The CW bites into this fall season with the highly anticipated Vampire Diaries adding yet another vampire-themed TV show to America’s collection. I have no idea why vampires intrigue us so much, but The Vampire Diaries is grabbing quite a bit of attention already. A remarkable total of 4.91 million viewers tuned in to witness this new show’s pilot episode during its reign of the eight o’clock hour on Thursday nights.
In the show, Stefan Salvatore, a brooding vampire is returning home to see Elena Gilbert, a human who is the spitting image of his former girlfriend, Katherine. Meanwhile, his brother Damon returns home wreaking havoc amongst the small town of Mystic Falls, apparently to fulfill his promise to Stefan of making his life miserable.
Stefan’s love interest, Elena, is in a bit of turmoil herself. She and her brother, Jeremy, are trying to overcome the tragic death of their parents, but Jeremy’s idea of getting over it is with the assistance of drugs. As if that wasn’t enough, Elena also has a psychic best friend predicting doom and evil. Can star-crossed lovers Stefan and Elena overcome the obstacles? Only time will tell.
The Vampire Diaries reveals a lot of familiar faces in the cast. Stefan Salvatore is portrayed by Paul Wesley of Everwood and Army Wives. Also, some will recognize Elena Gilbert as the lovely Nina Dobrev seen in Degrassi. The mischievous rogue, Damon Salvatore, will be played by none other than Lost’s Ian Somerhalder. I guess Boone didn’t really die; he became a vampire. Unfortunately, this talented cast may be overlooked or ignored due to the stereotypical tendencies of The Vampire Diaries.
It’s safe to say that this show has the entire list of fundamental vampire clichés going for it. Brooding? Check. The bad boy? Check. Mysterious fog suddenly rolling across a cemetery? You bet. Empty roads perfect for vampire attacks? Of course. Damon Salvatore even creates fear by following people around as a crow. The Vampire Diaries doesn’t appear to have a very creative storyline, but I’m hoping there’s going to be something that will happen in the next few episodes to set it apart from other vampire shows and movies. Hopefully, producer Kevin Williamson will try to take the vampire clichés and expand them into something more with this show.
As much as Twilight lovers want to describe this show as a Twilight knock-off, it is actually based on a book series by L.J. Smith that was written before Twilight in the 90’s. Before Twilight fanatics go ranting about what a rip-off of Twilight it is, I’d recommend checking out the facts first.
One thing about the show that does keep the audience coming back for more is the sassy dialogue. Whether it’s Stefan sticking it to his history teacher or the comedic pop culture references, the simple conversations between the characters are keeping me and many others entertained and wanting more.
For me, personally, Damon’s character is the best character. My philosophy is that a show is only as good as its villain. I want to know why Damon wants to make Stefan’s life miserable. He seems like a complex character that is just begging to be unraveled. His devilish charm will single-handedly keep me captivated for the whole hour the show is on. I’m also interested in how the show will attract action lovers and other audience members.
However typical The Vampire Diaries may be, it is definitely addicting. It had me scampering off to Borders to read the books because I couldn’t wait another week to find out what would happen next. This show is just beginning and will hopefully blossom into something groundbreaking.