I'm a vampire junkie. A huge Buffy and Angel fan, I even liked Moonlight up until those last four episodes. So when I heard that True Blood was going to be an HBO new series, the first thing I did was start reading Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mystery books that the series is based on.
The books were my guilty pleasure, my trashy beach read. There is a little something for everyone in the books: vampire lore, humor, romance, adventure, mystery. Not deep, but enjoyable.
The premise of True Blood is that vampires are living among people publicly, since synthetic blood has been marketed to satisfy them nutritionally. Sookie Stackhouse, the lead, is a telepath and falls for Bill Compton, a new vampire in town. There's a murder mystery that will span the first season, at least, and all the adventures that Sookie encounters because of her telepathy and association with the vampires.
So how'd the first two episodes of the show fare? When I watched the pilot earlier this summer (that one that was... floating around), I was hopeful. The show had promise and followed the book closely enough for the readers to want to become viewers. However...
When I viewed the screeners, the pilot and second episode, I wound up disappointed. Lest I get ahead of myself, here's what's good about the show so far:
- Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse is a nice fit; a nearly perfect casting job, in fact.
- Other casting choices that work are Sam Trammell as Sookie's boss, Sam Merlotte; Ryan Kwanten as Sookie's brother Jason; and Lois Smith as Sookie's grandmother Adele.
- The opening scene of the pilot really sets the tone nicely; too bad the rest of the show didn't keep the fun and frolic.
- The pilot does a decent job of introducing the characters, setting up the premise and leaving us with a suspenseful cliffhanger. Since it follows the book fairly closely, it was the better of the two episodes for me.
- In reading the premises for the third and fourth episodes, it sounds like the series may go in a somewhat interesting direction: not following the book too closely, and the secondary characters may actually be given some storylines of their own, which could inject humor into the lackluster scenes thus far.
The disappointments:
- Stephen Moyer as Bill seems miscast to me, not at all how I pictured him in the books. Supposedly a mysterious, desirable, gentleman of a vampire, trying to fit into human society. Moyer's portrayal is not any of those things; he's just icky.
- Rutina Wesley as Tara Thornton lacks the spunk this character should have. I much preferred the actress in the original pilot, who has been recast for reasons unknown. She's also a much bigger part of the TV show than she is in the books, and I don't see it working as well.
- I get that the format had to differ from the books, in that Sookie is in every scene, and poor Anna Paquin would burn out fast if that were the case in the TV show. But because she is not, the other scenes are nearly unbearable. Boring, awkward, boring, insignificant, boring, boring, boring...
- What was cool to read in the books is actually gross and distasteful to watch. Guess that doesn't say much about my imagination...
- The second episode was almost painful to watch; it was so boring and went nowhere. I think I was supposed to be intrigued by Bill's and Sookie's blossoming relationship, but I was so not.
Will I stick with the series? I'll probably check out at least the next two episodes and make my decision then. It takes some time to develop new shows and I want to give the writers and producers a chance to make me love True Blood.
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on 'Faces of America' and the Beer Summit
Six Reasons Why '24' Has Jumped the You-Know-What
The Super Bowl Commercials: The Best
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-29-2008 @ 11:42AM
Jennifer said...
Yes but Dexter loosely stuck to the books in the 1st season and then went on a almost totally different track in the 2nd (which may have made it better). This could be the same type of thing. Besides we all know how difficult it is when u go from the book to the screen. Some things don't translate as well from the book on the screen and some things you just cant explain as well on the screen as you can in the book, so we'll just have to be patient and see...
Reply
8-29-2008 @ 1:17PM
0megapart!cle said...
I got to tell you, I was so unimpressed by the pilot screener. It was probably partly because I saw it right after I saw the fantastic Fringe pilot, but it was just slow, plodding, and yea, gross. (What the hell were they thinking in that vampire sex scene. Hopefully that was a temporary special effect that will be replaced by something a little less ridiculous when the episode actually airs.)
Reply
8-29-2008 @ 2:15PM
Liz said...
I have been a Charlaine Harris fan for years and years...have all these books in hardcovers, some of them signed by her, and so forth. So I know I will be disappointed by this show.
And I agree, Bill looks GROSS not hot. Ugh.
Reply
8-29-2008 @ 6:21PM
ProgGrrl said...
I watched both versions of the leaked pilot this summer, and enjoyed them. Like the books, the show is funny, sexy, trashy, and violent. I come to this as a vampire fan and an Alan Ball fan. And hey, a NEAR DARK fan too!
I like the idea that Sookie is drawn to this mysterious guy, whose mind she doesn't have to (can't, actually) read every minute. Who she can finally be at peace with. Except...well...he might bite her.
If I had to complain, it would only be to say that Sam is way, way sexier than Bill in this version. Which is a problem. But that's just me.
Reply
9-12-2008 @ 12:14AM
Charity said...
I completely agree with you about the casting. In the original Tara was played by Kerr who managed a much more believable character. I loved the supermarket scene with her in it! She nailed both the attitude and the accent, and I was starting to like the series... but when they changed her character Anna Paquin is the only one that stands out.
And the second episode!! God I just wanted to pull my hair out-- and then right when things start to get interesting the episode is over :(
Does anybody else see a pattern here? Save the good stuff till the very end in hopes that you'll come back.
In the scene where Anna Paquin visits the mobile home, she does an amazing job fitting into her character! I could just feel Louisiana!
Too bad the rest of the characters don't follow suit. :( I might set this one to record just so I can see the good stuff
~C
Anyone else seeing a connection between the brown and white collie and Sookie's boss Sam?
Reply
9-13-2008 @ 9:39AM
Bill said...
I think you are exactly right. The problem, I think, is that some subjects (I suppose supernatural ones) are very hard to do on TV. It's much better if the audience has never read the book, because TV is such a disappointment.
It was the same with Jim Butcher's wizard character (Harry Dresden). Very fun - if one dimensional - books. They fall totally flat on TV for exactly the same reasons. The main character is the narrator; that just doesn't work on TV, but that story teller is needed to convey what is so special about what is going on. They would need INCREDIBLE special effects to fix things - and there's no way.
Reply
9-14-2008 @ 10:18AM
Stephen Newton said...
I loved Six Feet Under and trust Ball to deliver. However, I have to say that Ball seems to be using the Vampire story as a metaphor for homosexual life in America. One line, "since Vampires came out of the coffin" smacked of coming out of the closet. I think that are a number of associations to gay culture discrimination. Another line, was something like, "not to blame all vampires (gays) for the actions of a few." The series may have trouble if Ball sticks too close to this metaphor rather than the book series or even growing something like art out of True Blood.
Reply
9-16-2008 @ 2:41AM
Red said...
most of u, are so incredibly lame. grossed out...or bored...or comparing this to someone's gay life??? really?
Reply
9-17-2008 @ 10:32AM
LibraryLady1967 said...
Why I like True Blood - Anna Paquin as Sookie is great. She does a wonderful job with the part. She is what I thought Sookie would be from the books. Stephen Moyer is also exactly what i expected for Bill. Physically he matches the description in the book very well. And as far as emotionally what i expected from that character he's got it perfect.
Why I don't like True Blood - Let me preface this with.. I still plan on watching this to see if these issues improve. Okay that being said, I think Jason's is totally wrong, in the books he is a horndog, but NOT stupid. I think they are dumbing him down too much. Tara is also a disappointment, I understand how that character had to change to fit the show, but i really HATE that she is such a shrew. Lastly, the show moves to slow. Part of the draw of the books is that they are quick and witty. The show is witty enough, but SLOW. There have been two episodes and we haven't even gotten halfway through the first book. I understand this is a series, but a series based on books, MOVE IT already. There are plenty of movies based on books and they cover an entire book in 2-3 hours. I don't mind a little drawing out but this is just not good.
Reply
9-25-2008 @ 12:44PM
Fantasy Book Reader said...
I agree that the second episode was quite boring. Also, it's clear that Alan Ball is creating his own storylines, and not necessarily following the Charlaine Harris books.
I've read all of the books and seen the episodes and have written a HBO vs. Charlaine Harris comparison article.
Reply
9-25-2008 @ 12:45PM
Fantasy Book Reader said...
The article can be found here:
http://bestfantasystories.com/a-comparison-of-true-blood-vs-charlaine-harris-books/