Vampires galore...

[fajrdrako]

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.
  
  

Comments

[liliaeth]

I liked the idea of vampires being a publicly known minority. But I couldn't really care about any of the characters. I guess that none of the actors appealed to me.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

That sort of pinpoints my problem, too. I liked the premise and the situation. But the show just didn't draw me in because I didn't like the characters.

[(Anonymous)]

On the whole, I'd rather be watching something else

Grr. Argh. How 'bout some Buffy and Angel, where the characters do, you know, appeal to you?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

How 'bout some Buffy and Angel, where the characters do, you know, appeal to you?

Yup, absolutely. I haven't forgotten Buffy at all and I'll be posting more on it... soon. Yes, really. I'm halfway through notes on "The Zeppo".

Ahh, Spike. Buffy. All of them.

[abrakadabrah.livejournal.com]

I'm halfway through notes on "The Zeppo".

Didn't I hear that originally a few months ago?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

You did. I never claimed to be getting through my "Zeppo" notes quickly. And now I think - oh, the horror! - I'll just have to watch the episode again.

Seeing True Blood made me think again how good Buffy actually is. It has so much more life to it.

[(Anonymous)]

Have you read the books? If so, how does the show compare with the first book?

Bill is the name of the male vampire. He's (in the books) from the time of the Civil War/War between the States. I wonder if Erik the Viking is going to show up ... hmmm.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Have you read the books? If so, how does the show compare with the first book?

I have not read the books, but would like to. Yolande has read the books and she said that they hadn't changed the story, though I had the impression that she liked the books better.

maaboroshi said she'd seen pictures of Erik the Viking on the website, and she's looking forward to seeing him.

[meret.livejournal.com]

I realized my problem: Sooky is played by Anna Paquin.

That's why I didn't watch it. I enjoy the books, (IIRC the 2nd, 3rd and 4th are my favorites), but she's totally miscast. They needed a Jessica Simpson type who could act. AP is completely wrong for the part, not to mention she can't do a southern accent.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

she's totally miscast

Sad sigh. What a shame.

They needed a Jessica Simpson type who could act.

That would do it - or any actress whom I actually like!

not to mention she can't do a southern accent.

I don't know anything about accents from the American South, but I found her fairly hard to understand - the rest of the people in the show, I had no trouble with.

I like your Faith icon.

[meret.livejournal.com]

I like your Faith icon.

Thanks! I really wish she and Whedon were doing a show about Faith rather than Dollhouse.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'd like that, too. I will watch Dollhouse of course, but the premise doesn't sound very interesting to me.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

The idea that vampires can live on synthetic blood and be a human subspecies with legal rights and social stigma. Cool.

I've always thought of them as having a chronic 'manageable' condition, that they can deal with with transfusions.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's the way it's handled here - and I really like that. There's a lot about 'coming out of the coffin', which is a little too cute, but it's an interesting idea - vampires as a mistreated subclass. With the extra twist that their blood is a valuable commodity, a sort of drug - so the nastier humans have incentive to prey on them. An interesting twist.

I like the way Buffy handles the vampire's need for blood.

On the other hand, back when I was heavily into vampire stories, I was always disappointed when vampires didn't bite people. The alternatives tended to seem wimpy to me; what's the point of a vampire protagonist if they don't act like a vampire?

I should watch The Kindred again - someone gave me a copy and I don't even remember the story. (I think I may have only seen the first episode.) And The Lost Boys.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

There's a lot about 'coming out of the coffin', which is a little too cute, but it's an interesting idea - vampires as a mistreated subclass.

A lot of vampire literature and film has used vampirism as a metaphor for various kinds of 'outsiderness', especially homosexuality (because of the essential eroticism of the vampiric act).

On the other hand, back when I was heavily into vampire stories, I was always disappointed when vampires didn't bite people. The alternatives tended to seem wimpy to me; what's the point of a vampire protagonist if they don't act like a vampire?

I think it works, actually, in a modern context (equivalent of "safe sex"?). It is no longer necessary to actually bite people to get the necessary nutrients, so it would be rather 'retro' of a 21C vampire to do it. Also, it turns the focus on to how normal humans treat vampires: if they are no longer a 'threat' in an immediate way, what can human/vampire interactions say about the treatment of minorities? Even in the traditional vampire stories, I always found the vampire-hunters scarier than the vampires: after all, a vampire cannot help his/her diet.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

A lot of vampire literature and film has used vampirism as a metaphor for various kinds of 'outsiderness', especially homosexuality

Yes, and that's an aspect I generally like.

It is no longer necessary to actually bite people to get the necessary nutrients, so it would be rather 'retro' of a 21C vampire to do it.

Maybe this is why I preferred vampires in historical contexts - besides just that I like historical backgrounds.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Yes, and that's an aspect I generally like.

Me too, especially as the lesbian vampires tend to be rather gorgeous ladies.

Maybe this is why I preferred vampires in historical contexts - besides just that I like historical backgrounds.

I'm not sure… A vampire in the present day can still have lots of interesting historical back-story. But what interests me is how they negotiate their own space in the contemporary world. Can they buy supplies from kosher/halal butchers? How do they deal with anti-vampire prejudice?