The Vampire Diaries or How Damon Saved the Vampires

First, let me say that I didn't have a lot of hope for this show.  It's based on a series of teen novels, of which I've read the first two, and although they were pretty good, they were definitely geared towards teens.  You know, a lot of "Gee, does he like me?" and "Who are you taking to the dance?" type of stuff.  So, I watched the first episode fully expecting that I might not make it to the second.  And then they introduced Damon.

Damon is not a new character. He's the evil vampire in the books, but in the show he is deliciously evil.  And for that, I absolutely love him.  He does not sparkle.  He does not play nice with humans.  He does not even play nice with his human-loving brother Stefan.  He snacks on the good people of the town and leaves their broken bodies wherever they fall.  All without apology.  Now that's a vampire.

I just watched the most recent episode and not only was he up to his usual evil-vampy tricks, he was reading a copy of Twilight and complaining about Edward and the whole sparkly vampire thing.  Then, with his next undead breath, he compliments Anne Rice.  Yup, I am totally in love.  Finally, after all this touchy-feely vampires are your friends business, we get a real vampire.  Damon, you have saved me from goody-two shoes vampire hell.  Now go beat up your brother again and wreak some havoc on an unsuspecting teenager or two.