The Vampire Diaries(2009-2010****)

Vampires... you just can’t have enough of them, whether its the classic Bram Stoker stories or the contemporary Stephanie Meyer mania , vampire literature, movies and series seem to be everywhere these days.


Adapted from the L.J. Smith's book series and starring Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley, Steven R. McQueen, Kayla Ewell, Michael Trevino, Zach Roerig, Candice Accola, and Sara Canning, among others.
The plot revolves around two Vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore who battle for the heart of a mortal teenaged girl named Elena Gilbert.
The story begins when Elena and her brother Jeremy come to live with their aunt in the town of Mystic Falls, after the death of their parents in a car crash. While visiting her parents graves in the cemetery, she meets the new guy in school Stefan Salvatore. There is mutual attraction and after a couple of episode Elena and Stefan are a couple. Also it turns out that Elena is the reincarnation/or look alike of a 19th Century Vampire Katherine, who was the one who turned both of the Salvatore brothers into Vampires. Katherine along with the 27 other vampires of Mystic Falls were entombed by Elena and Jeremy’s great-great grandfather somewhere in the 19th century.
And while Stefan resents Katherine for turning him into a blood sucking abomination Damon is still in love with the evil Vamp who had had both the brothers enchanted with her beauty and charm.

The 1st season revolves around Damon’s resolve to bring Katherine back and Stefan’s struggle to stop Damon , since he knows the vampires will want revenge from the descendants of Mystic Falls elders.
Other main character in the series is Elena’s best friend Bonnie, who is a witch and has the power to lift the magic spell that has entombed the old Vampires. Another interesting character introduced later in the series is Alaric Salzmann a history teacher by profession but is also a vampire hunter of sorts. He moves to Mystic Falls in search of his wife, who was obsessed with vampires before her disapearence.

Like every other vampire series we have the mandatory good vampire and bad vampires here.
Paul Wesley as Stefan is our goody-two-shoes guy, the vampire with a conscience, who refuses to hunt humans. While evil brother Damon(played by Lost’s Ian Somerhalder) is the quintessential Bad vampire or rather the “actual” vampire with a lots of murderous charm and the disregard for human life’s worth.
Being vampires, Stefan and Damon of course have some special powers. For starters, turning into crows and being able to conjure up a creepy ground-covering fog. As for that pesky daylight thing, it's no problem as long as they wear a magic ring. Other than that the usual super strength and super speed. Oh and the power of persuasion-mind control that is.



One great thing about The Vampire Diaries is the pacing. The storyline moves at breakneck speed; a conflict is introduced one week, it is resolved the next and a new conflict crops up. Each storyline is suitably addressed in the hour, and as usual, new problems present themselves by the end.
Also new characters keep turning up throughout the series, and dying at the drop of a hat too. Which is a somewhat frustrating thing , since they ended up killing most of the good vampires and likable characters by the time season finale came. But it’s the fast paced-ever changing story line which kept me hooked to the season.

And the Stefan/Elena/Damon love triangle is entertaining as it is impossible to pick a favorite brother. Both brothers are completely likable and charming in their own ways. But the best part of the show is Somerhalder. He is just ridiculously entertaining as Damon, the sometime evil Salvatore brother. Damon has a bit of an advantage on poor Stefan, and it is so much fun to watch the snarky, obnoxious behavior Damon dishes out to everyone.

The Season 1 has finished airing so now is the time to catch up on all episodes of season 1 before The Vampire Diaries Return for a second season starting September 9.

to watch the show online click HERE
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