Maisy Fernandez,
Oct 29, 2009
Ten years ago, when a kid dressed up as a vampire for Halloween, you could safely assume he or she might be posing as Dracula.
But today, there's no telling which blood-sucker might show up on doorsteps and at costume parties. Thanks to a host of television shows, books and movies, vampires are enjoying some time in the spotlight -- and not just on Oct. 31.
The latest vamps to join the TV viewer bloodlust are Stefan and Damon Salvatore, of The Vampire Diaries.
So how do the newest small screen vampires stack up to their predecessors on True Blood? We pitted them against each other in a TV Throwdown:
MAIN VAMPS
As vampires go, Bill Compton and Stefan Salvatore are both the "nice guys" of their species.
TB's Bill is a gentleman, retaining his chivalrous nature from his human life nearly 200 years prior. For his love, Sookie, Bill opens car doors, plans romantic dinners and refuses to stray, even when women throw themselves at him.
Stefan has been trapped in a teenage body for nearly 150 years. And he's willing to go to the mat for his main squeeze, Elena, even if that means trying to kill his evil vampire brother, Damon. But Stefan also has a complex history/love triangle an ex-girlfriend and his brother, and it appears another one is forming. With sibling rivalry in the mix, Stefan has a more complex history and situation than Bill.
True Blood: 0
The Vampire Diaries: 1
LEADING LADIES
We can understand why Bill and Stefan fell for Sookie and Elena. They're both smart, spunky, and most importantly, they aren't afraid to break things off when the relationship isn't working for them. Brave!
Sookie's telepathic powers give her an interesting dynamic with the residents of Bon Temps. Elena, whose parents recently died, is a strong, sympathetic character, for sure.
But we love being able to see the townspeople's thoughts through Sookie, so she prevails here.
True Blood: 1
The Vampire Diaries: 1
MAINSTREAMING
One premise of each show is that vampires live somewhat harmoniously among regular humans -- a huge departure from the scary, monstrous vampires of old.
The VD characters can go outside during the day, as long as they're wearing their special rings. Stefan participates in the school car wash, and plays football. On a recent show, the Salvatore brothers acknowledged the pop culture teen vampire phenomenon that is Twilight.
TB vamps drink synthetic blood to keep from feasting on humans. Vampire blood is also sold as a hallucinogenic drug to humans. The vampires have an activist group, and a bar called Fangtasia. Pam is a shoe addict, Eric colors his hair and Bill keeps Fanta in the house for human visitors. Their queen is a Scrabble addict.
While we loved the Twilight reference in VD, it's the subtle touches -- such as TB's Eric with bleaching foils atop his head -- that are going to win this battle.
True Blood: 2
The Vampire Diaries: 1
VILLAINS
Everyone loves a bad boy, but which one do we love more?
While a few dangerous creatures appeared on TB, Eric is painted as kind of the ongoing villain -- the yin to Bill Compton's nice-guy yang.
Eric has the hots for Bill's girl, and he manipulated her into drinking his blood in order to create an unbreakable bond between the two. He kept Lafayette chained up in some weird basement dungeon, and he is a bit of a drug lord, forcing humans to sell intoxicating vampire blood for profit.
Meanwhile, Damon is singlehandedly terrorizing the small town of Mystic Falls. He's killed several people -- some just to spite his brother, Stefan. Damon has mind-control over his girlfriend, Caroline, and often uses her to do his bidding knowing that he will eventually off her. And he's doing everything in his power to steal Elena from Stefan.
Still, Eric has shown some moments of compassion when he agreed to help Sam rid the town of evil MaryAnn, and when he's saved Sookie's life. We have yet to see any kindness from Damon, who, thus far, is bad to the bone.
True Blood: 2
The Vampire Diaries: 2
CASTS
There's no denying that VD assembled an amazingly beautiful cast in its primary actors, Nina Dobrey, Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder.
And the cast of TB is simply amazing, from Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer to Alexander Skarsgard and Ryan Kwanten. But it's Nelsan Ellis that wins this category for us. His TB character, Lafayette Reynolds, brings life and laughs to an often intense program.
True Blood: 3
The Vampire Diaries: 2
Bottom line: Just because True Blood won this war doesn't mean we don't have massive love for The Vampire Diaries as well. We admit, we've been suckered into the vampire craze, and we can't wait to see what unfolds on each show.
