I like it rough.
28 October 2008 @ 22:24 ; 0 CommentsThe book of shadows.
The world of the supernatural has always fascinated me... on the telly, that is. The supernatural that occupies space with real-life oddities just plain creeps me out. Of course, I am only saying that because I don't really know what I'm dealing with. Or rather, what we all are dealing with. And I don't think I'm ever in the mood to find out.
Back then, I was brought up with a healthy google box diet of imaginative writing. Charmed, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Craft... just a few worthy mentions that got me hooked. Obviously the common thing amongst the above-mentioned three is the fact that they have witches (or humans with witchcraft lineages) as their protagonists. But if you speak of those shows, you will commit a huge error if you do not highlight the most watched, most lauded show to have grace our screens in recent years: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Almost through the course of my teenage years was largely devoted to this show and its characters. Calling me a die-hard fan is just the tip of the iceberg. Through the course of the series, I went through its ups and downs, growths in characters, cast changes, the best-of-the-best episodes, and everything in association with the show. Everything just resonated with me. I was already sold on its extremely smart and witty writing alone. Of course, the actors helped alleviate the scripts into a much better place, you can't argue with that. Until its untimely demise (rest in peace Scooby Gang), I was there with them. (Well, except for the sixth season onwards - on and off. And Mediacorpse is to be blamed for pushing the show's time slot to midnight! I mean like wth right?)
Nowadays not a lot of shows have gotten it right. They try to inject their own style and flavour but for the most part it just comes out flat. Unfortunately. But with the debut of True Blood, I think we have a decent contender that can perhaps satiate the vampire lovers out there.
The series, created by Alan Ball (who came up with the morbidly comedic Six Feet Under), is adapted from the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. Based in the fictional town of Bon Temps in Louisiana (no Britney vampire, sadly), it follows the story of how vampires have been inducted into the mainstream as of late, with them mingling amongst the humans. Sookie Stackhouse is a telepathic bar waitress who has a connection with a vampire.
Thou shalt love thy neighbour.
First things first, I should stress that I, along with many other people on this planet, am not too fond of print-to-screen adaptations. Most of the time the teleplays get diluted - and evidently become lost in translation - because a lot of the stuff that has been greatly and lovingly described in the books are condensed or - worse yet - omitted entirely to make way for a more digestable viewing enjoyment. In my opinion, I believe the only faithful adaptation thus far would be The Notebook. Yes! I watched it after reading the book! Or was it before? Hmmm.
Anyways, what I am really impressed with the series is that the books are wonderfully translated to the screen. The fact that Ball tries to keep as close to the novels as possible proves that he is serious with it. Each episode moves along in real-time and, according to The Queen Bee, is somewhat in resonance with what Harris has written in her books.
Of course, being a new series and all, True Blood does have its downfalls. Because each episode plays along slowly, after awhile it can get severely into your skin. Sometimes I just feel like killing myself. I don't know whether it's the ADD me talking, but it felt like forever just having to go through a single episode! And then there's the characters. Being a depiction of the south, the accent and the sheer stupidity of these people does grate on you. Yes, after awhile. Or perhaps even earlier on for some. The only person I can stand was Sookie's grandmother and even then she didn't last that long. Bleah.
The writing is commendable, and the cast did their best to give their all. Although some of their accents are not really that believable (Vampire Bill's especially. Since the actor is British his tends to falter moreso than the others) but otherwise it's just a minor setback to the series. If you have the time or just curious, watch True Blood. Okay, I'll give you an easier task- just watch one episode first. The series premiere then, duh! And then see how you feel about it. If you like it, great. Continue. It gets better. If not, then it's okay. One man's meat is another man's poison.
Speaking of vampires and books, recently I just finished Melissa De La Cruz's Blue Bloods as well. It's about the Plymouth settlers and how vampires came from there until present time New York City. The novel follows Schuyler Van Alen, a student who began uncovering something that has been inbred within her for centuries.
Overall De La Cruz's first novel in the Blue Bloods/vampires series is a joy to read. Very fast paced, I managed to clear the book within a day (with thanks in part to the big text and the 1.5 line spacing lolx - inside joke with the Queen). However De La Cruz didn't exactly manage to find her footing until her protagonist Schuyler was inducted into this mysterious team called The Committee, and that's in the middle of the book. Onwards it starts picking up rather quickly. That's where your attention is maintained throughout. Not so stellar beginning, and then it picks up, warrants a three-star rating by superyan.
With the deluge of all these vampire folklore that I have been pre-occupied with lately I find myself trying to piece together bits and bobs from all of them to make into a cohesive piece. Joss Whedon, Bram Stoker, Christopher Moore, Melissa De La Cruz, Charlaine Harris and Alan Ball... all their tales vary so much from one another that it's interesting to discover how everyone tries to interpret vampires.
Well then. Seeing that I have a lot of free time on my hands nowadays (October is ending, my next writing stint is only in the middle of next month and right now companies are still being stubborn about having me in their staff. Ahh yes, what a wonderful world) I decided to go back... back to the beginning... viva la Buffy!
