Why So Blu?

True Blood is Truly Entertaining

What’s that saying our parents and teachers would angrily ask us when we were younger?  “If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you do it too??”  If the cast of True Blood jumped, then apparently I’m going to follow.  I don’t watch many television shows.  I used to watch Sportscenter religiously but that has since fallen by the wayside for me.  Then there was The Office.  I enjoyed a few seasons of that but eventually grew tired of watching standard definition dvd’s.  Next was a little HBO gem called The Sopranos.  I loved this show, but as I do not get HBO and I’m forced to watch this on a heavily censored A&E channel, the series tends to lose it’s luster when Tony says, “I’m gonna break your freakin’ legs,” while his lips move to the rhythm of another word.  Oh, and it’s another show where most of its seasons are confined to dvd.

That brings us to today and this vampire craze that seems to have gotten out of control.  Didn’t we just go through one of these in the 90’s when An Interview with a Vampire came out and every fang-laden thing followed?  I’m not for or against vamp stories.  If the thing is good, it’s good.  I just get turned off when the market gets flooded with too much of one thing.  The talent and entertainment value gets watered down as a result.  Then came along a TV show called True Blood.  When the show was airing in its inaugural season, the viewing public was one step away from near-orgasmic reactions.  Give me a break, folks.  It can’t be that good, can it?  After all, how would I know?  I don’t get HBO!  So eventually this is where the ‘if everyone jumped off a bridge’ comment comes into play.  After attending the 2009 Spike TV Scream Awards, I couldn’t help but notice the red carpet media and googly-eyed audience were all gaga over the cast and its creator, Alan Ball.  That’s when I caved in.  My curiosity was struck and everyone around me was in lust with the show, so I figured there must be something there.  After returning from the awards that night, I promptly jumped on Amazon and bought Season 1 on Blu-ray for a mere $33.99.  What a bargain!  We’re already off to a good start.

After coming back home to Ohio (man I really miss LA), I found time to start watching episode one of this much-hailed series.  I was hooked…an instant addict…like Charlie Sheen to a Hollywood hooker.  This show thrives for a variety of reasons and credit simply cannot be given to a sole name.  Alan Ball is the creator so big props go to him for his undeniable creativity and imagination.  Next is composer Nathan Barr who always seems to fill just the right mood and tone with the show’s music.  Finally there are the writers and the cast.  These two groups of people are inseparable as their symbiotic relationship in the show’s delivery is simply stellar.  The stories are magnetic and very real (vampires aside) proving that yes, everybody has issues along with some f*^*^* up aspect in their lives.  The acting is just brilliant and unshakably solid as it carries scripted dialogue to our televisions with humor (big nod to Lafayette here), drama, romance and any other emotion you can think of.  The actors have such chemistry with one another and this is just another facet that adds to the convincing realism of each scene.

I’m up to episode 8 now and I find myself daydreaming at work sometimes wondering when I’ll have time to watch it again.  ‘Eager’ is an understatement.  Now I understand why everybody else got all giddy at Comic-Con this year when the slightest mention of True Blood fell from someone’s lips.  This is one hell of a television show; fan-friggin-tastic to the end.  As soon as I wrap up Season 1, I’m on board to head back over to Amazon and grab Season 2.  Why don’t I have it now?  Because that’s like giving a king-size Snickers to a fat kid.  Too much of a good thing can be bad.  I still need to focus at work.  So, in closing, if you have some interest in this show but have never seen it, I encourage you to bite the bullet (or a neck in this case) and buy Season 1 on Blu-ray.  You have no idea what you are missing.