other local, national and international newspapers and and magazines. He can be reached at [email protected].
