For as long as I can remember I have had an obsession with vampires, whether this is strange or not, I know that this is not unusual and actually most humans do find themselves to be interested in legendary or mythological creatures. Even if they are notoriously violent, deadful or ugly for that matter.

Vampires

Vampires were created in legends hundreds of years ago, they live by feeding off of human blood and they are said to be undead. Vampires have been a part of many different cultures throughout the world and for at least a few hundred years, but it was not until around the 18th century that the legends and stories became more popular and general interest in the creatures grew throughout and this has continued through to today and over the past few years there have been a surge of vampire movies and vampire TV shows, True Blood obviously being one of them.

True Blood

True Blood has been advertised on TV for ages, and unfortunately I have not had the channel to see it, I have had to watch adverts for something that I found genuinely appealing only to find they were advertsing a channel that I do not have...little bit harsh! However due to popularity it is now showing on channel 4 and I was so taken by the first episode that I bought the box set on DVD so I can watch them in my own time. Which is quite a spoil sport of me really, but once I get my teeth into something I just won't let go, and I can see me watching these over and over!
It is an American supernatural drama series with was created by Alan Ball, like the recent popular film Twilight, True Blood is based on a series of books called The Southern Vampire Mysteries, and like the book True Blood is based in southern America, a small town in Louisiana.

Cast and characters

The main character in this series is Sookie who is played by Anna Paquin, from episode one of the first season we are made aware that she is central to the story and also that she has telepathic abilities.
Sookie works in a bar as a waitress and seems like an extremely sweet, nice Christian girl.

Anna Paquin plays her role beautifully throughout the whole of the season. She is always really open with the other characters and on screen but for some reason I was still left at the end of the season wanting more of her, more information. She has a naïve character to play, yet it does not look at all like an easy part.

We are also introduced to Bill (Stephen Moyer) he is a Vampire who quickly becomes Sookie’s love interest despite what her friends, family and work colleagues say.
Bill is a complex character obviously being around for the past hundred years or so but I was really impressed by how the programme structures the introduction to all the characters, it slowly feeds you information about each of their lives and lets you judge the characters yourself. Bill is no exception, and his acting is good the whole way through season one, if not maybe a little corny.

There are some pretty irritating characters in True Blood, which you have to accept if you want to be able to get into the story,.
My least favourite character is Sookie’s best friend Tara, she comes from a bad family background, but her attitude is too much on display and most of the time her character seems extremely false. A few attempts are made at giving her a comedy factor but I don’t think that the dynamics work completely in her favour and she comes off as yappy and irritating.
She is totally predictable as a character which is completely off putting, throughout season one however, her character gets thrown one or two major stories and so as a viewer you really do have to learn to put up with her, I can assure you it gets a lot easier towards the end when her character settles down and the initial shock of her terrible acting has worn off.

Another character that I am not that impressed with is Sookie’s brother Jason, he is also slightly false. His character is widely known throughout the town for bedding as many woman as possible and his sleaziness does not wash with me, although I do not think that as an audience we are intended to be fond of him. Towards the end of the first season his character does develop in a few interesting ways and by the last episode of season one I was not that bothered by him and I think his acting improves more and more throughout but still not to a level in which he deserves any praise.

There are too many characters to go through them all but my favourite is ‘Gran’ who is the grandmother to Sookie and Jason, the character is played really well by the actress but also it is extremely easy to fall in love with the character.

Although some of the cast have some floors, together they are very strong and none of them would put me off watching an episode.

The Story

True Blood is the story of a town and its occupants in a world where Vampires are acknowledged as existing, and they are part of society however this does not necessarily mean that humans are comfortable with this, they are still threatened by Vampires and the world is less than peaceful. Especially in the small, fictional town of Bon Temp in which the show is set in.

The title True Blood, probably came from a factor of the film, the vampires no longer need to kill to feed as not only is their existence accepted, but scientists have also created a synthetic blood in which they can exist on. The whole idea is very far fetched, but everything else in the film is just normal, apart from vampires, Bon Temp is just an average town in Louisiana so the story doesn’t seem wild as you are watching. Obviously the characters working together helps.

The first season is used to introduce all of the characters and show their relationships with each other, it also introduces the idea of vampires living in mainstream society and in interacting with humans, the main focus of the story is following Sookie and Bill but after watching the whole of the first season I can count about 4 or 5 different plot lines which really does keep it going.

Sex

Sex is an extremely big theme in True Blood and this is shown visually quite frequently from the very first episode, at times can be a bit too much. However, I actually enjoy this aspect, the show is so explicit with violence, language and sex scenes that it is something very different to watch, something shocking and something that I can get into. I think because the show has no bars on sex, it makes the vampire and gothic theme work really well. After all, vampires have been becoming sex symbols in their own right recently, so it seems fair that the series should show them in this way.

Costumes

Clothing for me is important throughout True Blood. I find it fascinating how slutty some of the girls outfits are and how the director got away with portraying small town girls in this way. However the girls in the series are sexy and whether it’s right or not to put them all in tiny skirts and dresses…it works.
The vampires are also clad in very vintage Goth outfits which fitted ion perfectly with me of how I would imagine a real vampire to be.

Soundtrack

One of my favourite things about True Blood is the soundtrack, the opening song is ‘Bad Things’ by Jace Everett, and it is unreal how well the song fits in with not only the theme but also the setting of the series. The song is slightly creepy, and is also very deeply southern and also extremely sexy.

The rest of the soundtrack has the same sort of sound, it’s an incredibly bare soundtrack with lots of blues and lots of creepy compositions. Most, if not all the sounds throughout the season were new to my ears and I found this really enjoyable listening to sounds I hadn’t heard before and they are all perfectly suited to each scene or event they are matched with.

Horror

I would not say that True Blood is scary, although it does have its moments. I think that because we live in a world in which we know vampires do not exist, we are becoming less scared of vampires and other fantasy creatures and more intrigued by them.
Vampires have been used in horror films since the beginning of film production, but the them is starting to wear thin, which is why I think True Blood has turned the theme around and decided to use a vampire to tell a story of romance. There are also comedy aspects throughout the series, and of course the vampires are used in a way in which their sexuality is unavoidable.

The sexuality of vampires is made easier thanks to times changing, long gone are the days in which the thought ‘vampire’ gave us images of dark creepy men with dusty coats and long fingernails, almost a decomposing image. Now when we think ‘vampire’ we think of dark handsome and mysterious men licking blood of their lips and sleeping with sexy unsuspecting females. We have changed our opinions based on our beliefs changing, people no longer believe in vampires, they are not a threat anymore to anyone, in the past they were a real possibility, but now we can poke fun at them and turn them into objects of our desire.

The directors of True Blood really play on this and they really make sure the vampires live up to our expectations.

Popularity

The film has become widely popular, winning lots of awards and working its way over from America to become a bit hit here as well, the show has millions of viewers per episode, but the DVD seasons have also been really successful, although, I enjoy the show a great deal, I think that the theme of True Blood is targeted very specifically and I was shocked that so many people are fans.

The DVD

The DVD comes as 5 Discs, which contain 12 episodes and each episode is approximately 55 minutes long. Personally, 12 episodes is not enough for me and I am desperate to start the next season. But I am going to wait, as my season one DVD cost me £40 which is not something I can swallow at the moment.

Effects

Obviously True Blood has to have a certain level of special effects to maintain its realism in portraying a fantasy subject. The effects throughout the story are spot on, there’s nothing flashy that seems although its been airbrushed and cut and straight out of Hollywood, but the action and gore scenes are flawless and have a raw edge to them with really lets you encounter the gothic theme in full.

The violent scenes are quick but some of the gore is too much to stomach especially as most of the time it is extremely realistic, I did find myself having to look away in a few episodes, which I suppose is a sign of just how successful True Blood is in this aspect of evaluation.

Comparisons

As I mentioned earlier, due to a natural fascination with the legendary creature that is a vampire, there has been a number of vampire films recently, and obviously over the past few years we have had successes like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

True Blood is in a different league, although Buffy was very successful for a very long time, I think that True Blood was created for a different audience entirely, Buffy is very family friendly and each episode holds the same prospect, kill a vampire, save the world. True Blood is nothing like this, it focuses only on the small town, there are no heroes, it simply follows the lives of the towns occupants in a world which vampires are known to exist.

The show is also extremely brave like no other programme has been, it accepts vampires as an everyday part of the community and it throws sex and gore in as much as possible to make sure that it sets itself apart from every other previous vampire drama.

Opinion

There is not much about True Blood that I do not love, I think that the interaction between Sookie and Bill really makes for good viewing, the two actors really connect and make it easy to watch them and easy to get involved with their story lines. Their chemistry is exciting, as is the theme of the show to me. Even without all of the sex and violence, I am very into vampires and True Blood really hit’s the nail on the head for me.

The southern drawl accents can become annoying and sometimes the theme does run a little dry, but I have to admit that I have enjoyed every episode of season one. I watch it alone as its something that I really like to indulge in when I watch, and I do not know of anyone. especially my boyfriend who doesn’t think that the show is hyped up, vampire porn. But really True Blood does nee to be given a chance, it may surprise you.
I would recommend that if you are willing to give this a go, I am not exaggerating, it has a lot of graphic sex and violence and so is not likely to be everyone cup of tea, and I would not sit a child anywhere near it.
If you was a fan off Six Feet Under, as was I, then I definitely think that you will enjoy True Blood, although the shows have many differences, they are similar in style.

I am going to read the books, as True Blood has really become one of ‘my’ programs and would love to settle down with a book of similar context I have also heard that the books are fantastic and would love to see for myself. I would recommend that you watch True Blood, however it is readily available online to download and is also on TV. Before buying the DVD it is probably best to watch an episode to see if it is your thing as the DVD’s are expensive.