Intoxicating atmosphere keeps 'Blood' flowing

And "True Blood," back Sunday at 9 p.m. for a second season, is more than equal to this spectacular opener. Alan Ball's series, based on Charlaine Harris's vampire novels, is a transporting look at the paper-thin wall between desire and fear, excitement and terror. Populated by members of the undead, a mind reader, a shape-shifter, and a prickly goddess of hedonism played by the superb Michelle Forbes, the show is really intoxicating, even for viewers who aren't vampire-obsessed. And the season's first four episodes reveal a TV production hitting its peak. OK, here's my big quote: "True Blood" is truly terrific.

What I love about this series is only partly related to its overarching conceit, by which vampires represent gay people coming come out of the "casket" and seeking equality. The symbolism is certainly a plus - it gives the "True Blood" plots a nice nonsupernatural resonance. While Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) continues her love affair with kind vampire Bill (Stephen Moyer) this season, for example, her brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) joins a church built on the hatred of vampires. The Stackhouses are like a family riven by Proposition 8, except for the whole, you know, fang thing.

But the fun of "True Blood" is in what's on the screen, so steeped in bayou atmosphere, heightened melodrama, and offbeat humor. Sookie remains a compelling plucky heroine, undaunted by the violent strangeness of Bill's nighttime world but still holding fast to her moral center. In an amusing twist this season, she and Bill play surrogate parents to Jessica, the teen vampire Bill created last season, and they bicker about how strict to be with her. Played with tart brattiness by Deborah Ann Woll, Jessica is given an emotional center, too, as she learns firsthand the awkwardness and loneliness of eternal life. In one scene, her fangs emerge involuntarily when she's attracted to a boy, and her giggly embarrassment is delightful.