True Blood Season 3: Team Jacob or Team Spike???

okay first, everyone watch this:

Trailer 2

Now we can talk. Here's my backstory with vampires in pop culture. With the exception of Interview with a Vampire, which I saw when I was a kid like I was supposed to, I've experienced everything backwards. I read all the Twilight books, got completely sucked in and then retroactively became like a born-again sane person, reprogrammed to see the error of my ways. Then I started watching "True Blood." Now I'm catching up on "Buffy, The Vampire Slayer" and "Angel."

I'm not touching the CW's "Vampire Diaries." XOXO, no thanks.

Sidenote: I will still be attending the midnight showings of all Twilight Saga movies. Sorry 'bout it, but I love a damn midnight release. It doesn't matter.

I haven't read any of The Southern Vampire Mysteries/The Sookie Stackhouse Novels or whatever. I plan to. But after watching HBO's latest trailer, I can't help but marvel at how wonderfully/oddly familiar this plot is. No hate, just observations. It's actually helping me deal with the fact that Buffy is over and practically a period piece. (Do you know how many conflicts could have been prevented if the Scoobies had cell phones in the early seasons?) I can move on now.

I'm not going to do crazy things like compare Pam to Drusilla, or Jessica Hamby with Jessica Stanley. But honestly:

Spike and Eric. Do I really need to provide an explanation here? They are the same. Better, blonder, badass-er. Obviously this is what Twilight needs. A blond Anti-Hero. Such a shame.

Though I suppose Sam is a better comparison to Jacob Black as far as what they are and what powers they have, werewolf Alcide is being set up as an actual love interest for Sookie, so we'll go with that. Plus they are both vaguely ethnic. And Alcide has a "pack." However, we'll have to get into the season to make this comparison meatier.

Then there's these guys. Bill, Angel and Edward Cullen. I don't even know where to begin...

They brood. They are filled with self-loathing. They're chivalrous to the point of chauvinism. They like to disappear for unspecified amounts of time. They withhold information. They get really, really attached to the female lead. We're all in love with them and then the next guy shows up and half the fandom switches teams. Granted, Angel is less annoying than Bill and Edward IMO, but everything I don't like about him is something I recognize in the other two.

Thankfully Sookie, Buffy and Bella are very different. Some of them are actual, real life, dynamic characters.

Another Sidenote: Why does so much vampire literature take place in the deep South? Is this similar to how aliens always abduct farmhands?

What have I learned? I'm excited for Season Three. Vampires really like jackets. Nothing is original. I also love the way all of these different franchises pick and choose from the vampire lore salad bar as far as what will be real and what will be myth. Hilarious. I also promise that I'll get to sci-fi eventually with this blog. I've just been on a vampire kick lately. I'm trying to stay true to the zeitgeist ;-)

hang on spider monkey,

Leah