Nothing like a good cup of Joe.

True Blood returns on June 13 with the season 3 premiere!

TV Talk

The season 2 premiere of Sons of Anarchy aired this past Tuesday and wow. I understand that it's really not a show for everyone - most of the characters lead morally reprehensible lives, to say the least, and there is enough sex and violence to make HBO blush - but that's unfortunate, because I think it has really grown into one of the best shows on TV right now. And the fact that I care so much about what happens to these bad people is a testament to that.

Did you hear that NBC is remaking the BBC's landmark series Prime Suspect? I suppose the only realistic response to this news is to say I'm surprised it took this long, and it may end up being a great series if they cast the lead properly; but I still don't like the idea. Because I'm and Anglophile and BBC snob, I admit it. I'll be interested to see who they cast as Tennyson. Helen Mirren is a tough act to follow.

The True Blood season 2 finale was last night, and you know what? I think I was a bit underwhelmed. However, that may be because they went for something a little different than I was expecting. I'm going to watch it again - hopefully tonight - before I post my thoughts on it.

Finally, and I am WAY late on this, but I wanted to get your take on the news that Ellen Degeneres will take Paula Abdul's place on American Idol with this quick and dirty poll:

poll by twiigs.com

True Blood: Frenzy

SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS WEEK'S EPISODE

"Everything that exists imagined itself into existence."
~Sophie-Anne, Queen of Louisiana

"They're like tiny humans. Teacup humans."
~Eric

OK, so I've watched this one twice already, because 1) I didn't really like it the first time around, and...actually, that's pretty much the only reason why. After the re-watch, I did like it more, and I picked up on some stuff that I missed the first time around, but the things that bothered me the first time I watched still bothered me. Like:

• The Queen. I get what she's all about - I think - but I think the actress (Evan Rachel Wood) missed the mark. By a LOT. However, she did have the unenviable task of relaying a bucket load of exposition, so the over-acting was probably an attempt to insert some character into all the blah-blah. It was very clunky and made what she was saying difficult to understand. I'm hoping her scenes are better next week.
• Why in the world would Sam walk out into the woods by himself? Am I mistaken or aren't there black-eyed zombie sex cult members who want to offer him up as a sacrifice running around in those very woods? Dumb.
• Some of the foreshadowing was a bit clumsy, too: Sookie's cousin Hadley will obviously turn up again, probably next season; I'm sure Arlene's ex Dwayne with the tattoo on his stomach is going to show up at a later date as well; and I would bet good money that the fact there's only one Kevlar vest is going to spell trouble for Jason in the finale.
• All of the good feeling I got out of Tara's intervention last week was washed away by Tara's shitty attitude this week. I hope she was as mean as she was because she's still experiencing some leftover Maryann mojo because, well, because she was just being stupid. Or, as Sookie said, a fucking idiot.

Looking back on this list, I realize that most of these issues are related to writing problems, which is a surprise considering Alan Ball himself wrote this one.

So, what did I like?

• This wasn't in the episode, per se, but I have to share this from io9's recap. What Bill texted to Sookie: "SUUUUKIE I WILL BE RETIRING AT THE PALACE, I WILL RETURN UPON NIGHTFALL. I WILL REQUIRE RELATIONS. ERIC IS EVIL. XO - VAMPIRE BILL" HEE!
• Jason, especially his thoughts on Sam's shapeshifting capabilities and whether or not he would lay an egg if he turned into a chicken. I love Jason.
• Eric was awesome in all of his scenes: in Lettie Mae's dress, in his chat with the children, his "Goodbye tiny humans" and his take off (Eric can fly!). I loved it when he ran into Bill outside the Queen's palace and his hair was all mussed from flying. Oh dear, I just thought of something...I really hope they don't do the cheesetastic romantic flying thing, like in Superman, with Eric and Sookie. Oh my God, they could even use the song, "Can You Read My Mind"! Ha!
• While the naked guy that was sitting in the sink at Gran's house and playing with intestines was a little over the top, I thought they did a really great job making that entire sequence really creepy.
• I was glad that Sookie and Lafayette shared with each other about Eric. It was a good scene, except for Sookie's description of what it felt like to be in Tara's head. Huh? Bad writing again, I think.

Depsite the title, this one moved at a glacial pace, and seemed a bit disjointed to me. I didn't get the sense that we are headed towards any kind of conclusion - at least not as soon as the next episode. I hope they're able to pull all of this together by then.

What in the world is this town going to be like when this is all over?

ETA: Oops, I forgot something! It hadn't occurred to me until I was reading the episode thread at TWoP, and I was wondering if anyone else picked up on the idea that Bill might have been sent to Bon Temps by the Queen, in order to "procure" Sookie for her, and then Bill unexpectedly fell in love with Sookie. I'm not so sure about that, but SA does know about Sookie, and Bill seemed to be acquainted with Hadley and on pretty familiar terms with SA, so at the very least I'd say he's been in communication with the Queen on a fairly regular basis. I'm very interested in finding out exactly what their history is - as long as the Queen quits hamming it up.

I thought I recognized her wretched writing.

Passages from a New York Times article about True Blood:

It seems like too much futile work in the heat of August — work bound to lead only to phony conclusions — to decipher how the sanguivorous have become the meat and drink of popular culture at the end of the first decade of the 21st century.

When “True Blood” appeared, it was easy to assume it was a metaphor for late-stage capitalism gone haywire, not simply because it began with an insolent store clerk reading Naomi Klein’s “Shock Doctrine” but also because the show seemed predicated on an interest in the retail addict’s belief that we’re made of what we buy.

The current season has set up a showdown between a psycho Christian cult called the Fellowship of the Sun, which runs a kind of conversion camp called the Light of Day Institute, and the vampires (and vampire sympathizers) the cult aims to destroy. At the same time it is libidinous women to whom bad things keep happening — and who make bad things happen...No one in the fellowship is quite as terrifying as Maryann (Michelle Forbes), a not-entirely-human Dionysian nut job, who cooks up pot pies made of dubiously acquired organs and poses the greatest threat to the moral foundation of Bon Temps with her penchant for hypnotizing the town into states of violent, orgiastic rapture.

OK, first of all: WHA?

Second: Maryann is not a part of the Fellowship!

As the title of this post suggests, I recognized this writer's "style" at once - she wrote that wretched LOST article I posted about last year. It is astounding to me that she has a job writing for The New York Times.

Pardon the pun, but this sucks!

They're skipping a week?! BOOOO.

True Blood - "New World in My View"

SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS WEEK'S EPISODE YET

"We will un-fuck this situation later!"
~Terry Bellefleur

Because I watch TB off of my DVR and I'm blissfully unaware of what time it is when I do, I didn't realize this was such a short episode - at least not until I went to TWoP and everyone there was bitching about it - only about 45 minutes! That's a lot of time. I wonder if they're going to add 15 minutes to the finale? That would be cool.

Anyhoo, another fantastic episode! I am so glad that Sookie, Jason and Bill are back in Bon Temps. Now we can see through their eyes what exactly has been happening in BT, and that gives us a larger perspective than just the late night backyard orgies at Maryann's house.

Another reason I'm happy they're back at Bon Temps is I was starting to get bored with Dallas. This episode seemed to fix all the things I was not happy with:

• No more Bill and Sookie on a romantic vacation in Dallas. I don't like schmoopy Bill.
  
• The spell over Tara is finally broken (I hope!)
• Sam has essentially come out of the shapeshifter closet to a couple more people. Sort of. The less he has to be mopey about, the more interesting he will be, imo.
• My boyfriend Vampire Bill is BACK. He's a much better vampire when he's the only one in town. Side note: Someone took my advice and fired his hair and makeup person! He looked smokin' hot when when he was slow-mo walking up to the Queen's front door.
  

They've really set things up nicely for a MAJOR showdown in Bon Temps, especially with The Queen getting involved, and probably Eric, too. I can't wait!

Some of my favorite parts:

• "Jesus and I agreed to see other people. Don't mean we still don't talk time to time." - Lafayette. Poor Tara broke my heart, but I loved all of the scenes of her "intervention". I hope Tara plays a big part in taking Maryann down. She needs a little positive reinforcement right about now!
  
• Jason Stackhouse pulling a Dread Pirate Roberts and pretending to be the "God Who Comes". Perfect.
• Zombie Maxine Fortenberry was both horrifying and hilarious. I do not blame Jessica for biting her.
  
• Sam should wear an apron every day. Just an apron.
  
• The Sam/Andy/Jason team was priceless
  

I wonder what Sookie's new power is? I wonder what Sookie is? And when all is said and done, will the people of Bon Temps remember what they've been doing while under Maryann's spell? It seemed like poor Tara does.

Only two more episodes left!

"Yousa soulless bitch!"

SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS WEEK'S EPISODE

True Blood rocked again! Random thoughts about the stuff I loved this week:

** When Bill attacked that FoS guy after the bombing, I was like, THAT's the Bill I want to see. And just because it can't be said enough: Bill's hair and makeup person needs to be fired.

** The conversation Hoyt had with his Mama about how much of a hater she is was priceless. Transcribed here for your reading pleasure:

Maxine: Who do you think you're talking to?
Hoyt: My momma, who hates Methodists.
Maxine: I got my reasons.
Hoyt: And Catholics.
Maxine: Just priests!...And nuns.
Hoyt: African-Americans.
Maxine: Hush! That's a secret.
Hoyt: People who don't take care of their gardens and people who park their trucks up on their lawn and ladies who wear red shoes.
Maxine: It looks cheap!
Hoyt: Families with lots of kids and checkered curtains and cats...and dogs, and bait. Every girl that I ever liked, and the more that I like 'em the more that you hate 'em.

** Sookie's dream about Eric was hot. I guess I got my wish about Eric coming between Sookie and Bill. Unfortunately, I get the feeling that instead of getting a stronger Bill, he's going to wind up looking like a bit of a pushover, since there's not much he can do about the situation. He's already begun to lose her.

** Sookie and Jason made me cry with their talk about Gran. And then the Newlins made me LOL in their TV faceoff against Nan Flanagan and each other. Especially loved the faint paintball bruise on the reverend's forehead. Hee!

** How about how nonchalant Andy was when Sam showed up at his motel door naked? Hee again!

** Maryann's description of the ecstasy of mystics and saints - Michelle Forbes' amazing delivery - nearly had me convinced and joining up with her crazy Dionysian cult.

** Godric's death scene was beautiful, and Anna Paquin made me cry when she said she was scared for him.

** Oh no, he din't! Eggs deserves to get the crap beaten out of him for just suggesting that Lafayette take off his fake eyelashes! I didn't realize how much I disliked Eggs - no matter how AMAZING he looks with his shirt off - until Lafayette started beating the shit out of him.

IMO, this was probably the most well-acted episode of the series so far, on everyone’s part, but particularly for Anna P. and Michelle Forbes.

I cannot WAIT to see what happens next.

I half concur.

Which True Blood Character Are You?

More on True Blood. Created by BuddyTV

"The war has begun you evil whore of Satan!"

SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE EPISODE

True Blood just keeps getting better each week! Friends and I have been talking about Sunday's episode via e-mail, and here's some of the stuff I had to say.

1) I was reading the episode thread at TWoP and this comment made me LOL:

Could you imagine if you worked on True Blood and it was your job to hang out with ASkars all day while he's wearing that tank top? I'd be getting written up by HR everyday because I'd be sexually harassing that shit like he was a secretary on Mad Men.


Ha!

2) Jason coming to Sookie’s rescue was amazing – inspiring and hilarious all at the same time. I nearly died when he called Rev. Newlin a "white-suit-wearing motherf*cker" and shot him in the forehead with the paintball gun. I find it hard to believe that this is the last we’ll see of the Fellowship. There’s too much unresolved there. And I don’t want that to be the last we see of the Newlins. They are way too entertaining.

3) I’m not sure we got the whole story behind Godric’s “kidnapping” by the Fellowship. In fact, I wonder if he was kidnapped at all, or if he went willingly. If he could get out of his “cell” to save Sookie from Gabe, then there was no way he was being kept securely enough to prevent a vampire as powerful as he is from escaping altogether. And what's with the not eating? Maybe he's just given up and wants to die already. I'm liking Eric even more now that his devotion to and apparent love for Godric has been added to his character and he's more than just bored and brooding.

4) I do hope that was the last we see of Lorena. I felt sorry for her but she was BO-RING. And pathetic.

5) I’m having a really hard time getting a handle on what is going on with Maryann, despite being shown basically the same scene a million times over: Maryann makes people lustful/violent/slaves to their worst impulses...yes, we got that. But WHY? Just because she can? I guess that’s fine, but the story seems to have stalled. I’m hoping someone catches on real quick because this story needs a serious kick in the butt.

You may have already read about this, or know about it, but I thought I’d share a couple of paragraphs from Wikipedia’s description of a Maenad:

In Greek mythology, maenads were the female followers of Dionysus, the most significant members of theThiasus, the retinue of Dionysus. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Often the maenads were portrayed as inspired by him into a state of ecstatic frenzy, through a combination of dancing and drunken intoxication.[1] In this state, they would lose all self control, begin shouting excitedly, engage in uncontrolled sexual behavior, and ritualistically hunt down and tear animals (and sometimes men and children) to pieces, devouring the raw flesh.

Cultic rites associated with worship of the Greek god of wine, Bacchus (or Dionysus), allegedly characterized by maniacal dancing to the sound of loud music and crashing cymbals, in which the revellers, called Bacchantes, whirled, screamed, became drunk and incited one another to greater and greater ecstasy. The goal was to achieve a state of enthusiasm in which the celebrants’ souls were temporarily freed from their earthly bodies and were able to commune with Bacchus/Dionysus and gain a glimpse of and a preparation for what they would someday experience in eternity after their resurrection. The rite climaxed in a performance of frenzied feats of strength and madness, such as uprooting trees, tearing a bull (the symbol of Dionysus) apart with their bare hands, an act called sparagmos, and eating its flesh raw, an act called omophagia. This latter rite was a sacrament akin to communion in which the participants assumed the strength and character of the god by symbolically eating the raw flesh and drinking the blood of his symbolic incarnation. Having symbolically eaten his body and drunk his blood, the celebrants became possessed by Dionysus.

Sounds about right. Too bad they don't include instructions on how to kill her.

6) That heart pot pie scene was the nastiest thing I have seen on this show. From the moment Maryann put it on the cutting board all the way to Tara and Eggs beating the sh*t out of each other. Wake up, Tara! PLEASE!

7) Why didn’t Sam tell the Sheriff that Andy wasn’t crazy and was telling the truth? I mean, the sheriff’s got half the town locked up for indecent behavior, he might be able to put two and two together and think there might be something to what Sam and Andy are saying. Sam has some bad sh*t happen to him, but sometimes he’s his own worse enemy.

8) I love it when Lafayette wears his makeup and doo rag.

9) Poor Jessica.

10) And one more thing: Bill's man-bangs have got to GO! Whoever does his hair, makeup and wardrobe should be fired.

TV Talk: Summer of Blood

I haven't posted much about True Blood since season 2 began, but I have been loving it. Has it been awesome, or what? All of the different story threads finally started coming together nicely in the past couple of weeks: Sookie, Bill, Eric, Jason and Godric are all converging on The Fellowship of the Sun; and Andy Bellefleur's drunken obsession with that pig saved Sam's life. Poor Sam, he just can't catch a break, can he? Will Maryann be killed, or will she just go away? It would be poetic justice if Andy was the one to ultimately get rid of Maryann, considering how the woman she killed was found in the back of his car.

As much as I'm enjoying this season, however, I must say that the bloom is somewhat off the rose as far as my boyfriend Bill is concerned. He's had his moments, but overall, he's just so BORING. Or at least his story is. I hope Eric drives a wedge between Sookie and Bill real soon. They are far more interesting when they are apart.

I was going to write about who the killer was on Harper's Island, but then I thought that perhaps I would be spoiling someone (you can watch it online here), even though the only people I know who did watch it were me and my sisters.

In the end, it was a fairly predictable person, but they made it a plausible (as plausible as this show ever got) and satisfying conclusion. It's too bad CBS dumped the show. It's a great concept for a summer series: a 13-episode murder mystery/horror story. It's perfect for the summer! Oh, well.

So, what's this I hear? Paula Abdul is really leaving American Idol?? Holy crap! Do I think that her departure will impact the show negatively, or at all? Absolutely not. Did I think she was going to be on this show forever, like Paul Lynde on the Hollywood Squares? Asbolutely!

poll by twiigs.com

Finally, a couple of quick notes: We had a blast watching Wipeout and I Survived a Japanese Game Show with the kids in Maine. (Hai, Majide!) And I watched one of the Warehouse 13 episodes I have on my DVR and I kind of liked it. I'll give it a couple more.

Another True Blood trailer!

Woo!

First Look at Season 2 of True Blood! Ooo!

Sneak Peek season 2 of True Blood!

HBO has confirmed that season 2 of True Blood will premiere on June 14, and E! has promotional images from the new season of all the characters. Alas, while I wouldn't expect to see him even if he is still alive, there is no sign of Lafayette.

There's nothing about the images I would consider spoilery - they reveal just enough to get me excited about watching the show again.

True Blood Scoop

This is uncomfirmed, but according to Charlaine Harris (the author of the books upon which the HBO series is based) season 2 will premiere on June 14.

Awesome. I think True Blood is perfect for a summer show - set in Louisiana, with lots of tank tops and shirtless guys and iced tea and serial killers and vampire sex...It's like beach reading but on your TV. Can't wait for it to return!

TV Talk: Is it January yet?

ABC has released a whole bunch of promotional photos for the new season of LOST (which begins in January) and, well, they kind of suck. This one of John Locke isn't so bad, but my TV boyfriend Desmond? EW! Look at his hair! It's way too "done". Why is he in a room with vines growing on the walls? Why is there furniture in Sawyer's boat? And why are there pine trees on the land behind John?

I finished season 1 of HBO's True Blood this weekend (thank God for On Demand!), and I'm not sure I can wait for next summer for the new season. I want to know what happened to Lafayette! And why Sam has all that money in his safe and who Maryann really is! The show really is a great combination of horror, romance, comedy and drama, with a dash of murder mystery. And Bill Compton is totally my alternate TV boyfriend, for those lonely times between new seasons of LOST.

I DVR'd Heroes last night, but when I sat down to watch it I found that the recording was corrupted, all garbled and pixelated and unwatchable. That's not as huge a loss as it would have been in earlier days, but last night's episode was the finale for this chapter and I was kind of looking forward to seeing how they wrapped things up. I'll have to see if I can catch it online, and I'll post about it here when I do.

Finally, some Battlestar Galactica items of interest:

1) Mo Ryan has been writing about her "Battlestart Galactica-thon", her re-watch of all of BSG in the lead up to the final episodes, which begin airing in January: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

2) SciFi has begun airing the new webisodes! If you missed the first two, I got your back:





3)Lastly, if you're still confused about what the frak is going on in this show, you should watch this clip and catch the frak up:

Dead Sexy

I just found this hilarious fan video in tribute to Bill Compton's sexiness. He is so sexy, in fact, that despite the awful hair and the borderline dorky wardrobe, I'd do him in a heartbeat. Even if he doesn't have one.

TV Talk: Sex, Pies and Cellophane Tape (for wrapping presents, get it?)

HBO's vampire series True Blood was on my list of new shows to watch this fall, but it somehow got dropped along the way. I think I felt as though my TV plate was full at the time, which is funny because it really wasn't. And then I heard that the show had a slow start and maybe it wasn't that great so I thought, "OK, now I don't feel so bad about not checking it out."

Then I started to hear good things. And then my friends started watching the episodes On Demand and raving about it. So I watched the first two episodes last night and I LOVED it. I could do without the somewhat excessive and borderline pornographic sex that was sprinkled about in these two episodes, and I'm hoping they either tone it down or it's not quite as gratuitous as it seems and there's some greater meaning underlying the speed humping, but everything else? Love! The main vampire character, Bill (that's him in the picture), is just dead sexy, pun intended, and he doesn't engage in any speed humping, thank God. He and Anna Paquin, who plays Sookie, have blazing hot chemistry, and they've barely kissed.

The first season is only available On Demand until December 22. I have 10 episodesleft to watch before then. I think I can do it!

What else have I been watching? Lots of Christmas specials, that's what! So far this season I've managed to see A Christmas Story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Shrek's Christmas and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Only a bazillion more to go...

Oh, I've also been watching what are the final few episodes of one of the most imaginative shows ever made: Pushing Daisies. After I watch this week's episode, there will only be 4 left. Not a lot of time, but perhaps just enough to end things somewhat satisfactorily. I will miss it.