The Vampire Diaries Description
Did you just finish reading the Twilight series, and now want to see vampires on the small screen too? Check out CW’s The Vampire Diaries, based on the book series released in the early ’90s by L. J. Smith. While the book predates Twilight by over a decade, the television series is most likely a response to the current vampire craze.
If you’re new to the series (don’t worry, I’m in the same boat) it’s the tale of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrey), a 17-year-old who recently lost her parents in a car accident, and has movied in with her aunt Jenna (Sara Canning), and her drug addict 15-year-old brother Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen). Popular and a great student, but now trying to hide her grief, Elena attracts the attention of new student Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). Stefan is a vampire who fell in love with someone a century ago who happened to look just like Elena. But just like last time, Stefan’s dangerous, aggressive vampire brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder) is determined to drink Elena’s blood. Meanwhile, Elena hangs out with BFF Bonnie (Katerina Graham), her “frenemy” Caroline (Candace Accola), and ex-boyfriend Matt (Zach Roerig). And Jeremy is wondering why Matt’s sister Vicki (Kayla Ewell) seems to prefer his enemy Tyler (Michael Trevino) over him.
(You can find out more, and watch some videos, at the official CW site).
Here’s a sneak peek of the pilot episode:
Rather than go on rant about how much this made me roll my eyes, I’m going to hold back and wait until the premiere. The cliched concept and typical overdramatics might not bother me so much if I like the characters or dialogue. But I will say that I have the same problem with Elena as I did with Bella – based on the promos and write-up at least, she seems to be way too much of a Mary Sue. For those unfamiliar with fanfiction terms, that means that she’s a tragic character who’s liked by everyone no matter what, and has everything just happen to her through no fault of her own. The parents’ simultaneous deaths in particular is a Mary Sue trademark.
For the record, I read the first Twilight book and felt no desire to read the sequels. Hopefully The Vampires Diaries will not have the same effect.
If at first it doesn’t succeed…
…Remake, remake again. A quick search for Eastwick on IMDB reveals this isn’t the first time the movie has been altered for a TV series.
According to the unsold show’s IMDB page, the earlier attempt at a remake was in 2002, and was going to be on FOX. While the 2009 version features completely new characters, the cast list reveals that Alex, Sukie and Jane were going to be featured characters, but instead played by Kelly Rutherford, Lori Loughlin, and Marcia Cross respectively.
So, that brings up the question…which concept would have been more successful? Obviously, the revamp with new characters won out. But what would be better for current TV – an Eastwick with new or familiar characters? As for me, I’m glad they started fresh and are advertising Eastwick as a totally new thing and not mentioning the movie in every promo. While it’s a known film, there are still that many more people who haven’t seen it and wouldn’t have given this show another thought. This way, fans of the movie can take comfort in the similar premise and plot, but at the same time, newcomers don’t feel lost.
Eastwick Description
Show of hands – who’s missing Charmed? Well, this fall, ABC’s Eastwick may be another way to get your supernatural dramedy fix.
After three long years since Charmed comes Eastwick, a show that revamps the original 1987 movie that starred Cher, Susan Saradon, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Three women, different characters not in the movie, find out they have the gift when the mysterious Darryl Van Horne (played by Paul Gross instead of Jack Nicholson) comes to their town of Eastwick. Joanna Frankel (Lindsay Price) is a reporter who’s single and interested in newspaper photographer Will (Johann Urb), and best friends with Penny (Sara Rue). Registered nurse Kat Gardner (Jaime Ray Newman) is married to lazy, unappreciative Raymond (Jon Berthnal) and cares for her five children. Completing the trio is artist Roxie Torcoletti (Rebecca Romijn), a single mother of teenager Mia (Ashley Benson) who is looking for a new love.
Actress Veronica Cartwright makes the transition from movie to series – her original movie character Felicia Alden has been recreated in the form of the series character Bun, head of the Eastwick Historical Society and very close with Roxie. Bun is supposedly going to channel some of Felicia’s role and receive a message that Darryl is bad news.
Here’s a sneek peek at the pilot:
Honestly, I didn’t love the original movie, and only watched it once for the sole purpose of this blog post. But the series is definitely supposed to be a modern version. The main characters of Roxie, Kat and Joanne are so close to the original Alex (Cher), Jane (Sarandon) and Sukie (Pfeiffer) that you can actually tell very clearly who’s who. Both Roxie and Alex are the artists, Joanne and Sukie are the reporters, and Jane and Kat are the caregivers.
Eastwick also keeps the name Darryl Van Horne, but while the character is supposed to be unattractive in the film, he’s a demonic hunk. Someone please correct me if in posts down the line I accidentally call him Cole (the demonic heart throb in Charmed).
However I don’t think this will be much like Charmed when it comes to plot and magical involvement. Sure, they both have three witches discovering their powers. But, if the movie is any indication, I predict that the magic will be much more…subtle, and come secondary to their relationships. Personally, I prefer more magic than romance, so hopefully both genres are given equal screen time.
For more character descriptions and videos, go to ABC’s offiial Eastwick site.
List of Premiere Dates
The start of the new season is coming up fast – more commercials are being shown on TV, more promos released online…and premiere dates set. Here’s the list for these shows, taken from the offical network websites. They’re in order of premiere date:
Glee: Wednesday, September 9 at 9:00/8:00c. FOX. Rerun of Pilot episode, September 2.
The Vampire Diaries: Thursday, September 10 at 8:00/7:00c. CW.
The Good Wife: Tuesday, September 22 at 10:00 ET/PT. CBS.
Eastwick: Wednesday, September 23 at 10:00/9:00c. ABC.
Trauma: Monday, September 28 at 9:00/8:00. NBC.
Glee Description, Addition
So, the source for the Glee air dates can be found on FOX’s Glee website, where they say that the premiere (which means the second episode) is September 9th. And according to this sidereel.com article, the already-aired pilot will air again September 2nd.
Also found that you can follow Glee on Twitter, It updates with promos and cast interviews.
Glee Description
If Internet buzz is any indication, Glee is destined to be a hit. The IMDB page is already loaded with five pages and impatient fans. And various articles are throwing around phrases like “highly anticipated.”
It figures. Disney has already proven that anything with teenagers and singing is likely to be a huge money maker.
So what is this already-popular show about? Glee stars Broadway vet Matthew Morrison as Will Schuester, a high school teacher who is sure he can turn the school’s small glee club – once award-winning, now a dumping ground for student outcasts – into one that can win the national title. While most of the group are only fit for back-up, two of the students easily take center stage: pretty, confident, yet largely ignored Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), and Troy Bolton wannabe Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), who shocks his football team when he finds passion for musical numbers. Most think Will is nuts, and maybe he is, for taking on this group, including his wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig) and the school cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch). He does have one supporter in another teacher, Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays). For a more lengthy description, go to the official Glee site at FOX.
I’m going to review the pilot when it airs again September 2 (however, that is only speculation based on this IMDB thread). But for those who can’t wait:
(Sorry for not knowing how to embed Hulu videos. Anyone know how and willing to explain it to me?)
And a promo for the season. The second episode airs September 9th, again according to that IMDB thread:
I actually did enjoy the pilot when it aired- comedy, music, what’s not to like? My only worry is that it might get old after a whole season, so here’s hoping they keep the plots fresh.
The Good Wife, First Three Episodes
I found these descriptions of the first three episodes of The Good Wife on the IMDB episode listing:
Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot
Original Air Date—22 September 2009
Alicia helps a woman who is charged for killing her husband, as her first case as a junior associate.
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Season 1, Episode 2: Crack
Original Air Date—29 September 2009
Alicia takes on the second chair of a rape case: a civil suit involving the abuse of a prostitute who may have been hired by her husband.
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Season 1, Episode 3: You Can’t Go Home Again
Original Air Date—6 October 2009
Alicia defends the son of former friends, who have ostracized her since the scandal, on a charge of felony murder.
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Interesting how they mix the prostitution scandal with her cases, rather than keep the two as seperate plotlines.
Trauma Description
This can be found in the show description on the official NBC site:
“Like an adrenaline shot to the heart, Trauma is an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerouns medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics. When emergencies occur, the trauma team from San Francisco General is first on the scene, traveling by land, by sea or by air to reach their victims in time. From the heights of the Transamerica Pyramid to the depths of the S.F. Bay, our heroes must face the most extreme conditions to save lives , and give meaning to their own existence in the process.”
Oh boy. Can someone pass me some wine to wash down this cheese?
Anyone been to the official site yet? You’re greeted with the ever-dramatic sound of a thumping heartbeat, then it opens to a picture of a disaster car crash scene, complete with flickering flames and a smoking car. The videos are just as corny, with the main characters declaring their passion for the job, and extra emphasis on how these are all life and death, dangerous situations.
Then you’ve got the list of characters…which actually kind of reminds me of the Scrubs cast. There’s the hard-ass, ”don’t mess with me” woman Marisa Benez (Aimee Garcia), who’s good with all things technological. Blonde MD Nancy Carnahan(Anastasia Griffith) is the “caregiver and lifesaver” who “has the gift for medicine.” Dr. Joseph Saviano (Jamey Sheridan) is an older paramedic who is extremely detached from his patients but treats the crew like family.
A.k.a. Carla, Elliot, and Dr. Cox respectively, with a few character tweaks. Am I the only one who sees that? This is based on the character descriptions though, as I’m sure they’ll seem much more different when the show begins.
Anyway, four others make up the team. Reuben “Rabbit” Palchuck (Cliff Cutis) is a slightly crazy but skilled medic who barely survived a disaster a few years ago. Cameron Boone (Derek Luke) is trying to find the balance between family and work. Tyler Briggs (Kevin Rankin) has been on the team forever and has a bromance going on with Boone (ah ha! Like Turk and JD!). Rounding out the group is eager newbie Glenn Morrison (Tyler Kinney) who hopes to turn his experiences into a book one day.
So, seven main characters, one of whom is going to be gay (from an article on IMDB). Throw in the predicted “emergency of the week,” and this could get messy. And as in “messy,” I mean forget plot A and B – we’ll probably get through to F or G each week at least.
But still, with everything said about the promos…it does look like it could be a good show, especially for someone who doesn’t know medical drama cliches. Who knows, maybe I’ll have to forgive NBC for how they treated Medium and give this a try.
