Of course, in many ways, the strange
Louisiana hamlet of HBO's "True Blood" has been for ages. It's an
old, ghostly community removed from nearby Shreveport by murky woods and
two-lane blacktop, a world away from more earthly concerns. (HBO, like CNN, is
a unit of Time Warner.)
But now it's really out of time. The seventh
and final season of the vampire drama begins Sunday night.
"True Blood" started with the
conceit that vampires already lived among us, but they'd kept their existence
secret until a product called TruBlood -- an artificial plasma -- allowed them
to "come out of the coffin." Waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna
Paquin), a telepath, falls in love with vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer),
and suddenly humans and vampires find out a lot more about each other.
Creator Alan Ball was attracted to the
material, based on Charlaine Harris' series of novels, because of the issues
that could be explored through the different types of beings.
"The books are so rich, and (Harris)
opens so many doors," he
told CNN in 2008, just prior to the show's premiere. "If it's just a
story device with fangs, I'm not that interested."
He turned over the production reins after the
fifth season. Mark Hudis handled a chunk of season six and then was replaced by
Brian Buckner.
Over the years, the show grew incredibly
complex. Shape-shifters, werewolves and other supernatural visitors showed up
in Bon Temps. The series branched out to peripheral characters who appeared and
disappeared with little explanation.
The community divided into factions pitting
the undead against the humans -- and against one another. The sex was graphic;
so was the violence.
Now that the show's conclusion beckons, here
are a few items to watch for:
1. Concentration.
Buckner told TV Guide that a lot of story branches have been
sawed off. "The hope is ... that by putting all of our characters
essentially into one story, now it's Bon Temps vs. the world, the characters
people love will get more screen time because these stories don't have separate
demands," he said. "We just get to tell a simpler story and then
experience them through our characters."
2. The future of Hepatitis
V. The
virus that infected TruBlood -- and got into the vampires' systems -- had no
cure at the end of season six. Will a solution be found, or will it devastate
the community? Vampires want more blood -- or they'll die. That can't be good
for anybody.
3. Don't mess with Bill --
or Eric. Compton's
transformation into Billith took off in the sixth season -- but where do you go
after you partake of the vampire god's blood? In Compton's case, you lose much
of your power. On the other hand, he could use a little more compassion.
As for Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard),
the old vampire sheriff may not be completely dead, Buckner said.
"We've obviously promised a 'Where is
Eric?' story and it would feel incredibly cheap to deliver the goods right
away," he told TV Guide. "We sent Pam (Kristin Bauer van Straten) off
in search of him and if she were to find him right away, we would be doing a
disservice to ourselves and to the audience."
But will he appear nude again? Skarsgard
doesn't mind.
"He's Swedish," Buckner told TV
Guide. "There was no discussion whatsoever."
4. The coming of war. Louisiana's now very
ex-governor, Truman Burrell (Arliss Howard), was no friend to the vampires. (In
fact, you might say he lost his head over the situation.) But the anger he felt
is shared by many fearful humans. There are many who would just as soon see the
vampires return to the underground -- or be vanquished completely.
5. The role of Sam. Bar owner Sam Merlotte (Sam
Trammell) may have given up his restaurant, but he's now mayor of Bon Temps --
and he's making a play for Sookie, too. Author Harris paired the two in a book,
and it didn't go over well with fans, but on TV the story could be different.
Either way, in real life Paquin is still
firmly paired up with Moyer -- they've been married for nearly four years.
What "True Blood" development are
you looking forward to?
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