Having read — and fallen in love with – 8 of the 9 Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris (I’m saving the latest for my vacation next week) featuring telepathic Louisiana barmaid Sookie Stackhouse and her vampire, shapeshifter, and faerie friends, I was curious about the HBO series True Blood, based on the books, which premiered in Fall 2008. Not curious enough to purchase a subscription to HBO or break any laws, I waited for the DVD. It came out recently, and I watched all 12 episodes of the first season over the course of a week.
I’m going to a premiere party for Season Two tonight, so I thought I would express my thoughts about the adaptation here rather than annoy people in person later (the other guests haven’t read the books).
What I liked:
1. Casting. Perfectly cast were Stephen Moyer (Bill), Ryan Kwanten (Jason), Sam Trammell (Sam), Chris Bauer (Andy Bellefleur), Lois Smith (Adele Stackhouse), and Alexander Skargard (Eric Northman). Even the minor characters were cast to perfection, especially Carrie Preston (Arlene), Michael Raymond-James (Rene), Jim Parrack (Hoyt Fortenberry), and Todd Lowe (Terry Bellefleur). Anna Paquin (Sookie) did grow on me, although I still wouldn’t call that perfect casting — she’s a good actor, but just not beautiful or statuesque enough to fit my personal image of the character.
2. Sets and setting. Places like Sookie’s house, Merlotte’s, Bill’s house, and Sam’s trailer, were exactly as described in the books and as I had pictured them, with additional touches that enhanced them.
3. The expansion of Jason’s storyline worked for me, mostly, thanks to the engaging performance of Ryan Kwanten. Same for Lafayette’s expanded storyline.
4. The violence of some* scenes was more visceral and scary than in the books, and I enjoyed that. I’m thinking of the Ratrays’ attack on Bill, or Sookie’s visit to Bill’s house when he’s entertaining the bad vamps. (*but see #4 below) The Vamps’ super fast movement was portrayed well.
5. Music: sometimes a bit heavy handed (playing “Devil in Disguise” when the murderer is shown with Sookie) , but a fun addition. Playing the Bangles’ Eternal Flame when Lafayette was about to have sex with his dorky vamp john was inspired. Same for Bill’s Tuvan throat music and Amy’s Joan Baez.
What didn’t work:
1. Tara. This was one character expansion that failed utterly. I was bored or annoyed every time Tara was on screen. I hated Tara’s “attitude”. Tara’s vomit eating mother. Tara’s crush on Jason. Tara’s having sex with Sam (!!!!!!! — hate that storyline!). We fast forwarded through her scenes at the halfway point in the season.
2. It’s an ensemble. Sookie is just one among many characters. Jason and Tara get more screen time than Sookie. My favorite thing about the books is Sookie’s first person point of view. I am in love with her character, her view of the world, her personal growth. So for me, this show can never compare to the books for that reason alone.
3. Lack of humor. In the books, especially the first few, Sookie often overhears amusing thoughts, and her own take on the world is often humorous. There’s a quirkiness and a fantasy element that get almost entirely lost on the show. In True Blood, everything Sookie “hears” is vile. Even the irrepressible Eric is a big downer. It’s a lot darker than the books, which leads me to …
4. The show is unnecessarily and gratuitiously sexually explicit. Ditto for its goriness. I suppose folks want to make full use of the medium, but it’s not for me. This change in tone is signaled by the change in cover from the original to the show tie in:
5. The sweat. Every character, in every scene, has a layer of sweaty sheen, and the men usually have armpit stains, regardless of whether they are working out or sleeping. Hair is also often greasy, especially on the men. No one looks clean in Bon Temps. I get it. It’s hot. But is there no A/C? As a bonus, everyone’s skin appears very bad. Am thinking of sending a case of Proactiv to the cast.
6. The Tribunal storyline. I am not one of those people who thinks film adaptations must be literally faithful to the book. Doing that often ends up being less faithful to the spirit of the book and shows a failure of imagination. But how on earth could it make sense that Bill would get in trouble for killing a vampire who stole from his vampire elder? If anything, Eric would be grateful to Bill.
In sum, I can’t say I was all that engaged. The show often seemed quite boring, actually. Was it because I had read the books, and knew how much of Sookie’s characterization was missing? I don’t know. The most interesting thing to me at this point is comparing the adaptation to the books. I can’t say if that will be enough to keep me watching.
I’ve got to get offline and think of something red to make for the party tonight. We have red lettuce and radishes growing in our garden, but something tells me they won’t do. Any ideas??
The first thing that comes to mind for a red food is one of my favorites – red velvet cake.
I’ve mostly heard the show True Blood isn’t all that good, but I do really need to read the first book at some point. Every time you mention them, I get more intrigued.
Thanks for this!! As DH and I ponder our netflix queue, this is the exact thing I was wondering. (Though, now that the last season of our ultra-violent cop show fave, The Shield, just came out, we’re good for a while.) But then…but then…
Okay, I see that it is worse than the book. And boring but possibly due to the goodness of the book. Would a man like it? How about a couple who tends to dislike Alan Ball’s work in general, and American Beauty in particular? But girl a Sookie fan?
Signed,
Wondering
PS: how about a nice caprese or capri salad? Wonderful when the tomatoes are in season, and very easy to make. I ditch the fresh mozzerella for normal mozzerella, since the latter actually has a taste. Great spooned over french bread. Email if you want the recipe.
Cherry crisp? Jar of salsa and a bag of those luridly dyed red chips? Pitcher of cosmos?
I’ve got season one coming from Netflix this week so this is all very interesting to me. I picture Sookie like Virginia Madsen c. 1984 (Electric Dreams!) so Anna Paquin, as lovely and talented as she is, is hard to reconcile.
Severed finger cookies, if you don’ t mind Hallowe’ en in June.
A few more ideas for red/mostly red foods:
Salsa and red chips (already mentioned)
Strawberry shortcake
Marinara sauce and breadsticks
Red jello
Red hotdogs
Raspberry/strawberry pie
If all else fails, there is always the Heinz ketchup cake: http://www.canada.com/life/food/Would+like+ketchup+with+your+cake/1545648/story.html
ITA with you about Tara. I know that some have praised Ball’s choice in making her AA, but IMO it’s such a badly stereotyped character and scenery chewing performance, that I find it insulting at best.
As for the indulgence in gore and sex, IMO that’s Ball’s “fun factor” with the series, his “something new” brought to the table. The way he sort of glorifies and horrifies simultaneously is signature Ball, IMO, and while I don’t think it’s incompatible with Harris’s books, I also see it as something that distinguishes the two visions and makes Ball’s version *clearly* an interpretation and adaptation.
I don’t find the series nearly as subtle as Harris’s books, which is typical of my response to these kinds of adaptations, but in this case, I wonder if the heavy-handedness of Ball’s series — as entertaining as I find it — doesn’t conform more closely to the stereotypes people have about popular fiction than Harris’s books, which are IMO, very nuanced in the questions they raise about identity, otherness, goodness, and virtue.
But I’m still stoked that season 2 starts tonight. Now if only the new season of Mad Men were here, too, I’d be as happy as happy could be w/ summer tv.
One of my friends loves True Blood. I haven’t watched it all yet because last year I didn’t get HBO. I do get HBO now, though (yay), and I DVR’d the second season premier, so I’ll see how it goes. I’m actually not a big fan of the books because they’re a little too dark and dismal for me–if the show is even worse, I don’t think I’m going to like it.
@ Carolyn Crane (CJ):
I thought American Beauty was cliched, trite, and way overrated. I never watched 6 Feet Under. Having watched the premiere of Season 2 last night, I am confirmed in my view that the show is “just ok”. For me, the draw is watching how the books are brought to life.
But I was in a room full of people who think the books are boring and the show rules (this is my personal version of hell, I discovered). So who knows?
Robin wrote:
Yeah, I was wondering about the “angry black woman” stereotype and how she was playing into it.
Robin wrote:
These are great points. Thanks for helping me understand it better.
I think my biggest gripe is the violence that has been done to Harris’s vampire world building. That scene in a car lot (the Tribunal) was more like something out of Mad Max than Harris’s vamps. The show makes it seem like there are no divisions within the vamp community, which is totally wrong. Vamps do NOT look out for each other!
And what they did to Eric last night! He wants to be a successful entrepreneur. He’s not interested in killing humans to avenge vamps. Why would selfish Eric give a shit about that? He is all about Eric.
@ Kristen:
@ RfP:
@ Kristen:
@ Marsha:
Thanks for the ideas! At the time I posted, it was pouring rain and I was sure soccer would be canceled, but I was wrong. I ended up on a wet soccer field all day with no time to cook, so I did bring the radishes and red lettuce from our garden — with a raspberry vinaigrette.
See I love True Blood but I haven’t read the books. However, I have a long standing theory that if there is a film/TV version of anything you should probably watch it first THEN read the book or else you will be bound for disappointment as in the Great Disgust Over the House of the Spirits circa the mid-1990′s or the My God, Does British Wit Not Translate into Anime, Howl’s Moving Castle? Debacle.
There are really few films/TV series in which I read the book first and was not utterly disappointed by the film. I could probably list them on one hand and not use all of my fingers, either.
Or, as Beckett once said, list them on the fingers of one badly damaged hand?
Angela, I think your theory is a good one. I read Golden Bowl after the movie, and I know I would’ve hated it the other way around.
The only example where I liked the movie and the book was Remains of the Day. It was astonishing they even tried to make it a movie, but they really succeeded!
@ Jessica:
Spoiler???
In last night’s episode I loved seeing Eric come into the basement to be all vampirey while in a hair salon cape with foil in his hair–obviously getting highlights!
I want more Sookie and less everyone else.
Jane in pdx wrote:
Yes, yes yes! too funny. The premiere was a bit more humorous that the first reason, I thought.
Maybe I drank too much sherry to tell, but I THOUGHT there was more Sookie last night. And lots less Tarable.
Angela and CJ: Last night, I found that anyone who started with the series and then tried to read the books hated the books. And vice versa. We came to the conclusion that whatever version you experience first becomes the originary form of a story and anything else suffers. Then again, we were all academics. Likely a skewed sample if there ever was one.
The topic of film adaptations is an interesting one. I agree it is hard to do well.
I watched the show before reading the books, and I think that’s why I found the first book to be kind of boring. But I kept going, and now that I’ve read the rest of the books I adore them. Since I don’t get HBO anymore, I guess my allegiance to the show has officially ended.
I don’t like the Tara character in either the books or the show, but on the show she’s worse–so relentlessly unhappy.
I’ve lived in the South my whole life and have never understood why so many shows and movies make us out to be perpetually sweaty. Y’all, we do have air conditioning. And don’t get me started on the accents. Yikes!
Jessica wrote:
That’s an interesting theory. I’ve wondered if that is the case before since the parts that bother me in a movie when I have read the book wouldn’t make me think twice otherwise. It seems as though I get attached to the version of the story I’m familiar with and get annoyed with a different version of it.
I do love retold fairy tales, though, but I suppose I read those expecting something at least somewhat different than the norm, thus the “retold” part of it.
That salad with raspberry vinaigrette sounds yummy. Much better than that Heinz ketchup cake sounds.
Originary form. I love that.
Ooooh, I SO hated American Beauty!
I really hate Bill/Sookie as a couple on the show; and in the books, I like Eric/Sookie, but I’m afraid they aren’t going to go there in the show because B/S are dating in real life.