When True Blood premiered in September, 2008, it brought a lot of old and some new to the vampire genre. The show wasn't the first television series of focus on vampires, but as it was on HBO, it could certain qualify as the most daring and graphic. The show stuck closely to traditional vampire lore and it certainly owed a debt to the novels of Anne Rice. (The show is based on a series of novels by Charlaine Harris.) Despite the fact that nitpickers could have a field-day with the show, it was a hit and it's certainly intriguing. The question became, what could the show do to maintain this energy in its second season?

As noted above, a lot of True Blood plays like an amalgam of many other shows and movies, both from the realm of horror and from soap operas. The central aspect of the show no doubt appealed to those who find vampire stories sexy and romantic (ie: women). While many other characters and situations were introduced, the first season of the show explored the evolution of Bill and Sookie's relationship, as we watched them overcome the various obstacles facing them. And the show could have easily stuck to that, but this hour-long (well, 50 minutes) series took the time to let us get to know many of the residents of Bon Temps and this multi-faceted nature helped to separate True Blood from similar products.

The second season of True Blood shows no sign of letting up with this expanding universe. To say that there are a lot of subplots in Season Two would be a wild understatement. Nearly all of the primary characters seems to be carrying their own storyline during part of the season and the show appears to get exhausted jumping from plot to plot. It's difficult to knock a show for biting off more than it chew, but most viewers are going to have at least one story that they're not crazy about and they may become a bit bored waiting for their favorite characters to come around again.

However, my favorite part of this season is how wacky it gets. While Season One never pulled any punches, it still played up the vampire romance angle as much as possible. In other words, it was going for that female audience who finds vamp love hot. The second season starts that way, but then things begin to spiral out of control There's no doubt that this show is on cable as the sex and violence really begin to escalate as the season progresses. The multiple orgies and organ removals really push the envelope and I couldn't help but wonder how the show's original core audience was taking all of this. I truly admire the show for not resting on its laurels and continuing to take chances.

While Season Two has its ups and down, it truly has something to offer for anyone who is a fan of the horror genre...who can also stomach soap operas. While I know that many swoon over the love triangle storyline, I wasn't crazy about it. Still, the show knows how to keep the viewer in suspense and the best way to watch it is on DVD (or Blu-ray) as the cliffhangers are maddening. I can't wait for Season 3.

True Blood: The Complete Second Season gets naked...a lot on DVD courtesy of HBO Home Entertainment. The 5-disc set contains all 12 episodes of Season Two. The shows have been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The image is sharp and clear, showing only a slight amount of grain at times and no defects from the source material. The colors look very good, but the image is slightly dark at times. Artifacting is kept to a minimum and while the detail isn't on par with Blu-ray, it is impressive. The DVD carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo effects are nicely done and there are some good moments where off-screen sounds are well illustrated. The surround sound effects are very good, most notably during crowd scenes or when the vampires zoom away. I only noted moderate subwoofer effects.

The True Blood: The Complete Second Season DVD set contains several extras spread across all of the discs. Disc 1 has an AUDIO COMMENTARY for the episode "Keep This Party Going" from Nelsan Ellis and Director Michael Lehmann. Disc 3 offers a COMMENTARY for "Release Me" from Writer Raelle Tucker and Director Michael Ruscio. Disc 4 has COMMENTARIES on "Timebomb" by Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skargard, and Director John Dahl and also "New World in My View" by Ryan Kwanten and Sam Trammell. There are three COMMENTARIES on Disc 5 -- "Frenzy" with Rutina Wesley, Writer Alan Ball, and Director Daniel Minahan; "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" by Anna Paquin and Michelle Forbes; and another for "Beyond Her Lies Nothin'" with Writer Alexander Woo and Director Michael Cuesta. "Fellowship of the Sun: Reflections of Light" (12 minutes) are four short videos featuring Steve Newlin (Michael McMillan) and his wife, Sarah (Anna Camp), discussing spirituality and vampirism. These look like the sort of thing which would have been made for a website, but they really should have peppered these throughout the show, as they perfectly reflect the fanaticism shown by these two characters. Similarly, "The Vampire Report: Special Edition" (24 minutes) is a fake news program featuring Victoria Davis (Not sure who plays her). This features entertainment news, sports, and crime news, as well as commercials (from the True Blood universe). This is sort of interesting, but it's never funny or all that clever.