Tuesday, January 29, 2013

TV Show Review: The Vampire Diaries



Twilight kind of ruined vampires. Regardless of how you feel about Twilight, the vampire 'craze' that Twilight triggered took a traditional fantasy/folklore character and made him overdone, cheesy and a little lame. Where vampire characters used to be somewhat unique and interesting, urban fantasy books are now a dime a dozen. The second you tell someone you're watching or reading something about vampires you get a groan. Which is too bad because I've always liked folklore and the twist of a vampire character.

That being said, I decided to watch a couple of episodes of The Vampire Diaries over maternity leave out of bordem. No cable, home all day, it happens. I expected it to be pretty bad (it's a CW show after all) and figured I wouldn't last more than a couple episodes. I ended up being pleasantly surprised. I'm not even listing it under guilty pleasures because I legitimately enjoyed it. I should note that the books are atrocious. I liked the show better than True Blood (and this from a Charlaine Harris fan) because it was fun and suspenseful without the excessive nudity/gore (which I honestly believe is for shock value and doesn't add to the story) and sometimes mind boggling plot choices that True Blood often employs.

CW seems to be doing a bit better with some of their shows (Gossip Girl for example) as far as quality goes but they all definitely fall into the CW style.

In general I like the writer's direction/style/layering and constant suspense. I was even pleasantly surprised by the fact that the acting in general isn't terrible. It's entertaining...which is exactly what tv is suppose to be. After a couple seasons it becomes pretty obvious that there is a formula to the episodes that makes it a bit predictable on some levels and the constant additions of new plot twists starts to get a bit ridiculous after season 3. Still...the characters sucked me in and I find myself caring, laughing, and anticipating so I'd call the show a success. Here's hoping it doesn't completely dissolve into crap like most CW shows.

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