Showing posts with label Sookie Stackhouse Novels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sookie Stackhouse Novels. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

What About Eric?! -- Still Sexy in a Dress.

Well, as always with True Blood we start off with the other end of the cliffhanger from last week. "Frenzy" started pretty much how I suspected, with Sophie Anne feeding from a human.

Sophie Anne was interesting. She's a lot more colorful than she was in the books. There, she was sort of demure and dressed too old for the age she looked. Although she did enjoy the company of women, there was no real mention of the virtual harem she had at her compound.

I found it interesting that she used the phrase, "That's random," one which even my parents don't use. I guess Sophie Anne's a "hip" vampire?

But what I found most curious was the absence of Andre. I actually said it in my head like this, "What happened to Andre? Where's Andre?" *Tim Gunn Voice*


But seriously folks, no. I really hope that they keep Andre in the show. There are some of the best scenes later in the novels that directly or indirectly relate to him. The main thing is, he's never supposed to leave the Queen's side. The same goes for the Berts, but they're not quite as important until later.

What we find out from Sophie Anne is that Maryann was human and can be killed in a certain way. In the novels, they don't kill Maryann, she leaves voluntarily. The only reason I can see for killing her off is they want any possible return of the Maenad to be crushed. Why is that? Boring? Who said that? Oh, yes. Me. And a million other fans of the show.

Meanwhile back in Bon Temps, Tara wants to rescue Eggs, like an idiot. But the main problem I have with this situation is what Tara says to Sookie. She says, "How many times have you put yourself in danger for the man you love?" Well, realistically, some, but not the big one. Not the one that she'll feel the worst about when the truth comes out. Not yet. I'm beginning to think that they have no intention of following one of the biggest plot points of the books. Every chance they get to paint Bill in a positive light, as a victim, they take it. And I can only say, "It didn't happen like that."

Sam reveals he's a shifter to Jason and Andy, an increasingly strange and entertaining pair, btw. I have to say, I really love the stupid Jason lines. The best one this episode: "This is Armageddon. This is a book. This is The Oral History of the Zombie War." That's a fictitious book about zombies. A parody. That was priceless. Also, "That's in The Bible or The Constitution." I really love dumb Jason.

And Lafayette's having sex dreams about Eric as well. Although he doesn't enjoy them nearly as much as Sookie. "Somebody needs to slap that bitch." "I already have." was nice. I like how Sookie shares blood bonding stories with Lafayette like she's sharing complaints about frequent runs in each other's stockings.

Can I just say something about Lafayette's flashback things? I know they are not supposed to be funny, but I can not stop laughing until I cry when I see one. Andy Bellefleur was super weird, but it was hilarious. I'll tell you why. Alexander Skarsgard is a crazy good actor, so it's not just him in a dress, it's him acting like Lettie Mae. And I kind of love it. And I won't feel bad for laughing when Laffy is cowering in the corner.

And I also completely thought Alex was joking when he said he wanted to wear a dress on the show at Comic-Con (clip here). The saddest part about that scene? He was still sexy. I still say that that man is unfair to the entire male population -- and, strange and sudden revelation -- to the man who tries on Sookie's Fangtasia dress. I'd expect not being able to pull that one off is especially heartbreaking. Alexander Skarsgard: He's too dreamy.


Jason using the term "lady dog" amused me. He would think about that. Oh, Jason. You perv. The idea of Sam laying eggs and eating them was kind of strange as well. I found myself yelling at the screen, "He's not a lady chicken, Jason!" Not that he heard me.

When Sookie tells Lafayette she's going to do something, I fully expected some more weird telepathic glowey magic stuff. No, it was just a statue.

I'm a fan of whenever someone suggests that they go see Eric. There are actual cheers over here. Sam takes advice from Coby and Lisa, obviously not thinking too clearly lately. Missed that one himself. At Fangtasia, we have the very awesome Closed sign, "Sorry We're Dead."

Tara breaks away, thanks to bitchy Lettie Mae, and gets black-eyed again. Shocker. And she also summoned Maryann with her fake demon. Lovely. Best thing about this scene? Maryann's angry gerbil noise!

Sookie and Lafayette are storming the castle, so to speak, and all I can think is, "Sookie, what is in your purse?" You didn't drive, you're not going to tip the maenad for the lovely meat tree or the house sitting, why? At least use a messenger bag when you're battling to the death. Hands free is the way to go in this girl's opinion.

So, Sam asks Eric for help at Fangtasia, and he lounges there like he's in a photo shoot for GQ, smouldering at the youngins. Eric asks Sam if he could give him Sookie, calling it a "tribute," which I found interesting. In the books, Maryann asks Eric for a tribute directly, through her attack on Sookie. I can't recall Maryann calling hers a tribute quite so often as she calls for a "sacrifice." And it's not even for herself (as in the novels), but for another god.

Eric's interaction with the children has been a big hit, particularly the phrase, "teacup humans." I guess you would call this bittersweet if you're an Eric fan, counting the winking, the showing off his vampiric skills and not eating the children, but calling them "delicious" all the same. I'm sure the chatter on the Bill-friendly sites isn't nearly as light and "Aw. Eric! You rascal."


The flying scene was a bit anticlimactic, really It looked just the same as when they use the effect on Heroes. With this (above), I expected something flashier. Not that (below). In the books, I always pictured something more along the lines of hovering than actual Superman-style flying. I was more satisfied with the zoomy moves of last season, even if they were a bit cheesy.





Sookie pretty much walked into one of those cheesy haunted houses that they do for Halloween, only real. That's all I could think of when I saw it. Move from crazy hand chopping woman to intestine man to frisky coroner, all in the dark. And to the tune of screeching violins so you know you're supposed to be creeped out.

Of course, I thought, "Sookie's going to let him spoon her?" I had a yay Sookie moment when she was all, PAN FACE! Sookie's Fangtasia dress was also weird and amusing, but I thought the whole walk through was a little fake-looking.

Really perplexed by the egg. And the nest. Still.

About Lafayette and the last stand, or whatever you want to call it. Just another wtf, Maryann?! With the frickin' Wonder Woman powers.


Bill's visit with the Queen was something about which I was really concerned. I thought revealing that Bill had met Hadley would speed up the plot too much, but really, I don't think it revealed much of anything. At least not what it was supposed to. I'm worried that Bill's big downfall is just going to fizzle into a mix of information we already know and a man that's all tortured and conflicted and a victim of circumstance. That's not really what Bill is. But at this rate, I could see that happening. And I will not let the Bill fans be proved right. Not when I'm sure that they're wrong. I'm wacky that way.

I know the Bill or Eric debate is one for the ages, and a controversial one at its core, but I'm losing my faith in the writers' ability to convey the dickishness that makes Bill Compton the man we all know and compare to Eric.

Right now, I want to like Bill. I like Stephen Moyer and it pains me that we're going to see less of him as the seasons go by. If it weren't for the prospect of more Eric smirks, winks and tasty flesh (Zombie moment? There is a war brewing...), I might be more conflicted. But, what can I say? I take things for what they are. Only right now, what they are is wrong and colored with the positive spin of which I just can't approve. But revealing this big secret now would be ridiculous. That years of dramatic irony that would be a Maryann situation all over again. What is she? She's a maenad. Well, let's talk about it for two seasons. Then we'll tell you. That would be very bad, and boring and lose it's effect.

I guess I just want some book stuff to stay the same. There's things I love about certain books in the series and it just feels wrong without them.

So, lastly, we have the big Eric/Bill exchange, which is always just a big pissing contest. I especially like to watch Bill try to be tall next to Eric. Eric's flying hair is pretty brilliant, including the show of his vanity with the hands running through it, smoothing down.

Of course, Eric threatens Bill about Sookie, and Bill threatens Eric about the "V" dealing. It's strange that Eric is doing something the Queen doesn't know about. I think it's important to note that Bill admits to having given Sookie his blood, and that Eric is curious enough to guess that Bill had done so, presumably based on what he saw after Sookie's attack, or the fact that vampires often exchange blood with their lovers. This was something that many people commented on about the dream sequence. Eric looked very human-like because he had taken Sookie's blood earlier, whereas in real life, Bill had done the same and still looked very pale.


Overall, I feel the same way about this episode that I feel about most True Blood episodes. I'm extremely anxious to see it, obviously, but there's always a hint of apprehension attached. Maybe it's because I love the novels so much that any editing makes me sad. But I just can't feel right about the deletion of my favorite scenes (The Bill-Sookie hotel scene where Eric asks for a nightcap "Warm from the vessel," and mostly the Lycra. I will miss the Lycra.) in favor of the boring, repetitive and confusingly mysterious Maryann stuff. At least if they kill her off, we'll have a little peace from giant eggs and other similar wtf moments.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Eric Tees -- Sigh. And Not the Good Kind.


I both love and hate to tell you this. They are now selling Eric Northman and True Blood t-shirts at Hot Topic. Sigh. (An exasperated one, not the good kind.)

Why do you ruin everything I love, Hot Topic?

Let me tell you. For now it's okay, but the first time I see someone wearing an Eric shirt who wouldn't know Eric's ceremonial dagger from his bic, I may have to scream.

When they start printing GP jokes on them, I may have to off myself. And any girl who pronounces his name any of the following: Saarsgard, Skarskard, Derrick or Alec. And I'm throwing in "That guy." for good measure.

You have been warned. And when I pass the store in the mall, I may have to fall to my knees and cry bloody tears when I scream, "HBO, don't do it. Please! Please! Please. HBO," in Old Swedish. (Too soon?)

Not that it'll help anything, but maybe @EricNorthman will eat any of the people who are unworthy. He'd enjoy the sport.

Maybe it was naive of me to think that True Blood would have a cult following forever. But it looks like our favorite Viking is going to populate those dark-colored shelves with our favorite Sparkly Pansies. And then I will die a little inside. And it won't be from sexy Eric bites.

UPDATE: Friends are the best. Now, I was feeling all sad about the prospect of Eric Northman becoming a Hot Topic commodity but Nystacular knows just what to say. "Think of it this way, she's just a fangbanger." To which I could only reply, "Awwww. Because then we're Sookie Stackhouse and Eric loves us! (Mostly me.)"

You know you're friends are awesome when they make you feel better with obscure pop culture references. So, I'm spreading the love around. There is hope. Don't worry. The zippered Hot Topic girls are the Gingers and the ones who really appreciate him are the Sookie Stackhouses. Best idea ever.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Dudes Named Claude -- They all look alike.

After my insanely popular Doomed Pets post (har de har), I've decided to reprise the idea with a new True Blood-pop culture look-alike. Claude the Fairy is the cousin of Sookie Stackhouse and twin brother of fairy Claudine in the Southern Vampire Mysteries.

Here's the comic book version of Jean-Claude from the Anita Blake comics to give you a better visual. Sadly, Claude is introduced later in the novels, so we'll have wait until a few more seasons of True Blood are filmed before we see this hunky fairy in person (if the show's team even keeps him in).

Anyway, just for fun, here's a little character comparison for Claude and Jean-Claude:

Claude - he's a model and stripper/strip club owner fairy from Louisiana. Claude's described as extremely attractive, with long black hair, a killer bod and a rude, self-absorbed attitude. He's also gay, and is said to like a little facial stubble. He also loves to make money and knows how to separate a crowd of ladies from their dollars. Claude was also a the winner of a romance novel cover model contest.

This is a link to True Blood wiki users doing a little future character fantasy casting, something I always enjoy reading. Possible Claudes: Generation Kill's Rudy Reyes (A.K.A. Fruity Rudy, btw), Ian Somerhalder (Boone from Season 1 of Lost), Johnny Depp, Keanu Reeves, Milo Ventimiglia (of Heroes), Victor Webster (Charmed and Harper's Island) or Orlando Bloom. And the list goes on...

My pick? Most difficult because as I read, I don't picture someone who exists who looks similar, I start from scratch based on the descriptions given by the author. Maybe that's a writer's mindset. Anyway, out of those, I'd say Milo Ventimiglia is closest, with a darker-haired Ian Somerhalder coming a close second.

Jean-Claude - he's a vampire strip club owner and Master Vampire of St. Louis who feeds on sexual energy. He's famed for his long, curly dark hair and long eyelashes. Jean-Claude's a fan of the puffy shirt and his leather pants and boots. Although he is the lover of Anita Blake, he's diverse in his sexual appetites and has been long connected to his second-in-command, Asher. Jean-Claude is often described as every woman's fantasy and just plain beautiful.

Below is a little snippet of Laurell K. Hamilton talking a bit about Jean-Claude and the consummation of he and Anita's relationship.

Note: Semi-suggestive material discussed. Not for the Puritanical sort.

See any similarities there? I sure do. The character Claude was introduced after Laurell K. Hamilton's novels featured the tall, dark and fangy Jean-Claude. Is this a nod to another vampire novelist by Charlaine Harris? There's something wonderful about the idea of all the genre writers sticking together and enjoying one another's works.

It's like deciphering a secret code. Maybe these little similarities are meant to be found by a certain set of readers. I mean, look at the way Harris makes references to her Sookie Stackhouse short stories (formerly scattered in anthologies, will appear collected in A Touch of Dead this October, if I'm not mistaken). One that comes to mind is actually in Bite, a collection edited by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Many fans of the Southern Vampire Mysteries are also fans of the Anita Blake Series and there's no question why that's so. Both series touch on all the things we love about vampires and vampire-human relationships, and do so with dry wit and memorable, lovable characters.

So you be the judge on Claude and Jean-Claude, be they ab-tastic supernatural look-alikes or simply dudes with French names.


And just a special little note for all you Anita Blake fans: If you haven't heard IFC will be making an Anita Blake TV Movie for next Summer in 2010! Read more here from the IFC blog and here a Press Release from Laurell K. Hamilton's website.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Twitter -- I can conquer the world now.

Well, it's official. I'm on Twitter. I never felt like a Twitter person, mainly because I grew so tired of the every media outlet known to man going completely apeshit over something I equated to updating your Facebook status. But that's in the past now. I think the ability to make a super cute color-coordinated layout with a nice picture has convinced me. The picture I chose is of my WIP Knit.1's Heart Vest and Dead and Gone, so it's Record Cozy approved!



One cool thing about Twitter is that you can follow True Blood and Southern Vampire Mysteries characters and here their little updates in very Bon Tempsy ways. There's Pam and Eric, Sookie, Bill, Jason, Tara, Sam, Lafayette, Claudine and everyone else you can think of to the most minor of characters.

On the knitting front, Vickie Howell and Stephanie Japel have one, as does Redshirt Knitting (famous for the tree sweater), Roxycraft, Knitty, and Ravelry. Of course there's more, but I can not type any more tonight.

Twitter Updates will be located on the sidebar and a direct link to my Twitter profile will be under the "Random Cuteness" links.

And now, I must go forth and conquer the world with my many broadcasting mediums! People need to know what color Alexander Skarsgard's socks were at Comic-Con! Woosh! (That's me flying like Superman, btw.)

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