HBO renews Enlightened and cancels three returning shows

Today HBO renewed Enlightened for a second season, which is truly unexpected given the shows abysmal ratings. It may have something to do with Laura Dern's recent Golden Globe nomination for the show or that critics have suddenly started praising it, after trashing the first episodes. It's so clear to me that most major TV critics have very little objectivity, especially when it comes to new shows - even though they claim to only review quality shows. It's weird that whenever an atypical or truly ambitious show has premiered in the past two years, it always takes them a while to realise. But what makes this news stranger is that HBO axed three shows that do better than Enlightened. Bored to Death, Hung and How to Make it in America will not live to see another day. In my opinion none of these cancelled shows were creatively strong on any consistent level, which should never have been good enough for HBO. Hung was the worst and should have been cancelled after its first season, but for whatever reason, and despite critical panning and declining ratings it was renewed twice. Bored to Death and Hung made it to three seasons and How to Make it in American had two.

Any sadness I have about Bored to Death, which I often enjoyed, going off the air is nothing compared to the joy of Enlightened's renewal. It truly makes me believe again that HBO does care primarily about quality, after a few very shaky years for the network. Ever since John From Cincinnati and Tell Me You Love Me were cancelled, they've made and renewed some very mediocre and typical cable shows - the kind you might find on Showtime. With this news, Game of Thrones returning, Luck premiering, Aaron Sorkin's news show being picked up, as well as Veep from the writer of British show The Thick of It, Armando Iannucci. The future of HBO is definitely looking as bright as ever.

Enlightened - S01E02 - Now or Never

"There's a lot of other people here like you who we've had trouble placing"

Now or Never, again written by creator Mike White, who wrote the entire first season before shooting started. It opens on a voice-over with Amy declaring to make positive change at Abbadon (despite being sent down to data-entry), she then explains the visualisation technique and we see a fantasy scene of her work superiors embracing her ideas followed by Amy presenting her products to employees at store-level, receiving cheer and her name chanted. She hugs that little old lady from Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! before her human resources boss Judy invades her fantasy and she 'wakes up' in the boardroom. This sequence was a twist on the voice-overs from the pilot in that we're now more aware of the fact that Amy may not be very enlightened. The sequence makes Amy seem delusional and unrealistic - really, she should be glad to have attained another job at all with Abbadon. On top of that she wants to lead the company to become completely green - for no real reason other than she wants to. The show could also be named Entitled.

When Amy calls her ex-assistant and 'friend' from the bathroom of her new basement workplace she blames her old boss Damon for her placement and calls her new workmates circus freaks - out comes a nerdy-looking woman from one of the cubicles, who hurries out with her head drooped. Amy realises her mistake - but it mirrors the first scene of the pilot where her colleagues were bad-mouthing her and she overhears - it being the catalyst for her breakdown. She's arrogant for thinking she deserves so much more and that she's better than her new workmates. Not only that, she doesn't try to apologise to the girl she just insulted, who could be on the verge of her own mental breakdown - Amy quite often lacks empathy.

There are a few scenes that feel like 'second pilot' scenes (repetition/set-up) but they do this while also adding a great deal of texture to the characters. Amy's interaction with her mum further highlights Helen's rigid and repressed attitude. This time, instead of Amy trying to get acceptance and empathy from Helen, she encourages her to change her lifestyle a little bit - which apparently consists solely of gardening, looking after the dog and watching television. Helen maintains to her daughter that she's happy and it's the way she wants it. In this scene it's hard to take a side because Helen's old and a lot of the elderly have routines and spend little time among others - however, Amy just wants her mum to support and understand her, but Helen refuses to. This scene along with the last they shared in the pilot contain a lot of truth and resonance, as having our parents fail to understand and emotionally support us is something most children have to come to terms with throughout their entire lives. At the end of the scene Helen turns up the volume to The Rockford Files and Amy looks disappointed - it symbolises Helen not wanting to hear what her daughter has to say - if that really needed noting...

The next scene with Levi (Luke Wilson) is also a second-pilot scene but it feels connected to the last scene with Helen and similarly takes on more depth than most second-pilot scenes. Amy is reading her self-help book in her bedroom after talking to her mum, and notices her bookmark for a treatment center. She immediately goes over to Levi's to cook him a healthy dinner and propose that he goes to rehab for drug addiction. She's trying to help Helen and Levi in these scenes - it's still to do with her own happiness, but she's taken on the idea that helping others is the best way to find your own peace. Amy' s careful with her words to Levi and genuinely cares about him but he responds in a way typical to an addict - as well as mentioning an interesting detail, "I remember you wasted - bawling your eyes out - begging to blow me. I think you're hanging on by a very thin thread, with like one finger on the edge of the cliff". This strengthens the argument that Amy doesn't have her shit together at all - an extremely negative thing to say to somebody trying to better themselves, but still, it seems somewhat true. He finishes by saying eventually she'll crack - which Amy defiantly disagrees with - and that his door is always open because he doesn't judge - Levi's clearly rationalised his addiction quite strongly. It's sad that both Helen and Levi can't see or appreciate what Amy's trying to do for them, and that they also can't give Amy what she wants - support. The book Amy's reading in this episode is "Change - Now or Never", which the episode's title references. I imagine the author suggests that the reader unapologetically go after what they want from others - which Amy does so, in every aspect of her life. Perhaps in addition, Amy needs the advice that she has to develop her own self-worth and happiness and it not depend so heavily on others - as it leads to skewed expectations and ultimately disappointment, which Amy has experienced a lot of in the show so far.

Timm Sharp from Undeclared is excellent as Dougie, the kind of douchey and incompetent manager we've probably all dealt with at some stage. His story during lunch about the girl he was with who had tumors in her nose and died was hilarious because of the awful, self-absorbed and blatantly offensive way he told it. Also during lunch Amy sees her old assistant, Krista, there with people, among them her old boss. Amy is furious as she tried to make lunch plans with Krista who blew her off. She storms outside and surprisingly one of her workmates comes after her to see if she's okay. Amy bursts into a self-involved rant about Krista and her old boss, which alienates Connie completely, and she goes back inside with the same impression everybody else has of Amy. Amy was neither shocked or touched that somebody she barely knew would come after her to see if she's okay - she probably believes Connie is less than her and wasn't surprised she would try to make friends with her. Ew, this narcissistic subtext is making me feel dirty.

The next scene back at the basement between Amy and Tyler is brilliant. Tyler asks Amy what her book is about with a smirk on his face. She tells him it's about how the world is messed up, which changes his expression to confused, then as she continues he begins to look slightly bored and asks her "Is it boring?" - which shocks Amy. I found this exchange realistic as most nerds or geeks I've known are extremely detached from emotions and more specifically psychology in general. A lot of them have very little awareness (self or otherwise) in this area. I suppose ignorance can be bliss, however they never truly understand or learn to deal with problems they have, which must be more than a little frustrating and hopeless.

Amy researches some of the negative impacts he company is having and gives a folder of documents to Judy - hoping to fulfill her fantasy sequence from the start of the episode. Her heart is kind of in the right place for being pro-active, but to think this plan would actually land her a job is pretty absurd. She then sees Krista and finds her old office was given to her assistant. Amy explodes at her, confronting her about the lunch and about how people have a problem with her, and about Krista's general dishonesty towards her. Krista being the people-pleasing, narcissistic feeder, takes all of Amy's bullshit and tries to convince her they are still friends. It's a wonderfully written scene that seems to confront their relationship, but eventually doesn't change a thing.

Surprise, surprise - Amy receives a call from Judy telling her how inappropriate it was to give her those documents and how it could get them both fired. Amy is distraught and throws her book into the bin. Then something incredible happens - Tyler asks Amy if he can read it, to which she obliges. She looks around at her workmates as a voice-over begins. "Change will come. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow - but it will come. You have to believe. I close my eyes, and see a better world. People there are fearless and connected - they're my friends. I'm there, I'm free, and this earth itself is healed and where nothing suffers." Amy closes her eyes and we are transported to her place of healing, the nightly bonfire by the ocean, and all of the people in her life are there - happy. She smiles and we cut to white. I found this scene so hopeful and beautiful that's it's hard to be cynical, even when you know the world Amy lives in and what her and all of the people around her are like. I believe it's because, when it comes down to it, we all hope for this. Thank you, Mike White.

Enlightened - S01E01 - Pilot

Inspired by Enlightened's main character Amy, exuberantly played by Laura Dern, I'm going to try to drop some of my cynicism for this review. Sure, I could talk about how this is another in a long line of half-hour cable shows fronted by middle-aged women who also executive produce, and which attempt to walk the tightrope between comedy and drama. There are so many now that it seems like a cliche - however, that's not the real issue. The problem is that some of these shows (Nurse Jackie) are only concerned with treading water and being neither here nor there. Understandably, it can be hard to get excited about them anymore, especially since it's mostly what cable has to offer now after partially moving away from hour-long dramas. Just like the 70s New Hollywood film period ended, this golden age of television will come to an end, and I think we're getting closer to meeting it. End cynicism.

Amy Jellicoe is an executive at a big, soulless company named Abaddon (wink, wink...). The show opens to her emotional breakdown at work when her boss, Damon, with who she was having an affair, has her transferred out of her position and department. She overhears some co-workers bitching about her and works up the nerve to busy out of the cubicle and put them in their place. This becomes a catalyst for her storming through the office irate and crying while she tracks down her boss to confront him. He denies her allegations and closes the elevator on her. In a feat of strength that could only be fueled by a mental breakdown, Amy manages to open the fully-closed elevator while screaming a barrage of death threats at him. Laura Dern plays this sequence brilliantly as she immediately attains the vulnerability needed for the character and I empathised with her straight away. Seeing someone at their lowest point must do that.

What follows is a brilliantly directed sequence with Amy having retreated to Hawaii in order to heal. There's a calm voice-over delivered by Amy talking about change and positivity. The sequence doesn't make fun of New Age spirituality, it seems to embrace the cliche activities Amy takes part in. This ambiguity of whether or not the show is an indictment of New Age enlightenment or an embrace, and in turn the ambiguity of the main character is the driving force of the show, and probably it's strongest asset. These half-hour shows really need something intriguing and dramatic at their core, so they don't have to be so reliant on fluff. This is why United States of Tara worked so well. Sure, Nurse Jackie has drug-addiction at it's core, but it's too bogged down by other things and never wants to push the story or the character.

Luke Wilson plays Amy's ex, and seems to be a negative influence on her, and there's not much more I can really say at this point. I'm not sure he had enough screen time in the pilot to rate his performance.

Another of Enlightened's strong points is the mother/daughter dynamic. Amy's mother Helen, played by Laura's real-life mother Diane Ladde, is skeptical of her daughter's new found happiness in their first scene. During their second scene it becomes apparent that Helen doesn't want to fix their relationship, she just wants to avoid. It's a depressing scene, especially when Amy, reaching out, probably worked hard to write something truthful and even her mother won't support her. To make matters worse, Helen takes her dog outside in the middle of Amy's letter. She baby-talks to the dog, "Come on with Momma", and you wonder what kind of mother she really is - and what a mother's duty is. Her simple mothering of her dog is more attractive than being a real mother to her daughter. Subtle bits of dark comedy like this are found throughout this first episode and they feel distinctively Mike White - that stark and awkward realism intertwined with dark comedy. Without this the show would be far more generic, I hope viewers notice these little things and don't write the show off too soon. We'd hate to have another The Comeback on our hands, am I right? Now that I think about it, the two shows are quite similar.

I'm not going to discuss plot-points at this time, because we're dealing with a pilot some people might be on the fence about watching. So to close, Amy's heart is in the right place, she's relentlessly positive and wants to heal old wounds but nobody else in her world seems to want any of it and even act as an antithesis to her. The way she behaves is a little overboard and off-putting, and I'm sure we'll see more and more of a contrast between Amy and the society she is a part of, as fuel for cringe-comedy and also to see how much Amy really can change with all of these influences in her life. Enlightened deals with very big themes that haven't been explored much on television and for that, and its many subtle touches, it's a deserving show.

Curb Your Enthusiasm - S06E01 - Funkhouser's Crazy Sister

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True Blood - S02E07: Release Me

True Blood's second season is really starting to get down to business. The plots developing over the course of the season are starting to reach a climax, or the beginning of a climax. I have absolutely loved this season as every episode seems to be better than the last. Many fans think this episode is the best so far. I'll admit, it was amazing, but all of this season's episodes have been fantastic. Usually the developing of plots will be quite dull, until the entertaining pay-off starts to happen, but this is not the case with True Blood. I believe this is do to the subversive and unpredictable nature of the show - something that HBO seems to do quite well. Jason's whole time at the camp was extremely entertaining, as was the Maryann story which could have been obvious and predictable, but turned out to be ambiguous and subversive since her first appearance.

Speaking of which, the chase scene with Sam was genuinely creepy. The gross looking arm at the end of the scene was great too. The production values of True Blood are exceptional. Michael Ruscio directed this episode and Raelle Tucker wrote it. This is Ruscio's television directorial debut and due to his experience as an editor on HBO shows, he excels. Again, the end-of-teaser shots and cliffhanger endings are always great. Sam's reaction shots at the end of the teaser in Never Let Me Go and the cliffhanger ending of Hard-Hearted Hannah were absolutely fucking gold! Not even in a bad way - they were just awesome.

Another highlight was Andy Bellefleur. Every time I think he could not become more ridiculous he surprises me. Chris Bauer's portrayal of Andy becomes more camp and over-the-top every episode - I love it! His screaming in pain this episode was hilarious. It reminds me of Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm. He now uses all the ridiculous noises and movements that were only used very occasionally in the earlier seasons, all of the time. If you watch the show, you should know exactly what I mean.

It will be interesting how they keep the tension for another 5 episodes. Normally, I would have guessed this would have been about episode 9 or 10 in the structure of a season. But you know, this is HBO, not Dexter, so I will may well end up surprised by the 'structure' of the season. Obviously Jason isn't dead, as the gun would have sounded like a gun instead of a pop if they were going to kill him off. Gabe was a strangely funny character who will probably die, and rightly so. It should be interesting to see how Godrick stirs things up, and what Eric does about his fascination with Sookie. Some of Bill's flashback scenes were a little meandering, but others gave us some important information, such as: A vampire is never stronger than their maker, when Bill's conscience got the better of him, and Lorena does have some scrap of humanity left in her. Is another one of Jason's girls going to end up dead? If Sarah goes back to Steve, she will most likely end up dead. Considering Godrick is free, this seems quite likely. It sure would be satisfying to see Steve get ripped apart! But on the other hand it would be disappointing to see such formidable villains with such power killed so soon.

True Blood - S02E01: Nothing But the Blood

True Blood is back, as good as ever, and I never doubted it. Alan Ball knows exactly what this show is, an adult nighttime soap-opera, with a good budget, and no restrictions. If only all nighttime soaps could be on pay-cable and creatively led by master filmmakers.

The Lafayette in a purgatory of sorts was very mind bending, reminding me of Lost. For some reason I couldn't work out who he was until he was talking some more - anyone else have this? The reveal ending of the episode was very satisfying, and I can't wait to find out what eventuates. I'm really glad Ball decided not to follow the book, and have Lafayette killed off in the car. He really wants to surprise us!

Another sex scene between Bill and Sookie... To be honest I didn't think Anna Paquin would be comfortable doing it - as some of the time it can be a career killer for an actress with success, especially doing it on a television show. But it is encouraging to see she isn't influenced by that. More relationship angst between Bill and Sookie, while Bill deals with the newly vamped teenager Jessica. Just a couple of lightly comedic scenes, the next episode promises to explore it some more.

Andy is getting dumber, drunker, and also funnier. I wonder how long he has left in Bon Temps?

We got a few Fellowship of the Sun scenes this week, and I'm sure they will increase as the season progresses. Bashing conservatives and religious extremists is fun for everyone! What do people think of Nan Flanagan from the American Vampire League? I think she is awesome. All she does is block all of the ridiculously ignorant comments made to vampires - very entertaining.

Maryann continues to become more interesting with her link to Sam, when he was a teenager. What has now been established is that she doesn't age. We should find out what she is soon enough. I love the gimpy servant too. It was extremely soap-operatic and hilarious of Maryann to hit him and state "Nobody needed towels!". It seems apparent that she wants Eggs and Tara to get together. Definitely a highlight.

I absolutely cannot wait for the next episode. It is titled 'Keep This Party Going', which I think is a fantastic episode title, if in fact it serves as a meta comment on the show or episode, like the first 'Nothing but the Blood' did. Good times!

HBO lockdown Bad Girls for a remake

This news is slightly old, but for those who aren't aware of it, Alan Ball is producing an HBO remake of UK women's prison drama Bad Girls, with help from Eileen Gallagher, who co-created the original series which ran for 8 seasons from 1999-2006.

However, Ball isn't running the show; he has handed the reigns to Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl, Six Feet Under) who will be showrunner. Apparently she is a big fan of the original series and doesn't want to stray from the original stories, at least while they are good - the series lost the plot a little during the last couple of seasons.

I have no doubt Alan Ball, Nancy Oliver and Eileen Gallagher will create something really special, but I'm worried about casting. Obviously the feel will be quite different as the element of 'bogan' will be lost with the remake - an aspect that can really only exist in the UK and Australia. Most of you probably won't know what the fuck I am talking about - but hopefully a couple do. The characters I am worried about the most are Shell Dockley and Yvonne Atkins, hypothetically, the rest could be casted fairly easily.

I was originally worried the series would be too campy, and not as serious as it should be. But the dynamic was held greatly by the original series, for the majority of the show. Now that I know Alan Ball can handle camp (True Blood) and Nancy Oliver is a big fan of the show, I have been put at ease. Now I really don't mind what they do with the series as long as the casting is good - a serious character-study, a campy over-the-top soap-opera, or a mixture of both like the original, as long as it's good!

What do you think the transition will affect? Have any favourites to play a character in the remake? Let it rip down below!

Hopefully it will be hitting the screens next year. However, HBO are developing A LOT of shows at the moment, and eight will be picked up, so we just have hope and pray to the made-up man upstairs Bad Girls will be one of them. If you haven't seen the original series check it out with an open mind - it is fucking badass, to say the very least - but seriously, it is really good. Also, there is a REALLY good interview with Eileen Gallagher on her thoughts of the remake below!

http://www.afterellen.com/people/2008/6/eileengallagher

True Blood - S01E12: You'll Be The Death Of Me

Alan Ball's decision to use a teaser or cold open on True Blood was a very wise one. They are not required to use them on HBO as there are no ad breaks but True Blood uses this marketing tool which has developed into an artistic decision (and a fine art) to its full potential, as did The Wire. The other show that employs it famously is Buffy - both vampire shows, however, Alan Ball has admitted that he has not seen Buffy, or read much vampire fiction, for that matter. Anyway, the last shot of the teaser is Sookie assuring Jason that she is close to finding out who the killer is. Off this, the camera focuses off Sookie and Jason and on Renee. This is a very neat directional technique that often doesn't work for me but was used perfectly by Ball. Thinking about it, Ball's direction was so well thought out and executed in this episode and was definetely the best of the season. The worst may have been the last episode, directed by Nancy Oliver - she makes up for it with fantastic writing in just about everything she has done, and I hope she will continue it when she becomes showrunner for Bad Girls next year on HBO.

Anna Paquin's acting seemed considerably better this episode, not that it was bad to begin with, but there were some iffy moments - perhaps this can be credited to actors director Alan Ball. I know it sounds like I jerk off over him seven times daily, but he really deserves all credit given. Poor Sookie, she has been through so much this season, and has done a pretty good job of being the most unlikeable character. I hope we can like her a bit more next season - she really seems to be backseat to Jason and Tara sometimes, which still worked out great - no problems there.

One of the most intriguing things about the last two episodes has been Maryanne. Intriguing because we don't know what the fuck she is or what the fuck is going on... Why does she do that shaking thing? What is she? Why does she walk the nighttime lonely road accompanied by a pig? What does she want with Tara? How does she know Sam? What does she want with Sam?

I really hope Lafayette isn't dead, but it looks like that will be the case. I really thought something was being set-up for him with that politician guy - but it was ended quickly, and probably only employed to give us another suspect to pointlessly wrap our brains around until next year.

I wasn't too fond of the idea of Rene being the killer, but I liked the result - even if his motives were kind of weak and we didn't see much of his true character to help us acknowledge his motive. This show was just what the magical land of television needed, and I am looking forward to the second season, hopefully followed by plenty more.

And to wrap up I should like to add, Bill = Freddy Krueger, and Alexander Skarsgård is a tank.

The Life and Times of Tim

Has anybody been watching The Life and Times of Tim? The new animated late-night HBO show is created, written, directed, and starred by Steve Dildarian, who is known for creating some popular Budweiser commercials when he was an advertising copywriter.

I haven't seen all that much buzz on in the internet about this new show, and I'll guess that is has a very small audience that is growing each episode. HBO are probably fine with the low ratings, and expected it, due to the very late time slot they air it in (No doubt I'll take that back at some point).

The series has a very minimal and understated feel to it - similar to Dr. Katz and maybe Dilbert, but with obvious influence from Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The situations that Tim is put in are supposed to be the worst social situations imaginable - but the characters rarely conflict by means of shouting and getting terribly upset. Instead, they often cannot believe their eyes at what they have witnessed, and don't talk about it much, aside from a reaction statement. For example, Tim's girlfriend and her parents somehow forgive him for all of the horrible things he does or gets himself into, but still know what a douche he is. Tim is really a decent guy, and wants to be a decent guy, but people are constantly pushing and manipulating him into awful situations, which admittedly, he falls straight into after some hesitation and skepticism - sometimes it's like he knows that it is really not going to end well but still goes along with it for whatever reason.

I think that this series won't be for everyone, as the purposefully sloppy animation and tone takes a little bit of getting used to, but I see it reaching great heights if HBO give it some time to settle. If you are a fan of cringe-comedy or Seinfeld type humour then give it a shot. I'm glad I did.

True Blood - S01E05: Sparks Fly Out

Bill appears before the town, and reminisces on his past and an early Bon Temps. Sookie goes on a date with Sam. Jason tries some more V. And Lafayette smacks down some white-trash.

For anybody who doesn't know, True Blood has already been picked up for a second season - this is very good news. Alan Ball has said hypothetically the series could last 8+ seasons, if they followed the book series.

This episode features some really great flashbacks that do not look tacky and have a genuine feel, unlike many other shows that flashback to the 1880's. They tell some really great back story of Bill: How he became a vampire, what happened to his family, and some of what happened in the battle at Bon Temps.

At the very end of the teaser of 'Sparks Fly Out', we see that dog staring at Bill with some dramatic music in the background. We have been beaten over the head with this over the duration of the series, and I think they are trying to tell us that Sam is a werewolf - or a cute dog, which might be cool in a Beethoven kind of way, but not in a rabid killing machine way - so we will go with werewolf. This episodes cliffhanger could be put down to this theory, which would be absolutely disturbing.

Jason continues on his sexcapades and may even be pinned for another murder in light of this episode. He takes V for the second time, but this time takes the recommended dosage so we get to see it in all it's glory. He hallucinates that sparks are flying out of the flowers of a bush, and that Tara is some sort of goddess at a waterfall.

Great episode! As usual I can't wait until the next.

True Blood - S01E01: Strange Love

HBO tries to pull it's next big hit with True Blood - they've been trying to get a ratings winner since The Sopranos ended last year. There has been a multimillion dollar marketing campaign for the series - but did it all pay off?

I have no problem with HBO picking up True Blood, but trying to make it their new signature show is definitely pushing it - were none of them at Alan Ball's pitch meeting to them - or do they assume that because Alan Ball is producing it, then it must be fairly similar Six Feet Under. It was stated by Alan Ball himself that this series was a more than slight departure from his previous work - that's not to say that it is stupid television - he labelled it popcorn TV for smart people. But it doesn't have the immediate large-scale appeal that shows such as The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, and Sex In The City had. It seems much more suited or limited to have a small cult following, and HBO have never been big on them - with the exception of The Wire.

This series was adapted by Alan Ball from the vampire novels authored by Charlaine Harris. Ball wrote and directed the pilot episode - along with taking the helm of the show for the foreseeable future. True Blood is centered around Sookie Stackhouse who is played by Academy Award winner Anna Paquin, a barmaid living in Louisiana who can read people's minds. When Vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer) shows up at the bar she is entranced by him; due to not being able to read his thoughts. Vampires have been 'out of the coffin' for a couple of years due to a synthetic blood drink that was developed to fulfill all of their nutritional needs - so they can live normally in society - I'm sure a lot of them don't take to assimilation too well. Vampires that are prominent in society and the media claim that they just want to be understood, and have the same rights that any human has. This show will probably use Vampires as a metaphor for other minority groups: homosexuals, African-American's, even Aboriginals; if they decide to delve into the complexities of assimilation. Sookie is joined by her over-sexed brother Jason, played by Ryan Kwanten (Vinnie from Home and Away), and her 'Gran' that they live with. At the bar there is Sam Merlotte, the owner of Merlotte Bar, where Sookie works. He is 'secretly' in love with Sookie, but how could you keep anything a secret from somebody who hears others thoughts. There is also Sookie's loud-mouthed best friend Tara (Rutina Wesley - who replaced Brook Kerr from the pre-air pilot) who has a thing for Jason.

It is very hard to judge how this series will turn out, but, so far I like it; the acting has been good, and the direction solid. I can't say too much on the writing because everything is still very vague - is that a comment in itself? With Alan Ball in charge I will definitely stick around for the season. Those expecting Six Feet Under will be disappointed, but that isn't to say that it will have any less depth - as Buffy did in it's time: there was so much depth hidden under and around all that genre-busting and camp. HBO must have seen something in this... there was a full season order, that has already been shot.