| | | | IN THE SOUTHERN VAMPIRE NOVELS | | |
Character Sookie Stackhouse
| 1.) Anna Paquin, pale, short - Sookie is a Telepath: She can hear other people's thoughts and has never been able to control it. Some think she's psychic. Others think she's crazy. It's an inconsistent talent. Some people are "broadcasters" - VERY loud and clear, others are muffled and some, like Vampires, are "dead air"... She lives with her Grandmother in their ancestral family home. She doesn't have many friends. Those friends she does have she protects at all costs and is extremely loyal.
Bill asks her, "What are you?"
2.) Sookie's Cell Phone: She has a cell phone which indicates she's a modern, young woman.
3.) Upon entering the backdoor into the kitchen, Sookie promptly slips on something slick on the floor. When turning on the light, we see it's blood and that that blood belonged to Gran who is dead on the floor.
4.) After Gran's death, Tara and Lafayette attend to numb Sookie in her room upstairs after Sookie loses it in the kitchen, yelling at Maxine.
5.) The night of Gran's funeral Sookie decides to act on her impulses towards Bill and takes off running towards his house in a nightgown.
6.) Bill asks Sam to look after Sookie
7.) Seems a bit fragile when confronted with the serial killer relies on help to be saved.
| 1.) Very tan, she is a sun worshipper, average height (i.e. not short), Size 10 but sometimes she can fit in an 8, is blessed in the boob dept. Is a Telepath: She can hear other people's thoughts and has never been able to control it; Some think she's psychic. Others think she's crazy. It's an inconsistent talent. Some people are "broadcasters" - VERY loud and clear, others are muffled and some, like Vampires, are "dead air"...She doesn't have many friends. Those friends she does have she protects at all costs and is extremely loyal. Bill asks her the same thing.
2.) She doesn't get a cell phone until All Together Dead (Book 7).
3.) After her evening with Sam, she enters the front door of the house to find all of the lights on. Gran doesn't respond to Sookie who starts searching the house for her whereabouts and also for the source of a faint copper odor. When she reaches the kitchen, she slips on the floor thus finding Gran dead and the source of the copper odor — Gran's blood.
4.) After Gran's death the only close friend Sookie has to comfort her, besides Sam, is Arlene. Arlene arrives to check on Sookie and helps her clean out Gran's room. Sookie puts clothes aside for donation and trinkets aside for Gran's friends. Sookie decides to make the switch to Gran's room across the hall on the first floor.
5.) Bill arrives the night of the funeral to check on Sookie to comfort her. He does so by combing out Sookie's wet hair. She meets him at the door in a night shirt after a shower. Sookie notes to herself that she is no longer responding to Bill's action in terms of comfort, but as something sexual. She straddles him, and soon he picks her up and carries her to Gran's former bedroom.
6.) Bartender at Fangtasia. Killed by Eric.
7.) Strong woman capable of dispatching serial killers and vampires to save herself.
8.) Bill has "Bubba" watch over Sookie while he is campaigning. No appearance of Bubba. We want Bubba!!!! He needs to sing in Season 3...
| 1.) Not surprisingly, Anna Paquin does a very convincing job as Sookie -- even if she's not as tan as her literary character. In this first episode, Alan Ball doesn't seem to stray far from Charlaine Harris's "Dead Until Dark" for reference.
Seems to be following the book where there is something in Sookie's background indicating that she might be more than she seems.
2.) The writers must be trying to make her more appealing to mass audiences. But the book was also released 2000/2001 when cell phones were just beginning to be popular on a mass consumer basis and were still fairly expensive.
3.) Not sure why the discovery of Gran's body was done without the suspense. We're led up to it in the book where it's a shock to the reader. This may have been done in the mind set of time and to keep things moving.
4.) It's obvious already that in the series Tara is Sookie's close friend as opposed to Arlene. It's unsure now how Ball plans on explaining Sookie's future decisions that were based on her not having much of anyone to comfort her as a close friend would. Also we aren't shown that Sookie takes residence of Gran's room which in the book becomes the setting for her first intimate moment with Bill.
5.) The sexual side of Sookie is not shown in the books to the degree that Ball displays. Her fantasies are not explicitly explained nor does she seem to find the need to explain to Bill her lack of first-time experience. He merely finds out for himself when the time comes. Nor does Sookie pursue him in the fashion she has in the series. Bill comes to her with honorable intentions which lead to something more; she doesn't go running off to find him.
6.) Not sure why Ball did this. The last 2/3 episodes had a plot and story that wasn't contained within the books. |
Character Bill Compton
| 1.) 173 year old Vampire who moves back to his original home town and ancestral home of Bon Temps, LA after vampires "come out of the coffin". He is "mainstreaming" with the humans. When asked by Sookie, we learn that beyond glamoring, he has no special abilities.
2.) He describes his experience as a soldier in the Civil War and is presented with a picture of he and his family from the Mayor who found it in the city's archives.
3.) What Bill doesn't relate to the DGD group meeting is how he broke into a home for food and water and met the mysterious Widow who lived there. She does provide him with these things, but then she tries to seduce him. Bill rebuffs her advances. He promptly decides to leave at which time the Widow bears her fangs and attacks Bill.
4.) We see that it is Bill who plucks Sookie from the kitchen and the grisly sight of Gran's body still dressed in his suit.
5.) Bill experiences a nightmare where he sees someone trying to kill Sookie by choking her to death in her bed. He turns on a light to check his watch and growls in frustration that sunset hasn't happened yet. The camera pans back to show us his resting place beneath his house. Once the sun sets, he burst into Sookie's house, thus surprising Lafayette and Tara in the process, and races upstairs to wake Sookie from her Valium-induced slumber to ease his mind.
6.) The night of Gran's funeral, he steps onto his porch and hears the sound of someone running. When he sees that it is Sookie, he runs into the yard to meet her, sweeps her off her feet and takes into his house where they make love for the first time.
7) When Eric summons Bill and Sookie to the bar to "read" the humans to see who stole money from the bar, Sookie only interviews one waitress. She can tell that the waitress knows something and can't remember it and can tell she has been glamoured. Longshadow attacks Sookie and Bill kills him. | 1.) 173 year old Vampire who moves back to his original home town and ancestral home of Bon Temps, LA after vampires "come out of the coffin". He is "mainstreaming" with the humans. When asked by Sookie during their walk, Bill shows her he can levitate.
2.) While Bill does relate his experience, we learn he did have a wife and children, but no specific details were given. Bill's intent was to show the truth of the war to contrast against how the DGD have glorified it.
3.) Bill has never explained to Sookie how he became a vampire, nor does anyone else enlighten her.
4.) Bill plucks a screaming Sookie from the sight of her Gran's body dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. The t-shirt being one from the "Grateful Dead" band causes Sookie to break out into laughter.
5.) Bill only arrives at Sookie's house the night of the funeral to check on her.
6.) Bill simply checks on Sookie that night and comforts her by sitting with her and combing out her tangled wet hair. When it seems that the comfort has taken a turn to the hormonal side, Bill takes his cue from Sookie to advance their relationship to the next level.
7) When Eric summons Bill and Sookie to the bar to conduct interviews to see who is telling the truth about stealing money from the bar Sookie interviews more than one waitress. When she discovers the waitress has been glamoured and Longshadow attacks, Eric is the one who kills Longshadow. | 1.) Bill is an important introduction to the supernatural world for Sookie. He is the first being she has ever encountered whose thoughts she cannot read and he is her first sexual encounter. Mostly consistent between the books and show but any special abilities he may have are yet to be shown.
2.) It's easy to understand why specific details of Bill's family were brought up in this scene for character development.
3.) Bill never mentions this woman, Lorena, directly to Sookie. Lorena appears in book 3, "Club Dead", when Bill turns up missing. It isn't explained until later, by Bill, that Lorena turned him. Again, he doesn't elaborate beyond "I had to obey her."
4.) Bill plucking Sookie from the kitchen is still pretty similar in both instances, except for the reasons behind his initial presence. In the book he happened to be on his way to Sookie's house when he hears her screaming. He had helped Gran unload her car and went home to change. He came back to see if Sookie was home to talk to her. In the episode it isn't made clear exactly why he's there and still in his suit.
5.) First and foremost, we DO NOT know Bill's resting place. Bill never tells Sookie where exactly he does sleep, and she only guesses correctly at such later in the story. It is also clearly explained that vampires are technically dead to the world until sunset. It is extremely difficult to keep a vampire awake after the sun has risen, let alone waking one early. It doesn't, however, seem to matter with their age. The older they are, the earlier they can rise. Bill also doesn't experience a dream that causes him to rush to Sookie's side.
6.) The scene from the book makes a bit more sense than the scene from the episode. Bill isn't pushy with Sookie in either story line and still takes his cues on how to proceed from Sookie.
7) This is a huge diversion from the book, and we'll see what the major plot shift is going to mean in the next episode. There must be a good reason for it. |
Character Tara Thornton
| Sookie's best friend. In True Blood Tara is African American. She works at Merlotte's with Sookie. Tara doesn't get along well with others; she is very angry & aggressive. She has a crush on Sookie's brother Jason. She has an alcoholic mother.
| First introduced late in the second book "Living Dead in Dallas" as one of Sookie's few high school friends.
In the books, Tara is Caucasian. She is very into fashion and owns her own store called "Tara's Togs." Her parents were alcoholic but are dead.
| Sookie and Tara have a history and their friendship has lasted over time. However, Sookie and Tara seem closer in True Blood. Tara was the character that was changed the most from the books to the series. For the HBO series she has been changed into an angry character who can't hold a job and who has a serious crush on Sookie's brother Jason.
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Character Jason Stackhouse
| Sookie's brother, the idiot
| A manslut. Tends to think with the wrong head.
| Same self absorbed character, too much air time.
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Character Eric Northman
| 1. The owner of Fangtasia. A very powerful vampire who is a former Viking and is over 1000 years old.
2. Was "made" by Godric.
3.He was dying when he was turned into a vampire.
| 1. The owner of Fangtasia and the Sheriff of Vampire Area 5. He is Bill's boss. He is a former Viking and is over 1000 years old.
2. Was "made" by Roman legionnaire, Appius Livius Ocella.
3. He tried to help a guy who was lying in the road.
| One of the most popular characters from the books shows the same promise for True Blood.
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Character Pam
| Eric's second in command. Its too early to tell from the limited clips we've seen of Pam thus far, but we can only hope they maintain her hilarious juxtaposition of Soccer Mom Style off of work vs. her Vampire Goth look at Fangtasia.
| She was turned by Eric in England and they traveled the world together. She is a fan of twin sets, loafers, and very preppy style clothing. Her style outside of Fangtasia is often described as "Lethal Soccer Mom". She has a great sense of humor and is a deadly fighter | Pam is one of the characters from the books that injects humor into many scenes she is in. She also provides a lot of insight into Eric's character and often intercedes with Sookie and others on his behalf...often with mixed results and sometimes without Eric asking her to.
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Character Sam Merlotte
| 1.) Owner of Merlotte's, Sookie's Boss, seems to have a crush on her and Sookie can hear his thoughts as clear as Tara's.
2.) Sam is becoming more and more territorial with Sookie concerning his feelings for her and his growing disapproval over her involvement with Bill. This is evident when Sam keeps encouraging Sookie to read his thoughts after their "date" to show for his sexually aggresive behavior towards her and his verbal anger towards Bill. Sookie gets angry and ends the date calling a taxi to get home. | 1.) Owner of Merlotte's and Sookie's boss. Not much evidence of a crush until Sookie starts dating Bill however there was/is always a bit of sexual tension. Not a clear broadcaster (she feels his emotions but can't hear his thoughts).
2.) The date between Sookie and Sam actually isn't a date, rather they simply went to the meeting together. They do go out for coffee later and Sam drops her off at home where upon Sookie tripping out of Sam's truck, he catches her and they end up kissing. The pair part on fairly good, if not a bit awkward, terms.
| 1.) Alan Ball seems to be sticking fairly well to the book when it comes to Sam and his protective stance over Sookie. However, portraying Sam as a possible suspect in the murders was not a red herring used in the novels.
2.) Because the books are from Sookie's point of view, we never see or hear Sam's actions and words beyond his interaction with Sookie herself. Ball seems to be explaining Sam's personal plight, but in doing so is causing Sam to become a jerk towards Sookie and Bill. In the books he isn't necessarily friends with Bill but knows Bill won't harm her. He also is not pushy with Sookie at all in terms of his feelings, romantically or otherwise.
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| Timing: Events & Nuances | 1.) Hurricane Katrina is mentioned as already happened.
2.) The dog comes to Sookie's side when she's helping Bill in the parking lot following his first visit to Merlotte's. | 1.) Hurricane Katrina doesn't take place until after Definitely Dead.
2.) She doesn't encounter the dog until after the Rattrays retaliate on her. He comes to her side then, but we don't see him. He's just in the periphery. | 1.) For purists, that continuity is confusing. This might also make it more difficult to later add in the elements of destruction when Sookie is visiting the Queen of Louisiana, and later on in the series when Sookie has "house guests"
2.) Setting the stage earlier for the dog to have a more important and visual role. |
| Character Arlene Fowler | Doesn't seem very close with Sookie. | They seem closer than her and Tara in the first few books. She helps Sookie after her grandmother dies, and her kids refer to Sookie as Aunt Sookie | I think in the first episodes her character is more important than Tara. However, it is presented the other way around. |
| Character Adele "Gran" Hale Stackhouse | Quiet and curious about Sookie's days at work; supportive in wanting her to have a boyfriend; very warm and loving. | Quiet and curious about Sookie's days at work; supportive in wanting her to have a boyfriend; very warm and loving. Although in the book she is described as thinner than Sookie. | The character, so far, is the same as she appears in the books aside from physical appearance. |
| Character Maudette Pickens | She's the first "fang-banger" we encounter as Jason is enjoying her charms. She also shares a video she recorded during her sexual encounter with a vampire. | Maudette is only talked about after her death when news spreads that she's been killed. Jason isn't arrested as a suspect in her case until the last quarter of the book. He is however the only one questioned. We don't learn of a video between her and Jason until much later. | Since Maudette is only described once and as an after thought from Sookie, this left plenty of room for Ball to develop the character more and show just what kind of interactions she had with the main characters. |
Synthetic Bottled Blood
| Made in Japan. Called TruBlood. Comes in decorative bottles, four blood types. Seems to be only one brand name so far. Compared to drinking Slim Fast.
| Made in Japan. Called LifeFlow or TrueBlood. Comes in four blood types. Needs refrigeration but should be served warm. Works but is not as satisfying.
Added: Other brand names noticed: Red Stuff (cheap brand) and Royalty Blended and pure Royalty (both featuring the blood of true European royalty, the blended having been cut with a high end synthetic)
| Either the marketing directors or Charlaine herself seems to recognize better branding with the name TruBlood. And it works well with the title of the show and the viral marketing campaign.
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First Time Visit to Fangtasia:
Leading up to, during and after.
| 1.) Sookie asks Bill outside of Merlotte's after telling him about Dawn. After agreeing to take her, Sookie reiterates twice that she was asking him as a friend and that it wasn't a date.
2.) Bill told Sookie that he promised her grandmother nothing would happen to Sookie while at the bar, but he wasn't sure he could keep that promise with Sookie "dressed like this."
3.) Bill was not approached by any fangbangers wanting to proposition him. (Added: Actually, the dancing goth-boy vampire beckoned to him.)
4.) Sookie asks Bill who Eric was, rousing the comment from Bill, "Oh, you noticed him, did you?" Bill says "Uh-oh" when he realizes Eric is probably about to summon them to see him.
5.) Eric does not appear to use glamour on Sookie at the bar.
6.) Sookie & Bill pull over to settle down after fleeing Fangtasia. Bill says that if he gets in trouble, "he'd rather it be in trouble with you." They lean in for a kiss and a cop interrupts. Sookie tries to do all the talking to distract the cop from Bill... but Bill gets angry that the cop is disrespecting Sookie, bares his fangs, and glamours the cop into giving up his gun and peeing his pants. They drive off.
| 1.) Bill meets Sookie at her house and learns of Dawn's murder. She asks him to take her there and no mention was made of it being a date or not. Bill tells Sookie to "do him proud" as he leaves.
2.) Nothing was mentioned about her grandmother at all. Bill instead said he was doubting his ability to get her "in and out without having to kill someone who wants you."
3.) Bill was approached by 4 fangbangers, denying each of them.
4.) This was not in the book this way. Bill points out Eric as the oldest thing in the bar to Sookie.
5.) Sookie comments to Bill that Eric will know she's not "normal" because she feels his "power tweaks" but wasn't responding. Bill then gets pissed because Eric is breaking the rules just attempting to glamour her after knowing Sookie is "his."
6.) Sookie & Bill pull over because Bill is all riled up from the action of the raid at Fangtasia, he pulls off the road suddenly into a dark parking lot, and kisses Sookie passionately. THEN a cop interrupts, and Sookie tells Bill to put his fangs away, and they manage to get out of there without the cop knowing for sure that Bill was a vampire.
| 1.) Wish I could have heard Bill say this to Sookie! Charlaine writes it in such a way that Sookie seems almost offended, but then in the very next chapter she's contemplating what Bill meant when he said it, which shows her desire to please him.
2.) The danger of the situation is seemingly downplayed in the series.
3.) For some reason, producers have not capitalized on just how sexy Bill is to other people.
4.) Perhaps producers wanted to spike a little jealousy on Bill's part, but not on Sookie's?
5.) I wish Alan Ball had included this! I would have loved to hear Bill say this in anger - and of course revealing his emotions a bit more for Sookie.
6.) The book scene was more romantic. The show showed more of Bill's dark side, much earlier than we get to see it in the books. While the line about "getting into trouble with you" was pretty sexy... it can't beat, "Oh, I *want* to...." in the book.
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| Character Long Shadow | Bartender and business partner to Eric and Pam of Fangtasia. Stole $65,000 from the bar. Killed by Bill in the main bar area after attacking Sookie when his betrayal is discovered.
| Bartender at Fangtasia. Stole money from the bar. Killed by Eric in Eric's office after attacking Sookie when his betrayal is discovered.
| Bill killing Long Shadow was undoubtedly done to set up the final few episode's plot and story which varies greatly from the book. |
Character Amy Burley
| Major love interest for Jason Stackhouse. They meet at Fangtasia after He goes to the bar looking to hook up with some more V. Together they create a relationship based on Pagan ideals and their mutual V addiction. She convinces Jason to kidnap Lafayette's V supplier (an actual Vampire) where they hold him prisoner in Jason's basement. She ends up staking the vampire after Jason puts his foot down on releasing the creature. She is then the final fatality of Season 1 for the serial killer that has been murdering the town's reported Fangbangers when she and Jason 'close the circle' and ingest their last dose of V together. | Amy is mentioned very briefly in Dead Until Dark as a potential replacement for Dawn. A couple of pages later she's mentioned again, now dead - murdered.
| Having Amy around helps give us more insight to Jason himself. |
| Character Jessica | Human turned into Vampire, Maker Bill related to punishment for killing Long Shadow. Hard to control Vampire | Jessica is not a character in the Sookie Stackhouse series. Bill does not become a maker in any of the 9 books, and Eric was responsible for LongShadow's death and it is briefly mentioned that Eric had to pay a hefty fine for killing a Vampire. | Not sure of reason for the character Jessica but she is very interesting and impulsive and I'm curious to see the character development. |
Characters Steve and Sarah Newlin
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Steve is the Leader of the FOTS and Sarah is his wife. They fight a lot and Sarah has an affair with Jason because of it. Steve excludes Sarah out of somethings. Sarah comes off as not being as cruel or mean towards vampires. |
Steve is the leader of the FOTS and Sarah is his wife. In the book Sarah is Steve's right hand man and knows everything that goes on. Jason never joins the FOTS therefore, him and Sarah never have an affair. Sarah is just as cruel, mean, and vindictive towards vampires. She helps bring Sookie to the basement. |
Alan Ball probably made Sarah more laid back and sweet so that they could put in the story of the affair. |
Character Godric |
1. Eric's Maker
2. Was Sherriff of Area 9 in Texas
3. Godric met the sun on the roof of Hotel Carmilla |
1. He is not Eric's maker. He was a vampire that got another vampire abducted by the FOTS.
2. Stan is the sheriff of Area 9.
3. Godric met the sun in the parking lot of the FOTS church. |
1. Alan probably made Godric Eric's maker to show Eric's other side and to save time. The story in the book would've been a lot longer.
2. Again Alan did this to save time.
3. This was done becaue it would not make any sense for Godric to go back to the church. Plus they wanted the goodbye scene with Eric. |
Character Maryann Forrester
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1. An important character in Season 2
2. A "social worker"
3. Wants to sacrifice Sam |
1. She comes in to attack Sookie and then comes back at the end of the book.
2. She's just a Maenad. Doesn't try to be a normal human.
3. Has a fling with Sam. |
1. Maryann is a big character in the series because if she wasn't the series would have to be different.
2. She has a "job" to maker her more mysterious and it's a bigger surprise when you find out she's the Maenad.
3. No idea why they changed this one. Just gonna have to wait and see. |
Character Stan |
1. Godric's Lieutenant
2. Leads vampire mob to avenge Godric and "teach" the humans a lesson.
3. Killed in FOTS's suicide bombing attack.
4. Appearance is that of a cowboy. |
1. Sheriff of Area 9 and enlists the services of Sookie via Eric to interview those humans among his group to find out who abducted Godric.
2. No mob is formed because Sookie escapes the Church during day-light hours.
3. There is indeed a bomb that explodes, but Sookie 'hears' whats about to happen and warns the group in time to eliminate the number of casualties. Even she notes that yelling "hit the floor!" makes all the vamps do just that, without hesitation.
4. Stan is described as a Nerd with glasses. Think Chester from Linkin Park. |
1. I suppose a bit of role re-arranging was needed to make the urgency of a missing nest member more plot worthy. Had Godric simply been a regular vampire, it wouldn't have been a necessary plot line, therefore Stan's role is reduced to support.
2. Perhaps Godric thwarting Stan's and his group's actions was to show the kind of character traits that make it plausible for Sookie to be crying during Godric's death later.
3. Not sure why Stan was eliminated. This would be another prime example of having a telepath in the room not actually being a telepath, which was a complain during Season One. Sookie still has yet to refine what comes into her head in the books. She should have heard Kyle the moment he stepped out of the van.
4. When in Rome becomes when in Texas I guess. Heaven forbid the local Vamps resemble something other than the area's stereo-typical resident. In the books he is anything but. |
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