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.

Is Tara a compulsive lier or does she just say stuff to get a reaction from people?

And Bill's accent is much better this episode.

I don't think that Bill killed the Ratrays--if they were dealing v-juice, I suspect that the same vamp that killed Maudette probably took them out, too. But there has to be a misdirection, I suppose.

Jason's not really bright, is he?

And I was wrong.

Well, he was justified because they were hurting Sookie.

I think that the dog is another vampire who can change form.

I couldn't decide to be amused or disgusted when Jason pointed at himself in the mirror when he was having sex with that girl.

I chose disgusted, Vortex. That boy doesn't have a lot of redeeming qualities.

I'm wondering about Bill inviting Sookie over if those unsavory vamps would be there. I'm totally hooked into what's going on now.

I think that the dog is another vampire who can change form.

I have a theory about the dog:

• The dog seems to want to look out for Sookie
• the dog does not like Bill
• there is a picture a very similar looking dog over Sam's desk
• it took waaay too long for Sam to run from the bar, out into the parking lot when Sookie took off after the Ratrays...but the dog was there the whole time
• Sookie does not hear Sam...of her own volition?
• Sam said, "It must be very relaxing for you to not be able to hear the vampire
• Then, when Sookie refused to listen to his thoughts he said,"You might be surprised by what you hear."

Therefore: Sam is the dog.

I was bummed, by my research into this theory, to discover that Sam is only in 4 episodes. I like him.