just watched the most recent episode of True Blood
It was kind of an accident. We (me, the SO, and... we'll call him H1 for Housemate #1) had just watched the last two parts of The Pacific, which were intense and brutal and dark and moving (and it was an absolute pleasure to see Caroline Dhavernas (Ms. Jaye Tyler from Wonderfalls) on my screen again). I teared up. We had a discussion about the show -- they both preferred Band of Brothers (which I am maybe a quarter of the way through, I'll finish it at some point and I'm sure I'll continue to like it a lot); H1 kept talking about how he had been kind of expecting something more like Band of Brothers, where you stick with just one group of soldiers and there are moments of bonding and moments of humor and moments of downtime, so it's not just all bleak, all the time. But I think that's almost why I liked The Pacific -- it was unflinching in its attempt to show the experience of soldiers who fought there, as truthfully as possible. Americans have such a huge patriotic concept of WWII as the last good war, a clean war, a war that was obvious, in a way. The Pacific, while still being incredibly respectful and sensibly patriotic, turned that view of WWII on its side, and showed, clear-eyed, how complicated and brutal and difficult the Pacific War was. I really, really appreciate that. Looking back on it, I still think the pacing is a bit odd because of their decision to follow three individuals on a sort of twisting path through the war instead of focusing on specific group that you can then get really attached to all the way through, but I do think I got to know and like most of the main players, at least enough to care about them (and tell them apart). I don't know how often I would be able to re-watch the series, because it really is realistically dark, but I am so glad I saw it, and that it exists. And I probably will re-watch it at least once, to prove to myself I really can tell all of them apart. :) Anyway, I really liked it, but it was definitely a downer.
So I turned to the boys and said "I need to watch something frivolous now." I was hoping for Justified (we're about 4 episodes behind, and I had a hankering to watch Hoosier from The Pacific become Justified's Deputy Marshal Tim Gutterson), but the SO insisted that he needed to play a video game for a couple of hours, so that was out. (The boys have a fairly strict code about tv show watching. They're from Texas, okay, they were raised polite. It's inconvenient, but cute.) H1 said, "I don't know if this fits the bill, but H2 and I have an episode of True Blood to watch." I had a feeling that whatever else you could say about True Blood, it probably counts as frivolous! So H1 and H2 spent a good 10-15 minutes trying to fill me in on the general outlines of the plots and who everyone is (and they still had to pause during the show a few times to explain various people and subplots they'd forgotten to tell me about, and also to help me tell all the scruffy medium-brown-haired guys apart), and then we watched episode 3.1.
Note: this is the only episode of the show that I have ever seen. I did read the first book of the series, years ago, and it did not impress me. So, um, take all opinions with a grain of salt. Who knows how I'll feel about everyone a few episodes from now.
Scattered thoughts:
Can I be on Team Sam? I didn't even realize there was a Team Sam, but after that scene with him and Bill, I am so on board! He is my favorite of the scruffy medium-brown-haired guys.
Speaking of Bill, he's much more attractive in motion than he is in stills. I did not expect that, though maybe I should have after the Ryan Reynolds debacle (in which I denied his existence -- he just looked so bland in pictures! -- until a friend made me watch Definitely, Maybe and now I kind of love him).
Jason also belongs in this category, I think. I did not expect to enjoy him as much as I did. Some characters are dim in that way that makes you want to slap them. Some characters are dim in ways that make them endearing and entertaining. (For example, Finn from Glee rides that line almost exactly, while Brittany's dimness has totally cycled all the way back around to pure awesome.) Jason, at least in this ep, struck me as incredibly dim, but also genuinely cute. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I'd actually witnessed some of the stupidity, though, rather than just the lost-puppy aftermath.
Might as well deal with the last member of the medium-brown-haired guy trio -- the ex-Marine. He's cute, and his sincerity when talking to the (also endearing) deputy was totally charming, but I don't have a good read on him yet, or on the red-haired waitress he's dating (she was humorously annoying when we saw her briefly this episode).
Speaking of red hair, I think I'm going to find Jessica entertaining, if only from an MST3K-esque, oh, honey, no standpoint (Jason's probably in this category, as well). And because she has pretty hair. Hoyt, I don't know yet. He seems super sweet, and H2 said that for this show, Hoyt is closer to the type of person my SO is than anyone else. I don't know how I feel about that comparison. I think H2 meant that Hoyt is at base really good, and always tries to do the right thing. I just got the feeling that he might be a bit dim as well, and that part isn't very much like my SO. So we'll see.
One thing I enjoyed about the episode is that there was a lot less Sookie being annoying that I'd feared there would be. Or maybe I'd just forgotten that I really do find Anna Paquin gorgeous (it's possible I had a little crush on her Rogue). Either way, it makes the show already better than that book was.
The Queen: very, very pretty and very, very deadly and very, very amoral. I approve.
Then there are the people I was pretty sure I was going to like, just from the random things I've read about the show prior to seeing it.
Lafayette: I love him. I like Tara, too, though I'm a little worried about where they're going to go with her character.
Pam: I love her! Unsurprisingly.
Eric: I cannot even express how much I love him. Except to say that every once in awhile, he'll show a sort of emotion, suppressed or intense or understated or amused, and remind me of Brad Colbert from Generation Kill, and in those moments I love him even more. The bits with him and Godric in the summary of past events at the beginning? GUH. H2 and I don't really overlap much in our taste in men, but apparently within the tiny center section of the Venn diagram is Godric. Pretty! And I love how Eric feels/felt about him. Eric, Eric, Eric. ♥
I suspect that I'm going to keep watching this show. And not just because of Eric! Though he might be a significant part of it. :)
So I turned to the boys and said "I need to watch something frivolous now." I was hoping for Justified (we're about 4 episodes behind, and I had a hankering to watch Hoosier from The Pacific become Justified's Deputy Marshal Tim Gutterson), but the SO insisted that he needed to play a video game for a couple of hours, so that was out. (The boys have a fairly strict code about tv show watching. They're from Texas, okay, they were raised polite. It's inconvenient, but cute.) H1 said, "I don't know if this fits the bill, but H2 and I have an episode of True Blood to watch." I had a feeling that whatever else you could say about True Blood, it probably counts as frivolous! So H1 and H2 spent a good 10-15 minutes trying to fill me in on the general outlines of the plots and who everyone is (and they still had to pause during the show a few times to explain various people and subplots they'd forgotten to tell me about, and also to help me tell all the scruffy medium-brown-haired guys apart), and then we watched episode 3.1.
Note: this is the only episode of the show that I have ever seen. I did read the first book of the series, years ago, and it did not impress me. So, um, take all opinions with a grain of salt. Who knows how I'll feel about everyone a few episodes from now.
Scattered thoughts:
Can I be on Team Sam? I didn't even realize there was a Team Sam, but after that scene with him and Bill, I am so on board! He is my favorite of the scruffy medium-brown-haired guys.
Speaking of Bill, he's much more attractive in motion than he is in stills. I did not expect that, though maybe I should have after the Ryan Reynolds debacle (in which I denied his existence -- he just looked so bland in pictures! -- until a friend made me watch Definitely, Maybe and now I kind of love him).
Jason also belongs in this category, I think. I did not expect to enjoy him as much as I did. Some characters are dim in that way that makes you want to slap them. Some characters are dim in ways that make them endearing and entertaining. (For example, Finn from Glee rides that line almost exactly, while Brittany's dimness has totally cycled all the way back around to pure awesome.) Jason, at least in this ep, struck me as incredibly dim, but also genuinely cute. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I'd actually witnessed some of the stupidity, though, rather than just the lost-puppy aftermath.
Might as well deal with the last member of the medium-brown-haired guy trio -- the ex-Marine. He's cute, and his sincerity when talking to the (also endearing) deputy was totally charming, but I don't have a good read on him yet, or on the red-haired waitress he's dating (she was humorously annoying when we saw her briefly this episode).
Speaking of red hair, I think I'm going to find Jessica entertaining, if only from an MST3K-esque, oh, honey, no standpoint (Jason's probably in this category, as well). And because she has pretty hair. Hoyt, I don't know yet. He seems super sweet, and H2 said that for this show, Hoyt is closer to the type of person my SO is than anyone else. I don't know how I feel about that comparison. I think H2 meant that Hoyt is at base really good, and always tries to do the right thing. I just got the feeling that he might be a bit dim as well, and that part isn't very much like my SO. So we'll see.
One thing I enjoyed about the episode is that there was a lot less Sookie being annoying that I'd feared there would be. Or maybe I'd just forgotten that I really do find Anna Paquin gorgeous (it's possible I had a little crush on her Rogue). Either way, it makes the show already better than that book was.
The Queen: very, very pretty and very, very deadly and very, very amoral. I approve.
Then there are the people I was pretty sure I was going to like, just from the random things I've read about the show prior to seeing it.
Lafayette: I love him. I like Tara, too, though I'm a little worried about where they're going to go with her character.
Pam: I love her! Unsurprisingly.
Eric: I cannot even express how much I love him. Except to say that every once in awhile, he'll show a sort of emotion, suppressed or intense or understated or amused, and remind me of Brad Colbert from Generation Kill, and in those moments I love him even more. The bits with him and Godric in the summary of past events at the beginning? GUH. H2 and I don't really overlap much in our taste in men, but apparently within the tiny center section of the Venn diagram is Godric. Pretty! And I love how Eric feels/felt about him. Eric, Eric, Eric. ♥
I suspect that I'm going to keep watching this show. And not just because of Eric! Though he might be a significant part of it. :)