True Blood

Another favourite TV show of mine is 'True Blood' (HBO), Wednesday nights at 9.30pm on Prime. Now playing it's third season in New Zealand, 'True Blood' borrows from many genres: Vampire fantasy, murder mystery, romance, love stories, and political satire. It is funny, sharp, clever and absorbing. It combines the banal with the supernatural. Director and Producer Alan Ball has created another masterpiece like his award winning television series 'Six Feet Under' which uses psychological themes injected into the everyday mixed with the occult.

'True Blood' follows the relationship between a southern waitress named Sookie, played by New Zealand's Anna Paquin, and her soul mate Bill Compton, a vampire over a hundred and seventy years old. Set in the fictional town of Bon-Temps, Louisiana (Bon-Temps is French for good time.) The story takes place some time in the future. Vampires have come out of their coffins and live among humans thanks to the creation of synthetic blood, which enables them to live without feeding off humans. It is a social satire playing on the phrase 'gays coming out of the closet' ie: 'coming out of the coffin', encouraged to 'mainstream' within society.

As the vampires try to create their own niche in society, they face some serious opposition from organisations who believe these creatures have no place in their world. They also live in fear of being drained of their own blood by humans who want to get high in the same way they would get high from a drug fix. The effects of vampire blood is likened to that of heroin and ectasy and people get addicted easily. Blood sucking is a metaphor for denial and desire, for carnal knowledge, forbidden fruit, drug addiction and witch hunts. Blood suckers exist in the community as a dark sexual element. They are fang-bangers, groupies who have sex with vampires.

The main character, Sookie is psychic and can read people's thoughts. She is good hearted, a bit dizzy, but incorrigibly spunky. Anna Paquin is excellent in the role of Sookie. Sookie was first attracted to Bill the vampire because he was the first man whose thoughts she couldn't read, along with his pasty good looks. He is a fine southern gentleman who was a Confederate Lieutenant in the Civil War before he turned vampire. He is sensitively played by Englishman Stephen Moyer. Sookie's well built dim witted brother Jason, is well played by Australian Ryan Kwanten. He is the town womaniser, plagued with troubles to do with vampires, which impacts on his family. All three non-American actors have aquired the southern American accent well.

Other characters include: Sookie's smart mouthed, black best friend, Tara played by Rutina Wesley. She is Sookie's co-worker at the roadhouse Merlottes. She insults the customers and takes slavery personally; her cousin Lafayette, the gay black chef at Merlottes, is a V-juice addict, and prostitutes himself to vampires in exchange for the juice and deals it; Sam the owner of Merlottes plays a key role as a shape-shifter who can transform into a dog. Demons and monsters such as minotaur hybrids have appeared throughout the series. This season werewolves feature largely in the story as foe to the vampires. One is friend and support to Sookie. This adds an interesting element to the busy mix that is 'True Blood.'

Full of drama and macarbe intrigue. 'True Blood' is a southern gothic R rated melodrama about vampires and humans living in one society. It treats an incredibly dark subject with a light hand, but there's a level of violence, gore, and sexual material which makes this TV show unsuitable for children. Clever parodies and sub-text, humour, drama and horror, make this TV show quirky and engaging giving it an intellect and something out of the ordinary appeal. To compliment it, the theme song of the show, Jace Everett's song 'Bad Things' is the perfect compliment to the opening credits, a montage of evocative photographs of the landscape and icons of the southern U.S. The images splice the evil with the mundane while displaying the duality of the series which include: pictures of religious icons such as churches and people being baptised in a river, voodoo, bars with drunk people shown in sexually suggestive predicaments, swamps and carcasses.