Vampires galore...

Last night I watched the first episode of True Blood with maaseru, maaboroshi, and Yolande.

Kinda liked it, kinda didn't.

What I liked:

• The hero. A vampire named Bill (or Bel? It sounded like "Bel" but I think it was Bill. Too bad; I prefer 'Bel'.) He glowers nicely, and has a really nice scene in bondage early on. He's great. The possibility that he is very old appeals, too.
  
  
• I thought Sooky's friend Tara was gorgeous.Played by Brook Kerr.
  
  
• The idea that vampires can live on synthetic blood and be a human subspecies with legal rights and social stigma. Cool.
  
  
• Sex. The show has sex, and lots of it. This was good. But my reaction was mixed, because it wasn't sexy or romantic or sensuous sex. If Sooky and Bill get together, I might like it a lot. But do I want to hang around to find out?

What I didn't like:

• The protagonist, Sooky. I wanted to like her. I really, really tried to like her. But she had mannerisms that annoyed me (tossing her pony tail, widening her eyes, wiggling her lips) and it was an uphill job. Her dialogue seemed reasonably inane sometimes. I decided Sooky was a ditz and gave up trying.
  
  Then belatedly I realized my problem: Sooky is played by Anna Paquin. I have never liked Anna Paquin in anything, and I can't forgive her awful portrayal of Rogue in X-Men. The interpretation of the character wasn't her fault, but it didn't make me dislike her any less than I already did.
  
  
• Aside from Bill, whom we hardly got to know, I didn't like any of the characters. Some were okay, but not very appealing. I sort of loved Tara for her looks, but she seemed to have no personality, a mean attitude, and no brains or sense. Pity.
  
  
• The story seemed to wander, and was predictable, once you knew the premise.
  
  
• I'm not really curious as to what will happpen to these people.
  
  
  On the whole, I'd rather be watching something else. Or maybe reading the Charlaine Harris books.
  
  

Torchwood evening...

Nice evening, spent watching Torchwood with Donna and maaseru. This was Donna's last day at her current job; she quit. We talked about that for a while, then watched "Fragments" and "Exit Wounds", eating spaghetti, with raspberries, cake and whipped cream for dessert.

I wasn't too thrilled with "Exit Wounds" first time through, but every time I see it, I love it more.