The Vampire Diaries
| The Vampire Diaries | |
|---|---|
| File:Vampire Diaries Logo.jpg | |
| Genre | Teen drama Supernatural Horror |
| Written by | Kevin Williamson Julie Plec L. J. Smith (source material) |
| Starring | Nina Dobrev Paul Wesley Ian Somerhalder Steven R. McQueen Sara Canning Katerina Graham Candice Accola Zach Roerig Kayla Ewell Michael Trevino |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Leslie Morgenstein Bob Levy Kevin Williamson Julie Plec |
| Production locations | Atlanta, Georgia Covington, Georgia Monroe, Georgia |
| Running time | 42 minutes |
| Production companies | Outerbanks Entertainment Alloy Entertainment Warner Bros. Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | The CW |
| Release | September 10, 2009 – present |
The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural-fantasy horror television series developed by Kevin Williamson, based on the book series of the same name by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, 2009. The Vampire Diaries follows the life of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who falls in love with the vampire Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). The series also strongly focuses on the lives of Elena's friends and other inhabitants in the town the series takes place in, dealing with teenage and mainly supernatural issues. The show is televised on The CW Television Network on Thursdays at 8/7c. Full episodes of the show are also available to watch on The CW's website. [1].
The series was originally filmed in Vancouver, but after filming the pilot episode, filming was relocated to Covington and Monroe, Georgia,[1] to take advantage of local tax incentives. The Vampire Diaries became The CW's best performing show,[2] and on October 21, 2009, it was announced that The CW had given the series a full, 22-episode first season.[3]
Forbes.com includes the series in a so-called "vampire craze" in entertainment, beginning with HBO's True Blood and the film Twilight, continuing with the film Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, and the upcoming film Daybreakers.[4]
Production
On February 6, 2009, Variety announced that The CW greenlit the pilot for The Vampire Diaries with Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec set as the writers and executive producers.[5] On May 19, 2009, the pilot was officially ordered to series for the 2009-2010 season.[6] Owing to strong ratings, the initial 13-episode order was expanded to a full 22-episode season on October 21, 2009.[3] Williamson has stated the series will not focus on high school but is more the story of a small town.[7] After November 19th, The Vampire Diaries will be placed on an 8 week hiatus. The next new episode will air on January 14th, 2010.[8]
Cast
| Actor | Character | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nina Dobrev | Elena Gilbert | Also portrays Katherine. |
| Paul Wesley | Stefan Salvatore | |
| Ian Somerhalder | Damon Salvatore | |
| Steven R. McQueen | Jeremy Gilbert | |
| Sara Canning | Jenna Summers | Was not credited in Episode 3. |
| Katerina Graham | Bonnie Bennett | |
| Candice Accola | Caroline Forbes | |
| Zach Roerig | Matt Donovan | |
| Kayla Ewell | Vicki Donovan | Season One: Episodes 1-7 |
| Michael Trevino | Tyler Lockwood |
Plot
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (November 2009) |
The story begins as the vampire Stefan Salvatore returns to his ancestral home in Mystic Falls, Virginia, to be near Elena Gilbert, a high school student who bears a resemblance to Katherine, a woman Stefan loved 145 years ago, in the year 1864.
Elena and her brother, Jeremy, struggle to get past the deaths of their parents, which occurred four months prior to the show's pilot. Their aunt, Jenna, becomes their guardian even though she's hardly an adult herself. Jeremy deals with the loss through drug abuse, while Elena tries to shut out her feelings. She and Stefan meet, and are instantly attracted to each other.
Trouble starts when the vampire Damon Salvatore, who followed his brother Stefan to Mystic Falls, begins feeding on the townspeople. At a party in the woods, he attacks Vicki Donovan, but she survives and remembers that a vampire bit her. Stefan attempts to cover this up by using his powers to make her believe an animal attacked her. While trying to visit Stefan at his home, Elena meets Damon, who tells her Stefan is still getting over his past love, Katherine, a woman who was loved by both brothers..
Elena and Stefan's relationship is strained by the secrets he keeps about who he is as well as his past with Katherine. Damon uses his severely weakened powers to contact Caroline via the historic crystal that she now has hanging on a lamp in her room, telling her to come unlock the door of his cell. Zach intercepts Caroline right as she is unbolting the door, and tells her to run, which snaps her out of Damon's trance. Unfortunately, Caroline had already unbolted the door enough so that Damon can push Zach aside violently, which causes him to break his neck. Damon shows up near a group of druggies who Vicki is hanging out with in the cemetery, and feeds on all of them, killing all but Vicki, who he inadvertently lets survive. Seeing that Vicki is still breathing, he takes her home with him. The next day, he can't go out in the sun because Stefan took his ring and hid it, so he revives a comatose Vicki so that he'll have someone to party with until the sun goes down. He revives her by giving her some of his blood, which causes her wounds to immediately heal. As he and Vicki bond, he realizes that Vicki's life is pathetic, so he snaps her neck so that she can become a vampire.
After seeing Stefan in a video clip from 1953, Elena puts the pieces together about what he really is and goes to confront him. He reveals that he and Damon both loved Katherine, who turned them into vampires in 1864. Elena, overwhelmed by this discovery, promises to keep his secret but chooses to break off their relationship. Stefan fails to help Vicki control herself during her transition into a vampire and has to kill her. Damon erases Jeremy's memories of the incident, at Elena's behest, beacuse she doesn't think he can bear losing another loved one, and she tells Damon to make Jeremy think that Vicki simply went away forever, and that it's 'for the best'. She asks Damon to do this because Stefan is too weak to do it effectively since he doesn't feed on humans. Noticing a marked difference in Jeremy's behavior post-Damon's erasure (he is doing his homework cheerfully and becoming a perfect teenager, which is a complete 180 degrees from how he was before), Elena asks Damon what exactly he did to Jeremy, and Damon replies that he simply removed all of Jeremy's pain.
By eavesdropping/talking to the Mayor's drunk wife at the Grill, Damon discovers a secret council made up of Mystic Falls townspeople who know about the existence of vampires and are working to destroy them. He gains their trust by providing them with the vervain with which Zach had previously supplied them, and frames Stefan's vampire friend Lexi (Arielle Kebbel) who is in town for Stefan's birthday, so that the Council will think that the vampire threat is over. Furious with rage, Stefan is able to overcome Damon in a fight, but decides to spare his life because Damon had saved his life some time in the past.
After Bonnie tells Elena about the weird dreams/visions she's been having as a result of wearing the infamous historic crystal necklace that she got from Caroline, Elena tells Stefan, wondering if he knows anything about what is going on or why Damon keeps trying to get the necklace back. Stefan buddies up with Damon, and they eventually begin to bond, reminiscing on the football field about the time Damon first taught Stefan to play football, and Damon reveals that his true reason for returning to Mystic Falls is to free Katherine who is still alive, suspended but trapped in a tomb under Fell's Church, along with 27 other vampires. He needs a necklace belonging to Bonnie's ancestor Emily to unlock the tomb. Before he can get it, Bonnie (possessed by Emily), destroys the necklace, reneging on the bargain she made with Damon to keep Katherine safe, saying that the town doesn't deserve having 27 more vampires unleashed on them. Emily leaves Bonnie's body, and a furious Damon bites Bonnie on the neck, but Stefan pulls him away and saves her by feeding her his own blood, which heals her wounds rapidly. Elena decides to tell Bonnie the truth about Stefan and Damon and also tells Stefan that she can be with him. Stefan denies this saying that coming home was a bad idea and leaves Elena telling her they can't be together.
Meanwhile, a new vampire wreaks havoc in Mystic Falls; Logan Fell, Jenna's ex-boyfriend, who previously was left for dead after his abortive attempt to stake Stefan in a previous episode. Damon hears about another ‘animal attack’ and sets out to find the perpatrator. He finds Logan, who is hiding in an abandoned warehouse by using an heirloom that doubles as a vampire compass. Logan attacks Damon shooting him with wooden bullets. The wooden bullets debilitate Damon, allowing Logan to escape.
Later, Logan offers Caroline a ride home and he immediately slams her head against the window, giving her a concussion after she gets into the car. Logan drives away, calling the sheriff (Caroline's mother) to taunt her about his imminent plans to feed on/kill Caroline. However, Stefan and Damon find Logan and rescue Caroline. Stefan carries Caroline away and takes her home, leaving Damon to deal with Logan.
Damon tells Logan that if he doesn't tell him who turned him into a vampire he will kill him. Logan says that he doesn't know several times, but then breaks down and tells Damon that he knows who turned him into a vampire and that he wants to open up the tomb beneath old Fell's Church. Logan says that if Damon lets him go, they can meet up later at the ruins of the church and he'll divulge everything. Consequently, Damon fakes that he was overpowered by Logan when the Sheriff arrives.
As Logan leaves the warehouse to meet up with Damon, he is confronted by Alaric Saltzman, the new history teacher who has an interest in Jenna, and he wants to protect her. He stakes Logan, leaving him dead a second time.
The sheriff finds out about Logan's dead body, and calls a confused Damon to thank him for staking Logan. Damon plays along but is angry that Logan got killed before he heard about the other vampire from him.
Back at the school, Elena offers Stefan a ride home. On the way, Elena tells him how much she doesn't want him to go. Stefan gets out the car, saying that he and Elena cannot be together and that he's leaving for her own good, but Elena follows him saying that she knows what she wants and that he's being selfish by leaving and declares her love for him. Stefan turns around and quickly comes over and kisses her. They go inside and it is implied they had sex, and afterwards Elena sees Stefan's picture of Katherine, and realizing she looks just like her, she drives away from the Salvatore mansion upset. Stefan comes back to find her gone and the locket he gave her sitting on top of Katherine's picture.
Elena takes off from Stefan's house and while driving off amongst a road in the forrest, she soon sees a person standing in the middle of the road and tries to stop before she hits him but doesn't have enough time, which leads to her car flipping then stopping upside down. The person gets up, readjusting their bones and walks to Elena's car, before hearing her scream.
Episodes/U.S. ratings
| Seasons | # Episodes | Timeslot | Season Premiere - Viewers | Season Finale - Viewers | Average Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 3.94* |
* as of 11/19/09
International distribution
Reception
The Vampire Diaries initially received mixed reviews. Entertainment Weekly gave the pilot a B+, stating that the show "signals a welcome return to form for writer-producer Kevin Williamson". They end by saying that "Diaries promises us a season of sharp-tongued amusement."[10] Metacritic gave the show a score of 50/100 based on 22 critical reviews, indicating mixed to average response.[11] Its premiere on September 10, 2009 gave The CW its biggest series premiere scoring 4.9 million viewers.[12]
Many TV critics felt the series improved with each episode. The Los Angeles Times reviewer, Carina MacKenzie, found the sixth episode to be particularly strong.[13] The San Diego Union-Tribune said: "The supernatural drama is a first-class production, featuring an insanely gorgeous cast, sharp scripts and a brooding vibe that is hard for even the most levelheaded adult to resist."[14]
References
- ^ Khouli, Gabriel (July 21, 2009). "'Vampire Diaries' crew to film on square Thursday, Friday". The Covington News. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Seidman, Robert (October 21, 2009). "Vampire Diaries gets full season pick-up; Melrose Place more episodes". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ a b Schneider, Michael (October 21, 2009). "CW orders more 'Vampire Diaries'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Blakeley, Kiri (October 23, 2009). "Vampire Mania". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ Michael Schneider. "CW picks up 'Vampire Diaries' pilot". Variety. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Nellie Andreeva. "CW picks up 'Melrose Place,' 'Vampire Diaries'". Hollywood Reporter.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Topel, Fred (August 4, 2009). "Why Vampire Diaries isn't just the usual fang-bang". Sci-Fi Wire. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
- ^ http://vampirediariesonline.com/news/the-vampire-diaries-possibly-on-hiatus-until-january-14th-2010/
- ^ "TV Ratings Thursday: NFL > All; Vampire Diaries gets good first bite; Supernatural not so super". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Tucker, Ken. "TV Review: The Vampire Diaries (2009)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "'The Vampire Diaries". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (September 11, 2009). "'Vampire Diaries' Ratings: They Don't Suck!". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-10-11.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ MacKenzie, Carina (October 16, 2009). "'The Vampire Diaries' goes back in time". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
- ^ Peterson, Karla (October 23, 2009). "It's crazy happy season on fall TV". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
External links
- Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention from November 2009
- 2000s American television series
- CW network shows
- 2009 American television series debuts
- Vampires in film and television
- Teen dramas
- Television programs based on novels
- Television shows set in Virginia
- Serial drama television series
- Television series by Warner Bros. Television
- Television series by CBS Paramount Television