Why I Already Miss True Blood

Why I Already Miss True Blood

Back in 2008, the world was going through a vampire renaissance thanks to two hugely successful franchises of books-turned-movies//TV shows. Sweeping the market of teenage girls with its tawdry dialogue and storyline was the first TWILIGHT movie; a worldwide phenomena that told the story of a nondescript teenage girl falling in love with the most beautiful man who ever was, and just so happened to be a vampire.

Luckily, for adults, the Sookie Stackhouse novels were adapted by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) and put on HBO where sex and nudity could exist, and thus True Blood was born. What could be more appealing than a Southern gothic mystery/drama dripping with all the great, cheesy dialogue of a daytime soap but set among the fictional town of Bon Temps, a small parish full of vampires, shapeshifters, voodoo, witches and fairies.

Over the course of its 7 seasons, True Blood earned itself over 125 award nominations, winning two Emmy’s and one Golden Globe. In 2011, it even won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series, which depending on how you looked at the show, could raise a few eyebrows. What does True Blood, a show about vampires who have crept out of their graves to live among humans and demand equal rights and privileges as their warm blooded counterparts, have to do with LGBTQ issues? Well, some people saw the show as an allegory for the struggle for civil rights; after all in the opening credits there is a sign that states “God Hates Fangs”, which sounds terribly familiar to a certain homophobic slogan from the deep south.

As I’m sure all fans of the show have their favourite moments (and the show was filled with many amazing ones), I have to say that my top two were the “pecan pie” scene in the first season and the season two storyline about Godric (you know what I mean). Some people feel that the show was wearing out its welcome in the last couple of seasons but the relationship between Sookie and Bill is one of my top five TV story arcs of all time.

Thankfully now, HBO has released a boxset of all 7 seasons on 33 discs with more than enough special features to … sink your teeth into. True Blood Service and Beverages ads, PSA’s of pro and anti vampire rights, Enhanced Viewing Mode for 4 of the seasons, over 40 audio commentaries, and two great mini-documentaries: True Death: The Final Days on Set and Vampires in America are just some of what’s included in the beautiful blu-ray boxset.

If you were a fan of the show then this is a collection that absolutely belongs on your shelf. Being able to revisit those steamy Southern nights full of mystery, murder and twists will definitely keep you warm over the coming cold months.