Vampire Diaries vs. True Blood: What TV series sucks more blood???

[Aerilon]

I do hope you realized how completely asinine a distinction that sounds like when you were typing it

Apparently not.

Vampire Diaries has three 'non-human' species (if that's the right word) about it. It's based in a single town, and focuses (essentially) on a single girl. Most of the show is, or has been about Elena.

True Blood has a small dose of everything, from shape-shifters, fairies, witches and whatever create that woman was (I forget the name). Added to that, season two was pretty much an on-screen orgy. The show's main focus is Sookie, but there are underlying focuses too, especially with vampires having 'come out', in addition to the show not specifically being set in one location. It's more expanded I think.

The two shows can be presented in the same way, they're both different, and are both telling a different story. They're around for different reasons.

[iheartshep]

Isn't Elena a direct descendant of Katherine on 'Vampire Diaries'? I kinda feel sorry for the guy played by Zach Roering (Matt?) on "Diaries"...he is the only one who's just normal! He doesn't have a chance.......LOL Anyway, the main reason I watch "Diaries" is to watch Ian Somerhalder have the time of his life chewing up the scenery.

A friend recommended "True Blood" so I got the DVDs from Netflix. I really like it. I love Sookie and Vampire Bill's relationship, and who doesn't love Lafayette? It's not for everyone though.

IHS

[mr_kennedy]

Both True Blood and Vampire Diaries are good, but i think Buffy was the best and will always be

also nice pun thread creater

[Giantevilhead]

First of all, Vampire Diaries started out as a very successful series of books about 20 years ago. Twilight unashamedly ripped them off. Now there's this new show obviously jumping on the Twilight bandwagon, which makes people think that Vampire Diaries is just another Twilight. It's not. The books are far better written, have better plots and characters and just are overall better than the Twilight books.

As for Elena, if the show is following the books' plotline (as I remember it), she is the reincarnation of Katherine. So they are, essentially, the same person. I'm pretty sure that's the final twist though forgive me if I'm wrong because I read them about 5 years ago.

I urge you to read the books, as they are great. Also, bipolar means manic depressive. You're thinking of MPD or multiple personality disorder. Bipolar people experience periods of mania and then depression.

True Blood is great, but I am, like you, getting pissed off with so many vampire shows. I'll stick with Buffy. As for why I like TB - I like because it's real. For me, although it can be silly, it shows what would happen if vampires appeared in the real world. It shows a lot of humanity's faults and also our graces. Also, yeah, so there's sex scenes. That's just part of the show. It's portraying different cultures - the daylit small town world vs the underground vampire world and all the stuff in between. And sex and nudity is a big part of both those worlds. Honestly I like that a series is skipping the now cliched scene switching at the right moment to replace euphemism with reality.

Actually, I would say that True Blood is inspired more by the World of Darkness/Vampire: The Masquerade role playing game, which came out in the same year as the first The Vampire Diaries book. The World of Darkness dealt a lot more with political intrigue between the different vampire factions and various other fantasy creatures living in a modern world. It is an actual exploration of vampire society rather than having you see it from a human's perspective. Everything in the World of Darkness is filled with subtext and double meanings.

True Blood captures some of the themes of World of Darkness but it's more about a world that is still filled with mysteries even when people are aware of the existence of the mystical world.

[Sp!der]

Yes, as Mr Kennedy stated before the best Vampire show will always be Buffy.. I am watching Vampire Diaries the first season, and I am wondering where is the chemistry between the actors? there are none! With True Blood it is a bit better also it will not overthrown Buffy and Angel. The only good thing on Vampire Diaries is Ian Sommerhalder (and the girls ) ...other wise it is not that good but Ill stick to it.. maybe it will get better...

[Gatefan1976]

Actually, I would say that True Blood is inspired more by the World of Darkness/Vampire: The Masquerade role playing game, which came out in the same year as the first The Vampire Diaries book. The World of Darkness dealt a lot more with political intrigue between the different vampire factions and various other fantasy creatures living in a modern world. It is an actual exploration of vampire society rather than having you see it from a human's perspective. Everything in the World of Darkness is filled with subtext and double meanings.

True Blood captures some of the themes of World of Darkness but it's more about a world that is still filled with mysteries even when people are aware of the existence of the mystical world.

V:TM did have its own show (Kindred: The Embraced) for a season, but IIRC, the actor that played the lead character (Julian Luna) was killed IRL. TB very much reminds me of V:TM with the political aspects of vampire society as well.

(goes back to building a V:TES deck for tommorow night )

[Giantevilhead]

V:TM did have its own show (Kindred: The Embraced) for a season, but IIRC, the actor that played the lead character (Julian Luna) was killed IRL. TB very much reminds me of V:TM with the political aspects of vampire society as well.

(goes back to building a V:TES deck for tommorow night )

The show was canceled after 8 episodes but Showtime was in negotiations to bring it back. Unfortunately, the death of the show's lead actor sunk the deal.

The show was somewhat loosely based on Vampire: The Masquerade but it wasn't bad and certainly had the potential to be great.

[Gatefan1976]

The show was canceled after 8 episodes but Showtime was in negotiations to bring it back. Unfortunately, the death of the show's lead actor sunk the deal.

The show was somewhat loosely based on Vampire: The Masquerade but it wasn't bad and certainly had the potential to be great.

I don't know If I'd call it "loosely based", they used the Clans, titles and entire "feel" of V:TM. I do wish it lasted longer than it did though (Hell, I've played characters in V:TM that lasted longer than Kindred did)

[Giantevilhead]

I don't know If I'd call it "loosely based", they used the Clans, titles and entire "feel" of V:TM. I do wish it lasted longer than it did though (Hell, I've played characters in V:TM that lasted longer than Kindred did)

There a ton of things they left out most of the mythology behind the vampires like the sects, generations, clan disciplines, and a lot of the supernatural elements. They also made several changes to the vampires. They could go out during the day after they've fed, they can eat normal food, they enjoy sex, and the Nosferatu aren't nearly as deformed as they should be.

Although there is plenty of scheming and intrigue, it was too focused on the Ventrue vs. Brujah rivalry. There should have been plenty of plotting going on within the clans. Maybe they would have gotten to that if the show had continued.

[Gatefan1976]

There a ton of things they left out most of the mythology behind the vampires like the sects, generations, clan disciplines, and a lot of the supernatural elements. They also made several changes to the vampires. They could go out during the day after they've fed, they can eat normal food, they enjoy sex, and the Nosferatu aren't nearly as deformed as they should be.

Although there is plenty of scheming and intrigue, it was too focused on the Ventrue vs. Brujah rivalry. There should have been plenty of plotting going on within the clans. Maybe they would have gotten to that if the show had continued.

Well as you say, if they had more time they probably would have gotten into the other aspects you mention more (Camarilla vs Sabbat, Generations and Diablarie (athough by bringing in a Assamite near the end IIRC could have been a prelude to that), Hunters, Were's, Mages and so on) Yeah the Nos should have been uglier, but the guy could have been using Obfuscate speaking of Diciplines .

[Giantevilhead]

Well as you say, if they had more time they probably would have gotten into the other aspects you mention more (Camarilla vs Sabbat, Generations and Diablarie (athough by bringing in a Assamite near the end IIRC could have been a prelude to that), Hunters, Were's, Mages and so on) Yeah the Nos should have been uglier, but the guy could have been using Obfuscate speaking of Diciplines .

But some of those concepts, like the Camarilla and disciplines, are pretty important and should have been introduced at the beginning of the series.

I think that one of the biggest problems with the show was that it focused too much on that stupid cop guy when they should have been introducing the audience to all the vampiric lore. The show should have been about the Ventrue Prince, with his great grand niece or whatever being new to the whole vampire thing and serving to ask questions for the audience.

[Gatefan1976]

But some of those concepts, like the Camarilla and disciplines, are pretty important and should have been introduced at the beginning of the series.

I think that one of the biggest problems with the show was that it focused too much on that stupid cop guy when they should have been introducing the audience to all the vampiric lore. The show should have been about the Ventrue Prince, with his great grand niece or whatever being new to the whole vampire thing and serving to ask questions for the audience.

Yeah, can't argue with you here at all mate! (I lie, I don't think Disciplines as a concept translate well to the screen, Vamps just move fast, hit hard and can withstand alot of damage (( Potence, Celerity, Fortitude )). Can you imagine trying to explain "in story" stuff like Obtenerbration, Serpentis, Obeah, Thanatosis and so on?, Joe public would have problems defining the diference between Dominate and Presence!)
/ V:TM geek mode

[Giantevilhead]

Yeah, can't argue with you here at all mate! (I lie, I don't think Disciplines as a concept translate well to the screen, Vamps just move fast, hit hard and can withstand alot of damage (( Potence, Celerity, Fortitude )). Can you imagine trying to explain "in story" stuff like Obtenerbration, Serpentis, Obeah, Thanatosis and so on?, Joe public would have problems defining the diference between Dominate and Presence!)
/ V:TM geek mode

The use of disciplines help set the clans apart and exemplify each clan's attitude. They could have the Ventrue use dominate to bend others to their will, show their manipulative nature. They could have the Toreador use presence to make emotional bonds with others, showing their sensual nature. They could have the Brujah use potence and celerity to kick ass, showing their violent nature. Most of these things would be pretty easy to show visually and need only a bit of explanation.

[Gatefan1976]

The use of disciplines help set the clans apart and exemplify each clan's attitude. They could have the Ventrue use dominate to bend others to their will, show their manipulative nature. They could have the Toreador use presence to make emotional bonds with others, showing their sensual nature. They could have the Brujah use potence and celerity to kick ass, showing their violent nature. Most of these things would be pretty easy to show visually and need only a bit of explanation.

Sure, but all these things are pretty shallow. Ventrue make use of a combination Dom/Pre in order to get what they want (in fact I would argue that your definition is truer to the Tremere), The Toreador are devided into the "Arteste and Posuer" camps and cross over Celerity with the Brujah, and to make out the Brujah as "violent thugs" is a disserveice to the clan that founded Carthage (and the library of Alexandria) and has the "True Brujah" offshoot. Of course at this point you and I are really discussing perception (need more Auspex ). Could they have explained the Discipline set up in the show, sure, would it have been useful in the show up till the point it ended, probably not.
Lets just say that the OWOD has a great deal of potential for storylines, and to bring it back "on topic", I see elements of V:TM in True Blood, and I really like it.

[Giantevilhead]

But they were already sticking to the clan stereotypes. The Ventrue were the aristocrats, the Toreador were the artists, the Gangrel were the rebels, the Nosferatu were the spies/assassins, and the Brujah were the violent thugs.

There's really nothing wrong with that. It's good to let the audience to get a basic understanding of the clans' reputations before delving deeper into the lore and exploring all the details. Setting up the disciplines early would make it easier to introduce clans who use their own specialized disciplines like the Tremere and the Tzimisce.

The fact that they pushed back a lot of the supernatural elements hurt the show. Instead of having the Ventrue maintain their power through ghouls and use of their disciplines, they just simplified everything and made it so that vampires can go out during the day if they've fed. Similarly, giving every vampire the ability to shapeshift hurt the uniqueness of the Gangrel.