Ok, I am glad to finally see some chatter on this! I don't have cable, much less HBO, so I am trying desperately to find the first ep somewhere (profile addy is good, ahem, ahem).

I've read the books, so there won't be any surprises (I think) but I do want to see how it translates to the screen. Sookie (it helps to know a lot of times this name is spelled "Sukie" -- see the Witches of Eastwick) is supposed to be a naive, but practial in lots of other ways, outcast. She can't really control her telepathy, so this is why she is so drawn to Bill. He's a wall of silence, and she's so intrigued by vampires.

Damn it, I want to see this!

The accents had me bouncing all over the place but I'm definitely interested. It has a great atmosphere and I'm a sucker for Anna Paquin in any form.

Rewatched True Blood last night with DH. His words: "It's compelling, but not that great."

I'll probably end up purchasing the premier whenever the iTunes store gets it.

Skipped 1000+ posts in the hope you folks were talking about Trueblood - good job, people!

I'm quite hopeful for the show, based purely on the website. I really find the prose and the white trash stuff rather hardgoing in the books, but they did improve rather. (One of the early ones made me want to punch someone repeatedly, largely because of the characterization of the chef*, but if they can have him be a gay black guy WITHOUT making me want to punch Sookie for still liking him even though he's black and gay, because she's just so goshdarned openminded, then that would be good. He looks cute in the trailer.)

I'm very fond of Six Feet Under, so surely the TV show could be good. Please?

*well, okay, and also the attitude towards sex. Ack.

but if they can have him be a gay black guy WITHOUT making me want to punch Sookie for still liking him even though he's black and gay, because she's just so goshdarned openminded

in all fairness, in small town Louisiana, she is. Although, if they are true to the books he won't be around for long. But, I don't know.

RE: Vortex's whitefont - the first ep covered only, what, 2 chapters of the first book. Time, it seems, is pretty elastic.

I can't find the first book, but I re-read a couple of the later ones, and I cannot GET how they are going to get the NEW IMPRO...ANNOYING Tara to go with the character as written in the later books.

I mean, I understand beefing up a secondary character for TV, I really do, but this isn't beefing up...it's redux and it's kinda awful.

I do think that Anna Paquin's doing a much better job at Sookie than I thought, and I quite like her as an actress anyway. Sookie really IS/WAS that naive and hopeful. And also, startled me to realize that she was 25 in the first book.

in all fairness, in small town Louisiana, she is.

Oh, I'm not doubting that being broad-minded is a rarity and virtue in small town redneckville. But the way that Harris coyly hammers home with anvils (writing in the first person, so it's the character's self-assessment) how gosh darned broad-minded and tolerant little Sookie is just makes me want to stab someone.

However, I have (after a couple of years) ventured into reading some more of the books, and I think that the prose gets less irritating. I don't think Harris is a bad storyteller, and her prose isn't anything remotely approaching the awfulness of Laurell K Hamilton's writing or characterisation.

I'm laughing my ass off at the Enquirer headline on True Blood.