Vampire Diaries TV Show – Episode 1

Have you been watching The Vampire Diaries on FOX? I started watching it when it premiered last month and I have admit, I’m hooked.

No, it’s not True Blood; it doesn’t have an adult theme like True Blood nor is it as bizarre. However, for a network television show, The Vampire Diaries is pretty good.

I’ll be providing mini-reviews of the show at the site for those of you that are watching it.

Let’s start by introducing the main characters:

-Elena: Elena is a smart high school girl who’s fairly popular but really only has one close friend.
-Stefan: Stefan is the new kid in town. Stefan’s smart, strong and good looking. He’s pretty private though and at first keeps to himself.
-Bonnie: Bonnie is Elena’s best friend. We learn that Bonnie’s intuition is usually dead on. I’m guessing we’ll learn more about her hidden “talent” as the season progresses.
-Damon: Damon is Stefan’s older brother. Damon is absolutely gorgeous but he’s also completely deadly. He seems to live to torture and harass Stefan. He’s followed Stefan to Mystic Falls to do just that.

Oh, did I mention that Stefan and Damon are vampires?

There are other people in the show that make up the supporting cast:

-Jeremy: Jeremy is Elena’s younger brother who unfortunately has a drug abuse problem.
-Vicky: Vicky is around Elena’s age, beautiful, and someone who used to “kick it” with Jeremy. She’s moved past Jeremy but sadly, he hasn’t.
-Caroline: a friend of Elena and Bonnie’s, Caroline is pretty competitive (and a bit jealous) when it comes to Elena.

The first episode begins with two teenagers in a car riding down a dark road. Something flies at the car and falls into the road in front of them. The guy gets out of the car to see what happened and is attacked. When his girlfriend gets out of the car to check on him she sees that his throat has been slashed.

The first episode of The Vampire Diaries starts with a bang. We see two teenagers riding together in a car at night. Their car is hit by something that appears to swoop down from the sky. The driver (a guy) gets out to investigate and is attacked by a mysterious creature. The girl gets out and discovers that the guy’s throat is slashed.

Elena begins to notice strange things occurring around her. In particular, a large black crow seems to be following her. And watching her. Additionally, Stefan seems to have a knack for almost appearing out of nowhere.

Elena is understandably curious about Stefan. He seems like a nice enough guy (with a great body by the way). He doesn’t tell her much about his past but we the audience see him lovingly take out an old photo dated from the 1860′s. In the photo we see the picture of someone named Katherine who, wait for it, looks a heck of a lot like Elena!

Back to strange happenings.

Vicky is attacked outside at night during a party. Jeremy the stoner finds her. As everyone tries to comfort the girl Matt, a guy who used to date Elena, notices that Stefan turns away and fades into the night.

And almost walks right in to Damon, who’s watching everything. Damon taunts Stefan about Elena just to get a rise out of him. Unfortunately, it’s clear that Damon is much stronger than his younger brother so we’re not sure how Stefan’s going to get Damon to back off.

I love the way the show blends horror with romance. Some of the attacks are pretty brutal but equally as impressive is the slow and completely natural way in which Elena and Stefan begin their relationship. They’re both a bit shy around one another which is sweet to watch. They’re both extremely likable characters which makes Damon’s plans to cause them harm all the more suspenseful. Damon’s a true villain, like Maryann Forrester from True Blood. They’re both pretty dedicated to causing havoc and will do whatever it takes to achieve their objectives.

The Vampire Diaries TV show is based on a book series by L.J. Smith. These books were written in 1994, well before Twilight was probably even a twinkle in Stephenie Meyer’s eye. Thus far, The Vampire Diaries TV show is focusing on the first book in the series called The Awakening.

I’ve read the first two books in the Vampire Diaries series and I can tell you that they’re extremely well written. I was completely hooked after the first few pages. L.J. Smith has a wonderful way with dialogue and writes just enough about the books settings to let you use your imagination.

Fortunately, the first two books (The Awakening and The Struggle) have been combined into one book. The book is available at Amazon.

You know I wouldn’t steer you wrong. The Vampire Diaries books are really well written, suspenseful and a joy to read. Don’t pay for each book individually (like I did), get them both for a great price. And tell me if I’m right about how great they are!