HBO: True Blood

[EricMontreal22]

I didn't see a thread for this yet.

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of SIx Feet Under and count it as probably my all time fave TV show. Alan Ball's new HBO drama is based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries books by Charlaine Harris which I've never read--abnd while a drama about vampires by Ball seems a bit weird, I was still pretty excited, even though the release date kept changing.

Anyway my sister was mentioning that her boyfriend downloaded a new show about vampires I might like starring Anna Paquin. The pilot has been leaked (you should know where ot find it) even though it doesn't premier till late September--I also noticed HBO has started a viral marketing campaign with adds for synthetic blood, etc. Anyway I'm sure you'll all hear my opinion on the pilot very soon--in a matter of hours

[EricMontreal22]

Absolutely brilliant I thought. I can't wait till September to see more.

And it has more than one soap actor connection (at least I think one of the girls is from Passions--I'm not good with that soap)

[EricMontreal22]

The viral ad and online component is actually pretty cool--and I have a habit of ignoring such presence. http://bloodcopy.com/?page_id=224 has a series of videos that track down a HardCopy type show sent to investigate what these mysterious ads mean. From there you can go to TruBeverage.com for the actual advertisements and quizes (I'm a Type B: Aggressive and Energizing TruBeverage drinker

http://bloodcopy.com

Fake TV commercials

American

French (more artsy!)

[EricMontreal22]

I've completley become obssessed with this show--it's funny Tara, played by the Passions actress I never could stand, is already a fave character. I also love how they changed the whimsical PG feel of the novels to a much harsher R rating, but in doing so added even more character and style to it. It already has elements I'm a sucker for--the doomed romance, the mystery, the gorey sex Ok maybe not that part but...

Oh and Lois Smith, perhaps my fave older character actress (from her Broadway work and her tons of Soap work most recently on OLTL) finally has a contract part and it's great

[EricMontreal22]

I still love the man but he loses points for never having seen Buffy

True Blood Has Own Vampire Mythology

Saturday 12 July 2008, by Webmaster

Alan Ball, creator of HBO’s new vampire drama True Blood, told SCI FI Wire that he didn’t know too much about vampire movies or lore, so he created his own mythology.

"In our world, a lot of the myths about vampires were created by vampires themselves over history so that they could pass, because if you could convince everyone that you couldn’t be seen in a mirror or that you would freak out if somebody shoved a crucifix in your face then you could prove you weren’t a vampire pretty easily," Ball said in interviews at the Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., on July 10.

Ball (Six Feet Under) said that he had never read an Anne Rice book and added: "I personally have never seen Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel. I’m not really a big vampire fan. This was really my first." But he is a big fan of Kathryn Bigelow’s 1987 film Near Dark, with Lance Henriksen.

As for CBS’ canceled vampire show Moonlight, Ball said, "I think it’s pretty lame when you let your vampire go out in the day just because you don’t want to shoot at night."

True Blood is based on the Southern Vampire series of books by Charlaine Harris. The show is set in Louisiana and centers on a parallel world of vampires, who have learned to co-exist with humans by drinking synthetic blood.

In his series, vampire teeth are important. "We went to great pains to sort of depict a certain kind of physiology for the fangs, where they actually are retracted like rattlesnake fangs and then they click forward," Ball said. "I wanted to approach the supernatural not as being something that exists outside of nature, but something that is more deeply rooted in nature."

Killing a vampire on True Blood is different, too. Ball said, "There are differences in what happens to vampires being staked. I wanted to avoid the instantaneous incineration or the instantaneous turning into dust. ... It’s probably different than what we’ve seen before."

Vampires do burn in True Blood. "What happens to vampires when they burn in a fire ... is different than what we’ve seen before, but for the most part I didn’t want to focus too much on visual effects or special effects," Ball said. "I wanted it to be a show about characters and to really explore what it means to be 170 years old and what it means to fall in love with somebody who [finds it] satisfying being fed upon, you know, not being able to see this person except at night, having the entire town think, ’What? Are you crazy?’"

The 12-episode first season of True Blood debuts on HBO on Sept. 7.

[EricMontreal22]

Well I guess the actress from Passions who played Tara who I was surprised how much I liked is out--she only did the pilot. I wonder why they recast her?

[Juliajms]

I'm definitely looking forward to this show. I have the first CH book, but I haven't read it yet. I think I will before this show starts, although if it's anything like Dexter it'll be nothing like the book.

[Sylph]

The show has a whole lot of writers I never heard anything about: Brian Buckner, Raelle Tucker, Alexander Woo, Chris Offutt, Nancy Oliver...

[EricMontreal22]

Nancy Oliver was one of the best writers at Six Feet Under I thought. I *think* she also comes from a stage background like Ball. SHe also wrote, or co wrote Lars and The Real Girl which I really didn't much like, but a lot of people did (she was nominated for an Oscar) so... I think I recognize some of the other names from SFU too... Anyway I'm all for having some fresh blood (no pun intended) on the show--it seems like you see the same tv writers over and over. But I admit I probably have a little too much blind faith in Ball and whatever team he heads.

Julia the first episode follows the first chapter or two of the novel VERY VERY closely, the episode is just darker and more explicit when it comes to the vampire sex and killings--and feels a bit more set in the "real world"--the novels kinda have a whimsical tone to them. I've heard that the show after the first mystery will deviate though.

(Apparantly Brian Bruckner was a main story editor on Spin City, The Class and... Joey. LOL oh well--Alan Ball's previous tv credits were all for Chuck Lorre sitcoms--he has many great horror stories about arguing with the star of Grace Under Fire over his scripts--just like Joss Whedon came from sitcoms so I guess I shouldn't judge too much. Chris Offutt is a fairly well respected sci fi/fantasy short story writer--I actually know one or two of his stories and he'll prob be a good fit if he can do dialogue. Raelle Tucker I know from Supernatural but I can't remember if she wrote anything I found particularly good--I watch Supernatural but it's not one of my "I love" shows and only sometimes really makes me pay attention. And no clue on Woo... )

[RobynIsHere]

I had planned on watching this show because of Brook Kerr, but as I was looking into the series today, I learned she'd been replaced!! Colour me uninterested now.

[EricMontreal22]

Your loss--it's a brilliant show (well a brilliant pilot) the best pilot I've seen in years. I am disappointed she was recast although I read it was Brook's decision when the writer's strike postponed the show.

[Juliajms]

When is it starting. I see some promo material on HBO on demand, but i don't see a premier date.

[EricMontreal22]

Sep 7

[mr. sweet]

I just saw the original pilot (the one with Brook Kerr as Tara). I loved the show. It ended with a cool cliffhanger and I loved all the characers. Sookie/Bill definitely got chemistry. Should be a good series.

[EricMontreal22]

Yeah it's a fantastic pilot--I almsot wish I ahdn't seen it cuz I already miss Brook Karr.

Some goodies that have popped up though:

New trailer

And a great piece with Alan Ball about the show and his career