Anna Paquin Movie:

		List Price: $79.98		Label: Hbo Home Video Salesrank: 192 Released: May 19, 2009
		Our Price: $29.98
		Used Price: $26.14
		MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial 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, 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.

Description of True Blood: The Complete First Season (HBO Series) [Blu-ray]:
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 Genie), 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

Stills from True Blood: The Complete First Season (Click for larger image)

True Blood: The Complete First Season (HBO Series) [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Love it!
2009-11-24 - How can anyone not love a vampire series that is crazy and racey! I bought this dvd for my parents for xmas and they love it! (Or they will, and I know I will!) I got the best deal on a new dvd for Blu-Ray here, so I am so thankful for that. Instead of spending $60 bucks on this, I spent like 20? :)

TrueBlood Fan
2009-11-16 - It has been quite some time since I had HBO. When I heard all the fuss about True Blood though, I had to check it out. Living in the UK, I waited with anticipation for the first episode to air over here. I'll admit, I was really thrown off by the rather graphic sex scenes at first, I had to make sure we were watching what I thought we were watching. I'm not a prude by any means, it just threw me off. Once I got over the initial surprise though, I loved the show!!! We made it for 3 weeks before I decided I couldn't survive one episode a week and just ordered the complete season one!

Addictive
2009-11-11 - Addictive!! Thats how i describe this show, simply addictive. I love vampires and their world and this show gives a new fresh feeling to a well known subject. Heads Up Book Fans!!! I have read all of books in The Southern Vampire Mysteries and the show is not precisely based on the books, more like loosely inspired by. We have the same characters we love, some of the same rules and the basic story-line. But the series is definitely independent. Still i love it; is a great vampire show, not necessarily a good book translation, but a great show nonetheless.

If you are looking for a sexy (bordering horny), character-driven (a lot of drama going on), supernatural drama this is your show. Get it, banned the minors from the room, and enjoy!!!

However if you are expecting to see a play-by-play of the book you might want to get it borrowed or rented first instead of buying. To be fair to the production of this show the first season basically encompasses the ups and downs of young Telepath Sookie Stackhouse and the beggining of her involvement in a fantastic world she never dream could possibly exist; close enough to how it goes on the first book, Dead Until Dark.

Best new show 2008!
2009-11-09 - I fell in love with this show from the very first show. It has the depth and breadth of a really good crime drama, the suspense of a great mystery, and amazing special effects and science fiction elements. This has become one of my all time favorite shows and I could not wait to get it on blu ray to see it again and again.

Buy Season One, but Rent Season Two
2009-11-03 - Whether you're in to vampire movies or not, you'll get drawn in to this series. It is an imaginative, original story line with some good spins and a nice sprinkle of romance, humor, and a little thrill. The good thing is, you won't spend too much time in front of the tube, because Season Two starts to drag on and wraps it up nice enough that you'll be glad it's over. I have friends that have read the complete book series, and they are still waiting on Season 3, but for the rest of us that have not read the books, we're not looking forward to any more episodes.