Entertainment for the masses

I had to snicker when I read this Variety article about the sky-high ratings enjoyed by the recent episode of HBO's True Blood, which was the first HBO series episode to top 5 million viewers since the Sopranos finale in June of '07.

Now, I haven't seen this episode, but I have started watching the first season of True Blood on DVD, and from what I've heard about the second season, it's hardly surprising that a zillion people tuned in. This is a series with a fetching cast, oodles of violence, and--did I forget to mention?--town-wide orgies. It's got everything an HBO subscriber could hope for, and frankly I'm a little surprised it didn't hit the fifty-million-viewer mark straight out of the gate.