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The Vampire Diaries: Premiere

I think I'm officially too old for this show.

The resemblance to Twilight was just overwhelming; it was practically the same story, except on the east coast instead of the west coast. I've been told that Vampire Diaries was written before Twilight (in which case, shame on you Stephenie Meyer), but does it matter who ripped off whom? We've still seen this story of incredibly pretty zitless pseudo teens doing vampire drama before, haven't we?

To be fair, it's difficult to tell how good a show will be from its pilot (Buffy and Supernatural come to mind), and the leads had charm and some minimalist acting ability. And I completely perked up when Ian Somerhalder, the older, badder vampire brother, arrived. But I was still mostly doing that painful yawning that brings tears to your eyes. I think I've been spoiled by the complexity, sexiness and adult charm that is True Blood. Vampire Diaries just felt like Muppet Babies with fangs.

VD (what an unfortunate acronym) has been paired with Supernatural on the theory that teenage girls who watch VD will stick around to watch two hot young guys fighting evil. I, of course, stuck around, since Supernatural is my current favorite show. I honestly don't think they flowed together at all, though. VD is a bit of silly movie fog on a nice night; Supernatural is hurricane Katrina. The contrast is, shall we say, marked.

For Ian Somerhalder's sake, and as a lead-in for my favorite show, I hope VD picks up and takes off. But the pilot didn't give me a lot of hope.

[Note from a few seasons later: The Vampire Diaries got really good, and it's one of my favorite shows. Who knew.]
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

20 comments:

  1. Yeah, I spent the whole episode waiting for Ian Somerhalder to show up, since I still miss Boone on Lost (and he's easy on the eyes). But yes, the main couple were just so boring. And yeah, there are way too many similarities between this and Twilight (gag).

    When the bad brother finally showed up in the last 20 minutes of the episode, things finally got somewhat interesting. Considering that this is a pilot, and the most intriguing character on the show didn't show up until late into it, I've decided I'll try another episode or two. At least the conflict with him finally made the 'good' brother more interesting. Maybe with Ian Somerhalder's character around throughout the entire episode it will make things better. But if that doesn't happen, there are plenty of other things to watch, and I'll give this one a pass.

    In the meantime though, I think I need to see that Supernatural premiere again this weekend. So glad the boys are back!!

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  2. Ouch, it was incredibly schmaltzy wasn't it. I swear, if your average american town has that many goodlooking people in, I'm moving to the US. Then again, if they all have well trained, indestructable crows and ridiculous dry icey fog, I'll have to rethink.

    I think I might just read your reviews of the next few eps before I decide whether to keep on watching Billie. I think you summed it up pretty well. Even if I do keep watching, I can imagine myself missing True Blood quite alot this autumn.

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  3. This pilot only reminded me of how much I miss Buffy.
    Darn, why do I have to compare every new series I start watching to Buffy? Of course I'll be disappointed.

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  4. Bah, it was a bit meeeh... Felt too old as well.
    But it's the only varmpire show on telly this fall afaik, so I guess I'll watch a few more eps *sigh*

    Hope it improves :)

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  5. I'm not sure I'll be able to sit through another episode, much less review it. Well, maybe.

    I just saw an article on the Sci-Fi Wire that the stars of the show got arrested for flashing. If the producers are anything like the ones on Lost, heads will roll.

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  6. Sigh. This sounds crap. I won't be watching. Though I wish Ian all the best of course. He didn't do the flashing did he?
    Anna

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  7. No, it wasn't Ian; it was five young women, including the star of the series, and a cameraman. Ian worked on Lost. He probably wouldn't take a chance like that. :)

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  8. Ah, I imagine that would teach him to be extra careful.
    Anna

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  9. I came into not even knowing who was in this new show. When Ian Somerhalder came on the screen I kept wondering where I knew him from but I couldn't place him. Only after reading some reviews did I learn it was BOONE!! Has anyone else noticed how different he looks? Wow. I miss how he looked on Lost.

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  10. He looks much, much better in the promos for the rest of the episodes. I think the "Pilot" really was the pilot (I'm amazed that the CW didn't ask them to re-do it to make it more of a first episode with an actual plot) and was filmed way in advance of the proper episodes that follow.

    "Cute turns to stupid in an instant." The scariest thing on this show was the mean, mean history teacher. And who can cover the Civil War in two days? He must have evil powers.

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  11. "Muppet Babies with fangs" - excellent description! I completely agree with everything you said, and I came to the same conclusion, that I'm too old for this show.

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  12. Well I am too old for the entire network not to mention the wrong sex. Not to rain on everyones Supernatural parade but unless you are a 14 year old girl (or able to channel a 14 year old girl) the CW might as well be the Shopping Network but with nothing to sell. And this is from someone who thinks Buffy is the best show ever and also enjoyed Gilmore Girls so it's not like I only like macho.

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  13. I DVR'd the second episode and got through ten minutes of it before I started getting antzy and checking my email. And then I turned it off. Maybe I'm not giving it a fair shake, but I just couldn't make myself watch the whole episode, Boone or no Boone. Could someone with more stamina let me know if it gets better?

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  14. I made it 15 minutes before I started exhibiting the same symptoms.

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  15. Hi Billie

    I am a big big big fan of your blog and cant believe i have never commented before.

    Anyway i miss Buffy and Veronica Mars and for me they were the best shows ever however if you compare every show to them you will be severely dissapointed. My advice to everyone is lower your standards and you will enjoy the show.
    As for VD - Billie stick with it - it gets a whole lot of fun after a few episodes (kind of like Dollhouse season 1 - after episode 5/6 it kicks into gear).

    Each to their own though
    :)

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  16. Good advice, KaZ. In truth, I really don't expect everything to be as good as Buffy, Supernatural, or Lost. And I've been giving VD another try. It did get better.

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  17. Hi Bllie,

    Long time reader, rare poster. Just another vote for VD (horrible nick name, how about V Diaries?). At first I hated it, thought it was just jumping on the Vampire craze bandwagon. It has turned out to be one of my favorite shows. Nice story progression, interesting arcs, the two male leads are fantastic and have great chemistry. I am a Joss Whedon lover, Buffy/Angel fan, and Supernatural is my favorite show. Well, Lost. Or Dexter. Or True Blood. Battlestar. Ugh. Anyhow, point is, this of course isn't anything as good, but it is getting better, most likely because it has a solid story to follow from the books.

    Just a few cents :-) Thanks for the reviews. I look forward to them.

    Eva

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  18. I thought I'd better post an update to my review of the pilot episode. Josie Kafka is reviewing the series, it's gotten good, and I'm definitely into it. So if you can, hang in through the first few episodes. It's worth it.

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  19. The tv show is based on a book series and to understand the tv series I think you still have to read the book series. I did a couple years ago, loved the book series and I love the tv series despite the many differences.Ian was born to play Damon I love the other characters as well. Again there are differences,but I can deal with it. This is nothing like Twilight! Elena is stronger then Bella she can hold her own and is not an EMO

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