True Blood (first season)

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True Blood (first season)

November 30th 2009 00:09

Finally got around to watching the first season of True Blood, the marvelous series from Alan Ball, who created the series Six Feet Under and also penned the screenplay to the brilliant American Beauty. All Ball's works (including his controversial feature Towelhead aka Nothing is Private) deal potently with dysfunctional relationships and the bittersweet ironies that bind our lives. He’s one of the most interesting, and entertaining, screenwriters in Hollywood.

Superbly melding high drama and soap operatic spoof on a precarious edge that teeters dangerously close to absurdism, yet never loses balance, True Blood is locked in a richly-etched realm of mythology and character study; small town hypocrisy, social political satire, vampirism, and the addiction they call love and honour. Louisiana is where the action lies, where the sweet sweat and languid accents trickle and flow, where a modern world is entrenched in olde ways, where vampires live freely amongst mortals, yet strive for the same rights and battle prejudice, indulge wayward fangbangers, and compromise with bottled fake blood known as Tru Blood, whilst V (vampire blood) is an illicit euphoric drug humans sometimes dabble in. Welcome to Bon Temps, USA.

True Blood Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer

Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse and Stephen Moyer as Bill Compton

It’s been two years since vampires “came out of the coffin” on national television. Anna Paquin plays Sookie Stackhouse, pretty and naïve waitress at Merlotte’s bar and grill. She has the supernatural ability to be able to hear other’s thoughts, but not vampire’s. Her boss is handsome Sam (Sam Trammell), and her colleagues are foxy Dawn (Lynn Collins), dizzy Arlene (Carrie Preston), cocky camp cook Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), and grumpy new bargirl Tara (Rutina Wesley). Sookie lives with her sweet grandmother Adele (Lois Smith), and her older brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten), a hunky dumb ladies man who is always getting into trouble. Enter Bill (Stephen Moyer), a vampire who fought with the Confederacy in the Civil War when he was still human.

Rene (Michael Raymond James), Bill, Jason (Ryan Kwanten), Sookie, Tara (Rutina Wesley), Hoyt (Bill Parrack), Arlene (Carrie Preston), and Sam (Sam Trammell)

Nelsan Ellis as the hilarious Lafayette

Based on a series of novels centred around Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris and made for American cable channel HBO Alan Ball has applied the same very successful formula that he did with Six Feet Under (and as David Lynch also did nearly twenty years ago with Twin Peaks); after setting up the series writing and directing the pilot and providing the teleplays for the next two episodes (and returning to direct the season finale), he sits back and allows a small pool of rotating writers and directors to continue in the vein. Most of the entire first season is lifted from Harris’s first novel Dead Until Dark. The calibre of the show is very high and includes John Dahl and Nick Gomez, two excellent movie directors, sensational casting, and the kind raunchy, unbridled sexuality not seen on television before. Bon Temps is positively hot-blooded!

A fangbanger gets her just desserts

Apart from the relationship complications there’s a serial killer at loose, and it is this plot thread that provides much of the tension that keeps viewers guessing right up until the final episode, number thirteen, You’ll Be The Death Of Me. Not that the episode titles are credited on screen, but each one is named after a Christian or popular song. The opening credit sequence is wonderfully evocative, both with the Southern twanged song Bad Things by Jace Evertt and the evangelist/grindhouse imagery (in much the same way as Six Feet Under was stylised and utterly memorable).

True Blood Ryan Kwanten, Lizzy Caplan, Stephen Root

Jason and his V-junkie lover Amy (Lizzy Caplan) with undead prisoner Eddie (Stephen Root)

Each episode finishes in a cliffhanger moment, and begins immediately after in the subsequent episode maintaining a heightened urgency to the storytelling, yet still possessing that laid-back soap stylistic of the immediate here and now. Like Six Feet Under each episode features a different song or piece of music over the end credits. By the end of the series the mystery of the killer has been revealed, but several new story threads have been ignited. The character surprises have kept viewers fascinated, you never know if one of your favourites might bite the dust!

Alexander Skarsgard as dark vampire heavyweight Eric Northman

Rutina Wesley replaced Brook Kerr after two episodes had been filmed (her scenes re-shot), and Wesley has received a lot of criticism for her portrayal, not only of a Southerner, but of a black Southerner. Tara certainly has one of the funniest roles on the show. I have more trouble with Anna Pacquin’s accent than Wesley’s, but then I’m not from Louisiana, and I know Paquin was raised as a Kiwi. Then again, Ryan Kwanten, an Aussie, sounds like he does a pretty good job on the Southern twang. Not to forget the convincing prickly Cajun drawl spoken by Rene (Michael Raymond James). I think Sam Trammell is the only actor from Louisiana.

True Blood drips with delicious style, oozes with edgy and/or endearing characters, and bites with sensational wit, not to mention the lashings of sex and profanity, and of course, the undead horror (the scene where Bill bursts from the ground to ravish Sookie is a series highlight). This show - in a single episode - puts the anemic adolescence of the Twilight saga to shame, and eats the other small screen show The Vampire Diaries for dinner. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the second season out soon on DVD!

Here's the classic opening credit sequence:

Here's the promo for the first season:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

6 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by JohnDoe

November 30th 2009 01:31

Film & TV on DVD

Hi Bryn,

I have been meaning to pick this up on DVD for awhile but juts haven't got around to it. Having no access to TV of any sort here I missed it on Cable. Hopefully all that will change in a few months after the move.

Yours is just the next in a long line of reliable recommendations I have got for True Blood so I'm sure I am destined to enjoy it.

Comment by Bryn

November 30th 2009 01:53

Horrorphile

JD, seems vampires really are the bite du jour

Comment by Matt Shea

November 30th 2009 04:33

Bryn - I thought this series started well but really suffered in its second quarter - for a good while nothing seemed to happen and poor old Bill came across as a bit of a bore. I really enjoyed the second half, however, once things picked up momentum, and it's gets very, very good in Season 2!

Comment by Bryn

November 30th 2009 06:45

Horrorphile

Matt, I agree Bill does become a bit of a bore, but thankfully some of the other character and story threads made up for his cold presence

I loved the whole Amy/Jason thing, and bow wow Sam ... I'm champing at the bit for season two, I wonder how long before the DVD is out, 'cos that's the way to go, rather than having to wait week to week.

Comment by JohnDoe

March 11th 2010 17:40

Film & TV on DVD

Hi Bryn,

Finally sunk my own fangs into season 1 of True Blood and am enjoying it.

I'm half way through now and though I wont say I'm completely addicted it is very entertaining TV...kinda like a vamp version of American Gothic.