Since we got a taste of it last week with Xena, today we’re going to talk to you about another cult TV series: True Blood.
Created by Alan Ball from the sequel to Charlaine Harris’ novels The Southern Community, True Blood is an American HBO series that aired on September 7, 2008, that’s why we’re talking about it today.
Synopsis of True Blood
When Japanese scientists invent synthetic blood, vampire life changes completely. Finally free to eat without resorting to crime, they can now walk the streets quietly when night falls. No more need to hide, no more need to kill, humans are erased from the menu, but for some, fear is always present – what will happen if some creatures don’t follow this rule?
Religious and government agencies around the world have taken a stand on the matter, except for Bon Temps, a Louisiana town where the jury is still considering the matter. It is in this context that viewers meet Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress who can read minds and who knows all too well the feeling of loneliness and difference that vampires can experience. Open-minded about their integration into the human world, she ends up falling in love with Bill Compton, a 173-year-old vampire. A love story that will change everything in Bon Temps.
Around them revolves a gallery of colorful characters: Jason Stackhouse, Sam Merlotte, Tara Thornton, Lafayette Reynolds and vampires, of course, including Eric Northman, a very powerful millennial vampire. Some will fear vampires, others will hate them for their difference, and still others will try to draw their blood to create an overwhelming drug, the “V” (not The Boys compound V!).
Search for identity, struggle for power, revenge and romance punctuate the seasons. Over time, vampires will be joined by other fantastic creatures: werewolves, shapeshifters, fairies or even witches. Also, in this curious Noah’s Ark, the notion of normality will soon become very equivocal …
Production
Between 2008 and 2014, HBO aired all seven seasons of True Blood, this urban fantasy series that, until the third season of Game of Thrones aired, was the biggest hit of visions in the world history of the channel.
In September 2013, HBO announced that the seventh season, which aired June 22, 2014 in the United States, would be the last. However, Stephen Moyer, the actor who gave birth to Bill Compton, had hinted that there would be “something to see in 2016”. A movie ? A spin-off? Anything for Netflix? Unfortunately, none of this happened. It’s been eight years since the series ended and we know that vampires are immortal…so is hope, so let’s keep our fingers crossed!
While the series struggled to find its footing at launch, True Blood eventually managed to establish itself overseas as well, registering audience success in many countries across Europe.
The True Blood series is mainly shot in Louisiana and California with a budget of $ 3 million per episode. Although it has evolved over the seasons, a hard core of actors have been present since the first season: the Oscar winner Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Nelsan Ellis, Alexander Skarsgard, Jim Parrack, Carrie Preston and Chris Bauer.
True Blood: soundtrack
True Blood Soundtrack is composed by Nathan Barr and the main theme is the song Bad Things performed by country singer Jace Everett.
The original title of each episode takes its name from a song contained in the soundtrack of the episode itself, ranging across different genres, from pop to rock to country.
For the promotional launch of the second season, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan allowed the use of his song Beyond Here Lies Nothin ‘, which gave the title to the last episode of the second season. In addition, on the occasion of the season two finale, HBO produced and made a music video clip using the song by Depeche Mode, Corrupt.The video shows Depeche Mode performing the piece in a recording studio, interspersing the images with promotional segments from the performers of the series.
Continuing to talk about artists we love, we remember that, for the first episode of the fourth season, Nick Cave made a cover of She’s Not There by The Zombies, performed in duet with Neko Case.
The first compilation for the True Blood soundtrack gets a nomination for the 2010 Grammy Awards, in the category “Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media”.
In the summer of the same year, rapper Snoop Dogg released a single tribute to the series and its protagonist, titled Oh Sookie.
The second compilation was attended by various artists such as Beck and Elvis Costello who gave the series their unreleased songs. The compilation received two Grammy Award nominations, in the “Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture Television Or Other Visual Media” category and in the “Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media” category.
Cultural influences
True Blood was the subject of a Sesame Street sketch parody titled “True Mud,” featuring puppet versions of Sookie, Bill, Lafayette, Sam, Tara, and Sheriff Dearborne. In the skit, Muppet Sookie struggles to satisfy Muppet Bill’s requests for a pint of “True Mud”.
Anna Paquin (Sookie), Stephen Moyer (Bill) and Alexander Skarsgård (Eric) appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in September 2010 covered in blood and completely naked. This cover has drawn criticism due to the image’s alleged promotion of sexuality and violence. The show’s creator, Alan Ball, said in the magazine:
“To me, vampires are sex … I don’t understand a vampire story about withdrawal. I’m 53. I don’t care about high school students. I find them irritating and uninformed.”
Speaking of sexuality, the fight for vampire equality in True Blood has been interpreted as an allegory of the movement for LGBT. Rights. Charlaine Harris, the author of the series of books on which the show is based, said her initial characterization for vampires was as “… a minority that was trying to get equal rights.” Several sentences from the series are borrowed and adapted from expressions used against and on LGBT people.
Some online magazines and blogs have expressed concern that the show may perpetuate negative stereotypes about homosexuals as deviant.
However, they may have forgotten that the creator of the series, Alan Ball, is gay, so the fact does not exist.
I would like to say that, before saying or writing without having more information available, we should go and reflect on a glass … of good synthetic blood!
#feelingthirsty
#redpassion
