Either that or somebody's taking one too many hot steaming baths in their outdoor jacuzzi.
Stop me if you've heard this before. A couple of 20-somethings driving down a creepy road at night. They hit someone in the middle of the road, the boyfriend goes to check if the person's alive and winds up dumped on the hood of his car, complete with gaping neck wound. Girlfriend screams her fool head off and makes a run for it, only to be lifted up off the ground by her unseen attacker. Cue the title card (is that sparkling I see?). Anyway, after all this, we hear the voice of one Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley - who I recognised from Smallville, Cane and 24) narrating for us that, despite knowing the risk, and knowing that he shouldn't of come back, he *did* because he just *has* to know "her". The "her" he speaks of is Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who is a dead ringer for this Katherine person (who Stefan has a picture of, from 1864, inside one of his many vampire diaries - hence the show's title - that he keeps). Elena narrates, whilst writing in her diary as well. In case you didn't know...her parents died in a car crash. Despite this, she is determined to act all happy and make this year "different". Damnit, now I'M the one narrating! This show is based on a series of books, apparently. Things have been changed (which has made a number of readers unhappy, it seems). I myself have never read them, but I decided to check out this show for the hell of it, just to see what it was like. While it does have more than a few flaws, I actually didn't mind this first episode.
Let's start with the positives: The three lead actors are easily the best of the cast. Although I haven't seen Nina Dobrev in anything before this, she seemed to be one of the better actors in this show. She seemed very comfortable, playing Elena, which made her performance convincing. She acts pretty normal, isn't *too* sullen/mopey, and is actually quite likable. I found her saying hi to a crow amusing, along with her reference to the Hitchcock film, The Birds. Meanwhile, Paul Wesley surprised me by being able to convincingly portray a relatively "good" guy (or "good vampire", technically). I personally would have thought him more suited to playing a villain - but I'm sure he's played enough of those previously. In a bit of a twist, the "bad" brother (Damon) is played by Ian Somerhalder (also from Smallvile, but probably best remembered as Boone from Lost) - while it's not Zombie Boone, like we'd all hoped for...it's close enough. Somerhalder is someone I wouldn't have expected to see playing the "villain" of the piece...but he does a decent job (if a little bit over-the-top some of the time. His mocking/imitation of Stefan's vamp face (and the sound he makes) was hilarious, though.
Dobrev and Wesley are really good in their scenes together, as are Wesley and Somerhalder (have yet to see how Dobrev and Somerhalder interact, though). These three actors were the main thing I liked about this 'Pilot' episode. I also liked the way the episode was filmed. Mystic Falls is certainly a foggy town (especially the cemetery). Seriously, there's a LOT of fog in this show. It just comes rolling in, out of nowhere (although there *is* kind of a vague explanation for this towards the end). The fog machine must've been in overdrive. Everything's very moody/creepy. It might seem a bit "cheesy" or "campy", but, darn it, I actually liked it! It's all about the mood - and this show sets up an unsettling, old style horror movie type feel quite well.
Now for the negatives: Pretty much the rest of the cast all kind of blend together. It's easy to get them confused with one another, and none of them are particularly memorable/likable. The guys are annoying, mopey, stoner jerks, while the girls are slutty, annoying and bitchy (except for Elena's friend, Bonnie, who may or may not actually be psychic. She's not so bad). At least Elena's Aunt Jenna (Sara Canning) seems pretty laid-back/quite cool. Then there's Stefan's "Uncle Zach" (Chris William Martin - who I'll always remember from Season 2 of Felicity). In actual fact, Zach refers to Stefan as "uncle" (Zach being Stefan's uncle is just their cover story, it seems).
The effects in the show aren't exactly the best, but they're okay. The soundtrack is basically whatever music's out now (or been out for some time). The vampire 'rules' are a bit questionable (a chunky ring keeps Stefan from bursting into flame during the daytime? Seems Angel didn't destroy the Gem of Amarra after all). The dialogue isn't exactly the most creative ever, and some of the acting is pretty ordinary...but despite all this, I quite liked this premiere (thanks, largely, to the three leads). The show looks good, and there is the potential there for it to become quite intriguing and keep you watching. Like a lot of shows, The Vampire Diaries has bit of a rocky start, but it shows promise.
Stop me if you've heard this before. A couple of 20-somethings driving down a creepy road at night. They hit someone in the middle of the road, the boyfriend goes to check if the person's alive and winds up dumped on the hood of his car, complete with gaping neck wound. Girlfriend screams her fool head off and makes a run for it, only to be lifted up off the ground by her unseen attacker. Cue the title card (is that sparkling I see?). Anyway, after all this, we hear the voice of one Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley - who I recognised from Smallville, Cane and 24) narrating for us that, despite knowing the risk, and knowing that he shouldn't of come back, he *did* because he just *has* to know "her". The "her" he speaks of is Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who is a dead ringer for this Katherine person (who Stefan has a picture of, from 1864, inside one of his many vampire diaries - hence the show's title - that he keeps). Elena narrates, whilst writing in her diary as well. In case you didn't know...her parents died in a car crash. Despite this, she is determined to act all happy and make this year "different". Damnit, now I'M the one narrating! This show is based on a series of books, apparently. Things have been changed (which has made a number of readers unhappy, it seems). I myself have never read them, but I decided to check out this show for the hell of it, just to see what it was like. While it does have more than a few flaws, I actually didn't mind this first episode.
Let's start with the positives: The three lead actors are easily the best of the cast. Although I haven't seen Nina Dobrev in anything before this, she seemed to be one of the better actors in this show. She seemed very comfortable, playing Elena, which made her performance convincing. She acts pretty normal, isn't *too* sullen/mopey, and is actually quite likable. I found her saying hi to a crow amusing, along with her reference to the Hitchcock film, The Birds. Meanwhile, Paul Wesley surprised me by being able to convincingly portray a relatively "good" guy (or "good vampire", technically). I personally would have thought him more suited to playing a villain - but I'm sure he's played enough of those previously. In a bit of a twist, the "bad" brother (Damon) is played by Ian Somerhalder (also from Smallvile, but probably best remembered as Boone from Lost) - while it's not Zombie Boone, like we'd all hoped for...it's close enough. Somerhalder is someone I wouldn't have expected to see playing the "villain" of the piece...but he does a decent job (if a little bit over-the-top some of the time. His mocking/imitation of Stefan's vamp face (and the sound he makes) was hilarious, though.
Dobrev and Wesley are really good in their scenes together, as are Wesley and Somerhalder (have yet to see how Dobrev and Somerhalder interact, though). These three actors were the main thing I liked about this 'Pilot' episode. I also liked the way the episode was filmed. Mystic Falls is certainly a foggy town (especially the cemetery). Seriously, there's a LOT of fog in this show. It just comes rolling in, out of nowhere (although there *is* kind of a vague explanation for this towards the end). The fog machine must've been in overdrive. Everything's very moody/creepy. It might seem a bit "cheesy" or "campy", but, darn it, I actually liked it! It's all about the mood - and this show sets up an unsettling, old style horror movie type feel quite well.
Now for the negatives: Pretty much the rest of the cast all kind of blend together. It's easy to get them confused with one another, and none of them are particularly memorable/likable. The guys are annoying, mopey, stoner jerks, while the girls are slutty, annoying and bitchy (except for Elena's friend, Bonnie, who may or may not actually be psychic. She's not so bad). At least Elena's Aunt Jenna (Sara Canning) seems pretty laid-back/quite cool. Then there's Stefan's "Uncle Zach" (Chris William Martin - who I'll always remember from Season 2 of Felicity). In actual fact, Zach refers to Stefan as "uncle" (Zach being Stefan's uncle is just their cover story, it seems).
The effects in the show aren't exactly the best, but they're okay. The soundtrack is basically whatever music's out now (or been out for some time). The vampire 'rules' are a bit questionable (a chunky ring keeps Stefan from bursting into flame during the daytime? Seems Angel didn't destroy the Gem of Amarra after all). The dialogue isn't exactly the most creative ever, and some of the acting is pretty ordinary...but despite all this, I quite liked this premiere (thanks, largely, to the three leads). The show looks good, and there is the potential there for it to become quite intriguing and keep you watching. Like a lot of shows, The Vampire Diaries has bit of a rocky start, but it shows promise.