True Blood
Jennifer Ramirez

If you like the vampire books or movies, you must know True Blood,, a popular HBO show based on a series of books called, “The Southern Vampire Mysteries,” written by Charlaine Harris. This is a story about a great girl named Sookie Stackhouse a telepathic waitress who finds herself drawn to the town's new vampire resident.

The True Blood series has done well since it was first aired on September 7, 2008. Since then it has received awards and critical acclaim. It caught on with audiences for a few reasons. First, people have become infatuated with vampires over the last few years and True Blood offers a raw look at these types of characters. In addition, because it is on HBO it is uncensored and the writers and producers can add a lot more excitement, sex and blood than it could if it were on network television.

True Blood follows the adventures of a small-town cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse (who all her life was an outsider due to her gift/curse of being a telepath) and how her life is turned upside down when a member of the undead (the vampire race 'came out of the coffin' several years earlier) walks into her life one fateful night. She is especially intrigued by Bill Compton(Stephen Moyer), a handsome 173-year-old living up the road. But as Sookie is drawn into a series of mysteries surrounding Bill's arrival in Bon Temps, that tolerance will be put to the test. Other town residents include Sookie's best friend Tara (Rutina Wesley), her slow-witted older brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) and her shape-shifting boss Sam.

The first season of the True Blood series began with concerns of the death surrounded by Sookie's brother Jason. Though he is slightly suspected, no one who knows him well in town, thinks he had something to do with it. Soon, Sookie and Jason's grandmother are killed as well. It was later revealed that the murderer was a man engaged to another waitress. Merlotte's named Arlene and was killing women he considered "fang bangers." The first season also focused on the relationship between Sookie and Bill.

The second season of the true blood series included two main stories. First, when a 2,000 year old vampire named Godrick ends up missing. Erik, another vampire with a darker side than Bill ends up enlisting the help of Sookie help him find them. In addition, the second season also introduced a woman named Maryann who hypnotises the whole town in the hopes to capture the town's bar owner.

In third season were wolves, and then there weren't. King Russell promised to eat our children, and then he didn't. The true shining beacon of this season was Dennis O'Hare's Russell Edgington, as I'm usually a sucker for erudite, sophisticated villains who can turn ferocious and blood-thirsty at the drop of a hat. O'Hare managed to spice up the proceedings in a way that none of the other new characters could. He also really brought a sense of history and to the vampiric goings-on and lent that world a much needed aristocratic boost.

Season four introduces Sookie's grandfather and a coven of witches led by the mysterious Marnie. This season, as before, True Blood employs its supernatural others to signify cultural anxieties about race and sexuality. Now these anxieties are foregrounded in some of the human protagonists. So much blood, so much violence and all of it pretty much had to happen because of all the events leading up to this. Still, Sookie has officially sworn off of both Eric and Bill as well as having told Alcide no – so where will she go from now?

The writing, direction and production have been fantastic from minute one, and the cast, to a man, have easily matched that week after week. There are many shocking moments in the True Blood, especially in the season four. Shocking character exits aside, surely the most exciting development to come out of the finale is the prospect that this year's big bad will be a whole hell of a lot more dangerous than a lonely witch.

Search though you might, you won't find a ride any delightfully wilder than True Blood, which returns with guns blazing and fangs bared. Absolutely exciting TV series to watch! The show's creators developed a great the mix of mythologies; and, the writers have given us great character development.