Posted by Vee | May 22, 2010, 1:11 (EST) | 10 Comments
Category: TV Series

This tidbit is actually five days old but it’s a great nugget, so I’m blogging it now. In the May 17th edition of TV Guide Magazine’s Ask Matt column, a reader asks Matt Roush to address what she perceives as two glaring flaws in The Vampire Diaries: the “lack of kick-ass women” (she specifies that while many of the main female characters are strong emotionally, she wishes they were more physical, “ala Buffy”), and the glossing over of slavery and other social issues in the 1864 flashbacks.

I never expected the show to delve deeply into issues of race and sexuality as True Blood does so well, but it would be nice if the show at least acknowledged that there were other things going on besides vampire vs. human Mystic Falls conflicts.

Here’s part of Roush’s response:

I’m afraid I don’t take the show seriously enough to lament its lack of social/historical context. Where would they fit a lecture on the evils of slavery in a show churning this much juicy melodrama this busily? I suppose it would be interesting if some of the vampire revolt had to do with seeking vengeance against the mores and masters of the antebellum past, but it’s intriguing to me that characters like Bonnie and her grandmother (and their ancestors) nurture a supernatural power that seems to render them pretty “kick-ass.”

READ THE ENTIRE QUESTION AND ANSWER OVER AT TV GUIDE MAGAZINE.

Both of these topics have come up in our forums before, but on the heels of the season finale (oh, hey, Uncle John – you need an ice pack for that?) I thought I could bring it up in the blog. I have my own thoughts on both points (for starters, the idea that a “kick-ass woman” must be defined by her physical bravery, no matter how smart, savvy, or emotionally well-adjusted she is), but I’ll turn it over to you guys. Have your own thoughts on both issues? Agree/disagree with Roush’s reply?

Posted by Red | December 30, 2009, 13:33 (EST) | 15 Comments
Category: TV Series, Website

At long last, we have some episode stills for episode eleven of the Vampire Diaries, “Bloodlines”, courtesy of SpoilerTV. We’ve got our first look at Bree (Gina Torres) and Anna (Malese Jow), along with Elena, Damon and Jeremy. Hopefully we’ll be seeing more stills soon.

 
We should be slipping back into a more regular posting schedule now that the holidays are (almost) over. We’ve had a break, and are now recharged and waiting impatiently for January 21 to hurry up and get here. ;)

We’d also like to take a moment to apologise for the Infernal Server Errors that keep cropping up – if you encounter these errors, hitting refresh a couple of times should fix it. We’re working with our hosting support to try and work out what exactly is causing it so we can fix it. It’s likely something to do with the recent WordPress upgrade, and hopefully we can get it fixed soon without resorting to reinstalling it.

Posted by Vee | November 13, 2009, 12:03 (EST) | 9 Comments
Category: TV Series

Happy Friday the 13th! According to TV By The Numbers, the ninth episode of Vampire Diaries, History Repeating, raked in an average of 4.31 million viewers last night. We’ll update with more info as it rolls in. UPDATE: Looks like the numbers came out to something like 4.1mil (courtesy of TV By the Numbers), so a little lower than originally thought, but still not bad at all. From the CW press release, courtesy of TV By The Numbers:

VAMPIRE DIARIES matched its second highest rated telecast ever in adults 18-34 (2.3/7) and adults 18-49 (2.0/5), according to preliminary live plus same day Nielsen ratings for Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009.

VAMPIRE DIARIES won the 8-9pm hour in women 18-34 (3.0/9-tie), women 12-34 (2.8/8) and female teens (2.1/7). VAMPIRE ranked second in the hour among adults 18-34 (2.3/7-tie), persons 12-34 (2.1/7-tie) and teens (1.7/6).

VAMPIRE DIARIES continues to improve the time period, gaining 88% in women 18-34 (3.0/9), 21% in adults 18-34, 56% in women 18-49 (2.5/6) and 91% in female teens (2.1/7).

Also, for those who missed the show last night, Amazon now has the ep available for download for people in the USA: standard version ($1.99) and HD version ($2.99).

UPDATE: It’s legit, folks – Marcos Siega has confirmed. Commence fandom squee-fest (and random Firefly quotes) NOW. Fancast’s Matt’s TV News is reporting that Gina Torres has landed a role on The Vampire Diaries:

Sources tell me that Torres will guest star on the freshman drama’s 10th episode as Bree, a “past” associate of Damon’s. Being a bit of a witch, Bree possibly holds the key to the more sinister Salvatore brother acquiring something he desperately wants – access to a tomb.

There were casting sides leaked featuring a “Brue,” with a production code of 110 (which would make it the 11th episode), but if the news if legit, that’s yet another Whedonverse alum dropping in on Mystic Falls (and how awesomesauce was Bianca Lawson as Emily Bennett?). We’re waiting on official word from those who would know before screaming with glee into our pillows. (ZOE!)