Review

Sookie decides to accept Bill's proposal but of course he has been kidnapped, the cliff hanger from season two. She contacts the police, Deputy Kenya Jones is on the case but won't file a missing persons report. Sook next turns to Jessica and then finally Eric and Pam. No one knows where the heck Bill is at, though Sookie suspects Sophie-Anne Leclerq (the local Vampire Queen). Eventually Sookie realises Bill placed a psi call to Jessica and the two of them head off to track him down.

Meanwhile Jessica has problems with the decomposing body of the trucker she drained, apparently feeding someone v-juice after they die doesn't resurrect them. Hoyt is pining over Jessica and has moved out of his mother's house and in with Jason. Speaking of which, Jason is traumatised due to having shot Eggs, though Andy has taken the blame for that one. Lafayette is in comfort mode for Tara who is grieving Eggs death, and in a blink of an eye Tara's Mom Lettie Mae Thornton is on hand with the Reverend. Did I mention Arlene is pregnant once again, and Sam is off in Arkansas tracking down his biological family, who seem to be trailer trash? Confused yet? - hell it can only get more complex from here.

Got to say it's always cool to sit down and start writing an episode guide to a new season of True Blood. With season four breathing down our necks, it's time to get cracking and get season three ready for bed before we get completely inundated with vampires. News to hand is True Blood has a finite life with the word being season six might be all she wrote, sad really as the franchise remains one of the best things on television. To further depress people Dexter has also been capped as the Writers run out of ideas for the main character. Damn, hope something cool is coming up.

Bad Blood starts at warp factor nine as Director Daniel Minahan tries to recap what went down last season and starts to move season three along. Clearly Bill being kidnapped is going to take a few episodes to resolve, though he has escaped his captors by episode end. Andy and Jason have their own problems as they try to cover up just how Eggs came to be shoot, Tara is certainly not taking it well and lashes out at both Arlene and Sookie. Also of interest Eric sent a Mr Ruebins to grab Bill, but someone got to Bill first, setting up a conflict pattern between Eric, Sophie-Anne, and the Magister. Seems those in power suspect the v-juice flooding the market might be coming from a certain nightclub, Sophie-Anne needs to keep moving the blood due to problems with the IRS, and Lafayette might find himself in the middle right there. Since Bill knows about Eric and Sophie-Anne's involvement he's a marked vampire. I guess the other major plot arc this season is going to be Sam re-uniting with his parents and a brother he didn't know he had.

Director Minahan kicks off the season with a great episode combing all the elements that make the series a fantastic watch

There's any number of sub plots coming at you, Tara not handling her grief, Arlene being pregnant, Hoyt and Jessica's stormy relationship, and just what does happen to someone who is feed v-juice after they are dead? I've probably missed a few, as season three starts rolling it's complex magic and the plot isn't getting any less denser. There are of course a few things hanging over from the first couple of seasons that may or may not get a run this season or next, Sookie's cousin for example.

One of the cool aspect of Bad Blood is that it introduces werewolves onto the menu, hell yeah! Thus far we know they love them some vamp blood, turn into actual wolves, and hunt in packs. I'm expecting a lot more mythology to go down as the season progresses. Something to keep in mind is "operation werewolf", apparently has some meaning to one of the pack who Sookie and Jessica find dead at the scene of the car wreck Bill caused while escaping.

Bad Blood has a number of good things happening from Director Daniel Minahan's chair. Besides laying down a decent beat, Minahan re-introduces the notion of vampires as predators, Eric, Sophie-Anne, and Bill, all get their fang on at different stages of the episode, ensuring we're not complacent with the fang gang. We still don't know what game Eric and Sophie-Anne are playing, and Bill must crave blood from time to time. One of the highlight scenes for mine was Bill clawing his way out of the ground and looking ready to hunt. Unfortunately the werewolf pack didn't exactly induce any night sweats, should have gone down more The Howling route for mine. Not Minahan's issue there of course and he does the best he can.

By my calculations it took exactly 12:30 for the first set of boobs to be deployed as True Blood continues it's dalliance with the T&A requirement. There's more coming at you later in the episode, and the girls don't miss out with Eric going nude, Jason shirtless, Sam nude, and Bill topless, during the episode. Remarkably Sookie manages to keep the girls corralled while Jessica shows off some lingerie. Guess the heat hasn't gone out of the broth here, hold onto your girdle if they are hitting us up this early in the season.

So yeap, the supernatural elements covered, and T&A to the fore, we're back in Bon Temps you all for another twelve episodes of True Blood goodness. Before I forget the music is worth rocking out to, though given the number of tracks in use I haven't the room to list them all.

As yet not noting the additional Downunder firepower in the season, but early days, will keep an eye out.

I'm already got my True Blood on and am really looking forward to where this season may take us. There are a huge number of directions to cover, I'm hankering down to some serious Bon Temps escapades.