True Blood blew it, and Mad Men is headed down the same path

The season finale of HBO's True Blood was as disappointing as the Baltimore Orioles. The once fresh and captivating show managed to mess up it's extremely successful formula (vampires + violence + sex + subtle political allegory = gold) and branched off into the realm of Greek myth, which, as it turns out, is far less plausible and infinitely more boring than the existence of vampires. That type of supernatural bullshit is best reserved for 5th or 6th season when the writers are so burnt out they turn to drugs for inspiration.

Anyways, the real trouble on True Blood began midway through the second season when the writers ended the wildly entertaining story arc involving the indoctrination of Jason Stackhouse by the Fellowship of the Sun. This story line had it all, and the introduction of Goderich gave the show a sense of history as the hierarchy of vampire society was revealed. And let's not forget how delightful it was to watch the writers expose the hypocrisy and weaknesses of the Evangelical community who were more concerned with hate than the all-powerful awesomeness of Jesus Christ's message of love and brotherhood. At least that's what I think the New Testament was all about.

The parallels between the bigotry towards vampires, the 20th century oppression of blacks and the modern day persecution of homosexuals gave the show its edge that even all the vampire sex in the world couldn't provide. On the other hand, the political and social message that can be drawn for the Marryann Forrester storyline is that while Dionysian blood orgies may seem fun at first, eventually someone is going to get their heart cut out with a dagger.

If the True Blood writers have any sense, the third season should refocus on the issues surrounding vampire/human interactions and the social ramifications of a mixed society. Oh, and there should still be lots of violence and tons of vampire sex.

As for Mad Men, the once promising show has managed in 3 seasons to do what The Sopranos did in 4: become excruciatingly boring. The Sopranos delivered 3 top notch seasons of Mafia intrigue before the show shifted focus onto the inner workings of Tony and Carmella's marriage in Season 4. This proved to be a big mistake. Although Edie Falco and James Gandolfini's superb talent as actors made season 4 watchable, it was far from the engrossing drama that a depiction of life in the Mafia once provided.

It now looks like Mad Men is about to suffer the same fate as the Draper's home life has taken precedent over the exciting world of Madison Avenue business. Once again, if the writers of Mad Men had any sense, they'll hopefully limit the Ossining New York story lines and get back to Manhattan. Call me cold, but I find people quarrelling over accounts and layout much more interesting than bickering about what's for dinner. I can do that at home.

None of this really matters however, because on Sunday September 20th, HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm returns, and one good old-fashioned Larry stare is better than all of the rest of TV combined.

Pretty, pretty, pretty good.

That concludes my first ever rant about television. Good night.