The Vampire Diaries: Twilight on the small screen

SINGAPORE: Halloween may be over but that hasn't stopped vampires from taking over the screens, big and small.

The popularity of "Twilight" and HBO's "True Blood" has spawned yet another vampire series, "The Vampire Diaries", and judging from its September premiere in the United States - it was the highest-rated premiere on television network, the CW - the blood-sucking action is here to stay.

Directed by Kevin Williamson, the man behind "Dawson's Creek" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" which launched the careers of Katie Holmes and Sarah Michelle Gellar respectively, "Diaries" is another series that replicates the tried-and-tested teenage-vampire-romance formula.

Emotional girl meets good-looking boy. Boy has a dark secret. They fall for each other. Boy turns out to be a vampire. Another vampire enters the picture. They tussle for the same girl.

Sounds familiar? Been there, done that, but shown on the small screen this time round.

Before "Twilight" fans cry foul over plagiarism, they'd better get their facts right as "Diaries" is based on the book series of the same name by LJ Smith published back in 1991, eight years before the "Twilight" hit bookstores.

The story revolves around a group of high school students in Mystic Falls, a small town in Virginia. The recently orphaned Elena (Nina Dobrev) meets handsome new student, Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley), whose mysterious appearances and sudden disappearances leave her intrigued and confused.

Stefan is actually a vampire from the 19th century returning to Mystic Fall after more than a century because of Elena, who bears a striking resemblance to his first love, Katherine. He feeds on animal blood and refrains from hurting Elena. Instead, he protects her and becomes her guardian angel.

Unfortunately, Stefan isn't the only uninvited guest in the small town. His evil brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder from "Lost"), learns about his intentions to return to Mystic Falls and makes life difficult for him. Not only is there no brotherly love between the two, Damien's presence threatens to turn the peaceful town into eternal mayhem.

And that's where the similarity ends.

Unlike "Twilight's" monotonous and sugary plot, "Diaries" keeps the suspense going strong with each episode (even though some of the developments aren't exactly mind-blowing). The story holds promise and more twists are expected as the drama progresses. Audience will soon realise that Elena, Stefan and Damon have a long history behind them and why Damon is hell-bent on ruining Stefan's plans.

And do look out for the sharp and witty one-liners. Under Williamson's guidance, his trademark pop-cult references and clever teenage dialogue in "Dawson's Creek" are present in "Diaries".

"Diaries" is catered for a younger audience, and with Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder playing hot vampires, I am sure there will be no lack of teenage girls throwing their necks at their feet.

And while the 27-year-old Wesley and 31-year-old Somerhalder provide the necessary eye candy and depth to the series, casting them as high school students is stretching it a little. It is hard enough as it is to imagine them as college students, let alone high school kids.

"Twilight" fans eagerly awaiting the release of will "New Moon" later this month will no doubt bite into this new vampire series which is slightly edgier and darker, but for fans of "True Blood", which explores the possibility of co-existence between human and vampires, "Diaries" may be a tad too 'juvenile' for their liking. And depending on your allegiance towards "Twilight" or "True Blood", you are either going to love "Diaries" or loathe it.

The Vampire Diaries is available on-demand on SingTel mio TV Channel 701. - CNA/fa

Surprise! 'The Vampire Diaries' is actually good

The most surprising new show of the fall television season is "The Vampire Diaries."

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying it's the best new show this fall. But it's the one that has exceeded expectations the most.

And that, no doubt, has something to do with how exceedingly low expectations were for "The Vampire Diaries."

OK, I was pretty much expecting that all of the sucking wouldn't be done by just the vampires on this show.

Much to my surprise, this teen soap opera has been pretty darn watchable. Oh, it certainly has its hokey, over-the-top moments. It's about vampires, after all.

Hey, it's about teenagers. And teenagers have more than their share of hokey, over-the-top moments.

I'll admit that I'm a fan of vampires. When I was a kid — many, many, years ago — I used to race home from school to watch "Dark Shadows." My favorite character? The vampire, Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid), of course.

And I was a fan of the 1991 prime-time "Dark Shadows" remake.

As far as I'm concerned, the original, 1979 "Salem's Lot" miniseries is still one of the best made-for-TV horror shows of all time. (The 2004 remake was terrible, however.)

Meet the New Vampire Diaries Vamp

In Thursday's episode of The Vampire Diaries (8/7c on the CW), Stefan (Paul Wesley) is marking his 162nd birthday and best bud Lexi (Arielle Kebbel) comes to Mystic Falls to celebrate. While Kebbel (Gilmore Girls) tells TVGuide.com that Lexi is unlike any of the vamps we've seen before — she happens to have a fun and bubbly side — she's still quite dangerous. Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and a few Mystic Falls residents learn that the hard way ...

TVGuide.com: Lexi wasn't a character in the novels. What can you tell us about her?
Arielle Kebbel: She is about as much fun as anyone who's 300-and-something years old. She's this burst of energy, a complete life force. It's safe to say she's pretty much been everywhere, seen everything, lived every moment and that makes her even stronger, even more confident, even more sarcastic because she has all of this life experience behind her.

Watch full episodes of The Vampire Diaries in our Online Video Guide

TVGuide.com: How is it like taking on the role of someone who has all this world knowledge?
Kebbel: It's a lot of responsibility. What seems like simple dialogue — everything is twice as complicated because everything has a double meaning. I'm not playing a high school kid, so watching the different dynamic to how Damon and Stefan react to things to how Elena [Nina Dobrev] reacts to things; they live in completely different worlds. Nothing scares you or affects you in the way that a typical scary situation would. For example, if you're getting hit with bullets ... it doesn't kill you or affect you. How does one react when getting shot with vervain? I had to figure that out and how a certain poison would affect my blood.

TVGuide.com: How did Lexi and Stefan become friends?
Kebbel: They have been best friends for hundreds of years. [The producers] didn't really want to uncover, in this particular episode, a lot of their past other than you really wanted the audience to feel like these two have been best friends and inseparable through thick and thin. We mention some of our past fun times together, but we don't spend a whole lot of time on that in this episode.

Vampire Diaries' Kevin Williamson: "Everyone's going to die on this show" (RIP Vicki)

TVGuide.com: What is the relationship like among Stefan, Damon and Lexi?
Kebbel: I'm older than both the boys, and although I have unconditional love for Stefan, there's also an unspoken understanding that I'm older, which means I'm more powerful. That comes as a huge threat to Damon, which I love. In a weird way, it forces Stefan to respect me and respect my opinions. I have more power than them, I have more strength, I'm more ferocious and when I turn I'm a force to be reckoned with.

TVGuide.com: Because Lexi is such a strong vampire, does Damon fear her?
Kebbel: Yeah, he fears her and it pisses him off. She knows it and loves it. She's not scared of him at all and she likes to call him on his B.S. and meet him at his game. She likes to remind him that however evil he thinks he is, I'm still stronger and older and more powerful. I choose not to use my power the way he does because I choose to rise above it, but if push comes to shove, I will use it against him.

TVGuide.com: How does Elena react to having Lexi around?
Kebbel: I think anytime you first meet a girl in a towel in your ex's house, I think it calls for a very awkward moment, which we definitely have. Towards the end of the episode, Elena and I have an exchange that hopefully will carry through for the next couple of episodes and help her figure some things out about Stefan that I don't think she was able to really hear before.

Vampire Diaries' Katerina Graham: "Anyone can die"

TVGuide.com: Does Lexi approve of Elena and Stefan?
Kebbel: In the beginning, she's pretty freaked out that she looks like Katherine, but we work through that. In the beginning, I don't approve at all. As any best friend would do, once you see two people together and you pick up on what it really is, ultimately you want your friend to be truly happy no matter what. Lexi can tell how special it is, what the two of them have.

TVGuide.com: She may be nice, but all vampires have an evil side. Will we see that come out in Lexi at all?
Kebbel: You betcha [Laughs]. Let me tell you something, the hours I spent getting red contacts and getting fangs made were all worth it. I got to do some pretty cool and pretty evil stuff in this episode. It's not every day you get to toss around cops [Laughs].

TVGuide.com: Will Lexi be returning to the show?
Kebbel: I would love to. It's so much fun breaking a fang in Mystic Falls, but we'll have to wait and see. We'll leave that one up to the audience.

Paul Wesley on KTLA

'Vampire Diaries' Creator Kevin Williamson On Vicki's Death: 'We Will Kill Main Characters'

Fans of the hit show "The Vampire Diaries" got a jolt recently when — in episode seven of the series — an actress who appeared to be one of the show's main characters was killed off with a stake to the heart. Now, the mastermind behind the TV series is speaking for the first time about his motive for the murder.

"I don't want to be that show where there's no jeopardy," explained Kevin Williamson in a recent chat with MTV, giving us the scoop on Vicki's shocking death. "[Some shows] are all very predictable in the sense that, well, 'We know this is the lead character so we know he won't die.' Or, 'That's a regular, so he won't die, it'll be a supporting person."

Actress Kayla Ewell has featured quite prominently in the show's first six episodes, but Williamson told us that he needed a sacrificial lamb to make sure his audience knows that nobody is ever safe in Mystic Falls. "You know, I've killed all the supporting people I want to," laughed Williamson, insisting it was time to take out a more sizable star. "I want the show to have an unpredictable quality to it, and I think that's going to come now and the audience will realize I will kill them — we will kill the main characters. This is a show that will go there."

Despite being praised as one of the best characters on the show, Vicki, who had only been turned into a vamp by Damon (Ian Somerholder) one episode prior, was staked in the heart by Stefan as she lost control of her new urge for human blood, attacking Elena in the high school parking lot during the annual Halloween party. And if that's not scary enough, Williamson promised more bloodshed to come.

"So, be prepared," he warned the show's die-hard audience. "It's going to be unpredictable in that way. And that's going to be the fun part about the show."

As for why he chose Vicki, Williamson explained: "Well, this whole show is about death, in the sense that it's about Elena and her brother Jeremy dealing with the death of their parents, and how these two dead men, the two vampires, come into her life.

"Whenever you're doing a show about death, you're really telling a tale of life and living — and I think watching this character die brings closure to the parents' death," Williamson said. "In a way, it's a very emotional episode."

For the legions of "Vampire Diaries" fans, Williamson is preaching to the choir. But if it's any consolation, the creator of such franchises as "Dawson's Creek" and the "Scream" movies promised that Vicki's death was just as emotional for him as it was for the public.

"I always tear up when I watch the end of it," he said of this past week's episode. "But you've gotta kill people."

'The Vampire Diaries' takes a bite out of my expectations

I think you know my television pet peeve is when I'm able to play predict-a-plot.

You know when ten minutes into a crime drama, you say "that's the killer" and you turn out to be right. Or to pick a very current example, you think you already knew what was up with the new neighbors on "Desperate Housewives" by the second episode.

That's one of the reasons I was so absolutely delighted with last week's episode of "The Vampire Diaries" (Thursday, CW, 8 p.m.). The show continues to defy my expectations and ruin my game of predict-a-plot. First they had Elena find out that Stefan and Damon were vampires. That's something that could have dragged on for seasons and would have become increasingly annoying. It's hard to root for the heroine when you think she's too dumb to even know that her boyfriend is one of the undead when the clues are all around her. But the series quickly let Elena in on the big secret.

Then the show turned Vicki into a vampire. Instead of continually threatening that one of the characters could become a vampire, they allowed it to happen. And THEN the show did the unthinkable, they killed Vicki off. I watched the whole episode assuming that somehow Stefan would prevail and that Vicki would remain a volatile threat. I never thought Stefan would kill her. I was shocked. SHOCKED. And, let me tell you, that doesn't happen that often. When you're in the opening credits and still not safe, that's a good show because viewers are never going to know what to expect. It's the same technique employed by "Lost" and "24." (And, by the way, I still think Vicki could come back. The show has me thinking that absolutely anything could happen.)

"Vampire Diaries" is managing to advance its plot without feeling like its racing through story lines. It's turning out to be a better show than I originally thought it was going to be. My only caution is that the series can only use the mind erase thingy so many times. It made sense to use it on Jeremy but I wouldn't make it a habit. This week, Stefan's old girlfriend Lexi (Arielle Kebble) visits while Elena deals with all that has happened.

What do you think of "The Vampire Diaries?" Talk about it below.

Two Reasons Why This is Going to Be a Good Week

TNT picked up "Southland:" Beginning January 12 at 10 p.m., the network will air the first seven episodes of the first season and the six episodes that were filmed for this season but never aired because NBC cancelled the show before it premiered.

Gregory Itzin is returning to "24:" Charles Logan, one of the best villains "24" ever created, will be back for the eighth longest day of Jack Bauer's life. You'll recall that we haven't seen him since his wife Martha (Jean Smart) stabbed him and he was rushed off via ambulance. Apparently he survived and President Taylor (Cherry Jones) needs his help. Now we just have to get the show to bring back Jean Smart. I need to know that the former First Lady and Aaron are happy somewhere. Also, if the show could be a love and somehow bring back Dina Araz, my most favorite "24" character ever, I'd really appreciate it.

Highlights of the Week Ahead

All times listed are Eastern Standard Time for November 2-8

Barney and Robin have their first big fight on "How I Met Your Mother" (Monday, CBS, 8 p.m.) I have to admit that as much as I thought it was a good idea creatively for the show to run with the Robin and Barney romance, it hasn't quite worked out the way I had hoped. Mostly because everybody has behaved differently since the duo got together. Marshall and Lily are awkward and act like they haven't been friends with Barney and Robin for years, Ted often seems to forget he also dated Robin and Barney has lost much of what made him Barney. November sweeps usually means couples are getting together or coming apart. And I'm actually rooting for Robin and Barney to break up - perhaps that will get the series back on track.

Between mid-season finales, season finales, winter finales, summer finales and all the other terms networks have made up for when they don't have any more new episodes to offer us, it gets a little confusing. What I can tell you is that after tonight, "Greek" (Monday, ABC Family, 9 p.m.) won't be back with new episodes until next year. I was actually surprised to hear from so many of you who don't want Cappie and Casey together. Maybe it's because Cappie is one of my favorite TV characters or maybe it's because I'm a sucker for a TV bad boy who just wants to do right by the woman he loves, but I thought the final scene of last week's episode was fantastic. (Granted Cappie is more of a goofball than a bad boy, but in the "Greek" world, I think he qualifies as a bad boy). In tonight's "finale," ZBZ wants to win the Songfest competition. Thankfully Oleysa Rulin of "High School Musical" is suddenly a ZBZ pledge who can help. Also look for trouble in Cappie and Evan's newly renewed friendship.

Is it just me or has "Gossip Girl" (Monday, CW, 8 p.m.) become exceedingly tedious? Didn't we already have the story line where Jenny became a queen bee bitch? How many times can the show repeat the same Little J story line? Don't Blair and Serena end their friendship every other week? And why does Serena whine everything she says? The series is turning into a daytime soap opera. You can skip months at a time, tune in and the characters are pretty much where you left them. The show is losing me and fast. This week Olivia (Hilary duff) says something she regrets during her appearance on Jimmy Fallon's show.

Just a reminder to not miss the season premiere of "V" on Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ABC. If you missed my review in Friday's column, click here. Also let's try not to panic that ABC is only going to air four episodes before yanking the show off the schedule because of the Winter Olympics. Sure it doesn't seem like the best scheduling decision ever to come down the ski slope, but let's not blame the show for its network's foibles.

I don't think I made a fearless prediction about this but I totally would have bet on "Trauma""Mercy" being cancelled. They both aren't great shows (I remain thisclose to breaking up with NBC) but I did think "Trauma" was the (slightly) better show. But it's "Trauma" that won't be back after its initial 13 episode run and "Mercy" that's been picked up for the full season. So I may tune into "Mercy" (Wednesday, NBC, 8 p.m.) this week if only for the guest stars. Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara (Ben Stiller's parents) guest star as does Elisabeth Moss, Peggy on "Mad Men." Hey, at least this gets Peggy away from Duck. being picked up for the full season and

Alex Kingston returns to "FlashForward" as a MI6 agent Fiona Banks. She'll help Mark, Demetri and Gough research the Blue Hand club that we learned about last week. Very excited to have Dominic Monaghan on the cast even if it is taking me awhile to adjust to the idea of Charlie as a bad guy. My friend and are trying to come up with theories about why Olivia and Lloyd are together in their flashforward beside the obvious explanation that they are, in fact, having an affair. My friend thinks that maybe Olivia is just trying to get information out of Lloyd since he's obviously connected to what happened and that she's using the fact that Lloyd thinks they have an affair to her advantage. I'm not sure I'm totally on board with that theory but I'm hoping that it's more than just a plain old affair. How about you?

Megan Mullally guest stars as Ron's ex-wife on "Parks & Recreation" (Thursday, NBC, 8:30 p.m.). And from my "how did I not know this" file, did you know that Mullally is married to Nick Offerman, who plays Ron on the series? I had no idea. Unlike "Community," I think "Parks & Recreation" gets better and better each week. Louis C.K. is the perfect straight man to Leslie's antics, the friendship between Leslie and Anne is believable and Andy has really blossomed into a great part of the show (no surprise, we all know how good Chris Pratt was on "Everwood").

Jane ends up in prison on "The Mentalist" (Thursday, CBS, 10 p.m.) But that's not the really big news, the big news is that the show put Rigsby and Van Pelt together (another thing I didn't expect to happen so soon). I liked that the show didn't drag out their romance for too long and that Rigsby told her exactly how he felt. I think shows are really starting to veer away from the endless "will they or won't they" teasing of viewers and that's a good thing.

So here's my problem with "Project Runway" (Thursday, Bravo, 10 p.m.). I really do think Irina has the best designs but she's just so nasty about her talent. I mean she's not Kenley but she's still not that pleasant to watch. Therefore I think I'm going to have to go ahead and root for Althea, whose designs I also like and appears to be much nicer. And I don't think she stole Irina's ideas, do you?

That's all for today. I'm back on Friday to talk about the season finale of "Mad Men" (love the dovetail between the defining event of 1963 and the possible end of Don's marriage), quotes of the week, familiar faces and more. Have a question, seen a familiar face, want to nominate a quote of the week or a topic for discussion? Write me at mailto:amytvgal@zap2it.com or follow me on Twitter. Have a great week. Talk to you on Friday.

[Photos] Heidi Klum's 10th Annual Halloween Party