I’m a television junkie, which basically means that my DVR has way too many shows to tape on a normal basis, and that I have way too many actors I like. But while I watch many different things, it takes a lot for a show to grip me and get me completely obsessed.
For years, Lost was that vehicle for me. I had other shows I liked, but that was my one big obsession. When it was ending, I found myself wondering what would fill the void, and thankfully, that’s when a little show called THE VAMPIRE DIARIES burst onto airwaves.
I didn’t really know much about the series and hadn’t read the books, but I figured I would give it a shot since it looked interesting. And while it took a few episodes, it wasn’t long before thanks to the actors, the characters and the writing, I was completely and utterly hooked.
As a dedicated fan of the show who has watched since the pilot, I could sit here all day and gush about what I feel makes it a must see. Or about Paul Wesley’s abs and the tendencies to put Michael Trevino in tight white tee-shirts. But I’ll try to keep the fangirling to a minimum and give you some specific reasons for why you should tune in if you’re a new viewer.
I promise I won’t bite…unless, of course, you’re a Salvatore.
Let’s get the superficiality out of the way – it’s hard to look at the Damon and Stefan Salvatore and NOT feel something inside you flutter. Eternally young, incredibly good-looking and often shirtless, their presence alone is enough make the show worth watching, and there’s a reason why most people have a hard time choosing between them.
When we’re first introduced, it’s clear that Damon and Stefan couldn’t be more different. Damon is a cold-blooded killer, someone who has no attachment and sacrifices other people to keep himself from having any kind of emotion. Stefan is a reformed hunter (only snacking on bunnies and other forest creatures, having weaned himself off human blood) who cares for his friends and would do absolutely anything to protect Elena, the human girl he has fallen in love with.
Even though their characters are fundamentally different, it doesn’t mean that they’re one dimensional. Damon may be a cold-blooded killer, but you learn that he has a soft side and that he does care about the people he comes to love. And Stefan may seem like the perfect (albeit undead) boyfriend, but you learn that he once had a streak in his life that rivals some of Damon’s greatest hits.
As the series progresses, more information about their lives are revealed, showing us situations and moments that helped shape them into the people they are in the present day. You fall for the bad boy who just wants to be loved and has been too hurt to open up, and you want to take home the sweet boyfriend who loves his girlfriend so much he would die to protect her. It’s truly a testament to the acting of Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder that they are able to show the audience the different traits of their characters, allowing us to understand so much of their choices and actions.
Another show about vampires? You may be asking yourself how The Vampire Diaries differs from other supernatural shows, and this is where the genius of executive producers Julie Plec and Kevin Williamson come in.
Just as Buffy didn’t just deal with vampires, The Vampire Diaries doesn’t just deal with one supernatural being. There are witches, werewolves, and prophetic curses – not to mention more mythology than you know what to do with. And because all these supernatural elements are intertwined with the grounded realness of teenage drama and human emotion, it’s easy for the audience to forge a connection with the stories and the characters.
While many shows struggle to find footing or worry about how to deliver an action-packed hour of television each week, The Vampire Diaries is one step ahead. Not only do they pull out all the stops in an episode, but the storytelling is so consistent each week that you sometimes can’t imagine they packed everything you watched into one hour of television. Whether it is suspense, humor, dangerous situations, touching moments or even death, each episode keeps you on the edge of your seat. And don’t forget about those cliffhangers – which, as much as I love the writers, should be considered illegal.
Although The Vampire Diaries airs on a network famous for teenage-based shows and is adapted from a collection of young adult books penned by L.J. Smith, the series hardly feels as though it caters to a young audience.
I know many people my age – and older – who watch the show and find it not only intriguing, but smart, witty and suspenseful. The writers do a fabulous job of making the characters believable enough to connect with the audience, but they also write smartly enough so that they don’t underestimate their viewers. Cheeky pop culture references to modern day vampire lore like Anne Rice and Twilight find their way into the dialogue, along with various snappy one-liners that I admittedly end up quoting for days on end just because they’re just that well-written.
I already talked a bit about Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder, but the whole cast of The Vampire Diaries is pretty much perfection – particularly Nina Dobrev, who has the challenge of playing TWO very different roles: the sweet and vulnerable Elena and the vicious, murderous Katherine. The acting on this show is truly top notch, and you tend to forget upon watching that a majority of the cast is only in their mid-20′s, if not a little younger.
Shooting in the middle of Atlanta and spending long hours on set, it’s well-known that most of the actors hang out together on weekends and in between shooting – they’ve even been known to take trips and go to concerts together. There’s a very strong amount of camaraderie between the cast that definitely translates to the screen, and since character relationships are such a huge part of The Vampire Diaries world, it makes these interactions even more believable.
I’m a music junkie as well as a television junkie, but I don’t think I ever realized or appreciated how much work goes into choosing music for television shows until I became obsessed with The Vampire Diaries.
The show has the challenge of finding music that’s relevant to today’s modern world, but not what’s constantly overplayed on the radio. And whether it’s classic oldies, punk rock, indie artists or soft ballads, the music that is used in the show always seems to be the perfect fit, drawing us into the moment and keeping us involved with the story. There’s never a song that feels out of place, and for a show that deals with lots of epic situations and intense emotional scenes, that’s a hard task to accomplish.
Currently on a short hiatus, The Vampire Diaries returns on Thursday, April 7th at 8pm for the last run of episodes before they finish out their second season on May 12th.
The good news (for those of us that won’t be sitting with our hands over our mouths cursing until September) is that summer is the perfect time to catch up and get ready for season 3. Besides, after seeing this season’s sure-to-be-intense cliffhanger, you won’t have to wait too long to see what happens…AND there will probably be some shirtless scenes. Now isn’t that enough to make you want to watch?
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