True Blood as classed up vampire pr0n?

Liz Kelly of the Washington Post handles their Celebritology column.  Pretty open to popular culture, wouldn't you think? 

Here's an excerpt from yesterday's Celebritology chat:
 

Seattle: Wash.:  Liz, Are you a fan of True Blood?  I was unsure in the beginning, but I've come around to completely love it... though if they really want it to be a "mystery"  romance show there's a lot more they could be doing to make the fang-banger killer storyline more thrilling.  And while Bill and Sookie are great, but I think Layfayette is my favorite by far.  Kind of sad there are only two episodes left!

Um, and to keep this Celeb-life related, I hear Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin are dating for real -- got any dish on that?

Liz Kelly:  I am totally sold on "True Blood."  Love it, though it's totally soft vampire pr0n.  I guess the Alan Ball touch does something to class it up a little.

And I'm convinced the killer is the Iraqi vet guy.  And I mean vet as in veteran, not Andy doctor.
 

Okay.  Yes, there is way, way more sex in "True Blood" than in the Sookie Stackhouse books.  [Hello, have neither of these chatters read the books upon which the show is based?]  But the idea that Alan Ball is "classing up" the series blows my mind, since what he's really doing (IMO) is sexing it up at the expense of the characters and plot -- frankly, I find the characters in the tv show a lot less sympathetic than they are presented in the novels.  How is the uber-sexualization of the plot "classing it up"?

What does that mean anyway, classing up?