True Blood - Alan Ball's New HBO Show

[aenemaTron]

AKA "Six Feet Over"

Because it's about Vampires. Thank you.

Legit Vampires! Out in public! Appearing on Bill Maher! Buying Japanese fake blood product!

The premiere aired last night, and I thought it was a little silly but kind of hot and definitely intriguing. I'll at least watch one or two more. I found the sassy black friend annoying but they'll probably settle her down after the pilot.

[bao]

I did not like this much at all. But then, I don't care for vampires and their genre, nor am I a huge Alan Ball fan. I'm also not a huge fan of cringingly bad southern accents. Or sassy black friends. Thumbs down. Way down.

Though a Frank Sobotka sighting made my heart smile, if only for a minute.

(Paranthetical edit, because I don't want to derail the thread -- despite my lukewarm feelings toward Alan Ball, his new movie, Towelhead, has me intrigued. Anyone know anything about it?)

[aenemaTron]

I don't see how the parentheses help not derail.

I agree, though, about the accents. I wish they didn't have to do that.

[smartbunny]

I was not thrilled with TrueBlood but I am willing to watch some more. After all, I watched about ten eps of John From Cincinnati before I gave up/they cancelled it. Bill is unlikeable. Anna Paquin is cute.

[ProfessorShutYoMouth]

Yeah, I really did not like the first episode. I find myself completely uninterested in the vampire part of the whole thing because it does not feel like they are taking it very seriously. However, I am interested in Anna Paquin's mind reading abilities.

I third the sentiment about bad Southern accents and have to say that I felt a tinge of...irritation...when they showed Bill Maher interviewing the vampire advocate. There is something about that trick of "let's take a current media personality and inject them into our imaginary world" that just bugs the hell out of me.

[smartbunny]

Plus Bill Maher would totally dig vampire chicks.

I like vamps as underground subcultures, not mainstream Wal-Mart shoppers.

[dan telfer]

Something about the whole thing sounds like the over the top fake commercials in the Six Feet Under pilot.

Vampires! They wanna bite you! Teehee! REALISM!

[samishah]

Bah! The title sequence for this is so damned good that it really promises a better show. Anna Paquin's character was grating, everyone seemed like a cliche, and the acting is truly sub-par.

I so wanted this to be good. If they had instead gone big picture, focusing more on the socio-political aspects of vamp integration into society and such it would have been a damn sight more interesting. Watched two episodes at this and have been wondering why I even bothered. So disappointing.

[priceyeah]

Anna Paquin seems like she might be a good actress but not really. She never lets you settle into the reality of her character IMO.

[crlygrl]

OK so that main vampire (Bill?) is definitely one of the hottest things on TV, but 80% of the show is poorly written like a Showtime show. The grandmother and brother characters are hard to watch at times.

But I'll keep watching. Because I think I'm in love.

[littlegirltree]

HBO Presents: Alan Ball's XMen
See Anna Paquin morph from Rogue to Jean Grey!
Mutant Rights, Ya'll!

[TimBuktu]

How many times are they going to show the clip of a vampire speed humping some lady? The accents are embarassing, most of the acting is terrible and the dialogue is stupid. The sassy black girl seems like an inside joke.

I'm off the train with this show.

[smartbunny]

I don't find Bill hot. If he were Spike, that would be something. If he were Angel, that would be less but still something. I'm not caring about this show yet.

[TomHicks]

I think HBO should consider expanding the creative stable from which it draws. Two big whiffs from Ball and Milch in their follow-ups to classic shows. (I am looking forward to Milch's undercover cop in the '70s show, though.)

[crlygrl]

Personally I think they should just bring Deadwood back for 2 more seasons.

[yumitree]

i'm going to give this show one more chance because i find anna pacquin gap-toothedly attractive, but it's been pretty bad so far. both the vampires and the accents have been laughably horrible and i agree that a show revolving around the socio-political ramifications of vampire acceptance would be much more interesting that incomprehensible mind-reading, vampire sex, and a southern gay stereotype fanning himself.

[Cameron]

but 80% of the show is poorly written like a Showtime show. .

Maybe I missed the memo on this, but Showtime shows are poorly written?

Dexter certainly has it's eye-rolling moments, but overall I think it's very well written, and so are Weeds and Californication.

[KeithTalent]

I am interested to see where this goes. I think it could be good. Paquin's hotness sure doesn't hurt. I don't agree that the writing's bad, I think people are expecting the wrong tone from this show. I mean each episode ends with a cliffhanger

[crlygrl]

Maybe I missed the memo on this, but Showtime shows are poorly written?

Dexter certainly has it's eye-rolling moments, but overall I think it's very well written, and so are Weeds and Californication.

I agree with you on Weeds... But every Showtime drama I've watched is missing something that HBO shows usually aren't. They usually have good actors, so it would have to be the writing.

[I love nny]

Yeah the accents make me cringe and add a cartoonish vibe to the entire show. Definitely missed the mark but I like Bill (for some undefinable reason)