I’ve been working in the office most of the weekend. The writing is coming along and I’m starting to get into the full swing of it which means everything in my life is starting to rotate around it. I got a bit bummed out this afternoon though. I took a break from the writing – working in my office – and went outside where there was a picnic going on for the 4th of July. They have it every year here and despite the rain there probably was 100 people in attendance this year. They use to have the best fireworks show in town – seriously – but the city raised the insurance/permit requirements a couple years ago and made it too expensive to host anymore. So now just a picnic.
I got bummed because when I was leaving, I recalled last year. My mom loved these picnics and I had driven her over and got her situated etc. Even let her break her medical diet a bit. Then I had to take her home early because she was worn down from the day’s activity. It was also much hotter last year. But I remembered all that and it just sorta bummed me out a bit.
On the other hand and with brighter subject matter, a bunch of high school students and college students asked me to join them at their table so I did. I happened to mention that I had watched the first season of TrueBlood since I’ve been back. The twelve episodes fit my love of vampire stories quite nicely and unlike ‘Twilight’ these are vampires that act like vampires.
One of the girls who I was sitting with leaned over to me and said, “I’ve seen that too but keep it to yourself. On the downlo between you and me, ok?” And I was like “Sure. Whatever.” Then she added, “I really liked it as well.” and smiled.
Then I recalled she is very religious and actually a bit introverted. Cute and smart but likes to keep to herself. Then I also recalled her mother – also religious – hates anything vampire related and actually got real upset when someone hung a Twilight calendar in our office when that movie came out last year. So I figured between all the biting, wild sex, violence, and some unusual focus on religion, she would be catching flak if it became open knowledge. Again, whatever. But I smiled at the fact she really liked it.
TrueBlood is not your typical vampire show. It is shown on HBO meaning they aren’t constrained by what they’re allowed to show people. So it is more like watching an R rated movie which is way kewl. Because what is a vampire show if they don’t bite, have blood, show an evil side, and the characters don’t have sex and personal quandries? No, this is a really good show.
The cast goes a long way in pulling this off. The star is the character Sookie played by Anna Paquin who is a fine actress and I think still the youngest actress ever to win an Oscar. The show is part romance with Sookie falling for the vampire Bill, part mystery with people constantly turning up dead (in season one there was a serial killer), and part small southern town soap opera. The show is different in that in the premise people know vampires exist and they’ve come out in the open with the invention of synthetic blood although as fans know they still prefer the real thing.
I’m only sorry there were 12 episodes to the first season and I look forward to when the second season – being shown now I think on HBO (which I don’t get) – ends up on DVD so I can order it. IF there is a drawback to the show, it is with the way it is produced. Sometimes the storyline will take a detour of sorts – just so slightly – and this comes from the fact that from what I can tell on the credits a different writer and director are used for each episode. I think if a group of writers stayed on it, the characters would be still stronger.
The other thing I liked from this show was the soundtrack which I bought. It is really good. If you watch the show, the opening theme song is going to stick in your head. There is great music in this series and the soundtrack is a good place to start.
Somehow a small southern town’s picnic being tied into the show is something the writers of TrueBlood could actually appreciate. Just as long as I don’t find a corpse.
