Stuff for a Friday

I used to have a regular feature on here where I'd just pack a whole whack of little things into one longer post, and usually called it Stuff for a [insert weekday here]. Problem is, with the advent of Facebook, I'm finding I just mention many of those things in my status updates on my page, and then to mention them here again seems redundant. But I want this blog to be more than just a Buffy Rewatch (and a damn fine one at that!) so I'm going to pop this in here!

For the past five years, I've been writing books about Lost. I wrote the first one between my daughter's first and second birthdays (that covered seasons 1 and 2), and season 3 while I was pregnant with my son. I couldn't write one during maternity leave, so I wrote season 4 once I was off mat leave, and it was released in April 2009, followed by season 5 in October 2009 (ugh). And then the season 6 one came out last year. Everyone keeps saying, "So what are you working on now?!" and I tell them I'm taking time off. And yet, despite not having a book to write from 8:30-midnight and every weekend for the past several months, I can't seem to find the time to blog. I'm watching TV, but not blogging on it. Perhaps with the end of Lost I haven't found anything that's intrigued me quite as much. Perhaps it's because my kids are a little older and stay up a little later, so it's not until 9 or so that I'm finding time to watch TV. Maybe it's because I've been trying to spend more time reading books. Or maybe it's just the solitary aspect of it.

But I have SO many blog posts in my head. So rather than mope about the fact that I haven't been able to write them yet, I'll just tell you briefly what they all are. And then maybe some of them will actually get written.

Doctor Who Series 2
I finished watching this a million years ago, and have a whole Word document full of notes for this one. I'm editing a Doctor Who companion guide that will be released next spring, and since I'm about to embark on editing series 2 of that book, I really need to post my thoughts before I know what someone's else's were! In a nutshell, I never thought I'd love another Doctor like Eccleston. But Tennant completely changed that.

Doctor Who Series 3
And yes, I bombed through series 3 in about four days. But because I haven't posted on 2, I couldn't very well go on to 3, now, could I?

Doctor Who Series 4
Do you see how woefully behind I am? Finished this, but because I'm having some trouble getting my hands on the specials, I haven't completely finished off Tennant yet. But I'm an episode or two away from doing so. And after watching Planet of the Dead, which was dead boring, I was put off by it a bit. But I really REALLY will.

If it helps, I'm enough of a Doctor Who nerd now that when I was at Polaris last weekend, I bought a TARDIS pendant and walked around the dealer's room reading every button, T-shirt, and bumper sticker and I TOTALLY got every Doctor Who joke. Yay me! I also almost bought a sonic screwdriver complete with sound effects, but they only had the eleventh Doctor's and I wanted the Tenth's. Yes, I'm in full-on geek mode.

Polaris
Oh right, I was at the Polaris sci-fi fan convention! Lots of fun, I was on a few panels, and sat in on some great chats. Took pictures, have a ton of stories... haven't posted. Sigh.

Fall TV
There are a lot of great-looking shows this year that I plan to watch, and I've already begun plans on which ones I'll blog on more seriously. I hope to post this soon, or at least before the damn season begins!

Buffy Season 8
I finally finished the Season 8 comics and I think part of my brain melted, but I really wanted to post on it. Maybe it's something to wait for until the Rewatch is over and then we move on to it? Nah... I think I'll talk about it sooner.

Movies
I've seen a ton of great movies this summer. But I usually post a quick loved it/hated it status update on FB and leave it at that.

So You Think You Can Dance
I've been addicted to this show for ages, and this season is pretty great. Last week, as I was just saying on FB, the divine Mr. Neil Patrick Harris was the guest judge and he TOTALLY dissed a Tyce Diorio routine. I cannot STAND Tyce so to hear a judge say something other than "Oh Tyce you are so fabulous" was amazing. To hear him say quite the opposite was sublime.

True Blood
I've been watching this all season and it's been a lot of fun. I don't read the books, and I've heard there's a big difference between Book Eric and TV Eric, but I've been enjoying it a lot. And what happened to Jason? Whoa.

Breaking Bad
LOVE THIS SHOW. Everything about it is brilliant. Highly stylized, but not in a way that overshadows the series at all. Superb acting, incredible writing... Aaron Paul was inspired this past week. I just love it.

So much else to talk about, so little time. But I do want to mention that I was very pleased by the positive response my Game of Thrones series of posts got from people. It was nice to do them with someone else, Christopher Lockett, who provided the bookish perspective.

And so, I'm happy to say I'll be doing that with some other shows this fall, joining forces with other bloggers to write posts together where we discuss the new shows. I hope you'll join us!

I Wanna Do Bad Things With You...

Just a quick reminder that tonight is the season 4 premiere of "True Blood" on HBO and HBO Canada, one of the many vampire shows that currently rock our televisions right now. While I thought season 3 was a little lacklustre, especially that whole fairy thing that happened at the end, I'm still very much looking forward to this new season. Especially for one particular thing...



That's right... the Tru Blood drink. Why, what did you think I meant?

True Blood Season 3

So, I promised many posts on True Blood's third season, and tonight is the season finale and here I am posting on it for the first time. Sigh. Sorry... (I'll be MUCH better with Fringe's season 3, I promise.)

This season started off with a bang, and there was SO much to love in the beginning of it. Jason Stackhouse reached a new level of idiocy that was absolutely hilarious (my favourite Stackhouse quote is now "There are two kinds of people in the world: people who got no dreams, people who got dreams and don’t do nothing about it and people who go out and fulfill their dreams"); Lafayette was AWESOME in every scene, whether it was taking care of Tara or going to visit his crazy mom or just being an all-around bitch to everyone; Eric was.... Eric (he doesn't have to be much more for me to be happy); Pam stepped up into a bigger role ("Just lie back and think of Estonia"); Terry Bellefleur was as sweet as ever, especially when he read his "10 reasons why you can trust me with your kids" list and it included the fact that he'd found a hurt baby armadillo by the road and nursed it back to health and now it sleeps under his bed (HAHA!); oh, and Sookie? You need to dye that hair black and become a goth... the scene where she was disguised as a werewolf biker chick was amazing... it was like seeing Claire Littleton with black hair.

But then as the season went on, I became less and less enamoured of it. Lafayette, who can cut a person down with a single look, turned into a little puppy when he was with Jesus. It was sweet, in a way, but it also rendered his character less interesting, and it seemed as if Nelsan Ellis, who plays Lafayette, was uncomfortable with the scenes.

Bill, once again, was separated from Sookie, and frankly, I liked her with Werewolf Boy a lot more. He was a great character, and so much could have been mined from him, but he seems to have returned to the shadows. So much was made of the werewolf pack in the beginning, and that seems to have been tossed aside in the recent episodes. Bill almost killed Sookie because of his bloodlust, and then they just moved on from that, too, like it wasn't important.

The Sookie as Fairy development was strange, but intriguing. I'm not sure exactly where they're going with it, but it's not clear why this is coming up all of a sudden and just seems inserted into everything. Why didn't Bill mention anything about this earlier if he's known all along?

I was at a sci-fi con in July and I sat in on a True Blood panel about the books vs. the TV series. It was a fun panel, even though I've never read a single one of the books (I was there to find out if doing so would be worth my time) and someone said, "I cannot WAIT for Crystal to show up!" and someone on the panel said, "Guess what? She's on tonight's episode!" I was intrigued... what sort of character would be so great that people were buzzing about her arrival? Um... the daughter of some meth dealer. Who happens to shape-shift into a panther. And... that's about it so far. She's annoying, she switches sides when it's convenient for her, it's clear she's afraid of her family and she's looking for Jason to save her, but every time he tries she turns on him again. So far I don't like her, but presumably she's going to play a bigger role if the fans of the book series are excited about her.

Tara is just plain annoying. I haven't been able to stand her for much of this season (nor most of last season, for that matter). She's the same angry person who judges everyone around her -- yelling at Sookie that Bill is dangerous while probably still healing from the beatings that Eggs laid on her -- while having sex to dull her pain, only for that -- once again -- to go terribly. I love Tara's caustic mouth, but this season the strength of Rutina Wesley is to be wide-eyed and shaking uncontrollably while bitching through every scene.

There are many things to love about this season, though: Eric's past, when we went back and saw how Russell had destroyed his entire family before his eyes, and Eric's centuries'-long vengeance against him; Edgington himself, and his loopy craziness after Talbot was killed (including carrying his disgusting bloody innards around in a crystal vase)... the scene of him appearing on the news broadcast and declaring war on humanity was brilliant; the Arlene pregnancy story and the agony she's going through, worrying that the baby might be Rene's, and her desperate attempts to end the pregnancy.

I wasn't so sure about Sam's shape-shifting family at first, but I think it's an interesting new plot point this season. Sam's always been so upset about the bad upbringing he had, only to find out that if his mother HADN'T given him away, his past would have been far more painful. That said, while I'm intrigued by what his family did to make money and how they threw their own son to the wolves -- quite literally -- I'm not impressed by this sudden past of Sam's that's come from out of nowhere? Seriously? He was like Sawyer only a couple of years ago, taking women for their money only for the con to be turned on him? He's skeezy and slimy, nothing like the Same we know. I just can't even fathom that, and it seemed like a convenient and ludicrous addition to a beloved character's past.

I also love the tenderness that has been shown this season with the other vampires. Eric shows a love to Pam that we hadn't seen before, leaving everything he has to her. Pam, similarly, can't take her eyes off the CCTV as she watches her Maker smoldering in the sunlight, knowing he's ready to sacrifice himself to kill Edgington. Bill was going to abandon Jessica but changed his mind when she appealed to him (I've loved just about every scene she's been in this season, by the way), and the only thing holding Jessica back from reuniting with Hoyt is that she believes she's not good enough for him. I'm intrigued by what Hoyt's horrible mother is cooking up with the little chiquita she set up to take her son away from Jessica.

So, I'm still a huge fan of True Blood, and the cliffhanger this season's penultimate episode was breathtaking. I can't wait to see how that resolves, and how this season will wrap up.

In the meantime, I want to mention once again Becca Wilcott's brilliant companion guide to True Blood, Truly, Madly, Deadly: The Unofficial True Blood Companion, a book that had me incredibly prepared for the ins and outs of this season. It's funny and insightful, and one of the best companion guides I've ever edited.

Happy viewing tonight!

True Blood Book Contest!!

Hello everyone... I'm just a few days away from finally handing in EVERYTHING on my book, and therefore, as promised, this blog will finally light up again. Until then, however, I wanted to offer up a contest for y'all. I've been talking about Becca Wilcott's amazing new companion guide to True Blood (I love this book so much I don't have words) called Truly, Madly, Deadly: The Unofficial True Blood Companion. Her publisher (and mine!), ECW Press, is offering a copy of the book to the winner of a contest of my choosing.

And here is my choice for contest: to enter I would like you to email me why you love the show True Blood, but write it in the manner of one of the characters speaking. For example, Sookie: "Well GOSH I just love this show because, well, it's got mah BILL in it. And Eric. Not that I have eyes for him. No. Uh-uh. It's all Bill. No, really. Why are y'all LOOKIN' at me like that?!"

Only, you know, your entries would be good. ;) You could write like Bill, Eric, Godric, Andy Bellefleur, Terry, Arlene, Sam, Tara (and if you choose her, it can be as expletive-ridden as you'd like), Jason, Sookie, or anyone else you'd like to choose.

So show me what you've got, and the best entries will be posted here, and I'll announce the winner next Friday, July 30. Email your entries here, and the winner gets a bright and shiny new copy of this fantastic book!

New True Blood Book and Trailer!

First, I'd love to direct you to a new companion guide (with a seriously divine cover), formatted much like mine are (in other words, it's awesome, heehee) by new writer Becca Wilcott. I love this book, LOVE it, and it's made me look at the show in an entirely new way. It's called Truly, Madly, Deadly: The Unofficial True Blood Companion and you can click the name of it to go and order it. It is seriously fantastic, featuring interviews with Charlaine Harris and PAM (!!), the Twitter True Blood players, various True Blood bloggers, and the episode guide is amazing. Plus, it's filled with many photos taken on the sets. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

AND... if you're in the Toronto area, the launch of the book is going to be on June 1 from 7-11pm at Czehoski (678 Queen Street West). It's an alter-ego party, so you show up, write your alter-ego onto a Hello My Name Is sticker, and that's who you are for the rest of the night. Always wanted to be Buffy? Go ahead and write her down!! But don't be surprised if the vampire alter-egos stay far far away from you. (But please do me a favour and stake all the Edwards. Thanks.)

I'm going to be there (I won't tell you yet who my alter-ego is going to be!) so I hope you can come, too!

And now that I've got your attention, it's time for the new True Blood trailer! I know where I'm gonna be on June 13...

Official True Blood Season 3 Poster!

Love. Love love love love love.

Interview with a Vampire...Sympathizer

So, fans of True Blood (I know you're out there!) I'm happy to announce that I signed up a book on the show (as editor, not as the writer) for release in time for season 3. The book -- entitled "Truly, Madly, Deadly" -- will be written by Becca Wilcott, who is currently working on a big fandom section of the book and is looking for YOUR input! So if you'd like to lend her a hand and answer a few questions about why you love the vamps (be sure to name drop Buffy OFTEN) please go here and help her out. Tell her Nikki sent you. :)

True Blood Revisited

I apologize that it's taken me a week to do this write-up, but better late than never. Last weekend was the season 2 finale of True Blood, which, similarly to the way season 1 ended, wrapped up the season's storyline in about the first 10 minutes, and then spent the rest of the episode in a denouement, ramping things up again for a cliffhanger to keep us on the edges of our seats until season 3.

As you know from my other posts on True Blood, there was a lot to love about this season. I didn't feel that it went out in the blaze of glory that it could have (the episode with Godric's death had more of a season finale feeling than this one did) and I was a tad disappointed with how things played out. But that could have been because there wasn't enough Eric in the episode. ;)

I also felt like Bill was rather neutered this season. At home he mopes around unable to deal with his the teenage virgin he'd turned into a vampire in season 1. When they went away to the vamp hotel he was held hostage by his maker while Sookie was trapped in the Fellowship church and was unable to help her. As Sookie is discovering that things are pretty grisly in Bon Temps, he's stuck with the Vamp Queen of Louisiana playing Yahtzee. He just seemed sort of useless as the writers came up with one thing after another to keep him away from Sookie so either Eric could use his influence or Sookie could deal with things on her own. It was an unfortunate use of that character.

And that Vamp Queen... I don't know what it is about her, but I didn't like her. I didn't actually recognize her at first (I kept saying to my husband, "I know that actress from somewhere") and didn't realize it was Rachel Leigh Cook, but all I could see were the pimples on her chin that someone had heavily covered in makeup. I think using an unknown actress would have worked better in that scene, and not someone who looks so familiar (and young... if you're a vamp and can heal yourself, can't you heal a zit?) She just didn't do it for me. Her purpose was to keep Bill away from Sookie, and then Eric away from Sookie. Though watching Bill and Eric playing Yahtzee endlessly was pretty funny.

These are small quibbles in an otherwise grand season. I'm glad Tara's back to normal, but next season will see her trying to come to terms with Eggs' death and her mother once again. Bill's disappeared, and it's not clear who's taken him (ooh, the big season 3 mystery!) and Eric is a part of both Sookie and Lafayette, which will probably take on greater significance next season. I'm excited to see it, and overall I was content with the way things finished up. I loved Michelle Forbes, even though Maryann was hot and cold for me at times. What show will she show up on next??

What did you think of the finale?

True Blood Finale Tonight!

In honour of it, check out this awesomeness (mild spoilers if you haven't seen Season 2 yet!)

True Blood: WOW.

I'm still a week behind on True Blood, so I'm taking a chance posting on this (and please don't spoil me for this week's episode in your comments!) but I just had to say something after watching that incredible rooftop scene in the August 16 episode, "I Will Rise Up." It was so beautifully done, and paid homage to similar scenes that had come before it.

Long before Joss Whedon humanized vampires, or Cylons made us question whether robots were unfeeling machines or creatures with souls, there were replicants. Whenever anyone asks me if I have a favourite scene in a movie, I probably say this one. At the end of Blade Runner, after Deckard has been chasing the replicants through the entire movie, he corners Roy Batty on a rooftop, and as the replicant "dies," he delivers one of the most incredible and moving speeches I've ever seen in a film, and Deckard immediately begins to question what he'd been doing:



It's one of those scenes that stays with you. In a similar scene (minus the death, thank god), in the season 7 Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, "Beneath You," Buffy tracks a crazy Spike to a church, and through his rambling she realizes that he's managed to get his soul back, in a sense. As she watches him in horror, he becomes more coherent, and tired of everything he's been through, he walks to the altar of the church, drapes himself on the cross, and says, "Can we rest now? Buffy, can we rest?" as smoke begins to rise from his body. I remember meeting James Marsters shortly after this scene had aired, and I told him I thought the scene was Shakespearean. His face lit up and he said, "Really? Because that's what I was going for!" Well, it worked. It's one of the most haunting scenes of any television show I've ever watched.

And now I've seen another. In season 1, True Blood was a campy delight that I enjoyed watching, despite all the naysayers saying it wasn't living up to the cred of other HBO shows. This season has been far, far better, not least because of Eric. Oh, Eric... I'm sorry, Spike, but as much as I love you, my allegiance has suddenly moved to another blonde vampire putting on an accent that isn't really his. Alexander Skarsgard. Oh, where you have you been all my life? Let's just look at him for a second, shall we?:



Mmm. OK, where was I? Oh yes, the August 16 episode. In it we discover -- shockingly -- that when Godric had been captured by the Brotherhood of the Sun, he'd done it on purpose. After 2000 years, he was tired. He was tired of the fighting, the hiding, the distrust, the bloodshed. He'd once been a bloodthirsty vampire, but he no longer even drinks blood, allowing himself to waste away. He was hoping the Fellowship would put a hasty end to his suffering, but his protege, Eric, came to his "rescue" just in time. Now that the PR woman who's touting Vampire Rights on CNN every night asks Godric to step down as sheriff, he gives up his post happily, and asks a distraught Eric to join him on the roof right before sunrise.

Alexander Skarsgard and Alan Hyde, who plays Godric, are both Scandinavian. I don't know if the language they used on the roof was something that they could both speak more easily, but what I did notice was when they switched to it, their already stellar acting reached new heights. Eric falls before his maker, begging him to stay, with blood running down his face (vampires in this world cry blood). He offers to burn with him, but Godric refuses, and asks him to find a safe haven. Sookie, who earlier in the episode had been tricked into drinking Eric's blood, and is now connected to him, is particularly tender and kind to Eric, despite the disgust she feels toward him, assuring him that she'll stay with Godric until the end. And she does.

Godric has clearly been set up as a Christ figure (he even refers to Christ in one episode), one who will die to save the vampire race. If he sacrifices himself, imagine the spin the PR woman could put on it. But that's not his ultimate end game. He's simply... done. Like Roy Batty, in his final moments he's completely humanized, and marvels at it. He stares at Sookie, and says he can't believe that at the very end, he's standing next to a human, who is crying real tears for him. He assures her he's not scared at all, but is in fact filled with joy. And yet, he belies this confidence in one brief moment when he looks at Sookie and asks her how God will punish him. She tells him God doesn't punish, he forgives.



He steps forward, seeing the sun rise for the first time in two millenia, and opens his arms to greet it. He'd already told Sookie that it would be quick, because he's so old. She stands back, sobbing and frightened for him, as a look of peace falls over his face and he is obliterated in a magnificent blue light, leaving nothing behind but the white tunic he'd removed just before stepping forward. This from the man who, centuries before, stood above Eric, about to turn him into a vampire, and answered, "I am" when Eric asked him if he was death. Now Godric knows there are things much worse than death.

In an episode that had its share of laugh-out-loud moments -- Steve and his wife bickering on national television while he sports the giant red bruise from the paintball on his forehead; Sam showing up naked at Andy's hotel room -- this moment was divine. I haven't seen anything like it on television this year, and it brought me to tears in a way that only Buffy used to do.

And now my husband's away for a week interviewing a musician for a feature story and I have to wait until he's back at the end of the week to watch the next episode. It's already killing me, but in the meantime, I will continue to be haunted by that scene of Godric giving himself over to fate and disappearing from a world that has only given him pain.

I Wanna Do Bad Things To You...

I've been meaning to post on this all freakin' season, but now I finally have the chance.... I hope some of you are watching season 2 of True Blood. For those of you who aren't, you are missing out on some of the best vampire television I've ever seen. This coming from someone who thinks Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the greatest TV show of all time.

Perhaps you watched season 1 and thought, "Meh. Not as good as the books." or "It's OK, but the sex is a little over the top." I'll admit, I haven't actually read the Sookie Stackhouse novels, so I can't compare. For those who haven't seen the show at all, it's about a girl named Sookie who lives in the Louisiana bayou in a time where vampires have "come out of the coffin" and are walking amongst people, thanks to a new synthetic blood called "Tru Blood" that can be bought in the stores for a steep price. So now vamps can walk into the local Mac's milk and pick up a case of the stuff.

But that doesn't mean people have to like it.

Obviously a metaphor for homosexuality, the vampirism on the show is treated in a new and vibrant way. Sometimes the comparisons are a little obvious, but by season 2, it ramps up into a whole new hemisphere of hate.

But let's rewind to season 1. Sookie can't find love, simply because she's a telepath. She can read the thoughts of anyone she's with, which drives her -- and the one who loves her -- completely bonkers. But then she meets Bill, a vampire who was turned during the Civil War, and for the first time, she can't read his thoughts. He, on the other hand, can't glamour her into saying or doing what he wants. Both see the challenge in the other, and fall in love. (And how much do I love, in a world of Angels and Lestats, a vampire named "Bill"? It made me giggle every time someone said it in season 1.) In season 1 there was an overarching mystery, where people connected to vampires were being killed one by one, and it wasn't clear who was doing it, but the vampire haters assumed it was a vamp, and the vampire lovers assumed it was someone who was vampiraphobic.

The mystery was solved by the end of the season, and now we're on to season 2, where an evangelist church is waging a war against the vampires by setting up an army of vampire killers. That plot alone is a lot of fun, but there's one other reason to be watching season 2: Eric. Oh, Eric. Not since Spike has a blond vampire shown up on the scene to take the viewer's breath away. But he's not funny like Spike. He's dark and brooding like Angel... and he's got a thing for Sookie. He ropes Sookie and Bill into his personal quest to find his sire, Godric (and through a freakin' FANTASTIC flashback that outshone the one where Angel was turned, we see how Eric was turned from a viking -- yep, he's that old -- into the vamp he is today, by Godric, the most intriguing character on television this year). And OH MY GOD that journey is one where every week, as the hour is coming to a close, I've got one eye on the clock and the other on the show, praying they won't end it any time soon. And each week I'm practically standing as the giant cliffhanger comes... and it fades to black, with me punching my fists at the heavens and screaming, "NOOOO!" (And, sadly, I'm not actually exaggerating. My husband is starting to enjoy my frustration more than the episodes themselves...)

I LOVE this season. So go grab season 1 if you haven't seen it yet, and get through it. It's not nearly as good as season 2, but it's still a lot of fun. And then get ready for Eric, Sookie, Bill, and the awesome journey of season 2. And hey, I haven't even MENTIONED the craziness that is Michelle Forbes this season, and what happens with her, Tara, and Sam. (I swear Forbes is on every genre show there is.) And that's not the only link to Lost... Ben Linus's mom (i.e. Michael Emerson's wife) plays Arlene, the kooky and hilarious waitress that works with Sookie at the local bar. Check it out -- you won't be disappointed.

Sunday Nights on TMN: Must-See TV

Do you remember the golden years of Fox Sunday nights? The Simpsons, King of the Hill, X-Files... there was no night like it on TV. Well, Sunday nights are back, and it's on The Movie Network. This Sunday will see the premieres of HBO's new vampire series, True Blood, and the fifth season of HBO's Entourage. They will be joined on September 28th by Showtime's Dexter. I think y'all know where I'll be on that night.
True Blood is the new show by Alan Ball, he of the legendary Six Feet Under and American Beauty. The series is based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris, which are a funny and original take on the vampire myth (unlike Twilight, ahem). Because of a new synthetic blood that is very similar to the real thing, marketed as Tru Blood and sold in six-packs like beer, vampires are finally able to "come out of the coffin," and walk amongst us. They no longer have to hunt humans (not that the nastier ones don't still like to) and instead can survive on the synthetic blood. But there's a twist. The vampire legend states that vamps drink human blood to feel more alive and energetic, and can imbibe some of the soul of the person they drink. In True Blood, if a human drinks vampire blood, it can energize them, heighten their sex drive, and even heal them if they're sick or hurt. So now it's the VAMPIRES who are on the run from the nastier humans. And as we all know, there are a LOT of those around.

Sookie is portrayed by Anna Paquin, who won the Academy Award for her role in The Piano when she was a young girl (I think she was 11? I can't quite remember, but I do remember her up on the stage in a little purple velvet outfit and this adorable poofy hat, and she kept giggling instead of giving her acceptance speech, and finally in a Kiwi accent said, "I'd like to thank the Academy" and launched into a very mature speech). Here she's a southern belle who can read people's minds, and occasionally the noise around her turns into what Buffy was hearing on Earshot... so many people talking she can barely keep her head straight. She's learned to control it by stopping where she is, closing her eyes, and concentrating, but sometimes it gets the better of her. When a vampire walks into the restaurant/bar where she works, she's fascinated by him because she can't read his mind, and by looking at him it can turn the other voices off. HIs name is Bill (which earns a guffaw from her, saying she'd expected something a little more romantic) and he's from the Civil War. Stephen Moyer plays Bill with a gentlemanly air, since the last time he walked among humans he was opening doors for ladies in hoop skirts. It's a great premise, watching him try to talk to Sookie, who is in short shorts and a tight t-shirt, chomping on her gum, while he's using old-fashioned language and trying to figure out how to communicate with her.

Sookie's brother Jason is a vampire hater, as are a lot of people, and he's about as horny as vampires are fangy. Sookie's grandmother, on the other hand, is fascinated by them, and wants to hear about stories from the Civil War, which is her favourite historical era. The show is light, funny, and there are some genuinely scary moments. Each episode ends on a massive cliffhanger that keeps you guessing until the next week (and since I've seen the first two, I need to wait until the 21st to see how this one's going to be resolved!). Someone commented here that the only reason I didn't like Twilight is because it wasn't Buffy, and I'll never like a vampire story that's not Buffy, but in fact, Twilight is possibly the only vampire story I didn't like. True Blood, on the other hand, is everything Twilight isn't: funny, sensual, alluring, and great storytelling.

To get your funny bone in the mood for True Blood, Entourage returns with season 5. The first episode is a bit of a transition, cleaning up the mess we ended with in season 4 and getting us prepared for the new adventures of our favourite hangers-on. Vincent and E's disastrous Medellin has garnered reviews previously saved up for Vincent Gallo, and Vince has disappeared to Mexico to grow a shaggy beard, forget about the world around him, and get lots of chicks. Turtle has remained there with him, since he has nothing better to do than help lure in the women using his famous friend. Just as Vincent is about to turn into Billy, the horrible director who got him in this spot in the first place, E and Ari show up with an offer that will bring him back to L.A. But it's upon his return that he really sees what Medellin has done to his career.

We've watched E do everything in his power to save Vincent and keep Drama and Turtle at bay while Vincent just ignores him and does his own thing, and usually in the end, Vincent proves things work out if you're charming. But this is one time when Vincent is jolted awake, and when he finally decides to get serious about saving his career, Ari forces him to recognize it just might be too late. Vincent needs to smarten up FAST or all his roles will be taken by Emile Hirsch.

The show still has its zing, and while I'm sure some critics will complain about the samey premise, I love coming back to these guys. Drama still has an ego too big for his apartment; Turtle is still a loser; E is still trying to get some respect from ANYONE; and Ari is still one forehead vein away from a massive coronary. But by the end of the second episode, Ari's wake-up call just might have been enough for Vincent. As Ari yells to him in the closest thing he has to a motivational speech: "It's time for a comeback, Vince! And since Britney Spears fucked hers up, it's all down to you!!"

This season promises guest stars (Leighton Meester, aka Blair from Gossip Girl, guests in the second episode, as does Tony Bennett), heated-up rivalries, humour from the fallout of Medellin (a clip from Richard Roeper ripping it to shreds is hysterical), and more Johnny Drama. For what the future holds and whether or not this season will be worth it, I have just this to say -- Episode 4: Johnny guests on The View. 'Nuff said.

Entourage premieres Sunday, September 7 at 7:30pm on Movie Central and 8:30pm on TMN, and True Blood follows at 8pm on Movie Central and 9pm on TMN.