A True Television Sensation - True Blood

Drawn from The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series written by Charlaine Harris, the HBO show True Blood has become a television sensation. After winning both a Golden Globe and an Emmy in the very first season, how could it be anything else but a smash hit? What is so ironic about this is that several well known critics panned the show initially including the New York Post critic that said, "everyone would be dying of boredom...[it] won't so much make your blood run cold as it will leave you cold". Clearly, critics are not always correct when it comes to deciding what the audience will like.

True Blood is set in Bon Temps, Lousiana, a small, rather backwoods town. Sookie Stackhouse is the mind-reading waitress at Merlotte's, a local bar. The adventures begin when Sookie meets and then falls in love with 173-year old vampire, Bill Compton. Turns out that thanks to technology and synthetic blood supplies, vampires don't have to prey on humans anymore and they can live just fine around people...well, at least at night.

The show is produced by Alan Ball, the man behind another well-received HBO series, Six Feet Under. Ball also wrote several of the early shows, as well as directing at least two. Our mind-reading heroine, Sookie, is played by Anna Paquin who won an Academy Award for her role in the film, The Piano. The creepy slash lovable vampire is played by Stephen Moyer who is best known for his role in The Starter Wife.

Other regular cast members include:

* Sookie's brother, Jason, played by Ryan Kwanten
* Her best friend, Tara Thornton, played by Rutina Wesley
* Her boss, Sam Merlotte, played by Sam Trammell
* The cook at Merlotte's, Lafayette Reynolds, played by Nelsan Ellis
* Det. Andy Bellefleur, played by Chris Bauer
* Jason's co-worker and friend, Hoyt Fortenberry, played by Jim Parrack
* Fellow waitress, Arlene Fowler, played by Carrie Preston
* Nordic vampire, Eric, played by Alexander Skarsgard

When True Blood premiered on September 7, 2008, viewership didn't look promising, with only 1.44 million viewers for the first episode. Compared to past HBO show premieres, like Big Love with 4.56 million viewers, it was anyone's guess what would happen. However, viewership has virtually exploded in the three seasons that True Blood has been titillating fans and now the series has become the most watched HBO show since the popular series, The Sopranos.

10 Shows That Changed Television

I guess there is an official list of the ten shows that changed television. Here is mine:

1. The George Gobel Show (1954 to 1960)
George Gobel called himself Lonesome George. Son of a butcher and a Sottish immigrant I think his humor came from the dust of his dad's butcher shop. In those early days of television, his fuzzy face would come on and keep us laughing for thirty minutes.

2. The Milton Berle Show (1948 to 1956)
Milton Berle was born in Harlem the son of a varnish salesman. I'm sure that he learned lots of jokes from his father. His mother loved the stage and Milton was a child star. He was known for stealing jokes and being down right corny. But he kept us laughing until he was driven out my more trendy comedians. But he was Mr. Television and was given credit for putting hundreds of thousands of television sets into the homes of the working class who loved his corn. He called himself Uncle Milty.

3. Gunsmoke (1955 to 1975)
Unlike George and Milton it is still easy to find James Arness playing the role of Marshall Dillon in old Dodge City. "You got three minutes to get out of Dodge, Mister!" With a great supporting cast and gripping stories Gun Smoke entertained us for 20 years and I still find myself watching Festus, Doc, and Kitty eyes wide open.

4. Dragnet (1951 to 1959, 1967-1970)
Smart-mouthed Detective Joe Friday and his bright, refined associate played by Ben Alexander thrilled us with action on the streets of Los Angeles. Dragnet after being made into two rather good movies was made into a rather corny movie. The last movie was like a comic strip rather than the true life drama based on the real Dragnet of the Los Angeles Police. "This is a true story. The names have been changed to protect the innocent."

5. Your Hit Parade (1950 to 1959)
After a long run on radio, Your Hit Parade hit the television screen. Snooky Lanson, Dorothy Collins, Gisele Mackenzie, and Russell Arms thrilled us with their singing. I met one of the backup singers for Snooky Lanson in case Lanson became ill (which he never did). The backup singer told me he was popular in Mexico and Europe and that is where he made his living. We shared a cab. He was successful. He had a very nice home (at least from the outside).

6. Jackie Gleason Show (1950 to 1959)
Gleason, Art Carney, Audry Meadows, and Jane Kean kept us laughing. Gleason played Ralph Kramdem, the bus driver, Carney played Ed Norton, the sewer worker, and the women, the poor house wives who had to live with them. Sometimes Gleason played other roles such as Reginald Van Gleason III, Rudy the Repairman, Joe the Bartender, The Poor Soul, Rum Fenwick Babbitt, Charlie Bratton, and The Bachelor. Occasionally you can still watch The Honeymooners. Great acting makes great comedy.

7. Bananza (1959 to 1973)
Starring Lorne Greene, Pernell Roberts, Dan Blocker, Michael Landon and David Canary, Bananza is still showing here and there. This widowed rancher played by Greene spends his time getting his sons out of trouble. To me it was not as good as Gunsmoke but it had a flavor of its own and I liked the big guy, Hoss Cartwright, played by Dan Blocker. I also liked Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright. He was sort of a refined gunman.

8. The Odd Couple (1970-75)
Starring Tony Randall, Jack Klugman, Al Molinaro, Penny Marshall, The Odd Couple shows the antiques of the slob sports writer, Oscar Madison (Klugman) and the fastidious news writer, Felix Ungar (Randall) as they live together after separating from their wives. It is still around occasionally.

9. The Show of Shows (1950-54)
The Show of Shows starred Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca with Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Nanette Fabray, Bill Hayes, Judy Johnson, and others. The skits were varied and funny but it was the stars that made the show. A "regular" cast would have fallen on its face.

10. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962-92)
Like John Boehner, tending to cry if the sun came out, I was glad to see Jack Parr leave The Tonight Show. I don't now what changed Parr. He had been an entertaining host, better than the any we have today, but then he started to cry and moan. Carson took over and was the greatest of all the shows stars. There is no late-night host that compares with him. His skits were clever and funny but it was his monologue that warmed up the viewers. He had a great fun with his guest, not looking down the ladies blouses and sniffing their perfume. He could get serious during an interview and like, Letterman, he could be insightful. He never forgot his Midwest roots which added to his charm. He was an ensign on the battleship Pennsylvania at the end of WWII.

O.K. So I like humor. There are so many good shows to choose from.

Fly Old Glory!