Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) thought he was going to make a move back to the big screen. After years of Six Feet Under, he said jokingly that he was tired of people talking about their problems and relationships and dealing with death. He was ready for something fun. Ball discovered the books while waiting for a dentist appointment.  He wandered over to the book store and came across a book with the tag line: "Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea." The book is Charlaine Harris' Dead Until Dark, the first of nine Sookie Stackhouse books.

Sookie is a bar waitress in a small Louisiana town. She has a secret "affliction," she can read minds. For her, it can be a real curse. She answers unasked questions. Having a boyfriend is all but impossible -- imagine hearing the unedited thoughts of a high school boy making a move on you. One day a tall, dark and handsome man walks into the bar and sits down. His mind is silent. Sookie is instantly drawn to him. He's different. He's a vampire.

Sookie's town is going through some major changes. Vampires have been around for ages, but now they've "come out of the coffin." A Japanese company has invented synthetic blood. I assume they created it for medical uses, but it's also being marketed as a nutritional beverage for vampires. Without the need to feed on humans they've decided to try to assimilate into everyday life. 

Let's face it, vampires are sexy.  Men or women, straight or gay people are seeking out vampires.  And the hot new drug on the market is vampire blood.  It's a stimulant, hallucinogenic, sexual enhancer, and very dangerous. As the blood becomes more popular and harder to get, it feeds into the allure of vampires. But, people who date vampires have a nasty habit of disappearing.

There are plenty who see them as an abomination. The show has the opportunity to use vampires to explore the stuggles of any disenfranchised group.  Of course, vampires do have a problem -- their natural inclination to feed on the blood of humans makes them an ever-feared group.  But now that they don't have to hunt humans for sustenance, they want to be a part of normal society.

Sookie is played by Anna Paquin (X-Men, The Piano). The boyfriend, Bill Compton, is played by Stephen Moyer (The Starter Wife). The production has three more days of shooting and then they'll be done with the first season. It covers the events of the first book, so if it's a season-to-book equation, do we get nine seasons? I say if it's good, then they should go for it. The trailer looked really good. And they gave out a goodie bag that included the book one, so now I have to decide if I'm reading the book first or watching the show. I've got until September 7th to decide.