True Blood first Episode -Review

True Blood started on Friday with the first episode being aired on FX. Made by HBO this was a very impressive start.

Firstly I'm a massive vampire fan.  I've always found any Vampire myth fascinating, from Buffy to Dracula, I always like to check it out.

Of course this being HBO there are few half measures.  This is Buffy ramped up to the max for a new generation.  Gratuitous sex scene, check.  Blood and gore, check.  Witty dialogue and ridiculous premise, check.

Some of the out door sequences, particularly those at night, looked a little like they were filmed in a studio, but other than that this had the usual HBO sheen on it.  Two charismatic leads in Anna Paquin (the telepath Sookie) and Stephen Moyer (the brooding vampire Bill) already ensure that it's been series linked.

The set up is a simple one.  Vampires are 'out of the coffin,' since the Japanese invented a synthetic blood substitute that the demons are able to drink rather than suckling on your neck.  They want to be treated with respect but the world hasn't quite got used to them, particularly in the Deep South where the series is set.

HBO don't fail often, at least we don't seem to see their failures in the UK, and Alan Ball, the creator, was the man who brought us one of the best TV shows of recent years with 'Six Feet Under'.

A great start then, and it's always reassuring when you know a second season has been commissioned, so many shows in the US die a death after their first year, not always because they're rubbish either.

It's not the Wire.  But it does have vampires, sex and swearing of the best kind.  What more do you need to know.  Watch it.

4/5

Episode 2 Friday 24th July 10pm on FX.