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Vampires have been around for centuries in folklore and legend, and thanks to the fertile imaginations of people like Bram Stoker, Anne Rice, and most recently, Stephenie Meyer and her wildly popular Twilight novels, these fearsome fanged creatures of the night have remained a mainstay of popular fiction.

But what if vampires were real — living next door to us, shopping at Kroger, hanging out at the local tavern? What kind of world would that be?

It might be a lot like the one imagined by Alan Ball, creator of an intriguing new HBO series called True Blood, which premieres tonight at 9 on the premium cable channel. The series is set in the not-too-distant future, when vampires have come out of the coffin, so to speak, and can walk freely — if not yet comfortably — among their living counterparts.

The vamps are able to emerge into mainstream society thanks to the invention of a new mass-produced, synthetic blood product called Tru Blood – kind of a supercharged vitamin water for vampires — that’s become available at stores and restaurants everywhere. The bottled product (its catchy marketing slogan: “All flavor, no bite”) satisfies vampires’ nutritional requirements, thus eliminating their need to nibble on the necks of humans for their sustenance. (Of course, that’s not to say that some frisky vamps don’t want to keep doing it anyway, just for the fun of it.)

Having joined the ranks of society, it doesn’t take the vampires long to discover that they’ve suddenly become that society’s newest oppressed minority, facing the same types of discrimination and bigotry previously encountered at various times by women, racial minorities, and gays. The vampires’ plight, and their struggle for assimilation and equal rights, is almost too obvious a metaphor, but it manages to get the point across.

Good times in Bon Temps?

Most of the show’s action takes place in a tiny Louisiana town called Bon Temps (that’s “good time” in French, but this backwoods burg seems like anything but a good time). The main character is Sookie Stackhouse, a young waitress at the local roadhouse who’s pretty and smart, but has always been something of an outsider.

That’s because she’s telepathic, and her ability to “hear” the thoughts of those around her complicates her life and makes having an intimate relationship nearly impossible. The locals think she’s a little nuts.

Sookie’s life suddenly gets a lot more interesting when the bar where she works receives its first visit from a vampire.

He’s a quiet, mysterious, and oh-so-sexy-looking guy who looks like he just slithered out of a Giorgio Armani ad. But what’s most appealing about him to Sookie is that she can’t hear a single thing coming out of his head. The silence is an immense relief to her.

Inevitably, the two outcasts are drawn to each other, and it’s the blossoming of their bizarre but tender relationship that forms the foundation of the series.

Vampire activists

Sookie is played with an appealing mix of sweetness and feistiness by 26-year-old Anna Paquin, an Oscar winner at age 11 for her role in The Piano who more recently portrayed the mutant character Rogue in the X-Men movie series. Her 173-year-old vampire beau is British actor Stephen Moyer (The Starter Wife, 88 Minutes), who looks a little bit like Heath Ledger and manages to exude courtly Southern charm.

As far out as the show’s premise might be, there are plenty of mundane touches that make it seem like it could almost be real. Well-groomed and articulate vampire activists appear on TV talk shows to debate a proposed Vampire Rights Amendment, with the opposing view argued by fundamentalist preachers, who condemn vamps as creatures of Satan.

A supermarket tabloid’s headline reads: “Angelina adopts vampire baby” and groupies known as “fangbangers” hope for hookups with vamps because of their supposed sexual prowess. “Vampire drainers” make vampire blood an illicit commodity on the black market, where it’s seen as a powerful combination of Ecstasy and Viagra.

For the most part, the writing in the series is snappy, smart, and well-grounded. When the handsome vampire finally gets around to telling Sookie his name, it turns out it’s nothing remotely Gothic or Bela Lugosi-like. His name is Bill.

That cracks Sookie up.

“Bill?!” she chortles. “I thought it might be Antoine or Basil or, like, Langford maybe … but Bill? Vampire Bill?” she hoots again, as Bill stands there looking embarrassed.

Ball, the series’ creator, is best known for writing the screenplay for the Oscar-winning movie American Beauty, and for creating the acclaimed HBO drama series Six Feet Under. In a press release, Ball said he was looking to do a new series for HBO because Six Feet Under was “such a great experience.”

“TV, especially with the advent of the premium cable channels, is in many ways a much better place to work as a writer than movies,” he said. “In a movie, you’ve got to pack it all into two hours… [With TV] you can stay with characters over a long period of time and really see the subtle and interesting changes that life visits on a person.”

The 12-episode series was adapted by Ball from the bestselling series of books called Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. “One of the things I love about Charlaine’s books is the way she treats the supernatural world so matter-of-factly,” Ball said in the release.

Adults-only elements

That offhand approach is reflected in the production values of True Blood, which is noticeably lacking in special effects and spooky music. That’s no accident, Ball explained.

“I’m trying to avoid all the vampire cliches,” he said.

The only drawback I could see to minimizing the series’ special effects was its silly depiction of vampire teeth. The fangs sported by Bill and the other vamps on the show are of the flip-down variety — like the type of sunglasses that baseball players wear — and when they suddenly drop into place during moments of anger or passion, it’s hard not to laugh.

As we’ve come to expect from nearly any series on HBO, True Blood includes more than its share of graphic sex, violence, and rough language. That will probably turn off some viewers, but like The Sopranos and Sex and the City before it, True Blood’s substance, subtlety, and depth far outweigh its adults-only elements for many.

Ball says that even though True Blood is set in a make-believe world, viewers may still learn something from it about their own world.

“We grow up with notions of good and evil, and the belief that good will always triumph, but if you take a look at the world around you, that’s obviously not the case,” he said.

“[True Blood] is a story you’ve never seen before and a world you’ve never seen before. It’s fun. It’s a show I would watch.”

You know what? I agree. True Blood is a neat mixture of mystery, suspense, and romance, with just a dash of black humor thrown in. But for the real verdict, we’ll have to wait a few weeks to see whether this quirky morality play from HBO will ultimately give audiences enough to really sink their teeth into.

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