What to Watch: The Vampire Diaries (GIVEAWAY!)
This week’s recommendation for True Blood fans waiting out the hiatus is another vampire series that Liz and I have fallen in love with: The Vampire Diaries. Not only is Ian Somerhalder’s villainous Damon smoking hot, we like watching Nina Dobrev’s Elena navigate her very complicated life as the supernatural competes with personal tragedy and just being a teenager. But enough about us, let’s hear from Vee and Red at fansite Vampire-Diaries.net why you should be watching:
The Vampire Diaries on the CW
A TV show based on a series of novels, featuring an ensemble cast dabbling in sex, blood and violence in a small Southern town. At its heart: a love story between a headstrong heroine and a vampire struggling to reconcile his thirst for blood with his humanity.
Sound familiar? Now throw in the vampire’s equally bloodthirsty-but-unrepetant brother and you have The Vampire Diaries, the CW Network’s newest supernatural drama, based on L.J. Smith’s beloved young adult series, and starring Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, and Ian Somerhalder. If you’re in need of a fix as you await True Blood’s third season (we’re fans too), might we recommend an hour of your Thursday night spent with vampires, fledgling witches, protective ex-boyfriends, a secret society of vampire-hunting town founders, missing campers, conniving cheerleaders, complicated siblings – with the promise of more to come?
And, hi, yes – our vampires are able to walk in the day. So what? It just means they can rip your throat out anywhere, any time, any place. And they do rip (and gnaw, and tear). They may be pretty, but the blood sucking is not. (But maybe it can be – if you know what we mean, and we’re sure you do.)
The Vampire Diaries staked the Twilight comparisons through the heart – quite literally – earlier this season, but it’s not “True Blood Lite” either. Sure, it’s a network show light on the graphic sex and gore, but it packs a mighty emotional punch, and there’s a lot more story to tell. This is just the beginning.
Vampire-Diaries.net has lots more information about the show, the cast, and the books. The Vampire Diaries airs Thursdays at 8/7c on the CW.
Win The Vampire Diaries Novel & Poster
We’re giving away a copy of The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle
- Leave a comment below and tell us if you’re already watching The Vampire Diaries or are planning to give it a try now;
- Be sure to use a valid email address when you enter so we can contact you if you win;
- Comments must be posted no later than 11:59PM PT on Thursday, November 12, 2009, to be eligible;
- One (1) winner will be drawn at random from eligible entries.
Good luck!
Win Tickets to Lisbeth Scott’s Album Release Party or Concert
Lisbeth Scott, whose beautiful voice and music appears on True Blood, has a new album coming out on November 10 entitled Hope is a Thing. This weekend sees a release party (November 7) and concert (November 8 ) at Edgemar Center for the Arts in Santa Monica, CA, for the album, and Lisbeth is offering True-Blood.net readers a chance to win tickets!
Here’s How to Enter:
- Become a fan of Lisbeth on Facebook;
- Leave a comment on her wall telling her what you think of her work on the True Blood soundtrack;
- Two (2) winners will be chosen with one winner getting a pair of tickets to the release party on November 7 and one winner getting a pair of tickets to the concert on November 8;
- Winners will be chosen at random from eligible comments;
- Please note that all transportation to either event is the responsibility of the individual winners;
- Hurry, this giveaway ends tomorrow, November 6, 2009!
Good luck!
True Blood Halloween: The Fan Gallery
True Blood fans celebrated Halloween in style this year, and we’ve got the photos to prove it! If you’d like to share your True Blood-inspired Halloween photos with us, send them on over. (Please be sure that you have permission from anyone else in the photo for us to post the picture on our website.)
Happy Halloween!
Happy All Hallow’s Eve, Truebies! We know a lot of you have been planning some True Blood-inspired fun for today and we’re looking forward to seeing your photos and hearing your reports. In case you missed any of our special Halloween series, you can catch our features on True Blood costumes, party ideas, drinks, and more here. Don’t forget to enter to win Kill Hannah’s latest CD (deadline is midnight tonight), too.
Have fun, be safe, and send us your photos for our Halloween album!
Win a Signed Copy of the True Blood Score!
**The deadline is past to enter this giveaway. Thanks for participating!**
Continuing our series of recommendations for True Blood fans on hiatus, this week we’re giving away five copies of the True Blood season 1 score, signed by composer Nathan Barr and vocalist Lisbeth Scott. We’ve talked a lot about the score because we think it’s just gorgeous, so we’re happy to have the opportunity to partner with Nate and Lisbeth to give it away to five lucky fans.
The album includes the following pieces:
- Take Me Home (see the music video)
- Hairclip
- Bill’s Lament
- Gran’s Story
- Bill’s Entrance
- First Taste
- Tara In The Pool
- Tripping
- Tara And Mother
- Grieve To Grave To Groove
- The Tribunal
- Amy’s Goodbye
- Bill and Sookie Together
- Priapism
- More Than You Can Imagine
- The Cabin
- The Funeral
- Sancto Erico
- Bill And Sookie’s Reunion
- Jason and Amy
- Love Theme
Win a Copy of the True Blood Score
Want to win a copy of this brilliant score? Here’s how:
- Leave a comment below telling us which show’s music, besides True Blood, appeals to you the most;
- Be sure to include a valid email address because that’s how we’ll contact you;
- Comments must be posted by 11:59PM PT on Thursday, November 5, 2009 to be eligible;
- Five (5) winners will be drawn at random from eligible entries.
Good luck!
True Blood Halloween: Fangtasia Themed Party
Pam, Eric and Bill look on as Ginger cleans up.
What is Halloween without a few vampires around? It looks like vampires are the flavor of this year’s holiday, so why not roll with it? Go all the way and throw a Fangtasia themed party for yourself and your friends. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Get crazy with music. Eric Northman often had a ‘live’ band playing at his club. They were pretty much heavy metal and provocative rock sounds that you could dance to. Check out our list from seasons one and two and download and create your own mix. Make sure to clear a spot in your party room for those wild and crazy dancers, though.
Your color theme should be in the reds and black. Replacing your lamp bulbs with red ones would throw a different light on your party. Don’t forget the powder room! Place a black light in there and see what kind of response you’ll get. Take a look at this photo to inspire you.
Many of your guests will dress up as vampires, but for those who don’t, make sure to have a bag full of fangs they can pop into their mouths. Have a Best Vampire contest to liven things up at your ‘club’. Award the winner with a four-pack of Tru Blood! Perhaps a True Blood Who Am I? game is what get your party started.
Don’t forget the Teacup Humans. Set them up at a small table with ready made and frosted cupcakes. Set out Halloween colored sugars and sprinkles, plastic spiders and gummy worms, and let them decorate their own cupcakes. Er, watch out for this guy though:
Teacup Humans, just say NO!
While it is well known he thinks the tiny humans are cute, we’re not quite sure what will happen if he gets too close to one.
Fangtasia is a club so no need to plan a full dinner menu. Instead, set out trays of carrots and black olives and veggie dip. The colors are perfect! Pretzels and nuts are a must, and red and black Twizzlers Bites add to the fun.
Eric’s objective in opening a club like Fangtasia was to make money by giving humans what they want – a walk on the dangerous side with real vampires. Just keep that in mind as you plan your Fangtasia party, and you’re guaranteed to have a full house this Halloween. Don’t forget to have the camera charged up and ready, and email your photos to us!
Team Eric, Team Bill & Season 3 Tidbits from the Paley Center – LIVE (SPOILERS)
The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills is hosting a True Blood writers panel this evening, featuring Alan Ball, Alexander Woo, Nancy Oliver, Brian Buckner, Kate Barnow, and Elisabeth Finch. The panel is being moderated by PopWatch’s Alynda Wheat. As usual we have operatives in place to report back to us with juicy tidbits in advance of a full report coming later. The panel begins at 7PM PT; keep refreshing for the latest and beware of spoilers!
Writers Brian Buckner, Nancy Oliver, Raelle Tucker, creator Alan Ball and writers Kate Barnow, Elisabeth Finch and Alexander Woo attend The Paley Center for Media's "Inside the Writers Room: True Blood"
On the Red Carpet
- Raelle Tucker’s favorite character to write for – currently – is Jessica.
- Alexander Woo says that the scenes at the Fellowship of the Sun when the vampires and humans are fighting were among his favorites to shoot.
- Alan Ball observes that all of the characters are his “babies”, but he especially likes writing for Jason. Alan also reveals that his favorite parts of season 2 include “the growing sexual attraction between Eric and Sookie, the Dionysian revelry, and Jason watching Sarah.”
- Alan confirms that Alcide will appear beginning in episode 3.03. He has not yet been cast.
- Regarding Bubba, Alan says that he loves the character in the books, but “because he’s Elvis there’s no way we can do it” on the show.
The Panel
- Alan says he’s not a fan of stunt casting. Looks like Snoop Dogg won’t be getting his wish.
- Alan thinks episode 1.05, “Sparks Fly Out”, is where True Blood hit its stride.
- Alan: “I will admit to oftentimes saying, ‘Come on, can we just get his [Ryan Kwanten's] shirt off?’”
- Nancy Oliver feels lucky to be on pay cable because pretty much anything goes. “We can do a story about priapism.”
- Our girl Raelle Tucker on Sookie: “What makes Sookie an amazing character is that she feels as though she has a disability, she feels hopelessly flawed.”
- Alexander Woo says True Blood fans are the best looking fans in the world. (Yeah we are!) Alan appreciates the fans’ enthusiasm and Raelle thinks True Blood fans have great costumes.
- Raelle reveals a soft spot for Lafayette: “I am a dirty little slut for Lafayette, even if I’m not his type.”
- Expanding on comments made on the red carpet, Alan says he enjoys writing for Jason and Lafayette, Raelle enjoys writing for Hoyt and Jessica, and Brian likes writing for Eric.
- Alan knows what the fans want: “Alexander Skarsgard appears without most of his clothes in the very first episode of S3.”
- We find out where Bill is in episode 3.01.
- Fans in the audience are expressing their unhappiness with Evan Rachel Wood as Sophie-Anne. Alan takes it in stride.
- Nothing new coming out of the fan part of the Q&A: lots of new characters in season 3, including possibility of the Newlins; Maryann is totally dead; the theme for season 3 is “identity”; Sookie will be driven to find out more about what/who she is/
- Ah, some reassurance for Team Bill: “Bill will not be marginalized. Bill and Sookie will have troubles, but Bill and Sookie have a connection that will not die.”
- And something else for Team Eric: Alan confirms that Eric will get amnesia in season 4.
- The fans gave Alan a standing ovation for the last scene of Six Feet Under.
- Alan says we’ll see more Pam and Nan Flanagan in season 3, groans at mention of pink spandex.
- Godric’s death scene was partially live, partially green screen and they got it in only two takes!
- Alan confirms that we’ll see Godric again in flashbacks in season 3.
- Alan also confirmed that season 3 will launch in June 2010.
That’s a wrap! Our reporters on the spot are sticking around to get more photos and (hopefully) some autographs. We’ll have photos and a full report tomorrow.
True Blood Halloween: Bill & Eric Costumes
The modern vampire has it easy. No more swanning around in capes with slicked back black hair. Nope, the new breed of vampires are decidedly modern which makes dressing as Bill or Eric a lot more comfortable this Halloween. Guys, if you’re hoping to meet up with a Sookie this Saturday, pick one of these costumes and see what happens.
If you’re going for the courtly brunette Southern gentleman who hides a violent streak, take your cue from Bill’s button-down shirts in dark, neutral colors (brown, gray) and either dark jeans or black pants. Finish off with a nice belt and leather shoes, brush your hair forward to create bangs if you don’t already have them, and of course add a pair of fangs. Practice your smoldering gaze for the full effect. If you add a recycling bin with Tru Blood empties to your costume, we’ll give you mad props.
If you’d prefer to go as a blonde, seemingly apathetic Viking who does not hide his violent streak, have a look at Eric’s wardobe. The iconic black racerback tank top and loose pants are probably his most recognizable look. Add a tracksuit jacket and a pair of fangs, slick your hair back and prepare to look sexy/menacing.
See our full series of True Blood Halloween features here and be sure to send us your photos for the True Blood Halloween Gallery coming early next week!
True Blood Halloween: Merlotte’s Party Theme
So you want to plan a themed Halloween party and you really don’t have a clue what theme to use? Fortunately, True Blood is loaded with ideas for this Halloween’s festivities. Why not go for a Merlotte’s theme!
Start by creating your Merlotte’s Bar & Grill atmosphere. You’ll want music and decorations to reflect a Louisiana bar and grill. Check out our list of songs featured in seasons one and two of True Blood for ideas and downloads, and create your own playlist. They are mostly rockabilly and down home country, so have fun with it!
Merlotte's Bar
For decorating ideas, head over to our gallery for the photos Mel and I took on our set tour of Merlotte’s back in April. We were so impressed with the attention to details that we saw there, we grabbed some high resolution shots that should help you out. Grab some bottles of
Tru Blood for your guests and store them in a bucket full of ice to keep them chilled. And don’t forget to include some Louisiana Hot Sauce scattered about on some tables.
Do you need some ideas for your menu? A couple of those photos from Merlotte’s in our gallery include a nice big shot of Sam’s menu behind the bar. We’ve already given you some ideas on drinks that are sure to delight and entertain.
For costume ideas for Sookie and Lafayette, check out Mel’s articles posted here. Don’t forget to have the camera charged up and ready, and email your photos to us!
True Blood Halloween: Sookie Costume
Still looking for the perfect Halloween costume? We’ve got you covered! Today’s True Blood costume suggestion features our girl Sookie Stackhouse, with three different options to inspire you.
The most popular Sookie costume is her Merlotte’s waitress uniform: white Merlotte’s t-shirt, black shorts, green apron, black sneakers and a side ponytail. HBO has an ‘Inspired by Sookie’ set that includes the t-shirt and apron, then add your own shorts and sneakers.
Another easy option is Sookie’s post-Maenad recovery outfit: red Fangtasia t-shirt, sneakers, and a (toy) gun. Leave your hair down in waves and channel some righteous indigination for the full effect. (We also recommend wearing some shorts under the t-shirt, because you may be a waitress, but you’re still a lady.)
Want to go as a slightly more sophisticated Sookie? Break out the sundresses and cardigans! Sookie’s wardrobe, especially in season 2, boasts sundresses in several colors with matching cardigans, a warmer option for those of us North of the Mason-Dixon line this October. She typically pairs them with sandals or white Keds. Loose, wavy hair and some cubic zirconia studs for earrings finish the look.
Are you dressing up as Sookie or anyone from True Blood this Halloween? Send us your photos!
