Sunday, True Bloody Sunday, Finally.

The previous post has all the episode info so this one is going to be whatever I can scrape up that isn't TOO repetitious.

Some Jessica info from The NY POST, longer article at the link-

Tonight’s season premiere skips a year in the show’s chronology, returns Sookie (Anna Paquin) from the land of the fairies, and introduces a witch, Marnie, played by theater actress Fiona Shaw, who spooks the daylights out of several characters. Jessica’s story line fits in nicely with these, and offers a funny yet turbulent glimpse of her domestic life with burly, kind-faced human boyfriend Hoyt (Jim Parrack).

“Everything on our show is so supernatural,” says Woll, “that it was fun to take a minute to show, well, how do you deal with chores and dinner when you’re in a mixed relationship and one person doesn’t ever eat?”

Ball says they’re the classic young lovers who promised themselves to each other too early. “These are two people who made this lifelong commitment when maybe they weren’t necessarily prepared,” he says. “Let’s just say the honeymoon is over.”

This season is about Jessica overcoming a self-hatred that Woll says permeated her character in season three, and which Woll believes is at the core of vampirism’s raging popularity. “We all have these darker thoughts and feelings in us, and we’ve come through some generations that said you ought to suppress that,” says Woll. “What vampires are representing is that you don’t have to necessarily be ashamed because you feel lust, or hunger.”

From HollywoodLife's interview with Ryan (some of it seems likes quotes from older interviews we've read before)-

So Jason’s the mayor of Hot Shot now. … How’s that going?
He’s someone that really shouldn’t be put in a position of authority or power, and I think strange things happen when someone like Jason is put in that that position. He can choose to either man up or back off from it. It’s a real test for Jason to turn himself from a boy into a man. It’s a good season for him. He started so low on the evolutionary scale that he can only go up anyway.
From the teasers we’ve seen, he also looks like he’s going to be in some trouble.
He gets very close to death, if not very much at death’s door. Nothing is what it seems on True Blood, and we very much continue that philosophy this season.
Now let’s talk about the shirtless elephant in the room. How much skin will Jason be showing this season?
Not much by Jason, actually. A lot of the other boys try their hand at it, though. Believe me, I’m not totally off the radar on that front, but compared to previous seasons, it is a little break.
How does Jason and Crystal’s relationship progress over the course of season four?
She’s very much under a spell, for lack of a better phrase. And Jason’s so in love with this girl that he goes along with it for a little while, but he very quickly finds himself in a position he may not be able to get out of.

A wonderful interview with Kristin Bauer at The Advocate, mini spoilers but you should really read it at the link.

Summer of Pam
Returning as Pam, True Blood’s bitchy vampire lesbian, Kristin Bauer van Straten talks season 4 spoilers, on-screen nudity, and Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.By Brandon Voss
The Advocate: When members of the press receive advance screeners for a new season of True Blood, we also receive a letter from Alan Ball that lists the plot points he doesn’t want us to discuss in our coverage. Do you worry about getting in trouble for revealing spoilers or saying too much?
Kristin Bauer van Straten: I do. Honestly, I wish you could send me a copy of that letter. I’m not told specific things that I shouldn’t say, but I just feel like I shouldn’t say anything. But now I’m doing interviews, so would you like me to play the radio for you? [Laughs] It’s totally stressful.
What can you tell us about Pam this season?
Pam has a pretty wild story line this year. It’s not in the books, and it’s not something I think people would ever guess. It’s a unique, exciting story line that was really fun and challenging for me, and I think it will be pretty memorable. So we’ll see.
Pam is a major part of the fourth book, Dead to the World, which aligns with many of the themes in the new season. I hope that means we see a lot more of you this year.
We do see a lot more of Pam, and we see a whole other side to her.
We know from previews that Eric, Pam’s maker, has somehow lost his memory at the start of the season. How will that affect Pam?
She's got to take on a leadership role. Also, I’ve found out this year conclusively that Pam is not a strategist; she’s a reactor. Someone’s messed with her maker and messed with their relationship — he doesn’t remember anything, so he doesn’t remember their history or their feelings for each other — so she jumps right in to try to right the situation and make those who did this to him pay. She’s not a chess player.
Last season Pam unexpectedly became a motherly mentor to Jessica, the vampire newborn played by Deborah Ann Woll. Will we see that continue this next season?
Do we more of that, and I love their dynamic. It’s incredibly fun for me, and Deborah’s mentioned how much she loves it too. I also love the incredibly wrong advice that Pam gives her — “Did you call the hypothetical hardware store and buy a theoretical chain saw?” That’s so fabulous to me.

I love Scrappy Doo Tommy, so even though it isn't a spoiler I have to post it.

Method Shapeshifting with Marshall Allman from Janina Gavankar

Santress did screencaps and this one is interesting, I think she has the most Vikingcentric Tumblrs of anyone, gotta love that.

A wee bit more from THR

The witches will enter the HBO show’s world when Jesus (Kevin Alejandro) tries to encourage Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) to get more in touch with his magical side by introducing him to a small coven of witches led by Marnie. At first, Shaw’s stumbling and awkward portrayal of the character can be very deceptive.

“She’s pretty bad, but she’s also pretty good,” Shaw says of her character. “She’s a pathetic person who becomes very powerful and maybe starts to abuse her power.”

So, on first take one would wonder what trouble this coven (which comes off in the beginning like a suburban housewife’s book club) could rain upon the vampires. But it doesn’t take long before we’ll see that there’s definitely an agenda and it’s something the vampires will want to shut down quickly.

“I think what [the witches] represent is the power of the human spirit and sort of the power of life,” Woo explains. “And they use that to perform their magic. Whereas, vampires are the dead. They represent death and it’s the contrast of life versus death, with human versus vampire that I think is the crux of this season. And the very thing that allows the vampires to be animated is the thing that the witches can control.”

"She's Not There" BUT Sunday, Bloody Sunday IS Here!

Less than 24 hours to go, SQUEEEEEE!
I couldn't wait till tomorrow to do an episode thread, I'm a Truebie and I need my fix.



Sookie journeys away from Bon Temps; Eric and Bill try to win back the human public; Jason learns that no good deed goes unpunished; Tara finds refuge in close quarters; Sam bonds with his own; Hoyt and Jessica debate the dinner menu; Jesus urges Lafayette to join a coven; and Terry tries to alleviate Arlene's fears about the baby.
(Written by Alexander Woo; directed by Michael Lehmann.)
IMDB



What we can expect from TVOvermind-

The first half of the episode flies by. As we learn along with Sookie what the folks in Bon Temps have been up to since we saw them last, I was on the edge of my seat eagerly anticipating the next familiar character to show up.  There were so many questions that needed to be answered. Amazingly, the episode does a great job at answering most of those questions... while adding about a hundred more. This is a brilliant ploy, by the way. It drops you in the middle of the action, allowing you to deduce what's happened already instead of bogging you down with bland exposition.

True Blood is known for making social commentary through the use of supernaturals and the humans around them, and judging from two interesting scenes with Eric and Bill simultaneously playing a camera and a crowd, respectively, I'm hopeful this season goes a little further with politics and the media.

The episode slowed a little in the second half. But the double reveal (and I'm not talking nudity, though there's some of that, too) in the last few minutes is beautifully done. And it sets the scene for what we can expect for the rest of the season from Bill and Eric.

We don't see every character in this first episode, but I'm sure they'll be around soon enough. But there are several references to past characters, which is rare in television. It's great to see a show that doesn't forget its past. And yes, there are witches.  We meet Marnie and the rest of her coven though the extent of their power hasn't been fully utilized here. It's safe to assume, from the trailers and previews, that we're in for a whole lot more witchery.

Saturday Night With Sam Trammel

Wishful thinking I know, you should read the whole thing at the link, very sexy. Here's the spoilers from the 
LATimes interview with Sam where he talks hot steamy Louisiana nights, ooh is it hot in here?

The HBO vampire drama 'True Blood' is embarking on Season 4, in which the actor's character, Sam Merlotte, meets a fellow shape-shifter of considerable allure.
By Irene Lacher, Special to the Los Angeles Times

"True Blood's" fourth season opens Sunday night with Sam Trammell returning to HBO's racy vampire drama as Sam Merlotte, a cafe owner and shape-shifter who can turn into any animal he likes and back again. Offstage, Trammell, 40, is also preparing for his debut as the father of twins with his longtime girlfriend, actress Missy Yager.

Tell me about Sam Merlotte's adventures in the new season. I understand you have a new love interest.

Yeah, I do. Last season, Sam sort of excommunicated his biological family, and he gains a new family in a sense because he meets this person who's also a shape-shifter, named Luna [Janina Gavankar]. And she has a lot of mystery about her, and as the season goes on, he discovers more and more about her and is surprised. She's an exciting, very intriguing, very alluring person for Sam.

The last time we saw you, you had a gun to your brother's head. How'd that go?

He stole some money from me, from a safe in my office, and I tracked him down — literally ran him down in the woods. I pulled a gun on him, said, "Give me the money." He said, "You're not going to shoot me" and walked away. Cut to me and I fired the gun. It's already been revealed that Tommy is not dead — he's in the fourth season — but there's a cliffhanger about what happened when I fired.

Do you also explore the mythology of shape-shifters this season?

Yeah, we're going to meet a group of shape-shifters. We've learned the rules of what vampires can and can't do. With shape-shifting, we really haven't seen that much. We met one shape-shifter, Daphne, in Season 2, but we really haven't looked at that community and what it's like to be a shape-shifter. We're going to explore all of that, and that's what I get excited about, when you look at the rules of the supernatural beings.

What's the source of that mythology? Is it Native American?

The shape-shifter appears in many different cultures, but one is Native American. That's one of the ones we're going to take a look at this year. Every culture has a different view of what they are, and they play different roles in different cultures and different rules govern them. We're going to have to pick and choose and create our own reality with shape-shifters. It's really cool.

One More Day Till True Blood!

Today is the last day of waiting and what sucks about it is that spoilers are just remixes of information we've had for a while. No one has anything to add or to lessen the sucking so just hold tight and the time will fly by till tomorrow evening, or not. I'll post some of these mishmashes just to fill in the hole of the night (evil laugh), does that sound like a plan or what?
THR now has the most counts in their compilation with not, 4, not 5, not 10 BUT a whopping 14 things to know about S4. Heck, they even have Zap2it's Jethro in the mix. Pics and vids at the link.


1. It's a crooked path to Fairyland, but Sookie's taking it. For those of you who saw the first 8 minutes HBO released from the premiere, you know that Sookie (Anna Paquin) will probably have some issues about being a fairy. Don’t despair, the microwave fingers aren’t going anywhere. “Now, she realizes she has some fairy blood in her,” producer Alexander Woo says. “She doesn’t know what that means yet, but she has to come to grips with it and take advantage of what that power could be to her. So, I think this year Sookie is going to grow a little more comfortable with what she is.”

2. Bill turns into a PR man for vampires. After Russell Edginton (Denis O’Hare) sets the vampire movement back a few thousand years, Bill is tasked with doing damage control. “Bill ends up in this situation that he wouldn’t necessarily have chosen but he gets pushed into it,” Stephen Moyer says. “Ultimately he’s trying to not only rebuild what vampires are to the greater outside community but rebuild what he represents to Sookie."
 3. This is Alexander Skarsgard’s year. It has already been  revealed that Eric will have amnesia this season and what that does is feature Skarsgard’s acting like this show has never done before. “The huge challenge is he has to portray someone who has an almost completely different personality, yet is at the roots still the same character and what he’s done with it,” Woo says.“Seeing how Alex was able to almost instantaneously turn into a different Eric, yet one that was still rooted in the same character at heart is really extraordinary. I think it will be great, great fun for everyone to watch.”
4. Alcide and Bill have something in common besides Sookie. While we’ve been used to seeing Alcide (Joe Manganiello) and Bill in opposition of each other by nature of who they are and for the affections of Sookie, we’ll learn this season that they may be more similar than we thought. “Alcide is in many ways like Bill in that he is reluctant to participate too much in the world and the politics,” Woo explains. “This is at least the Bill we knew at the beginning of the series was trying to mainstream and live among people and Alcide is very much the same. He's a bit of a ‘lone wolf.’ ”
5. Fairies, vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters, Brujos and what? “There’s a new twist on shapeshifters,” showrunner Alan Ball says. “There are disembodied spirits -- ghosts if you will. We get more into the Brujo tradition: the demonic black magic that Jesus may have inherited from his grandfather.” And as if Bon Temps doesn’t have enough to worry about, Arlene will encounter a new force. “She will be facing something that the show hasn’t even seen before,” Carrie Preston teases. “It is something new and you can put two and two together if you want.”
6. Debbie Pelt has a softer side. After Season 3’s big throw-down with Sookie, Debbie is still alive and at-large and we’ll see another side to her. “Debbie was really, really bad last season to everybody but in every bad girl, there’s a soft spot,” Brit Morgan says. “There’s a wound behind every bad girl -- maybe a little bit of emptiness. Why else would she be doing that vampire blood?! To fill the hole, man!” But that soft side doesn’t mean she’s letting Alcide off the hook. “She’ll be a thorn in Alcide’s side for a while,” Manganiello adds.
7. Terry becomes Mr. Mom to Arlene’s creepy baby. “The last time we saw Arlene she was definitely worried and concerned that the sins of the father of the child are growing and being vested upon the child inside of her,” Preston says. “Those fears don’t go away.” While the burden of the baby’s temperament becomes a heavy burden for Arlene, she and Terry (Todd Lowe) are as cool as can be. “For Arlene, she’s really lucky that she’s found a man who will put up with her histrionics, neuroses and will stand by her side, so she feels lucky.”
8. The Bellefleur family reunion may not be a fun one. When Andy’s sister Portia (Courtney Ford) returns to town, Andy doesn’t exactly roll out the welcome wagon. “[Their reunion] is awkward and uncomfortable because my sister got the looks and the brains,” Chris Bauer says. “Our grandmother loves her and dotes on her. The chip on Andy’s shoulder is so high it bumps into the moon. She’s no exception. She’s part of the problem as far as Andy is concerned.”
9. Jessica really wants things to work with Hoyt despite behavior that isn’t always in line with that desire. “She’ll definitely explore her vampire side, which Hoyt isn’t that comfortable with,” Deborah Ann Woll says. Adds Jim Parrack: “If you’ve ever been in a relationship, it’s a test.”
10. Shapeshifters 101. Luna winds up being a teacher both professionally and personally and teaches Sam a thing or two about the “full range and capabilities of shapeshifters,” Janina Gavanka says. Could that lead to a teacher-student relationship? “I think that people who are rooting for Sam will really be happy Luna is around because she sees how good of a guy he is and she honors that,” Gavanka says. Adds Sam Trammell: “You get to see the mythology of shapeshifters and the specific problem being a shapeshifter.”
11. Nan has her hands full. With Eric’s amnesia, Bill handling PR and a coven of witches in town, Nan is caught in the middle. “I’ve got the AVL and the Authority yelling at me,” Jessica Tuck says. “Then I’ve got all these vampires that I’ve got to deal with and I’m the middle man that everybody seems to hate. But really, I’m just doing my job.”
12. Lafayette trusts Jesus. A lot. With Lafayette still freaked out by Jesus’ (Kevin Alejandro) Brujo roots, he’s hesitant to explore whatever abilities he may have, but begrudgingly takes one for the team. “Lafayette doesn’t completely come around [to exploring his abilities] but Jesus asks him to do it and he trusts Jesus,” Nelsan Ellis says. “I don’t know if that works out for the two of them, but we’ll see.”
13. Jason turns into a man. “This is the season of the biggest growth for Jason,” Ryan Kwanten says. “He started very low on the evolutionary totem pole, so he could only go up. This is a real season of where the young boy turns into a man.”
14. Get ready to go back in time. There are going to be a lot more chances for fans to see our fave vamps as they were earlier in their “lives.” If you can imagine that Pam (Kristin Bauer) is considered young at about 100 years old, then you get a sense of just how many story possibilities there are for flashbacks. “All of our vampires have such a long back story that at some point, I think, we’ll get to everyone,” Woo says.
“One thing we’ve realized when we had Godric who was really ‘alive’ on the show for maybe three episodes,” Woo continues. “Was there were so many opportunities because he had such a long life with Eric and still a long life in general as a vampire that we could always go back to it. So, one of the opportunities that we have with our vampires that we could always go somewhere in their past to dig into something that informs what’s going on with them now.”

OnTheRedCarpet has this from Big Joe Manganiello-

At the show's recent season 4 premiere in Los Angeles, the actor told reporters that "if you like the tension between Sookie and Alcide then you'll like this season."

When audiences last saw Alcide, he settled the debt he owed to Eric by allowing Eric to bury Russell Edgington, the vampire king of Mississippi, was under a slab of concrete on his family's construction site. His reunion with Sookie was brief but filled with romantic tension.

"This season's really exciting," Manganiello said. "You're going to see the werewolves. "There's a new pack of werewolves and Alcide does not get along with them very well."

He adds, "So you're going to go see some fighting with them, you're going to see shape shifters and werewolves not getting along that well, this season too."

Manganiello confirmed to OTRC last year that he was made a full time regular on the show for season 4. "Yes, Alan Ball has asked me to be a full time werewolf. It's going to be a lot of fun," he said.

The fourth season of "True Blood" is said to loosely follow the event of the fourth novel in "The Southern Vampire Mysteries" series, which the show is based off of, called "Dead to the World."

"In the books Alcide goes from being a construction worker that wants to be left alone to & he winds up becoming pack leader," he said last year. "There's all this fighting and basically this pack war to see who is going to be the alpha."

The actor told the press during the season 4 premiere event that his character's future remains a mystery to him. "Every single script I flip to the end to see if I'm still alive," said Manganiello.

He also admitted he was a fan of the series saying: "It's sexy, it's funny, it's poignant, it's about things bigger than vampires and I think that's why people love it so much."

What the hell, this is HD and worth a repost-


Wetpaint has what they call AN EPIC TRUE BLOOD SPOILER ROUND_UP. LULZZZZZ!

Collider has their review of the premiere, no spoilers but interesting in that they actually seem to watch and know the characters. More at the link.

Each character is re-introduced in a new and sometimes negative light, bringing in a whole new perspective and an energetic change to the characters we know and understand; But also blending a cluster of new people into the ever-changing mix. As we know, with each new season, a new magical specimen taints the seemingly calm water. Last season, werewolves roamed the streets and immediately presented an intense and passionate disgust for vampires, but not without creating an interesting love “triangle” involving the brawny but soft-eyed, Alcide, played by Joe Manganellio. However this season, we are quickly introduced to a coven of witches, led passively by Marnie Stonebrook (Fiona Shaw) that can only be described as hopeless until one of our adored characters becomes the active element that flips the switch on who is in control.

Every season since the first there has been a slow but ever-growing push on the theme of vampire politics constantly tracking back to our favorite two-faced spokesperson, Nan Flanagan (Jessica Tuck). Since the King himself was “dethroned,” we can only speculate how Nan will manipulate the next successor. Although we perceive a seemingly rule-positioned hierarchy that exists in the vampiric realm, we all know that this is a long time demented and determined plan of none other than Nan. We are constantly fixated on the dramatic relations between all the Bon Temps players, but it isn’t until later that we are reminded of the on-going resistance between the rights of the living and the dead. Luckily, from what we can tell, this is going to be a good season to parallel the characters struggles to the bigger picture themes.

This season is transforming everything that we know about True Blood; a transformation so majestic in nature, that I was specifically written and asked by Alan Ball himself not to divulge specific matters at hand. In merely three episodes, almost every character can be re-defined as the opposite of what they were before. The only character we can hold as a true constant is our favorite brazen and sincerely more independent, Sookie. We also are noticing this significant transition from supporting characters that are becoming major characters, which in turn take their own story that eventually molds into the final and fantastic season ender that we all expect. If we know anything about True Blood it’s that the last two episodes of any given season are the key to that sudden moment of clarity and understanding, where we can recognize exactly how everything ties together and what it means for our Louisiana locals. Fortunately, we are a long ways away from that giving the show enough time to thoroughly confuse us for our own enjoyment.

More things we saw before but it takes a lot to fill the aforementioned hole.

The Blood Will Come Out Tomorrow, Tomorrow.

TrueBloodNews  (The Nester's) has Extra's latest video, Alexander/Eric centric!-


Last night Blogger got my posts all wonky, the fonts all smashed/mixed up. I am sorry and I wasn't drunk, really. Anyway this is from IGN and I dont know why they are saying fans were disappointed in the last 2 seasons' finales. It's the non fans, critics who might have been but not us, go to the link for the whole thing and piccies... meh.

This Sunday, Season 4 of HBO's True Blood kicks off and IGN's here to give you a primer on the summer's new episodes. Now, let's face it: this show is divisive. You're kind of either "in," or "out." And with two disappointing season finales in a row, the Bon Temp ball's pretty much in Sookie's court to try and win back some of the support this show's lost over the past year.

But for book fans, this season, based loosely on Charlaine Harris' fourth Southern Vampire Mystery book Dead to the World, is what legions of ladies have been waiting for. So we're always ready to give a show a second chance. And a third. I mean, despite Season 3's lack of payoff, it did set up a few interesting things for this year; the big one being Sookie and Bill being over and done with. So let's take a look at 10 "fangtastic" (can I even use that word in this context?) things to look for this season. Yes, 10 reasons to check out all the undead hunks, southern spitfires, Cajun wolves, meth-addict panthers and magical fairies of Season 4!
Guest Stars: Gary Cole (Office Space, Chuck), Courtney Ford (Dexter) and Scott Foley (Felicity, The Unit) all pop up this season, and if there's one thing everyone looks forward to on a new season of True Blood, it's the fresh meat. Cole will play Sookie's long lost gramps, Ford will play Sheriff Andy's lawyerin' sister Portia and Foley will be stopping by Terry's old army buddy. Look for a few meaningful glances between Portia and Mr. Bill Compton too, btw.
Witches, Man: It seems like it's expected that True Blood add a new mythical, mystical creature into the story every year. And while you may not think there's anything to really hoop and holler over as far as witches are concerned; these witches are Necromancers. And so the fantasy food chain starts to take shape as we finally discover the one group of powerful beings that vampires are actually afraid of. Yes, they may not have the sex appeal of vamps and wolves, but they've got the biggest stroke. Because "control over the dead" means "control over vamps." Look for an interesting spin on the book character Hallow Stonebrook, involving a channeling séance leader named Marnie (played by Harry Potter's Fiona Shaw). Also, look for Lafayette (now with a mohawk!) and Jesus to get caught up in the witch storyline.
Eric and Sookie?: While "shippers" (fans of a particular TV coupling) tend to have separate hybrid names based on whichever two characters they want to hook up, shippers of Sookie and Eric don't have a clever name. They're just called the majority of True Blood fans! Well Rookies (I just named you!), this summer's for you. After Eric learns that there might be a coven of 'Mancers in town, he heads off to deal with them – getting his mind wiped in the process. Which leads to a softer, kinder Eric. Which could lead to…I'm sorry. It's as if millions of voices suddenly squeeeed and were suddenly silenced.
Jessica. That is All.: Look, she's freakin' hot. And while she may seem underused, she's still on this show and that's certainly something. But people who might have been rooting for Jessica and Hoyt to live a "happily ever after" type of life might have to stick to their fanfic because a rocky road lies ahead for these two lovebirds. A bumpy, brutal path that involves fights, protesters, wandering eyes and mind control.
 A Brand New Tara: True Blood tried to go the sympathy route last year with their "up until Tommy" most-annoying character, Tara. Unfortunately, the tragic death of Tara's love Eggs was followed up with an icky Season 3 arc of psycho brutalization that only served to turn her into a beacon of misery. Well, now comes Tara 2.0. A reboot. We'll meet up with a surprisingly strong, happy and productive Tara, but not in Bon Temps.

Spin City: After King Russell de-spinalized a news anchor on live TV, both humans and vampires s*** their britches. Humans because they were like "we're all gonna die now!" and vamps because they realized that the big co-existence movement just took a big hit. This season we'll see a lot more of Nan Flanagan (with actress Jessica Tuck being promoted to series regular) and delve back, flashback-style, into the roots of her big PR movement and the decision to "come out of the coffin."
Samoholics Anonymous: When we meet up with Sam again, he's found a small group of kindred spirits who share his troubles and anger issues. By secretly meeting together, they're able to help each other deal with the sadness, strife and overall insanity that is "life in Bon Temps, Louisiana." Why is this so important? Because Janina Gavankar is smokin' hot and she plays one of the group. Seriously. Smokin'. Hot.
Methbillies: Yup, we're headed back to Hot Shot - the Bon Temps-adjacent third-world nation of toothless Thunderdome refugees who also all happen to be werepanthers. And even though Jason was left "in charge" of these filthy kids, he's taken a liking to them. But big trouble is waiting for him when weird-faced Crystal returns with disturbing designs for a new family. So, indeed, changes just might be in store for ol' Jase.
Bill's New Bag: With Bill pretty much becoming a non-character in the Charlane Harris novels after book three, there was a ton of stuff they could have done with a post-Sookie William Compton on the series. What we'll find out is actually pretty damn great, as Bill has a new role in the vampire ranks and works more closely with Nan. And how is Bill doing without his darlin' "Sookeh?" Well unlike most of the mopey vampire leading men out there it will please you to know that Bill still has carnal urges. Lots and lots of carnal urges.
Sookie in the Middle: And at the center of all this chaos with witches, fairies, vamps and wolves is Sookie. Sookie who has to deal with an amnesiac Eric, a fairy land in dismay and the return of Debbie Pelt. Yes, Debbie's back. As is (new series regular Joe Manganiello) Alcide.

Friday Means Sunday's Closer!

Thanks to TrueBloodNews for rocking the daily countdown vids.



"Bob's Your Uncle", my new favorite phrase. Extra from last night with Ryan.



Xfinitytv has had some excellent TB articles the last few weeks, here's one more. There's more at the link including videos.

The newly dumped Bill, according to his portrayer Stephen Moyer, finds plenty to keep himself occupied. “Bachelorhood kind of turns out all right for Bill. I think he decided to enjoy it while he can. A lot of responsibility smoothing over the Russell Eddington nightmare. He’s trying to make vampires attractive to humans again, by sort of doing press, without giving too much away.” However, he  has not given up on Sookie. “He makes the decision that if you’re going to love somebody, set them free, and the only way to allow that there might possibly be some rekindling down the line is to let her be the person that she needs to be without making her feel like he’s watching her every move.” Moyer also debunked a rumor about Bill creating a torture chamber in his basement, insisting, “It’s not a torture chamber.” So, maybe Bill is just setting up a vampire rec room.
Will Eric even remember how he feels about Sookie? When a witch decides to erase Eric’s memory, he becomes a new man. According to Alexander Skarsgard, “He’s definitely more vulnerable. He doesn’t know who he is anymore so he’s very naïve. The old Eric is gone.”

Last year’s breakout character, werewolf Alcide, returns in episode three. According to Joe Maganiello, “Alcide’s situation is a lot more complicated romantically when you see him first in episode 3. I don’t think he’s had a change of heart so much as much as he wished things could be a little different. There’s some certain substantial things that the fans will find out in those first few episodes. Had [Sookie] responded differently, I think he would have built that house for her.”

Sookie becomes a lifeline for Alcide. “Alcide is a recluse. He just wants to be left alone. He hates being a werewolf. He hates that he was cursed – he sees it as a curse. The great thing about Sookie is she drags him out on all these adventures. This little thing drags him out of the house. Really, I think she’s the key to unlocking that reluctant hero inside of him and I think he recognizes that’s a good thing.”

OK Now we have some big spoilers from the Washington Post, so don't say you weren't warned.

The season begins with its central heroine, Sookie Stackhouse (the hot/cold Anna Paquin) portaling to her native fairy world — [Oh, wait, did I remember to shoo off all those grumpy fans who don’t want spoilers anywhere near their delicate eyes? Shoo, then. Shoo!] — where other fairy-type people seem to be enjoying an eternal Olive Garden-esque realm while eating glowing orbs of juicy lifefruit. Even Sookie’s deceased grandpa (Gary Cole) is here, having the time of his afterlife.

Making her way back to town, Sookie discovers that what felt like a few minutes away has actually been a year and that her friends have all written her off as dead. This fast-forward could have been a promising way to advance and reinvigorate the series. While she’s been away, Sookie’s mishap-prone brother, Jason (Ryan Kwanten), has become a sheriff’s deputy; her former paramour Bill (Stephen Moyer) has deposed Queen Sophie-Anne (so long, Evan Rachel Wood) and has been crowned the Vampire King of Louisiana.

It seems that, even in paradise, Sookie has a knack for trouble, as she quickly senses that
 fairy world is an illusion and that the fairies are really beasts who wish to enslave her. The
 Olive Garden dissipates, revealing a barren wasteland of bad special effects. Sookie and
 Grandpa attempt to escape through a dimensional canyon leap, landing splat in the cemetery
 of Bon Temps, La., their vampire-laden home town, where Grandpa quickly shrivels to
 a crisp. That’s just the first five minutes or so, and that’s all I’m really going to tell you.

Yet do not take this as a threat of abandonment. The “True Blood” fans crave is intact and addictive it’s just more tiresome. Still, if there’s another TV show that can approach its ability to meld melodramatichorror, fun and social metaphor, I haven’t seen it.

But there’s still some bloat and a population-control problem, character-wise. On top of its
 textured lore about vampires, shape-shifters, werewolves, maenads, cat people and other
 voodoo who-dos, most of whom are still around and taking up space, “True Blood” is adding

 witches this season, as Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) and his boyfriend Jesus (Kevin Alejandro)

 start dallying with a coven. Characters I care less about (waitresses, extraneous vampires,

 panther hillbillies on meth) are getting as much or more time as characters I initially adored.

Skarsgardfans has some scans up from EW, very clear and readable, unlike
 when I scan, lol. Here's one, hairy paws, click on the link to see many more.
.

TWO MORE DAYS!

Congratulations to Stephen Moyer for his Saturn Award Win, Best Actor in a Television Show. Joe won for Best Guest Star. Read all the winners at TVOvermind

New Jess Vlog I didnt expect this would happen so soon.




Televisionary's Jace wrote on the first 3 episodes but this is not the whole thing, go read that at the link-

 After a complete misstep in the opening installment, the first three episodes of Season Four of True Blood (sent out to press for review a few weeks back) return to form, shifting the action back to Bon Temps and to the sprawling set of characters established over the last few seasons. Showrunner Alan Ball  is being particularly spoiler-averse this year, which means that I'm forbidden to get into too much detail about the season opener, though those of you who watched the first eight minutes of the season already know a considerable amount about light fruit, Mab, and other details.
But it's the circumstances around Sookie that are perhaps the least interesting elements of the first few episodes back. More intriguing are the other storylines surrounding her: Sam's quest to belong; Jessica's exploration of her true nature; Tara's attempts to find herself (I did say that identity is the key underlying theme, didn't I?); Andy's struggle to maintain his personal sense of order. Elsewhere, the vampires attempt to put a new face on their community following Russell Edgington's televised slaughter of a news anchor last season, high-quality home furnishings and property ownership are discussed, Bill deals with some new responsibilities, and a group of witches convenes at a New Age bookshop, drawing together several familiar faces into the spiritual realm.
I'm still not in love with the faerie storyline (particularly after seeing how it was handled in those opening minutes), but there are several long-dangling plot threads neatly tied up due to some reveals here. Sookie's dual heritage is of especial interest, as she finds herself caught between her own personal desires and the political machinations of the faerie court, such as it is. But there are some shocking moments contained within this plotline as well, at least. (One in particular was a real jaw-dropper.) And there's another storyline--a particularly creepy one surrounding Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) and Hotshot--that made my blood run cold.
But, putting these issues aside, the second episode of the season, “You Smell Like Dinner" (written by Brian Buckner and directed by Scott Winant) is a particularly strong installment, setting up a new status quo for the series and examining the fallout from Season Three's events in a compelling and addictive way.
It's impossible to look away from Fiona Shaw's Marnie: she's ambition incarnate in a dowdy print dress, a frumpy housewife whose placid exterior conceals the beating heart of the power-mad. Rutina Wesley's Tara is for once not painted as either the angry black woman or as the victim, but as a rather badass version of herself. Look for a major showdown between Tara and Pam... and some typical steal-stealing from Kristin Bauer van Straten in general, who once again gets to have some of the most deliciously bitchy lines on television and who tosses off these bon mots with such effortless grace that it's auditory candy to hear her speak. (One moment in the season opener, in which Pam tries to reach out to Fangtasia's human customers, is particularly hilarious.) Nelsan Ellis' Lafayette and Kevin Alejandro's Jesus continue to charm; Deborah Ann Woll's Jessica and Jim Parrack's Hoyt, meanwhile, have some hard times ahead. (Let's just say that Jessica's cooking skills aren't quite up to par with Maxine's.)

Alexander Skarsgard shines in this season, delivering a stirring performance that's vastly different to anything we've seen from him to date. Season Four's Eric is an entirely separate creature than the vampire sheriff we've come to know over the last three seasons, displaying a rare innocence and animal naivete that's entirely captured in Skarsgard's subtle facial expressions and in his eyes. He's at the top of his game, really.

At least for now, there's a less frenzied pace to the storytelling (compared to the tail end of Season Three) and a concentration of setting, keeping the action confined to Bon Temps, Hotshot, and nearby Shreveport.  But by using the area around Bon Temps as a nexus for the season's multitude of plotlines, it infuses every shot of the town with possibility. (You never know just what's lurking on the other side of street.) 


Just slight spoilery bites from SamTrammel's interview with Reading Eagle, sometimes these smaller news sources have great info.
"Last season, by the end of it, Sam was in a real state," the actor continued. "His buttons had been pushed by many people, and it ended in this eruption where I beat up that were-panther, started drinking, and I had a flashback to when I killed a couple of people, and I was betrayed by a girl I was seeing and committing petty crimes with. Hung over, still kind of reliving that flashback, I went to Tommy's house, saw that he was gone, suspected that he may have stolen the safe with all of my money, and chased him down." Viewers then saw Sam fire his gun and nothing more.

"What you didn't see is whether or not I shot Tommy," Trammell said, speaking by telephone from his Los Angeles home, "and what had happened with Sam is that he basically took two steps back. He'd gone to Bon Temps to start a new life, and no one knew about this side of him, where he had a criminal background and these anger issues.

"So in Season 4 I'm dealing with that eruption that happened at the end of Season 3 and also with Sam's past catching up with him," he said. "It's going to be cool, because we'll see more of this shape-shifter community I've met, who are helping me deal with my issues, with all of the betrayal in my life, especially from my first adopted family leaving me because I was a shape-shifter. With this community I can talk about shape-shifting and heal myself a bit.
"And it'll be cool for the audience, because they'll learn a little more about shape-shifting, things we didn't know about the mythology."
Even better, Sam will be getting a love interest during Season 4 - and, no shocker, she'll be a shape-shifter. Janina Gavankar, late of "The Gates" (2010), will play the character, a, pardon the pun, shapely schoolteacher named Luna.
"Luna is a very interesting character, and Sam is very attracted to her," Trammell said. "She's not just beautiful, but she's also mysterious. She's like Sam in the sense that she doesn't want to reveal a lot about herself, about her past or who she is. Throughout the season those secrets start to reveal themselves to Sam, and some of them put Sam in danger. 


MTV's Hollywood Crush has a new video up (check it out at the link) and this bit-

Husband and on-screen love interest Stephen Moyer will be taking on a new role this season now that the fate of his vampire nemesis has been cemented. (Ha!) "Bill's kind of clearing up the mess that Russell Edgington made," Stephen dished. "So we sort of tell the humans that vampires aren't interested in them. You know, which is a tough job."

Many cast mates, including Alexander Skarsgård (who plays Eric) and Kristin Bauer (who plays Pam), hinted that we'll see new sides of their characters, but probably the most startling revelation came from Rutina Wesley, who plays sharp-tongued Tara. "I think she's in a very zen place. She kind of goes and finds herself, so to speak, and finds how to love herself. I think she's ready to be open to the world and to life and to love."

Tara? Zen? We can hardly believe it. Though before you drop dead from shock, it sounds like at least one constant will remain for the drama magnet. "But she does get swept back up into the world of vampires. It is 'True Blood,'" Rutina added with a smirk.

The Vulture Blog is becoming all True Blood all the time, like us! More to read at the link.

Plenty of Lafayette
The Sookie-Bill-Eric love triangle might be the show's central romance, but Lafayette — with all his "hooker, please" — is the show's delightful voice of reason. True Blood is its most interesting and entertaining when its fantasy elements are in contact and contrast with the normal world as we know it, and Lafayette's point of view often provides the jolt of a perfectly delivered reality check. And, thankfully, he's never been more present or happy than he is at the beginning of Season 4.

It's scary again
True Blood does gore just fine, but legitimate frights had largely disappeared from the series. Not so this season! Definitely watch the first episode with the lights on.

Eric (and, therefore, Alexander Skarsgård) has way more to do
No one's going to complain about Eric when he's dark and brooding, but this season True Blood is letting Skarsgård flex his (ample, lovely) muscles in other, sweeter directions, and it's a welcome shift. Plus, it adds some interesting emotional depth to his potential romance with Sookie.

The story actually moves forward
Finally. Only a few months elapsed over the first few seasons, so despite all the action, death, aggressive intercourse, tender intercourse, revelations, chases, shootings, shape-shifts, and general family drama, the characters were relatively stuck and stagnant. Not so this time! To put it in as spoiler-free terms as we can, this season everybody moves forward in a big way.

The secondary and tertiary characters are fun again
Arlene and Terry have the most underrated relationship on the show, and they get a juicy story arc in the early episodes that highlights what True Blood actually does well: blend dark, terrifying supernatural elements with cheeky sarcasm and folksy levity. Tara gets a solid story, Hoyt and Jessica have more to do than just stand around and loop dopey, and Sam actually starts to enjoy being a shape-shifter.

After Midnite-2 MORE DAYS!

Barbara from Skarsgardfans has some ideas about these 2 pics, but she won't spill, lol, not yet anyway.
She also has screencaps from most of the previews so you can get a closer look on the action and see things you wouldn't notice just from viewing.

Looks like Season 4 will be quite an action packed one for True Blood fans! The image above shows Eric Northman (wearing what looks a lot like the shirt he wore for episode 4.10 link ) grappling with Bill Compton. Good old Sookie is there to stop the big ole Viking Vampire from giving Bill one heck of a neck ache!

Photo of Alexander Skarsgard from filming 5/14/11. On site filming for episode 4.10 at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in LA.

I’ve seen some other spoilers that pretty much confirm my suspicions of what leads up to this but I’m not spilling until closer to when that episode airs. (note the red “stuff” on Eric’s shirt) Yup. Bill Compton may be getting a bit of viking medicine here!


From TV Guide's Natalie Abrams 

True Blood: 10 Big Season 4 Spoilers

"Everything you thought you can count on, you can't," executive producer Alan Ball says. "Vampires are not stronger than certain humans, shapeshifters can do things other than shift and there are ghosts."True Blood has brought witches, werewolves and vampires to life over the last three seasons, but everything you think you know about the supernatural beings will be upended this season.
Here are 10 things we do know about what's coming up, straight from the cast of True Blood:
Sookie's sexy men on True Blood's complicated love quadrangle
1. It's all about the witches: A band of witches tap into a new form of power, causing Eric to lose his memory. At the head of the coven is Marnie, a vengeful witch coming into her powers and out for revenge. Unfortunately for Lafayette, he will be dragged into the increasing vampire vs. witch tension. "Lafayette loves his boyfriend, [Jesus, a practicing brujo], so he's trying to deal with [magic] in stride, but it keeps sucking him in and he doesn't know what's going on," Ellis says. "He discovers who he is in the middle of all this stuff."
2. Sookie, independent woman: After discovering that Bill  was working for Queen Sophie-Anne to gain information on her, Sookie is "learning to stand on her own,"  Anna Paquin says. "At the end of last season, she was at a point where she was willing to walk away from everyone and everything, particularity those troublesome boys. It's not that she doesn't want or need anyone, she just isn't dependant anymore." That's OK for Bill, though. "Bachelorhood kind of turns out all right for Bill," Moyer says. "He's decided to enjoy it while he can."
3. Vampires in trouble: Eric's unfortunate run-in with the witches will send his lieutenant, Pam, into a downward spiral, which is bad timing in the current vampire climate. "The post-Russell Edginton world is hard for Pam," Bauer says. "It's a political environment this year, so she's supposed to be doing what the other vampires are doing — holding babies and shaking hands — but she's incapable. So we see her cause some trouble."4. Tara returns as a new woman: After getting out of Dodge in the season finale, Tara  will return to Bon Temps hoping to turn over a new leaf, but will immediately find herself in a mess of trouble. "She gets swept back into the world of vampires so quickly," Rutina says. "She doesn't want it, but she has no choice." Fortunately, there may be hope for her yet. "If there was to be love for Tara, I think she's ready for it because I think she's learned to love herself and has opened up in a way."5. Shifty shapeshifters: The days of Sam  turning into a dog or bird are child's play compared to what he'll do this season. "My character explains the full-range of capabilities that shapeshifters have, and a lot of people that she's talking to at the time don't even know some of that," says Janina Gavankar, who'll be a love interest for Sam this season. "There's a really dark side to shapeshifters as well and that's something we'll explore this year. There's potential wrongdoings that can happen."
6. Jessica, domesticated? Jessica  and Hoyt  will make a go of living together, but a human and a vampire cohabitating isn't going to be easy. "Jessica is a vampire and I'm not quite sure that domestic life is really what she's in for or what she desires," Woll says. "She's still gotta figure that out because they moved into this very quickly." Helping her navigate this life is Pam, who acts as a "big bad" older sister, says Bauer. "Pam is a very different kind of mentor for Jess than Bill is," Woll adds. "The things you might not want to tell your dad, you may tell your cool aunt."7. Jason's growing up: Once the older slacker brother of Sookie, Jason  has now stepped into a role of responsibility that will get him into even more trouble. "This is the season of the biggest growth for Jason, where the young boy turns into a man," Kwanten says. "He's forced to try and raise a tribe of people and eventually fight for his life."8. PD's into V: The end of last season teased impending trouble for Andy  when it comes to V, otherwise known as vampire blood, an addictive drug that can ruin your life (See: Jason Stakchouse, Debbie Pelt and the rest of the werewolves from Season 3). "It's like old demons, new problems," Bauer says of Season 4 for Andy. "At first V does a lot of good. He had that cast on forever, but after a couple of drops, all of a sudden he's ready to box. He's a guy who we know has issues with substance, and he keeps saying he's done, but he's not done."
9. Arlene and Terry tackle parenthood: As if Arlene  could ever be the voice of reason, she's especially on edge this season. "I wouldn't be playing Arlene correctly if I wasn't playing her fully, fully stressed out," Preston says. "When you're talking about a child or potential child, and you're talking about it having a father that was a serial killer, in Arlene's mind, she's absolutely justified in freaking out. Luckily, Arlene has found Terry, who will put up with all her insecurities." On a possibility related note, Preston adds, "Arlene is going to come face-to-face with something that we haven't even seen on the show yet."
10. Debbie's back, baby: Alcide's psychopathic, V-addicted ex-girlfriend, Debbie Pelt, will return this season with a new prerogative. "You're going to get to see a different side of Debbie," Morgan says, adding that Debbie will attempt to make amends with Sookie and find some normalcy. But the werewolf in her isn't gone. "You're going to get to see cool things with some of the wolves that you didn't get to see last season," she says.