This past weekend AT & T's U-Verse, which is my TV/Internet provider, provided free HBO & Cinemax. I stopped subscribing to HBO & Cinemas years ago. Mostly because I never found all that much I wanted to watch.Since then HBO has moved from movies to adding their own productions. Some of which I've seen and liked, like The Sopranos and Six Feet Under.
Alan Ball was behind Six Feet Under. When that show ended HBO signed him to a development deal. True Blood is the first result of that deal.
When I scanned through what was available on HBO, I saw True Blood and hit the record button on the DVR.
I somehow thought True Blood was a David Lynchian Twin Peaks type style of show. I guess I did see some element of that, but mainly I was to learn that True Blood is yet one more show about vampires.
I've really never had a great appreciation of the vampire, werewolf type genre. True Blood seems to have all the elements of that genre, including telepaths and humans called shapeshifters.
Just dropping in and watching an episode without knowing any of the plot still managed to be entertaining. Strange, but entertaining. With some humor.
Like in True Blood world vampires live openly with the humans. They no longer have to suck human blood because the Japanese invented a synthetic drink called Tru Blood to meet the vampire needs.
You can go in a bar in True Blood world and order a bottle of "V Juice." HBO.com sells Tru Blood, made to look like the synthetic blood on the show. It's a carbonated drink. I've no idea what it tastes like.
On the episode I watched, the Vampire King of Mississippi was plotting to marry the Vampire Queen of Louisiana. The episode started with one of the Queen's men killing a bunch of the Kings's werewolves. I think.
Then the King took the Queen's man back to his palace where a royal feast of a variety of blood products was had. Dessert had a citrusy note to it because the blood was taken from a young Thai man who was fed only oranges. Or something like that.
Apparently there is about to be a war, or it's already on, between the vampires and the werewolves.
The shapeshifters I really didn't understand. This guy finds his long lost mom and dad. Mom had given him up for adoption when dad was in jail. When she gave him up she did not know if he had the shapeshifting gene. I think I understood that mom did have the gene, but dad was not so blessed. Mom and dad had another son, who does have the gene.
Both brothers were outside bonding when the younger brother said he was ready for a run. The new brother agreed. Off came the clothes and they turned into dogs. Running along one dog got hit by a truck while the younger brother turned into a bird and flew safely away. The brother that got hit turned back into naked human form. I don't remember if we saw anymore of him on the episode I watched.
Did I already say I've never understood the attraction to the vampire type genre? Why is it so popular? Now, if I continued to get HBO for free would I watch True Blood? Probably, maybe, I don't know. I forgot to mention the part where we went back to WWII to Nazi werewolves. Intriguing.
