With the popularity of vampire novels in recent years, and the success of the "True Blood" TV series, it is not surprising that a major network would bring another vampire-related TV show to prime time. And with the network being CW (is that even a major network?), it is not surprising that it ends up being like a "Smallville" with fangs, or a "Transylvania: 90210".
What I did not expect is that it would be so much like Twilight. High school girl (who comes across more like Kristen Kreuk's Lana Lang than Bella Swan) falls for a "vegetarian" vampire she meets at her high school. The vampires can run around in daylight (like Twilight vampires, but without the embrassing skin-twinkle). The plot was even like Twilight, until the last 15 minutes. The vampire lead, Stefan, does not look like Edward Cullen, but the lead non-vampire girl's brother does.
I will give it a try. Maybe it will get more interesting in the second episode. Maybe not. It is a "zit opera" like "One Tree Hill" or "Dawson's Creek", and I usually don't watch those. A zit opera is like a soap opera, but instead of advertisments for detergent, there are advertisements for zit cream. That is because they are aimed at self-conscious adolescents instead of at homemakers. I think it would be a great place for them to advertise the "True Blood" drink, but it looks like that is not happening.
The music wasn't bad, especially the cover of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" by Placebo. I'd not known there was a cover of the song before.
Here is a youtube video of the original song by Kate Bush:
Click here for a link to the Placebo version. This is another song off of Bush's incredible album "Hounds of Love
Has anyone else seen this show?
15 comments:
Interesting posting,thanks for the link.
I guess this was on Thursday, and I missed it. And then it was on again Friday, and there was no new television listed for Friday, so I missed the beginning five minutes and then just happened to catch the rest of it.
I don't think CW is on Hulu, which is going to be a bother since my video part of the VCR has quit working, and I never did quite get the hang of the DVD recorder part.
Glee has also started, which I probably going to watch for a while since most other new things don't start until the 24th or maybe even next month.
Fringe starts next week.
I didn't see this show, but it sounds like how I imagined it would be. I do like that Kate Bush song though! And the Placebo version, which I had never heard.
Mike: Thanks again for visiting. Glad you liked it.
Laughing: I only found out about last night's rerun 10 minutes before it aired.
I've never seen "Glee"
Laura: I think there are even more covers of "Running Up That Hill"
I'm still waiting to see Johnny Depp try to play the greatest American Vampire ever. Three have portrayed the legendary Mr. Collins, but only Jonathan Frid did it right. Ben Cross tried but he should have actually watched the old shows rather than try to recreate Barnabas anew.
I haven't seen the Vampire Diaries. It sounds way too much like Twilight and I wasn't a fan of that either. Give me a creepy vampire story rather than the one with the vampire BFF.
I am looking forward to Fringe.
I think "vampire BFF" is probably a good two-word summary of the show, from what I have seen so far.
I saw the premiere of Vampire Diaries. It was a typical TV show, which means it was mildly entertaining but not captivating.
As usual, the "teenagers" were played by attractive Hollywood actors in their 20s. The two lead women were 20, but the rest of the cast was 24-27 and looked it.
Yes, it's derivative of Twilight, but I didn't think the movie was that good. I'd rather see more of the TV show than more of the movies.
In addition to ripping off Twilight, the show's name is a takeoff on Diary of a Vampire. And the "small town with a secret" theme has been done many times. In fact, the guy who played Stefan the hunky vampire also played the hunky werewolf in Wolf Lake, a similar but superior TV show.
Like DMarks, I'll keep watching, but I don't expect much. I'm guessing I'll give it up after a couple more episodes.
On a brighter note, Glee is a great new show. I suggest everyone give it a try.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/09/glee-please-dont-stop-the-music-.html
Wow. I have never even heard of Glee or this one. I am out of the loop here! Like Cube, I do like creepy vamps best, but was a big fan of Lestat until they put the effeminate Tom Cruse in his role... yuck! I did love Wolf Lake and was upset when they took it away. I look forward to Fringe.
Thanks for the links. I did like both versions of Running Up That Hill.
Hmmmm. That show sounds kind of interesting.
Rob: I missed Wolf Lake. I wish I hadn't.
As for the "Vampire Diaries" title, it appeared to predate the "Diary of a Vampire" title.
Another recommendation for "Glee"? I'll check it out.
My mistake. I was thinking of Interview with the Vampire (1976) by Anne Rice. It predates The Vampire Diaries (1991) and has a confessional theme, but I don't think a diary is involved.
More Lestat news:
http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/08/14/robert-downey-jr-is-in-talks-to-be-the-next-vampire-lestat/
There was also a 2007 movie called Vampire Diary, so I think Hollywood has run the idea of vampires with a secret sensitive side into the ground.
Actually, it seems as if Twilight may have "borrowed" from The Vampire Diaries. Instead of Edward and Jacob fighting over Bella, it's Stefan and Damon fighting over Elena. (Note that the names have the same vowels and number of letters.) The setting is a small rural town with lots of woods and fog. The vampires were previously based in Italy.
Rob: I'm no expert, but my teens seem to know quite a bit about it. It seems that book "The Vampire Diaries" came out long before the Twilight series. It appears as though the derivation goes the other way.
"The vampires were previously based in Italy."
The garlic in the cuisine there must be driving them out of the country.
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