Bite Club: 'Vampire Diaries' vs. 'True Blood' vs. 'Twilight'
By Angel Cohn, TWoP | Wednesday, September 9, 2009, 6:24 PM
Elena, Bella, and Sookie
The CW/Andrew Eccles
Summit Entertainment/Everett Collection
HBO
As if it wasn't already impossible to avoid the living dead in pop culture these days, along comes The CW's new "The Vampire Diaries" to -- ahem -- drain more blood from the genre. And although the young-adult novels that inspired the seres were published way back in 1991 -- years before Sookie Stackhouse or Bella and Edward were created -- we can't help but compare the show to the popular "True Blood" and "Twilight." Here's how all three stack up against each other.
The Ingénue
"True Blood": Sookie's a waitress with psychic abilities and an open mind.
"Twilight": Bella's a moody high school student who wants to stay young forever.
"Vampire Diaries": Elena's a gorgeous teen with a tough past.
WINNER: Sookie. While she can make moronic life choices, she's strong-minded, can defend herself in perilous situations and is generally pretty darn adorable.
Vampire Boyfriend
"True Blood": Bill is a Civil War vet and Sookie's neighbor.
"Twilight": Edward is a dreamy high school student with a big family.
"Vampire Diaries": Stefan is a renaissance man from classic Italy.
WINNER: Edward. He's more appealing than Stefan and carries less baggage than Bill.
Shape Shifter Guys
"True Blood": Sam's a sweet bar owner who can turn into any animal.
"Twilight": Jacob's a werewolf who is totally in love with Bella.
"Vampire Diaries": Stefan's brother Damon is not only a vamp, but can also turn himself into a scary crow.
WINNER: Jacob. This good-hearted Native American boy only turns himself into a vicious killer to protect his loved ones.
The Romance
"True Blood": Sookie loves Bill, but it's slightly a strange love given that his blood saved her life and may have put her under his thrall somehow.
"Twilight": Bella and Edward are complete and utter soul mates, determined to be together for all eternity.
"Vampire Diaries": Elena is torn between two brothers that she's attracted to.
WINNER: "Vampire Diaries." Elena's is the classic love story, and what girl wouldn't want two hot siblings vying for her love?
The Vampire Rules
"True Blood": The bloodsuckers on this show abide by most of the common vampire rules: They can't go out in the sun without turning into a fritter, can be killed by stakes or by being beheaded, need to drink blood (though synthetic is acceptable), have super speed and can fly (at least some can).
"Twilight": While you could kill one of these vamps with a stake, the sun is not their enemy in the traditional sense of the word. They don't get burnt to a crisp; instead, they get all sparkly in the sunlight.
"Vampire Diaries": These vamps can go out in the sun, but only when wearing a special piece of jewelry that keeps them safe. They like to drink blood and try to keep their identities a secret.
WINNER: "True Blood." We prefer our undead to be creatures of the night. Call us old fashioned.
By the Book?
"True Blood": It hits some of the major plot points and character traits, but has gone its own way and invented new characters, kept some alive and embellished a lot of details.
"Twilight": It's extremely loyal to the books -- painstakingly so, as the fans quibble over any slight alteration or omission.
"Vampire Diaries": Based on the first episode, it's very loyal to the book, but the producers are going to have to do a lot to stretch this into a weekly series.
WINNER: "True Blood." We like the fact that the show is willing to take chances with the source material that usually pay off.
Talk About It:
Which vampire franchise has the best bite?
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