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76%
Overall Rating
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Ranked #617
...out of 14,101 movies
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Set in modern times, vampires roam the earth and are humans mortal enemies. However, a substitute has been found for human blood, a substitute that vampires can consume with the same effect as human blood. This is True Blood. Now humans and vampires can coexist in harmony, and even form relationships. But there will always be rogue elements on both sides ready to exploit the uneasy truce.
--IMDb
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Review by Chad
Added: September 21, 2009
As I mentioned in my review for the first season of True Blood, I was quite shocked that I not only sat down and watched the show, but enjoyed the hell out of it. I'm typically not a fan of anything involving vampires unless said product is exceptionally well done, and when it comes to television series, I'm even more picky; after all, I'm not going to dedicate twelve-plus hours to something just because it sounds "alright" or "decent enough." So, a television series about vampires... well, what are the odds? It goes without saying that I did eventually watch a few episodes thanks to the woman of the house expressing an interest in the show, and from there, I was hooked. I loved the first season, and although I can't say that it was perfect in every way, it left me yearning for another season of Sookie, Bill, religious zealots, Southern bumpkins, and of course, plenty of vampires. The season finale is now in the books, and once again, I can't wait to check out the next season.
I'm going to recycle my "standard disclaimer" from the series of reviews I did for Lost, and it goes a little something like this: I'm going to be spoiling the shit out of the first season, so if you're reading this without having seen that season for some ungodly reason, you may want to stop now. Also, while I won't be presenting any major spoilers for the second season in this review, I will be discussing some of the events that lay the groundwork for this season; after all, it would be sort of hard to talk about the season at hand without pointing out where the story goes.
So, as the first season wrapped up, we saw the feet of a corpse hanging out of a car in Merlotte's parking lot, a pair of feet that belonged to a black person... leaving us to wonder for half a year if said feet belonged to the lovable Lafayette. Thankfully, they didn't: they belonged to Miss Jeanette, who the sharper readers will remember as the phony exorcist that "saved" Tara's mother. Not only is this woman dead, but she also has had her heart ripped out, so it becomes readily apparent that there is a new killer on the loose in this town. The big question now is "was whatever did this human"?
Meanwhile, Tara is still living with Maryann (Michelle Forbes), who we quickly learn has a bit of a "hypnotic" personality. It seems that the woman is fond of throwing huge parties, and the strangest thing is that these parties almost always turn into full-blown orgies. Imagine that. Tara believes that she should get away from this woman, but of course, Maryann is quite convincing when she wants to be, and Tara isn't the only person to discover this trait of hers as it seems that she also has a history with Sam... and she may be in town because of him and his shapeshifting abilities.
Jason heads off to Texas to join the Church of the Sun, a group of religious zealots who are hellbent on exterminating vampires off the face of God's green earth, and a group that is also run by the son of a certain priest who was just killed in an unfortunate traffic accident. Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll), the young teen that Bill was forced to turn into a vampire, is finding her way thanks to the help of Bill and Sookie, and she even discovers a thing or two about love... love with a human, no less. Godric (Allan Hyde), the vampire sheriff of Texas, has turned up missing and Eric believes that the aforementioned church may have something to do with it. This leads us to Bill and Sookie, the stars of the show, who Eric turns to for help. Eric believes that Sookie will be able to get to the bottom of this with her telepathic powers, so he sends the two off to Texas to see what they can find. What they find is... well, I'm getting a little too deep into the storyline, but it's a winner in my book.
It may seem like there's a lot going on throughout the season, and truthfully, there is, but it all gels together so well that you really can't fault the show for it. Each and every last one of these storyline arcs are both entertaining and intriguing, and regardless of which one is playing out on your screen at any given moment, you're going to be salivating to find out what happens with it next. It's not unusual for a television series to bombard us with numerous plots and have them all develop beside one another, but it is rather unusual for each and every last one of them to be such a hit.
I've not read the books, so really, I can't compare the two versions of the story and the characters within. What I can say is that I couldn't imagine anyone else playing the lead roles, and when I do get a chance to sit down with the novels, I'll be picturing Sookie as looking like Anna Paquin, Bill as looking like Stephen Moyer, and so on down the list. These fine actors made the characters their own, and though I've heard rumblings that the show isn't entirely faithful to the books in terms of appearances and attitudes, it works out marvelously on the screen... and isn't that all that really matters?
The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of this season was the way that the Church of the Sun sort of disappears with nary a mention after a particular event. It seemed like there was more to this story and it should have been developed a little further (I can't explain much without huge spoilers), and just when it should have really gotten good, it was pushed to the side and forgotten about. I imagine that they will be making another appearance in season three, but I would have loved a little more closure - even if it was temporary - in this particular season.
Regardless of that one gripe, I think that I actually enjoyed this season more than the first. It delivered everything that the first did, but the stories were just a little more interesting, the characters a little more developed, and the cliff-hangers... my word, the cliff-hangers. I think that the fifth season of Lost outshines True Blood in terms of "I have to wait how long to see where it goes from there!?", but only by a hair. You can bet your ass that I'll be parked in front of the TV come June, and if you sit through this season, you'll undoubtedly say the same. 9/10.
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#1:
Crispy
- added 09/21/2009, 10:26 PM
I really didn't find the Church of the Sun angle
that interesting, and as such, didn't enjoy this
season nearly as much as I did the first. Still a
worth while half day in front of the tube however.
As for the Church "sort of disappearing"
afterwards, it kind of makes sense considering
just what they were dealing with when they return
from Dallas. Especially when you consider that
this only a day or two.
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#2:
Griffinheart
- added 09/21/2009, 10:56 PM
I thought the church story arc was decent enough,
but I couldn't really stand Maryann. After the
first time or two you see her, you know how every
scene she's in is going to go. I definitely
enjoyed the season, but I can't really give it
more than a 7.5-8 out of 10.
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#3:
Lucid Dreams
- added 09/22/2009, 10:40 AM
The church of the sun had it's good points and
bad. I just wish Godric was more of a main
character, but other then that I though it was a
good season. 9/10
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#4:
Tristan
- added 10/07/2009, 07:36 PM
Aside from Evan Rachel Wood showing up and doing a
horrific job of her role, I didn't have a single
complaint about this season. All the acting was
superb, the storylines were great, and indeed
meshed together very well. Almost every episode
ended with a cliffhanger, adding to the charm of
the series and making me wanting more. Come next
summer, I will definitely be all over the third
season.
9/10
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#5:
Griffinheart
- added 10/07/2009, 09:37 PM
I often thought the plot was a bit weak (maybe due
to how the whole season only covered the events of
a few days), but it's a testament to how well the
characters are written that I still loved this
show.
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