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True Blood: Sexier than Twilight

With New Moon, the new movie from the crazy-popular Twilight saga, out, I was in the mood for some vampire stories. But I wasn't interested in Twilight, let alone its sequel (although I must say that Taylor Lutner looks positively delicious in that promo poster) so I turned to TV where the new HBO series, True Blood, is making raves.

True Blood is based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris. It chronicles the life of Sookie Stackhouse, a human telepath/waitress who falls in love with local vampire, Bill Compton, and gets into all sorts of tangles with him over vampire politics, murder mysteries, supernatural happenings and religious fanaticism.

The series stars Anna Paquin as the main character, Sookie, and Stephen Moyer as Bill. Michelle Forbes, who played the lunatic Admiral Cain in Battlestar Galactica, also guest starred as a hedonistic social worker but actually a murderous maenad, Maryann Forrester.

WHY I LIKE IT

It's a vampire story that's not entirely about vampires. I've said it before. I don't like vampire franchises. The only vampire movie/novel I ever liked was Interview with a Vampire and that's because Brad Pitt was in it. I don't know. Maybe it's because I don't like dark, brooding thousand-year-old dudes who desperately need a tan. And because I like my horror movies to be all-out scream-fests, I've always been more of a zombie-type of fan.

But True Blood is different. It's more than just a story about vampires. Well, sure, it's about vampires but there's so much more in the series than the fanged ones. For one, it's a love story between Sookie and Bill. For another, it's human drama, what with Tara and her former alcoholic-turned-religious-fanatic mother. But I think my favorite thing about it is that it's also a fascinating, guess-every-turn murder mystery employing even the classic whodunnit approach.

Add to that the Southern backdrop of True Blood and the fantastic music. On that note, I think the True Blood opening sequence, played to the jazzy beat of Bad Things by Jace Everett, is genius. No wonder it won an award.

I also like that the series doesn't take itself too seriously. I'm sick and tired of tormented characters (shout out to Edward and Bella). The characters in True Blood feel real.

WHY I DON'T LIKE IT

Vampires. Oh, and Bill is short and wears a dorky haircut.

THE VERDICT

A highly watchable series, quite absorbing midway through the season, but viewers who don't like excessive profanity or gratuitous sex scenes should steer clear from it.

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