SYNOPSIS
True Blood is a highly entertaining HBO series that creator Alan Ball adapted from a series of books by author Charlaine Harris chronicling the exploits of telepathic small town waitress Sookie Stackhouse (an always excellent Anna Paquin) and her blossoming love for a recently out of the coffin Vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer). This is the basic premise behind the show and the originating books.
Vampires are suddenly very real and very much a part of our world and rural New Orleans, where the series takes place. Now the vampires no longer need to prey on humans (because of their insatiable need for blood) all thanks to a Japanese corporation that has invented Tru Blood, the first fully synthetic blood substitute that not only meets the needs of any human recipient, but also all the nutritional needs of all the vampires in the world. The vampires have essentially been in hiding up until this scientific breakthrough, but no longer as they suddenly make their existence public, and thus you have the series in a nutshell.
CRITIQUE
True Blood has lots of sex, nudity and more than a few murders thrown in for that “down in the Bayou” flavor. It is also well acted as a whole, and is full of rich and interesting characters. With most cable shows, production values are much higher than a regular show and it shows through here in the final product. Since the series just started there are bound to be some minor bugs to work out, and of course some mysteries will become clear as the series progresses. Most first year shows in the beginning are all about building suspense, as well as developing (future) characters and advancing the plot.
THE VIDEO
The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen picture is broadcast sharp. There are no noticeable flaws.
THE AUDIO
The English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound is excellent.
THE EXTRAS
Aside from the series itself, which as I previously stated is quite good and full of nice little bits of humor, good character acting, plot twists, lots of nudity and sex ( always a plus), there are quite a lot of little extra tidbits or behind the scene footage that really are worth watching.
Mockumentary: An interesting featurette showing the Vampires sudden emergence into mainstream society and their subsequent struggle for equality and lobbying for their rights and basic freedoms as Undead Citizens of the United States. Ads for various Vampire services and whatnot.
American and European True Blood Ads: Series of ads directed at Europe and American advertising Tru Blood as if it were a real product. You may have even seen the posters and bus stop ads around major cities like Los Angeles and New York.
Director/Writer/Cast Commentaries: Pretty standard fair for most DVD releases nowadays, but it's always nice to hear what the actors, writers and directors think and feel about the work they are helping to create and put out there.
FINAL THOUGHT
A nice start for a premiere season, but only time will tell if if the writers/producers/actors can keep up the momentum and continue to deliver an interesting and well acted somewhat adult series about Vampire life and love down in the Big Easy.
