True Blood

[kyser_soze]

OK, I take back what I said about it on the True Blodd vs Being Human.

Dled the first season on Friday, Wry and I had a 3 ep sesh on Sunday, top stuff. Very impressive and it has the lovely Anna Paquin as the lead, so I'm a happy bunny as I could gaze at her visage for days and not get bored...

 

[DotCommunist]

Another doubting thomas has to eat them words.

 

[Iguana]

I think the problem with True Blood is that it does sound awful. A bar-tending telepath from the deep south who falls in love with a vampire. And there's a love triangle because her boss, with a mystical secret of his own, loves her too. It sounds like a bad teen fantasy.

It's also so hard to describe. When I recommend it to people and they ask what's it like all I can say is that it's a genre of it's own. It's very, very weird, but it's wonderfully weird. But that you might need to watch 3 or 4 episodes before you get it. My brother watched the first 2 and decided it was awful. My husband fell asleep before the end of the 1st episode and by the time he got up the next day I was onto episode 6, so he decided not to bother catching up.

 

[kyser_soze]

You just need to tell people it's got hot chicks with their kit off regularly and oozes sex from every frame.

And Anna Paquin. I cannot stress how hot I find that woman...

 

[Melinda]

I think the problem with True Blood is that it does sound awful. A bar-tending telepath from the deep south who falls in love with a vampire. And there's a love triangle because her boss, with a mystical secret of his own, loves her too. It sounds like a bad teen fantasy.

This is true, DC did it no favours at all.

You just need to tell people it's got hot chicks with their kit off regularly and oozes sex from every frame.

And Anna Paquin. I cannot stress how hot I find that woman...

They should have just bitten the bullet and had Sookie as a night time thumb sucker.

There are hotter women than Paquin in it!

 

[kyser_soze]

I'm only up to E3, and the hottest so far just bin moidered. Are there even hotter femmes to come?

 

[DotCommunist]

Jason Stackhouse starts seeing a hot (but also annoying) non southern gal later on in the series

also, the bodycount on this show is impressive

 

[Melinda]

Jason has some of the best times in this show

I really liked the hippy chick, I vaguely remember her from some other teen stuff. She has a lovely voice and a very hot way of forming her words.

Tara is lovely, but the original Tara would have been the hottest person on the show bar Jason.

 

[kyser_soze]

Tara annoys the fuck out of me so far, quite honestly. Her schtick was funny the first few times, now she's just annoying. Does she improve as a character?

 

[DotCommunist]

yeah, her character development is good, and the last eps hint towards far more for her in season 2.

 

[Melinda]

She gets worse, but there is a reason and a purpose.
As a character she becomes much more fully rounded. Her's is one of the most beautifully crafted of the show. Storyline wise, she and Jason get the best of the first season.

She's a stunning actress, there are such depths to her anguish.

 

[Structaural]

I'm only up to E3, and the hottest so far just bin moidered. Are there even hotter femmes to come?

Lizzie Caplan <<-drool

 

[Structaural]

She gets worse, but there is a reason and a purpose.
As a character she becomes much more fully rounded. Her's is one of the most beautifully crafted of the show. Storyline wise, she and Jason get the best of the first season.

She's a stunning actress, there are such depths to her anguish.

I agree, she's probably my favourite...

 

[Melinda]

Did you see the original pilot and the original Tara?



Freaked me out when I saw the second episode thats fo sho.

Disturbed me. I think she did a better job in the cussing out the fat customer and slapping her boss scene.

 

[MightyAphrodite]

Ooh I hadnt seen that! That is so clever!


Can I ask about your opinion of Bill/ Stephen Moyer?

the character of 'bill' is a good one too, ive been meaning to watch some other stuff that hes been in...hes definitely right for the part of bill though....i like him alot.

although i think 'lafayette' has eclipsed everyone and became a phenomenon (as that character should i reckon ) ...!


i do like the 'bill' character though and the actor who plays him, i really should check out some other stuff hes been in tbh, i will i think now that ive got it in my head....

 

[Iguana]

i do like the 'bill' character though and the actor who plays him, i really should check out some other stuff hes been in tbh, i will i think now that ive got it in my head....

He was in the late 90's British series Ultraviolet where he was also a vampire, except in that show they were never actually called vampires they called them leeches.

I like him as Bill too. At first I didn't get it because usually a main love interest vampire is sexy and charismatic. He is also usually broody and guilt ridden about the people he has killed and striving to be good in spite of his constant desire to feed. Bill isn't really any of those things. He doesn't seem too torn up about feeding from people or using his abilities to dominate them. He's just a vampire who's chosen to live openly and who gets fascinated by the pretty, young telepath. He kills who he needs to and he doesn't let it bother him.

He's not all that sexy or charismatic either, Sookie's initial attraction is all about the fact that she can't read his thoughts. They aren't a "great love" like you usually get in vampire fiction. They are just two people (one dead) who are fascinated by each other and outside circumstances have made their relationship more intense than it might otherwise be. I don't think we are meant to root for them in the Buffy/Angel way, and I wouldn't assume they will end up together as the series continues.

 

[kyser_soze]

He was in the late 90's British series Ultraviolet

And there was me thinking that was only a really shite Kurt Wimmer film with Milla in it. *checks IMDB*

OMFG - guess who else was in Ultraviolet and is now an HBO rep member? Idris 'Stringer' Elba!!

 

[Orang Utan]

Sobotka's in it too! True Blood that is, not Ultraviolet. Colbert from G Kill is in it too. HBO is well incestuous.

 

[DotCommunist]

oh yeah, subotka plays the fat cop


Buffering Ultraviolet now

 

[kyser_soze]

Ah yes, 'Detective' Andy TBH I had to do a double take on him cos he's standing upright, and looks taller and slimmer than he did as Frank S...

 

[Structaural]

Did you see the original pilot and the original Tara?



Freaked me out when I saw the second episode thats fo sho.

Disturbed me. I think she did a better job in the cussing out the fat customer and slapping her boss scene.

No, I don't remember her at all. Maybe I saw the actual episode 1.

 

[kyser_soze]

Yup, I seem to have missed the pilot too, and just started on Ep1.

Is it worth watching?

 

[Melinda]

Is it worth watching?

The pre-air pilot and episode 1 are the same, with a few small exceptions.

1.
In the scene where Sookie rescues Bill in the parking lot- the original has glimpses of someone supernatural watching from the woods.
Its a woman (?) and she does something to Sookie to enable her to fling the chain so it coils around Rattray's neck. It half chokes him and he cant get it off. IMO the scene makes better sense with the cut aways to explain what happened.


2.
The scene with Sookie sunbathing on her Gran's lawn and explaining about the Rattrays to Jason is missing.


3.
And of course all the Tara scenes were re-shot with Rutina Wesley replacing Original Tara.

The two actresses doing the same scene:

Original Tara

Regular Tara

 

[Iguana]

The two actresses doing the same scene:

Original Tara

Regular Tara

Ooh, I hadn't seen the pilot but based on that scene I thought new Tara was much better. Original Tara was being started out being polite and then snapped for no reason, so her rant doesn't make any sense. And she didn't carry off having a bad attitude as well as new Tara. She's possibly more likable to the audience, but Tara wasn't meant to be likable at this point. Wesley has the character nailed.

 

[Structaural]

The pre-air pilot and episode 1 are the same, with a few small exceptions.

1.
In the scene where Sookie rescues Bill in the parking lot- the original has glimpses of someone supernatural watching from the woods.
Its a woman (?) and she does something to Sookie to enable her to fling the chain so it coils around Rattray's neck. It half chokes him and he cant get it off. IMO the scene makes better sense with the cut aways to explain what happened.


2.
The scene with Sookie sunbathing on her Gran's lawn and explaining about the Rattrays to Jason is missing.


3.
And of course all the Tara scenes were re-shot with Rutina Wesley replacing Original Tara.

The two actresses doing the same scene:

Original Tara

Regular Tara

Interesting about the chain, I thought she took care of those two a bit easily.

 

[Structaural]

Original Tara

Regular Tara

She wins that with her first line and her leg over the chair.

 

[Melinda]

That was the scene that hooked into the show. It was immediately different to almost everything Ive seen.

Supernatural hooey is fair enough, but to feature a girl rude enough to be bitch slapping people AND reading The Shock Doctrine? I wanted to see what else she would get up to.

 

[kyser_soze]

Heh, kinda depends on your opinion of The Shock Doctrine, really...

BTW:

Spoiler

Is the phantom strangler the big lunking mommas boy who failed to pull the divorceé? It just seems a little too obvious for it to be Sam 'werecollie' Merlotte...

 

[Melinda]

the character of 'bill' is a good one too, ive been meaning to watch some other stuff that hes been in...hes definitely right for the part of bill though....i like him alot.

although i think 'lafayette' has eclipsed everyone and became a phenomenon (as that character should i reckon) ...!

i do like the 'bill' character though and the actor who plays him, i really should check out some other stuff hes been in tbh, i will i think now that ive got it in my head....

Ive not read the books and so I think I brought too much of the tortured, love lorn vampire baggage (Edward Cullen/ Angel etc) that Iguana talked about.

After a few episodes, I realised I was slightly dissatisfied with Bill because there were far more charismatic and attractive characters. Of course it turned out not to be a hardship at all because I loved those other characters.

Instead I began to regard the show as more of an ensemble piece than having the traditional 'big leads.' However Iguana's post has given me some more insight.

He was in the late 90's British series Ultraviolet where he was also a vampire, except in that show they were never actually called vampires they called them leeches.

I like him as Bill too. At first I didn't get it because usually a main love interest vampire is sexy and charismatic. He is also usually broody and guilt ridden about the people he has killed and striving to be good in spite of his constant desire to feed. Bill isn't really any of those things. He doesn't seem too torn up about feeding from people or using his abilities to dominate them. He's just a vampire who's chosen to live openly and who gets fascinated by the pretty, young telepath. He kills who he needs to and he doesn't let it bother him.

He's not all that sexy or charismatic either, Sookie's initial attraction is all about the fact that she can't read his thoughts. They aren't a "great love" like you usually get in vampire fiction. They are just two people (one dead) who are fascinated by each other and outside circumstances have made their relationship more intense than it might otherwise be. I don't think we are meant to root for them in the Buffy/Angel way, and I wouldn't assume they will end up together as the series continues.

Wow thanks for this post

Bill's cap doffing deference to Eric was a lovely touch (I immediately transferred my allegiance to the alpha vamp. )

I also cant necessarily see Sookie and Bill Together Forever- Eric and Sam are also captivated...

The show neatly turned over some cliches. I love how abashed Bill looks when he admits he would have fed off the highway patrolman had Sookie not been there! Also, feeding off a paedophile?!

I also love the subversive use of music- Sookie and Bill's mournful cello has been well documented, but also I love how the traditional 'beware imminent danger!' music leads us up dead ends.

 

[DotCommunist]

Heh, kinda depends on your opinion of The Shock Doctrine, really...

BTW:

Spoiler

Is the phantom strangler the big lunking mommas boy who failed to pull the divorceé? It just seems a little too obvious for it to be Sam 'werecollie' Merlotte...

No. It's a quality twist, so I won't ruin it