In September, Smallville’s cushy time slot of Thursdays at 8PM will be vacated for something new as The CW will be turning to the popular trend of vampire stories to appeal to its audience. Interestingly enough, the show stars two actors who made their marks on Smallville itself a few years ago. Fortunately, though, The CW is taking a chance by putting on something quite good in that important timeslot. It may be one of their strongest launches yet, if not the strongest, when it comes to appealing to multiple demographics.
Before I get started with reviewing the show’s pilot episode, which many will be able to see previewed on July 22 at the Comic-Con International in San Diego and will have its formal premiere on Thursday, September 10, 2009, I’ll share the network’s official description:
Four months after the tragic car accident that killed their parents, 17-year-old Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev, “Degrassi: The Next Generation”) and her 15-year-old brother, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen, “Everwood”) are still trying to cope with their grief and move on with their lives. Elena has always been the star student; beautiful, popular and involved with school and friends, but now she finds herself struggling to hide her sadness from the world. As the school year begins, Elena and her friends are fascinated by a handsome and mysterious new student, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley, “Army Wives”). Stefan and Elena are immediately drawn to one another, and Elena has no way of knowing that Stefan is a centuries-old vampire, struggling to live peacefully among humans, while his brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder, “Lost”) is the embodiment of vampire violence and brutality. Now these two vampire brothers – one good, one evil – are at war for Elena’s soul and for the souls of her friends, family and all the residents of the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Based on the series of books by L. J. Smith, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES is from Alloy Entertainment and Bonanza Productions Inc in association with Warner Bros. Television and CBS Television Studios with executive producers Kevin Williamson (“Dawson’s Creek,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer”), Julie Plec (“Kyle XY,” “Wasteland”), Leslie Morgenstein (“Gossip Girl,” “Privileged”) and Bob Levy (“Gossip Girl,” “Privileged”). Marcos Siega (“Dexter”) directed the pilot.
So what did I think?
From the very first moments, the pilot reminds me of the first episode of a WB Network show from the times when The WB was good. There’s the pop-culture banter between a soon-to-be-doomed couple, there’s a dark and moody backdrop, and already some action and mystery… all within the first minute. Those worried that this is going to be a Twilight love-fest redux can relax. There’s a lot more going on than the romantic stuff.
I’m not entirely sure where the pilot episode was shot (I think it was Vancouver, but I’m sure the folks at Vampire-Diaries.net could tell you for sure), but I will say, having grown up on the East Coast, that the small town of “Mystic Falls” really does look like a small town in Virginia. The atmosphere is there from the beginning, and I think by creating a “setting” and a town for all things to revolve around was a very smart move. Either way, the location scouts for this show deserve credit as does director Marcos Siega who makes the setting believable.
When the show goes to series, I hear they’ll be filming in Covington, Georgia, which once hosted In The Heat Of The Night and the early (read: good) episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard. I’m looking forward to seeing that.
Very early on it is established that the show’s protagonist, Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), lost her parents in an automobile accident earlier in the year, and she is just now returning to school. Her brother, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), has become involved with drugs and has been hooking up with Vicki, who happens to be the girlfriend of someone else, and is now chasing her like a lost puppy.
Another character we meet very early on is Elena’s best friend, Bonnie (Katerina Graham), who tells Elena that her grandmother is claiming that she’s descended from Salem witches. There’s a running gag that Bonnie may be psychic that may be more than just a gag. I know some of those who’ve read the books have troubles with Bonnie not being a redhead; perhaps because I have not read the books, I really like the casting choice, because Bonnie has already become one of my favorite characters, and I think that the actress that was chosen has a lot to do with it. She’s really good. (And let’s not get started on Elena not being a blonde – especially since I really enjoyed Nina Dobrev as the single mother Mia on Degrassi and she’s just as good – if not even better – on TVD)
Actually, the entire supporting cast is well-rounded and enjoyable. There’s Matt (Zack Roerig), Elena’s former boyfriend. Caroline (Candice Accola) is the “Cordelia” of the bunch, who will often get caught saying and doing inappropriate things – including throwing herself at Stefan – but you can’t help but enjoy her. She is also quickly one of my favorites. Tyler (Michael Trevino), Vicki (Kayla Ewell), Zach (Chris William Martin), the teacher Mr. Tanner (Benjamin Ayers), and Aunt Jenna (Sara Canning) are also well-realized. When bad (or good) things happen to these characters, you can’t help but already get involved.
The writers of The Vampire Diaries – very likely taking a cue from L.J. Smith, who wrote the original novels – also get points for being clever with taking moments from vampire lore. When Stefan is told he doesn’t have the correct records to enroll in school, he just gives a stare and gets his way. At least in this case, the “vampire” aspects could explain why everyone falls for him, instead of the “oh he’s so dreamy” reaction you get to lead characters in other projects, including vampire projects. The cleverness also adds to challenges for the characters you normally wouldn’t see. I also liked seeing Stefan almost losing himself when he gets a sight of Elena’s bloodied leg after she hurts herself in the woods. Stefan completely “pwning” a history teacher on the true history of Mystic Falls creates another of the best moments in the pilot, and the surreality of seeing a man (“Zach”) who looks older than Stefan calling him “uncle” is another bit that I really like.
We learn very quickly that there is a good reason why Stefan is so drawn to Elena, and for me, it brings back memories of Dark Shadows, a popular 1960’s soap that is still begging for a decent revival. (A revival series was proposed in 2004 but didn’t get past a pilot – ironically, I suggested Ian Somerhalder as the show’s lead vampire, Barnabas Collins, in this column) I actually wonder out loud if Elena being in the news after her parents’ death is what drew Stefan back to Mystic Falls in the first place.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by the writing being so strong – Kevin Williamson’s work on the first two seasons of Dawson’s Creek was some of the best television of its time, and was very groundbreaking, so much that I felt the show lost a lot when he left. Fortunately he returned for the Dawson’s finale which is one of the best series finales of all time in my book. Co-writer Julie Plec comes from Kyle XY which was very popular among the folks on the KryptonSite Forums. She has a good feel for writing young people, but moreso, I can tell she’ll handle a series mythology very well considering her previous work.
The title “The Vampire Diaries” is very appropriate here, as both the characters of Stefan and Elena keep their own journals. It gives us a chance to learn a little bit more about the motivations of the characters, and I like that. Also – despite having recently lost her parents – I don’t think we’re going to run into a Lana Lang “my parents are dead” redux. At least I hope not. One thing that HAS, fortunately, been picked up from Smallville are some excellent choices in music – hopefully most if not all temp tracks from the pilot end up in the final cut.
Although I praised the casting choices in many places here, I am a little skeptical about the casting for the two vampire brothers, though I think they’ll grow on me. Paul Wesley is great as Stefan but I can’t help but think he’s a little too old to be in high school. Then again, they might’ve wanted to cast someone who might look a certain age for a while, but he does look a little odd being in the classroom scenes. And hey, they are supposed to be very old, since they’re vampires. Wesley does have chemistry with Dobrev which I think adds to his appeal in the role. Ian Somerhalder’s casting as Damon – while he is a very capable actor – unsettled me a bit, as he looks older than I am, and seeing him leering at Caroline near the end of the pilot makes me wish someone would call Chris Hanson at Dateline NBC. This might actually work to the show’s advantage, because if they want Damon to be creepy, they definitely got what they were looking for. Damon generally creeped me out. I’m surprised that they didn’t go for younger actors, but what do I know about what the target audience will like – these two might work out just fine.
It takes a while to meet Damon in the pilot, though it’s possible we “see” him earlier than when he makes his actual first appearance. Like I said, the casting made the character a little unsettling though it could also be intentional for the performance. I’m sure fans will quickly take sides on the battle of the brothers, though from this initial impression I’m totally on “Team Stefan” as the case may be. Damon just makes me uncomfortable and wanting to reach through the screen and smack him. Which is probably exactly the impression they wanted him to give.
I will be honest – initial promotions and promotional photos had me worried this would be Twilight: The TV Series. Even when I was reminded that The Vampire Diaries novels actually came first, I was very skeptical. I also knew that putting TVD in Smallville’s slot on Thursdays and moving SV to Friday could prove disaster for both Smallville and its Thursday night partner Supernatural – but fortunately, I think if The CW dares to promote Smallville during TVD airings, it could get Smallville a whole new audience on Fridays. You can’t fault the network for wanting to try something new on their biggest nights, and, honestly, no CW show would do as well on Friday nights as Smallville could. Even if Smallville’s ratings cut in half, it’d still be better than 90210 most weeks. I just hope the Smallville fans who are angry about the change don’t boycott The Vampire Diaries because they’d be missing out on a potentially good show. As for the Twilight comparisons… yes, I saw and might even admit that I liked Twilight… but this is a completely different kind of mythology, one that I think I can identify with and get behind a bit more. It’s definitely not the same, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with liking both franchises. (Vampire fans are kind of out of luck at Comic-Con, though, as apparently True Blood and TVD will overlap. Sigh.)
As mentioned before, The Vampire Diaries is based on a series of novels. I am wrestling with whether or not I should read the novels and be possibly spoiled, or if I should just keep watching the series blind and ignorant as to what happened in the book versions. I actually think I may have enjoyed this pilot more having known nothing about the characters. I didn’t have my pre-made impressions, but more than that, I ended up more impressed when I learned things about the crows and the fog, or the revelation of the power of Stefan and Damon’s rings. Your mileage may vary.
There seems to be something for everyone in this pilot. Maybe its success could even show The CW that viewers want more than just shows about rich girls and retreads of 1990s FOX TV series (even though I admit I’m very curious about Melrose Place because of some of the talent involved). I certainly recommend you give it a watch, either at Comic-Con if you get the chance, or in September when it is one of The CW’s first new launches of the Fall. I gladly welcome some new specially-powered characters to the CW line-up.
Please note: The pilot episode of the series will be previewed at the Comic-Con International in San Diego, California on July 22! If you don’t want to wait for January, there’s your perfect chance to check it out and give your own opinion.
Krypton Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
