TRUE BLOOD 1.2 - "The First Taste"

Writer: Alan Ball

Director: Scott Winant

Cast: Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton), Anna Paquin (Sookie Stackhouse), Ryan Kwanten (Jason Stackhouse), Sam Trammell (Sam Merlotte), Rutina Wesley (Tara Thornton), Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette Reynolds), Michael Raymond-James (Rene Lenier), Zenali Turner (Young Sookie), Patricia Bethune (Jane Bodehouse), Danielle Sapia (Maudette Pickens), Andrew Rothenberg (Malcolm), Jenni Blong (Michelle Stackhouse), Labon Hester (Young Jason), Bryan Lay (Gangster Lover), Todd Lowe (Terry Bellefleur) & Cedric Pendleton (Terrell)

After an intriguing but plodding "Pilot", things improve in the second episode. The cliffhanger from last week -- Sookie (Anna Paquin) being viciously beaten by the redneck Ratray's -- is resolved thanks to the predictable intervention of smitten vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer). Interesting to note that the telepathic waitress displays super-strength (or was it telekinesis?) before her fanged rescuer arrives. It seems Bill's right: there really is more to Sookie than meets the eye…

The first half of "The First Taste" is a bit bland, as it mainly serves to strengthen Sookie and Bill's unusual bond (he feeds her some of his regenerative blood after rescuing her, then licks her head wounds clean like a dog) and outlines more of True Blood's vampire mythos. Bill's 173 years old, he can't turn into a bat, etc.

Away from Sookie and Bill, there's not much else going on to keep you entertained. There was a rather pointless diversion with Tara (Rutina Wesley) going out to a party, which only cemented her unfriendly nature around horny men. The only subplot of mild interest revolved around Sookie's randy brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten), who was questioned by the cops over Maudette's (Danielle Sapia) murder. It turns out Jason thought he had killed Maudette (thanks to a vigorous, kinky sex session), but she fortunately recorded their antics with a hidden camera and the tape proves she faked her post-coital death to frighten him. She's an odd girl, clearly!

It's all dreamily watchable and unhurried stuff, but things only get interesting around the half-way mark -- after Bill agrees to meet Sookie's grandmother Adele (Lois Smith) and discuss giving a talk to her history buff friends. Sookie's gran is clearly very trusting of outsiders like Bill, but Jason and Tara are far from charmed by the new "man" in Sookie's life. At the moment, Bill seems honourable and decent -- but are we being naïve as an audience? Maybe we're just accustomed to difficult-but-destined vampire-human romances (see Moonlight just last year).

Later, a TV news report confirms the death of a Reverend who recently appeared on a TV show to condemn the vampire community as "evil" -- so the ambiguity over the vampire subculture's intentions is building. They may not need human blood to feed on anymore (thanks to the "TruBlood" synthetic alternative), but it doesn't look like they're going to ignore bigotry!

The story isn't very enthralling just yet, but there's an enjoyable atmosphere to True Blood's sticky, swampy locale. It helps that this is a HBO series, so I'm not expecting True Blood to go down a well-worn path with its love-story -- especially with Six Feet Under's Alan Ball as showrunner. Anna Paquin is even more adorable in this episode than last week, perhaps because she lets her hair down and her shorts seem to be getting shorter. Imagine a gap-toothed Hayden Panetierre; but one the average guy might have a chance with.

It's definitely an episode of moments, though. Maudette's murder isn't providing the strong narrative backbone it perhaps should be. We never really got to know Maudette before she died, we don't know the circumstances of her death, she came across as pretty weird to begin with, and she doesn't seem to have any grieving family to help us connect with her loss. Hopefully the murder mystery side to True Blood will become more prominent and we'll start to care about this crime -- a la Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks.

Right now, events are revolving around Sookie's mutual affection for Bill, and because True Blood's universe is one where everyone believes in vampires, the only thing stopping them becoming a couple is small-town prejudice and uncertainty over human-vampire relations in general.

Some random thoughts: the flashbacks to Sookie's childhood were too lengthy, but seeing the problems of a mind-reading child was a fresh angle on this overused superpower. Am I alone in thinking Sookie's parents' death in a "flash flood" isn't the full story? Also, I'm keeping an eye on that strange dog that seems to be watching over Sookie. Did you notice the painting in Merlotte's, showing the same dog standing over a little girl with blonde curls? Was that Sookie? Is the dog a shape-shifter perhaps? I'm wondering if Sookie was found and adopted, as her abilities don't seem to have been inherited from her parents or grandmother.

Overall, I'm really interested to see where this series is headed. At the moment, there isn't anything terribly compelling about the storyline, but the premise and elements of its vampire mythos are strong and it's had two decent cliffhangers in a row. But I had to giggle when it became clear the show's kept the silliest element of traditional vampire lore -- that a vamp cannot enter a mortal's house without being invited! So yes; Paquin and Moyer are good together, I'm growing to like Kwanten's sex-mad character, Smith is great as the kindly grandmother, the mythology is good fun, but nothing else has really captured my imagination.


14 September 2008
HBO, 10pm