I’m not entirely behind on the times here. I knew there was a series. And I even watched the first few episodes before life hiccuped and I fell behind. So for your reading entertainment I’m watching the first season and will be reviewing squeeing rambling about them here. Feel free to chime in!
So, the title “Pilot” is completely un-creative, but also perfectly descriptive. It does what a good pilot does, and the show does what a good show does, dumps us viewers straight into the middle of some drama. Being a teen-aimed show it has all the bits that get us excited, attractive teens with loads of personal and social drama, deliciously emo music and OMG Vampires! Killer vampires! And apparently everyone is keeping a diary.
I do remember that was a huge point in the book series, the interlocking experiences of getting into Elena and Stefan’s head, particularly as they talk about each other. There’s some changes too, namely in the book Elena is a blonde popular girl with eyes the color of lapis lazuli. And Bonnie is a tiny red head with a heart shaped face. In the series Elena is a gorgeous, exotic (um, for a small town on the east coast) girl and Bonnie is African American. I approve of these changes. I like the actresses’ performance so far. Being a fit for the part is 100% better, in my opinion, than matching the covers.
Another change I noticed, Elena isn’t a “mean girl” style socialite who sets out to have or break Stefan. I was happy to see this, because I really disliked the book-Elena.
Now for a definite squeeing (cover your ears!) OMG Damon! Not only is he picture perfect, but the first thing he does is make fun of Stefan for going to high school? Love it! It’s a perfect balance to Stefan’s guilty vampire thing, plus Damon’s very existence makes fun of the whole passive/vegan/angsty teen vampire thing. So you get that character who wants to not hurt people and fight the vampire thirst. But you get the character that makes fun of it too (and yet, isn’t quite a bad guy.)
Vampire Diaries hits all the notes better than shows like Moonlight did. It sticks to the spirit of the books, but makes them (so far) better and appeal to a wider audience. And the tongue in cheek moments say it’s okay to find the very premise of the show cheesy, because hey, isn’t life pretty absurd anyway?