'True Blood' Grosses HBO's Second Largest Series Audience Behind 'Sopranos' Sophomore Series Finale's Premiere Averages 5.1 Million Viewers

Putting the final bite on its sophomore season, HBO's vampire series True Blood averaged 5.1 million viewers for the premiere of its season-concluder Sunday night.

Although the Sept. 13 episode didn't measure up to the 5.3 million who watched the Aug. 23 installment, the season finale improved 109% over its rookie-season predecessor, which drew 2.5 million watchers.

Factoring in encores, DVR viewing and HBO On Demand showings, True Blood averaged 12 million viewers per episode, making the Anna Pacquin-starrer HBO's second-ranked series behind The Sopranos.

Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News

USAToday

•CW's mixed bag. The Vampire Diaries drew 4.9 million viewers Thursday, CW's biggest series premiere yet, and more than doubling the crowd for Tuesday's debut of Melrose Place (2.3 million) and the return of 90210 (2.4 million). America's Next Top Model (3.2 million Wednesday) had its lowest CW start.

•Toothy. The second-season finale of HBO's True Blood (5.1 million Sunday) doubled last year's finish, while Hung wrapped up its inaugural run with 2.9 million.

For you 'Being Human' lovers

Shawn writes some great epsidoe reviews and some Season 2 filming info
HERE

True Blood Finale - WTF Did I Just Watch?

Our friend Meredith from io9 weighs in on the finale

This is it, the big finale. And if you thought True Blood went bonkers crazy WTF before, well then you've never seen an entire town marry off a God to a cow and a giant meat uterus. Spoilers ahead!

Remember last week when I said that the I liked it best when True Blood went bananas? I may have been a little hasty. Turns out wrapping up this sex party was pretty easy to do, if you do nothing but subject the audience to pure unbridled lunacy. While I'm all for the whole hog True Blood, I think it crossed the rat shit rubicon, a phrase I really didn't think I was ever going to use again, a month ago and this episode was just some really strange, disjointed crap. But thank goodness for teen vampirism, Claudine Clark and another round of Yahtzee. Because the whole thing turned around and revved up for the third season half way through, but not without some pretty huge surprises.

Con: So we're back at the nest and Tara and Eggs acting like a pair of terrible Disney henchmen bumbling about and fawning all over said egg. Then Eggs made this face and I punched the TV....

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Agree or disagree she's funny and pointing this out was brilliant!!

Pro: Charlaine Harris cameo at the bar, yay! You rule Harris, good to see her getting cred, this is the kind of stuff that belongs in a finale. And I would have to agree with you dear, I did not see the town folk building a giant meat uterus in Sookie's front yard ever happening either. Whew.

Con: Charlaine as much as you fight the Twilight comparisons why would you let them cameo you the same way Stephanie Meyer cameod in Twilght....they are pretty similar.

True Blood Crossword Puzzle: S2e06 "Hard Hearted Hannah"

Yippee- thanks, Kristie!

Hard Hearted Hannah

True Blood Music Video: The winter song by Sara Bareilles

The winter song by Sara Bareilles Lyrics

Thanks, gaby0189

True Blood Season 2 Time Line Part I

I've been working really hard on this, I'll have pt 2 ready tomorrow.

I think we should illustrate the daily time-line by what Sookie is wearing during these scenes. We know Season 2 went by fast but even in the story all the events happened in just a few days ..let's see how the time-line went for the first 6 days.

Day one
Evening Picks up exactly where Season one ended with Sookie and Tara screaming in parking lot
The body in Andy's car is not Lafayette
Tara questioned by Sheriff and Kenya
Later that night at Bill's, Sookie meets Jessica
Sookie wear here merlottes summer uniform with little zip hoodie

Day two
The Newlin's are on TV with Nan Flanders
Sam goes to visit MaryAnn with bag of cash
Sookie goes into Gran's room for first time.
Sid Mack comes to tell Sookie of Uncle Bartlette's death
Tara at Eggs at the pool at MaryAnn's
Jason and Hoyt are working when Sookie tells Jason about inheritance
Daphne applies for job at Merlotte's
We see the basement of Fangtasia and it's occupants
Evening Sookie work Merlotte's
Later Sookie back at Bill's
Eric in basement, he kills Redneck (Ep1 ends)
Eric and Lafayette talking in basement
Sookie and Bill in bed
Pam cuts and highlights Eric's hair they talk to Lafayette

Day Three
Jason on Bus in TX going to FotS camp
Tara and Eggs at MaryAnn's
Mary Ann comes to Merlotte's
Football at Light of Day Institute
Sookie meet MaryAnn invites Tara to live with her
Lafayette escapes Ginger stops him
Jason attends concert at Light of Day Institute
Evening Sookie goes to Bills talks to Jessica
Bill and Eric go shopping
Sookie take Jessica to her human home
Eric questions Lafayette
Chow Pam and Eric feed from Lafayette
Bill gets Jess and Sookie from Hamby house. (Ep 2 ends)
Sookie Bill fight in car and Sookie runs in woods
Sookie is attacked by maenad
Bill takes Sookie to Fangtasia
Eric calls Dr. Ludwig
Jason has trouble sleeping at camp
Pam and Chow return to report to Eric after searching woods

Day Four
Tara has breakfast with MaryAnn
Terry arrive at Merlotte's to find Sam packing his truck
Jason attends Fangbanger meeting at Light of Day Institute
Sookie wakes up at Merlotte's healed, Ginger has made her breakfast.
Sookie finds Lafayette in basement
Evening Sookie tells Bill about Lafayette and confronts Eric
Jessica goes to Merlotte's and meets Hoyt
Sookie agrees to Dallas to get Lafayette's released
Blood Stew pool party at MaryAnn's
Jason has dinner and Sarah's banana pudding at the Newlin's
Jessica and Hoyt at Vampire Bill's house
Sookie and Bill take Lafayette to his home
They arrive home to find Jessica and Hoyt kissing
Sam takes a swim with Daphne (Ep 3 ends)
Jason returns to dorm to find a hoax
Sookie convinces Bill to take Jessica to Dallas
Sam and Daphne swim

Day Five
Tara and MaryAnn have breakfast
Tara tell MA she is leaving
Jason and Steve practice killing vamps.
Tara goes to Sookie's house to live
Autopsy of Miss Jeanette
Tara goes to Lafayette's
Sam and Sookie fight about Sam leaving
Tara's birthday alone at Sookie's
Sarah and Ted Newlin BarBQ ribs for Jason
Evening Tara's Mom brings BDay present to Merlotte's
Annubis airlines lands in Dallas with Sookie Bill and Jessica
Sam goes to Tara's birthday party at Sookies house and talks with Daphne
Jason moves out of the dorm
Sookie and Bill check into Hotel Carmilla
Tara and Eggs hook up Eric visits
Lafayette and gives him blood to heal
Jason moves into Newlin's
Eric and Bill talk the Hotel Carmilla lobby
Jessica orders room service and Sookie meets Barry the Bellboy (Ep 4 ends)
Sam finds out Daphne is also a shifter
Sookie chases down and talks to Barry
Bill gets mad at Jessica
Jessica calls Hoyt at home

Day Six
Jason work out as a LODI Warrior of God
Tara and Eggs wake up at Sookie's
Sookie wakes up in Dallas and learns about Continental breakfasts
Lafayette returns to Merlotte's
MaryAnn and Carl move into Sookie's with Tara
Jason helps Luke
Evening Sookie Bill and Eric visit with Stan and Isabelle at Godric's nest
Jason sees Steve Newlin's arsenal
MaryAnn causes everyone to fight at Merlotte's
Sarah Newlin helps Jason take a relaxing bath
The plan is set to rescue Godric Bill and Eric have a few words and Eric tells Bill about his being "made" by Godric
Sam and Daphne "play "some pool
Sookie and Bill return to hotel and Sookie finds that Barry has quit
Tara comes home from work to find Mary Ann reading in Gran's clothing
Lorena appears in the hall outside Sookie and Bills room in the Carmilla (Ep 5 ends)
Eric is feeding in hotel bar when Lorena approaches
Isabelle and Hugo visit with Sookie and Bill Lorena has 20's flashback of life with Bill
Sam and Daphne still playing pool.

Sookies outfits
Merlotte's summer outfit * merlotte's t -shirt, black shorts
Merlotte's uniform and green hoodie
Checkered dress shirt and shorts
Merlotte's uniform
Jeans jacket and checkered shorts
Fangtasia red t-shirt
Merlotte's uniform
Yellow and grey sweater with yellow skirt
Bill's Hotel Robe
Blue Nighty
Blue sundress
Red gingham sundress

what did i miss ?

Now what? 10 things True Blood needs to get right in season 3

Gina at seacostline lists her 10things we need to see in Season Three

My list of must-haves for next time -- or I send a maenad after Alan Ball!

Moving ever forward, let's talk about things “True Blood” should focus on, now that filming for season three is approaching.

We've seen how easy it is for this show to get it exactly right (Eric + Sookie, Godric) and how quickly things can turn sour (Maryann, naked people sodomizing pine trees).

So, as a humble and occasionally frustrated fan, I offer a list of things I want Alan Ball and company to keep in mind:

******

1. BRING SEXY BACK: Ironic that when the entire town of Bon Temps goes sex-crazy it's about as big a turn on as, well, a fingerless Jane Bodehouse. It was done deliberately for the story, but one of the things fans love about this R-rated HBO show is its self-awareness on the soft-core camp front. Don't do stories that lead in unattractive directions – especially if they lead to naked people in sinks. I vote for more flag football-type scenes with Jason and Eric doing just about anything as long as it's seductively.

On that note …

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Nelsan Ellis talks about 'True Blood's' finale and what's next for Lafayette

from Chicago Tribune

As the wild and largely enjoyable second season of HBO's "True Blood" came to a close on Sunday, most of the residents of Bon Temps, La., wanted to put the insanity that had gripped the town behind them.

No one was more interested in sweeping things under the rug than Lafayette Reynolds, the cook at Merlotte's, Bon Temps' favorite watering hole.

Like most of the people in Bon Temps, Lafayette had fallen under the sway of the charismatic Maryann (Michelle Forbes), who was actually a creature known as a maenad.

Over a period of weeks, Maryann had turned more and more townsfolk into her unhinged acolytes, and though Lafayette had held out longer than most, he eventually succumbed.

[Events from "True Blood's" Season 2 finale will be discussed below. If you haven't seen the episode, be forewarned.]

Once the town's maenad encounter was over -- and it took a clever scheme from a vampire and a shapeshifter to engineer Maryann's demise -- most of the Bon Temps residents could not recall what insane or criminal things they'd done under her influence. And according to Nelsan Ellis, the Chicago native who plays Lafayette, that was just fine with the tart-tongued Merlotte's cook.

"He tells [waitress] Sookie [Stackhouse], 'I know you know what happened. Take it to your grave,'" said Ellis.

The actor, who was born in Harvey, spent much of his youth in Alabama, and returned to the Chicago area at age 14 to attend Dolton's Thornridge High School. He later studied at Columbia College Chicago, at Illinois State University and at New York's prestigious Juilliard School.

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Blood Bath: Televisionary Talks to "True Blood" Writer/Executive Producer Alan Ball

Good questions for Ball from Televisionary

Still have some burning questions about last night's True Blood season finale? Or anxious to gather some clues about just what creator/executive producer Alan Ball has in store for the residents of Bon Temps when True Blood returns next summer? You've come to the right place.

I caught up with True Blood czar Alan Ball this morning to talk about last night's season finale, deconstruct the second season, and find out about what's coming up on Season Three of HBO's addictive vampire drama.

In this exclusive one-on-one interview, Ball hints at what's on the horizon for Sookie and Bill, new creatures, Sam Merlotte's quest, Jessica, a possible romance for Lafayette, the Vampire King of Mississippi, Sophie-Anne, and much, much more. Ball also told me that the writing staff had broken the fourth script for Season Three of True Blood already and that shooting is tentatively slated to begin December 3rd on the highly anticipated third season.

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True Blood Episode 12 'Beyond here lies nothin' Playlist

"Party Lights" by Claudine Clark -Maxine dancing in kitchen

"Set 'Em Up Joe" courtesy of Extreme Music -Yahtzee with the Queen

"Bridal Chorus" by Richard Wagner arranged by Nathan Barr -Maryann's wedding march

"Canon and Gigue in D Major" by Johann Pachelbel arranged by Nathan Barr -Maryann's wedding

"Wedding March" by Felix Mendelssohn arranged by Nathan Barr -Maryann's wedding

"Marie Marie" by Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women - back at Merlotte's

"Zombie For Your Love" by Kim Jenz and the Jaguars -Jane talk about finger

"Savin' Up For Saturday Night" courtesy of Black Toast Music - Merlotte's

"Gasoline and Matches" by Buddy and Julie Miller -Jessica at truck stop

"Before the Night is Over" by Jerry Lee Lewis featuring BB King -Bill and Sookie dance

"Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" by Bob Dylan -end credits

True Blood Music Video of the Day: When I'm Gone by 3 Doors Down

When I'm Gone by 3 Doors Down LYRICS
Thanks, Budwiser884

BRAVO’S TELEVISIONWITHOUTPITY.COM ANNOUNCES THE WINNERS OF THE 2009 TUBEY AWARDS

Garners Over 2.4 Millions Votes, Up An Unprecedented 1042% Versus 2008 Awards

NEW YORK – September 14, 2009 – This summer, Bravo’s TelevisionWithoutPity.com, the popular website for TV junkies, brought TV fans the annual Tubey Awards, a unique opportunity for TV junkies to choose the best, worst, most improved and just plain craziest characters, series, moments and more from the 2008-2009 television season. The response was a record-breaking 2.4 million votes cast in 80 fun and quirky categories, up a jaw-dropping 1042 percent in voter participation versus the 2008 Tubey Awards.

This year, TelevisionWithoutPity.com partnered with TV Guide Magazine, Mediaweek and AccessHollywood.com to bring the Tubey Awards to larger and more diverse audiences. Each partner featured their own exclusive Tubey Award polls tailored towards their respective readers and cross-promoted with TelevisionWithoutPity.com. The winners of 15 additional Tubey categories, including Character Most Deserving of a Spin-Off, Best TV Programming Trend and Sexiest Over-40 Female on TV, can be found at TVGuideMagazine.com, Mediaweek.com and AccessHollywood.com.

Winners were announced today and include:
· Best New Show: “True Blood” (HBO)
· Best Drama: “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” (Fox)
· Best Comedy: “How I Met Your Mother” (CBS)
· New Series with the Most Wasted Potential: “Dollhouse” (Fox)
· Most Anticipated New Series of 2009-2010: “Glee” (Fox)
· Most Underrated Show: “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” (Fox)
· Best Competitive Reality Show: “The Amazing Race” (CBS)
· Guiltiest Pleasure Show: “True Blood” (HBO)

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INTERVIEW WITH A BABY VAMPIRE - TRUE BLOOD'S JESSICA (DEBORAH ANN WOLL) - PART TWO - Exclusive Interview

Although author Charlaine Harris created a set of indelible characters in her Sookie Stackhouse books, one of the most striking denizens of TRUE BLOOD,Alan Ball’s HBO series adaptation of the novels (which wrapped up its second season run last night), doesn’t appear in the print version at all. Deborah Ann Woll as Jessica, the bratty yet vulnerable teen turned into a vampire by Stephen Moyer’s reluctant Bill last season, continues to be a riveting original. Jessica is Woll’s first role as a series regular, and by her own account, she’s having the time of her life in Part 2 of iF's exclusive interview.
iF: Do you have any specific epiphanies about Jessica that you can point to and say, ‘I suddenly realized …’?

WOLL: Hmm. There was one quite early on. Loneliness was one of the things that hit on me right away [about Jessica]. When I shot the first season, it had been clear to me that this was a very repressed young girl who was now freeing herself and trying to be an individual in a way she hadn’t been allowed to before. But then when they started writing the stuff with Hoyt, I started exploring this relationship with a boy and that love feeling, it occurred to me that this is the first time any man, or woman, or human being, had ever said something to her like, "You, by yourself, are great." Or "I think your smile is beautiful." These words are the first time I was ever being complimented in my life or anyone was accepting me and realizing actually what an incredibly lonely life that must be, so Jessica began for me as sort of this strike for freedom, then became this kind of desire and need for a companion, for love and a relationship, and now – I can’t reveal too much – it’s starting to pick up another little thing for me.

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Stephen Moyer to be a presenter at the Emmy Awards

Stephen Moyer to be a presenter at the Emmy Awards

Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 20 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS

STEPHEN MOYER stars in Alan Ball’s Golden Globe nominated series “True Blood” on HBO as “Bill Compton.” Other US television credits include leading roles in “Princess of Thieves,” NBC’s mini-series “Uprising” and USA Network’s Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated “The Starter Wife.”

announcement here

Vampires: How they've changed over the years

Look at ol' Christopher Lee, dressed up like the stereotypical vampire - black cape, white collar, hair all slicked back and teeth bared as he rasps at his victim. Oh, get back in your dingy coffin, you outdated has-been!

Vampires have come a long way since those old Hammer Horror movies, haven't they? I don't quite recall when the change took place, but I suspect it might have been Buffy and Angel who introduced a more glamorous version of vampire relations to our generation.

OK, there were movie adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula and Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire, but Buffy suddenly brought vampires to a whole new audience - lovestruck teenagers. Sure, vampires have been charming humans for years, with a view to emptying their veins. Actually, wasn't it Interview With The Vampire that gave us a first-hand look into the lifestyles of vampires?

Vegetarian vampires...

Back in the Hammer Horror days, Vlad the Impaler was the sinister aggressor. He'd keep entire Transylvanian villages in mortal terror, but you never knew what motivated him beyond blood lust. Anne Rice's vampires had more depth - Louis de Pointe du Lac establishing a vampire character who was horrified by his compulsion to drink blood - the first of the vegetarian vampires?

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'True Blood' scoop: Denis O'Hare crowned King!

Insert your own fresh meat joke here: Off my just-completed one-on-one with Alan Ball, I’ve learned that True Blood has cast Tony winner Denis O’Hare (Take Me Out) as the king of Mississippi.

The veteran actor’s name may not be a household one, but you’ve for sure seen him. He’s appeared in roughly a million movies (Milk, Duplicity, Quarantine) and pretty much that many TV series, too (most notably a 10-episode run on Brothers & Sisters).

O’Hare joins True Blood as a series regular. He’ll debut early into the show’s third season, slated to air next summer.

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http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/09/14/true-blood-scoop-denis-ohare-crowned-king/

Exclusive: 'True Blood' finale postmortem with Alan Bal

Though last night’s True Blood finale tied up a bunch of loose ends, it also untied a bunch more! For instance (spoiler alert): Who kidnapped Bill? Why was Eric mostly MIA? Will the Queen return? Are Jessica and Hoyt over? What is Sookie? And that’s for starters. Luckily, series creator Alan Ball agreed to a little post-episode Q&A to finish us off.

Some folks were surprised by the structure of the finale and your decision to wrap up the Maryann story in the first 30 minutes.
ALAN BALL: I try to look at the show as basically almost like it’s a novel, and each episode is a chapter. I guess I’m influenced by the fact that when I watch TV shows, I watch the [DVD] boxed sets. Ultimately, it’s just organically the way it worked out. And the season finale last year was very similar.

Why wasn’t there more Eric in the finale?
BALL: There is a reason for not seeing Eric in the last part of the episode, but if I explain it, I’ll be [giving away] too much.

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