The Vampire Diaries (2009)

Watchseries; I mean, I avoided this show like the plague. Seriously. After having read the Twilight books, enjoying them, and being brutally assaulted by the horrendous movies, I am so sensitive to the vampire movement. I like True Blood and Buffy is OK, but you can't go to a book store without seeing the black hole of teen vampire books. Well guess who came way before all that? THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. These books were written quite a while ago (90s baby), so comparison to other series is really unfair.

I finally decided to watch the show last fall after it kept popping up on the front page of my Netflix account. I had a friend who watched it, but I just thought it would make me cringe. Maybe, maybe, the first 5 minutes did make me cringe, and now I'm dying because season 5 won't be starting until October. Minus the supernatural topics, this show is real. It's got grit, romance, sex, violence, tragedy, and more. If you get past the first season, prepare to offer your first born child for more.

If you're a heterosexual male, this show may not be for you. There are very VERY hot women though. If you're attracted to men, this is your show. If you like great television, this is your show. If you like crying and yelling at your TV and getting in arguments with other fans of the show, this is your show. Best of luck to you.

I mean, I avoided this show like the plague. Seriously. After having read the Twilight books, enjoying them, and being brutally assaulted by the horrendous movies, I am so sensitive to the vampire movement. I like True Blood and Buffy is OK, but you can't go to a book store without seeing the black hole of teen vampire books. Well guess who came way before all that? THE VAMPIRE DIARIES. These books were written quite a while ago (90s baby), so comparison to other series is really unfair.

I finally decided to watch the show last fall after it kept popping up on the front page of my Netflix account. I had a friend who watched it, but I just thought it would make me cringe. Maybe, maybe, the first 5 minutes did make me cringe, and now I'm dying because season 5 won't be starting until October. Minus the supernatural topics, this show is real. It's got grit, romance, sex, violence, tragedy, and more. If you get past the first season, prepare to offer your first born child for more.

If you're a heterosexual male, this show may not be for you. There are very VERY hot women though. If you're attracted to men, this is your show. If you like great television, this is your show. If you like crying and yelling at your TV and getting in arguments with other fans of the show, this is your show. Best of luck to you.

The Vampire Diaries watchseries. Okay, so there's been an overload of vampires. 1st, Twilight, then Jennifer's Body and blah blah blah.. but Vampire Diaries is different, and definitely here to stay.

For starters, it follows the basic rules that apply to vampires, unlike Twilight where Edward Cullen just goes into Bella's house without any invitation, etc.

What's also gripping is the fact that it has other characters from the magical world, like Witches and all. It also sticks to its plot, so what we are seeing is actually a story which has vampires as a part of it, not the other way around.

Definitely worth a try, and one of the best shows of Fall '09.

And the coupling of it with Supernatural on Thursday, making it a Thrilling Thursday on CW is quite cool too! A 9/10 for me!

I avoided TVD for six seasons. I read the original books as a young teen and never really cared for that version of Elena. Thought she was a b*tch. One day while laid up in bed I decided to give a couple episodes a try, next thing I know I've binged through 6 seasons in an undisclosed amount of time. Seriously I can't explain what that does to a person's brain or the amount of reintegration required to get back to civilization. Anyways the show was heartfelt, funny, irritating, intriguing etc. It was definitely odd to hear someone being called a "Dick" every episode if not multiple times as if there was nothing else in the universe you could call someone. Oh that's right it's the CW. Loved Damon's cocky loose cannon but big softy way down deep character and I actually liked Elena for the most part. Not positive why everyone hates her. And can't forget Caroline, that was some great character development. I haven't bothered watching season 7 and probably won't until the show finally ends and I know Elena will be back for at least the series finally. I need to know I'll have closure on the whole delena thing before I commit to more seasons. For me the story was about her and now that she's gone it's just not the same.

I can't remember how the show hooked me in but I have watched every episode on ITV2 since the show was aired and even bought the books, and like a previous correspondent I am not a teen but a 29 year old and a male!

I suppose the almost unnatural beauty of Nina Dobrev drew me to the show but the plot and unseen twists and turns made the show compulsive viewing for the first 6 months of this year, to such an extent that I found myself scanning the net to find the latest US screened episode as much hunger for the show grew.

Only recently have I read the books and, with all due respect to L J Smith, my perception of the TV show has improved. Without writing a book review I felt the series did not develop the characters to any level that the show achieved. The show develops the relationships between all of the main characters in a manner that the book can only dream of, and for me, despite the constant attention to the Stefan and Elana relationship, the show is about the brothers.

I do not do preachy, after all I am English, but I would say that the show grips my interest because of the brotherly relationship. The way the brothers value one and other more than themselves and anyone else, numerous examples throughout the show, is something I shall instill in my two sons and hope one day that the Stevenson brothers will be exactly the same as the Salvatore brothers, maybe except for the blood sucking but if they both can attract girls like Elena I will be a very conflicted father! :) All in all, for my money, the best show on TV since the early days of Buffy and like many others...roll on September.

Thank you for listening to my ramblings, first post (I'm sure the red wine had something to do with it) so please be nice.

I always get annoyed when I read reviews where the person begins the sentence with something along the lines of, "So I only watched the first few episodes..." Stop. Stop right there. How could a person make a balanced, mature opinion if one doesn't give said program a chance?

This is vital to a show like The Vampire Diaries, as the program is a typical case of once you get past the first few episodes, it evolves into something brilliant.

It wasn't a show that had me hooked from the word go. The pilot is pretty unoriginal; introducing a misunderstood human girl who meets an even more broody, tortured vampire. Yes yes, very 'Twilight', I know.

However when you hit episode 3, that's when things get interesting. The plot starts to develop and we see the extent of these characters' personalities. This is when I found myself actually really looking forwards to the next episode.

Irrefutably, the best thing about this show is, and always has been right from the start, one man named Ian Somerhalder. He plays sadistic Damon Salvatore, the 'bad' brother who we get to see develop into someone much more deep and morally rooted, all because he begins to fall in love with his brother's girlfriend. Of course, he never loses the 'bad boy' persona which the audience loves, but his character is someone who we feel real empathy for and who grows as a person throughout each episode.

Overall, this show is definitely worth a watch (and not just for under 15 year olds as one review stated). In fact, my mother in her early 50s loves this show probably more than I do. Each week brings something different, unexpected and completely unguessable. It's probably the only supernatural show that doesn't suffer from 'Monster of the week' syndrome like Buffy in its early years. It remains sophisticated and interesting throughout and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone :)

Oh, and I suppose it doesn't hurt that every single actor is easy on the eyes... if ya know what I mean ;)

I have never read the books, however, I don't understand how anyone could expect for any TV series to be an exact replica of a book. Just my opinion. I have been watching the show since the pilot episode and I absolutely love it. I also happen to be 29 years old and am hooked, so I truly think it's all about what each individual finds interesting, not "this show is for 13-16 year olds". I'm not sure how anyone can say they love or hate something after just a pilot, I never really quite understood that. Personally, I think you should give a show at least 3 or 4 episodes to give it a fair chance and to see where the story will go. I wasn't sure that I was totally in love with it after just the pilot either, as I am a HUGE twilight fan, but by the end of the 2nd episode, I found myself anxiously anticipating the 3rd, 4th and so on. P.s. Nina and Paul work great together!