I've been hearing this a lot lately...that True Blood is trying to get the same attention as Twilight and is copying the same ideas. I strongly disagree with that.

First of all, Twilight is not an original story in itself so wtf. Sure it's wildly popular, but vampire stories have been around for a long time and vampire movies are still being made all of the time. Second, wasn't Twilight written for pre-teens? I haven't read them but I remember before they got popular I used to see Twilight in the pre-teen section in all of the book stores. I've also heard from people who have read them that the series is written for that age group, as in it's not a great read if you're an adult. True Blood is clearly for an older audience. Plus, the Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampires) Series was out before the first book of the Twilight series.
Another thing, I highly doubt that Alan Ball wants to be right up there with all of the teenagers. I don't think the creator of True Blood and Six Feet Under cares about Twilight, and the show is not for the same audience.

I know! I'm sick and tired of it too. True Blood is so much better than Twilight. It can't even compare. Leave the Twilight for the kids, and let the adults continue enjoying True Blood!

I totally agree with what you are saying. I have read all the twilight books an they are really good even though written for a teenage reader, (I am 43 ).I thoroughly enjoyed them and would recommend to anyone who likes some old fashioned romance mixed with a bit of risky bad guys.. Trueblood is definately not the same at all. I think it is a fab show and obviously made for the older audience which i like .
I like both for different reasons, it seems its all about the vampires at the moment.lol

I find that some Twilight fans are so devoted that they can't seem to escape that world. Nothing against the books or the fans, but there is so much obsession, everything seems to be about Twilight to them.

Found this little article about female role models though. I have to agree, Sookie is a bit more independent than Bella and would be a great role model for teenage girls, but the content of the books and show is too graphic for youth.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31087539/

They are both very different, very good in their own way (IMO). Twilight is about LOVE, a Romeo & Juliet type love and friendship, while TB is about SEX and violence. You are correct that AB didn't even read Twilight. He picked up the first Sookie book while waiting for a dentist appt, and instantly thought, "This is a TV show." It HELPED that The Twilight Saga had just burst onto the scene and started to bring vamps back, but that's really the only connection between the two. It just so happens that they are out at the exact same time, so naturally, people are going to compare. Twilight is so much different from TB because Stephenie Meyer is Mormon and wrote the books with her religious beliefs in mind, so yes, it is less sexual than TB, but doesn't necessarily mean it's only FOR children. It applies to MANY age groups (I'm 25 and my 29yr old sister and her friends are what turned me into it, and every girlfriend of mine has read it as well). I know a large amount of people older than me who enjoy it, as well as my nieces who are much younger. So if you're into sex and violence and a lot of action, TB is your show and Sookie Stackhouse is your series of choice. If you're more into developing love and learning about character relationships without just sex, then Twilight is for you. I personally love both, and can appreciate them without saying that one director or author copied from another, because simply, it isn't true. Because I love both series, I have a lot to look forward to as far as TV, movies, AND books! Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but saying they're "trying to be like" one another is ridiculous!
That's my rant! :o)

Twilight itself is about obession. It's no wonder people can't get past it. I read the Twilight books and enjoyed them thoroughly, but I honestly think the Sookie Stackhouse books are a much better read. There isn't that obsessive quality to the story. It's easy to see that Sookie has a really good head on her shoulders throughout all of her tumultuous relationships. I completely agree that Sookie is by FAR a better role model. She's worried about paying her bills and taking care of her family and friends more than she is about being with her vampire boyfriend forever. Of course, she's older and can see past her nose to see more of the big picture than Bella (i.e., paying your property taxes rather than ditching a college education in favor of turning into a vampire).

Dead Until Dark (the first book in the series that inspired True Blood) was written and published well BEFORE the first Twiliight book ever came out...
Twilight just got famous faster...

I didn't see Twilight and I haven't read the books, but I know True Blood is certainly for a different audience, many of whom are "true Ball" fans. I have loved everything he's made. Also, I'm pretty sure Twilight doesn't have any hot vampire sex, not to mention orgies!

I have read only the first three Sookie Stackhouse books. Personally, I don't like this type of book in the first person, so I am not compelled to read any more of them. I love what Alan Ball has done for the characters and I'm really happy Lafayette didn't die. True Blood is by far one of the best shows on television.

I've read the Twilight books and it was clearly a fantasy. For starters, what is a group of vampires doing at school in the first place? True Blood is nothing like that. It is for adults. The teenagers can be screwed in the head because they would want to find Edward Cullen. I'm scared that I'll find the Tru Blood drink at the liquor store.

TB is NOT just about sex and violence. Yeah, sex and violence is part of the vampires lives, but the story does not revolve around those. There's much more to it that makes TB really good.

And speaking of developing love, Sookie is no different from Bella. She may be a lot older, but Bill is her first boyfriend and first love. Before Bill came Sookie hardly dated men.

It just depends on how you accept these series (TB and Twilight). I watch TB because of its story is really interesting. I am only 17. And I thought I am weird because I am the only girl in our class that is not a huge fan of Twilight.
I finally convinced myself that Twilight is not my type.

Then I heard of True Blood. I watched the first episode in the internet and I knew I was gonna like it. It was not the nudity or violence that attracted me to watching it. There's so much more to it and I'm instantly hooked.

TB doesn't revolve around sex and violence? Really???? Those are the MAJOR parts of the show that keep people watching. (And Eric of course) ;o)
Sure there are other aspects that make up each story; however, when comparing the two, those are the things that need to be mentioned, because they are MAJOR parts of each story. Bottom line.
Bella and Sookie are completely different, with the exception of finding their first love in the story. Bella has low self-esteem, is willing to give up her whole life just to be with Edward (college, parents, etc), while Sookie is just the opposite. She is demanding and wants to have the most normal life possible, no matter who she is with. Yes the both find their first love, but I don't think there are many similarities beyond that.

hey I don't like Bella. And like I've said I don't like Twilight.

You must have never seen True Blood to say it's like Twilight.
I just see 3 thing alike:
* Vampires;
* Shapeshifters (still with a lot of differences);
* Human x Vampire love.
If they are trying to make a show like Twilight, they are doing a terrible job. ;)

I've never seen or read Twilight. A friend's 12 year old daughter is obsessed with it so I just assumed it was for tweens.

I read the Twilight books and they made me feel 16 again, which was fun for a few minutes. Otherwise it is like foreplay for three books! TB and the Sookie series has more going on and is certainly more "adult." Plus I like traditional, blood sucking vampires. These two series have nothing in common.

I really love both of them and I just theink they are on different levels completly and you cant really compare them. I also love the Anita Blake series by laurell k hamilton. I'm a huge vampie fan and as long as the storyline is well written i enjoy it! I hate how everyone wants to put them up against each other. People just need to enjoy them and stop comparing lol

Twilight could NEVER be like True Blood.
Reasons why:

1) Character development- TB has been consistently praised for great character development, not letting on too much about characters, and letting us fans be intrigued and captivated by the characters who aren't all bad but then again aren't all good either.
Twilight- Umm, there's a girl, whose, like, named Bella, and she, like, likes this guy, like named Edward, and he, like, wants to eat her. Character development...umm, like, wait what is that? I, like, don't get what that, like, is.

2) Storyline- TB has a fresh, original storyline that keeps us guessing
Twilight- I love you! I love you more! Let's kiss but not make out too much cause i might kill you! Oh Edward I love you! Oh Bella I love you! Wait what else is supposed to be going on in this story? I don't know but who cares? I'm hot, you're ADONIS, GOD-LIKE, and HANDSOME, with SMOLDERING eyes. Let's make out some more! Okay! Love all around!

3) I just realized how ridiculous this list is. Twilight SUCKS BALLSACKS. Pun NOT intended. True Blood OWNS. End of list, end of story.

Twilight is about innocence and love, good vs evil. I read the series in a week. I did enjoy it, and my kids (9 and 11) are reading it now. (NOT Breaking Dawn).
Bella is a sympathetic character that you can't help but identify with, and Edward is the Bad Boy that is really a good boy. He just so happens to be a vampire, a "vegetarian" vampire.

True Blood / Southern Vampire Series - Yes they are about love, but really so much more about Sookie finding her own inner strength, and making her own way. Throughout the entire series, Sookie is concerned about taking care of her Grans house, her family and friends. She learns about love, broken hearts, and falling in love again. She always seems to question what is going on, and in the end seems to make the best decision for herself.

As Sookie becomes more independent in the series and on TV, Bella becomes the opposite.

In Twilight, the meaning behind the series is that True Love does conquer all, and everyone will live happily ever after.

In TrueBlood / Southern Vampire Series, true love does not conquer all, and we find that happy endings are more bittersweet and harder to come by.

Though the books by Charlain Harris are 1/3 the size of Twilight, they pack more of a punch and are much harder to put down.

Charlaine Harris actually wrote the first book in 2000 or 2001, so it came out before Twilight..

I don't know why you compare the both.Twiligt is completely different of TB .This is not the same audience .
I appreciate Twilight like we could appreciate Romeo & Juliette and I appreciate TB because it's more dark and politically uncorrect for an american show( according my french vision ^^ ).
I don't understand why people need to classify Twilight as pre-teens books , Did we classified Romeo & Juliette as pre-teens when it was published?

So just enjoy Twilight and TB both separate :)

I simple have no interest in Twilight (nor do I believe I'm suppose to). My twelve year old neice read the books but didn't care much for the movie. I couldn't stomach more than a half hour of it myself...I couldn't get past vampires walking around in the day light...just didn't feel right...

I love the Twilight movies and I love True Blood. I don't think they are the same at all. As far as I know, Bill or Eric do not sparkle. But all the same I love them both, I live for Sundays and cannot wait till November to see "New Moon". :)

Ok i am a thirteen year old boy who loves true blood its amense.
Twilight however is good but they should never be compared

Like others said, True Blood came BEFORE Twilight. if anything, Twilight is trying to be like True Blood and the Sookie Stackhouse series. Both are enjoyable in their own right, but Sookie came well before Bella!....and let us not forget about Buffy and Angel! ;)

Apples and Oranges

I've read both series and I didn't feel any sympathy or identity with Bella. She is a wish fulfillment character (a Mary-Sue) and as such, is completely unrealistic, with no goals other than spending the rest of her life with her "vampire" love.

Sookie is far more engaging; she has faults, goes to work, pays her bills, has aspirations and goals and, yes, she happens to have had relationships with some odd characters including two vampires.

I love the way Charlaine Harris has taken something people might think of as a cool ability to have (telepathy) and turned it on it's ear - it's more of a disability than anything else, and that makes Sookie even more sympathetic and likable.

What does Bella have? Oh yes, she's a klutz and she is OBSESSED with a dead guy. Whoopie-twang.

I don't get the attraction/obsession/nutso behaviour over Twilight. Other than a few similarities as far as mythical characters, they are completely different and aimed at different people (IMO).

While I am big fans of both Twilight and True Blood, didn't the Sookie Stackhouse novels start coming out before the Twilight novels? So if anything, Twilight is copying True Blood. =/

lets see the vamps in twilight go up against bill and eric.

Ok, I believe on Stephenie Meyer's own website, she wrote that she never intended for Twilight to be a teen/pre-teen novel, that her publisher or editior suggested it would do well in that market and that was what it was marketed as. Anyone who read "Breaking Dawn" knows that it may be a little too graphic for pre-teens!

Personally, I love both series and it doesn't matter who came out before who or what audience either one is intended for! I agree, it's apples & oranges! Vampires are just a hot commodity right now! GET OVER IT!

I have absolutly loved vampires for years now and read anything about them i can get my hands on so i love both for different reasons and you cant compare em so yea i agree, people get over it lol