Frivolity Break: Final Season of True Blood is Coming!

I didn't ever read the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris, and didn't catch the latest "vampire craze" wave (I was a Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel fan, from the previous wave) at first. I caught a few episodes of season 3 of True Blood, and was hooked. I immediately watched every episode I could, and at the time that meant season 2 and then the rest of season 3 in real time. Soon enough, I sought out the first season, and picked up season 4, 5 and 6 also as they happened. And I like it nearly as much as Buffy, which is really saying something.

Of course, being on HBO, they get to go much, much further with both the sex and the violence. Naked Jason Stackhouse and Eric Northman are enough for a whole contingent of viewers, plot or no plot! But the sex and violence are in the context of a very compelling (and sometimes repellant) alternate world, where vampires, werewolves, shape-shifters, witches and other horror movie staples, are real. The "coming out of the coffin" and "God hates fangs" lines kind of give you a sense of the flavor of dark humor in the show. There are similarities to Buffy, and big differences. But, it's just addictive, ridiculous, scary, loopy fun. And it's coming to an end. Season 7 is the last, though I have to say, they really could squeeze a lot more out of the concept. I understand after this long, you tend to lose cast members. But I'd love to see a True Blood: The Next Generation in a couple of years.
 

The Walking Dead Slaughters Competition!

You'd scream too! Image from source, HuffPo

I'm a diehard loyalist when it comes to my favorite TV shows. If I really like a show, I stick with it, through thick and thin. We're talking Dynasty and both versions of Melrose Place from start to finish! I've chronicled several of my favorite shows here on the blog, from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse, Better Off Ted, FlashForward, V, Swingtown and others. The common thread is that those shows all got early cancellations.

The "Greenlee Curse" is finally broken! Not only did The Walking Dead start out as a hit, it has only gotten bigger and more popular. Last season, there started to be reason to worry. Much like the first presidential debate two weeks ago, the reviews weren't very good, and the whining started. It snowballed in the blogosphere, a perception of "bad" growing much larger than any actual real problem with the show. I'll concede in season two that a) they hunted for the girl in the woods for far too long; b) they cowtowed to Hershel Greene for too long; c) Lori needs to die; and d) Carl needs to stay where they tell him to.

But otherwise? I loved every episode. As in True Blood, some episodes are better than others, but all of the episodes were worth watching. For every fan who complained that it was too "talky," and that they need more zombies, I say shut the hell up. If every episode is top-heavy with zombie slaughtering gore, it'll get boring. Hell I just watched a decapitation on Hawaii Five-0--something that would have been unthinkable on prime time TV a dozen years ago--and didn't even blink. Calm down, relax and enjoy the show. Yes, they had a few pacing problems last season, but the way these guys bitch, I wonder why they even watch it! I'm just happy that they've hit their stride again, and are being rewarded with stellar ratings numbers. No more Greenlee Curse!

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'The Walking Dead' Season 3 Ratings: Premiere Breaks Records

"The Walking Dead" continues to shatter ratings records. The Season 3 premiere of AMC's popular drama had 10.9 million viewers at 9 p.m. and 15.2 million when factoring in the encore. It was up 50 percent compared to the Season 2 premiere. . .The premiere is also the biggest basic cable telecast ever amongst total viewers. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post