True Blood: a Show Worth Sinking Your Teeth Into

As HBO's popular series True Blood rolls to a dramatic second season finale, hooked fans are eagerly awaiting to see what is going to happen in Bon Temps.

For the uninitiated, the town of Bon Temps, Louisiana is the main setting for True Blood. The premise of this show is that vampires have been around for centuries, but are finally "coming out of the coffin" by making themselves known.

In True Blood, a Japanese company developed a synthetic blood-like drink that vampires can consume, so they don't have to feed on humans. This eliminates a major obstacle to the vampires trying to assimilate to the human culture. It also provides the name of the show.

The main heroine, Sookie Stackhouse, is played wonderfully by Anna Paquin. As a note, the novels upon which the hit HBO series is based are referred to as the "Sookie Stackhouse series" and are written by Charlaine Harris. Sookie is blessed, or cursed, with the ability to read people's thoughts. She falls for a vampire, Bill Compton, but is not capable of reading vampire minds.

Sookie has brother, Jason Stackhouse, who tends to think more with his privates than he does his brain. Jason is generally a good guy, just a little misguided sometimes. His misadventures in True Blood create interesting, comical, and dramatic situations.

Vampire Bill Compton was "turned" (term for when a human is turned into a vampire) during the civil war and is one of the main characters in True Blood. Unlike many vampires, he fights to keep a sense of humanity about him. Bill Compton is generally caring and concerned for humans, which makes him endearing to Sookie Stackhouse.

The vampires in this world are very loyal to their particular order. Areas have designated "sheriffs," who attempt to keep their subjects under control, and all vampires must obey the sheriffs. The sheriff for the Bon Temps area is Eric Northman. Bill and Eric clash from time to time regarding certain issues, adding to the dramatic element of True Blood.

There are several other main characters in True Blood and they are all outstandingly crafted. In addition to the great situations, the characters definitely contribute to making this one of the best shows currently on television. They are memorable and viewers find themselves passionately rooting for, or against, them.

True Blood season 1 is currently on DVD. Season 2 has two more episodes before it is finished, but interested viewers can already pre-order the series through Amazon.com. Check out the first season, well, first, but keep in mind that the second season is even better!