(no subject)
Well, that was interesting.
True Blood is a new HBO show based on the Southern Vampire novels by Charlaine Harris, which is one of my favorite adult urban fantasy series. I was a little dubious, because the books are a great mix of fantasy, comedy, and romance, and I was worried that the tv show would skew too far toward only one of those things. The balance wasn't perfectly managed--Anna Paquin plays the romance angle up WAY WAY too much for my tastes, to the point she reminded me of the much-reviled Bella--but the biggest problem for me was the random super explicit sex more than anything really wrong with the plot.
The sex (which IS in the book, since it's part of the plot, but in a more general way) kind of bothered me, since Charlaine Harris very much does NOT have lots of detailed sex scenes in her books. She only really has one, maybe two, sex scenes per book; any additional intimate relations are interrupted with a convenient chapter break. That's one of the reasons I love the books so much--Harris depends on the characters and the plot to move the book along, not random wanton sex. Now, I'm not necessarily opposed to seeing sex on my tv, but only a portion of the sex shown is actually necessary to the plot. You need to know 1. that Maudette has in the past had sex with a vampire and 2. Jason had sex with her that was somewhat rough. That's about it. The rest is only there because it's HBO. Sigh.
Now, with all that said, there's a lot I did like about the series. First, they kept the comedy, and it makes me giggle madly. Also, when she's not sappily in love with Bill at first sight or trying to be overly emotional, I really do like Anna Paquin's Sookie. She looks a little young and naive, but I can buy that. In fact, almost all of the casting is wonderful. Sam is perfect, as is Jason. I don't remember Tara being that much of a bitch, but the actress did a pretty good job of being sympathetic and bitchy at the same time.
I have only one casting complaint, and maybe it's not even casting. Maybe it's the director misunderstanding the character, I don't know. But--WTF, Bill? I'm sorry, I laughed every time he showed up. Imagine someone who looks like Aragon, broods like Heathcliff (but for no discernable reason), and talks like Edward Cullen. Seriously. I am not kidding. This man is a joke. I may be tainted by the cover art on the books, which has Edward with greasy, slicked-back hair, but I did NOT expect Captain Emo Kid to show up in True Blood.
Oh, something else I love about the series: southern and Cajun accents. OMG. Love.
Okay, this one bothered me, because it's an actual plot point in the books. In True Blood, Hurricane Katrina has already occurred and New Orleans has already been destroyed. Um, okay? The last two Southern Vampire books are expressly about the effects of the hurricane on Louisiana vampire politics, so I'm not sure how they can do those stories in True Blood now. They could bring in another hurricane, but unless they have also rebuilt New Orleans, they're going to need another city. Oh, well. That probably won't even come up this season anyway.
I do have to say that I think the filming is really good in terms of creating the world. I believe Bon Temps. I can see what it looks like, and it behaves the way a real town would. Also, I like how crisp everything is. Sometimes it was almost like seeing the show in HD on my regular tv.
Basically, I don't dislike it, and there are aspects I really like. Chels, you may not like it very much--they've added some unnecessary sex scenes, and made very explicit the ones that are actually related to the plot. Give it a try, because there are some great points, but just be warned.