True Blood: Season 4

True Blood isn't really a show that merits or elicits a thought out reaction, but it's something I haven't posted about in a while, so here come a few very unrelated thoughts I had while watching this fourth season for a second time.

• This is such a summer show. Not only is it campy, soupy, and thick with melodrama that would feel overwrought as hell if the show aired alongside any number of far more serious dramas, but additionally it takes place in the rural swamplands of New Orleans. Like, I watched this in December in New England, but I couldn't shake the feeling, on some level, of humidity, open windows, and crickets peeping all night long. The show's tone very much matches its setting, which I appreciate, even if I barely notice it.
• True Blood decided a while ago that it didn't want to be a satire on the very topical concept of the gay rights movement in America. This is really too bad, because there are all kinds of parallels between gay rights in the real world and the recently "outed" vampire community in True Blood. Many are even overt and intentional. Uptight Christians preach against the vampires; opponents parade around with signs that say "God hates fangs;" vampires living openly as vampires and no longer pretending not to be vampires are considered to be "out of the coffin." And then on the flip side of the issue, many of the vampires are depicted similarly to the way gay people are often stereotyped. Vampires can easily seduce humans; vampires struggle terribly with monogamy; vampires are hyper-sexualized and into all sorts of violent sex. Honestly, there's an interesting show buried underneath all the bullshit here, but again, the decision was made long ago not to make True Blood stand for or mean anything. Oh well.
• With all sorts of supernatural beings running around and no real discernible stakes or even rooting interests, True Blood's appeal rests largely on the backs of its characters. Fortunately, there are a large number of well-defined characters. Unfortunately, this same abundance leads to several of them being wasted on terrible nonsensical arcs for large swaths of time.
• The best part about the show? Arguably the opening credits. God, I love these. In case you haven't seen them, or need a refresher:
  
  
  
  
  These absolutely fit the vibe the show itself attempts to give off. The music feels right out of a dive bar in the Deep South, and the brief clips mesh the poverty and reclusiveness of the backwoods Louisiana setting with images of predators and prey, blood, death and decay, hyper-sexualized seediness, and religious fervor. I'm hard-pressed to think of a superior example of opening credits that so specifically and perfectly fit a TV series.