Saturday, June 16, 2012

Throw-Down: Southern Vampire Mysteries vs True Blood

And so it begins...

This is the first in a series of four posts that resulted from a discussion I had with Kristin McFarland, a very smart girl who favors the paranormal in her reading, writing, and, most importantly for my purposes, television viewing. She has an amazing ability to synthesize events and draw out the underlying themes, which makes her blog an interesting place to visit. She's also watched all four seasons of True Blood, a show that I feel I should like but I just...don't.

All that much.

So we got to debating the merits of the television world of Bons Temps vs the book version, and out of that came a series of posts that we'll have up the next four Saturdays. It's a back-and-forth thing; this week I'm only going to post the first bit here with a link to Kristin's blog where you'll be able to see the whole post. Next week we'll switch, and the new post will be on my blog and Kristin will be the tease. Um, teaser. Oh...

You didn't want us to make it easy for you, did you?

Enough preamble. Here's a taste, followed by a link to Kristin's blog so you can read the whole thing. Oh, and while you're there, wish her congratulations because she's getting married today!


Okay, Kristin, let’s get ‘er done. ;)
LR: You’ve watched all four seasons of True Blood and I’ve read all of the Southern Vampire mysteries. Now it’s time to compare notes. Your recent blog posts suggest that you’re a mite bit tired of ol’ Sookie and her friends. What’s your favorite thing about the show, and what’s not working so well for you now?

KM: My biggest problem with the series sprang to mind first, so I’ll start there! (Sprang… what a weird word.) I’m bothered by the constant escalation of violence: the show has upped the ante so many times that it’s become harder and harder to shock the audience. It’s forced the producers to show really graphic violence, from a vampire king ripping someone’s spine out on national television, to a main character getting shot in the head in horrifying detail....

Okay, this is where you gotta jump. Go HERE to Kristin's blog where you can read the rest of her answer, and then her question to me.

And if you're interested, you can check out my review of Deadlocked HERE. Have a great weekend, and happy wedding, Kristin!
Peace,
Liv


Photo credits: 
True Blood  http://store.hbo.com/detail.php?p=105736&ecid=AFF-7973318&PID=3545983&pa=affcj

4 comments:

  1. Hi Liv and Kristin,

    I've haven't read the books but am a fan of the show. I watched Sunday nights premiere and I was a bit bored, I admit. Although Pam always cracks me up, complaining about her Walmart sweatsuit as she's getting in the grave with Tara.

    I'd like to hang on for Chris Meloni. He lives in our town here in CT. My son has delivered pizza to him, he is in the grocery store all the time, we see him on the lake. A real nice family guy.

    I think I'm more excited for Season 3 of The Walking Dead.

    Nice post - I did jump over :)

    Debbie

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  2. Great topic for discussion and debate. Personally, I'm more of a fan of the books than the show (the violence gets to be a bit much), though I do watch it and get sucked in (no pun intended) each season. Looking forward to future posts!

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  3. Ooh, Pam was getting into the grave with Tara? Was Tara alive or dead? Or are they going for zombies now?
    Oh, no, that's The Walking Dead...
    ;)
    Thanks Deb!

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  4. Tami, in a discussion thread on the WANATribe site, someone pointed out that the feel of the TV show is more like the Anita Blake books, with the violence and the overall grim tone. Don't know if you've read those books, but I was like, Oh, Duh! And I've read all of Anita Blake (except the new one). So why doesn't True Blood work for me?
    Oh well, thanks for checking in...

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