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Welcome to How to Spend $20, BOP's look at the latest DVDs to hit stores nationwide. This week: Anna Paquin drinks some blood, the town of Dillon continues its love affair with football, and Kevin James rides a Segway.

Pick of the Week

For people who think Anna Paquin makes a good blonde: True Blood: The Complete First Season

Who knew HBO still had it? Following the exits of its top series (Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, The Sopranos) the pay cabler took a gamble on Alan Ball's True Blood – which ultimately added life to the network's original programming slate, even if it's a show about the undead. Including repeat and on-demand viewings, the surprise hit is HBO's most-watched show since The Sopranos and Sex.

Marking fresh territory for a man like Ball (who typically opts for more serious fare – namely American Beauty and SFU), True Blood is campy and at times – dare I say it – a bit hokey. But it's addicting nonetheless.





What does it for me, at least, is Ball's creative influence on the show, which is based on a book series by Charlaine Harris. Instead of directly adapting Harris' story for the small screen, Ball adds deeper levels of meaning. Even more, the show managed to ends its freshman run in a place much greater than where it began.

I'm eager to see where things go in season two. It kicks off June 14th.

Disc includes: In Focus: Vampires in America mocumentary, Vampire Service Ads, Tru Blood Beverage Ads, Public Service Announcements, audio commentary

For people who are fans of Kyle Chandler's hair on Facebook: Friday Night Lights - The Third Season

Readers who have been faithfully following BOP will know that we've been huge fans of this show from the very beginning. Sure, on the surface it might appear to be just a high school drama, but it goes much, much further than that. It's really a show that revolves around the heartbeat of a small town in West Texas, and that heartbeat is football. We have the actual players on the team, who have their own trials, tribulations and triumphs, but we also get close to Coach Taylor and his wife Tammy, portrayed by Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton. These two are really the backbone of the show, and everything ultimately flows from their relationship with each other and with the students at Dillon High School.

Along with Chandler and Britton, the other members of the cast are consistently amazing considering we're looking at a group of unknown actors with little experience. Taylor Kitsch has been able to parlay his success on the show to the biggest role, as he just played Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He's much better suited for Friday Night Lights, though. Portraying bad boy Tim Riggins, he embodies that character that everyone knew and loved/hated in high school. Other great acting turns come from Zach Gilford as QB Matt Saracen, Adrianne Palicki as Tyra Collette, Jesse Plemons as Landry Clarke, Gaius Charles as Smash Williams and Scott Porter as former QB Jason Street.

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