| True Blood | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Title: | True Blood |
| Format: | Live-action |
| Running time: | 60 min (no commercials) |
| country: | USA |
| Network: | HBO |
| Seasons: | 7 |
| Episodes: | 81 |
| Production | |
| Production company: | HBO Studios Your Face Goes Here Entertainment |
| Executive producers: | Alan Ball; Brian Buckner; Raelle Tucker; Alexander Woo; Nancy Oliver; Gregg Fienberg; Mark Hudis; Angela Robinson |
| Producers: | Bruce Dunn; Christina Jokanovich; W. Mark McNair; Marlis Pujol; Luis Patino; W. Mark McNair; David Auge; Carol Dunn Trussell; Robert Del Valle |
| Principal cast: | Anna Paquin; Stephen Moyer; Sam Trammell; Ryan Kwanten; Alexander Skarsgård; Rutina Wesley; William Sanderson |
| Air dates | |
| First aired: | September 7th, 2008 |
| Last aired: | August 24th, 2014 |
True Blood is a television series that began airing on HBO on September 7th, 2008. The series was developed by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) and adapted the Southern Vampire Mysteries novels written by novelist Charlaine Harris. The plot revolves around the development of an artificial blood substitute called Tru Blood, which enables vampires the ability to sustain themselves without the need for physically drinking human blood. As such, vampires are now able to "come out of the coffin" and reveal themselves to the general populace. The series takes place in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana and is shown from the perspective of a young waitress named Sookie Stackhouse - a psychic who develops a romantic relationship with a vampire named Bill Compton. Although vampires are the primary supernatural element in the series, the show also showcases other bizarre creatures including shape-shifters, psychics and maenads.
Series description[]
Thanks to the creation of a synthetic blood substitute called Tru Blood, vampires not longer need to sustain themselves off the blood of the living. As such, they have "come out of the coffin" as it were and coexist side by side with humanity. While many humans are intrigued by the existence of vampires, many more regard them with great apprehension, if not outright hatred. But there are other creatures lurking the shadows who do not share the vampires' ideology of exposing their secrets to humankind. Werewolves, shape-shifters, witches, faeries, and even Maenads find themselves faced with new challenges as their lives interweave with those of the other supernaturals of the world.
A vampire named Bill Compton arrives in the small idyllic southern town of Bon Temps, Louisiana where he meets with young Sookie Stackhouse - a waitress with a gift for hearing other people's thoughts. Sookie grows enamored with Compton, for she cannot perceive the thoughts of a vampire, and is drawn into a web of intrigue that opens her eyes to the wonders of the world around her, but also places her in great danger. Enter: Eric Northman - an ancient vampire, who runs a vampire bar in Shreveport known as Fangtasia, who is a rival of Compton's, who likewise takes an interest in Sookie Stackhouse.
Sookie's journey finds her world turned upside down as she struggles to balance her dreams of a simple life with the darkness of the world of the vampires. Adding to that, she finds her friends and family falling sway to the hypnotic powers of a Maenad, who wishes to turn her home into the epicenter of a modern day grand Bacchanal. Sookie learns about the existence of werewolves and forms a close relationship with a man named Alcide Herveaux.
After being caught up in battle between the vampires and the werewolves, Sookie learns the true nature of her telepathic abilities. She is half human and half Fae. Members of this mystical race introduce themselves to her, and she learns more about her abilities, but also about how the Fae race have had an impact on her family lineage.
Inter-species conflicts intensify as shape-shifters find themselves challenged by the other were races (including werepanthers and skin-walkers) and the vampire community grows divisive between the efforts of the Old World Sanguinistas and the governing Vampire Authority. This leads Bill Compton to become tainted by the blood of the oldest vampire, Lilith, and with her power, decimates the Authority.
Because of Compton's actions, Louisiana governor Truman Burrell initiates strong restrictions on vampire lifestyle, but also uses his power to create a vampire concentration camp. Burrell's connection to the manufacturer's of Tru Blood pave the way for a deadly virus known as Hep-V, which is fatal to vampires. As more and more vampires become infected, drastic changes come about between human and vampire relations.
Characters[]
Sookie Stackhouse: Sookie is a waitress who works for Sam Merlotte. She possesses psychic abilities and develops a relationship with a vampire named Bill Compton. Their relationship goes through many pitfalls as she finds herself pitted between Bill and his vampiric superior, Eric Northman. Sookie eventually learns the truth about her fairy heritage and becomes involved in several situations involving not only the vampires of Bon Temps, but a religious group of hunters based out of Texas, a powerful Maenad, a pack of werewolves and a coven of witches. Through it all, Sookie learns to harness her fairy powers and becomes a powerful ally to Bill and Eric.
Bill Compton: Bill Compton is a vampire and a native of Bon Temps. He served during the American Civil War and only recently returned to his home town to lay down some roots. He falls in love and courts Sookie Stackhouse despite growing resistance from members of the community. Through vampire edict, Bill is forced to turn a girl named Jessica Hamby into a vampire.
Sam Merlotte: Sam Merlotte is the owner of Merlotte's Bar & Grill and is a keystone figure in Bon Temps. Despite his well-meaning attitude and his overt affection for Sookie Stackhouse, Sam also has a dark secret - one that only few others know about. Sam becomes the prime target of Maryanne Forrester, an evil maenad with tremendous powers.
Jason Stackhouse: Jason Stackhouse is the brother of Sookie Stackhouse. A well-meaning though dim-witted man, Jason at first harbors a great distaste for vampires. However, his experiences with a vampire captive calls his prejudices into judgment and he finds himself to be a lost soul. Jason is eventually recruited by a cult calling themselves the Fellowship of the Sun who trains him to become a vampire hunter. When the cult threatens his sister, he betrays them and returns to Bon Temps.
Tara Thornton Tara is Sookie's best friend and a waitress at Merlotte's. Tara goes through a tremendous ordeal when her mother convinces her that she has a demon living inside of her. Tara goes to a woman for an exorcism, but unwittingly summons forth a maenad named Maryanne Forrester. Maryanne uses her powers to brainwash Tara as well as many others living in Bon Temps.
Lafayette Reynolds: Lafayette Reynolds is a homosexual drug dealer, road worker, prostitute, go-go dancer, and short-fry cook. Through a network of special connections, Lafayette is the number one connection in Bon Temps for V (vampire blood). Eric Northman kidnaps him and holds him captive, which has long-lasting repurcussions on Lafayette's psyche. Lafayette later enters into a relationship with brujo Jésus Velasquez, and learns that he is in fact a medium. Lafayette becomes possessed by the ghost of witch Marnie Stonebrook and murders Jésus, but also inherits a portion of Jésus' power.
Eric Northman: Eric Northman is a one-thousand-year-old vampire of Nordic heritage. He is the sheriff of Area 5 in Bon Temps and conducts his day-to-day affairs from a vampire bar known as Fangtasia. Upon discovering Sookie Stackhouse's ability to read minds, Eric sets his sights on her and stops at nothing to disrupt the relationship she has with his rival, Bill Compton. Eric is drawn deeper into the world of vampire politics after his maker, Godric, is kidnapped by a group or religious zealots. He then forms a reluctant partnership with Bill Compton to bring down the vampire king of Mississippi, Russell Edgington. Eric and Bill again find themselves partnering up when they are abducted by the Authority.
Alcide Herveaux: Alcide Herveaux is a werewolf from Shreveport who has occasionally allied himself with Eric Northman. Alcide initially shied away from the politics of his werewolf kin, but had a handfull of trouble when it came to his girlfriend, Debbie Pelt, who had fallen in with a pack led by Marcus Bozeman. Alcide eventually had to kill Bozeman and reluctantly accepted the role of packmaster. Following the death of Debbie Pelt, Alcide has been romantically tied to Sookie Stackhouse and another werewolf named Rikki.
Episodes[]
Season One[]
| Episode | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1x01 | Strange Love | September 7th, 2008 |
| 1x02 | The First Taste | September 14th, 2008 |
| 1x03 | Mine | September 21st, 2008 |
| 1x04 | Escape from Dragon House | September 28th, 2008 |
| 1x05 | Sparks Fly Out | October 5th, 2008 |
| 1x06 | Cold Ground | October 12th, 2008 |
| 1x07 | Burning House of Love | October 19th, 2008 |
| 1x08 | The Fourth Man in the Fire | October 26th, 2008 |
| 1x09 | Plaisir d'amour | November 2nd, 2008 |
| 1x10 | I Don't Wanna Know | November 9th, 2008 |
| 1x11 | To Love is to Bury | November 16th, 2008 |
| 1x12 | You'll Be the Death of Me | November 23rd, 2008 |
Season Two[]
| Episode | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 2x01 | Nothing But the Blood | June 14th, 2009 |
| 2x02 | Keep This Party Going | June 21st, 2009 |
| 2x03 | Scratches | June 28th, 2009 |
| 2x04 | Shake and Fingerpop | July 12th, 2009 |
| 2x05 | Never Let Me Go | July 19th, 2009 |
| 2x06 | Hard-Hearted Hannah | July 26th, 2009 |
| 2x07 | Release Me | August 2nd, 2009 |
| 2x08 | Timebomb | August 9th, 2009 |
| 2x09 | I Will Rise Up | August 16th, 2009 |
| 2x10 | New World in My View | August 23rd, 2009 |
| 2x11 | Frenzy | August 30th, 2009 |
| 2x12 | Beyond Here Lies Nothin' | September 13th, 2009 |
Season Three[]
| Episode | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 3x01 | Bad Blood | June 13th, 2010 |
| 3x02 | Beautifully Broken | June 20th, 2010 |
| 3x03 | It Hurts Me Too | June 27th, 2010 |
| 3x04 | 9 Crimes | July 11th, 2010 |
| 3x05 | Trouble | July 18th, 2010 |
| 3x06 | I Got a Right to Sing the Blues | July 25th, 2010 |
| 3x07 | Hitting the Ground | August 1st, 2010 |
| 3x08 | Night on the Sun | August 8th, 2010 |
| 3x09 | Everything Is Broken | August 15th, 2010 |
| 3x10 | I Smell a Rat | August 22nd, 2010 |
| 3x11 | Fresh Blood | August 29th, 2010 |
| 3x12 | Evil Is Going On | September 12th, 2010 |
Season Four[]
| Episode | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 4x01 | She's Not There | June 26th, 2011 |
| 4x02 | You Smell Like Dinner | July 3rd, 2011 |
| 4x03 | If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin'? | July 10th, 2011 |
| 4x04 | I'm Alive and on Fire | July 17th, 2011 |
| 4x05 | Me and the Devil | July 24th, 2011 |
| 4x06 | I Wish I Was the Moon | July 31st, 2011 |
| 4x07 | Cold Grey Light of Dawn | August 7th, 2011 |
| 4x8 | Spellbound | August 14th, 2011 |
| 4x9 | Let's Get Out of Here | August 21st, 2011 |
| 4x10 | Burning Down the House | August 28th, 2011 |
| 4x11 | Soul of Fire | September 4th, 2011 |
| 4x12 | And When I Die | September 11th, 2011 |
Season Five[]
| Episode | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 5x01 | Turn! Turn! Turn! | June 10th, 2012 |
| 5x02 | Authority Always Wins | June 17th, 2012 |
| 5x03 | Whatever I Am, You Made Me | June 24th, 2012 |
| 5x04 | We'll Meet Again | July 1st, 2012 |
| 5x05 | Let's Boot and Rally | July 8th, 2012 |
| 5x06 | Hopeless | July 15th, 2012 |
| 5x07 | In the Beginning | July 22nd, 2012 |
| 5x08 | Somebody That I Used to Know | July 29th, 2012 |
| 5x09 | Everybody Wants to Rule the World | August 5th, 2012 |
| 5x10 | Gone, Gone, Gone | August 12th, 2012 |
| 5x11 | Sunset | August 19th, 2012 |
| 5x12 | Save Yourself | August 26th, 2012 |
Season Six[]
| Episode | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 6x01 | Who Are You, Really? | June 16th, 2013 |
| 6x02 | The Sun | June 23rd, 2013 |
| 6x03 | You're No Good | June 30th, 2013 |
| 6x04 | At Last | July 7th, 2013 |
| 6x05 | Fuck the Pain Away | July 14th, 2013 |
| 6x06 | Don't You Feel Me? | July 21st, 2013 |
| 6x07 | In the Evening | July 28th, 2013 |
| 6x08 | Dead Meat | August 4th, 2013 |
| 6x09 | Life Matters | August 11th, 2013 |
| 6x10 | Radioactive | August 18th, 2013 |
Season Seven[]
| Episode | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 7x01 | "Jesus Gonna Be Here" | June 22nd, 2014 |
| 7x02 | "I Found You" | June 29th, 2014 |
| 7x03 | "Fire in the Hole" | July 6th, 2014 |
| 7x04 | "Death Is Not the End" | July 13th, 2014 |
| 7x05 | "Lost Cause" | July 20th, 2014 |
| 7x06 | "Karma" | July 27th, 2014 |
| 7x07 | "May Be the Last Time" | August 3rd, 2014 |
| 7x08 | "Almost Home" | August 10th, 2014 |
| 7x09 | "Love Is to Die" | August 17th, 2014 |
| 7x10 | "Thank You" | August 24th, 2014 |
Theme Song[]
The opening theme song was written by Jace Everett. The sequence features video clips of sensual displays of sexuality juxtaposed with images of religious fervor, suggesting that the emotional gratification one receives from both sex and faith is equitible to one another. The lyrics to the theme song are as follows:
When you came in the air went out
And every shadow filled up with doubt
I don't know who you think you are
But before the night is through
I wanna do bad things with you
I'm the kind to sit up in his room.
Heart sick an' eyes filled up with blue.
I don't know what you've done to me
But I know this much is true
I wanna do bad things with you
When you came in the air went out
And all those shadows there filled up with doubt
I don't know who you think you are
But before the night is through
I wanna do bad things with you
I wanna do real bad things with you
Ow, ooh
I don't know what you've done to me
But I know this much is true
I wanna do bad things with you
I wanna do real bad things with you
Notes & Trivia[]
- EyeCon hosted the first True Blood convention in Orlando, Florida on November 13th-15th, 2009. Media guests included Sam Trammell, Nelsan Ellis, Ashley Jones, Allan Hyde and Todd Lowe.
- Actors Sam Trammell, Kristin Bauer and Mariana Klaveno attended the Spooky Empire horror convention in Orlando, Florida on October 7th-October 9th. A special True Blood Q&A session with the actors was held on October 9th.
- The June 8th, 2012 issue of Entertainment Weekly was released with eleven different alternate covers, each one spotlighting a different cast member from season five of True Blood.
- Sookie Stackhouse and Roman Zimojic were featured on the May 28th-June 3rd issue of TV Guide to promote season five.
- Season two stars Mehcad Brooks and Michelle Forbes were both born in Austin, Texas. Coincidentally, Texas was one of the main settings for the season, though Mehcad and Michelle's characters were not involved in that storyline.