In a world where Twilight and its ilk rule both the bookstands and the cinema with its saccharine vampire teen romance and HBO's True Blood is slowly gaining traction with its violent and passionate vampire drama for adults, you'd think there would be little room in the market for another human girl meets vampire boy story. And you would probably be right. And that's a little unfortunate. Just a little, mind you. CW's new show The Vampire Diaries walks the fine line between the two: teen romance with a little violence thrown in.
Elena was a typical high school girl from Mystic Falls, VA, until she became the sole survivor of a car accident that claimed the lives of both of her parents. Now it's the first day of the new school year and she's still dealing with the tragedy and all of the people who keep reminding her of it. Enter Stefan. Dark, brooding, and handsome, he just might be the perfect guy. Oh, except he's a vampire with a past that dates back to the Civil War and he has a brother named Damon, also a vampire, who's been attacking people in the woods near town. Other than that, he might be perfect. Surround them with a host of reasonably interesting high schoolers: the psychic best friend, the stoner brother, the jock ex-boyfriend, and you've completed the recipe for a decent show.
Okay, so it's not exactly ground-breaking. Or is it? Fans of other vampire stories are probably going to find much they recognize here, but a lot of that might be because it's based on a series of books written back in 1991 that has served as the inspiration for many of today's vampire hits. It won't make a difference to viewers though. Due to the way it's being marketed, it's likely going to be perceived as a Twilight ripoff. And in a lot of ways, that's true. Without the existence of those movies, would this show have been developed or green-lit?
The Vampire Diaries largely manages to dodge the twin bullets that plague most things on the CW: poor acting and slick production values. Unfortunately the writing, particularly the excerpts of the titular diaries that are read in voiceover, is a little cheesy at times. The show is created by Kevin Williamson(Scream, Dawson's Creek), so there's hope that it will turn around. If there weren't already similar shows to watch, it's good enough that I'd consider picking this up, but True Blood is better and is plenty for me. If you're the type who can't have too many blood-sucking creeps in your life, go ahead and give it a shot.
2 comments:
I am SO "the type". =) I found it embarassingly entertaining and may have liked it better than True Blood, but only because I'm also a prude, it seems.
I actually tuned in for the 2nd episode and enjoyed it even more than the pilot. The romance aspects are really blah for me, but I'm digging the cheap thrills of the horror stuff. Figures, as I actually like the Scream trilogy.
This just got a full-season extension, so apparently the masses like it, too.
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