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I’m
still furious with
Stephanie Meyer, the
author of
Twilight.
She started the damn
vampire genre and
her work isn’t
fading out anytime
soon. Of course
there have been tons
of movies to
capitalize on the
whole vampire angle
but there’s also
been a couple of TV
shows too. WB’s
Vampire Diaries
and HBO’s original
series
True
Blood.
Of course
True
Blood
is far and away the
better series
because nothing’s
toned down and it’s
made by HBO, but
hey… that’s just me.
The
True
Blood
series is based on
the Sookie
Stackhouse series by
author Charlaine
Harris; another very
popular vampire book
series. If you
haven’t seen the
first two seasons of
the show the setup
is pretty similar.
Vampires came out
into society out of
the shadows after a
product called True
Blood was discovered
by Japanese
scientists. True
Blood has all of the
qualities of normal
blood… except it’s
synthetic. This
allowed vampires to
come out into the
open and start
interacting with
humans. The story
takes place in Bon
Temps, Lousiana and
follows
waitress/telepath
Sookie Stackhouse as
she falls in love
with a vampire
trying to
mainstream, Bill
Compton. His world
merges with hers and
some crazy things go
down in Bon Temps
with vampires and
other supernatural
beings.
After
the second season of
the show, Bon Temps’
citizens have grown
weary of vampires
and maenads but
they’re now pretty
familiar with
vampires and less
surprised by their
acts. All of the
characters are set
up and they’re all
coming to some huge
crossroads. Jason;
Sookie’s brother is
attempting to turn
his life around and
do some good for
once. Tara;
Sookie’s
best friend, is
attempting to become
independent and is
dealing with a
considerable amount
of grief. Bill
Compton; He’s trying
to lead a normal
life with Sookie,
but he’s realizing
that it probably
won’t happen. And
Sookie; she’s
getting used to
seeing dead bodies
and she’s getting
tired of vampire
politics. And the
vampires; well they
snarl and make
brooding faces.
That’s just
scratching the
surface on a number
of great characters
that
True
Blood
offers and doesn’t
touch on what
happens in season
two or season three
because I don’t want
to give it away for
anybody out there.
True
Blood
is an HBO original
series, so of course
it’s good. The
acting is all
fabulous from Anna
Paquin in the lead
down to Australian
Ryan Kwanten as
Jason. There’s not a
weak link in the
cast or crew with
this series and it’s
enjoyable to watch.
What’s really
outstanding about
the show is the
overall production.
The settings are all
perfect, the cast is
all perfect, and
even the effects are
great. They’ve got a
camp feel to them
but they also look
very real and very
brutal on top of
that. Plus the
writing stays true
to the source
material but it also
changes things up
enough so people who
read the books can
be excited and
shocked by what’s
happening in the
show too.
As
for what’s wrong
with
True
Blood…
There’s not a ton to
complain about, but
I will say that at
times it gets hard
to follow what
exactly is going on
from episode to
episode. The other
thing is that it
almost abandons the
synthetic vampire
blood concept that
sprung up in the
first season.
There’s hardly a
mention of that in
season one, and
really other than a
few character ideas
there’s not a lot of
carryover from
season to season…
it’s almost like a
fresh start. The
series is still
excellent but you’d
like to see a how
the events happening
in Bon Temps are
affecting the
characters a little
bit more.
The
third season of
True
Blood
on Blu-ray has
fantastic picture
and sound. The sound
is the most
impressive.
Everything’s
perfectly balanced
and mastered through
DTS and you’ll hear
some great back
channel things when
watching. The
picture is also
solid with
little-to-no grain,
something that’s
really hard to do
with a show that has
so much darkness to
it.
As
far as extras,
True
Blood: The Complete
Third Season
is
stacked with them.
There are
commentaries for six
of the twelve shows.
There are ‘Post-Moderm’
promo spots that are
great to watch as a
transition from show
to show. There’s
also the ‘True Blood
Lines’ interactive
feature that helps
you follow all of
the supernatural
beings in
True
Blood
and how they relate
to other characters.
There’s also an
‘Enhanced Viewing
Experience’ that
helps out with some
of that carryover
and has character
insights on events
happening in and
around them in a
picture-in-picture
view.. For extra
content there are
tons here that fans
of the show will
love.
True
Blood: The Complete
Third Season
isn’t as good as the
first season but
it’s a definite
improvement over the
second season of the
show. We dive
further into the
world of Bon Temps
and we get to know
about a few other
supernatural
creatures other than
vampires. Old
characters get new
qualities and new
characters get
introduced too. It’s
a thrilling twelve
episode season and
by the end of it
you’ll be ready to
watch the season 4
premiere on HBO.
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