“True Blood” Sucker Punch: Season 4, Ep. 11 by Mark Blankenship

I liked several things about “Soul of Fire,” but since I want us to leave in a good mood, I’m going to save them until the end. First, I’ve gotta deliver some tough love…
I hart True Blood, but this entire season has been based on a bogus conflict.

For eleven episodes, we’ve been watching the Witch-Vampire war, and we’ve been told the war is important because it could result in vampire extinction. Martonia has been determined to obliterate the fangers, and the vampires have been afraid she could actually do it. Scenes like Jessica’s slow crawl to the sun have suggested the vampires are this close to getting wiped out, and we’re obviously supposed to be worried about it. By extension, we’re also supposed to worry for Sookie. In this episode, when Martonia surrounds her in a burning ring of fire, we’re supposed to think that she could die for trying to help the vamps.
But we know it’s just a tease. True Blood is a vampire show, and on a vampire show, the vampires are never going to lose. Meanwhile, Sookie is the lead character, so even though she’s not a vampire, she’s not going to die, either. Therefore, all this witch vs. vampire stuff is just a waste of our time. Instead of getting wrapped up in it and wondering how it will end, I get bored and frustrated, waiting for Marnie’s inevitable defeat.

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True Blood Sucker Punch: Season 4, Ep. 10

People have been losing control of their bodies and their identities all season, but in "Burning Down the House," almost all of those issues are resolved. A few characters even face permanent consequences, without getting help from vampire blood or glamouring! Woo!
In the very first scene, we say goodbye to Forgetful Eric. Just as he's about to kill Bill at the Tolerance Rally -- which was thrown into chaos when Martonia sent her vampire zombies on a murderous rampage -- Sookie blasts him with 1,000 volts of FaerieLight. She not only gets him away from Bill, but also returns his memories in a (literal) flash.

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"True Blood” Sucker Punch: Season 4, Ep. 9 by Mark Blankenship

True Blood needs to put up or shut up. Either let Bill and Sookie get hurt, or stop trotting out “dangerous” situations that they will obviously escape from. It’s cool if the main characters are invincible… just stop pretending they might die at any second. It sucks the life out of supposedly tense moments, and it distracts from other, more interesting stories.

Dumb fake-outs abound in “Let’s Get Out Of Here.” We start with the aftermath of the battle in the graveyard, where Sookie got shot. For one hot second, Bill and Alcide are worried because Sookie won’t drink Bill’s blood. Since we’re not stupid, though, we know she’ll drink it eventually, so the entire scene becomes an irritating delay of the inevitable.
Same deal with the climactic battle at the Festival of Tolerance. Martonia plans to kill Bill in front of all those reporters, but we know that’s an empty threat. Of course Sookie’s going to learn about the plan, and of course she’s going to help Bill get away. Yet the episode drags on for an hour, pretending something bad might happen.
What’s worse, in order to justify Bill’s inevitable rescue, the episode constructs convoluted, unsatisfying plot twists. Like… Debbie. What’s going on there? One minute, she’s back on V and hating Sookie. In the next, Sookie reads her thoughts and realizes Debbie wants to help rescue Bill. That conveniently allows Debbie and Sookie to bust into the Moon Goddess Emporium, learn where Bill’s hiding, and haul ass to save him.

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“True Blood” Sucker Punch: Season 4, Ep. 8

You may remember that last week, Marnie allowed her body to become a vessel for Antonia, so Martonia was born. This week, Lafayette’s body is invaded by the spirit of Mavis, the ghost-woman who’s been haunting Baby Mikey. Therefore, it’s time to welcome… LaMavis. Politely avert your eyes as she breaks into your house and steals your baby.

For me, LaMavis is the most interesting element of “Spellbound,” the first weak episode of this otherwise strong season. As a reader mentioned in an email, Nelsan Ellis deserves a prize for physically suggesting Mavis by straightening his shirt just so and adjusting his walk to an elegant glide. He plays Lafayette as a powerful character who is equal parts masculine and feminine, so when he heightens the femininity in LaMavis, we feel it right away. Once again, Emmy voters, I ask you where the love is.
Regarding the story, LaMavis is an important counterweight to Martonia: Marnie willingly gave her body to Antonia, but Lafayette’s body is taken, just like Jason’s body was “taken” in Hotshot and just like Tommy has “taken” (or shifted into) the bodies of Sam and Maxine. Will Lafayette resist? Is there a struggle for spiritual control raging inside his body? Remember that scene in Ghost where Oda Mae forces the ghost out of her body? Will Lafayette kick Mavis out that way? That would be awesome.

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“True Blood” Sucker Punch: Season 4, Ep. 5 by Mark Blankeship The Critical Condition

If the ghost of my grandmother told me not to fall in love with a man—even a six foot tall, Norse god of a man who was half naked, emotionally available, and lying in my bed—then I would listen to Grandmama’s ghost. And that is why, by the end of “Me and the Devil,” I was ready to snatch Sookie bald-headed. Girl, Gran told you from beyond the grave to stay away from Eric. I realize that he’s giving you sad-puppy eyes and that his ever-shirtless body only needs a dusting of powdered sugar to be the world’s best dessert, but those are diversions. I’ve spent the entire season insisting that Eric, though I love him, is ultimately a character who thrives on owning, on possessing what he wants, and even with his memory wiped, his impulsive need to havehavehave has already led to the death of your fairy godmother and a very disturbing dream in which Godric’s ghost encourages him to eat you. Eric may love your hair in the sunlight and be willing to stain your pillow with his sweet bloody years, but you need to back away. If you won’t listen to me, you should at least listen to Gran.

Or how about Tara? You know, your so-called best friend that you’ve been lying to, endangering, or ignoring for four seasons? When she confesses that she’s been lying to her Nawlins girlfriend, you breezily declare that honesty is the best policy, even though you know that Tara is terrified of the very vampire who is currently in your basement. Do you think she might have a point when she sees Eric, tells you you’re crazy, and runs away? Does it occur to you that even though you and Eric have barely kissed, you’ve already started lying to everyone and hurting people? Have you considered that most good relationships don’t involve flagrant deceit? Or that you tend to selfishly follow your hormones around at the expense of everyone else?

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“True Blood” Sucker Punch: Season 4, Ep. 4 by Mark Blankenship

Mark's great Sucker Punch is up - he even quotes are great discussion we had on Talk Blood about the Jason rape storyline ..last night was a really good show .. make sure you listen to the podcast !

Before we get started on this week’s installment, “I’m Alive and On Fire,” I have to revisit last week. In our discussion, some of you pointed out that HBO posted a featurette on the episode in which director David Petrarca and writer-series creator Alan Ball discuss the werepanthers’ plot to breed Jason against his will. “He kind of gets his comeuppance here,” says Petrarca. “The thing that he’s most been proud of becomes the thing that could most possibly endanger him.” Ball adds, “It’s kind of interesting to see the kind of guy who really gets his sense of worth from his sexual prowess to all of a sudden be kind of objectified and sort of used against his will.”

This really disturbs me. As “I’m Alive and On Fire” makes even clearer, the werepanthers aren’t just “objectifying” Jason. They’re raping him. They’ve kidnapped him and now they’re raping him. This week, Jason at least uses that word, but still, Ryan Kwanten delivers it with his slightly comic “pretty boy” inflection, so it almost becomes a laugh line.
Think how these scenes would play if a female character were tied to the bed as man after man came into to rape her. Would we be amused? If the woman slept around, would Petrarca and Ball call the repeated rapes her “comeuppance?” I appeared on a True Blood radio show last night, and the host pointed out that by saying Jason’s promiscuity justifies the rapes, Petrarca and Ball are close to saying a woman “has it coming” when she wears a short skirt. I’m startled Petrarca and Ball could be so tone-deaf.  There’s no justification for treating Jason’s ordeal like retribution or entertainment. It’s horrible, and it has resulted in the most stomach-churning arc in the history of the series.

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True Blood” Sucker Punch: Season 4, Ep. 3 by Mark Blankenship

Before we dig into the inter-species bloodfest of this week’s installment, “If You Love Me, Why Am I Dyin’?”, let me thank everyone who emailed me with their nominees for Sucker Punch of the Week. It’s great hearing from you all… because it reminds me that I’m not the only dork who sits at home on Sunday night getting really, really into this show.

Be warned, though, that I cannot be bribed into picking a Sucker Punch of the week. Cannot! Unless you can get Little Debbie to revive their long-dormant Spice Cake flavor, which was my favorite in the 80s. If you do that, then I will happily anoint any Sucker Punch you choose.

But before I write another pleading/angry letter to McKee Foods, let’s carry on… because I’m anxious to talk about Eric. His sudden “loss” at the hands of the witches—loss of memory, loss of self, loss of control—could be the greatest arc of this season.

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Building Character: Denis O’Hare by Mark Blankenship

Mark Blankenship our good buddy recently interevewed Denis O' Hare

Welcome to Building Character, TDF’s ongoing series about actors and how they create their roles.
When we first meet Elling, the title character in the Broadway play now at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, he’s hiding in a wardrobe. From his roommate. In a mental hospital.
His behavior is just as quirky in the outside world: Somewhere between his disastrous attempt to order pizza and his decision to hide original poems in boxes of sauerkraut, it becomes clear that Elling is not like other guys.

Yet there is something familiar about him. Elling charms because Elling, his roommate Kjell, and their pregnant neighbor Reidun are strange people facing everyday problems. When they’re ordering in a restaurant and there’s no more soup, they don’t just get disappointed: They have a conniption fit. We can laugh at them because we recognize our own tendency to turn small nuisances into global news.
Of course, getting us to laugh is delicate work. “This play is a tightrope,” says Denis O’Hare, who plays Elling. “It has a very narrow shelf you can exist on. If we are too casual about these guys, then we don’t pay homage to their unique circumstance. You kind of go, ‘Well, why is he in an asylum? He looks like a normal Joe.’ But if we go in the direction of making them too mentally ill, the audience won’t laugh because you’re not going to make fun of someone you feel is ill.”

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Publish Post

Set your TIVOs ! Our friend, Mark Blankenship of Talk Blood fame will be on Joy Behar tomorrow night!

Our good friend ( you all know him for Sucker Punch reviews and for being on Talk Blood Radio with me ) will be on Joy Behar tomorrow night!

Mark  writes for his own blog Critical Condition and for Huffington Post - we are so proud of him!
Can someone record it and turn it into a Youtube video ??

Joy Behar here http://joybehar.blogs.cnn.com/

Check your local listing for HLN ! Yippeeee

Mark was great ! read transcript here