I love The Vampire Diaries. I don't just like it or even like like it, I full on 'I will have your hybrid babies' love it. Seriously, I haven't felt this way about a show since Veronica Mars (season one).
Nothing else I've ever watched has provided as many O-M-G moments, stress-induced heart palpitations or pretty vampires in a one-hour time slot. Yes, it's about vampires and yes, there's a love triangle. But it's so much more than the teeny bop 'riding off the vampire craze' storyline that even I expected when I started watching. This show has vampires, werewolves, doppelgangers and more character deaths than you can keep track of. It's a show that's not afraid to kill (RIP Anna), turn annoying side characters into kick ass favorites and even use Lady Gaga songs in promos.
A few things The Vampire Diaries isn't:
•Is it True Blood? No, it's better with a much lower number of orgies.
•Is it Buffy The Vampire Slayer? No, but it's not trying to be.
•Is it Twilight? I find this question insulting, and I'm betting Damon Salvatore would too.
Not convinced? Take a peek via my favorite promo ever:
To review: The Vampire Diaries centers around Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) and the brooding vampire brothers Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) in the mystically-inclined Mystic Falls. The show includes witches, vampires, werewolves, originals and a town council that thinks its in control of the supernatural population.
Elena has no special powers a la True Blood or Buffy, but she does have a vampire doppelganger who, coincidentally, is the one that loved and turned both Salvatore brothers in 1865. Nina Dobrev kicks major butt as both badass Katherine, the villain everyone loves to hate, and goody two-shoes Elena. Katherine and her intentions remain a mystery for most of season one, until she returns at the very end in all of her badass glory ("Hello John, Goodbye John." Best season finale ever -- am I right?). I can't even tell you what's happened since then because there. is. so. much. This show is so much more than a guilty pleasure.
So, why should you watch The Vampire Diaries when it returns this week?
1.There's So Much Pretty: It's The CW, therefore the cast is young and pretty and you will enjoy watching them each week on your TV.
2.Stefan's Bad to the Bone: Good brother Stefan has gone on a revenge-filled road trip after acting as Klaus' pawn for most of the season.
3.Sexual Tension You Can Cut with a Knife: It IS The CW, after all.
4.More Deaths Than a Joss Whedon Production: If you're like me and you love a show that's not afraid to rack up a kill count, this show should sate your appetite while Dexter's off the air.
5.Great Cast, Crazy Scripts: This show has more twist and turns than a daytime soap opera (though usually more believable). I have no doubt that the second half of this season will have me gasping every Thursday.
Thursday. 8 p.m. EST. The CW. You won't regret it.