Summer Sunday nights on HBO are delicious.
In 2008, as an advertisement for their new series True Blood, there was a “news coverage” show whereby vampires “come out of the coffin” and take their place as vampire-Americans in society. The story goes that with the invention of realistic synthetic blood (True Blood), vampires no longer needed to hide in the shadows. They could drink the True Blood and not have to feed on humans, hence humans didn’t need to be afraid of the vampire race. The fake news coverage was smart, cheeky, and piqued my interest.
Although I was surprised by the level of sex and violence, I really shouldn’t have been given that it was HBO after all. I noted in the credits that it was based on the “Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries.” Hmmm, a new book to read! So I read all books written up to 2009 (book seven) before season 2 started.
Season 2 only remotely followed the story of book 2 (Living Dead in Dallas) and it caused some murmurs in the fandom of “what the heck is Alan Ball doing with the characters?”
Alan Ball, of Six Feet Under fame got control over Charlaine Harris’ books and made them his own: creating new characters, new adventures and conflicts. This makes some fans completely crazy. I belong to a Facebook group Fans of the Sookie Stackhouse Series AND Trueblood and many people complain over the direction that Ball has taken the series. I see True Blood as pure fan fiction. Yes the characters are similar but only vaguely recognizable to the book characters. I’m ok with that. It’s just entertainment.
Ms. Harris is finishing her last book (13) in the Sookie-verse to be released in May. Mr. Ball is handing over the reins of True Blood to someone else next season. HBO series don’t usually go more than 7 seasons so there will have to be a wrapping up of Sookie’s story in the HBO world in the next 2 years. I will watch because I want to see how it all ends. Maybe with a bite?