Happy Thanksgiving! It's that time of year when we reflect on all the good things in our lives, and of course, my thoughts turn to TV. Let's take a look at a few things on the tube that make me feel all warm and fuzzy.
Sexy vampires. Oh my, we got lots of them this year. The Twilight Saga: New Moon's got nothin' on TV vampires. Eric Northman and Bill Compton from True Blood are definitely at the top of my list. Pictured is that hunk o' steamy vamp himself, Eric, a.k.a. Alexander Skarsgard in real life. But we also got those lovely Salvatore brothers on The Vampire Diaries. Elena certainly has some high-class problems, doesn't she? Steadfast Stefan or bad-vamp Damon? They both have their particular gifts.
(S01E10) "Too bad I live alone. I'm at the Ramada watching pay-per-view all day eating everything in sight, including the housekeeping." - Logan, since there's no one at his home to invite him in
As you can see, I'm a little crazy for Paul Wesley and all those muscles, so there ya go. Here's another one, in case you missed last week's episode, "History Repeating." He shows more and more skin with each episode.
We got lots more action and intrigue in this episode, involving Logan, the Sheriff, Caroline and of course, Elena, Damon and Stefan. And they certainly couldn't let the vampires-in-the-church storyline just drop, could they? Of course not. More after the jump.
(S01E09) I was pretty much riveted to this episode of The Vampire Diaries all the way through, but especially at the end, when we learned a whole lot of stuff in the last few minutes. It was fun seeing the vamp brothers Stefan and Damon sort of buddy up, even if it wasn't really real. Given their long history, you have to think there must be some brotherly ... something there, even though Damon killed Stefan's BFF last week and then Stefan nearly killed Damon. Oh those kooky vampire brothers.
(S01E08) "It's not every day a guy turns 162 years old." - Lexi to Stefan on his birthday
What?! Nooooo! They keep bringing in these great characters and then killing them off! Hopefully, they're just stashing the bodies somewhere for a mass resurrection at some point. And, by the way, I totally did not see that coming.
The Vampire Diaries started out great and continues to get better each week. It's so beautifully dark and gloomy. I love the Salvatore's gothic digs, and Stefan is showing considerable restraint at not offing his bad, bad brother Damon.
(S01E07) "So she's a vampire with issues?" - Elena to Stefan about Vicki
Well! In case you haven't watched this week's episode yet, I'll save the big spoiler for after the jump. Suffice to say that things are jumping in The Vampire Diaries, and for some characters, that's not necessarily a good thing.
I continue to love the show and look forward to it every week (and was seriously bummed when it wasn't on last week!). In a sea of mediocre new shows (well, mediocre to me anyway), that IS a good thing.
(S01E06) "Everything you know and every belief that you have is about to change. Are you ready for that?" - Stefan to Elena
And to finish that thought ... "I'm a vampire." So Elena knows now; no more speculating or wondering. My first thought was that Elena knows that Stefan is a good vampire. He even races to tell her: "I would never hurt you. You're safe with me." So why is she so freaked out? Because he's a vampire, of course, and who wouldn't be freaked out by that?
Vampires aren't scary anymore. They haven't been for a while.
Anne Rice saw to that while she was making her fortune turning vampires into the kind of delicate camp caricatures you see hosting cooking shows on Bravo. It's continued through Twilight and every Twilight clone coming down the pipe. Still, Twilight can build it's own Federal Reserve Bank now, and no one gives a cuss what I think.
Now, I've officially typed the word "Twilight" way more than I wanted to today, and I need to get to the point. So, vampires will be the cause celebre of Spike TV's 4th Annual "Scream.," Tuesday, October 27 at 10 PM ET/PT.
True Blood is on hiatus until next year, so I'll do whatever it takes to feed my fixation -- even if it means bringing down a popular pastor and televangelist. I came across this picture of Joel and Victoria Osteen (above, left) -- he's an author, TV host, and pastor at Lakewood Church. I'm sure they're doing wonderful things in the world and helping lots of people.
But really, just look at them. They're Steve and Sarah Newlin from True Blood (above, right). There's no mistaking it, and I have to wonder if Alan Ball had the Osteens in mind when he wrote the parts for the Newlins, played by Michael McMillian and Anna Camp.
Somehow, I feel certain that Joel and Victoria Osteen aren't harboring a grudge against vampires (though I'm sure they work against evil in the world) or holding poor souls captive in their church basement, like the Newlins did at the Light of Day Institute.
Still, it's hard not to see the similarities, isn't it? Both couples are based in Texas, too.
(S01E05) "I'm not going to be one of those pathetic girls whose world stops spinning because of some guy." - Elena to Jenna, about Stefan
Ok, well, we'll see about that. Something tells me that by the next episode or two, Elena's world will indeed stop spinning. And then start spinning wildly out of control. She already knows something's up. She already knows in the darkest part of her heart that Stefan is a vampire. She just needs him to confirm it.
(S01E04) "How do I fight the monster without becoming one myself?" - Stefan
I know The Vampire Diaries has been taking a beating from some TV reviewers, but I'm actually loving it so far. A lot of it has to do with bad-vamp Damon, played so deliciously evil by Ian Somerhalder. He's manipulative and just plain scuzzy, but he's also really cute. That's a bad combo for impressionable girls.
At this point, it's hard to imagine that Elena would fall for any of Damon's tricks. Then again, he did get her to believe that Stefan was actually the manipulative one, dating back to when the two brothers sparred over Katherine. Elena is either really, really stupid or she's being played by a master manipulator in Damon. Maybe a little of both.
(S01E03) Why does every high school show have to do the obligatory football episode? Is this something that's still big for kids? Seriously, does this hierarchy of popularity still exist? Or are the writers just too old to know any better?
Anyway, this week Stefan tries out for the football team in a desperate attempt to not be so weird and creepy, and Elena, in an effort to get back to her "normal" life, goes back to cheerleading. That works for a few days, until Damon shows up and kills the history teacher/football coach Mr. Tanner. Yay for Damon!
One of the big things on the web now is taking dramatic TV shows and giving them a laugh track. You can probably do this with a lot of dramas (depending on what you find funny), but this is one below is centered on the eating establishment in True Blood and, as New York says, makes the show seem like Alice.
(S02E12) "You may be the strongest, oldest vampire in my queendom, but if I wanted, I could own your fangs as earrings." - The Vampire Queen to Eric
We've come to the end of season two of True Blood, and I'm glad to see the Maryann storyline end (this is no spoiler; Alan Ball talked about it in my interview with him; and yes, Michelle Forbes is a fantastic actress). On the other hand, I'm sad to see True Blood ending and will wait impatiently for season three to start.
But this finale brought an end to a few storylines and set things up nicely for new ones in season three. After the jump, the episode review and your comments. Don't click through if you haven't watched the episode yet!
One of the most talked about shows of the summer is True Blood, HBO's supernatural series about vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, and all those eerie things we find both fascinating and horrifying.
With the season two finale right around the corner -- "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" airs Sunday at 9 PM ET on HBO -- it's a great time to catch up with series creator Alan Ball (pictured, with Michelle Forbes, Rutina Wesley, and Deborah Ann Woll at the TCA awards in August). Read on for his thoughts on the future of Maryann, a Sookie/Bill pairing, and even a few spoilers on season three.
If you want to look at the full transcript of the wide-ranging interview, click here. The edited version starts after the jump. Oh, and read AOL TV's coverage of the show, as well.
Happy Thanksgiving! It's that time of year when we reflect on all the good things in our lives, and of course, my thoughts turn to TV. Let's take a look at a few things on the tube that make me feel all warm and fuzzy. 
Vampires aren't scary anymore. They haven't been for a while.
(S01E04) "How do I fight the monster without becoming one myself?" - Stefan
One of the most talked about shows of the summer is 
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