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?