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into a Chevy van for days accompanied by Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, and Waylon Jennings. “Every time I hear the Grand Ole Opry, I remember those road trips, or music playing from my uncle’s house while rain poured down, the steam coming up from the hills. I hear this in True Blood. There’s a different music vibe in the South.” It was Robinson’s email that bolstered me on to do research into each of the episode’s title songs, her love of music urging me to find the next neat fact, or something unique to connect meaning between the song and the show’s themes. “True Blood’s music takes me back to memories of super hot humid Kentucky summers . . . Music sets the theme. Someone whose soundtrack is Slayer is definitely in a different place than that of Loretta Lynn.” (If you’re curious, visit www.RebeccaWilcott.com to see the song list Robinson created for her own personalized True Blood soundtrack.)

If you’re reading this and still trying to wrap your head around why a community would spend so much time online, imagine the online True Blood fan community as a big bar. Every time you sign into a chat room, or log in to Twitter, it’s like you’ve pulled up a stool with no plans for the night and it’s only a matter of time before someone like Andy Swist shows up and you realize you just haven’t seen everything. Swist (of the aforementioned “Blood Work” vlog) is the mastermind behind the True Blood dress-up paper dolls found at www.AndySwist.com. The dolls each come with more than one change of clothing and props, their default wardrobe designed to show off their fine (or imagined) physiques.

Swist’s clients include DC Comics, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, and UGG, among others. When asked to explain the genesis of his True Blood character dress-up paper dolls, he replies, “[B]eyond their physical appeal, I love how everyone dresses. It’s not surprising to find bedazzled baby tees, Viking battle gear, high fashion couture, and civil war uniforms in a single episode!” Swist launched an online contest to promote the dolls and asked people to take pictures of them in the workplace. He also surfed the internet to find his dolls had been downloaded to places as far-reaching as Brazil and Hungary. The success of the dolls lies, in part, in their disposability. Feasibly, people can keep downloading them and dressing them up in new and exciting ways, which taps into the playful fantasy of online roleplaying. If you can’t be Eric, you can at least prop him up on your nightstand.

Does Swist find his dolls particularly camp? “I find the overt sexuality of the vampires in True Blood to be a prime source of camp. A vampire’s fangs protrude when aroused, their blood makes humans robust and sexual, and sex with a vampire is said to be the best in the world. Drawing them in their underwear as dolls just makes them more ridiculous and fun.” But if he were to unplug from the online world and escape to nothing more than a pad and paper, what would his perfect vampire look like? “Vampire Bill’s bedroom eyes and brooding good looks,” he starts. “Eric Northman’s fashionable and sensible slicked hairdo; Drake’s formidable physique from Blade: Trinity; a pair of sexy red briefs based on Vampirella’s costume; Nosferatu’s menacing and long, claw-like fingers are a must (so you know he’s dangerous); and Morbius, the living vampire’s bat-like wings stretching from elbow to waist because they are so cool. Yup, I think that would do nicely.”

Who do I want to play with today? Viking Eric? Sporty Eric? Racerback Eric? Maybe . . . Undies Eric! (Andy Swist)

Ooh, child! Dress Lafayette up in your love! Find more True Blood paper dolls at www.AndySwist.com. (Andy Swist)

Season 2

June–September 2009

2.01 ~ Nothing But the Blood

Original air date: June 14, 2009; Written by: Alexander Woo; Directed by: Daniel Minahan

Maryann [to Tara]: If you took care of yourself for once, instead of protecting [Lettie Mae], she’d still be your mother, and you’d just be happier.

Sookie learns that Bill’s been keeping secrets. Bon Temps hasn’t seen