True Blood: The Complete First Season (HBO Series)
From HBO Home Video
Average customer review:
TRUE BLOOD chronicles the backwoods Louisiana town of Bon Temps... where vampires have emerged from the coffin, and no longer need humans for their fix. Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin, Golden Globe(R)-winner for "True Blood", Academy Award®-winner for “The Piano”) works as a waitress at the rural bar Merlotte's. Though outwardly a typical young woman, she keeps a dangerous secret: she has the ability to hear the thoughts of others. Her situation is further complicated when the bar gets its first vampire patron - 173-year old Bill Compton (Steven Moyer, "Quills") - and the two outsiders are immediately drawn to each other. Delivering the best of what audiences have come to expect from Creator and Executive Producer Alan Ball (writer of Oscar®-winning Best Picture “American Beauty”, creator of the Emmy® Award-winning HBO® series “Six Feet Under”), TRUE BLOOD is a dark and sexy tale that boldly delves into the heart - and the neck - of the Deep South.Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1 in DVD
- Released on: 2009-05-19
- Rating: NR (Not Rated)
- Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
- Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Original language: English
- Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
- Number of discs: 5
- Running time: 720 minutes
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Alan Ball’s True Blood series works well for television, as it has enough sensationalism to tantalize and enough story girth to make the viewer care about the characters. That one can finally invest emotion into monsters, including an undead Civil War victim, a transformer who can shapeshift into various animals, and a female mind reader, speaks volumes about America’s willingness to accept fantasy. Of course, television has always produced good fantasy shows (I Dream of Jeannie), but True Blood’s Southern Goth brand of fun horror is more macabre and more perverse, not to mention gorier, than most shows of its kind to date. Adapted from Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels, True Blood thrills because of its equal blend in each episode of erotica, humor, tragedy, mystery, and fantasy.
Set in a rural, swampy Louisiana parrish, the show centers around Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and her clan, sweet grandmother Adele (Lois Smith) and air-headed brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten). Illicit love is spawned early on, when Sookie saves vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) from having his blood stolen in the parking lot of Merlotte’s diner, owned by Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell) who completes what will form a complex love triangle. As tensions between Sookie’s suitors loosen or tighten, many side plots, such as her African American best friend Tara’s (Rutina Wesley) struggle with an alcoholic, Bible-thumping mother and her brother’s dangerous crush on drug addicted hippie, Amy Burley (Lizzy Caplan), keep one wondering who will succeed in this podunk place. The main tension throughout, however, is a race war waged between vampires and humans. As murders of “fang bangers” occur (human girls who let vampires bite them) and dumb policeman Andy Bellefleur (Chris Bauer) fails to find clues, one sees the metaphorical implications of vampirism and feels deeper resonance with what can be a downright trashy show. Gossip galore, especially about what kinds of babies interbreeding will produce, is rampant. One of the funniest characters is Tara’s flamboyant cousin, Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis), who deals drugs, works as a fry cook, and services the local white politicians, while making sure he’s always up in everyone’s business.
What makes True Blood smarter than pure soap opera is the parallels it draws between its monster mash and actual, familiar societal problems. Sookie and her friends watch the news, where Evangelicals bash vampires and prohibit mixed marriage, and everyone is addicted to V, a.k.a vampire blood, that effects like psychedelic heroin. Even its gore reflects a mix of serious and silly, as vampires explode into red, sticky goop. Though it may not be attempting to qualify for the best vampire footage ever shot, True Blood is as addictive as that substance the town’s youth obsesses over, which is a metaphor in itself. --Trinie Dalton
Customer Reviews
Sadly Disappointed
I have to say that I LOVE the book series and have read all of the ones written so far. I cannot believe how awful the HBO series based on the books is. I was so excited about the TV series based on the books but, I am sad to say I was so disappointed. They took a great book series and turned it into a smutty, foul-mouthed TV show. They have characters in the show that I do not even recall being in the books. I usually never write reviews for things but, I felt I just had to leave one on this series. The books are so good and I cannot believe that Charlaine Harris would want her books portrayed in this manner. I guess she is not bothered by it. I wish that I could get my money back on the DVD's. I will continue to read her books because she is such a good author but, I will just use my imagination and not watch the series. My imagination is better.
Freaken AWESOMENESS!
My 1st purchase through Amazon and it went smoothly. I pre-ordered and they shipped in advance. got it 3 days ahead of schedule, on the release date. Great thing to come home to after a hard days work. :) I followed this show when it 1st aired last fall. If you are interested in another take in vamp history (so-to-speak) then you'll enjoy this show. All the characters are great and played very well by the actors. Can't wait to start season 2!! :D
HOOOOO SOOKIE!
MY GOSH! WHAT HAVE WE HERE? I LOVE IT! MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE READ ALL OF THE BOOKS, WATCHED ALL THE EPISODES, AND HAVE PRE-ORDERED THE NEXT BOOK OUT IN OCTOBER 2009. WE HAVE TURNED FRIENDS AND FAMILY ONTO TRUE BLOOD / THE SOOKIE STACKHOUSE NOVELS.
THE MYSTERY, THE FANTASY, IT IS TOTALLY CAPTIVATING. THERE IS NOT ANY "ONE PARTICULAR" FAVORITE YOU CAN PICK BECAUSE EACH CHARACTER IS TRUE UNTO THEMSELF. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DESCRIPTION OF EACH IN THE BOOKS TO THE SERIES IS NO MAJOR DEAL. I CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR THE STORY TO RESUME.
I WAS A FAN OF SIX FEET UNDER AND I DO BELIEVE MR BALL HAS HIT AOTHER HOME RUN!
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