Sordid Confessions Continue, or The Vampire Diaries

I have made a habit of admitting on this website many things that I am ashamed of…or things that I think I should have some amount of shame attached. I am, by nature, one who is not prone to shame and/or embarrassment. That said, I admit the following with a serious amount of trepidation.

My favorite television show, so far, this season is The Vampire Diaries.

Yes, you read that right.

We’ve spent no small amount of energy here at the ol’ NR decrying the phenomena known as the “Twilight.” So I understand if, after confessing my enjoyment of Vampire Diaries, I am called a hypocrite.

I will start by saying that I have not read the books, nor do I have any intention to do so. I enjoy vampires as much as the next guy, but I don’t need them in every damn piece of entertainment I consume.

Every once in a while a teen show comes along that I get sucked into and I am powerless against its pull. The last time this occurred was with a little show known as Dawson’s Creek. Damnit if Tengu and I didn’t spend many a college weeknight mooning over a young and impressionable Joey Potter. What I’m saying is that, even though I generally despise entertainment geared toward teens, I am sometimes inextricably drawn to it.

There are, however, two distinct aspects of the show that makes Vampire Diaries different than your average teen high school drama (aside from the vampires).

1. The actors are actually good. Look, I’m not saying it’s Olivier doing Othello, but compared to other teen shows, the folks on Vampire Diaries (particularly the main female, Elena, played by Nina Dobrev are pretty solid and, at least three episodes in, function very well as an ensemble).

2. Ian Somerhalder, whom you might remember as Boone on Lost (or, if you’re like me, as Hamilton from the short lived Young Americans), is the villain. And god damn does he play one well! Even if the rest of the show was absolute crap, I’d watch it just for his portrayal of Damon.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the objections of my wife. The show does air on the CW, so it’s not like it portrays sex in such a…frank…manner as, say, True Blood. But the show does air at 8, and is geared toward the teens (and tweens). In three episodes, however, I’ve already seen multiple sex scenes, one girl take off her shirt, and a full ass shot of another. If you know an 11 year old who is watching the show, I’d get him/her to watch something else is all I’m saying.

This most recent episode really did a lot to open up the storyline. I don’t want to ruin it for you…you can watch full episodes here, in fact…so I’ll just say that, while the budding romance between a high school girl and a 150 year old vampire is the focus of the show, there is so much more developing.

So if you don’t have anything else going on Thursday nights, you might check out Vampire Diaries…and, if you do hate, try not to judge me too harshly.

3/5 - Might be worth a try...