That’s right Anna*, you rock that side ponytail. Sadly I could not find a picture on the interwebs of said side ponytail so you could see how awesome it is, but if you saw episode #2 of True Blood you KNOW what I’m talking about.
So what about True Blood? Is anybody watching it other than Adam and I? It doesn’t seem like it, yet it has already been renewed for a second season. I’m glad HBO is giving it a chance, but I’d gladly trade True Blood (season one or two) for a third season of Carnivale.
What can I say about True Blood? I guess I can say that I desperately WANT to like it, but that it continues to fail me, but not enough that I can actually write it off just yet. I will say that without Anna Paquin I would have checked out immediately, the one thing True Blood has done (other than teach me about Paquin’s ability to rock side ponytails) is that I’m even more smitten with Anna Paquin than ever. She’s just gorgeous. I don’t love the accent, but it’s passable and I could do with less wide-eyed acting, but otherwise she’s pretty much saving the show for me. The main vampire character Bill is slowly growing on me, but just when I feel like he’s reigned the character in we get another weird over the top scene that is pretty laughable.
The biggest problem for me with the show so far is that the characters are fairly stereotypical and the actors they have chosen for these stereotyped roles may lack the ability to add the necessary dimension to take them to the next level – right now they just appear to be overacting in every scene which makes everything laughable. Sookie’s (Paquin) best friend Tara (Rutina Wesley) and Sookie’s brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) are probably the worst over-acting offenders, other than the actors playing the other over the top vampires (that we’re kind of just getting introduced to now), but everyone is pretty guilt of it at this point, including at times Paquin. I know the overall style of the show is designed to be somewhat campy and over the top, but in its current form it’s making it difficult to take any of it seriously or connect with any of the characters.
[Spoiler]
The other problem for me is that so far, the only thing supernatural about the True Blood world is Vampires…oh, and that Sookie can read minds. Yeah. I have a problem with this. It needs to be explained, or more things in the True Blood world need to be revealed as “not what they seem”…you throw a werewolf in there, or a guy who changes into a dog (hint), or some other weird crap and suddenly I can buy that Sookie can read minds, but right now, with the world as is, it doesn’t work. At all.
I’ll hang in there for now (let’s call it 2.5 stars for now), but mostly just because there’s not much else on TV that I’m interested in (though I eagerly await the Pushing Daises premiere).
Here’s a photo of Sookie and Bill from True Blood:
Here’s a shot of Anna Paquin with the new blonde hair:
And here, because I’m totally smitten, is Anna looking absolutely GORGEOUS in some silly magazine:
* And yes, she’s naked in my comic at the top of the page – if only because it’s now officially a nice running gag.
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Since I don’t get HBO, I’m not watching it. But, I have been pleasantly surprised by nearly all HBO has done in the past. From the Earth to the Moon rocked. Band of Brothers rocked. Deadwood rocked. John Adams kind of rocks (still haven’t finished it).
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Yeah, I’m mixed. Ironically of the shows you listed I haven’t seen any! I always wanted to see Band of Brothers – but somehow missed it and was never into Earth To The Moon (though I should have been). I tried Deadwood and couldn’t get into it, though I regretted it later, and I didn’t see John Adams though I was interested if only because of Laura Linney.
The shows I DID/DO love from HBO, which you didn’t list, Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Carnivale, Flight of The Conchords, Sex and the City (make that love/hate on that one) and my all time fav – BIG LOVE.
One show that I did HATE that they did was John From Cincinnati. Terrible.
So True Blood has a lot to live up to with those awesome shows, we’ll see what category it ultimatey falls into…hopefully it can stay away from the John From Cincinnati category…
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Wow, she looks stunning(!!!) in that last photo.
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I know right? Crazy beautiful instead of just regular beautiful.
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you can’t mention good HBO and not mention Rome, both seasons, and each wrapped up so perfectly.
i agree with almost all of your comments about True Blood, but i’ve got a little insider knowledge that’s allowed me to overlook some questions so far. HBO buys 5 or more seasons of a show at a time, and this is based on a string of novels, so i figure it’s going to unfold slowly.
some of the acting and accents feel very forced, and you’ve definitely nailed the worst offenders. i’m sure there’s something about that dog too.
i’m really hoping that it’s going to be as good as Carnival, but i think it’s going to be a slower build. over the course of the season, these actors should become more comfortable with their roles and with acting in general.
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Do Not Agree with Review……THE Show is “Over the Top” and is Supposed to Be. The character Development has nothing wrong with it at all….People these days have such short attention spans that they cannot wait for the passing of a few episodes to see the complete storyline fall into place. You can’t put everything into 2-3 One hour episodes. I mean you can try, but it would be like an ADHD Nightmare jumping back and forth with no set plot line and by the end you might feel as your Brain had been raped. So by the End of Season 2 it Should be Moving on quite nice and hopefully we will see another review pointing out all of the highlights of the show. I think it is a great series and with shows like this I don’t see HOW shows like “Entourage” can stay on the air. Give me a break….
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Hey Joshua: Thanks for stopping by. Of course before slamming my post you might have bothered to read the NEW review that went up, which is mostly praise for the show and talk about how addicted I am to it (that post went up last week I think – whereas this post is almost a year old).
Anyway, I think I acknowledged in my “mini” review above that the show is supposed to be campy and over the top. I get that (you’d have to be pretty dense not to), but after those first few episodes I was not convinced everyone was pulling it off. But a lot of shows take a little while to get into their stride, and True Blood did it faster than most. And by mid-season (or certainly the end of the first) I was hooked and excited for season two.
Also, please don’t imply in your comment as you did that I endorse a piece of shit show like Entourage. I understand your rage about the show and the need to vent it (I’ve felt that way to) but your post implies that I have endorsed Entourage – and I absolutely do not. I’d prefer you didn’t confuse my few readers with stuff I haven’t actually said.
Also, I’ve edited your comment and changed RAPED to raped, as it seemed pretty incendiary the way you had it all caps. Thanks again.
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I think you need to read the books. The show is way more over the top – I guess because HBO believes it should be. Anna is a great Sookie, though.
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