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True Blood (HBO)

post #1 of 677
9/5/08 at 6:26pm
Thread Starter 
It has vampires. Was written by Alan Ball, who gave us Six Feet Under and...what else is going on here? It airs on Sunday. Has anybody seen this yet? Good, bad? Bad Anne Rice clone, or, god forbid, Stephanie Meyers knock off?
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post #2 of 677
9/5/08 at 6:36pm
And, more importantly, does Anna Paquin get naked in it?

USA Today gave it an extremely favorable review today, for whatever that's worth. I trust Alan Ball enough that I'll at least give it a try.
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post #3 of 677
9/5/08 at 6:46pm
I, eh, "happened" to "come across" the leaked version of the pilot... I turned it off around the same place where I stopped reading the novels its based on...
But, I see that there are decent reviews, so I might check it out now that it airs... I did like 6FU quite a bit and have no problem with vampires....
Also, Anna Paquin, despite a horrible accent, looks awesome...

From what I read though, Mr. Ball uses the vampire as gay metaphor with the "subtlety of a sledgehammer", which sounds like Ball alright.

I do like the premise, I just hated the inconsistent way in which telepathy was used in the pilot... but maybe that improves or something.
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post #4 of 677
9/6/08 at 1:19pm
I haven't watched any television since The Wire finale, but I'm considering breaking my streak for this. Despite Six Feet Under repeatedly hamstringing itself with jarring soap opera conventions, I loved that show and it bought Alan Ball a lot of good will from me.
I'm mostly blasé about genre television, and even moreso about soapy, irreverent vampire bullshit made for and by excessively roundish soccer moms, but it's got Anna Paquin, and putting aside a strong prurient interest,I think she's a wonderful actress and I'd like to see what she does here.
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post #5 of 677
9/6/08 at 1:28pm
I checked out some of the OnDemand material. They seemed not to want to even get into a Buffy comparison. While talking about movie and tv vamps they did Dark Shadows, Lost Boys and even Underworld but only a passing mention of Buffy/Angel. That is the show they will be compared to and figured they might like to get it out of the way.

I saw the pilot at Blockbuster but figured I could wait a few days to see it.

Can it be worse than John From Cincinnati?
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post #6 of 677
9/6/08 at 2:00pm
John from Cincinati was misguided for the most part and I think it got had too much unnecessary pressure and hate put on it, but there was some great stuff on it and it was still miles better than True Blood, which blew back when it was a series of novels for fat, lonely housewives, blew in script form, and blows as a pilot.

I say this as a huge Six Feet Under fan with a Paquin crush -- avoid this. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
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post #7 of 677
9/6/08 at 2:05pm
I'll check it out, because it's a new HBO hourlong, but it doesn't look at all promising to me.

John From Cincinnati was so fucking lame. I'll admit it had good-to-great things in it (Ed O'Neill and the opening credits), but we lost Season 4 of Deadwood for it, and that's unacceptable.
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post #8 of 677
9/6/08 at 2:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anyawatchin Angel View Post

Can it be worse than John From Cincinnati?
Even though John From Cincinnati was a complete disappointment, its one of the weirdest, most non-sensical shows ever and I gotta give HBO some cred for even airing it, cause there's no way any other network would have.

Ed O' Neill's character was the one bright spot in the show for me.

I'll be watching True Blood on Sunday, even though I have no real expectations for it. I've seen the first 2 1/2 seasons or so of Six Feet Under, and found it mostly o.k. with some really great eps mixed in. But I'm willing to give most shows a shot and that's not any different for True Blood.
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post #9 of 677
9/6/08 at 2:09pm
The Deadwood thing is unfair, though -- it was an extremely expensive show that wasn't getting the ratings they'd hoped for, nor the awards attention it deserved. Sure, Milch was developing John in tandem with Deadwood's third season, but the fact is that HBO was looking for an excuse to drop it, just like they kept making up excuses as to why the promised TV movies never went ahead. It's unfortunate, but it's not entirely Milch's fault.
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post #10 of 677
9/6/08 at 2:12pm
At least John From Cincinnati attempted something new and different, even if it failed, something that can't be said about nearly any other show in the past few years (and there are two exceptions to that rule).
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post #11 of 677
9/6/08 at 2:12pm
It feels better to cry bloody murder than to be reasonable when it comes to mourn for Deadwood.
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post #12 of 677
9/6/08 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RathBandu View Post
John from Cincinati was misguided for the most part and I think it got had too much unnecessary pressure and hate put on it, but there was some great stuff on it and it was still miles better than True Blood, which blew back when it was a series of novels for fat, lonely housewives, blew in script form, and blows as a pilot.

I say this as a huge Six Feet Under fan with a Paquin crush -- avoid this. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
But does it manage the rare feat of both sucking and blowing? I can't say I was afraid of this, I actually kind of expected it, or at least I really didn't expect myself to be a fan. Maybe I'll set aside time for it, maybe I won't.
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post #13 of 677
9/7/08 at 2:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Francis Wolcott View Post
It feels better to cry bloody murder than to be reasonable when it comes to mourn for Deadwood.
QFT
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post #14 of 677
9/7/08 at 11:53pm
Quite liked this. I think it's going to be a grower. Wish they'd not put this in a Southern setting because it's cliché as fuck but I thought it was funny, sexy, and well-acted.
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post #15 of 677
9/8/08 at 12:03am
Below average for me. I think this needed a 2 hour start because I just didn't care about anyone.
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post #16 of 677
9/8/08 at 12:07am
Sassy Black Friend needs to tone it down a bit and she'd be really fucking hot.

Not sold on the telepathy angle. I always hate it when I have to suspend disbelief on multiple fronts simultaneously.
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post #17 of 677
9/8/08 at 12:50am
That vampire sex scene was fucking ridiculous.
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post #18 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:17am
Not sure if it was the lowered expectations or the fact that my wife was waiting for me to hate it, but I liked the first episode. Paquin is way more intriguing than I ever remembered her being, and, even if the southern gothic thing is cliche, they appear to have given the bayou setting that authentic feeling of being depressing but also a little intoxicating. The pilot avoided laborious exposition defining the 'vampires integrated into society' angle, and there was a decent bit of humor, even if some of the characters seem too stock at first glance. I'll be giving it another look.
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post #19 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:34am
I wouldn't mind the telepathy shit if it didn't go away conveniently when she's talking to her friend or whatever.
But, I'll probably give it a shot, like 5 eps tops. Usually HBO shows don't win me over on the pilot but by ep 3 or 4.
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post #20 of 677
9/8/08 at 2:06am
Why do I even have HBO anymore? They better serve up some kickass boxing real soon to make up for this slop.
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post #21 of 677
9/8/08 at 2:51am
I liked it, but I'm guessing that has far more to do with absurdly low expectations than anything else. If I get through a handful of episodes, I'll be shocked.
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post #22 of 677
9/8/08 at 2:55am
"I just happen to think that judging an entire group of people based on the actions of a few individuals within that group is morally wrong" said angrily was the only line that reached Fisher-esque levels of fun. The rest of it put the generic in genre, the accents, the setting, the characters, but I'll probably watch every episode... maybe it'll get better.

One thing that bugs me whenever a character is telepathic is that everyone thinks in verbal, declarative sentences. Eliot or somebody said that Joyce screwed up when he wrote Ulysses because it's more verbal than visual, and the mind is both. There are so many interesting things you could do with that. I did like that everyone seems to know that Paquin is psychic without having discussed it. She's attracted to Bill the vampire the same way she was attacted to Jeff Daniels and Wolverine: mouth hangs open, eyes widen, slight grin.
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post #23 of 677
9/8/08 at 3:02am
I thought Paquin was the best thing about it. It got a little better as the episode progressed, but it was hard for me not to flip to the horrific VMAs on MTV every once in a while. Also, Bill the vampire had nice hair. Not a great first episode.
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post #24 of 677
9/8/08 at 3:18am
I kinda liked the first episode, not going to lie I didn't realize it was Paquin until the dream scene when she wore the robe and her breasts weren't centered on the screen. Based upon the nudity so far in this show and her career status, this show is a keeper.

Also it had vampires, that's kinda cool I guess.
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post #25 of 677
9/8/08 at 3:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moltisanti View Post
Why do I even have HBO anymore? They better serve up some kickass boxing real soon to make up for this slop.
Diaz/Katsidis, dude.

Although I missed it, that was great matchmaking. Plus Marquez/Casamayor should be fairly adequate, even though I hate Casamayor.

As for True Blood, I watched the first 10 minutes and already the sexuality was forced, the subtext possessing the subtlety of a hammer, and the "Sassy Black Friend" was fucking horrible. Just dreadful. But at least she's three dimensional because ya know...she reads Naomi Klein. Maybe I'll check out the rest on InDemand or something, but I doubt it.
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post #26 of 677
9/8/08 at 4:45am
Rogue absorbed Jean Grey's powers and the mutants are vampires with blood that makes you loopy. That pretty much sums up what I saw in the first episode.
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post #27 of 677
9/8/08 at 4:49am
This was plain atrocious.
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post #28 of 677
9/8/08 at 5:29am
I couldn't stay interested past the first fifteen minutes and even that was a struggle.
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post #29 of 677
9/8/08 at 8:59am
I dug it, though as said already, sassy black friend needs to chill out. May not be a classic, but it's better than Sunday night football.
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post #30 of 677
9/8/08 at 9:21am
I'll try to give this thing another shot, but that was boring as fuck.
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post #31 of 677
9/8/08 at 9:28am
Terrible. Crossing this show off the list.
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post #32 of 677
9/8/08 at 10:33am
Awful, convoluted, poorly executed mess. There are interesting concepts sprinkled throughout but they are not handled well, and it's like the creators had ideas for 3-5 different shows/movies and decided to haphazardly toss them all together in one big Frankenstein's monster of failure. Then there's the "oooh, look, we're on HBO, we can do what we want! We have to be edgy!" sex and nudity, some really bad performances and awful accents (the sassy black friend, again. her accent is unbelievable), and, despite how convoluted it is, an extremely predictable plot. Just a mess. I'll probably watch at least another episode or two though - it's fascinating to watch this kind of utter train-wreck.
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post #33 of 677
9/8/08 at 10:38am
I think, by far, the best part of the show was the very first scene. So very predictable, but it was fun. I don't remember right off seeing a lot of hunting camo sporting bubba vampires running around. If the show kept on down the wink and nudge path with lots of humor it would likely be a lot better, but it looks like it's going to go with the overly serious route. Which actually seems to be what bogs down vampire storytelling as a whole. I read Vampire Lestat solely to read about this over the top vampire being a rock god, and it was just a slow, plodding mess. Make it fun and sexy (and not in a "i'm a wild vamp and look at how I move weird on film" way) and vampire storytelling would be a lot more interesting.
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post #34 of 677
9/8/08 at 10:47am
I agree, the opening scene was fun and intriguing. Then it was all downhill in a major way.
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post #35 of 677
9/8/08 at 11:30am
Well, you know, I thought it was funny when sassy black friend bitch slapped her boss...
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post #36 of 677
9/8/08 at 11:41am
Again, I liked it, but I want to see vampires in a setting that isn't LA or the Deep South. They even had a line in it about how "New Orleans is a vampire Mecca". It's a fairly tired setting.

It ain't BUFFY, that's for damn sure.
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post #37 of 677
9/8/08 at 11:56am
I was planning a four-episode tryout for this thing, but if the second episode is as bad as the first, that'll be it for me.
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post #38 of 677
9/8/08 at 12:34pm
Anna Paquin made the episode for me. Iffy accent aside she funny and sexy and charming. She's still underrated as an actress.
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post #39 of 677
9/8/08 at 12:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan "Nordling" Cerny View Post
Again, I liked it, but I want to see vampires in a setting that isn't LA or the Deep South. They even had a line in it about how "New Orleans is a vampire Mecca". It's a fairly tired setting.

It ain't BUFFY, that's for damn sure.
There's the Charlie Huston "Joe Pitt" series which has vampires in Manhattan. It's a pretty cool little series.


And also I figure, anytime a vampire/Southern Gothic story is written. Anne Rice gets a portion of the proceeds.
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post #40 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BillyG View Post
I think, by far, the best part of the show was the very first scene. So very predictable, but it was fun. I don't remember right off seeing a lot of hunting camo sporting bubba vampires running around.
Yeah, it peaked right there for me, too. But for a scene that's entire purpose was to point out vamps in this world can be anybody, not the cliched chiseled face with long dark hair, gravelly voice, and intense glare... Who's our lead Vampire Bill? Dark-haired chiseled vamp who speaks in a slow gravelly voice and stares at Sooki only through his eyebrows. All that was missing was the fake Slavic accent. Yawn.

It took about 5 minutes to get boring. The Sassy Black Friend With An Attitude cannot possibly be written more unlikeable (they forgot the funny part of sassy, and just made her yell at people), and the "murder mystery" is already trite (who doesn't think this is going to play out just like RISING SUN).

One more ep, then done.
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post #41 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:04pm
Every time I think the about the attraction to vamprisism I'm reminded of that short story Johnen Vasquez did (I can't for the life of me remember if it was in Squeee or Johnny: The Homicidal Maniac) that made fun of the whole attraction to being "converted" in which the guy turned into a monster with a huge head.
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post #42 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:06pm
Now that you mention it, I would be interested in Minnesota Vampires.
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post #43 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:07pm
I did the think the church sign "GOD HATES FANGS" in the opening credits was funny. Too bad about the following 55 minutes.
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post #44 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andre Dellamorte View Post
Now that you mention it, I would be interested in Minnesota Vampires.
I could dig it. Vampires who talk about the latest goings on with Farm-Labor while killing some students. It would certainly be the most interesting fictional thing in Minnesota since the "Prey" novels.
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post #45 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trav McGee View Post
Yeah, it peaked right there for me, too. But for a scene that's entire purpose was to point out vamps in this world can be anybody, not the cliched chiseled face with long dark hair, gravelly voice, and intense glare... Who's our lead Vampire Bill? Dark-haired chiseled vamp who speaks in a slow gravelly voice and stares at Sooki only through his eyebrows. All that was missing was the fake Slavic accent. Yawn.
Exactly. My two real problems were sassy black friend and cliched sexified vampire lead. And if they had made the vampire a bit more interesting, sexy black friend wouldn't be an issue. Then again, the owner of the bar that's in love with Anna looked a lot like the vampire, so maybe lazy casting all around.

I just don't see why you would start so off the beaten path only to let yourself get tied into convention. They even poked fun at him being named Bill. A lot of good ideas, but I think something fell apart mostly in casting. I liked the idea of the drainers as well.

I guess I sound like I hated it, even though I did enjoy it...I just hate wasted promise.
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post #46 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:19pm
I did not want to risk watching this as I feared it would suck. For now, I am glad to hear my fears are coming true. I believe the end of greatness for HBO is at hand.
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post #47 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andre Dellamorte View Post
Now that you mention it, I would be interested in Minnesota Vampires.
Careful, following this path to its logical conclusion leads to 30 Days of Night.
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post #48 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Schwartz View Post
Careful, following this path to its logical conclusion leads to 30 Days of Night.
Fine we could change the location to Wisconsin. Or go the Near Dark route and have be in the Texas area.

Also, I was talking to some co-workers. One of them loved the show. Go fig.
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post #49 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by matalo View Post
I did not want to risk watching this as I feared it would suck. For now, I am glad to hear my fears are coming true. I believe the end of greatness for HBO is at hand.
Maybe until the Martin Scorsese series taking place in AC and Simon's 'Treme' go to series. Give it some time.

I'm sure this show will get consistently higher ratings than The Wire ever did.
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post #50 of 677
9/8/08 at 1:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Schwartz View Post
Careful, following this path to its logical conclusion leads to 30 Days of Night.
And beside, Minnesota vampires only have sex in the missionary position. That would make the show even more boring.
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