CultureMob › Books › Twilight vs. True Blood vs. The Vampire Diaries

 
 

Twilight vs. True Blood vs. The Vampire Diaries

 

Vampires are everywhere! Unfortunately, I don’t mean that literally. But our country is currently experiencing a vampire phenomena that is unlike any other phenomena we’ve ever seen. It seems every medium is trying to get its hands on the vampire craze which, of course, has led to both some hits and some sad misses.

But 3 franchises have proven to be the most popular and surviving of all the attempts to cash in on the craze: The Twilight Saga, True Blood (also known as “The Southern Vampire Mysteries”) and The Vampire Diaries. But which is actually the best of the 3? Which isn’t even worth your time?

The Twilight Saga

While I appreciate Stephenie Meyers’ attempt to romanticize abstinence in young adult fiction, doing so in a vampire tale is not the right way to do it. Sex (and violence for that matter) is an integral part of vampire mythology. Don’t ask me why–it just is. So reading long tomes where vampires try to control their lust is just boring. Her plots also have no focus, her dialogue is trite and her prose is full of grammatical errors. The film adaptations are also just as horrendous. There’s only one good actor in the cast (Anna Kendrick) and she doesn’t even play a major character. The movies are poorly paced, amateurish and without any real thrills. Pass!

True Blood (pictured above)

This series gets the mythology right. There’s enough bedplay and bloodplay to satisfy those of us who are looking for a thrill (some may even say there’s too much of the former). The show, as well as the books, is not meant for the light-hearted–it’s violent, profane, disturbing, graphic but with a very wry sense of humor that is just irresistible. The cast, led by Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Rutina Wesley and Alexander Skarsgard, is pretty great. The only problem is for every awesome storyline, you have one that is sort of lame. And some plots take forever to achieve some sort of progress.

The Vampire Diaries

But in my opinion, the best vampire series out there is TVD. Not only is the cast uniformly spectacular, the writing is sharp, it moves at a breakneck speed, and the twists are mind-blowing. I watched the pilot last fall out of curiosity but it only took me three episodes to get hooked. TVD isn’t afraid to kill off a major character nor does it shy away from any real danger. It is also enjoyable to any demographic. It achieves a rare balance between “teen show” and “adult drama.” And the flashbacks to the post-Civil War era are expertly done. I would highly, highly recommend catching up on TVD.

Are you a fan of any or all of these vampire franchises? Or are you just completely anti-the vampire craze?

 
FTC Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above might be “affiliate links," meaning if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission. We may have also received a free copy of the book, CD or DVD or product that's being reviewed. Finally, promoters may have have given the writer free admission to the play, concert or other event that was previewed or reviewed (duh!).
Categories: National Books, National Film, National TV
Tags: True Blood
 

  • Candig

    I could have not said it better myself.

  • VandV

    True blood was great at first but then got trashy. I love VD!

  • J J :)

    I love true blood even though s.3 ended weird, but its only once a year! So I stick to Vampire Diaries and I love it!
    Twilight is OK. No comparison to the other two.

  • Christine

    vampire diaries<33

  • http://greek4cheerful.wordpress.com Larissa

    Twilight by far the best books, Vampire Diaries the BEST show, True Blood the best soft porn… lol, but seriously.

  • Malina

    it’s exact!))

  • Toshi Mathur

    Dear Manish,

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the three above. :)
    I have not yet watched TVD or True blood. But, I can definitely vouch for the ‘Twilight Saga’ all four books in the series and the movies released so far.

    I have a feeling that boys in general do not like Twilight (I also know some exceptions to this :) ) this is because it is a soft, mushy kind of a story.
    This story present a twist in normal vampire mythology (lust and thirst for blood) which is what makes it different and interesting. Vampire being in love and in control of his/her thirst is beautifully portrayed. But of course there are bad vampires too, the traditional ones which you may like :P if you have read/watched the entire set so far.

    Will watch TVD series as per your recommendation as I have developed an interest in Vampire movies/series :)

    Cheers
    Toshi

  • Melinda

    I agree with Larissa exactly, lol….I do enjoy and look forward to watching True Blood, but I didn’t expect Sookie to be a fairy! Hell I look forward to watching all of them. I spend time with my daughters watching the Twilight movies, I love the Vampire Diaries and think Damon and Stephan are hot. But then again I’ve always loved Vampire movies even before all this stuff came out. The Lost Boys, Interview with a Vampire, From Dusk till Dawn. I could go on and on lol.

  • Matthew l

    Could not gave said it better myself!!! But for me, vampire diaries is the best vampire thing ever!!!!! Those vampire chicks are baddd!! And mega bitchy. But that doesn’t matter!!!
    Vampire diaries is da bomb!!!!!!!

    Love ya Katherine, keep up the good work!!!

  • Karuna

    I don’t like vampire books or movies but I would probably watch what you recommended. The family watches it. I’m a fan of the Highlander series and books. You know of it?

  • sarah

    The Vampire Diaries is the most enjoyable to watch out of them all, but I would catch up on season 1 before trying season 2 or you will not know what is going on! It is dark, smart, sexy, scary fun. Trueblood is great as well, loved the books, but they are trying to put too many storylines in about minor characters that break up the pacing and main characters need to be focused on more.

  • christina

    The vampire diaries:
    this show is amazing.the cast is great.the plot is even better.i became a huge fan with just 1 episode now i’m just a big fangirl and when i watch a vampire diaries episode i can’t wait for the next one…seriously this is all i can think about!!!!

    true blood:
    started quite well but kinda let me down.

    twilight”
    awful,boring , horrible,meaningless,stupid crap !!!!

  • Rachna

    I agree that TVD is the best vampire series out there. I like that you have to invite a vampire into your house–otherwise they can’t come in. That notion in itself allows me to watch TVD on Thursday nights alone in my house! I think vampires are something that is coming back with the whole 80s coming back thing. There were lots of movies about vampires in the 80s and even though I wasn’ t old (or brave) enough to watch them (ok, I’m still not brave enough!), I remember there being lots of vampire and werewolves stories. It would be awesome if they made a TVD movie once the series ends!

  • Poonam

    I completely disagree with your assessment of the Twilight series, namely the books! I am the first to admit that the writing is poor (and I know the grammar mistakes really irk you! :) ) but the plot is not at all misguided. I know what you mean about sex/blood being the basis of vampire stories, but I think Meyer knew her audience would be a bunch of young girls, and I think the point she was making was that no matter how much in lust or love you are, there is a time and place for everything. For Edward and Bella, they waited until they were married to have a full relationship, even though theirs is a relationship you could say is real love! OK, I’m done ranting, and I do have to say you’ve convinced me to start watching the Vampire Diaries!

  • Rory Wood

    Great turn out!

    Nice article, Manish.

  • Vic

    Great review Manish.

  • Nicole

    I like all of them. I think most of the modern shows have vampire mythology spot on. However there are some myths that sound fake. Like vampires twinkle in the sunlight – sounds retarded, don’t get me wrong, I loved Twilight, but yeah. One more thing on the sunlight myths, Magic Rings? If your gonna make vampires die of stake them. Lol. I think I would have to say True Blood has the myths spot on. Even if it has to much porn on it, just not something I would suggest watching with teenagers/kids. (Team Vamps Rock!)

  • Nicole

    I meant saying, I wouldn’t suggest teenagers/kids to watch True Blood.

  • AM

    i love VD! Its the best part of Thurs… hope they can maintain the momentum/popularity/plot.
    BIG TB fan too- this season has been the best so far… hopefully Bill will go away forever and Eric can be the lead character.
    Twilight… although I liked it initially I’m getting annoyed with the movies drama, makeup and presentation.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Search CultureMob

Author

Manish Mathur

Website: http://mathurmarquee.blogspot.com

 
Recent Posts by Author