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 follows the life of
Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who falls in love with vampire Stefan
Salvatore (Paul Wesley) and quite possibly may develop feelings for his
brother Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder), also a vampire. The series
also focuses on the lives of Elena's friends and other inhabitants of
the fictional town of Mystic Falls, Virginia. The series is a mix of
teen drama and the supernatural.
Somerhalder doesn't show up until the last 10 minutes of the first
episode, but he immediately adds to the proceedings. Oozing malevolence
from his first smirk, we're completely on board to see what kind of
hurt he stirs up. While we're sure the upcoming love triangle between
the two brothers and Elena will not be on the same scale as the one
between "True
Blood's" Bill/Sookie/Eric, you can be forgiven if you're already
rooting for the darker of the two to win.
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.
Metacritic gave the show a score of 50/100 based on 22 critical
reviews, indicating mixed to average response. Its premiere on
September 10, 2009 gave The CW its biggest series premiere scoring 4.9
million viewers. Adding in DVR numbers, the ratings for the premiere
swelled to an official 5.7 million viewers.
In 1996, American Laser Games, Inc. published a video game adaptation of the novels, also called The Vampire Diaries. The game was developed by Her Interactive, and was presented as a point-and-click adventure game with complex puzzles punctuated by full-motion video scenes
