I'm sure that at this point, most people that are interested already know about CW's upcoming new show The Vampire Diaries. Based on LJ Smith's popular series, before even seeing any material from the show it was obvious the reason for the production was to capitalize on the "Twilight" fandom. I've been curious about the show and had every intention to check it out when it airs on September 10th but I'd yet to see anything from the show.
Admittedly this isn't very steamy but it is suggestive. Much more suggestive than I would have thought. And then I was sent this:
Instantly, I'm much more interested. My first thought at this second image: fabulous! It's like "Gossip Girl" meets vampires! And we all know how much I love "Gossip Girl"...
I did a little digging and found that a very resourceful YouTuber has cut together the various sneak previews that have been floating around the web and after seeing this, I'm a little shocked and very excited at how much this resembles "Twilight". The look, the feel and even the music... One of the characters (who I'm assuming is a vampire) even resembles Edward...Im' completely and utterly sold.
What I'm wondering now is whether I should go ahead and pick-up the series to read or if I should wait for the show. I was under the impression that I had "The Vampire Diaries" on the shelf but it turns out to be another LJ Smith series called "Night World" which I have started and am enjoying a great deal.
Suggestions?
And if you're interested in finding out more about the show and/or the Smith's world, I recommend taking a browse through the very awesome Vampire-Diaries.net.
I seem to have fallen into the world of teen literature and TV and what better way to continue the trend than with a new TV show? Thought Gossip Girl has been on for a year, I'd yet to see an entire episode of the show and while trying to decide what to start watching, I recalled a conversation with a guy I met who was over from the Vancouver Island. Talking movies, we came to discover that we shared similar tastes (for the most part) and he mentioned his addiction to the TV show so I figured it was worth a look. I started with one episode thinking that if I didn't like it, I wouldn't put the effort into the rest of the series but that's all it took: one episode to get me hooked.
In a period of a week I managed to watch a season and a half of the show - catching up with the entire first season and what has aired of season 2. It's not brilliant but it's darn entertaining but what keeps me coming back are the constant changes in the characters. One minute you love them, the other you hate them. The basic premise of the show is following a group of young socialites who call Manhattan and specifically the Upper East Side home. Like "The OC" and "Beverly Hills 90210" before it, it's a bit convoluted but unlike those other two shows, I didn't give up part-way through a season.
It's bloody addictive and I pretty much watched the entire first season over a 2 day period the weekend after Christmas. Curious by my addiction, hubby has watched a few episodes of the show and surprisingly, he's mildly interested. How do I know he's not faking interest? He asks me what happened in the last episode and why the characters are doing what they're doing. Yesterday, he even mentioned to me that the show goes back on the air on Monday night.
First few episodes of the show had me hating Blair and Chuck but I must admit that as it stands right now, these two are the more interesting characters in the series - particularly Chuck who is so bad he's good.
Nothing spectacular about the acting other than to say that it's solid overall. Blake Lively is great as Serena but again, it's the apparently mean people who shine and both Ed Westwick (Chuck) and Leighton Meester (Blair) are excellent. Overall, it's a fun and entertaining show which also manages to touch on more than just the superficial. Who knew?
And in case you need more convincing earlier this year NY Magazine published a feature on why "Gossip Girl" is "genius". It's a fabulous read and one I highly recommend!
A while back I brought up a TIME article in which the author noted how Stephenie Meyer's novels are to quote, because I love the quote, "squeaky, geeky clean on the surface, but right below it, they are absolutely, deliciously filthy." At the time, I agreed wholeheartedly with the sentiment but over the last few weeks I've considered the statement and come to the conclusion that it's not completely accurate.
Sucked into a book. Photo care of khaybe on Flickr.
Fact is that the books are pretty squeaky clean. There's talk of kissing to the point of not being able to breathe and the topic of sex does come up, often tied with the subject of marriage. The filthy bit doesn't come from anything Meyer's says but rather from what she leaves out. I'm no longer 14 and innocent (I was sheltered OK?) so I can't imagine what goes through a 14 year old's head when she reads some of the steamier moments but I sure know what goes through my mind. That's the filthy bit - though it's also not all that filthy, Edward is 100+ years old.
Earlier today I was reading an interesting article over at Newsweek which took my second thought a little further. Reporter Susan Elgin talked to a few mothers and rather unsurprisingly found that a few of them saw the books as a doorway to speak to their daughters about sex. In a society where teen sex seems to be rampant, Meyer's books bring up the issue in a way that allows parents a dialog that doesn't include having to disswade their pre-teen and teen daughters from the actions being taken by their literary heroes. Bella and Edward aren't having sex and whenever it does come up, the question of marriage looms in the backdrop. The two are always intertwined. Though as they grow older girls will likely start thinking beyond the tie of sex and marriage, it's nice to see that they have a role model that, for the time being at least, is abstaining.
...and a new blogging lifestyle. The conference on Saturday really changed my outlook on blogging and "why we blog" (the big question of the weekend) and I must say, I feel enlightened. Not bad for a day of geek talk.
Trivialities aside, I have something interesting to share. I was across the street at lunch and somehow I ended up discussing school with a young guy who's in first year at SFU, one of the local universities. He's talking about how he doesn't really go to school because he doesn't like his classes, his profs, the TA's etc.
CRY ME A FREAKIN' RIVER!
I tried to tell him to take advantage of it, especially since his parents are paying for school. The entire conversation had me thinking about how kids could be so stupid. Seriously. If I had someone paying for me to go to school, paying for my accommodation and my food, I'd be there full time until I was done. Do kids really think they can get anywhere other than a menial low paying job without education? I just don't understand it. I felt like slapping him one and yelling "Wake up dude! You've got it made!" but I refrained myself - barely.
I missed updating on Friday and there was outcry *grin* from the crowds. People missed KFF. So today I give you a special Monday installment of KFF. Enjoy:
A party (and Oscar) update/discussion will be forthcoming shortly!
