• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Location, Location, Location: The gas station where Jason and Amy stop before going back to his place to do V is Powell’s Grocery in Doyline, Louisiana, just east of Shreveport, Louisiana. The lake on which Andy and Terry are fishing when they see Sam streak through the woods is located in Doyline, Louisiana. It’s Lake Bistineau in the Lake Bistineau State Park. Interestingly, Sam Trammell’s father’s family is from Doyline. “I have 13 relatives buried in the cemetery . . . I moved to West Virginia, New York, went to school in Rhode Island, California, and here I am shooting a scene for an HBO series on this land I used to go to as a kid. It was so circular.”

Encore: When Sam tries to kick Malcolm, Diane, and Liam out of Merlotte’s, we hear “Burning House of Love,” performed by The Knitters. The Knitters formed in 1982, made up of a true patchwork of musicians from other bands: X, The Blasters, and The Red Devils. Their first album consisted mainly of traditional and cover songs, leaning heavily on folk and rockabilly influences. Over 20 years later, in 2005, the group reformed to release The Modern Sounds of The Knitters, including the track “Burning House of Love.” John Doe is probably the most recognizable member of the band, having also acted in such films and television series as Roswell, Road House, Boogie Nights, The Good Girl, Gypsy 83, and Pure Country. (Of additional interest, in The Bodyguard, it’s Doe’s version of Whitney Houston’s massive hit “I Will Always Love You” that plays on the jukebox in the scene in which Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston dance. It’s extremely rare to find now.) “Burning House of Love” is barely audible in the scene, lost under bar noise and the thoughts of its patrons. Regardless, it’s right there under our noses, telling us that a house will be burned down in revenge. It’s a sneaky move as well as a nod to how hopeless Bill and Sookie are when she can’t hear his thoughts; his multiple attempts to send her a message that he’s not leaving with Malcolm and his crew of his own volition but is trying to protect Sookie, are completely lost on her.

Powell’s Gas Station where Jason and Amy make small talk before going back to his place to get existential. (Jen Bark)

Tribute: Adina Porter (Lettie Mae Thornton)

“Phenomenal . . . I love working with [Adina]. She brings out the best in me. I always have to be on top of my game . . . she’s amazing.”

— Rutina Wesley

Adina Porter is my personal pick for the True Blood cast member who deserves more media love. Her portrayal of Lettie Mae Thornton, Tara’s alcoholic, Bible-beating mother, is so bittersweet, so caustic, so absolutely gut-wrenching that I’ve imagined hosting an fictional intervention.

Of course, it’s the pairing of Porter and Rutina Wesley that makes the most complicated mother-daughter relationship since Terms of Endearment one of the most electric pairings on television today. I’m one to cover my eyes during scary movies, and when these two go at it, it brings out the same reaction in me. And when Lettie Mae offers us a glimpse of recovery, like she might just get out alive . . . child, she’s so wounded I want to put her in my pocket and feed her back to health with an eyedropper.

Adina Porter, I give you 10 hallelujahs out of 10!

Where you’ve seen Adina Porter: Law & Order, Gia, Judging Amy, The Fluffer, Crossing Jordan, American Dreams, Lackawanna Blues, ER, Jack & Bobby, CSI: NY, Prison Break, Without a Trace, Katrina, House, M.D., Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Cold Case, CSI

As you can see from this picture of the beautiful Adina Porter, she undergoes quite a transformation to become Lettie Mae. (KH1/Keystone Photos)

1.08 ~ The Fourth Man in the Fire

Original air date: October 26, 2008; Written by: Alexander Woo; Directed by: Michael Lehmann

Sookie: I had this crazy dream this morning. We were sitting, eating breakfast, and all of a sudden the sunlight set you on fire.