Posted by Red | May 19, 2009, 14:45 (EST) | 9 Comments
Category: TV Series
Marcos Siega has just twittered the news:
It’s official! Vampire Diaries is picked up!
Followed shortly after with a tweet from Kevin Williamson:
Just got a really nice phone call from Dawn Ostroff!!!!
Congratulations to everyone involved!
Update: Variety and The Hollywood Reporter are both running articles confirming the pickup by the CW. THR has something interesting to say:
CW brass is said to be so high on “Vampire” that they are even considering launching the series as a tentpole on Thursday, capitalizing on the built-in sci-fi audience on the night as it is preparing to bid farewell to “Smallville.”
Keep an eye on this blog, we’ll update with more substantial news later when we get it.
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2:52 pm on May 19th, 2009
YES!!!!! I can’t wait to see what they do with this TV adaptation. We already know that they have made quite a few changes, but I think it can still be a great show. I guess we’ll know for sure in the fall!!! Congratulations to cast and crew!
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4:54 pm on May 19th, 2009
Cool!!!!!!!!!!!
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6:06 pm on May 19th, 2009
…I’m still not overly thrilled about this. I know that we’ve known for a week or so now that this seemed a sure thing. But the news isn’t making me happy. I’m still too concerned about the changes that have been made.
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8:32 pm on May 19th, 2009
Yeah, ditto that. Ugh. I hope they rename it Mystic Falls or As the Vampire Turns (or, considering which other series they plagiarized instead of taking cues from Vampire Diaries, Twilight Blood or True Twilight) or something. Then I might actually give it a shot.
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9:50 pm on May 19th, 2009
YESSSSSSS!!!!! So happy, can’t wait to see it! :D Just hope the show doesn’t let us down.
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12:52 pm on May 22nd, 2009
Give us a chance! Please!
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12:52 am on May 23rd, 2009
I really would’ve loved to, because there are so few shows on nowadays that I still watch with any regularity. Unfortunately, your very extensive changes to the plot and characters of the series have actually eliminated every single thing that I enjoyed about the books, so I have absolutely nothing motivating me to give the series a chance, and absolutely everything motivating me to either ignore it completely or feel like the books are being incredibly disrespected.
Like I’ve been saying from the start, as long as the characters all looked about right (I don’t care if Elena/Stefan/whoever looks exactly like I picture them in my head or anything, merely the right hair and eye color would’ve done it for me) and the major iconic scenes were all there, I would’ve probably stuck by the show and not minded whatever other changes were made. True Blood did well because they pretty much followed that same philosophy when it came to the major stuff – they added on new subplots and characters of their own making, rather than changing what was already there, so people got to see their favorite characters doing what they did, and the writers got to be creative and do their own thing with the book story as well. It came out a little dull for my taste, but by and large people love that show, book fans included.
But unfortunately, not a single actor your casting people selected looks even remotely like the character they’re supposed to be playing (although if you swapped a few of them around, I’d be very interested – Paul Wesley would make a perfect Tyler, Candice Accola might make a very cute Elena if her acting chops are up for it, and with a dye job and some curls, Nina could probably pull off a great Bonnie, while Katerina would probably rock in the Caroline role, especially if she got the auburn wavy hair thing going on), and your changes to the characters’ backgrounds and their relationships have ensured that not a single one of my favorite scenes, the very same scenes that made me love the books, can possibly make it onto the show. Having neither the visual appeal of “That’s almost how I pictured Elena!” nor the story appeal of “I’ve always wanted to see this scene acted out!” leaves me with, well, absolutely no reason to tune in.
I’d love to give the show a chance, but the show would have to actually resemble the Vampire Diaries a lot more closely before I had any desire to do that. Right now, it’s kind of a mishmash of Twilight and True Blood, with a tiny bit of Vampire Diaries sprinkles thrown in, and I liked neither Twilight nor True Blood, so there you have it. I hope you aren’t too hurt by my comments, seeing as you all worked so hard on the show you DID make, but then I was pretty hurt by all the changes made for TV, many of which I feel are unnecessary and actually harm the story rather than enhance it, so we can all be hurt together over a cup of tea.
I would be up for discussing it further, privately or publicly, because it would be nice if the book fans and the TV show people could find a happy middle ground where changes can be made for TV while retaining what makes the books so enjoyable, and it would be nice to have something other than Psych and Leverage to look forward to on TV, but as things are right now…. it’s Psych and Leverage and that’s about it. Sorry.
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9:43 pm on May 23rd, 2009
Hey, you’ve managed to win me over, and I’m a crotchety old fan who thought he was stuck in his ways! :D I had a moment a couple of weeks back where I realised that not only had I mellowed to the idea of the TV series, I was actually looking forward to it. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some concerns (Matt and Stefan’s friendship is very important to me, so I hope that’s something that we see in the series), but I have been bowled over by much of what I’ve seen the past few days, and have been impressed with all the effort you guys put into the pilot. It looks like something that will really appeal to me if what I’ve seen is anything to go by. If this wasn’t based on the Vampire Diaries I’d be all over it, so I think it’s only fair to give it a chance as an entity in its own right. I really do hope that this show turns out to be awesome, and I’m more than happy to give it a chance.
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5:16 pm on May 28th, 2009
I agree with Incanto. But I have to admit, I might actually watch the first episode (and then decide whether it’s worth watching or not).
Two good things have come of this, though.
One, being that my favorite author has found some sort of recognition in the TV world (hurray!)
Two, it’s not a TV series about Edward Cullen and Bella Swan (thank you God!) I’m hating Twilight right now.
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