Vincent Aceling
True Blood: Review and Top 10 List of Borrowed Elements
September 8th 2008 19:11
Suck this!
After watching the premiere episode of, “True Blood”, on HBO last night, I truly thought it sucked (pun intended). Now, I haven’t read any of the Southern Vampire Mysteries books by Charlaine Harris, from which the series is a direct adaptation; but I’m almost certain that those that have read the books will be groaning after watching True Blood’s first season of unoriginality.
I must admit that the premise of the series, while somewhat interesting, borrows too much from other genres (but then again, what film or TV series doesn’t?). Here are the top 10 borrowed elements that I took note of while watching the season premiere:
1) Public announcement of the accepted, vampire assimilation into mortal society on television by a well groomed, vamp spokesperson. (reminiscent of Mutant-kind’s spokesperson, The Beast, in X-Men: Last Stand, The Incredibles)
2) Immediate establishment of prejudice towards a minority group (especially those with special abilities) by uneducated townsfolk. (Seen it in X-Men, Harry Potter, Watchmen, Glory Road)
3) Gritty, hopeless, dismal, dystopian setting where crime, poverty, and discrimination are overly abundant (As seen in Carnivale, The Matrix, Rome)
4) Shining protagonist with an underdeveloped special ability (Been there, done that: Carnivale, The Matrix, Heroes, X-Men [what a coincidence! Anna Paquin is an X-men!], Star Wars)
5) Sex and Vampires (Also in Interview with The Vampire, Underworld, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Angel[tv])
6) Unassuming side characters with impacting storylines and hidden purposes, revealed after a turn of events (e.g. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Mist, Harry Potter, Lost)
7) A murder mystery that will no doubt get stretched as long as possible (e.g. Heroes, Dexter, Dallas [who shot JR?!], Desperate Housewives)
8) A quack doctor concoction/remedy (True Blood, V-Blood) that may have dire consequences for all who partake in it. (See ‘soma’ in Brave New World)
9) Campy vampire dialogue, “Fuck me? I’ll fuck you boy… I’ll fuck you, and then I’ll eat you.” (See: Blade, Blade Trinity, Dracula 2000, Dracula, Dead and Loving It, Van Helsing)
10) And the ultimate borrowed element… a snazzy tagline, “Thou shall not crave they neighbor”. (See: Blacula – “Deadlier than Dracula! Warm young ladies will feed his hunger… and hot, fresh blood, his awful thirst.)
The subject of vampires is getting tired out, or being sucked dry (pun intended), but hopefully True Blood does have some original plots and character development in the works. Some great examples of the vampire genre being taken to new levels are, Interview with The Vampire, I am Legend (the novel, not the movie), and Vampire Hunter D (anime). I hope that as the series continues, the writers of True Blood will quickly dissolve the borrowed elements mentioned above and focus on making audiences marvel at the mystery and mysticism of the vampire and show a new twist on the legend.
My conclusion? If you can tolerate constantly redone themes and have the patience to see if a new perspective pops up, watch it! If not, try sinking your teeth into the original book series (pun intended).
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