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10 things that "True Blood" owes to "Buffy."
There's been a lot of discussion around here of whether or not True Blood has been de-gayed this year. I don't have a strong opinion on that one way or the other, but one thing I have noticed: As the show moves beyond the source material from the Charlaine Harris novels on which it is based, Alan Ball's HBO series seems to be morphing into a racier version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you're familiar with both shows, you've probably noticed some similarities between the world of True Blood and that of Joss Whedon's Buffyverse. And not simply the obvious things (i.e. vampires), or similarities that were already present in the Sookie Stackhouse book series. I'm talking about characters, plot elements, and general themes that weren't ported over from the Charlaine Harris books and instead seem borrowed from Buffy. And in particular, Buffy season 5. Don't believe any Buffy/True Blood similarities are intentional? Here are 10. You decide whether or not these parallels are simply coincidence. 1. The Big Bad
Every season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer had its "Big Bad": A major foe who percolated throughout the season before boiling over and being ultimately vanquished in the finale. There was The Master (Seasons 1 & 2), The Mayor (Season 3), Adam (Season 4), Glory (Season 5), Bad Willow (Season 6), and The First Evil (Season 7). True Blood has its very own Big Bad in the form of Maryann. Her ominous storyline has run through the entire season and clearly the upcoming finale will culminate in a big showdown with her. Maryanne is strikingly similar to season 5's Glory. Both are immortals who can't be killed and both are attempting a ritual that the protagonists are trying to stop. 2. The Crazy Henchpeople Glory sucked the brains out of many of the citizens of Sunnydale. For the most part they just ran around acting crazy, but towards the end the crazies become her henchmen, helping her prepare for the coming ritual. Maryann does the same thing. 3. The Sacrificial Tower
In Sunnydale, Glory had her minions build an ominous metal tower for her. Maryann makes hers of meat. 4. The Key Glory needs to bleed Dawn. Maryann has her sacrificial sights set on Sam 5. The Love Triangle Sookie is torn between good vampire Bill or blonde bad boy, Eric. Does this triangle sound familiar? (Although, to be fair, this similarity was present in the Charlaine Harris books) 6. The Weapons Expert
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xander had no particular skill set so, as if to compensate, in a bit of a plot contrivance he was made a "military weapons expert." Jason gets the same military upgrade in season 2 after a brief stint in the Children of the Sun compound. 7. The Vengeance Demon (origin) Okay, this one may be a stretch, but in season 5 of Buffy we learned more about Anya and how she got her start as a vengeance demon. Back in Viking days, the human Anya had a boyfriend who cheated on her, so she gives up her humanity to become a vengeance demon and turn him into a troll. In last week's True Blood, the vampire queen explains how Maenads like MaryAnn came into being: "You're a wild young girl who is married to some jerk who treats you like property and is also f#*king some 14 year old boy...." 8. Tara Okay, aside from the name, which is surely only coincidental, both the Buffy Tara and the True Blood Tara lose themselves to the Big Bad, And saving them from the Big Bad becomes a major motivation in taking on the seemingly invincible foe. 9. The Teenage Ward
In season 5, Buffy gets a little sister seemingly out of nowhere. (Well, actually out of nowhere come to think of it.) And when mother Joyce dies, Dawn becomes Buffy's obnoxious teenage ward. In True Blood it's Bill who gets the ward, in the form of Jessica. And just like Dawn, she's dealing with typical teenage issues (although being a cable show, Jessica's are far more R-rated). 10. The Scooby Gang A lot of Buffy fans (myself included) think the success of that show had very little to do with Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy and far more to do with the cast of supporting characters - Buffy's gang, her Scoobies, without which she would never be able to defeat the Big Bad. This season of True Blood is shaping up to be similar, with weapons expert Jason, the vamps, the shifters, and Sookie herself all working together to defeat the otherwise invincible Maryanne. So, True Blood watchers, what do you think? Any similarities between Buffy and TB that I'm missing? Do you think these similarities are intentional and Alan Ball is using Buffy as a sort of playbook?
Submitted by on Wed, 2009-09-02 08:59. |
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One Big Difference
What sets them apart, to me, is the fact that Buffy really has to sacrifice a lot to do what she does, and it's even harder for her as a teenager who's trying to make it through high school and then ultimately college. Sookie is an adult when we meet her, so that struggle isn't part of it (especially since the whole world knows about vampires in Sookie's world). The secrecy of Buffy's world made for a lot of really compelling drama (without killing off 3/5 of the cast - take that, RTD!) and was exceptionally relatable for a young man like myself who couldn't be upfront about who he was.
"When the people fear its government, that's tyranny. When the government fears its people, that's liberty."
- Benjamin Franklin
True Buffy
Great List! I'm a big Buffy fan and love True Blood and will agree that there are many uncanny parallels~ I think that in addition to being the 'weapons expert', Jason and Xander share the role as 'the sweet funny guy who doesn't get the romantic breaks he deserves' (though Jason does get a bit more action). The shows also seamlessly include glbt characters, AND there's a lot of gay/vampire/slayer parallel subtext (when Buffy 'comes out' to her mom about being the Slayer and she asks if she's ever tried NOT being the Slayer, and later refers to marching in Slayer Pride Parades), and the whole God Hates Fangs church movement in TB. Also, the shows mix their passion, excitement, adventure, etc with a lot of humor, which is key (all of which is sorely lacking in Dollhouse, Joss, just sayin...)
I apologize, but I have to make one quibble~ the Big Bad of Season 2 was Angelus, not the Master.
She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain~ Louisa May Alcott
absolutely right about Angelus
Only 10 things????
Don't get me wrong, I love True Blood, but Buffy will always be first in my book!
You are definitely right about the Scoobies! Cordelia, Andrew, Willow, Anya and Xander made the show!
O Liberté, que de crimes on commet en ton nom!
"True Blood" is no "Buffy," and it's Alan Ball's Fault
As a huge fan of both series, the similarites are obvious to me, from the tiny, blonde heroes, to the love triangles, to the "Big Bads."
Nonetheless, Sookie is no Buffy. For my money, Joss Whedon broke the mold with Buffy, creating one of the greatest, most compelling television heroes of all time, of any sex/gender. Anna Paquin did a great job with Sookie in Season 1, but in Season 2, the show's creative minds have had some missteps in continuing to prove they can write for a central female character.
Moreover, Whedon, a het man, gave us Willow, a watershed gay character. Whereas, Ball has given us Lafayette, who, let's face it, mostly just "mmhmms" and eye-rolls his way through scenes. Maybe it's the writing. Maybe it's the acting. But the character should either be developed or dropped altogether.
If Alan Ball is looking for a successful supernatual playbook, he can't do much better than Joss Whedon's. But "Buffy" has been done, so I'd like to see "True Blood" develop into a distinctly Alan Ball product, with his arresting sense of nihilism and disturbing excavation of emotional, as well as physical, violence.
And maybe he'll even throw in a decent gay character for good measure.
Nonetheless, Sookie is no
Nonetheless, Sookie is no Buffy. For my money, Joss Whedon broke the mold with Buffy, creating one of the greatest, most compelling television heroes of all time, of any sex/gender. Anna Paquin did a great job with Sookie in Season 1, but in Season 2, the show's creative minds have had some missteps in continuing to prove they can write for a central female character.
I agree, 100%. Even in Season 1 I feel that Sookie was being sidelined a lot: one episode about Jason's dick, another episode about Tara's crazy mom and crazy Tara: excuse me, who cares? I know I didn't.
And then in Season 2, the writers bring a female villain (yawn, seriously) along and make her all-powerful except, woops, there's something neither we nor she knew (Hoyt's momma knows, except WTAF? Since when is Hoyt's momma a conduit to the divine?), which is incredibly lazy ass-pull writing. Perhaps Buffy writers started to resort to the magical (we pulled it out of our asses) solution in Season 5, but in season 2 the whole thing was still pretty organic, there were no loopholes, Buffy had to kill the person she loved more than anything (she was 16, ok!) to save the world.
The most Sookie ever does is scream at such a high pitch that she could give Dawn a run for her money - even the whole 'hand of glowiness' thing she had going on against Maryann - where did that come from? (Please don't tell me they're going with something there actually was in the much later books. Please.)
I like the Stackhouse books until Sookie started turing into Anita Blake, slut to the supernatural Vampire Hunter. I fastforward the tv series to get past Jason (yawn), Andy(yaawn) Jessica/Hoyt/Tara/Eggs's problems (actual bone-cracker here) and Sookie/Bill sex (zzzzzz). I love Eric, Godric (sob) and Lafayette. and that's why I stay.
Instead of having Lafayette telling us about his 'nasty' Eric-dreams, we could have had a flash of a kiss or something - but no. That has to be played for laughs, so that Eric is wearing Tara's mom's dress. Ha. Ha.
Dear Alan, have you ever heard of SHOW, DON'T TELL? Evidently not.
In the meantime, on a German soap opera, two men are having sex in the shower. YES, A SOAP OPERA, and i don't even mean the two in my icon, although those two were so caught up by post-coital making out that they didn't even hear some very loud knocking.
While our transgressive shocking show resorts to lame jokes and a gay character who becomes more of a stereotype as time passes. No wonder Eric didn't even get to kiss Godric goodbye.
You're Not Alone
I fastforward the tv series to get past Jason (yawn), Andy(yaawn) Jessica/Hoyt/Tara/Eggs's problems (actual bone-cracker here) and Sookie/Bill sex (zzzzzz). I love Eric, Godric (sob) and Lafayette. and that's why I stay.
You're not alone. Most of the die-hard fans that I know can only sit through Jason/Hoyt/Sam/Eggs/Tara/Jessica one time. Which just goes to show that the cast has expanded to the brink of its own destruction. The "Buffy" playbook will show that good ensemble casts are nonetheless restricted in number.
Probably like you, I continue to love "True Blood" for the same reason I love/d "Buffy": the ever-developing supernatural rabbit hole. I have high hopes for Evan Rachel Wood as the Vampire Queen, Eric has yet to disappoint, and I still believe in Anna Paquin's Sookie. I'm really hoping the show cuts back on the unneccessary characters and their uninteresting storylines next season.
And regarding your reference to Buffy killing her great love to save the world, you totally hit it on the head. That final sequence of the Season 2 finale, with Sarah McLachlan's "Full of Grace" playing, is still the most heartbreaking bit of television I've ever seen. ELEVEN YEARS SINCE IT FIRST AIRED, I still can't see it without tearing.
Only time will tell if "True Blood" can reach the "Buffy" standard of awesomeness, and if it will have that kind of staying power. Here's hoping!
Ensemble Casts
Reading this, I had a sort of epiphany about ensemble casts. I always end up liking the "scoobies" more than the "main character". I never watched Buffy, so I really don't have much to contribute to the topic of this article, but I do watch True Blood and I agree with the point that, while Sookie has her moments, I find the other characters much more compelling. Which made me think about Torchwood and how everyone seems to like Gwen the least of all the characters. But then I thought about other shows I've watched, not just sci-fi, that have ensemble casts and I almost always end up liking the secondary characters best…. Dawson's Creek: could anyone actually stand Dawson? Sex in the City: never heard a single person say Carrie was their favorite…
"It's weird. It's just different. It's not men. It's just him. It's only him." - Ianto Jones
"Dawson's Creek: could anyone actually stand Dawson?"
Answer: No.
And you're right, ensemble cast shows tend to be better. I'm thinking "Deadwood," "Six Feet Under," "Rome," "Entourage," and pretty much every other quality series HBO has put out.
But I think that may become an issue with "True Blood." The cast keeps expanding and there's no way to tell good stories with so many characters. The finale's gonna have to do a lot of trimming.
Some of the character they can kill off or send away: Eggs(!), Sam, Tara, and Jessica.
Unpopular Central Characters...
I like true blood alot
Buffy
I must respectfully disagree~ there were stand alone episodes of Buffy within each season, but there were parts of each that contributed to the season's major story arc. Each season also did a wonderful switcheroo~ where you think someone's going to be the big bad but then we found out where the trouble really was (e.g. Spike and Dru in season 2 who were merely a prelude to Angelus). Also, they did the most realistic, factual portrayal of Wiccanism I've ever seen in the mainstream media. No broomsticks, nor 'earth worship' but a genuine exploration. I think if you tried Buffy you'd be pleasantly surprised.
She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain~ Louisa May Alcott
"Also, they did the most
"Also, they did the most realistic, factual portrayal of Wiccanism I've ever seen in the mainstream media."
I'm surprised to see you say that, because I've heard the opposite view much more often. Perhaps Tara was a good representative of Wicca, but the character most closely identified with magic, Willow, never paid any mind to the actual philosophies behind Wicca, only interested in the power it could give her. And yet she was consistently referred to as a Wiccan both within and outside the show, which served to annoy those who do hold to those philosophies.
Buffy Season 8
One strange parallel that True Blood actually prompted first was this idea of the vampire world being known to the rest of it. In Buffy Season 8 (Don't panic- it's a series of graphic novels produced by Le Joss himself covering Buffy and Scoobies story post-Season 7; and yes, it's rather awesome) there's an edition where vampires sort of go public (picture Harmony doing the chat show circuit bewailing her afterlife and getting a vampire-led hot network sitcom to boot) and before you can say spin, the Slayers are on the run from an indignant public which considers them mercenaries and the vampires 'victims'
______________________________
"A Woman's face with Nature's own hand painted
Hast thou the Master Mistress of my passion..."
Shakespeare, Sonnett XX
And on a gay-adjacent note
Once More with Feeling
Also, to truly compete, True Blood is going to need to pull a musical episode out of the hat.. and then also an episode with no score whatsoever (Season 5's 'the Body')... consider the gauntlet thrown down Alan Ball!
______________________________
"A Woman's face with Nature's own hand painted
Hast thou the Master Mistress of my passion..."
Shakespeare, Sonnett XX
Really??
I'm not sure about that one...I think that Stephen Moyer has sung before on stage, but what do we know of the others?
I love musicals, but there are some people who just shouldn't sing. Think Julia Roberts in Everyone Says I Love You.
And think of the songs! "C'mon and Marry Me Bill," "Sunrise, Sun-splatt!" "Un-Stake My Heart"...oy, I'd have a hard time.
But I'd still watch it...hell, I'd get those songs as ringtones.
"When the people fear its government, that's tyranny. When the government fears its people, that's liberty."
- Benjamin Franklin
Hush
Was the silent episode in Season 4. I think it was also the first episode where we met Tara. Of all the seasons of Buffy, Hush was quite possibly the most frightening.
"The Body" was the absolutely heartbreaking episode in Season 5 when Buffy comes home and finds her mom dead of a brain aneurysm. They distorted and muffled the sound to show help the audience connect with Buffy's feelings of shock and numbness.
Both were powerful stories and both did great work with sound and the lack thereof.
We're both right..
Both were awesome episodes regarding their sound editing- 'Hush' had that awesome score based on Danse Macabre by Saint Saens, that played as the Gentlemen roamed the town looking for hearts (*blushingly holds up "Once more with feeling CD*) while the characters lost their voices; while in 'The Body' Buffy arrived home in the previous ep to find her mother dead on the couch- thus the whole ep plays out without a note of musical background to enhance the sheer shock of it. The effect was traumatic to say the least! Damn I miss that show..
______________________________
"And for a woman wert thou first created;
Til Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she prick'd thee out for woman's pleasure;
Mine be thy love, and thy love's use their treasure."
Shakespeare, Sonnet XX
True Blood has already
Anya's Monologue
Un-Stake My Heart!
Your song choices are excellent! So funny! Now I REALLY want a TB musical ep!
he is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain~ Louisa May Alcott
True Blood and a lot of shows
can be compare and owe to Buffy (one of the greatest shows of tv history) . It created the "more than a genre show" genre and it´s well proved recipe for success. Shows like Alias, Lost, Torchwood even Grey´s Anatomy had borrowed pages from Buffy's lesson book,
So I´m okay if TB wants to emulate Buffy. Yeah!, TB it´s funny, sexy, dark , sometimes scary and a few more, that's what i enjoy it. The moment they drop the Buffy formula it´ll became not worth watching tv.
Weapons Expert - Plot Contrivance? Methinks not...
I miss Xander
I completely agree with your view about Buffy having faith in its audience and your assessment about Xander's weapons expertise -- the Halloween episode in Season 2 was referenced a couple of times in later seasons.
It's similar to the Season 3 episode that shows what Sunnydale would be like if Buffy never arrived. Willow's comment about her vampire self was classic, "That's me as a vampire? I mean, I'm so evil, and skanky — and I think I'm kind of gay" And the next season she was gay. And the season after that she turned evil.
I loved how a toss off line or incident from one episode could become a key element of a future season. It really gave the entire series greater consistency and rewarded regular viewers for continuing to watch.
HomoWillow
That is a great line, and a great example of the amazing continuity of the show and the credit it gave its audience. In season 6, Tabula Rasa, when the gang's had their mind wiped by Willow's magic gone wrong, she repeats the line after 'meeting' Tara again. I miss this whole show. The comics are good, but not quite the same (though Xander is quite dashing with that eye patch.
She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain~ Louisa May Alcott
Lesbian Pairs= Yea, Gay Males= Nay
There's another one for you. If they go for any graphic displays, the gay males always get the allusions and innuendo/background references to affection/sex, while the girls get to kiss and fondle in front of the TV audience.
I am so waiting on Spartacus for some equitable treatment toward gay male intimacy.
Oh, and concerning Buffy, I just felt more invested in the characters. I rarely wanted to fastforward through the episodes, as I do with the whole Sam/Jason scenes. Sam is really a boring character, Jason only pretty to look at, and Andy pointless.
I vote for more of Hoyt's crazy momma going berserk on the Wii.
Gay males on Buffy?
I'm struggling to remember if there were any gay male characters on Buffy? I recall that bully (named...?) from Sunnydale High came out in Season 3, but then got killed by the Mayor/Snake.
Then?... well, Andrew from Season 6 (haha, Tuckers's brother...) certainly had a thang for Warren.
And?
______________________________
"And for a woman wert thou first created;
Til Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she prick'd thee out for woman's pleasure;
Mine be thy love, and thy love's use their treasure."
Shakespeare, Sonnet XX
Season 2 of Buffy
Actually Dennis if you go back you'll find that ANGEL ended up being the "Big Bad" of season 2.
...
Larry the closeted bully
came out to Buffy and, as you pointed out, got himself killed at the end of the season.
Andrew, one of the Nerds of Doom played by out actor Tom Lenk, was clearly infatuate with chief nerd Warren, but after Andrew survived the destruction of the dork troika and started hanging with the Scoobies, he got written as an apparently hetero player with the ladies.
Offhand I can't think of any other Buffy or Angel gay characters.
Andrew
Actually, Andrew has always been written as gay, in part because of Tom Lenk's uh... obvious sexuality, even before coming out. But he's also written as totally clueless of his own sexuality, and therefore thinks he's a great womanizer who everyone else sort of eye rolls while waiting for him to catch his own clue bus.
(Joss has said this explicitly in interviews.)
He's defintely not a womanizer. Name one woman he got.
In Season 5 of Angel
I didn't Watch Spike Season One
Both have a girl with an odd
Buffy vs.
If you want to look for Buffy knock--offs, check out the recently right-statused UK show, Demons.
It's about a teen reluctantly inheriting an ancient mantle of supernatural monster-killing, trained in their skills by a librarian named Rupert who crossed the Atlantic to mentor the young monster-slayer.
The "twist," you ask? The teen is a BOY! And he lives in ENGLAND, while his librarian mentor named Rupert comes from AMERICA!
I know, what a brilliant twist to keep the formula fresh! How could they have cancelled this brilliant concept?
First of all, 3 and 6 are
First of all, 3 and 6 are just as much of a stretch as 7.
Second of all, the Big Bad for Season 2 was either Spike & Dru or Angelus. And the Big Bad for Season 6, if any, was The Trio, since Dark Willow (Not "Bad" Willow) was only around for 3 episodes.
annoyed.
I think that the premise of True Blood runs pretty original, however I think that there are several more little persona pieces stolen from the Buffyverse.
-there is definitely an episode in which Buffy hears everyone's thoughts and is almost driven insane by it.
-Angel seems to know preternaturally where Buffy is at all times.
-I think that Maryann bears some resemblance to Caleb as well as Glory. maybe also a little bit of Dru.
-Bill's maker = Darla, Angelus' sire.
-Angel and Bill are pretty much the same person, i am just sayin'.
These are just a few off the top of my head. I watched Buffy all the way through just recently after having seen True Blood, Season 1 and reading the Twilight series. Needless to say I was confused as to whether the latter were feeding off of Joss's genius.