blog layout by Amanda Vontobel
For a few years now, vampire stories have had a resurgence of popularity. That might have been enough for someone to want to ignore True Blood, it certainly was for me when the first season started. However, a friend of mine convinced me to watch, and I was (forgive the pun) sucked in.
From the opening credits alone, you could tell this show was not holding anything back. The theme song “Bad Things”, by Jace Everett, plays over some creepy visuals that depict sex, religion, and violence. According to Wikipedia, the production studio (Digital Kitchen) wanted to express how “religious fanaticism and “sexual energy” could corrupt humans and make them animalistic. These are all underlying themes of the show itself. The show’s penchant for wittiness is also present in the opening credits, where we see a roadside sign that says “God Hates Fangs”, an obvious knock off on the infamous anti-gay slogans of the Westboro Baptist church. Which brings me to another brilliant aspect of the show, the gay angle. In addition to that cleverly placed sign in the credits, the show offers up an abundance of gay metaphoric references. Series creator and producer Alan Ball is indeed gay, though he denies that the show was meant to serve as a metaphor for gays and lesbians. In a recent Rolling Stone article, Ball says “I have a hard time seeing the vampires as a metaphor for gays and lesbians, just because the vampires on our show are, for the most part, vicious murderers and predators, and I’m gay myself, so I don’t really want to say, hey gays and lesbians are basically viciously amoral murderers”. And we do appreciate that, Alan! But, truth be told, the little gay moments are really fun. Besides, anyone who is familiar with vampires of the past would know that they have often been written as highly sexual beings who do not have gender preferences. Rather, they follow their lustful desires despite what body it is packaged in.
The show’s main premise is that the Japanese have developed a synthetic blood beverage called Tru Blood, which vampires can consume rather than feeding on humans. By doing so, the vampires were said to have “come out of the coffin” as they are now able to live among humans without that pesky threat of wanting to drink their blood. Of course, there are still plenty of vampires who prefer the real deal. There is a cult-like religious group called Fellowship of the Sun who are anti-vamp and try to convince the world that vampires are evil beings that need to either be saved or destroyed (we know which they would prefer). But the Vampires have their own group too called the American Vampire League, always fighting for equal rights, tolerance and acceptance of vampires in society. Both groups are often seen in brief but hilariously accurate scenes on news broadcasts, feverishly preaching their case to the masses. Metaphorical scenes like these may not be anything new in TV, but they are always well received when brilliantly executed, such as in True Blood.
True Blood’s story is based on the novels “The Southern Vampire Mysteries” by Charlaine Harris, which are now also known as “The Sookie Stackhouse Novels/Chronicles.” Though I haven’t read the books, from what I understand the storyline of True Blood does not follow the books chronologically or exactly, which is often the case when novels make it to screen format. The locale is a a fictional small town in Louisiana called Bon Temps, which is home to a close knit community full of increasingly colorful residents.
Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and her brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) are the central family that the show revolves around. In the first season, they live with their sweet as pie grandma, who was wise beyond her years on every level. Grams had been around a long time and was probably the most accepting of the vampires (and everyone) in Bon Temps. Sookie is a waitress who has telepathic powers, and at first seems prim and proper but many have learned to not piss her off, she will do what she wants, how she wants, and you will have no choice in the matter. Jason is, well, he’s just Jason. He has a heart of gold, a libido that won’t quit, and a brain that functions at 75% most of the time. But don’t let that fool you, Jason will put his life on the line to save those he loves. And he’s really buff, just like all the other bare chested men of Bon Temps.
Sookie works at the local bar/restaurant Merlotte’s, owned and operated by Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell). Sam is not your everyday bar owner, he is also a shifter and often spends some quality time running around in dog form. He can be a bit of a loner, so I guess you could say Sam is his own best friend. Also working at Merlotte’s are Sookie’s best friends from childhood, Tara (Rutina Wesley) and her overtly extravagant gay cousin Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis). Tara is a bit rough around the edges and packs a mean punch with her biting sarcasm, but she means well. Lafayette is also big on the biting sarcasm (must be genetic) and is an absolute riot. Think ghetto pimp meets Adam Lambert. But don’t ever show the slightest bit of homophobia around him, he is more than capable of kicking ass and has done so on several episodes.
Now onto some of the vampires. Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) was a Bon Temp resident in the 1800s when he became a vampire during the Civil War. He meets and falls head over heals in love with Sookie. Much of the story lines have centered around their involvement, but last season we were introduced to vampire Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard). Eric’s past dates all the way back to Viking times and has also shown interest in Sookie several times. Obviously as the seasons unfold, we find out more about this trio but I don’t want to get too involved in plots. Eric owns a nightclub for vampires called Fangtasia. His sidekick and progeny Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten) works there too, they both do a great job of terrorizing the poor human waitress Ginger (Tara Buck), who is often witness to all sorts of horrific vampire activity, only to be “glamoured” so she has no recollection. That’s a neat trick the vampires have, to “glamour” someone is their way of sort of hypnotizing a human to make them forget whatever it is they want you to forget. There is also Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) the baby vamp, who is sweet & humorous while trying to figure out what her new undead life means.
But back to Pam, because she is awesome. Pam’s role last year was sort of in the background, but this season she had some of the most, if not THE most, memorable lines. And they are delivered so deviously well by actress Kristin Bauer van Straten, whose portrayal of Pam seems to be the complete opposite of her real life persona. This is also where some more cleverly placed “gay-isms” come into play. Pam likes the ladies and they certainly like her back. Except of course Sookie, who in one memorable scene retorted back to Pam with “I’m in no mood for your lesbian weirdness tonight” when Pam mentioned that Sookie was wearing her favorite color, lavender. There was also another classic scene after a bloody vampire fight where Pam casually, but oh so seductively told Sookie “there’s vampire in your cleavage” and proceeded to remove the offending vampire remains from Sookie’s stack. And a more recent scene from this season, Pam interrupts Eric and Sookie talking (aka kissing) with a urgent matter at hand, but her words however do not match the intensity of what is about to happen. She simply says “Blah blah, vampire emergency blah.” Again, delivered so perfectly by Bauer van Straten, it’s easy to see how she has become a favorite among viewers.
There is also the vampire Queen Sophie Anne (Evan Rachel Wood) who chooses the ladies over males. When we first meet her, Bill pays her a visit at an inopportune moment, as she is feeding on her human Hadley (Lindsey Haun), which also happens to be a cousin of Sookie’s. Later on in the episode, she propositions Bill with sex. His face is completely dumbfounded with not knowing how to turn her down, but Sophie Anne laughs wildly saying “Please, I haven’t enjoyed sex with men since the Eisenhower administration.” The writers of True Blood sure have a way with words, and the actors are all brilliant in bringing them to life on screen.
Another factor that I enjoy about True Blood has been the slow build up of all the characters. In the first season the central plot focused on Sookie, Jason, Bill, Sam, Tara, and Lafayette. The other folks of Bon Temps at first seemed to be just characters to fill up the town. But slowly, their lives became inter-twined with the goings on of Sookie & company. And they have just as many awesome lines, also delivered with perfect flair. This to me is what makes a TV show monumental, the fact that each and every character is a story line that you enjoy following. And how they at some point mix in with the main plot. It’s takes a true talent to do that, and it seems like the people behind True Blood have it down perfectly.
With all I’ve said here, it should be noted there is a lot I have left out. It’s been three seasons of mayhem and expertly crafted writing, directing, and acting. I couldn’t possibly reveal it all here in the blog, but my advice would be to check out Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD, hold out for Season 3, and get on board before Season 4 hits the airwaves next summer. You will be turned, like the rest of us “Truebies”.
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