The Summer 7: My Favorite Shows of Summer 2010 by Kara Howland

Ahhh. As summer comes to a close it’s time to look back and reflect on the summer shows I enjoyed. I’ve been a pretty active summer TV watcher for a while now and there has been a lot of great (and A LOT of bad) television. I don’t watch too much “reality” during the regular season but I allow it over the summer. Here’s what I enjoyed:



The Closer, TNT

I’m so pleased Kyra Sedgwick finally took home an Emmy for her portrayal of Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson. She has always been my number one reason to watch this show. Even if I can solve the murder before Major Crimes does, I always enjoy watching Brenda Lee at work. She’s a smart, strong, and sexy female lead. And her relationships with Chief Pope, her squad, and her husband are always interesting. This season I’ve really enjoyed the move into the new building and Commander Taylor’s plight to get out of his cube. Watching Brenda deal with Mary McDonnell’s Captain Raydor is always great drama. I, like Brenda, am not sure she should be the next chief. I like to see her solving cases from week to week, even after six years.



True Blood, HBO

I love this show. All the supernatural elements are always interesting and often shocking. The large cast means there are always numerous storylines to follow if one or two should fall short (I’m talking to you Sam Merlotte). James Frain’s Franklin is my favorite addition to this year’s cast with Denis O’Hare’s King of Mississippi taking an extremely close second. I will never tire of Eric Northman or Alcide Herveaux (I’m so happy he’s returning next year) or their fight for Sookie’s affection. I thought I’d be a die-hard Sookie and Bill fan forever. Not so much after the finale. Now, I wouldn’t mind seeing her with Eric or Alcide. And what do we have to look forward to next year? More witchcraft, amongst other things. I can’t wait.



Rescue Me, FX

This show never disappoints and Denis Leary is a revelation. Whether it’s funny, daring, dramatic, or shocking there is always something here to satisfy. After Tommy pledges to go back on the wagon yet again, almost no one in his life believes him. Can you blame them? One thing I can always rely on this show for is authenticity. I feel like we know how real fire fighters are, how it is to struggle with addiction, what it feesl like to run into a burning building and emerge alive. That’s probably what I love most about this show and I’ll be sad when it ends next year. It’s been an emotional, violent, and ultimately cathartic experience. And I hope we see more of Sheila and Tommy extremely dysfunctional relationship. They are so wrong together it’s right.



Treme, HBO

After a somewhat slow start, this series really took off for me. I love music and this show does a fantastic job of infusing it into everything. Khandi Alexander needs to be nominated for something (an Emmy, a SAG Award, something) for her role as Ladonna, a struggling bar-owner with a weakness for her ex-husband and a burning need to know what happened to her incarcerated brother during Katrina. There are no weak links in casting here. John Goodman, Melissa Leo, and Clarke Peters - to name a few - have had great storylines. But maybe most importantly, this show has reopened my eyes to just how badly things were handled in New Orleans and it makes me want to visit this bowed but unbroken city. I can’t wait for season two.



Samantha Brown’s Asia, The Travel Channel

I am a huge fan of Samantha Brown and watch all the iterations of her shows – Great Weekends, Passport to Latin America, and Passport to Europe. What I’ve loved in particular about the Asia series is that Samantha is so excited to be there. I guess these trips have been a long time in coming and I can feel her wonder and excitement. I find these shows to be great vacation prep and I find Samantha to be a fun and knowledgeable guide. I like that she often takes the road less traveled and tries to have more authentic experiences. And now I have a huge list of places I’d love to visit.



So You Think You Can Dance, FOX

Season 4 will always be the high point of this series for me but I’ve enjoyed every summer airing as well. I think Cat Deeley needs to be Emmy-nominated for her hosting duties and I love it when she puts Nigel in his place. I also loved the new format - a top 10 (well 11) and the addition of the all-stars. The addition of new choreographers always excites me – even if it doesn’t work. We had a great group of kids to root for this year who danced their hearts out. I really thought Kent would take it all – those tween fans were insane – but I’m glad Lauren made a late surge to take it all. I didn’t buy tickets to this year’s tour but I did see the dancers from Season 4 perform at the Nokia. It. Was. Awesome.



Project Runway, Lifetime

I was so skeptical about the new 90-minute format and, quite frankly, I feel like there is the same amount of show with more commercials. In any case, I still love this show. I always enjoy the challenges and watching the contestants “make it work.” Tim Gunn is amazing as a mentor (I even enjoyed Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style when he was back on Bravo). My favorite part is always watching those designs walk the runway – whether they are atrocious or heavenly. This year has yielded a strong crop of designers but next season I’d like them all to stay out of the hospital. It makes me worry about how hard they are working. But I guess fashion is pain. Learn it. Live it. Love it.

The Summer 7: My Favorite Shows of Summer 2010 by Tina Charles

The Summer 2010 TV Season is quickly coming to an end. And I have to say I think I've watched more television this long hiatus break than ever before. So just as the Fall TV shows start to invade the airwaves here are the seven shows that snapped, crackled and popped on the small screen. They all made my must-see list this summer.

• Leverage, TNT: I decided to make the commitment and start watching TNT's grifter thriller in its third season. I quickly found out that it's a perfect summer show. It's fun, has a great cast, the cases are almost always intriguing and it is generally a great way to spend an hour. Now I'm going to have to make another commitment. I'm going to have to pick up Seasons 1 and 2 and catch up from the beginning.

• White Collar, USA Network: I quickly marathon'd Season 1 in order to watch Season 2 in real time. So happy that I did. White Collar returned and delivered great episode after great episode. Two reasons why I love this show are its stars Matthew Bomer and Tim Dekay. More reasons why I dig White Collar are its supporting cast in Tiffani Thiessen, Willie Garson, Marsha Thomason and Sharif Atkins. I just hope in upcoming seasons Marsha and Sharif will be even more involved in the action and get some back stories.

• Rizzoli & Isles, TNT: TNT's newest hit procedural has also turned out to be a hit with me. Detective Jane Rizzoli and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Maura Isles are a dynamic duo when it comes to fighting crime. What's even better is that some of the issues that I had with this show at the beginning of the season have finally worked itself out. This show has plenty of potential to live on for a long time.

• Chopped, Food Network: All I know is that this show has such a simple concept and it's provided me with hours of entertainment. The wannabe Chopped champions really earn their 10,000 bucks and I love to see what these cooking MacGyvers can make out of the wildest ingredients. Make a potato dessert? No problem. Shuck a bunch of clams or oysters in the allotted 20 minutes for the appetizer round? No problem. Find a way to make an edible concoction out of curry paste, arugula, peanut butter and pork loin? No problem. Plus it seems that the cheftestants that were part of this summer's lineup were particularly interesting as well as talented. Then Food Network upped the ante by beginning to air the Chopped Championship. We're two episodes in and I'm loving all these champions that have returned for a chance to win 50,000 dollars. The competition is fierce.
  

• Childrens Hospital, Adult Swim: I don't know what compelled me to start watching this web sensation turned Adult Swim newbie, but I'm sure happy that I did. This bite-sized comedy series features an all-star cast. The Rob Corddry-creation reeled in big names like Megan Mullally, Henry Winkler and one of my personal favorites, Ken Marino. And it did something that NBC's Surface wasn't able to do. It got me to like Lake Bell. While Bell left the show at the beginning of Season 2 (although good news, she will be back later this season), we're now getting used to Watchmen blonde babe Malin Akerman. Haven't figured out her character yet but I'll be around to find out. One of my favorite characters from the first and a little bit of the second season is the patient (Nick Kroll) who suffered from the aging disease. Hilarious doesn't even describe him. I hope this series that comes in a little package (each episode is only about 11 minutes long) continues to bring the laughs for a long time to come.

• True Blood, HBO: I've seen Seasons 1 and 2 of True Blood but I watched them both marathon-style after the finales and before the next season started. I never felt the need to watch real time. That all changed with Season 3. Now I am compelled (glamoured maybe?) to watch the over-the-top in a good way happenings of the Bon Temps residents whether they're human, undead, animal-like or even faerie (I still can't forget Sookie's reaction to finding out she was not quite human). Russell has been a formidable villain and his relationship with Talbot was definitely entertaining. Eric Northman just rocks every which way especially when he's in scenes with Pam. I have had a couple issues with Season 3 (namely Sam and Jason's story lines), but it really doesn't matter because everything else was just so damn addictive. The addition and then subtraction of Franklin was simply sizzling and the introduction of werewolf hottie Alcide was quite awesome. I've felt bad for what Tara had to go through and relished the closeness she had with her cousin Lafayette. And I'm really happy Lafayette got some TLC of his own in the form of Jesus. Now it's time for the finale and then we're going to have to say goodbye to a season that gave us Jessica and Hoyt and had one of the most twisted TV sex scenes of all time thanks to Bill and Lorena. Yup, True Blood has been truly blood-sucking good.
  

• Pretty Little Liars, ABC Family: I took an instant liking to this high school soap/murder mystery although I was originally cautious. I wondered how long I was going to be able to handle all the secrets like who this mysterious "A" texter really is going to turn out to be. But the story has developed nicely. I still have no clue whodunit which is a good thing and I really liked the summer finale. Hanna finding out who's terrorizing the friends and then getting hit by a car really drums up the drama and makes me want the winter to get here now so we can continue the action. My issue with this show is how every guy (and some girls) want to date these 16-year-olds no matter how old the guy is. Spencer has moments with both of her older sister's boyfriends? The teacher can't help but be drawn to Aria? I don't know if I'm totally buying all of that business. Regardless, I love the young cast. The adults are some of my favorites (Charmed's Holly Marie Combs, Chad Lowe from Life Goes On and especially Melrose Place's Laura Leighton). I'm not too cool with Bryce Johnson's sleazy cop but no matter, I already love him on Fox's Lone Star. Like many of the other selections on this list, Pretty Little Liars makes the perfect summer show and it'll definitely heat things up when the drama comes back in the winter.
  

True Blood: Fresh Blood by Kara Howland

Sorry for the delay. As you may or may not know I was working the Red Carpet for the Emmys. I spoke to Rutina Wesley (sweet) and Alexander Skarsgard (shy) and saw Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer about five feet away – deep in their newlywed love haze. Oh yeah, I also talked to Mariana Klaveno. Although I really didn’t enjoy Lorena, she couldn’t have been more lovely in person.

Now let’s get to this week’s episode. According to the trades it was the most watched episode ever. Nice! I hope you’re preparing for the finale in two weeks. I’m sure it’ll be a doozy. Especially after what happened tonight. I’ll try to make this quick and relatively painless.

Jesus is just like a Virgin. As he and Lafayette are coming down from their high Jesus is ready to go again. Lafayette has never been on a trip like that and he warns Jesus they can’t control where they’ll go. After he sees Jesus turn into some kind of monster, Lafayette asks Jesus to go home for the night. He doesn’t even want him in the same room let alone the same bed. And when Lafayette wakes up later to voices, he sees that all sort of little dolls and figures are talking to him. And it’s pretty freaky.

Crystal is a were panther. She is expected to marry Felton, who is her half-brother, and breed with him until she gets too old or until she dies. At first it’s all a little too much for Jason to take in so he leaves to go in search of Sookie. All he finds is QB1 practicing at night with his boys as their bored girlfriends look on. As his friends leave, Jason accuses Kitsch of being on V. Kitsch says his coach gets it for him, his parents pay for it, and his principal uses it for his sex life. So there’s no one for Jason to tattle to. Jason thinks it’s all unfair but returns home. He doesn’t know what to do about Sookie or about Kitsch but he knows he doesn’t want to break up with Crystal. Now she’s worried about the raid. Her daddy and Felton are crazy enough to burn the whole place down instead of letting the DEA take it.

Yvetta, the cardiologist, let’s Sookie escape with Bill. As they make their getaway in Sookie’s car Bill tells her he wants to start again and they talk about how idyllic their life would be if it could be a whole lot more normal. But they don’t make it that far before Eric and Russell hunt them down and take them back to Fangtasia. Eric makes Bill start a fight with him as Russell and Sookie go into the bar so he can tell Bill his plan. And the plan is to let both Eric and Russell drink from Sookie and walk into the daylight. To be a day walker is a vampire's most coveted desire. Sookie can’t believe Bill is going along with this – what choice does he have? He’s chained – and she tells him she hates him. Russell makes Eric walk into the daylight first and when Russell sees it’s working he goes outside too. Bill begs Pam to unchain him but she can’t take her bloodstained eyes away from the monitors. Just as Russell notices Eric has started smoking up Eric handcuffs himself to Russell. Now they can die together.

Sam seems to be turning into a male version of Tara. Sam shows up at the bar drunk and insults everyone who works for him as well as quite a few of the customers. Arlene and Holly leave and Terry stops talking to Sam. He even fires Tommy and tells him to get out of the rental. When Tara shows up she doesn’t appear to be that shocked by Sam’s behavior. She ends up confronting Andy about what she thinks really happened the night Eggs was shot. And she finally learns what actually happened. Now maybe she can move on. In the meantime, she and Sam are back to having sex. So Sam is a little distracted when Tommy cuts the alarm to the safe. Maybe this time Tommy will actually get away with all that money. I say good riddance.

Random tidbits:

- Who knew that silver and water solution was available at the local drug store? So convenient.

- Jason thought Crystal’s secret was shoplifting or something.

- Sookie is a human/fairy hybrid. Pure fairies have been extinct for a millennia.

- Summer is in cahoots with Hoyt’s mama, who isn’t dissuaded by their breakup. She’s still determined to tame her willful son.

- Russell has only loved one man during his entire lifetime and that man was Talbot.

- Eric likes Pam better when she’s cold and mean.

- Arlene tries to get rid of the baby with a kind of herbal tea Holly makes for her but she’s still pregnant the next morning even after her bleeding. Rene’s seed lives!

What a great episode. I don’t want Eric to die but I think his plan is kind of brilliant. Are they so weakened that Russell can’t drag himself and Eric out of the sun? We know how powerful he is. They’d better explain that in the first minute of the finale. Enquiring minds want to know!

I’m kind of surprised Sookie went from love to hate so fast with Bill. I know she thinks he betrayed her – and I’m sure she’s tired of that – but her feelings seems to be all over the place. I get that she might be feeling confused and betrayed by both Eric and Bill. I get that she can’t understand why Bill is going back on his promise so soon after they talked about their wonderful new life. And she’s afraid she’s about to die, especially since two vampires are drinking her blood. Something there just didn’t ring true for me.

I like where things are going for Lala. Maybe he’s finally had one too many hits of V. I’m very interested to see where that ends up going. One thing is certain. It will mess him up. Big time.

Arlene, of course, seemed to be certain she’d gotten rid of Rene’s baby. But as Holly said, if this soul is meant to be born it will be born. And apparently, it’s meant to come into this world. I do think Arlene is going a bit overboard with her assumptions that the baby will be pure evil. We don’t know that. And Terry wants to raise the baby as his own. I can understand that Arlene doesn’t want that life in her body but I’m not sure she’ll be able to get rid of it.

True Blood: Everything is Broken by Kara Howland

Tommy provokes Sam into losing control. I don’t know about you but I’m over this story line. Before tonight I thought it was kinda boring but now I want to be done with it. Tommy is a no-good brat. He has no manners, he’s a thief, and he rubs everyone the wrong way. The fact that he could provoke Sam to such violence is disturbing. And I think Sam is going to pay for that outburst. Crystal’s daddy is going come back for Sam and it won’t be good.

Arlene doesn’t want to keep her baby. After Tommy steals Arlene’s tip, Holly tries to comfort her. Arlene admits that Terry ain’t the baby daddy and that what she’s carrying inside of her is a time bomb. When Holly asks if Arlene wants to keep the baby, Arlene admits that she doesn’t. She says she won’t go to a clinic but Holly says there are other ways to take care of it.

Eric and Pam are on lock down. When Eric flies to Fangtasia and admits he staked Talbot, Pam comments that she’s never seen Eric panicked. Since Eric took a vampire’s life he has every right to be scared. Pam says the best place they can hide is in a human’s house – maybe Sookie – but Eric isn’t having any of that. And before they can leave Nan Flannigan and the V Fed desend on them. Eric tells them the whole story – who Russell is, what Russell did to his family, how Russell gives his blood to werewolves, etc. The authority later disavows all knowledge and tells Eric to take care of it, but with his own resources.

Russell returns home to find Talbot’s entrails on the floor. He’s pretty heartbroken and gathers up Talbot’s remains. We’re not sure why until we see the remains in a glass urn. Kinda gross, but I guess Russell needs something to talk to. He thinks the AVL (American Vampire League) is protecting Eric and that doesn’t sit well with him. Russell reigns havoc and vengeance down on them when reveals his agenda on live TV and after ripping the spine out of the newscaster who was on previously. Russell tells the world he is the true face of vampires. He drinks blood from humans and thinks human’s are beneath him. Nan’s got her work cut out for her.

Crystal is a liar. It’s something we already know but I’m getting tired of all her lies. She lies to her family and she lies to Jason. When Crystal is discovered at Jason’s house she tells her fiancé that Jason kidnapped her and then she says Jason raped her. Yes, she did it to avoid a beating from her fiancé. In fact, when he turns his back she clocks him with the butt of Jason’s shotgun. She trusses him up real good and they leave him by the side of the road after calling the police. The only problem is that he somehow gets loose and almost kills deputy Kevin. Jason doesn’t seem to know what’s going on (no surprise there) but there’s a lot Crystal isn’t telling Jason. And it’s past time for her to come clean.

Hoyt can’t stand his new girlfriend. Jessica is upset when she sees Hoyt with Summer. She asks him why he can’t go somewhere else but Hoyt reminds her that Bon Temps is his town and he’s been coming to Merlottes for years. When Summer goes to the bathroom, we learn that Summer loves dolls (which Hoyt hates) and that she only talks about herself. But it’s better then sitting around thinking about Jessica all the time.

Bill says he knows what Sookie is. I don’t know if they’re back together or not but their time in the shower together and their disposal of a dead body certain has them working as a team again. I, for one, don’t need them to figure things out yet. I like them together and I like them apart. I think I’m happy either way. The most interesting – shocking, really – part is when Bill ends up in the dreamplace Sookie went a few episodes ago. He meets Claudine and she assumes Bill has killed Sookie. Bill assures her he hasn’t and tries to convince her he doesn’t want Sookie’s light. But he tells Claudine he needs to know what Sookie is so that she can protect herself.

Sookie’s cousin Hadley kidnaps her own son. She tells Sookie she’s sorry she told Queen Sophie Ann and Eric about her and now she’s scared for her son Hunter. She thinks he might be like Sookie, which Sookie confirms. Hadley freaks out and drags Hunter out of there – presumably to go on the run. I guess we’ll see.

Tara refuses to see a shrink to discuss what’s happened to her. She goes to a group instead, where she sees Holly. Holly is a rape survivor. She gives the group a few details of the assault and tells them she still thinks people are worth trusting. We can see that really resonates with Tara.

An un-dead Franklin finds Tara. I knew he wasn’t dead. Even though Tara did a great job of beating his head in I knew he’d be back. And I’m so impressed that Tara stood up for herself. She tells Franklin she wants him to kill her. That way she’ll be rid of him for good and he’ll have nothing. That really sets him off and he starts choking her. When Jason interrupts with his shotgun I’m not too impressed. When he pulls the trigger and Franklin explodes that’s another matter. He has enough of a brain to use wooden bullets. Good job Jason. And now that’s the end of Franklin.

In the only happy development, Jesus and Lafayette are deep in a love haze. Well, maybe a lust haze. I’m happy Lafayette has something good in his life. His mama running away from the home turns out to be a good think when Jesus turns up to retrieve her. I like where their relationship is going and I hope it continues to be a good thing for them both. But this is True Blood, so I’m not holding my breath.

Another great episode. I’ve always enjoyed this show but this season I feel really engaged. The only storyline I hate is Sam’s, even though I love his character. So as soon as the Mickens get the heck out of dodge – and permanently – I think I can return to enjoying Sam more. The vampire mythology we keep learning is always interesting and I’m very happy we’re about to learn what Sookie is. I wouldn’t mind seeing a bit more of Alcide in future episodes (and I know he’s a regular next season) but otherwise I’m pretty happy. Even if sometimes it seems like this show will run off the rails it usually pulls itself back just in the nick of time.

True Blood: Night on the Sun by Tina Charles

How nasty, dirty and insane (in a good way) is True Blood? There's so much that goes on during "Night On the Sun" that at the beginning of the episode everything seems dire in Bill and Sookie's world and it looks like the two lovers will be apart forever. Yet by the end the ex-couple is having hot and heavy makeup sex in Gran's house. And it's actually plausible how the two get from A to B. At the beginning Eric is kneeling before Russell and by the end the sexy vamp is getting rid of Russell's whiny BF Talbot while they're going at it mind you. We definitely know how Eric gets from A to B in that situation. I love episodes that take us for a rollercoaster ride. Besides the sex and violence, there are some seriously angsting women (Sookie, Tara, Arlene and Jessica); a sizable amount of guy on guy action (Lafayette/Jesus and Eric/Talbot), a healthy dose of crazy (Ruby Jean and Debbie) plus tons of blood thanks to more deaths, a scissor-slashing, werewolf maulings, a stake in the back and I can't forget all the crocodile tears of blood.

Scenes I love:

• Bill releases Jessica and she won't go. Jessica is scared and she's still so new to the vampire thing that I don't blame her. I'm glad Bill listens to her even though he's screwed up all to hell.

• Tara and Lafayette in the bedroom. I like that Tara's showing the effects of what happened between her and Franklin. She admits she fought like a motherf----r to survive. It's good to know she doesn't have a death wish like she did in the Season 3 premiere.

• Alcide and Sookie have a couple of moments. I love anytime these two are in a scene together. True Blood has totally turned me into a Joseph Mangianello fan. One Tree Hill couldn't do it, but this HBO vampire/werewolf show did. And I'm happy about it. First Alcide and Sookie are talking and he ends up comforting her by stroking her hair. It's a small gesture but you can tell they're attracted to each other. And later Alcide has to go take care of his sister after he learns Debbie and her crew trashed his sister's salon. They say goodbye and there's this moment where it looks like they're about to kiss but they don't. I feel it's too soon for them, but the moment's sweet.
  

• Arlene's dream. Wow, who knew we would finally get another glimpse of Arlene's late ex, Rene. The serial killer popped up in her dreams creepily rubbing her tummy and talking about how his baby is going to finish the job he started. Poor Arlene. I wonder if this is going to cause her to take care of things in the future?

• Sookie and Tara sunbathe. The best friends reminisce and have a moment until the topic of Bill comes up. Those two need to not about Bill. Tara calls Sookie a dumb b--ch if she goes back to her ex-vampire boyfriend. Sookie says she and Bill aren't that different.

• Sam comforts Tara. It's unfortunately too quick of a scene, Tara is freaking out at Merlotte's and Sam walks in on it and she ends up crying in his arms. I love when Sam Trammell and Rutina Wesley are in scenes together.

• Jesus comes to pick up Ruby Jean. Lafayette's mom refuses to go back to the home saying she needs to protect her son because of his power. Jesus says he won't let anything happen to Lafayette. I love that. Was he just appeasing Ruby Jean when he agreed that Lafayette's powerful? Or does he know something?
  

• Jessica and Bill spar. Bill training Jessica is so cool. And I like that the two open up to each other. Bill talks about Sookie and Jessica tells Bill about loving Hoyt. Bill/Jessica scenes are among my favorite.

• Jesus kisses Lafayette. I like that Jesus wants to protect Lafayette. Someone needs to take care of him for a change. Much like everyone else on this show, he's had it rough as of late. The two are just cute together.
  

• Shirtless Eric. Need I say more? I don't think so.

• Jessica kills Gus the werewolf: Don't mess with Jessica. Russell thought Gus (Don Swayze) was going to rip Jessica to shreds. Turns out it's the other way around. So both Bill and Jessica take care of a couple of werewolves.
  

• Sookie and Debbie smackdown: The fight between Sookie and Debbie is a vicious one which is awesome. Sookie gets away from Debbie by slashing her face with some scissors. Wish Sookie had done more. That Debbie's tres annoying.
  

• Eric kills Talbot: Eric takes revenge on Russell by killing his "family." Stakes him in the back. Ouch. I feel bad that Talbot's a casualty of war. He was growing on me as a character even though he could be a bit too whiny. Killing Talbot also served as a way for Russell to stop the beat down he had going on with Bill. He fled Gran's house once he felt Talbot die.

• Bill and Sookie have makeup sex. Well I think it's makeup sex. It's a pretty vicious bout of sex. We'll have to see the fallout next episode. Will Sookie be the dumb b---h Tara said she would be if she went back to Bill?
  

What I didn't like:

• Anything with Jason and Crystal. Crystal shows up at Jason's wet with a black eye and in need of help. She tells Jason she broke up with her brute of a fiance. Jason tells her she makes him feel like he's home. I'm just not buying it. I think he likes the mystery of her. I think he likes the fact that she needs him. Right now she gives him purpose. Well, anything that gets him off his Bill vendetta is good I guess.
  

• Tommy tells Hoyt Jessica's way out of his league. I want to like Tommy I do. And because of Sam I always start to, but then Tommy ends up doing something to ruin that good will of mine. This time he goes after Hoyt. He tells Hoyt Jessica's done with him and that he's out of his league.

• Jason goes after Crystal's fiance. I hate to keep picking on Jason but I just don't like this story. I'm glad he found someone he can actually try to help but it's just not interesting me. He goes to their house and he finds some sort of man (I say sort of because while he looks human he doesn't act like one) going to town on some dead animal. His mouth is all bloody and disgusting. Jason gets out of there and runs into Crystal's dad and lays down the law.
  

Questions

• Is Tara going through some sort of Stockholm Syndrome thing with Franklin? After all, she did have that erotic dream where Franklin shows up while she's taking a shower.

• What is up with Lafayette? Is he special? His crazy mom Ruby Jean breaks out of the home saying she wants to protect him because "they're" coming for him. Who's "they?" Does she really mean vampires and witches? And Jesus says dealing drugs is dangerous for someone like Lafayette. "All that energy you've got. It can go dark if you like." What does Jesus know?
  

Random Thoughts

• Merlotte's new waitress is kind of creepy looking.
• Hadley relays Eric's message to Sookie. She warns her cousin that Russell's after her and to not trust Bill. Of course Sookie doesn't listen.
• Talbot starts to shatter Russell's collection. Love how Eric stops him from breaking his family's crown.
• Something's up with Crystal's family. Her dad can sense Sam's a shapeshifter.
  

Racy yet Awesome Lines

Debbie: "She's a c--t."
Russell: "But she's a special c--t."

Ruby Jean: "TV's all f------s and murderers and Hos, Jesus."


Other favorite lines

Sookie: "If I knew what was best for me I would have fallen in love with someone like you."
Alcide: "Back at you. It's too bad we're so stupid, huh?"

Jessica: "No way."
Bill: "Way."

Talbot (to Eric): "I'm bored. Take off your clothes."

Eric: "It's been a long time since I've done this."
Talbot: "A man?"
Eric: "No, a vampire."

True Blood: Hitting the Ground by Kara Howland

Wow. My fingers are practically falling off from all that fast and furious note taking. Talk about non-stop action. Let’s get right to it.

Lorena Dies a True Death

I don’t know about you but Tina Charles and I are very glad she finally met her demise, and at Sookie’s hand. Not only did I dread her every appearance but she polluted Bill in my opinion. I still have trouble believing he had sex with her earlier in the season – which, I think, in True Blood time was last week. It still makes me shudder. Thank God She’s Dead (TGSD). I don’t know if she met her demise this way in the books but I say good riddance.

Alcide Kills Cooter

Debbie is looking like such a crack whore these days. Not only is she going through serious V withdrawal when she stumbles upon Alcide, Sookie, and Tara trying to make a getaway with their vampire burrito but that little encounter gives us some good back story on the two former lovebirds. Alcide refused to get Debbie pregnant because he didn’t want his kid to be a wolf. Very interesting. And where did that gun come from? It’s very telling that he refuses to pull it until Cooter shows up. When Alcide kills Cooter Debbie vows to hunt him down. I can’t wait to see that.

Russell Beheads the Magister, But Not Before He Gets Married

Just as the magister is about to pierce Pam’s eyelid with a sterling silver earring from Tiffany’s – and don’t you know it Pam is a Tiffany’s kind of girl – Eric barges in. It is so nice to see Eric come to her rescue, finally. Pam was definitely a trooper and managed to keep her sense of humor throughout her confinement. The magister learns Eric is now loyal to Russell after he turns on his Queen. When the magister tries to arrest Sophie-Anne, Russell will have none of it. As the magister threatens to report Russell to the “authority” the magister finds himself on the very table he used to torture Pam. Russell claims he’s the new authority in town and demands that the magister marry him. After a bit of torture from his own device, the magister relents and weds the King of Mississippi to the Queen of Louisiana. Russell states that he only recognizes the law of nature right before beheading the magister.

Tara Thinks She Turns Bill Into Ash

Sookie opens up her arm and gets Bill to drink. But she gets more then she bargains for when Bill overpowers her and nearly drains her dry. And the kick is that he doesn’t even remember it. When Tara discovers Sookie motionless in the back of the truck she kicks Bill to the curb. And what’s strange is that he doesn’t start steaming up immediately. It shocks Bill too but as the truck pulls away, he starts to get crispy and quickly takes shelter.

Sookie Discovers a Bit More About Her Powers

That might be overstating things but we do seem to learn a little more. In her strange dream state (heaven?), Sookie meets Claudine. She tells Sookie she’s in the hospital and that they must refill her cup. Sookie has had this drink before. A woman emerges from the pond and we learn the pond is deeper then we can imagine. After some dancing, Sookie needs to take a break. Claudine doesn’t want Sookie to go back. When Bill shows up in Sookie’s hospital room, day turns into night in the dream and all the other people (or beings) quickly get into the water. Sookie can’t swim so she can’t join them. When she collapses in the dream, Sookie wakes up in real life after Bill has given her his blood intravenously. And she starts screaming. The last thing Claudine said to her in the dream was that “he” would take her light. Can she mean Bill or is there something else out there that wants it?

Sam Saves His Brother From Their Parents

Sam finds the location of the dog fights and approaches a man who is guarding a dirt road. I have to admit to liking the persona Sam adopts when he has talking to that back road hick. I didn’t like the words coming out of his mouth but I did like his cocky attitude. It made him hotter. And that only made me want to see him in a better story line. I’m just not appreciating this one. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad Sam put an end to that dog-fighting ring. Now I’d like to see Tommy stop being so bratty and I’d love to see a new love interest for Sam.

Jason Is A Love-Sick Puppy

Even though Jason claims he was in love with Lizzie Caplan’s Amy, I think this is truly his first time. He was a love virgin before now. I had to laugh when Jason wondered aloud of Crystal was named after the champagne. First of all, Jason, that’s Cristal not Crystal. Hoyt (oh, it’s so good to see him) thinks maybe Crystal’s middle name is Meth. I had to laugh. So as not to watch Jason mope around the house, Hoyt suggests Jason pay a visit to the drug dealer Jason apprehended when he first saw Crystal. It turns out the Tdub is Crystal’s cousin. And he’s happy to give Jason information on Crystal if Jason will get him some meth. He’s jonesing bad.

Summer Makes Her Intentions Known to Hoyt

She’s adorable. While I kinda want to hold out hope for a Hoyt and Jessica reunion, I have to admit to warming up to Summer. Her little vampire joke at the door is so cute and I love that she’s baking for her man. Well, the man her man could smell like. Sorry, I was thinking about all those awesome Old Spice commercials. She’s thinking about the man she wants to make hers. Summer wants Hoyt to be her boyfriend. Now that she’s made her intentions clear she goes about sprucing the place up.

Other things I found interesting:

- I think it’s kinda awesome that Hadley whispers something about Sookie in Eric’s ear that we don’t hear. And it’s so interesting that Queen Sophie-Anne really doesn’t want Eric to know that secret. I can’t wait to find out what it is and when he’ll talk to Sookie about it.

- Sookie’s parents didn’t die in the flood. What? If they didn’t die in the flood, how did they die? And why?

- Sookie doesn’t have a blood type. Her body rejects O, the universal donor. She also wasn’t born in a hospital.

- Lafayette prays over Sookie, using words from the Inuit.

- Andy knows he’s made a huge mistake in letting Jason become a cop in training. Like, duh.

Is this really the end for Sookie and Bill? I hope not although I have to admit to wanting to see her with Eric or Alcide or both. And Halleluiah and we’ve gotten our Tara back. It was fun watching her be so scared by Franklin – who, by the way, can’t be dead yet. Tara didn’t stake him or cut his head off. But it’s nice to see Tara fighting for her friend and being pissed when Jason undermines her authority. And what do you think will happen when Russell discovers that Sookie is gone? It’s gonna be awesome.

True Blood: I Got a Right to Sing the Blues by Tina Charles

I'm kind of exhausted after watching "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" but in a good way. The episode is fast-paced, has a lot of action and while I'm not into everything that happened it entertains from beginning to end. Tara gets to be so badass I practically screamed "it's about time!" Her character has drifted into the unlikable territory so when she manages to escape Franklin's clutches (more on that awesomeness later) and grab Sookie, I'm quickly loving the character again. We finally get to see more of Lafayette & Jesus although things predictably don't go smoothly. "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" isn't only a great episode title, I think it's something every character in Bon Temps has the urge to shout from time to time. And is anyone enjoying the abundance of red-headed females on this show? Jessica, Arlene and a very strawberry-blonde Queen Sophie-Anne give red-heads a good name.

During the full hour of TV goodness, I asked a lot of questions:

What is Sookie?

Sookie's origin is one of this season's biggest questions. She had to get her abilities from somewhere. We learn that her grandfather also had mysterious powers. Once Sookie's dragged back to Russell's manse, Mississippi's Vampire King tries to find out the waitress' story. There's a real nice scene where they're asking each other questions. They're both being kind of bratty about it. Russell dishes some dirt on Sookie's former BF. He tells her Bill has been keeping a secret file on her and her family and he hands it over. Wonder if she'll confront her ex about the file? Sookie's interrogation yields more and more info about vampires. The girl is gaining a lot of knowledge about both the vampire and werewolf cultures. I'm curious to know what Sookie's deal is. Again, I have not read the books so I seriously have no idea what she really is.

How badass is Tara in this episode?

I've already admired the winning ways of badass Tara, but let's break this down. I think Rutina Wesley did an awesome job trying to clumsily seduce Franklin. She works on getting him to if not trust her, at least untie her. Tara's had it bad this season. She hasn't really even had the chance to mourn Eggs properly before she becomes the obsession of an evil vamp who likes to tie her up and wants to marry her. But her attempts at seduction are at first humorous and quickly turn nasty. When Franklin encourages her to drink his blood, she starts gnawing on him big and bad and he's just getting off on it. Such a gross scene! And then when he's asleep she grabs a weapon and bashes his head in over and over. At which point I wanted to scream at Tara that she was going to have to do better than that. But it worked for the time being. Then she scams her way past a werewolf thug played by Don Swayze (Gus) and convinces Sookie to get the hell out of dodge. After she and Sookie take care of Gus in bold fashion, Tara runs out of the house and into Alcide who's there to help. Sookie goes after Bill.

What's up with Sam's family?

Okay, I have a confession. Sam's probably one of my favorite characters on this show but I'm not totally feeling his Season 3 storyline with his horribly dysfunctional clan. We know they have a big secret, something Joe Lee has been exploiting, which could be anything considering mom and son are shapeshifters. Turns out it could be some sort of dog fighting ring. Very Michael Vick, if you will. I'm kind of anxious to find out what this dog fighting business entails. It can't be good. Melinda seems to be showing her true colors. Was it Sam's adopted family that said his biological clan weren't good people? I can't remember. But his parents are not. They're devious and don't seem to care about anything but themselves and their secret. Melinda as much says Sam's only blood, not family. So I'm rooting for Sam to save Tommy for sure. I'm also worried about him tackling the world of dog fighting since the dog he shifts into seems pretty tame.

How is Eric going to make things up to Sookie?

He's a vampire, he doesn't have to make anything up to Sookie, but for a Sookie/Eric shipper like me (to be fair I'm also a Sookie/Alcide shipper and occasionally a Sookie/Bill shipper) I want him to help Sookie, not hurt her. But I get it. Russell killed his family, he needs to work the revenge angle right now. That Eric is good however. He really makes it seem like he's a true blue Russell follower. I love the way Eric flirts with everyone. He knows what he's got and he flaunts it. He's the most flirtatious character on the show, even more than Lafayette. And I for one love it. I also like the fact he turned on Queen Sophie-Anne. In the back of his mind he's also thinking about Pam, who we don't see for the second episode in a row. Poor Pam, she's off being tortured while Russell makes Eric take care of the Queen with him. Russell blackmails the Queen into marrying him. He's gaining more power with Eric on as muscle.

How much do I love Lafayette & Jesus?

These two are a pretty sexy pair but the road isn't going to be easy. They flirt at Merlotte's; they kiss in the car and then again at Lafayette's place. But once those bullies (from a previous episode) arrive and start bashing his car things go wrong. Jesus finds out Lafayette's a drug dealer and specifically that he deals V. Jesus wants to go home. It's cold shower time for all involved. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next for the budding couple.

What's my problem with Jason?

Much like Sam's family, I haven't been feeling Jason this season especially his attempts at blackmailing his way onto the Bon Temps PD and his inability to let go of his golden years (although this is pretty realistic). I will say that his "what am I doing with my life and what purpose do I serve" mentality is definitely something everyone can relate to but the way he's gone about things has almost ruined his character for me a little bit. In "I Got a Right to Sing the Blues" he's making out with the mysterious but aggressive Crystal. She definitely has a big secret (I read the spoiler) and it turns out she also has a fiance. But just when I'm about to write off Jason, he says this line that makes him seem extremely vulnerable and then I fall in love with him all over again. He asks her not to break his heart. She ends up getting scared and leaves and then later when he shows up at her place she pretends not to know who he is. I don't blame her since she's standing next to her fiance (is he the guy that was wailing on Lafayette's car?). Jason takes out his frustrations on that stupid high school athelete that's the next big thing. Something's gotta be up with this kid. Wonder when we're going to find out.


Why are we plagued with the being known as Lorena?

I'm trying to love to hate Lorena but I just can't. I'm not buying the character at all. I get it, she made Bill, she's into him. She's insulted he feels nothing for her now. But even though Lorena and Bill are at odds, I'd like to feel that there was once a connection between these two. I'd like to feel like I get why those two were once wreaking havoc on the world together. But I feel nothing when Lorena's on except some contempt. So Bill's maker's told to kill Bill and she starts doing so in such a slow drawn-out manner. She hates that Bill feels nothing towards her. She cries rivers of blood while she's slicing and dicing him. Unfortunately once Sookie finds Bill, Lorena sees the opportunity to get rid of her competition and slams Sookie against the wall and proceeds to bite her and drink her blood. Sookie's in a world of hurt as we see in the previews for next week. If it's even possible, the previews for next week look even more awesome than when I watched the ones for this week.

Random Thoughts

• Russell is seeking world vampire domination. So over-the-top but I'm totally on board with his lofty goals.
• Talbot definitely let us see him sweat when he went off on his VBF (vampire boyfriend) for never taking him anywhere. Together for eons, Talbot is feeling neglected. Go Talbot.
• Where in the world was Alcide? I don't like that we didn't see him the entire episode until the end. But once we do see Alcide, we see a lot of him. I'm not going to complain about that.
• Jessica's continuing to entertain me. Using her bliss to get all the customers to stiff Arlene on tips is genius. And then she got brutal when she drank the blood of the annoying customer. It was creepy and awesome at the same time. Love that Arlene's kind of scared of her too.
  
• We find out more about Jesus. He tells Lafayette he doesn't know his father. In fact his mom was raped and then he was born. So much like Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, Jesus is the product of rape.
• Love this Russell line: "There's a fine line between feisty and delusional and you're in no place to bargain."
• Does Russell realize he killed Eric's family? Or is that just a fact you forget after killing a lot of people?
  
• The Queen likes to scratch and win. Love that she plays the lottery.

True Blood: Trouble by Kara Howland

So, I may have left my notes at home. Usually I'm much more organized in the morning but I was rushing around like a crazy person today. I'm going to do a microblog and come back this evening with more details.

I need to start with Jason because I was most perplexed with where he's headed. He started his first day as a deputy liason stuck behind a desk. That was pretty funny. What was more funny was when Andy's special assignment involved Jason's washing his car. When Jason sees the girl who made a brief appearance during the meth raid a few days ago (is it days? My sense of time for this show is completey off) he jumps in the car and pulls her over. And of course he's shirtless. He's definitley got the copy swagger down but Crystal won't give him her ID or registration. She reluctantly gives him her name and when Jason tells her he'll wait for her at Merlotte's that night she tells him she won't be there. So imagine his surprise when he leaves Merlotte's to find her outside. Then all of a sudden their by some water (a stream? a river) and he's using words like forever. I'm confused. I'm happy to see Jason take this relationship seriously but he knows nothing about her. And she tells him there are things about her she can't tell him. I can't imagine this will end well.

Speaking of which, Tara is royally screwed. Franklin wants to make her his vampire bride. Not only that, he's so crazy about her that he's willing to kill anyone will gets in his way. The crazy scares me but I like the way James Frain portrays this character. He makes him so unstable and interesting. I mean, I'm really concerned for Tara but I hope and pray that someone saves her. She needs a break.

Sookie and Alcide catch a break when they discover that Russell is the vampire king of Mississippi. Sookie still isn't ready to go home without seeing Bill so she wants to search him out. First Alcide needs to report in to his packmaster. When Col. Flood tells Alcide to do nothing and say nothing, Sookie knows he's scared. They won't get any help from them. And to make matters worse Debbie, Alcide ex wants to rip Sookie from limb to limb. She still consider Alcide hers and she isn't taking kindly to Sookie encroaching on her territory. But Sookie's not worried about that right now. She wants to find Bill but doesn't have to look far when he shows up at Alcide's place. He tells her she has to leave town just before Russell shows up. When Cooter tries to take her she uses her light thing (the same thing she used on Maryanne) to get him away from her. It's so powerfull, it sends Cooter flying acros the room. Russell is delighted.

In other relationship news, Jesus has come to see Lafayette to ask him out. Hoyt brings a date to Merlotte's while Jessica is working, and Joe Lee shows his violent side to Sam.

Is it just me or does the pace of the show seem to be slowing down a bit? I'm not complaining. In the first few weeks back it seemed to be throwing so many new plotlines at us, I could hardly keep up. Now it seems to be slowly down and exploring things a bit more leisurely. I like it.

True Blood: 9 Crimes by Tina Charles

It's been two weeks since we saw the most twisted ending to an episode ever. I still can't believe we were witness not only to Bill cheating on Sookie (I haven't read the books) but in such a crazy way. Bill rotating Lorena's head during their angry sex session – that moment was insane.

First shot we get is of Alcide. Not a bad way to start "9 Crimes." Seriously Joe Manganiello is 9 kinds of hot as werewolf Alcide. Sookie's taking care of his wounds from last episode's bar fight plus she's telling him about how those werewolves he fought were high on V, a fact Alcide finds despicable. While Alcide tells Sookie about his ex-fiance (Debbie) the two share a brief moment of some serious sexual tension. That's when Bill calls and his voice sounds utterly devoid of emotion. He tells her he's leaving Bon Temps and her. Sookie's incredulous. After all, the last time they were together her vampire BF asked her to marry him. Bill completely destroys Sookie telling her about his quality time with Lorena; he tells her she's better off without him and that she's of no concern to him anymore and he doesn't want to be found. Ouch. That's one brutal break up. But good thing she has Alcide there to comfort her. The devastated telepath immediately notices how warm he is which is in direct contrast to Bill. They share another little moment before Alcide decides to put on a shirt. Anna Paquin seems to have chemistry not only with real life fiancé Stephen Moyer but with Manganiello and Alexander Skarsgard as well. Lucky girl.

While Sam tries to track down his thief of a half brother, he finds his biological parents squatting on his property in their van. They've been kicked out of their house and have nowhere to go. He tells his mom how Tommy just tried to steal money from his safe. She's not surprised. He tends to do desperate things when they're in financial trouble. She says they'll leave when Tommy gets back.

Even though Franklin's pretty evil and I hate what he's doing to Tara, I can't help but be mesmerized by him and his beautiful accent. He continues to have Tara under his spell and pumps the unlucky bartender for information on her best friend. She has no choice but to let him know that all Sookie wants in life is quiet because she's a telepath so things tend to get real noisy. Franklin also gets Tara to tell him Sookie's in Jackson, Mississippi. He wants her to find out why. The phone call's a pretty intense moment. We see Franklin feeding Tara what to say but Sookie thankfully doesn't give up her exact location and hangs up. Tara tries to run for the door but isn't fast enough. Franklin stops talking and starts biting.

Now for some Bill and Lorena (Borena could be their un-supercouple name). He has no time for his maker and he lets it show while Lorena remains completely delusional thinking Bill will fall in love with her again. Bill puts a stop to that thought process by belting her one sending her out of his room. An abusive but much needed move on his part.

Eric gets even sexier if that's possible when he hovers outside Sookie's window. She's impressed, I know she is. Who wouldn't be? Eric waits for an invite and Sookie lets him in and the two start to get hot and heavy. Wait a minute, it's a dream. Boo. Eric's the one that's dreaming while he's got a stripper dancing on a pole right in front of him. Interesting...

Sookie being Sookie, she can't take Bill's phone call break-up as set in stone. She decides she's still going to look for him anyway. She's such a stubborn girl and I'm not sure if that's a good quality. Sookie turns to Alcide's sister to help her get ready for the engagement party. Although It's not an engagement after all, it's an initiation into the wolf pack party and Debbie's hooked on V. Sookie's telepathy is a skill that comes in handy time after time. Alcide's sis paints a picture of her brother and his ex. She's glad he got out of that relationship alive.

Bill and the Vampire King have a fireside chat and a cigar. Compton wants something in return for helping him go up against Queen Sophie Anne. He wants Lorena gone. Russell says it's a punishable offense to kill another vampire. "Not if no one reports it." Bill reveals Eric's big secret: that he's been selling vampire blood on the Queen's behest because she's low on cash. Hopefully Russell will off Lorena soon. I'm so not digging that character. Anyway, the gruesome threesome share some time in Russell's limo later.

And as for Eric, the Magister raids his club in search of V. Pam manages to warn the Sheriff before the Magister finds her. Eric quickly shows up and says he's being framed. He and Pam blame a missing Bill and reveals he's been gathering evidence to support this claim. The Magister gives Eric two days to come up with the evidence or Pam (his childe) dies.

Meanwhile, Sookie's extreme badass makeover comes complete with short black wig and tattoos. After she tells Alcide what's up with Debbie, the two head (separately) to the "engagement party" where Alcide tries to talk Debbie out of the branding ceremony and Patrick Swayze's brother Don forces Sookie to down three shots. Coot grabs his girl and takes her up on stage where Russell shows up and supplies the entire bar with his blood. So after Debbie's branded, everybody in attendance (including Alicide) shifts to their werewolf forms. Alcide yells at Sookie to run.

Once Russell gets back to the limo Bill brings him the fresh meat the Vampire King ordered. Lorena, Russell and Bill feed on the poor stripper. Bill's on a dark, dark road here.

Other Stuff That Happens

o Action at Merlotte's: the high school football star that's about to break Jason's passing record is hanging out, playing pool and drinking beer. Hoyt even calls Kitch Maynard the next Jason Stackhouse. Jason feels threatened. In another part of the bar is Bud's retirement party. Bud names Andy the new acting Sheriff. Arlene's frustrated with being the only one working.

o Jessica starts working at Merlotte's and she's an instant hit. She runs into Chip from bible study. He's happy to see her alive. She glamours him into forgetting he ever saw her "alive." Hoyt witnesses her talking to Chip from afar.

o Lafayette gets jumped for his car while trying to sell someone V. Eric saves him.

o Jason uses Egg's murder to try and talk Andy into letting him be a cop on the Bon Temps police force. I really don't like this storyline at all. The fact that he may end up on the force without going through the proper channels is just ridiculous. Like everyone's just going to accept Jason enforcing the law all over town just like that? Weirder things have happened I guess.

o Franklin brings Tara to the Vampire King's mansion.

o Sam bonds with Tommy and tells his parents he'll give them a place to live as long as dad stops drinking and Tommy behaves. Tommy says he can change his ways. I really like Sam and Tommy bonding.

Random Thoughts

o Tara spends much of "9 Crimes" tied up. That girl has no luck whatsoever. She can't catch a break. Bringing her flowers while she's tied up is Franklin's idea of wooing.

o I love Lafayette's loving his new car.

o Coot licking Debbie's brand in his wolf form is just creepy.

o Congratulations on True Blood's nomination for Outstanding Drama Series. How awesome is that?

Favorite Line

"Well I guess the only way to get a promotion in this town is to drink like a fish, hallucinate farm animals and kill a black man. Hey, promotion!"

True Blood: It Hurts Me Too by Kara Howland

Sookie gets a werewolf bodyguard, Sam’s thieving family tracks him down in Bon Temps, and Bill switches his loyalties to the King of Mississippi. And that’s not even the half of it.

Perhaps I’ll start with the most disturbing part of this episode which was the end. Well, I’ll start a little before that. After Bill sets Lorena on fire at the end of the last episode, we see that she’s a bit crispy but essentially fine. Both Talbot – and to a lesser extent Russell – are peeved about the violence in their house. Talbot is distraught that the Celtic tapestry has been ruined and Russell wants Bill to put his fangs away in his house. We learn that Lorena is the one who recommended Bill to the King. In return, Russell promised Lorena that she could watch as he killed Bill’s human. Will Lorena ever learn? Or more accurately, will Bill ever learn to stop provoking his maker? She’s taught him this lesson before with his wife and now Lorena wants to teach it to him again with Sookie.

When Lorena turned Bill over a century ago she warned him that he could never return to his old life. Bill defies her and goes to visit his wife Caroline and their children only to learn that his son has died from the pox and his daughter is sick. His wife is distraught and overcome with grief to the point that she asks Bill to kill her when she finds out what he is. Lorena won’t allow it and commands Bill to glamour her. Caroline will never know Bill was there. She’ll keep thinking he was killed in the war.

Bill finally admits that Lorena has won. She’s stripped him of his freedom, his home, and his humanity. But at least Sookie will live. Although Russell made a promise to Lorena, he will honor his promise to Bill. Bill tells Lorena he’ll never love her before he bites her. Then they proceed to have very violent sex. The only reason I won’t say he raped her is because Lorena clearly wants him. She says she still loves him but the only way Bill can keep going is to turn her head completely around. It was very disturbing and violent. I know Bill is a vampire but I didn’t expect this kind of behavior from him. I guess it further proves that he really has lost all vestiges of his humanity.

Back in Bon Temps, Eric purposely takes the bullet Sookie meant for the wolf. The wolf sees the blood and turns back to his human form. Eric holds him off but it’s not long before the wolf gets some V in his system. Sookie hears the name Jackson in the man’s thoughts and Eric tells her “he knows” although Sookie doesn’t know what Eric means. Eric and Sookie ask the man some questions but he tells them nothing. After Eric sees the Werewolf Nazi symbol on the man’s collarbone he kills him. He tells Sookie he wouldn’t have been able to control the man with the V in his system but Sookie doesn’t believe him. But now that she knows where Bill is, she wants to leave immediately.

Eric can’t go to Jackson but asks Sookie to wait a day before she leaves. Although Eric will be able to feel it if Sookie’s in trouble there’s no way he’d be able to get to her in time so he sends Alcide to her. At first it looks like Alcide might attack Sookie. Her back it to him and she hears his thoughts as he approaches. But all is well. Eric has asked him to protect Sookie and she’ll need an in to get anywhere with the werewolves. Alcide isn’t a friend to his particular pack – in fact, he thinks they’re a cancer to his kind – but his ex is dating their leader so he might get somewhere with them.

So they set off for Jackson where Alcide takes Sookie to Lou Pines, the oldest were bar in Mississippi. When they split up Sookie gets into trouble almost immediately but she finds one of the werewolves responsible for kidnapping Bill. Alcide comes to her aid when it’s clear he’s going to harm her and the bouncer has to break it up. He also lets it slip that Alcide’s ex is getting engaged to Cooter. He thought Alcide knew.

Sam, somewhat disenchanted by his birth family, decides to return to Bon Temps. He’s surprised to see them show up at his bar the next night even though they discussed taking some time apart. Sam buys them dinner but Joe Lee soon takes advantage of his son’s hospitality and is serving shots to himself and Tommy. Sam puts his foot down. Tommy is underage and Joe Lee is drunk. When it looks like it might come to blows, Mindy steps in and convinces her men to leave. Later that night Sam is woken up by an alarm. It looks like Tommy came back to rob the place. I can’t say I’m surprised. Sam’s family seems like they’re very bad news.

Speaking of bad news, Tara and her creepy vampire Franklin are having mind-blowing sex. Tara tells Franklin he can bite her but he won’t do it because she wants him to. He asks her where her rage comes from but Tara refuses to give him any answers and won’t even give him her name. She usually doesn’t do one-night stands or vampires. Later, he tracks her down at Sookie’s house and glamours her into letting him in. He’s going to be big trouble. Even Jessica has trouble dealing with him earlier that night when he shows up at Bill’s. He tells her it’s his job to find things and wonders if she’s lost anything recently. Big trouble, I tell you. Jessica is at a loss without Bill around. She laments that no one ever tells her anything.

Know who else is clueless? Jason. He is so intent on becoming a cop he talks to Hoyt about it. As he half-heartedly studies for the exam – and gets every question wrong – he questions of there’s an easier and fast way to become a cop. He also tells Hoyt to move on from Jessica and find someone who can handle Hoyt’s “heat.”

In other relationship news, Arlene visits the doctor who tells her that she’s nine or ten week along. I can’t say that I am well versed in Bon Temps time, but I would say that would make the baby daddy Rene. Uh oh. Terry thinks Alrene’s going to dump him – and she wouldn’t be the first – but instead she tells him she has a baby on the way. Terry misinterprets and assumes he’s the father. For now, it looks like she’ll let him keep thinking that. You just know that’s going to blow up in her face.

Yet another dead body turns up in Bon Temps. Bud is so fed up he quits. The body has no head and no hands – looks like the handiwork of a vamp. I think we can assume this is Jessica’s dead trucker.

Other stuff:

- Russell asks Bill why he hasn’t turned Sookie into a vampire. He tells Bill that is real commitment.

- Sookie pays for Egg’s funeral and tells her it’s time to come home.

- Vampires really seem to like Yvetta. Not only did she participate in the six-hour boink-a-thon with Eric recently but now she’s currently having lesbian fun with Pam.

- Jason almost gives himself away to Tara. He’s so adamant about not being there the night of the shooting that Tara starts to get suspicious.

- Eric gives Lafayette a very nice car. He wants Lafayette to consider cultivating his loyal and wealthy clients. What does Eric have in mind? Lafayette is wise to be wary.

We’ve got a two week break until a new episode of True Blood and I think I need that much time to recover from this week’s episode. What did you think? I want to see where things are headed with Bill but I want him to try to hold on to some humanity. It’s clear even he doesn’t like himself right now. Things with Eric and Sookie look like they're about to heat up and Franklin will be nothing but more trouble for at least trouble and probably a few more people. I hope Sam can get his family out of his hair. I don’t think he wants to know these people. And good luck to Arlene. Terry deserves better then what she’s giving him right now.

True Blood Extra: Oh Sookie

This video has been making the rounds lately and I love it. It's Snoop Dogg's ode to Sookie. True Blood's third episode of Season 3 "It Hurts Me Too" airs tonight @ 9PM on HBO...

True Blood Extra

Check out this great Q&A with Mississippi Vampire King Russell Edgington. I couldn't wait until next week's episode to find out more about him. He's gonna be trouble. Big trouble.

True Blood: Beautifully Broken by Tina Charles

That was an enjoyable hour of television, wasn't it? And I don't mean in a 48-minutes because of commercials kind of way, I'm talking a full 60 minutes. So happy this show is on HBO. It wouldn't work anywhere else. Before I get into all that happened during "Beautifully Broken" can I just talk about this show's cast? So stellar. In this episode particularly there are some nice little moments between characters that I've grown to love like: Eric & Sookie; Sookie & Jason, Lafayette & Tara; Eric & Godric and even Andy & Jason, the newest bromance to take True Blood by storm. My new favorite scene partners: Jessica & Pam. And I already know Lafayette and Jesus scenes are going to sparkle. Kevin Alejandro's looking hot isn't he? I don't blame Lafayette for instantly crushing on the guy who's taking care of his crazy, racist mom in the psychiatric institution.

Bill and his werewolf kidnappers
At the end of the Season 3 premiere Bill was facing down a bunch of werewolves. When the action picks back up in Episode 2, Bill's bloody and he's viciously taken care of most of the wolves; in fact he rips off the ear of one of the little buggers. Pretty soon, a guy in red coat and white horse rides up and Bill refers to him as "your majesty." It's the Vampire King (VK) of Mississippi Russell Edgington. We find out that the wolves were Bill's kidnappers. They were just supposed to escort Bill across state lines, not drain him of some of his blood too. Russell wants Bill to come back to his manse so he's pretty uppity about the way his werewolf minions (including Coot) have treated the vampire.

The VK takes Bill back to his plantation-like home where he meets Russell's significant other, Talbot. Talbot is pretty flamboyant and talking about decorating the house and it's pretty funny. There are a lot of new characters being introduced in this episode; it's a lot to absorb but the show takes care of the introductions in a pretty seamless way. At Russell's abode, I do feel like we've just stepped into a scene from the miniseries North and South which took place during the Civil War. One minor difference: colonial soldiers have been replaced by gay vampires. Bill's pretty impatient with this whole thing. He wants to get back to Bon Temps and Sookie but Russell's not having it.

During dinner of Warm Blood Bisque and Blood Gelato, he has a proposal for Mr. Compton (who looks extremely sexy in a tux). One of the VK's goals is to marry the Vampire Queen of Louisiana (VQ). She's pretty resistant to the idea so he needs Bill to find out what The VQ's secrets are. And in return, he'll make Bill the Sheriff of Mississippi's Area 2. That deal doesn't really fly with Bill. Does he even have ambitions to become a Sheriff? Russell doesn't understand why the VQ has relegated him to Bon Temps. Bill explains that it's his home. You get the feeling a territory war is brewing especially when the Vampire King goes for the jugular and threatens Sookie if Bill doesn't do what he asks. He says it's too bad Sookie has to pay for her boyfriend's stubbornness. Bill's maker Lorena crashes the party and Bill burns her for her trouble. Awesome moment.

Sookie, Eric and Operation Werewolf
Sookie's beside herself with worry over Bill. So naturally, she turns to Eric for help. Again. She tells him about how she and Jessica found that dead body while they were searching for her vampire boyfriend. The body had an insignia they found out had to do with Operation Werewolf. Eric lies to Sookie saying he knows next to nothing about the creatures except that they are territorial, vicious and pathologically secretive. Being secretive's a good thing in Eric's book because he feels Sookie's so blinded by her obsession with Bill if she did find out information about the "Nazi Werewolves," she'd alert the entire planet. Love that Jessica calls them Nazi Werewolves.

While Eric's alone he flashbacks to Augsburg, Germany circa 1945 when he and Godric were posing as soldiers in the SS to hunt the Nazi Werewolves. They find a female one that attacks Eric. She says they're on the same side, but after he uncovers the insignia, Eric rages that they're not. Then he kills her. So Eric definitely knows a lot more than he's telling Sookie. He rectifies that situation later when he visits her at her grandma's house under the guise of protection, not lust (yeah, right). He tells her he lied to her and major exposition about the dangerous human-wolf combos is revealed: They are organized, well-funded and highly trained; and they're fueled by vampire blood which is very different lore than I've ever heard before. That definitely ups the antagonism between vampires and werewolves. The danger factor for the supernatural creatures has been raised.

Eric tells Sookie he's risking everything by telling her what he knows which is weird because his loyalty is not to Bill. Eric warns her that they're coming for her (she's already spotted one that mysteriously disappeared) and that he owes her. And she better invite him into her grandma's house so he can protect her. I love the way he offers his protection. He tells her he's going to stay and protect her or have passionate primal sex with her: "How about both?" I'm sure Eric-Sookie shippers rejoiced when the Sheriff uttered those words. She makes sure Eric gets a good look at her engagement ring which signifies she's off limits.

Tara & Lafayette
Tara's quick downward spiral after Eggs was killed results in her taking an overdose of pills. Lafayette realizes what his cousin's up to in the bathroom, breaks in and makes her throw up right away before the pills can take effect. He loads her in the car to get her to the hospital, but she manages to talk him out of it. Instead Lafayette takes Tara to a psychiatric institution where his mom Ruby Jean Reynolds is a patient. That's where we get to see Alfre Woodard and Kevin Alejandro for the first time this season. The reason Lafayette wants Tara to see what happened to his mom is because he wants to prevent the same thing from happening to her. He talks about how there's a darkness with the women in their family. Lafayette is pretty fierce in this episode, dealing with Tara's crisis, seeing his mom for the first time in months (although he has been paying the bills this whole time) and meeting Jesus, the Mexican orderly taking care of his mom. Ruby is racist, extremely surly and insulting to her son. But the upside to this little visit isn't just that it serves as a bit of a wake-up call to Tara, but again, this is where Lafayette meets Jesus. Those two are going to look good together.

Later, Tara's back at Merlotte's not tending bar when she meets a mysterious gentleman. I believe this is the same guy that broke into Bill's house searching for information on Sookie and her family history. (We saw some sort of family tree where Earl Stackhouse and Sookie Stackhouse's names were circled.) But we know this guy is the one who broke in because the camera pans down to his rather large feet. The same large feet we saw walkin' around Bill's place. It turns out this guy is a vampire since he asks Tara for a bottle of True Blood. He then ends up coming to her rescue when Tara battles a couple of local yahoos who took offense to her relationship with Eggs. Tara sure knows how to slap a guy and slap him hard. Wow.


Sam's Search for his family ends
Sam ends up reuniting with his birth parents. I'm not sure whether to be happy for Sam or not. One thing I am happy about is the fact he now knows where his shape-shifting tendencies came from. His mom and his brother are both 'shifters. His mom had him when she was 16 and his dad was in jail for a 12-year stretch (he says for a crime he didn't commit). In fact, his dad says he didn't even know about Sam until after he was given up for adoption. Anyway, his mom seems truly apologetic and truly happy to see Sam. The same can't be said for his little brother, Tommy. The kid has a serious chip on his shoulder and you know that the life he's lead can't have been a good one. He and Sam have a "whose life is worse" conversation but it all ends up with the two of them shifting to their dog selves (Tommy's a pit bull) and going for a run. When the dogs are about to be run over by a car, Tommy easily shifts into a bird and escapes the situation. Sam barely gets out of the way and shifts back into his naked, human form and he has to be thinkin' his birth family can teach the dog new tricks.

Other Bon Temps Goings-On
-Jessica asks Pam for advice on how to feed without killing. And more importantly she tries to find out what to do with the body if you accidentally kill the human. Jessica goes home to take care of things and Hoyt's there. He's understanding and playing nice and wants to get back together. Even though she doesn't want to, she sends him away. And then after she gets the tool she needs to get rid of the dead body in her coffin she goes to take care of it. But the body's gone. And this is after she spent the night with it. (Eww....)

-Good scenes between Terry and Sookie. Terry helps Sookie track a werewolf although she does swear him to secrecy.

-Terry comes up with a list of ten reasons why Arlene can trust him with her kids. Of course Arlene's preggers and not telling Terry yet. And during a good portion of the list-reading she's getting sick in the bathroom.

-Jason and Sookie bond while cleaning grandma's house. Jason vows to help Sookie find Bill.

-Jason and Andy's bromance continues although all of a sudden Andy's a hero for killing Eggs. Jason's a bit jealous but really he just wants to have a purpose. He wants to stop hurting people, he wants to be a good guy. Andy's got faith in him. I love this friendship. Jason wants to make things right because Sookie's blaming herself for Eggs' death. Andy ends up taking Jason out on one of his police calls. Andy tells Jason to stay in the car but of course he doesn't. The drug dealer runs out of the house and after Jason spots a mysterious blonde-haired woman, he apprehends the perp.

Fun Lines
"Cooter? Seriously?"
"Nazi Werewolves."
"Excuse me gentlemen, I need to drain the second course."
"I ain't ever been in the front seat before."

True Blood: Pack of Wolves by Kara Howland

We pick up right where we left off, which makes me really glad I caught up again on Season 2 over the past couple of weeks. I don't know about you but I do tend to forget some important things about the show in the nine-month break we get between seasons. Or maybe it's because I watch so much TV I can't keep track of it all. In any case, I love this show and this episode hit the ground running (very) fast.

My biggest question from last season's finale and this season's premiere is who kidnapped Bill and why? We don't get an answer but I was definitely concerned that Bill's four kidnappers, who refer to themselves as the "f--k you crew" were going to drain him dry before they reached their destination. After getting high and allowing themselves to be distracted, Bill kills the driver and sends the car flying off the road. He stumbles upon a cabin in the middle of the woods and feeds on the old woman who lives there. He leaves money for her, glamouring her into thinking her long lost son has come to see her and left the money. When she tells Bill he's in Mississippi he is surprised and immediately looks for the door. and we know why when he's surrounded by a pack of wolves.

Back in Bon Temps Sookie is fighting for her man. Seemingly, the police aren't interested in looking for a dead man - they've got enough living people who are turning up dead. But Sookie isn't giving up that easily. She finds out from Jessica that Bill "called" her so they hop in the car and go search for him. They find the wrecked car at the side of the highway but not much else. They examine the body for identification and find a mark on it. It's got something to do with Operation Werewolf.

Since Jessica is such a new vampire and Bill has never "called" her before, I guess she didn't know how to respond. And she's got trouble of her own. She attacks and kills a trucker but tries to undo it all by giving him her blood. She's especially horrified by her rash actions after Hoyt shows up with flowers. Even though she still wants to be with him she doesn't have time for him right now. It's perhaps because of this situation that Hoyt lets himself be pulled into Jason's world.

We all know Jason doesn't think with his brain. Even though he's freaking out about shooting and killing Eggs, Andy insists that Jason stick to their story: it was Andy who killed Eggs not Jason. Andy demands Jason turn his "conscience off, d--k on." Now that Hoyt has moved out of his mama's house, he's got to expect some p--sy overflow." So when they take two girls home and Hoyt's not interested it looks like Jason's about to have a threesome. Not so fast. He's not exactly in the mood and all he sees is his two female friends with bullet holes through their foreheads. That isn't really something any girl wants to hear.

In the meantime, Sam has gone in search of his biological family in Arkansas. Because he's had Bill's blood, Bill can find him at any time and he does. Things turn a little homoerotic when Bill shows up. Imagine my surprise (and relief) when it's all just a dream. I mean, it was kinda hot but I don't want Bill cheating on Sookie. They're practically engaged! Sam is relieved to be awoken from that dream and gets a lead on his family. He finds someone who might be his half-brother and follows him home. He's found the Mickens. He's found his family. But it might not be a good thing.

Tara's family - her mother - definitely isn't a good thing. Lafayette doesn't want to patch things up with Lettie Mae, but he asks that she come over and watch over a suicidal Tara so he can go to work. And Tara is in bad shape. Even at her worst, she's never been like this. She's lost the only man she's ever loved and she doesn't understand why. It was Maryanne who made Eggs do all those horrible things. Why can't anybody else see that? After Lettie Mae's reverend comes and goes, Tara tells her mother she's going to take a shower. But of course it's a distraction. She swallows an entire bottle of pills as Lafayette tries to beat the door down. But that's not his only problem.

Pam has ordered him to unload an unusually large batch of V. The Magister has discovered that V is being sold in Eric's area and because there are no missing vampires he wants to find out who's doing it. As you may remember, Queen Sophie is giving blood to Eric for Lafayette to see so she certainly doesn't want to get caught. And she owes money to the IRS so she really needs this to happen. Eric is worried about the Magister but Sophie convinces him to be more worried about displeasing her. And she'd be happy to see Bill rot since he's the only vampire who knows that Eric is allowing the sale of V.

Random tidbits:

-Sookie is in "mo mood for lesbian weirdness tonight" when she goes to see Eric at Fangtasia.

-Apparently Eric can have sex for six hours straight. I don't necessarily see that as a virtue. Do you? I say ouch.

-Eric confronts a Mr. Rubin about Bill over the pone. Apparently this Mr. Rubin was supposed to bring Bill to him and messed up.

-Eric pays Sookie more than the $10,000 they agreed on. Apparently she has earned a bonus.

-Arlene is pregnant again and freaks out on Terry.

-Pam was a hooker a very, very long time ago.

-Lettie Mae gets a little over-friendly with the reverend, who has to remind her that she's like family.

Another great episode. What did you think? What was that wolf pack about? Why is Sam's family so skittish? What will Sookie do next to protect her man? What lengths will Eric go to have Sookie? When will Jason's mouth get in the way and mess up Andy's story?