DVD: True Blood: Season Two, For retail (HBO)

Series one of this befanged soap was delectable but for its sluggish narrative and the screentime afforded to dull, nominal hero Bill Compton.

No such problems here: cramming in foes from evangelicals to pagan deities, the whole thing matches the giddy pace of a season finale, while Alexander Skarsgard proves a wonderfully deadpan yin to Bill's dead-eyed yang in his beefed-up role as alpha vamp Erik. If this isn't HBO's finest hour, then it's certainly their most fun.