True Blood Turning Into Pirates of the Caribbean 2?

Okay, so this blog is supposed to be about things that are frightening, scary, or creepy. I initially intended for that to be movies, TV shows, and books. But these types of things don't always exist for me to review. Or--if I didn't post more regularly while reading a book or waiting for a movie to come out, then there would be unnecessarily long gaps between posts. (Notice the gap between the last two posts. Not Good Mr. Frodo.) So every so often there will be some filler posts. I'm planning an upcoming posts on salad dressings.

But luckily for us, this post has something to do with a horror themed medium: True Blood. I am very pro True Blood for many reasons, but being a writer I am not one to sit here and think that it is infallible. It definitely has issues...like its season 2 finale.

But season 3 has just kicked off, and we are already 3 episodes in. I've noticed an alarmingly increasing trend with each episode...and I'm afraid. Before I go any further, please watch this video so that you can get a frame of mind of where I'm coming from. (Yes I know its about "Pirates of the Caribbean 2")

Ask a Ninja Reviews "Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest"

Okay, now that we are all on the same page, here's how I want to apply this to True Blood:

I think one of the best qualities about the show is that there are so many characters. It actually feels like a town and each character has his or her own little quirks. You know each character, what they think about supernaturals, their role in the town, and all that jazz. It is also nice every so often to see that each of them has something going on in their lives, because its very realistic.

But...

There is a lot going on so far this season and if the writers are not careful to reign it in, True Blood might turn into Pirates.

In Season 1 and most of Season 2 every body had their own story, but because the show remained focused on Bon Temps, it was very easy to integrate all those stories together. Frequently, you were able to tell several stories at the same time because everyone was present. You actually feel the sense of community, even between the characters who didn't like each other.

But in Season 3, everyone is all over the place. Bill is in Mississippi, Sookie and Alcide are all over the place after Bill, Eric is in Bon Temps in hot water with the Magister and the Queen, Tara is suicidal and with strange new vampire Franklin, Jessica is in shock over killing someone and breaking up with Hoyt, Hoyt is grieving at Jason's house, Jason sees bullet holes in peoples heads and wants to be a cop, Bud quit, Andy Bellfleur is having delusions of grandeur but also committing a crime, Sam Merlotte is off looking for his real family, Arlene is pregnant with Renee's baby, Terry thinks its his, Lafayette is trying to stop Tara from killing herself while also trying to move his V before Pam kills him, Pam is well just being weird, we haven't seen Chow, Lorena is on fire and having weird vampire relations with Bill, and there is strange mysterious girl they showed for a second during the scene when Jason helped bust up the druggies. Did I forget anyone?

Most of these story lines don't run parallel with each other, which means that its harder and harder to focus longer periods of time upon them. Everything is jumping back and forth really quick, at times and with all the exposition, there has been little to know action.

Right now, things have not gotten out of hand. I know that it's still early in the season and they are trying to set everything up. Once the expositions starts, maybe things will take off. I really hope so. If not we're going to end up with Bill, Eric, and Alcide fighting for Sookie on top of a huge runaway mill wheel. Sigh.

Alan Ball: Here's your warning. Please don't let True Blood get too expansive. The show works best when these characters work together and are some semblance of a community. Please don't stay away from that too long. Signed--All of us.

For a more detailed review of each episode check out Reality Bites (this is the first one, there are more on the site, please check them out!)

Where Has the Haunted House Writer Been?

So where has the haunted house writer been? He was posting on a fairly regular basis, but then all of the sudden, away he went. It was sad face, wasn't it? Did some of you think that the haunted house writer was no more? Then you'd be incorrect.

This blog was started to keep the haunted house writer writing. Over the past couple of months, writing has happened. Both on a personal and professional level. The Haunted House Writer has been busy writing at his job, because all he does at his job is write. This excites him, but sometimes makes it difficult for him to write blogs when he gets home at night.

Here are some other things that the Haunted House Writer has been up to, if you'd like to stay up to date with his going ons:

Gravestone Manor: He has been working hard on helping to write the script for this year's upcoming show. He hopes you all attend this theatrical haunted house and you can learn more information at Gravestone Manor's Official Website.

Sandwich Warrior: What do you do with the spam email you receive? Delete it? At Sandwich Warrior, we take email spam, and turn it into email spam haiku. There is a new one each work day, and you can view them at Sandwich Warrior's Official Website.

TrueBloodNet.com: TrueBloodNet.com is the only HBO approved fan site for their hit TV show, True Blood. The Haunted House Writer has been helping write for this site both in terms of news articles and for the Fangtasy section. His most notable accolades include the Ask Dr. L column and the episode review column Reality Bites, where the real residents of Bon Temps weigh on how they think the show portrays their town.

Please check out and support all these great sites and organizations. And keep checking back. The Haunted House Writer is alive and well. Or Undead and well if you please.