True Blood: best characters, best lines? It's a vampire series - but for my money the best characters are non-bloodsuckers

from Guardian UK

There are many reasons to love the mighty True Blood and my colleague Grace Dent has already nailed many of them in this brilliant piece. But as the first season of the sexy vampire thriller reaches its midpoint on C4, giving those of us who devoured its premiere on FX and followed our blog another chance to relish it, it's interesting to reassess its best characters – and who gets the best lines.

My first thought was Tara, the stroppy but sensitive best friend of heroine Sookie Stackhouse, and she remains my vote, although I have wavered. Certainly none of the vampires has ever really staked a claim to the title. Bill Compton has revealed an undead-like passion and sensitivity, and is given to moments of torment that are almost human, but he is a bit of a bore for a bloodsucker, isn't he? Sookie, the telepathic waitress, has her feisty moments but she's really just there to hold the whole thing together - in Charlaine Harris's book, which inspired Alan Ball's adaptation, she is the narrator.

Sam Merlotte, the owner of Bon Temps' most jumping nightspot, gets interesting towards the ends of the series (I won't spoil it if you're watching for the first time on Channel 4), but he's not why you're recording the show. Ryan Kwanten, who plays Sookie's buff but dim-bulb brother Jason, is a joy: he shows a real commitment to providing weekly eye candy, and it's not easy to play stupid so winningly. ("First I get hauled in by the cops. Then I gotta let a dude drain my Johnson. That's a fuck of a day.") Nelsan Ellis plays the part of Lafayette, the swishy chef and V dealer, with gusto. The faceoff with a redneck customer in Merlotte's bar ("Who ordered the hamburger with Aids?") is probably his finest moment. I particularly like that he unclips his earrings like Alexis Colby before delivering the line, but keeps on what appears to a metallic silk showercap. He has more subtle moments too - the gentle eyeroll when an indignant Jason demands: "Do I look stupid?"

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