Friday, June 24, 2011

There's time to sink your teeth into 'True Blood' before Season 4 begins

From right here in the Kingdom of  Texas !

It's never too late to jump on the True Blood bandwagon.
The sexy bayou-country vampire soap begins its fourth season on HBO at 8 p.m. Sunday, picking up precisely where the story left off last year. That might make it seem somewhat daunting for newbies to join in on the bloody good time that "Truebies" have been having all along.
After all, the many complex characters and tangled plot threads will require a steep learning curve. But it's worth the effort -- and once you get a taste of True Blood, it's easy to get hooked.
"A lot of people have told me they jumped on the bandwagon after getting the DVDs and watching them all in one or two days," says Sam Trammell, who plays shape-shifting roadhouse owner Sam Merlotte.
A marathon watching fest is the ideal course of action if you want to bone up before Sunday's return episode. The first three seasons all are available on DVD.
But if you insist on diving right into the deep end, we at least can offer this primer so you won't be completely lost in the woods.

True Blood: Catch up On Seasons 1-3 with Our Annotated Map of Bon Temps

Not like I'm obsessed with True Blood or anything, but with Season 4 debuting on Sunday, here's a map I whipped up for my next mental vacation to my favorite city. Feel free to tag along for a quick tour of the following local landmarks:
Merlotte's: Any visit to Bon Temps would have to start here. Its the unofficial center of town and appears to have a stranglehold on the local liquor business. Almost everybody works here: Sam runs the place, Arlene and Randy, Sookie, and Jessica (nightshifts), Sam's little brother (until recently), Lafayette and Tara (when she isn't being held captive by depression or vampires.)

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Sookie short story: Home Improvement-Undead Edition by Charlaine Harris - pre-order now!

Home Improvement: Undead Edition is a collection of stories from several renowned authors. One of the best known editors of the book is Charlaine Harris, the New York Times’ bestselling paranormal fantasy series author.

Product Description

The editors of the New York Times bestselling Death's Excellent Vacation bring home a new collection...with a never-before- published Sookie Stackhouse story!

There's nothing like home renovation for finding skeletons in the closet or otherwordly portals in the attic. Now, for any homeowner who's ever wondered, "What's that creaking sound?" or fans of "how to" television who'd like a little unreality mixed in with their reality shows, editors Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner return with an all-new collection of the paranormal perils of Do-It-Yourself.

Sookie Stackhouse resides in these pages, in a never-before-published story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. And New York Times bestselling authors Patricia Briggs, James Grady, Heather Graham, Melissa Marr, and nine other outstanding writers have constructed more frightening and funny fixer-upper tales guaranteed to shake foundations and rattle readers' pipes.

About the Author

Charlaine Harris writes the #1 New York Times bestselling paranormal fantasy series featuring Sookie Stackhouse (the basis for the HBO(r) series True Blood) and the New York Times bestselling mystery series featuring sleuth Harper Connelly. She lives in a small town in southern Arkansas.

Toni L. P. Kelner is the award-winning author of the "Where Are They Now?" mystery series. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

True Blood Season 4 : Summer of Pam

KRISTIN BAUER X390 (HBO) | ADVOCATE.COMReturning as Pam, True Blood’s bitchy vampire lesbian, Kristin Bauer van Straten talks season 4 spoilers, on-screen nudity, and Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.


“I’m in no mood for lesbian weirdness tonight, Pam,” said Sookie Stackhouse in response to Pam’s flirtation last season, but we’re always in the mood for Kristin Bauer van Straten’s scene-stealing performance as True Blood’s most stylish vampire. Risking the wrath of secretive gay series creator Alan Ball, the 44-year-old actress sinks her teeth into the subject of Pam’s sexuality, takes a bite out of her backstory, and shares a taste of her exciting new storyline in the fourth season, which premieres June 26 on HBO.

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Get Ready: True Blood Report Returns Monday

We are so happy that Jef will be returning as co- host of Talk Blood Radio which will return on July 3rd 9:30 pm following True Blood !

​Rocks Off is super-excited that we'll once again be bringing you coverage of the music featured in Season 4 of Alan Ball's HBO adaptation of Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse novels. The fourth book is our favorite in the series, and as each season sequentially corresponds with the books (roughly), it's to be hoped that this batch of episodes will live up to their literary inspiration.
We already know we're going to get witches and an amnesiac Eric Northman, so there's some reassurance right there. On the other hand, we had some rather severe problems with the Ren-Faire fairy crap that ended Season 3 on a very "meh" note. Boobs and blood abound as much as ever, so no complaints from our nether regions, but what can we expect from the music?

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Immortal Tunes Inspired By HBO True Blood (Listen and Download)

True Blood fans are anxiously counting down to the much-anticipated season premiere of the popular HBO series on Sunday night. To get you in the mood, I've compiled a weekend playlist on Rdio that is chock full of bloody tunes, swamp songs, fearie grooves and immortal vampire anthems that is inspired by the sights, sound and story of the hit show. (Listen and download)
 "Bad Things" by Jace Everett - The spirited opening theme of True Blood that will have you on the edge of your seat the moment it hits.
 "Nothing But the Blood" by Randy Travis - A breezy, honky-tonk tune that will transport you right to hot and humid surroundings of the Louisiana swamp.
 "Bones" by The Killers - Whether you're human, witch, shifter, faerie or another otherworldly creature, all it takes is some twisted bone on bone action to get any heart pumping.
 "Blood Like Lemonade" by Morcheeba - It's that darn V juice that tastes like lemonade and gets you hooked everytime. (Or this is simply a tune to sink your fangs in.)
 "Louisiana Blues" by Muddy Waters - Nothing beats this Muddy Waters classic that packs soul for miles and miles, and will have you Fall In Love all across the thick summer air of Louisiana

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KCRW Exclusive: Neko Case + Nick Cave Duet on She’s Not There for True Blood

I’m a very lucky guy. I have two of the best jobs that I can think of KCRW DJ and Music Supervisor for the best bloody show on TV, True Blood on HBO.
This season, the 4th, is going to kick off with a bang. Not just watching the latest adventures of Sookie Stackhouse and all her supernatural friends but I am so very excited about the new version of The Zombies’ “She’s Not There” a new collaboration with Neko Case and Nick Cave.
A little background. If you are a fan of True Blood you know that each episode is named after one of the songs that are in that episode. So it’s always exciting for me to crack open the script and see what the writer has in mind for the title and the song that I will ultimately need to track down and license for use in the show.

listen here 

SFBC Club Favorites: Interview with Charlaine Harris

True Blood‘s Houston Premiere Party!

It has been a long 9 months since we last visited sultry Bon Temps, Louisiana. Fortunately, it’s almost time to grab your wooden stakes, maybe some silver, and head back south for the fourth season premiere of the deliciously wicked and over-the-top vampires series, True Blood.
Even better, for those of us in the Houston area, HBO GO, Comcast XFinity and Studio Movie Grill will be hosting a True Blood premiere party here in town, allowing fans a chance to compete for prizes and watch the first two episodes on the big screen before the rest of the country gets to sink their fangs into them.
The party will be held Sunday night at 7 p.m. at Studio Movie Grill at CITYCENTRE, 805 Town and Country Lane. For passes, go to Studio Movie Studio’s website, and sign up for the weekly e-news for CITYCENTRE (at the bottom of the page). Alternatively, fan Studio Movie Grill’s facebook page, and watch for a pass posting.
If you go, be sure to let us know how it was and have a bottle of True Blood for us!
True Blood airs 8 p.m. on Sundays on HBO. The season premiere is this Sunday.

Talk Blood Radio Returns July 3rd

I know everyone is anxious and ready for True Blood to start and boy-oh-boy,  do we want to talk about it on Talk Blood Radio.


We are really excited that this Sunday night everyone will be able to watch not only Episode 1  (on HBO) but immediately afterwards you can watch Episode 2 on HBO Go ( on the web, iPad or smart phone) – and we want to give everyone a chance to watch both.

After those 2 episode air it will be way too late ( especially for the east coast folks ) to start a radio show. So- we will wait and talk about both Episodes on July 3rd at 9:30 pm cst. You can listen live on Blogtalk , call-in and join in our fangtastic chatroom, after the Blogtalk Radio show airs live the podcast will be then be available on Blogtalk and on iTunes.

I am thrilled to announce that ALL of the Talk Blood co-hosts are returning again this year :

Lisa ( the artist formerly known as @SookieBonTemps) , Andy Swist and Brian Juergens of Camp Blood , Mark Blankenship from Huffington Post, Jef With One F  of the Houston Press, Meredith Woerner of io9.com and Becca Wilcott,  author of the Truly Madly Deadly the Unofficial True Blood Companion.

WOW – this is the BEST Team in the Sookieverse ! You really want to hear what these guys have to say!

We will also be bringing you some great Talk Blood sponsors –these great small businesses and independent authors are sponsoring Talk Blood episodes.

We need more episode sponsors( $50) and we are having an UNBELIEVABLE raffle ( $20) or just donate a few bucks. Please get involved,  advertise yourself, and donate for a chance to win a great prize.





Help us make Talk Blood happen !! Use PayPal or email me truebloodindallas@gmail.com if you need additional information. Thanks “D”

The Five Ways True Blood Gets Back on Track in Season Four

True Blood returns to HBO on Sunday for its fourth season, and with it comes some heavy baggage from the underwhelming third go-round. When the show's good, it's fantastically entertaining: sexually charged, sure, but allegorical, funny, aesthetically sumptuous, and just plain soapy fun. When it's not good, though, it's a real drag, totally bogged down in tangential nonsense (vampire politics, Maryann) and narrative wheel-spinning. We've seen the first three episodes of the new season, and things are looking up, with the show returning to fun form in five key areas. (This list contains extremely mild, completely general spoilers, but doesn't reveal any plot specifics.)
Plenty of Lafayette
The Sookie-Bill-Eric love triangle might be the show's central romance, but Lafayette — with all his "hooker, please" — is the show's delightful voice of reason. True Blood is its most interesting and entertaining when its fantasy elements are in contact and contrast with the normal world as we know it, and Lafayette's point of view often provides the jolt of a perfectly delivered reality check. And, thankfully, he's never been more present or happy than he is at the beginning of Season 4.

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Book review: 'Dead Reckoning'

Vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters and relatives — Sookie Stackhouse has faced them all. Now, she's pondering her own morals and values in a series that seems to have lost some of its zest.
God knows it's not easy being Sookie Stackhouse. The telepathic barmaid at the center of so many supernatural occurrences in the sleepy burg of Bon Temps, La., seems to spend most of her time fending off murderous attackers or the romantic advances of vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters and the like.

These days, things might even be more complicated for Sookie, who stars not only in bestselling author Charlaine Harris' successful series but also in HBO's hit show "True Blood," which returns for its fourth season Sunday.

The premiere episode of the new season finds Sookie (Anna Paquin) struggling to sort out the complicated powers she possesses thanks to her fairy bloodline and juggling the affections of at least two powerful blood drinking beaus. In "Dead Reckoning," Harris' 11th and latest novel, readers find the spunky cocktail waitress in not such a dissimilar place.

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True Blood' Season Four: More Sex and Gore

Sookie, Bill and Eric are back for season four of "True Blood."
Only this season, Eric and Sookie's relationship gets hotter after she and Bill call it quits, although offscreen, actors Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin, who play Bill and Sookie, are happily married.
Confused yet?
If the love triangle in HBO's sexy southern vampire drama isn't enough to keep your head spinning, then the werewolves, fairies, witches and -- oh, yeah -- humans in this fictional Louisiana town should.
Creator Alan Ball, the genius behind "Six Feet Under," was reluctant to reveal too much about Sunday's season opener during the Hollywood premiere earlier this week. "Let's just say somebody's life is turned completely upside down and somebody else's is very, very different," he told E!

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Warner Bros. Acquires Vampire 'Blood Wars'

Warner Bros. has just acquired "Blood Wars," a radical reinvention of vampire mytholog.

In the Warner Bros. version of the story, vampires have control of the world and humans are their slaves. But humans infiltrate the vampire army and plan a rebellion. The project is based on a story by Chad St. John and Blacklight Transmedia. Dalan Musson is writing the script. Jon Berg is overseeing for Warner Bros. Sarah Bowen is Imagine's executive overseeing it.

The undead remains big. Twentieth Century Fox has "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," which Tim Burton and Jim Lemley are producing, and Warners has a number of vampire projects in various stages of development.
They include "The Hunger," a remake of Tony Scott's 1983 film, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," based on the television show, "Midnight Mass," based on the DC Comic, "Nocturnal," with Legendary Pictures and "Bite Me," with Thunder Road and Mad Chance.

‘True Blood’ creator Alan Ball: ‘Vampires are just a huge metaphor for sex’

Alan Ball looked pleased as punch Tuesday night at HBO‘s elaborate Hollywood premiere for the fourth season of the hit series “True Blood.” As well he should. Attracting an average of 13 million viewers per episode last season, the glossy show has become the most popular program on the cable network’s current lineup. Weeks before the event, Ball spoke to Hero Complex contributor Gina McIntyre about his creative approach to the series — though he was careful not to reveal too many details about what to expect from the upcoming episodes. As any fan knows, Ball guards his secrets with great care.

GM: What’s your take on the current vampire craze?
AB: I think vampires are just a huge metaphor for sex. I think obviously a lot of people fantasize about being taken by a vampire. Maybe that’s a way to fantasize about being taken in a way that is so not possible of happening that it makes it safer to have those fantasies, I don’t know.
GM: Denis O’Hare‘s Russell Edgington really stole the show last year. Did you and he work closely developing that character?

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