Friday 14 October 2011

Do vampires suck?

Like them or loathe them, vampires have become a TV phenomenon in recent times with most being gorgeous rather than grotesque. Unlike the mere mortals of the telly world, the zeitgeist dominating undead have a definitive allure of immortality, animalism and torment that modern day viewers find exciting. These vampiric traits have led a number of TV shows to huge success – moving well away from the days of Count Dracula.

The nocturnal neck nibblers have made a quick transition from literature to TV  and audiences have done nothing less than praise their dangerously seductive lifestyles.

As for the question of do vampires suck? - Yes – they do, a lot, for survival that is. However, the current generation of TV viewers find vampire antics obscurely inspiring for a story line – I’m one of those people and having watched various vamp motivated shows, I can safely say, vampires do NOT suck – only when they’re hungry!

Here are three of my fav vampire shows to hit our screens to date

An international cast dominates this vampire world -
Image courtesy of Claire Schmitt
True Blood
Sex and sin in the deep southern state of Louisiana. Charlaine Harris's books, Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries novels are brought to life by creator and producer Alan Ball, through a pleasurably escapist plot. Out-of-the coffin vampires trying their fangs at mainstreaming with werewolves, shape-shifters, witches, homosexual drug dealers, devil healers, double standard politicians and the protagonist - a telepathic waitress. It's raw and sultry with crude humour, spine-tingling horror and poisonous heartbreak. True Blood airs for its 5th season on HBO next summer.

The vampire TV reign started with Buffy in the 90s
Image courtesy of Phillipp Lenssen
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
For all the vampires she staked  there was always the perilously handsome Angel and devilishly hunky Spike. Seven seasons and thousands of super stunt kicks later, Sarah Michelle Gellar’s iconic character came to an end. For the time she and her band of sidekicks graced our TV screens we were introduced to demon hellmouths, high school drama, unforgivable curses, black magic, first love and in the case of her nerdy best friend Xander, unrequited affection. Buffy and her crew were your not-so-average everyday students, saving the world from unfathomable mysteries and a dangerous group of crimson tide connoisseurs, i.e. seriously dodgy vampires.






The Vampire Diaries
Dashing brother duo Stefan and Damon Salvatore (Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder) are relatively new to the TV vampire army. Their sharp teeth, perfect cheekbones and smoky predator eyes makes it hard not to watch the Vampire Diaries, based on the popular book series by L.J. Smith. Mystic Falls is their paranormal hometown of supernatural activity, again, with an abundance of mythical creatures like the vampire’s oldest enemy, werewolves. The brothers are on a continuous battle of good vs evil alongside fighting for the attention of a high school hottie – Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev) who also plays her feisty vampire doppelganger Katherine. The toxic love triangle and cliché question of will they won’t they works to the advantage of the show.
 If your not into vampires - watch it for the ridiculously
 good-looking cast - Image courtesy of Cristian Krause
Check out the official trailer for The Vampire Diaries episode titled 'Appetites', on the CW. From this 30 second clip it's easy to understand why the supernatural world of vampires is so enticing - obsession, seduction, temptation and pure escapism, what's not to love??! Enjoy!                                                                                                                    

Official episode trailer uploaded by the CW network's YouTube page

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