Amazon.com: True Blood: Season 1, Episode 1 "Strange Love": Amazon Instant Video

True Blood: Season 1, Ep. 1 "Strange Love"

Across the country, vampires have come 'out of the coffin' after the invention of mass-produced synthetic blood. In Louisiana, Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress with telepathic abilities, falls under the spell of a sexy vampire named Bill Compton.

Directed by: Alan Ball
Runtime: 59 minutes
Original air date: September 7, 2008
Network: HBO

Episode 1, "Strange Love"

Synopsis: Across the country, vampires have come 'out of the coffin' after the invention of mass-produced synthetic blood. In Louisiana, Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress with telepathic abilities, falls under the spell of a sexy vampire named Bill Compton.

Original air date: September 7, 2008

Runtime: 59 minutes

Captions and Subtitles: English

ASIN: B006GM8NXM

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #823 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

True Blood: Season 1

Synopsis: See all 12 episodes from the thrilling Season 5 of 'True Blood,' plus behind-the-scenes specials and more!

Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer

Supporting actors: Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Rutina Wesley, Chris Bauer, Nelsan Ellis, Jim Parrack, Adina Porter, Carrie Preston, Michael Raymond-James, William Sanderson, Alexander Skarsgård, Lizzy Caplan, Aisha Hinds, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Todd Lowe, Raoul Trujillo, Danielle James, Andrew Rothenberg

Season year: 2008

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Executive producer: Alan Ball

Network: HBO

ASIN: B006GLM5EQ

Rights & Requirements

Purchase rights: Stream instantly and download to 2 locations. Details

Format: Amazon Instant Video (streaming online video and digital download)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

320 of 352 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Completely addictive. Even if you don't watch television November 18, 2008

By Lisa M. Mims TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Rabbit ears on pawn shop televisions are about my speed; needless to say, I don't watch television. However, kind friends mainline this series two or three shows at a time, and they got me hooked: were I to be completely honest, I might have to admit to giving serious thought to obtaining this by less-than-legal-means. It actually might be worth jail time.

Speaking as someone who was born in America's deep South, this series captures everything about Louisiana that is appealing. (Spanish Moss, vampires, latent racism and homophobia, the dichotomy between Christian Southern values and patriarchal, brutality-enforced poverty, sassy Southern women who know how to fight with chains, etc.)

What it makes it really stand out, though, is the casting: there isn't a bad actor in the bunch--and they are all believable as Southern archetypes. Nelsan Ellis as the short order cook/drug dealer Lafayette and Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin as the romantic leads give mesmerizing performances.

True Blood, or possibly the original series of books from which it arose, is an arresting set of stories: Faulkner says that the only thing really worth writing about (or thinking about, by extension) is the human heart in conflict with itself. The Southern United States depicted in True Blood is conflict embodied--you are a supposed to be a good Christian, and follow the rules of an established society, but you live in the middle of a swamp so dense and wild that it believably could be home to minions of Satan, like vampires.

It's a lot to think about. If you are one of those artistic/professional types with too much to do, don't start watching this; it becomes an obsession.... Read more ›

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152 of 173 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun and adventurous take on vampires and the supernatural November 27, 2008

By Robert Moore HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

I'm not sure that any good series on the supernatural has ever tried as hard to be simply good fun. It isn't the masterpiece that BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER was, but I don't think Alan Ball set his sights that high. While Joss Whedon strove in BUFFY to create an icon and redefine television narrative, Ball just seems to want to tell a compelling story filled with memorable moments.

TRUE BLOOD is, of course, based on the series of novels written by Arkansas writer Charlaine Harris. The series was originally known as the Southern Vampire Mysteries, but has since come to be better known as The Sookie Stackhouse novels. The premise is that a Japanese corporation has successfully created artificial blood, a product so like the real thing that vampires, previously relegated to feeding off humans in the dark, come "out of the coffin" and into society, intent on living off the new fake blood. The series' title comes from the name of the artificial blood marketed and sold in stores. The television series wisely does not try to hew too closely to the novels, though for the most part Sookie's story does. And the way things turn at the end of the season, it is clear that Season Two (the show was renewed very early in the season) is going to pick up with the second novel in the series, though the action most likely will be in Bon Temps and not in Dallas (the second novel is entitled LIVING DEAD IN DALLAS).

The major difference between the novels and the TV series is that while the novels focus almost entirely on Sookie, the series has elevated a number of secondary characters and padded out their story. The focus on Sookie in the books is inevitable given that she is the narrator.... But since few shows attempt to tell a story primarily from one character's point of view (an exception is Season One of VERONICA MARS, in which the title character features in very nearly every scene), elevating several characters was a necessity. Tara is a very minor character in the books (and white to boot), but on the show she is black and one of the most important characters. Sookie's brother Jason is a moderately important character in the books, but definitely not as central as Bill, Eric, or Sam. Tara was promoted on the show partly to balance out the show in terms of race and gender. I'm not quite sure why Jason was made more important. The story arcs that are given to these characters are not always successful, but they do give the show some diversity. Lafayette, Tara's flamboyantly gay cousin and short order cook at Merlotte's, the tavern where Sookie is a barmaid, likewise is a major character on the TV series, but barely makes an appearance in the novels.

I'm not always comfortable with the additions the show makes to the story and they usually are the weakest part of the show. For instance, the long story of Tara's mother and her demon possession is an addition that I feel clutters the show, even as it raises the question of why Tara herself struggles with relationships. The character of Amy, who is weirdly involved with Jason in the latter half of the season, sits on the rest of the story like a weird, disconnected appendage. In fact, the entire obsession with V (or vampire blood, which is taken like a drug) is unique to the show and not the books, I think to the show's detriment. Terry Bellefleur is a slightly more important character in the series, and about 20-30 years younger (and played by Todd Lowe, who played Zack, Lane's band mate/boyfriend/husband in THE GILMORE GIRLS), and a veteran of the Gulf War instead of the Vietnam War. I don't expect for a show to be especially true to its source material. I don't look for a scene-by-scene recreation. But I do think that the additions show actually add something of value to the story. All in all, I do not think the completely original aspects improved the overall story.

There is a lot of controversy on boards where fans of the books linger about Anna Paquin. Physically she isn't quite like how Sookie is described in the books, where she is far curvier and extremely busty. I personally love Anna Paquin's performance. She has a haunted, hunted look that someone who has had to struggle for years of hearing the thoughts of others might have. She does very much seem to embody "Crazy Sookie," as she is known to everyone in Bon Temps. I also like all the actors who played the three other major characters from the books, Stephen Moyer as Bill, Alexander Skarsgaard as Eric (who will, given his stature as an actor and the precedent of the books, become a more important character in Season Two -- and let me just add, could anyone have been found more perfect to play Eric?), and Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte. My favorite performer to play a major role on the show but a minor one in the books is Nelsan Ellis, who also had a recurring role on the sadly short-lived THE INSIDE and was on an excellent episode of VERONICA MARS, and who on TRUE BLOOD plays Lafayette. Though I have to add that he is s completely unbelievable character. I've lived three years in a town not terribly distinct from Bon Temps and I can assert that you simply will not find many if any openly gay people and definitely not one a flamboyant one.

All in all I really enjoyed the series TRUE BLOOD, though on the one hand I prefer the books (and I strongly recommend anyone who loves TRUE BLOOD to give the books a try, though I also warn them that the show does seem to be following to a greater or lesser degree the books -- Season Two is already set up to follow many of the second novel's storylines) and on the other I prefer Alan Ball's earlier show SIX FEET UNDER. Still, it is a good, fun show.

And can I just add that this show has my all time favorite opening credits. It is filled with one astonishing image after another, from a coiled water moccasin to a Holy Ghost inspired preacher doing a 180 jump in church to lasciviously dancing strippers, all to a wonderfully appropriate song by country performer Jace Everett entitled "Bad Things." Read more ›

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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Modern Southern Vampires, But Not for the Squeamish May 20, 2010

By C. F. Hill HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWER

Amazon Verified Purchase

True Blood is the HBO adaptation of the popular Sookie Stackhouse vampire novels. While I have not read the books, my wife has and she says that at least the first episode (Strange Love) is somewhat more graphic sexually and is more violent than she thought it would be. On that note, this show has a lot of nudity (both male and female, but mostly topless women), graphic sex scenes (human and vampire), bondage, occult references, graphic violence (somewhat bloody), homosexual characters, insensitivity to overweight people, and even a murder... so if any of those things are not to your liking you might want to pass on this series.

If you are still reading this, you will want to know that this is also a very clever and well produced series that does seem to work combining the harsher elements with a good bit of humor and surprisingly well developed characters.

Set in Louisiana after vampires have "come out" because they can now get a synthetic blood to curb their thirst of humans, this starts off with most people's impression of what a "hick" town is like in the more remote parishes. The main character, Sookie, is a fairly straight laced "good girl" who works as waitress in the local bar. She also happens to be able to read minds (not a spoiler, this is stated in the show "synopsis" and is obvious very quickly). Things get interesting quickly when the bar gets it's first vampire customer ("Bill") and around the same time, Sookie's handsome brother finds himself in some legal trouble.

The casting was fairly good and the actors are mostly believable, which is a relative term in reference to a vampire themed HBO series. The special effects have been kept to a minimum, so far, so the plot is mostly story driven.... Read more ›

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