Late to the Party: HBO's True Blood
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TV: Since the wife and I have recently re-joined Netflix, we've been trying to catch up on things we've missed. The most recent disc to ship from our queue was Season 1 of HBO’s True Blood.
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I was a huge fan of the books this series was based on. In fact, I can clearly remember finding Dead until Dark by accident as I was scanning the shelves of a local bookstore during my lunch break. I can remember where it was in the store, who was working that day, and I certainly recall how much of an impact it had on me.
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I thought Charlaine Harris had crafted an incredibly wonderful book, and if I had not read her work, I sincerely doubt that I would have been motivated enough to start writing on my own. She had such a down-to-earth style, so relatable and approachable, yet interesting and engaging on every level. I liked it so much, I even bought multiple copies and give them to friends, and that is something I almost never, ever do.
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Unfortunately, I felt that the books started heading downhill around the time Ms. Harris hit sequel 4 or 5, but my appreciation for the first few volumes will never fade.
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With all that said, I've been quite eager to see how the books translated to the small screen, and after watching episodes one and two, I'm kind of questioning my decision to watch it.
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Episode one left me especially cold. I didn't feel like any of the characters were particularly well-cast, and beyond that, there was something irritating or offputting about each one. Anna Paquin isn't even remotely close to what I had envisioned Sookie Stackhouse as, honestly.
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…And yes, I am completely aware that that sort of statement is commonly made by any fan of a book that becomes a movie or TV show.
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The whole vibe of the first two episodes didn't seem to capture what I liked about the books so much; Sookie’s personality, her human qualities, and how believable she was despite the fantastic situations that happen in the series. In the show, I feel as though she's almost secondary, or at least only as important as the rest of the cast, and not the central figure that it seems she should be. Other things seem off, like the incredibly overt lighting and the typical HBO motif of ‘add sex’ to every show, even if it's not honestly necessary. I'm not a horny teenager anymore and I have free access to the Internet, so I don't need people screwing on-screen unless it really fits.
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I don't mean to seem like I'm passing final judgment because I've heard from other people that the series gets a lot better in the later episodes and we are now moving onto the next disc, but the initial impression of the show left a fairly queer taste in my mouth. Hopefully the spirit of the books will be more accurately captured, or at least the show will find a rhythm of its own.
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…And yes, I am also completely aware that we are coming to this show quite late to the party, so if you've been following the series and are caught up on the episodes, feel free to drop me a line and let me know how it develops.
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That's interesting. Clara has been bugging me to watch True Blood for a while now. She read the book before watching the show and insists the show is superior to the book in every way. She told me she finds the show to be complex and fleshed out in ways the book is not.
I have no opinion on it myself, since I haven't read the book or watched the show. But I'm sort of intrigued as to how two intelligent people I know could view the same thing so differently.
Just passed by the local bookstore a while ago and saw a copy of the book, only to be bummed that the cover art is the picture of the TV show, which, while a minor problem, is enough for me to not buy it. -_-. Anyway, do I have to read all the books to have a proper closure for all conflicts of the first book?
Matt> I'm certainly not going to argue with Clara, but I guess it depends on what you want out of the show. ^_^
For me, what I liked best about the books was the relationship between the two main characters (Sookie and Bill) and how this relationship felt very natural and true-to-life despite the fact that Bill is a vampire and there are all sorts of goings-on in the town. The balance between the fantastic and the mundane was extremely well-done, IMO.
As I stated in the original post, it seems as though True Blood is more of an ensemble show which probably goes a long way towards explaining why Clara (and many others) feel that it's more fully-realized than the books… but then again, I never read the books looking for a fully-realized vampire/human world, it was always about the characters themselves.
I don't want to completely shoot my mouth off since I've only seen two episodes (the next disc in the series should be getting here tomorrow, courtesy of Netflix) but like I said, I was fairly put off by the casting which makes the characters already partially unlikable to me, and that the entire focus of the book series doesn't seem to have translated to the small screen the way I would have done it myself.
Either way, I've heard that the show gets a lot better in later episodes and I am certainly open to seeing what it's got to offer despite my initial misgivings. Fingers crossed.
Nightdreamer> I totally understand. I never buy books that feature the TV cast. It makes the book seem kind of cheap, doesn't it?
Anyway, I think you would be in fine shape buying just the first book. Although certain plot lines carry over into the sequels, the first book is fairly complete in and of itself and you won't be missing much by stopping after reading it.
Like I said, only the first two or three were really that good… it starts going downhill in a big way after that. I almost sort of wish I hadn't read the later books. = (