TVSquad

Oh my. So much to be thankful for, even though the fall season hasn't been all that great. Here's my list:

Rogue agents. It's been Far.Too.Long since Jack Bauer has entered our living room, and we couldn't be more gleeful about his return - both the 24 movie and the series in January. Welcome back, Jack! We missed you! Well, my son and I have! My daughter and husband don't get you, but that's ok!

Mad scientists. That crazy Walter Bishop really brightens up our Tuesday nights around here. My son goes to school on Wednesday, talks about Fringe with his buddies, then texts me back their thoughts on The Observer, the cylinders, Massive Dynamic and all the rest. Of course, Walter is the best thing about the show. We love him.

It's no big secret. People love their movies and TV shows based on vampire book series -- romantic vampire book series, to be exact. Proof of that will be crowding your local multiplex this weekend thanks to the release of Twilight, the teen vampire flick based on Stephenie Meyer's inescapable best-seller. (I'll guess I'll wait another week to catch Role Models. Navigating through a sea of rabid teenage "Twilighters" isn't worth it. Sorry, Paul Rudd.)

Want more proof of the popularity of blood suckers? HBO execs are saying their freshman vampire series True Blood, also based on a series of novels, is developing an audience faster than The Sopranos, aka one of the most financially successful cable series in the history of TV. Michael Lombardo, HBO's chief of West Coast operations, says that The Sopranos' viewership numbers grew slowly. The big ratings jump didn't come until season two. But True Blood has fared better, with a 66 percent jump in Sunday night viewership since its premiere in September.

In a time when networks are so quick to pull the plug on new series, it is absolutely stunning that two of this season's newest cable series have already been picked up for a second season. What's even more surprising is that one renewed show is Stephen Bochco's terrible Raising the Bar. After setting a record for a series debut on basic cable with 7.7 million viewers, 2.2 million people asked themselves what the hell they were watching, and the series settled into an average of 5.5 mil. But it's only been three weeks?

Surely, more of its viewers will realize that the show is absolutely terrible? From Gosselaar's bleeding heart crying to the bitching between his friends and Jane Kaczmarek's crazy judge, there's more leaps in logic and good sense than in Prison Break. The show makes Boston Legal look like a courtroom documentary. TNT also picked up Holly Hunter's Saving Grace after a respectable summer run.

(S01E02) "Angelina Adopts a Vampire baby." - Cover of a tabloid

After all the comments I got about last week's review, I feel that I have to address some issues.

The first one is the books that this show is based on. I understand that they are popular and without the series there would be no show but I haven't read them nor do I have any intention of doing so. My job is to review the television show True Blood and unless they introduce a character named Charlaine Harris, this is the last time you will see that name in my review.

(S01E01) True Blood is definitely a show after my own heart. I love any high concept drama that lays out the entire idea in the first five minutes.

In case you didn't get it, here's the short version. Synthetic blood is now available for vampires to buy, therefore they no longer need to kill to survive. So, as a society, they decide to live out in the open and are met with the kind of fear and skepticism that you'd expect.

The giveaways continue this week! This time we've got three signed promotional posters for HBO's new series, True Blood (premieres Sept. 7). As you can see from the image to the right, most of the primary cast has signed them.

To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Tuesday, September 2 simply telling us what you're looking forward to most about HBO's True Blood. As always, we'll randomly choose three winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
Click here for complete Official Rules.

Another hangar-like room, room 6CDEF (obviously four rooms put together) was what housed the rest of my evening's panels. First up: HBO's True Blood. What's so odd about this is how, immediately following, Showtime has Dexter. Go figure.

Many people arrived early, enjoying the new characters of Street Fighter IV in the panel before True Blood. The line getting in over an hour before was insane, looping around multiple long corridors and seemingly never stopping to gain length. How they're able to get everyone in without people standing is a mystery.

Here are some key highlights from the panel discussion. More details to come later.

Ewww! This poster is so creepy, it makes me want to hurl! And watch this show! Of course, the fact that Alan Ball is behind it -- the man who helmed one of my favorite shows ever, Six Feet Under -- has nothing to do with it. Nope, it doesn't. Okay, I'm lying. It has everything to do with it.

HBO's True Blood, starring Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer, is set to premiere on Sept. 7 at 9 p.m. Here's the newly released poster for it. Makes you want to dig into a jar of strawberry jam, doesn't it?

Based on Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire novel series, the show follows the world of vampires set in small-town Louisiana. They're able to co-exist with humans by drinking a Japanese-manufactured synthetic blood. (Well, what fun is that?!)

I attended the TCA Cable Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton yesterday where I learned about the following shows:

Whale Wars on Animal Planet
Secrets of the Dinosaur Mummy on Discovery
Ashley Paige: Bikini or Bust on TLC
Ricky Gervais Comedy Special on HBO
Little Britain, USA on HBO
Generation Kill on HBO

And there's more. Believe me, there's more.

Okay, you've got whale pirates, mummies, bikinis, Ricky Gervais, vampires, and Marines. Unfortunately, none of those shows combine all six of those things / people. After the jump, find out about these new shows and the people who make them...

HBO and Alan Ball have teamed up once again to develop an American version of Bad Girls. The show is familiar territory for HBO which aired the critically acclaimed prison drama Oz for six seasons.

The British drama about the staff and inmates of a women's prison recently ended production after eight seasons on ITV.