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True Blood the Complete First Season Blu-ray Review - www.impulsegamer.com -

Feature 9.9
Video 9.0
Audio 9.2
Special Features 8.0
Total 9.5
Distributor: Warner
Running Time: 660
Reviewer:
Andrew Bistak
Classification: R18+

9.5


True Blood the Complete Second Season

Bloody hell… when it comes to an almost perfect TV series, True Blood is as close to a near death experience as possible and I guess that it helps that you have the undead walking around. Based on the brilliant books by Charlaine Harris, True Blood follows the exploits of Sookie Stackhouse, a barmaid who works in the quiet town of Bon Temps Louisiana and has an extraordinary gift.

Sookie is a telepath and has the ability to hear the thoughts of those around her which has shaped her journey as a woman. Unfortunately this “gift” cannot be turned off and when she meets her first vampire, Bill Compton, not only is this love at first sight but because Bill is dead, Sookie cannot hear his thoughts.

Apart from Sookie and Bill, the town of Bon Temps has many secrets (not just the redneck variety) such as Sookie’s boss, Sam Merlotte, a shape shifter or Lafayette, a gay male prostitute who sells vampire blood on the side that makes this town more colourful than Disney Land. Just be warned that the main colour of this town is red… just like blood. The series is also sexually quite intense, whether it’s the brooding vampires, the naked women or the hot humid weather of Louisiana, it’s a very steamy series that has a huge cult following from around the world... myself included.

From the cliff hanger ending of season one that saw Lafayette either murdered or kidnapped, fans are once again introduced to this amazing universe by Harris. The relationship between Sookie and Bill is a constant in the series, however the two main themes in season two include the Fellowship of the Sun, a church group who opposes the integration of vampires into society and Maryann, a witchlike goddess who has the town of Bon Temps under her charm.

From the start, we learn from a flashback revolving Sam, that Maryann is not all what she seems and after Sam stole a large amount of money from her as a teenager, it appears that Maryann has not forgotten this sin. Jason, Sookie’s sister is once again involved in the wrong side of morality as he joins the Fellowship of the Sun, believing that this is the path god intended for him.

Of course, Jason has trouble keeping things in pants and eventually beds the minister’s (Michael McMillan) young wife Sarah (Anna Camp) which actually sparked epiphany for our young stud. Another new character in season two is Daphne (Ashley Jones), a new comer to the town who gets a job at Merlotte’s and falls for Sam once they learn that they are both shifters. Lastly we have Shawnelle (Betsy Rue), a killer redhead in her early 20’s who was forcibly turned by Bill due to a decision by his vampire council. As Bill is not the average cold blooded vampire killer, he feels guilty for turning her and takes on Shawnelle as his “protégée” or daughter who eventually hooks up with Hoyt (Jim Parrack), much to the disgust of this mother.

Although the first season introduced all the characters of this great modern mythology, the second season works on more of the ideology from the previous series such as the consequences of having vampires integrated with society and of course… if vampires exist, what else exists? This is made known when Sookie is attacked by a strange creature and on deaths door, Bill asks Eric (Alexander Skarsgård), a powerful vampire to save her. But if Eric is involved, one can expect that the price is generally more than you can afford and without spoiling things too much, Sookie eventually pays the price… so to speak.

From fangbangers to Sookie’s friend Tara being mesmerised by Maryann, we see gods and even Vampire Queens in season two of True Blood which really pushes the boundaries of this franchise and if you thought season one was amazing, season two is even better.

In terms of video quality… holy moley! HBO should be given a medal because on Blu-ray, True Blood looks amazing with exceptional detail from realistic skin tones, vibrant colours and sharp images. You can see almost every detail and flaw of the actors involved in this production. Add in some great cinematography and you really think you are in some Louisiana swamp. To compliment the HD video, the audio is English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 for that true cinematic experience.

When it comes to extras, the disc is reeling with them  that include bonus episodes  of Entourage, Bored to Death, Eastbound and Down plus Hung, all great HBO series. But for True Blood, we have character perspectives, flashback/flash forwards (pivotal moments from the series), pro/anti-vampire feeds (mock news updates), hints/FYI (trivia facts), The Vampire Report (mock reports on vampire events(, Fellowship of the Sun: Reflections of the Light (rules to live by under the order) and finally audio commentaries from the cast and crew... WOW

So what are you waiting for fangbangers? Go out and buy this now!

Episode Listing:
Nothing But the Blood
Keep This Party Going
Scratch My Back
Let's Take a Trip Together
Never Let Me Go
Hard-Hearted Hannah
Release Me
Timebomb
I Will Rise Up
New World In My View
Frenzy
Beyond Here Lies Nothin'






 
 



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