Ever since Bela Lugosi’s classic performance in Dracula back in 1931, the vampire has mostly been portrayed as a suave and sexy beast. Bela’s depiction of a slick-haired Dracula that swooped in from the night to bite poor Lucy Weston was so formative to vampire lore that it continues to color our idea of how a vampire is supposed to look and act. “True Blood” attempts to remake some of those 77 year old stereotypes while amplifying the vampire-as-sex object theme to near ridiculous heights. Although I haven’t made an official count myself, I’d bet the boob to blood ratio is pretty high. That said, its good to have a show that wants to deal directly in sex and gore on HBO. If you’re going to go to the sex and violence well, you might as well come back with a bucketful.

By now, Sookie is up to her unscarred neck in vampires. Bill’s house is lousy with vampires and their odd sex/food slaves. In order to protect Sookie, Bill lays claim to her and her virgin blood which apparently, is about the sweetest available. Through this turn of events we learn about Hepatitis D, a vampire only blood illness that is harmless to humans. I’m continually surprised by how long it has taken to reveal some of the most basic lore of this series vampires. Its most certainly a slow boil. If it ever gets to a boil at all. Sookie after being clearly frightened by the events of the past few episodes, breaks it off with Bill, only to be haunted with desire for him later that night in her dreams.

Bill returns to the three vampires from the beginning of the episode and we finally get to see the internal conflicts that the vampires must feel about coming out into the human’s world. This is an element of the plot that should be explored further and should’ve been explored much sooner.

Sookie’s brother Jason’s bizarre downward spiral continues as he discovers that his girl
on the side has also been with a vampire. Jason is clearly standing in as the archetype ignorant racist. The portrayal is shallow and poorly acted. Although the character’s motivations are believable, the execution isn’t. Eventually his obsession with the vampires kills his libido and he seeks out vampire blood as a means to gain back what he lost. As the episode draws to a close, Sookie finds Dawn (Jason’s side woman) dead in her home. Thus making a second murder that Jason could be tied to.

All in all, the show continues to show flashes of its potential. Sookie’s best friend Tara Thornton (played by Rutina Wesley) is believable and whip smart. I hope we see more of her.

As we mentioned earlier this week, “True Blood” has been picked up for a second season already. I’m not certain that HBO’s renewal of “True Blood” for a second season this soon is a good thing. True Blood is now a quarter through its first season and its still slowly drawing out the very basics of the plot. Giving the writers and producers a renewal now might only encourage the slow pacing of the series.

I’m absolutely shocked to see these two shows renewed so quickly. The vast majority of the new fall season has yet to even premiere, but TNT and HBO are already throwing around renewals for two of their recent premieres.

“Raising the Bar” has been renewed for season two despite a 2.2 million viewer drop between episode one and episode two. I recently commented that this is a show I simply can’t sit through, and I stand by that – but TNT believes in this drama, and is going to give it a chance to find its legs. Later in the season, after they’ve gotten past their initial order, I may give the show another shot.

“True Blood” has also been quickly renewed by HBO. The show is only in its third week this week, but after it saw a rare ratings increased from episode one to episode two, the network is quick to jump on the renewal bandwagon.

This is actually a very good thing whether you like these shows or not. Many series need a while to find their footing and really discover what they’re going to be about. Its a process that takes at least a few episodes (some will even say a few seasons), and that’s not possible without the support of a network, and its great to see TNT and HBO supporting their investments and giving these shows time to grow.

The oddly boring turn of the screw

As I said last week, HBO has really pulled out all the stops in promoting its new blood sucking minority-morality play True Blood over the last two weeks. The first episode was decent but lacked any real moment of distinction. The series has a lot of potential, but now that the Mise en Scene has been established, its time to see some action.

This weeks episode certainly brings it in the opening as Sookie is saved from a vicious beating by the two vampire killers from last week. Sookie’s vampire friend Bill comes to the rescue and Sookie has to drink his blood in order to heal from the wounds. To add to the creepiness, Ben licks her wounds clean. We get a better explanation of her telepathic powers although the subject is still murky.

Sookie’s brother, Jason has been hauled in on a murder charge after strangling a woman he was having an affair with. We find out that although there isn’t any video tape evidence of him actually killing her, Jason is still the police’s main suspect. Jason has a celebratory roll in the hay, only to discover his latest “friend” has been with a vampire as well. Its becoming clear that many of the locals have had a lot more contact with vampires than they had let on.

Sookie’s developing relationship with Bill the vampire has all of her family and friends up in arms. Eventually, Bill comes over to visit Sookie’s grandmother to tell her stories about his long life in the area. The scene turns to the parallels between civil rights and the vampire’s desire to gain equal rights. This is fertile ground for the writers and producers. Unfortunately, they seem to be somewhat clumsy with it. I hope their touch improves as time goes on. Bill comes off as a very gentlemanly vampire, although his power and menace shows just beneath the surface. Having said that, Sookie’s brother Jason continues to be the most menacing character on the show. Bill teaches Sookie about the powers that vampires have. In turn, Sookie tells Bill all about what it was like to grow up with telepathic powers. Personally, I’m not sure what Sookie’s telepathy adds to the overall plot. It seems unneeded and tacked-on.

Although this episode didn’t deliver as much punch as I’d hoped, it was satisfying anyway. The acting improved and there are a few genuine Cajun accents this time (well, one at least). The show has some fine moments, but it continues to be obsessed with intercutting sex with the bloodletting. Vampires have always been thought of as sexual monsters, but it seems the writers are only trying to get as many boob shots in as possible. True Blood continues to confound me. Its excellent in spots and terrible in others. The plot moves slowly but never grinds to a halt. The acting in some instances is  very good but can be absolutely abysmal in the next moment. I only hope consistency emerges soon.

The Bloodsucker

There has been a pretty good buzz going about the vampire themed HBO vehicle “True Blood”  lately. “True Blood” stars Anna Paquin among others, though she may be the only face audiences recognize immediately. The setting is present day (but with vampires) and due to some advances in their diet, vampires no long have to hunt humans for food. Thus, vampires have come out of the closet to live, work and eat among us. In turn, the vampires are both reviled as a dangerous minority group and also as an object of fascination. At one point a character claims that he “read in Hustler that everyone should have sex with a vampire at least once.” The story concept is based on the popular “Southern Vampire” novels by Charlaine Harris. Its a welcome change from the metrosexual and lace-covered vampires popular culture has been enamored with ever since Anne Rice first published “Interview with a Vampire.” Although for some reason, the series still coagulates around Louisiana as Rice’s vampires did.

Right away it becomes clear that these vampires can be anywhere or anyone. They can even be the camouflage-wearing redneck at the convenience store. We begin to meet the people of the small Louisiana town. They’re stereotypical small town folks. The barmaid, the Wal-Mart employee, the sheriff, etc. Interestingly enough, the Barmaid Sookie (Anna Paquin) seems to be able to hear the thoughts of her country clientele. Her power is limited in that she can’t hear a vampire’s thoughts. The extent of her powers are really only hinted at in the first episode, I’m certain we’ll be smacked over the head with it in the future. Throughout the show, we’re peppered with various references to the bumpkins meeting vampires, including a woman who shares the fact she once had sex with a vampire with a lover, only to have him murder her. The murderer is Sookie’s brother. The murder is clearly a plot line that will have some resonance as the season moves on. Later, Sookie saves a vampire from having his blood stolen (vampire blood has a drug-like impact on the humans) eventually becoming enamoured with him.

The show certainly seeks to challenge the audience’s ideas of society and the place of minority groups. Vampires seem to be used as stand ins for civil rights over and over again. We’re left with uneasy feelings about the vampires. At times, they seem less frightening than the humans who want to drain their blood but the danger they present is ever present. Its a potent allegory, and it sticks.

There are a few problems. First, as a real honest to goodness southerner I can tell you, it is ridiculous how poor many of the actors southern accents are. People from Louisiana (where “True Blood” takes place), sound nothing like Texans or Georgians. The actors apparently had no idea. I now know how the British must feel when some American pretty boy tries to tie on an English accent (looking at your Brad Pitt). Particularly dreadful is Paquin’s attempt. She sounds as if she learned her accent at the Yosemite Sam school of diction. Second, as an program on HBO, “True Blood’s” producers are able to show as much gore, blood and sex as they like. This proves to be a double edged sword. Often the most frightening moments in film and TV are the ones you don’t see. “True Blood” seems to feel very comfortable in its ability to show you anything it needs to. In that way, the series occasionally smacks you over the head with its images.

These headaches will probably not keep you from enjoying “True Blood”. Its interesting, has plenty of action and thrills and is well shot and directed. I hope that as the plot advances, the show explores more of the relationships between humanity and vampires as the tenuous truce between the two continue to grind against each other.

Bored to Death is slowly shaping up into the show that may actually force me into subscribing to HBO. The pilot stars Jason Schwartzman (who I have been a fan of since “Rushmore”) as a struggling writer with a drinking problem in Brooklyn. Schwartzman’s character pretends to be a private detective like his heroes from Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett novels.

Now Ted Danson (who I’ve been a fan of since his first appearance on the 70s “Spider-Man” series) has joined the cast as Schwartzman’s best friend and mentor, a “pompous but articulate magazine editor” according to TV Squad.

Many of you may be wondering what that means for his break-out performance on FX’s “Damages”. Well, he’s not leaving that show just yet. Danson will appear in at least 3 episodes of the next season of the Glen Close vehicle when it returns to FX.

Mark Steven Johnson, the man behind “Daredevil” and “Ghost Rider” has been working t bring the Vertigo comic book series “Preacher” to HBO.

He has recently told Comics Continuum, however, that the deal has fallen apart. “We were budgeting and everything and it was getting really close to going,” Johnson told The Continuum. “But the new head of HBO felt it was just too dark and too violent and too controversial. Which, of course, is kind of the point!” said Johnson.

Personally, I’m not disappointed by this news. I tried to read “Preacher” not too long ago, and I just couldn’t get through it. It is a very dark, very over-the-top comic book.

If HBO is unwilling to bring this to the screen, there is very little chance of it ever doing so. The 70+ issue epic would probably not translate into a 2 hour film very well, but who knows?

For right now, it is safe to say that “Preacher” will not