Vampires are called many different names on TV these days — blood-suckers, fangers, etc. — but only a select few are lucky enough to ever be called the B-word: Barbie! Caroline (Candice Accola) and Rebekeh (Claire Holt) have long been labeled Barbies on The Vampire Diaries, while True Blood‘s Pam (Kristin Bauer Van Straten) officially joined their ranks on the show’s Aug. 5 episode.

Pam was dubbed “Vampire Barbie” by a particularly sassed-up Tara (Rutina Wesley), and my face lit up the second I heard her say it.

But which blonde bombshell stands head-and-plastic-shoulders above the rest? Give it some thought, then cast your vote for the ultimate Vampire Barbie!

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

More Vampire News:

1. ‘True Blood’ Recap: Bill Is ‘Chosen’ & Sookie Battles ‘The Obamas’
2. ‘Vampire Diaries’ Scoop: Will Stefan Reject Elena In Season 4?
3. ‘Vampire Diaries’ Season 4: Damon Won’t Take Elena Back Easily

True Blood fans know it’s hardly a secret that Pam (Kristin Bauer Van Straten) hates Sookie (Anna Paquin). In fact, she’s always hated Sookie, and probably always will — but when will she finally do something about it? HollywoodLife.com caught up with Kristin at a party celebrating True Blood‘s Forsaken collection July 26 in NYC, and she assured us Pam is definitely “looking for an opportunity for revenge.”

Revenge for what, you ask? So many things: Pitting Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) against her, making her turn Tara (Rutina Wesley) into a vampire, and of course, zapping her with fairy magic in front of everyone at Fangtasia. (That was one of my favorite encounters this season, to be honest.)

But mostly, Kristin explained, “Pam is still jealous of Sookie.”

These ladies aren’t the only ones stirring up trouble in Bon Temps, though. Kristin also promised the Authority’s anti-human shenanigans — they drank Lilith’s blood last week, sending them into a feeding frenzy — have only just begun.

“Some s**t goes down with the Authority,” Kristin teased. “It gets intense,” adding that we’ll continue to see them “wreak havoc” on humans.

Truebies, which side of the Pam vs. Sookie debate do you stand on? Vote below, then drop me a comment with your thoughts and theories about the rest of season five!

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

More True Blood scoop:

1. ‘True Blood’: Michael McMillian Talks Steve Newlin’s Maker & More Scoop
2. ‘True Blood’ Comic-Con Scoop: Sookie Becomes ‘Human’ In New Trailer
3. ‘True Blood’ Scoop: Giles Matthey Reveals Claude & Sookie’s ‘Connection’

It’s the question on everyone’s mind in Bon Temps: Who dug up Russell Edgington (Denis O’Hare)? Was it Pam (Kristin Bauer Van Straten)? That’s certainly what Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) thinks in this brand-new clip from the fifth season of True Blood. I figured their maker-makee relationship would be strained this season after Pam’s little outburst about Sookie (Anna Paquin) on the finale, but I had no idea things would get this bad!

Watch Eric and Pam’s intense interaction below, then hit up the comments section with your thoughts and theories on season five: Who really dug up Russell?

Click here to view the embedded video.

— Andy Swift

Follow @AndySwift

The Evil Queen (Lana Parrilla) may seem like the biggest, baddest witch on Once Upon A Time, but all that will change when Kristin Bauer Van Straten makes her debut as Maleficent on the Oct. 30 episode. The two ladies are lot like the fairy tale versions of L.C. and Kristin from The Hills – but with even crazier magical powers. “We tried to create this longstanding frenemy thing,” Kristin tells HollywoodLife.com. “There’s something the Queen wants from her, so Maleficent holds that power, and she definitely enjoys their game of cat and mouse.”

Read on for my full interview with Kristin:

>>> Maleficent is an evil icon at this point. What was it like stepping into such a familiar character?

Yeah, literally “stepping in!” I went in for the wardrobe fitting and put this [costume] on and went, “Oh my God. This is incredible. This is so much fun.” I read the scene and I had an immediate spark that came to me, but you never know if that’s correct. But after doing this for 17 years, I usually end up using that — my first impression — and building on it.

>>> Most people know her from the Disney movie, but your Maleficent looks nothing like that. Did you try to make your version as different as possible?

I YouTubed Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty and I sort of had these warning bells going off in my head, like “You have to make it your own. You have to do something separate and new and really build the character.” When you have a human doing it, instead of a cartoon character, it’s going to be very different. And then you have the LOST guys, so there’s always part of you that wants to find a new layer and a new take. But I also didn’t want to lose the essence of her evilness; I remember being very frightened by her when I was seven.

>>> And you think you were able to find Maleficent’s second layer?

I think so! I’ve found that when I see these iconic, evil characters — like Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs – it’s helpful for them to have redeeming qualities. Like, he was really into classical music and had great taste. So that’s what Lana and I tried to do; we tried to create this longstanding frenemy thing. We tried to develop some color, like a chess game, because there’s something the Queen wants from her. So Maleficent holds that power, and she definitely enjoys their game of cat and mouse.

>>> Frenemies, eh? So we can expect a pretty fair amount of drama between the two women?

Definitely. I’m always working with these envirommental and animal causes, so I read a little bit about different chess moves happening on earth between countries, and [our relationship] is a bit like that. It’s politics.

>>> And how does Maleficent stack up against [your 'True Blood' character] Pam?

Pam is very direct, what you see is what you get. And what’s fun about playing her is that she says the first thing that comes into her mind. This is the opposite of that. Maleficent isn’t going to say what’s on her mind. They’re two very different chicks.

>>> Will we see Maleficent in Storybrooke as well, or is she strictly in the Enchanted Forest?

She’s strictly in the fantasy world at the moment, and I can only imagine how she’d end up in Storybrooke.

>>> Maleficent’s episode hasn’t even aired yet, but I already want more. Is there a chance you’ll be back in the future?

I hope so! It’s left open, so we just have to see how it plays out with scheduling and writing. But it’s totally open, and it’d be fun.

— Andy Swift

Follow Andy on Twitter for more Once Upon A Time scoop

And watch a preview of the Oct. 30 episode below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

True Blood‘s fifth season premiere is still more than six months away, but Kristin Bauer Van Straten says the first scripts have already been sent out — and they’re good. ”I just read the script, we got it yesterday,” Kristin told HollywoodLife.com on Oct. 26 while promoting her appearance on the Oct. 30 episode of ABC’s Once Upon A Time. “I saw it come into my e-mail box and it said ‘script 501′ and I literally [gasped.]“

News of the premiere’s title, “Turn, Turn, Turn,” broke that same day — and Kristin says it couldn’t be more appropriate.

“After I read it twice, I noticed the title and thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s perfect!’” she told us. “It’s so brilliant how each story line, from where it left off at the end of last year, hits a major fork in the road that we’re launched into for the first episode of the new season. It’s very exciting.”

Of course, Kristin couldn’t reveal exactly where those forks will take us, but when I asked if there were some major changes in store for Pam, she literally responded with an evil laugh. And it was amazing.

“The reason I read it twice was that it left me wanting more so badly, and my only option was to read it again,” she added. “These writers are really amazing.”

So what big changes are you hoping for in season five? Drop your wish list in the comments section below, and check back tomorrow for my interview with Kristin about her role as Maleficent on this Sunday’s Once Upon A Time!

— Andy Swift

Follow Andy on Twitter for more True Blood scoop

Kristin Bauer Van Straten‘s Pam spent the last season of True Blood under the spell of Bon Temps’ wicked witch Marnie, but she’ll be one casting spells on the Oct. 30 episode of ABC’s Once Upon A Time when she guest stars as the legendary sorceress Maleficent! Entertainment Weekly has the amazing first look at Kristin in action, and I’m totally geeking out.

(Side note: I’m chatting with Miz Van Straten tomorrow (Oct. 26) so tweet me your questions for her, or drop them in the comments section below.)

In the meantime, click here to see both glorious shots of Maleficent in all her glory.

— Andy Swift

Follow Andy on Twitter for more Once Upon A Time

The moment we’ve been waiting for all season — well, really for the past three seasons — finally happened on the July 24 episode of True Blood: Sookie (Anna Paquin) finally kissed Eric (Alexander Skarsgard)! It wasn’t a dream, she wasn’t being glamoured, and no one was in any danger of being killed. She did it because she wanted to do it, and I couldn’t be happier.

But that beautiful scene didn’t go down until the very end of the episode, so let’s backtrack a bit.

King Bill (Stephen Moyer) got super tired of putting up with Marnie’s sh*t, so he had her kidnapped and brought to his little vampire prison. He soon learned that Marnie (Fiona Shaw) had no idea how she cast her spells on Pam (Kristin Bauer Van Straten) and Eric, and that she was actually channeling a powerful Spanish witch from the past. This troubled King Bill, so he called the remaining four Louisiana vampire sheriffs together to figure out a game plan.

Also in need of a new game plan is Sam (Sam Trammell) and Tommy (Marshall Allman.) When his visit with his parents turned sour, Tommy went a little bananas and killed them both. Sam helped him dump the bodies in a nearby swamp, but there’s a much bigger issue at hand now: Now that Tommy, a shifter, killed a member of his family, will he become a “skin walker” like Luna (Janina Gavankar)? And even worse, will that shared ability bond them and pull her away from Sam?

Elsewhere, Hoyt (Jim Parrack) and Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll) brought Jason (Ryan Kwanten) back to Bon Temps safe and sound — but new problems arose when Jessica’s blood started to mess with Jason’s mind. Cue an awkward dream in which Jason and Jessica were having sex, with Hoyt sitting next to them. I’m not going to lie, it was kind of hot for a second — but then Hoyt and Jessica suddenly switched places. And it got hilarious.

Speaking of hilarious things, Pastor Daniels and Tara’s (Rutina Wesley) whore mother went over to Arlene’s (Carrie Preston) house to expel whatever evil was messing with their baby. But apparently that crazy whore’s tambourine shaking was all in vain, because a book of matches suddenly caught on fire at the end of the episode! A lot of people are hating on this story line — I’ve heard the words “stupid” and “ridiculous” used — but I’m loving it. I have a feeling it’ll end up tying in nicely with the witches. Plus, evil or not, that baby is freakin’ adorable.

Meanwhile, Jesus (Kevin Alejandro) and Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis) took a little road trip down to Mexico this week to visit Jesus’ “brujo” uncle. He’s the one who first gave Jesus his powers, and they’re hoping he’ll be able to help them fight off the vampires. Side note: Am I the only who thinks Jesus is getting in a little over his head, picking a fight with Eric? Dude’s totally gonna die this season, I’m calling it now.

OK, now let’s get back to Eric and Sookie! Pam let it slip that Sookie is hiding him, which sent King Bill into a crazy jealous rage. Based on the previews of next week’s episode, we know Bill and Eric are going to have a violent run-in… but I’m just hoping he actually walks in on Sookie and Eric doing the nasty! I’ve always been open about my disdain for Bill — even though Stephen does an incredible job portraying him — and seeing Sookie with Eric would really stick it to him!

What do you guys think? Was Sookie and Eric’s first real kiss everything you hoped it would be? Will Jason try to hook up with Jessica for realz? And when will Tara’s mom finally release her debut album of tambourine classics?

— Andy Swift

Follow Andy on Twitter for more True Blood

Click here to view the embedded video.