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Is The Vampire Diaries the next Buffy?

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

Before you go all batty on me, let’s break it down: I saw the pilot episode, and sure, there are elements of Buffy, but I think The Vampire Diaries borrows a bit from most of the vamp entertainment out there. The question is, will it be able to branch out and become unique and wonderful in its own right?

We’ve got high school kids, a good boy vampire trying to fit in, and an evil vampire trying to thwart the good boy’s efforts. Buffy, Moonlight, and Being Human, respectively.

Or, more Twilight-y, you say? It seems to reek of it, I agree, but if they do it right, we’ll end up with a smart show. Yeah, Twilight, I meant that.

There are some glimmers that The Vampire Diaries could have a hit, if the pilot is any indication. I’m overlooking the little moments of Kyle XY goofiness that are surely producer Julie Plec‘s touch, although keeping a light side isn’t a bad idea. Let’s just not go all after-school special on us, Vampire Diaries.

That said, be warned that it is also produced by Kevin Williamson, so you may be reminded of Dawson’s Creek … for better, or for worse. If we’re lucky, he may just insert a little of that Scream success formula in there, too.

The pilot had tension — both romantic and good versus evil — a smidge of gore, and lots of inner strife for our main characters to work through, both human and not so much. And murder, which always makes for a good pilot. They even have the very, very beginnings of a possible Scooby gang. This could be a stupid teen love story that steals elements from every hot show preceding it, or it could make the most of its talented cast and production team, and try to do what Eric Kripke has done for Supernatural.

So here’s how it will go if The Vampire Diaries does it right:

  • Stefan (Paul Wesley), good vampire, will remind us of Angel‘s namesake, and Moonlight‘s Mick St. John, in only the best of ways. He’ll be appropriately broody, quite the romantic lead, and good friend to one and all. Wait a minute, now he’s starting to sound like Kyle “XY” Trager….
  • Damon (Ian Somerhalder) will have that broody Angel quality too, but he’s much more Angelus, with a little of Josef, and even Being Human‘s Mitchell thrown in for good measure. We love to love him, because it makes us oh-so-bad, but we just can’t help ourselves.
  • Elena (Nina Dobrev) will actually be a strong female lead who doesn’t act like Twilight‘s Bella at all, but is a little less super than Buffy.
  • The psychic friend Bonnie will be used both for comic relief and for a supernatural element to the human side of the story. If she hones this power much like Willow did with her witchcraft, they’ll milk this character for the gold she could be.
  • The story arcs will be so unique and gripping that the love story will take a back seat. Let’s face it: even Buffy and Angel were a bit of a gag fest, so can we really base a whole show on vamp love? Twilight sure couldn’t base a whole movie on it. There, I did it again; Twilight.
  • Let’s have more murder. I like it.

I have no knowledge of the books, but I’m willing to give The Vampire Diaries a chance based on the pilot. Remember the first season of Buffy? Remember most of Moonlight? Will you be watching tonight?

Photo Credit: Alan Markfield/The CW

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5 Responses to “Is The Vampire Diaries the next Buffy?”

September 10, 2009 at 7:10 PM

I totally agree with that VD has more similarities to Buffy character-wise than it does to Twilight. Especially with the books (published in ’91 by the way). Bonnie is the witch/druid but in the book unlike the TV series, she was a red headed girl who was even a bit similar to Willow in personality except not as bright XD The book version of Elena also reminds me of Cordy except not as into fashion.

I would add more characters to the list but that would get into spoiler zone. And its been stated by the producer, they’ll follow the general outline of the first three books.

September 10, 2009 at 9:12 PM

Did you notice how Elena’s dead mom’s name read “Sommers” as her maiden name on her headstone. Hmmmm.

September 10, 2009 at 9:13 PM

Did you notice how Elena’s dead mom’s name read “Sommers” as her maiden name on her headstone? Hmmmm.

September 10, 2009 at 9:24 PM

I just asked EP/Writer Julie Plec on Twitter and it is indeed a shout-out: https://twitter.com/julieplec/statuses/3901289033

September 12, 2009 at 3:50 PM

I love the comparisons…”Buffy” was clever and witty with fabulous metaphors for the common teenage experience. It was a must watch every week. “Angel” worked for the David Boreanaz fix and the first several seasons were somewhat comparable to the “Buffy” style, but even that started to lose it’s gusto in the last years. I have found that there isn’t much on TV worth watching that isn’t every day common blood, guts and gore. You get CSI’d to death almost every evening with re-runs of each CSI on various channels constantly.

I hope that you are right in that this will satisfy some of the “Buffy” thrill on a minor level. Something a little more supernatural, without the crappy dailogue and weak plot of “Supernatural,” is definitely needed on the menu. “True Blood” never quite caught my attention in any way. Vampires, blood, people dying…not really qualification for a good Vampire show.

Can’t avoid the physical similarities between Angel and Stefan mind you…and even Elena has a little of the Buffy look, right around the eyes…I think that we will have to just wait and see…

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