Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

The True Blood panel at this year’s ComicCon gave away certain hints about the direction of both season 4 and 5 of the hit HBO vampire show.

As suggested in our review of episode three, it does seem as Bill has comitted incest, having sex with his own great-great-great-great grandaughter. Stephen Moyer noted that, “Bill should really have done some more research.”

Alan Ball suggested that Arlene’s baby itself isn’t evil – but that her doll is. “We will find out what it is about that doll that makes it creepy,” he said. “And it’s something very creepy when you find out what it is.” He also hinted that although Claudette was drained dry by Eric in episode two this season, she may not be gone for good. “If you’ve read the books, you know fairies are born in litters and they’re identical,” he said.

Further supernaturals will be encountered both this season and next. “I do believe that we will see spirits without bodies,” Ball said. “Whether you want to call them ghosts or not. We are seeing glimpses of a particular kind of brujo-based freakish creature-slash-demon-slash-something that we’ll see a lot more of this year. And we’re starting storylines for Season 5 and we’re researching new kinds of supernatural creatures you may not have seen before.”

Season 5 may also reveal how Eric turned Pam, and that Hooligans, the strip club featured in the novels, may appear in some form: “It may not have the same name, but there will be a business venture that involves people of both sexes taking their clothes off for some kind of supernatural purpose in Season 5.”

Ball also confirmed that the TV series will deviate further and further from Charlaine Harris’s original Sookie Stackhouse novels the longer it goes on.