True Blood
I've been meaning to make a post about the new HBO series "True Blood". For those not in the know, it's a vampire series based on the "Sookie Stackhouse" books by Charlaine Harris. So far only one episode has aired, but I also caught the second episode online.
Unfortunately, they're already crying over not enough viewers. My god, is there no one willing to give a series a chance anymore? I thought, at the time, "Blood Ties" (the series based on Tanya Huff's books) had a better than normal chance because it was on Lifetime (cable channel rather than network tv), but no, even that wasn't enough. Please tell me HBO is better than that. Please please please.
I actually think the series is good. It's pretty loyal to the books, from what I've seen so far. As far as I can remember (without digging out the early books), the addition of the character Tara is the only major change I see. At first that annoyed me, but after two episodes, I already kinda like her. So, all is forgiven.
Sookie is pretty much how I pictured her. They do a good job in showing how overwhelming the voices are when she's not blocking everyone out. And because of that, it's pretty easy to go back to seeing Bill as something desirable. (In the later books, Sookie isn't too fond of him.)
Love Sam. I love that we know that the dog is Sam, and Bill knows, but Sookie is still in the dark.
What else? Jason is a trip. HBO has fully embraced the fact that it can show adult material. Jason's escapades are shown off quite a bit. He's not a particularly nice guy, or too bright, but he's cute. The Tara/Jason dynamic is adorable.
Renee is a pretty cool character. Love his accent. And I like the cook at Merlott's. Forget his name. Flaming gay black man. He's a trip.
Nitpicking now, but I've always pronounced "Sookie" as in "kooky", rather than "cookie". And "Merlott's" shouldn't have the hard "T" at the end. But I guess that's just me being from the Mid-Atlantic. *g*
Oh, and I like the music for the credits, but I could do without the visuals, especially the dead animal with bugs swarming all over it. *shudders*
So far, it's got potential to be the best of the vampire tv series. Just hope it gets a chance to prove or disprove that. *crosses fingers*
If you have HBO, go watch. Bring those numbers up.
Edit: Just wanted to add, they did a good job at ending the episodes on a bit of a cliffhanger. I mean, given I've read the books, I know stuff will work out. But still, the show has the "give me the next show now" appeal. It's been awhile since I've had a show like that, especially one this new.