I’ll be the first to admit it, I was skeptical when I first watching Vampire Diaries. It seemed a little too much teen angst and not enough compelling characters for me to stick with it. Apparently the series developer, Kevin Williamson, thought so too. He had little interest at first because he thought it sounded too similar to other vampire stories, but after reading the books he said: “I began to realize that it was a story about a small town, about that town’s underbelly and about what lurks under the surface.” I have to agree. I too was surprised at how much it brought the plot twists and surprises. Though you may be tempted to call it a Twilight spin off — don’t. The books started back in 1991 (even before Buffy). That said, romance abounds, but the show still manages to bring the scary.
One of the scenes that had me me sppoked was early on when Damon (played by the ever adorable Ian Somerhalder who you may know as Boone on Lost) snaps the neck of a victim after nursing her back to health. It’s done so casually it made my eyes pop. [To save the spoilers I won’t say who dies].
The killer scene happens in the sixth episode Lost Girls (only well-establishing in my mind the idea that you should give a TV series at least 6 episodes before you stop watching). Other great scenes include several great death scenes, some fantastic chase/hunt scenes and more that I don’t want to spoil.
Rewatching the series on DVD has only made me enjoy the show more. The DVDs, set to be released on the 31st, have over 8 hours of special features including a free download of the audio book of The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening. Another thing I LOVED about the DVDs is that the package listing of each episode contained warnings not to listen to the commentary because of season spoilers! Finally, someone is thinking.
Make sure you pre-order your copy and enjoy the vampy goodness this series has before Season 2 starts this fall!
I have been hired by Warner Bros WBWord division to raise awareness for The Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season – which arrives on Blu-ray/DVD on August 31. Pre-order your copy, and receive free digital extras at http://bit.ly/9LSaVp
I was hesitant to watch this show as well but I kept hearing good things from people I trusted so I gave it a try And really enjoyed it!
Yay! Good to hear, Kevin! It was no Buffy of course, but I thought it was really entertaining and enjoyable.