TVD PBP

[azurite]

So I'm watching the CW's new "The Vampire Diaries" show in an attempt to believe in the vampire genre post-Twilight. I was really hoping it wouldn't have too many (it's impossible to believe in ANY) Twilight elements, but so far, the show's not faring well.

A quick reference table, for the uninitiated:

Element	Twilight	The Vampire Diaries
New person in town	Bella	Stefan
Vampire reaction to sunlight	Sparkling	None when wearing the ring; without it, turns into ash
Vampire "game face"	None; colored eyes and dog-like growling	Bloodshot/black eyes with dark circles, fangs
Vampire abilities	Varies; "hero" Edward can read minds, aside from the "usual" vampire traits of supersenses, super-strength and super-speed	"Usual" vampire traits: super-strength, super-speed, super-hearing, super-smell, possible super-sight
Connection to main female character	Saves her from her own stupidity and klutziness; she suspects he's a vampire after a fluke story from a local Native American tribe member and a random Internet search. Also, she smells like bacon.	Elena might be the reincarnation of "Katherine," possibly a former lover of Stefan's.
Family members	Edward's are a rich adopted family of super-beautiful people, Bella's are a pair of idiots, one of which (dad Charlie) is the walking stereotype of "overprotective but not really present" father	Elena's parents died in a car accident, but she lives with her grad student aunt and reckless younger brother; Stefan lives with his apparently-human uncle, who thinks he shouldn't have come back to Mystic Falls, but he's also got a vampiric brother, Damon, who seems to hate him
Friends and Frenemies	None; Bella gives up all notions of actual friendship with anyone who's not a sparkly rich vampire after she gets involved with Edward. She doesn't have any frenemies, either, since everyone at high school loves her.	Best friend Bonnie, who might have some legitimate psychic abilities. Potential rivalry with Caroline, pretty blonde with a grudge over everyone "always choosing Elena."
Lamesauce	Bella wants to become a vampire no matter what; she doesn't have a reasonable explanation for it except she's so crazy in love with Edward that she can't stand the thought of growing old without him (or "growing old" with him, since he's eternally 17). Also, "vegetarian vampires" that suck the blood of local wildlife. And the Cullens/Hales, more specifically Edward, have the ability to "dazzle" people into believing whatever they want, or to becoming mindless idiots.	Both characters keep diaries/journals, which I guess makes sense given the title of the series, but who seriously does that anymore? I dunno, seems too trite and convenient. Also, Stefan "dazzles" people just as much as Edward. Like Ed, he dazzled school administration to get what he wanted.
Ooh, plot!	Volturi "head vampire" clan wants to destroy the Cullen clan for threatening the sanctity of the vampire secret (Edward was going to "commit suicide" by sparkling in the Italian sun and let the Volturi rip him apart for it; he believed Bella was dead; also, they thought Edward and Bella's freak child Renesmee was a horrible immortal child, instead of a hybrid vampire)	Would-be girlfriend of Elena's brother knows she got attacked by a vampire, as opposed to "random rapist in the woods" or something like that. Also, evil vampire brother Damon makes for a pretty tough antagonist, with the potential for much sadism.
Prediction of Doom	The movies will cut out the part of the final book where Edward literally eats Bella out--her uterus, that is.	Caroline will get turned into a vampire by Damon (or someone else); either way, she'll end up being much more of a rival than just a grumpy high school student who feels she gets shafted compared to Elena in the romance department