True Blood - "The First Taste" - 9/14/08
 

"The First Taste"

I've actually heard very good things about the second ep as opposed to the first one, I'm interested to see how this one plays out.

As the first season is suppose to follow the first book almost chapter by chapter things are gonna keep getting better and better. I can't wait for the fourth episode!

6pm can't come fast enough.

Ill watch this show for the rest of my life as long as I get to see Anna Paquin in those little dresses.

I'm in the camp that really enjoyed the pilot, but I think tonight's episode was even better. The action was crisper and were getting a lot more chracter moments (which is the strength of the show).

Can't wait till next week!

This week was a little better, but still not a good show by any means. I really wasn't a fan of the effects used for Bill in action, and I find the Sam/dog thing to be both really obvious and far too over the top for my liking, werewolves are alright, but I don't like people turning into dogs, that's just too corny. The best friend is still too stereotypical, and the sex still seems out of place.

I really do like the entire vampire political movement though, that's really interesting, as was Bill for the most part in this episode. The character interactions certainly improved, and overall there was enough of an improvement from the pilot for me to come back again next week.

But, the teaser they showed for next week was awful in the sense that it was too erratic and all over the place. Plus, I'm not too keen on the idea of some sort of internal power struggle wit the vampires, let's keep the focus on vampires trying to fit into the human power structure, that's interesting.

Bill Thompson, please spoiler tag preview discussion. Some people don't watch them.

Please only read if you have read the third novel

Agreed. I think the cliffhanger endings also help bring me back.

She was looking real good in those dresses.

That summary in the first post, contains every major plot point!

I agree this week was solid (I liked the pilot) but two things bugged me.

The whole Jason bits are going to get old fast. It better go somewhere (there are hints of it) or it will be flat.

Second problem was the beginning of the episode. It went from "oh know I could die" to "I love you, who are you" in three seconds flat. That was pretty lame.

However the good out weigh the bad, and next weeks episode looks great. This is turning about to be better then expected given all the negative reviews.

I too am satisfied with how this show is playing out -- perhaps the low expectations I had initially helped. ;)

I liked it. It reminds me of old-school Doctor Who.

I agree with a lot of what's already been said. Bill and Sookie ARE the show. When they're not on screen, I'm checking my watch or doing things around the house until they are. I'm sure this stems from the comic book nerd in me, but the meat & bones of what it means to be a vampire and the details of how it all works was extremely interesting, as was his story of the Civil War and his recollections of their ancestors. It was also slightly cute in a puppy-dog kinda fashion the way he was talking about his father's slaves. Sort of divorced from the awfulness of owning another person, he was just giving them his recollections.

Speaking of puppy dogs, Sookie's boss needs to get clipped by a truck on the interstate. That story is boring, obvious and creepy. Tara, too, needs to be shot in the head by her fake-merc husband. Every time she opens her mouth I feel like she's setting the civil rights movement back a decade. She's like the white people in Spike Lee movies, and she needs to go away. The cook, on the other hand, continues to crack me up. He just does not care about any of this other bullshit melodrama. He's just doing his thing.

On the other hand, we've got the brother. Jason is retarded. I mean that in ever definition and colloquial use of the word. He got one laugh out of me - when he pointed to himself in the mirror while doggy'ing the waitress slut - but other than that I'm done with the character. Does he just exist to allow some T&A into the show (and not even GOOD T&A! Sure, women always walk around with their muffin hanging out but have crazy, wild sex with a sports bra on... :rolleyes: ) and to give Bill someone to quietly intimidate?

In conclusion, "the Bill & Sookie show" is quite enjoyable, but this "True Blood" farce... not a fan.


-Doc

Eh, to me it seemed forced, but looking back on it, that is the way Sookie is written/played, so in a way it does make sense. Other than Jason, that was the only thing that bothered me.

Great second outing. With that accent, Anna Paquin is more and more bearing a resemblance to her movie mom from "The Piano."
The 'dog painting' thing was too big of a hint.

It is the performances of Paquin and Moyer - and the chemistry between their 'Sucky'/Bill - that has got me hooked. But I'm also still trying to warm up to the rest of the supporting cast -- Tara needs to be turned down a couple of notches (just grating and stereotypical).

Watched the first two episodes back-to-back, and enjoyed them both.

It's good, trashy vampire entertainment. Though the whole vampire-as-gay metaphor is laid on a bit too thick.

And I hope that thing about Sookie not being a real blond and having a big black bush is foreshadowing. :drool:

The genealogy nerd in me was totally geeking out in that moment. How cool would it be to meet someone, vampire or not, who not only lived during that time, but actually knew your ancestors. I would have been asking him a lot more questions than the grandmother was.

Tara bugged me a little less this episode. They at least fleshed her out a little more.

I didn't like the ending of the episode. The vampires seemed to be too over-the-top, almost like it was a bad dream sequence.

I completely agree. They keep showing efforts by activists to give vampires more rights in society and to have them treated more like normal people, yet every single vampire they show save Bill has been portrayed as a complete savage. I would think that any society ready to talk about giving rights to some group of "people" would have them much more assimilated into the culture than what has been portrayed so far on the show.

Agreed! I know the names going back a few generations, and I've been to my great-grandfather's stone cottage in Ireland (complete with the original tin roof he put on it right before leaving for the states), but it's all just cold facts. Unfortunately, due to illiteracy and poor record keeping, much of the nitty-gritty is lost to time. Imagine meeting someone who was on the boat and actually spoke to him during the trip. I find that idea endlessly fascinating and compelling.


Agreed once again. Why is it in movies when people are bitten by vampires they suddenly start "acting" like vampires? It's one of the reasons Buffy (and moreso Angel) was so original and enjoyable was that the Vampires retained the personality (for the most part) of the person they were. An awkward nerd is still going to be an awkward nerd, just with sharper incisors.

I suspect that these three are just taking the piss out of Sooky. If that's really how they are, they should ease up on the Ann Rice books.


-Doc

LOL, I actually started laughing. I thought they were being over the top to be funny before I realized that they were being serious.

I agree with others about Paquin. Let's face it, the lady just doesn't have a pretty face. (Why the hell doesn't she fix her front teeth; I'm sure she can afford it!) But in those little dresses and with her hair down, she looks smokin' hot.

I liked this episode quite abit more than the pilot.

Not true at all. So far we've seen:

1. Vampire Spokeslady
2. Bubba
3. Bill
4. Bald Tattooed Guy

Only one of those showed any "savage" characteristics (Tattooed Guy). He was also one of the vampires at the end of the episode, and I suspect that they are "vamping" for Sookie. I have no doubt that the cliffhanger will have an anti-climatic resolution.

Also, for the record "Sookie Stackhouse" is one of the worst character names I've ever seen in fiction.

It shouldn't be that obvious though, not in good storytelling at least. Hide it at little bit, layer it, make it matter when the reveal actually does occur.