"True Blood," season four: 'Suck' is in the eye of the beholder

As a fan of both the HBO series "True Blood" and the Charlaine Harris novels the show is based on, it pained me admit that -- following a fun and crazy second season -- the show's third season was a bit of a mess. Yes, there were occasional bright spots, such as Dennis O'Hare's marvelously hambone performance as Russell, the vampire king of Mississippi. But, mostly, the season was a fairly drippy love triangle between telepathic Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and vampires Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer) and Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard). Or rather, it was a square, introducing luscious werewolf Alcide (Joseph Manganiello) to the mix.
Whatever -- it was dull. And when a show with this much eye candy manages to be dreary, something it desperately wrong. The season finale was particularly boring, ending in a snoozy cliffhanger that sent Sookie fleeing her romantic troubles for an exile in fairy land.
I had hopes that the fourth season, which starts Sunday at 9 p.m., would clean up some of the mess left in the third season, and go back to being bizarre, silly, and oddly entertaining. Based on the three episodes I've seen so far, my hopes have dimmed.

A matter of housekeeping

Just wanted to let you know that I'm taking a much needed week's vacation, during which I will be more or less blog free. Don't fret, though -- I've already assigned a pair of dogged guest bloggers to write this week's "True Blood" and "Mad Men" recaps, and I've loaded up a piece about my Emmy predictions, which will run next Saturday. I should be back on the blog in time to write next week's recaps.
In the meantime, please go enjoy the rest of your summer.
Oh! And go vote in the I Screen You Screen alternative Emmy poll if you haven't already!

Some extremely brief thoughts on the Emmy nominations

Don't have much time to recap this morning's Emmy noms, so I'm going to do a brief break down of the things about the nominations that made me happy, the things that made me mad and the one thing I can't understand.
Things that made me happy: Well of course I, and everyone else in TV nerd world, was THRILLED to see Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton finally get recognized for their stellar work on the stellar "Friday Night Lights." It only took four seasons, but the academy finally got that right. So yay.
Also, I know a lot of people were polarized by the character of Jack on "Lost," but Matthew Fox was always excellent, so it was good to see him get recognized, along with this season's undisputed scene-stealer, Terry O'Quinn, who got a supporting nod for playing the Smoke Monster and John Locke.
It was nice to see another scene stealer, Andre Braugher, get a nod for his work on the surprisingly fine new TNT series "Men Of A Certain Age." A little disappointed at no recognition for his co-stars Ray Romano and Scott Bakula, but Braugher was obviously the stand-out and the male drama categories are always tight.
And a nice surprise nod for Sharon Gless for her excellent work as Jeffrey Donovan's mom on "Burn Notice!" She's a dark horse (I'm pulling for either "Mad Men's" Christina Hendricks or "The Good Wife's" Archie Panjabi to bring it home), but a lovely choice.
Things that made me mad:Surprisingly few of those this year, though I was upset to see that, once again, Tracy Morgan was passed over for his hilarious work on "30 Rock." Yes, his character is kind of close to his personality. So what? I'd rather see a nod for his fresh, crazy work than another nom for Jon Cryer (don't get me wrong -- I love Cryer. I'd just like to see a little fresh blood here). Also, it's a little sad that Ed O'Neil was the only major cast member of "Modern Family" not nominated.
And my other big pet peeve is kind of due to a high class problem over at "Lost." I love Michael Emerson's work as Ben, but he had only one real showcase episode this season. I would have liked to see that spot go to a "Lost"-ite with more screen time -- preferably the underrated Jorge Garcia, whom I don't think has ever gotten a nomination.
Thing that made me nuts:Look, I love "True Blood," but are they kidding with that Best Drama nomination? "Friday Night Lights." "Men of a Certain Age." "Justified." Even "Damages." All would have been excellent choices for that spot. I don't get it.
You can view a complete list of the Emmy nominees here. The Primetime Emmy winners will be announced Aug. 29.

"True Blood" recap: Jason Stackhouse is a golden God! With horns!

Usually, when I write these "True Blood" recaps, I try to find some sort of unifying theme that holds the episode together. Is it about betrayal? Loss? Sacrifice? How do the different stories tie into that theme?
Well, this week I was hard-pressed to find a theme. This episode, like most episodes near the end of a season, was mainly about advancing storylines. Bill, Sookie and Jason ended their Dallas adventure and came home to a ravaged Bon Temps (or should I say "Bone Temps"?), and resolved to end the Maryann plague. All the stories centered on that, so there wasn't time for a deeper message. That's OK, though. Because instead of a unifying theme, what we got was a whole lotta crazy: a possessed Tara, a heroic Jason, a tower of rotting meat and the most intense Wii-playing session ever. With all that, it's hard to be disappointed. Here's more on this week's episode, "New World in My View."
Spoilers below
* A few weeks ago, I was clamoring for a crime-fighting team of Sam, Andy and Lafayette. What we got was a crime-fighting team of Sam, Andy and Jason Stackhouse. I'll take it! The whole sequence with Jason pretending to be "the God who comes" to fool the revelers was one of the most hilarious things I've seen in a long time. And it allowed Sam Trammell, who plays Sam, a chance to have some fun. Usually, Trammell's overshadowed by the show's more flamboyant characters and performances. But when he started playing along with Sam and Andy, pretending to be smote (smitten? smited?), Trammell cut loose and was a joy to watch. But the whole sequence was great: Andy and Jason using flares, a gas mask and a tree branch to make Jason look godly; Jason's mangled but still convincing attempt at God-speak; Jason and Andy's stunned faces as Sam disappears and, of course, their equally bewildered looks at seeing Sam reappear wearing only an apron. The capper: Andy taking a swig of booze and proclaiming "That's the last drink I'll ever take."
Fabulous.
* By combining their Wonder Twins powers, Sookie and Bill are able to de-Maryannify Tara. How? How did it work? Did the combination of Sookie and Bill in Tara's brain force Maryann out? What happened? Furthermore, just what is the Maryann sickness anyway? Upon entering Tara's brain, Sookie sees that the Tara she knew and loved is gone. Indeed, we see no traces of Tara in the black-eyed beast tied to that chair. But clearly, not all the revelers are erased of their identities. Terry, even in his zombie state, still loves and wants to protect Arlene. Town tramp Jane Bodehouse is still capable of being distracted from her Maryann mission by the promise of a good time with someone named Peanut. So what is the black-eyed insanity, exactly? Is it possession? An intensification of the ID, but with an implanted purpose? Whatever it is, maybe it gets worse with prolonged exposure, which is why Tara is such a shell of herself, with no emotion left for the people she loves? I don't know.
* OK, how stupid was it for Sam to be so easily fooled by Arlene into returning to the bar? In the words of the revered Dark Helmet "Now you see that evil will always triumph, because Good is dumb!"
* Must mention the incredibly, awesomely surreal scene of Hoyt getting a bewitched Maxine to focus by having her play the Wii. It helps me focus, too. But it by no means calms me down.
* Very little Eric this episode. We did get another tantalizing dream sequence, but it seemed a bit cheap to me. Either it should have been real...or it should have been Eric having the dream, to spice things up a bit and show the attraction isn't all on Sookie's side (wait -- do vampires dream? Sigh. I have no idea).
* Is there anything more inconvenient than having your cousin's exorcism interrupted by a random college student looking for you to hook her up with some vampire blood? No. No there isn't. Poor Lafayette.
* So what DID Sookie do to Maryann? What was the glow of light? It can't be that dangerous, as Maryann was more fascinated than distressed. But what is it?
OK, that does it for me. Next week, we learn more about Bill's field trip to see the Queen (what's up with that bloody foot?) and Maryann gets pissed.