Previously, in 2010…The Best

25 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment

by marisacarpico in Previously, on Television... Tags: "By the Light of the Moon", "Masquerade", Candice Accola, Caroline Forbes, Dexter, Katherine Pierce, Mad Men, Michael Trevino, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Stefan Salvatore, The Vampire Diaries, The Walking Dead, TVD, Tyler Lockwood

Before I reveal my pick for the Best Television Show of 2010 and resume regularly posting “Previously, on” articles next week, I want to address a few things. Though I’ve only written articles on a few series for this project, there were many engaging and solid shows in 2010, especially on cable. Thanks to networks like HBO, Showtime, FX and more recently AMC, cable has become a place where people expect to find quality television. Since cable networks are not broadcast freely, they are not subject to as many restrictions by the FCC. Thus, their shows are allowed to be a bit racier and edgier than your average broadcast network’s. For cable programming, creativity and a unique view are what set shows apart and that often allows them to address issues in a more open and sometimes realistic way then broadcast networks.

This year alone I was engrossed by a number of cable programs. The latest season of AMC’s Mad Men was arguably the show’s best, what with its lovable yet hatable anti-hero Don Draper becoming somehow both more controlled and more self-destructive. Likewise, the same network’s The Walking Dead, even with only six episodes to its first season, managed to introduce a varied and layered cast of characters all while giving audiences disgusting and horrifying zombies. My cable standout, however, was Showtime’s Dexter. I devoted the month of August to blasting through every season and became completely hooked. I was at once terrified and enthralled by how the show’s writers continually and fearlessly push the story. Not only do they write the unexpected, but also the exact plot twists I think can never be allowed to happen. Can’t imagine Dexter’s life without his wife Rita? Watch Rita go in one of the most poignant television deaths of all time only to be spellbound the next season when Dexter connects with a woman who allows him to find his humanity again. For me, strong, daring writing and believable, vibrant actors characterize each show. But they’re not the Best.

The Best show has all of the characteristics of a cable program—daring writing, brilliant actors who embody their characters, strong production values and its most distinguishing feature, the most wickedly breakneck pacing of any show on network television. The Best show of 2010 is….

The Vampire Diaries

Damon, Elena and Stefan showing just how much sexual chemistry can exist in a love triangle

I first declared my love for The Vampire Diaries back in May when it aired probably the best finale of last season. At the time, I applauded TVD’s willingness to continually take risks with every storyline and this second season has not only sustained that drive, but heightened it. Every episode progresses the story along at such an exciting yet believable pace that they all seem like season finales. The Vampire Diaries has managed to burn through as much story in half a season as it would take many dramas at least a season if not more to present. Unlike something like Lost or Bones or even CSI:NY, when TVD hints at something, it doesn’t wait until a season finale or sweeps to address it, it plunges headlong into that conflict and shocks you with how brilliantly it can forward a storyline. Like the great cable shows I mentioned above, it has a focused vision, but rather than keep that pace going for a truncated 13 or even six episode season, it does it for a full 22.

Perhaps the two most interesting developments this season have been the appearance of the evil vampire doppelganger Katherine (played with terrifying allure by Nina Dobrev) and Caroline’s (played with delicate charm by Candice Accola) progression from sweet, insecure cheerleader to kick-ass yet selfless newly turned vampire. Though the show often delights in literally exposing its attractive young male cast, the female characters are the real driving force behind The Vampire Diaries.

Nina Dobrev as Katherine Pierce

Dobrev’s Katherine loomed over the first season like a dark specter, always threatening to come to the small town of Mystic Falls and wreak havoc on our beloved characters. Katherine was the vampire who turned our human heroine Elena’s saintly vampire boyfriend Stefan (Paul Wesley) and his mischievous brother Damon (Ian Somerhalder) into vampires back in 1864. Initially, Katherine was only shown in flashback and I couldn’t imagine how the writers could bring such a dangerous character into the fold. As written, Katherine was pure evil, ruthless in both violence and selfishness. How could they possibly bring in such a volatile character without completely throwing the whole TVD world into chaos? Not to mention the strain on Dobrev, who plays both Katherine and her doppelganger Elena. And yet they did it anyway and that was the last time I ever underestimated just how daring The Vampire Diaries can be.

Katherine has certainly created utter bedlam in Mystic Falls this season and watching Dobrev play her each week with such delectably sinful relish has made it a joy. Katherine’s capacity for evil is precisely what makes her so fascinating. The changes she draws out of every character have brought the show to a new level of excellence. Stefan spent much of the first season as the monster with a heart; he was not only the perfect boyfriend but also a model vampire who abstained from human blood. But there’s just something about Katherine that brings out the predator in him.

Katherine and Stefan in "Masquerade"

During the seventh episode “Masquerade,” Katherine confronts Stefan trying to force him to give her an item. Dobrev and Wesley have always had a sweet and romantic chemistry as Elena and Stefan, but when Dobrev becomes Katherine, everything changes. Suddenly love and hatred intermingle to create these sexually charged and dangerous scenes that nearly put a stop to the whole show. During the scene, as the characters dance, Katherine casually swings between threat and flirtation and Stefan buries the attraction that surely must exist by exhibiting nothing but disdain. It’s never completely clear whether Stefan’s hate is really just twisted love, but it will be fascinating to see where these characters end up. As Katherine once responded to Stefan’s declaration of hate: “That sounds like the beginning of a love story, Stefan, not the end of one.” Just when Stefan thinks he’s in control, Katherine reminds him and the audience just how cruel she can be by brutally killing another character. It is precisely Katherine’s unpredictability and her heedless regard for human life that make her such a compelling force onscreen and she is the perfect manifestation of the writers’ willingness to constantly push the story even if that means killing characters.

That willingness to kill even the most beloved characters is part of what makes The Vampire Diaries so daring. It is truly a show where it seems nobody is safe and that sense is what makes it so thrilling. Katherine has killed a number of characters this season, but her most shocking and horrifying kill was Elena’s friend Caroline Forbes. While watching Katherine prowl around like a dangerous predator has been entertaining, Caroline’s transformation from neurotic, vapid teenager to brave, selfless vampire has been my favorite part.

Vampire Barbie aka Caroline Forbes

In Season 1, Caroline basically embodied the stereotype of a blonde cheerleader. She was jealous of Elena, petty, insecure, selfish, but you still wanted to root for her. Though she rarely said or did the right thing, she meant well. In the May finale, Caroline’s life hung in the balance when she fell into a coma after being injured in a car accident. At the time, the development was more distressing for what her death would mean to her boyfriend Matt (Zach Roerig) than any serious concern for her. When the second season started, her condition hadn’t improved and in order to save her, Damon gave her some of his blood because in TVD’s world, ingesting vampire blood can heal humans. However, it’s also one of the steps in turning someone into a vampire. So, just to show the characters and viewers she meant business, Katherine killed Caroline and started her transformation into a vampire.

Once before a character had turned into a vampire only to die a few episodes later because she couldn’t control her bloodlust. It seemed impossible that Caroline, who barely had the self-control to avoid saying something insulting in every conversation, could survive as a vampire. However, Caroline has not only met that challenge, but become perhaps the most fascinating character on the show. As Caroline has struggled with becoming a monster, she has found her strength. Something about becoming a vampire—whether it is her commitment to retaining her humanity or perhaps the simple knowledge that she no longer needs to be neurotic since she will be young and beautiful forever—has allowed Caroline to evolve into a brave and selfless hero.

In the TVD world, when someone becomes a vampire, their personality traits intensify and while Caroline’s jealousy and neuroticism took over for a time, eventually the fierceness of her love for others became her defining trait. The most important example of Caroline’s growth is her relationship with Tyler Lockwood (a surprisingly good Michael Trevino) who recently triggered his family’s werewolf curse when he accidentally killed a classmate. Like Caroline, Tyler spent much of last season as little more than a stereotype. He was the dangerously aggressive jock who cruelly abused everyone who cared about him, but also like Caroline, becoming supernatural changed him for the better. Caroline, identifying with Tyler’s fear and not wishing him to struggle alone, decided to help him through his first full moon transformation in the most recent episode “By the Light of the Moon.” It was truly one of the most horrifying and emotionally poignant plot developments the show may ever produce.

Caroline and Tyler

Unlike the werewolves in Twilight who transform in a burst of fur, werewolves on The Vampire Diaries experience a painful, hours-long process that turns them into animals stripped of anything but the desire to kill. Though Caroline knew werewolf bites could kill vampires, she stayed with Tyler throughout his transformation. As Tyler endured hours of excruciating pain and let out one gut-wrenching scream after another, Caroline comforted him. She held him as he writhed in pain and refused to leave even though each minute she stayed put her in more danger. Gone was the selfish Caroline of Season 1 and the vampire that replaced her was giving, compassionate and devoted. Even when Caroline finally left as Tyler completed the transformation, she sat outside the door crying his name only wishing she could do more to help. And in the moments after he had returned to human form and she rushed back in to hold him as he wept, it was evident how that shared experience will connect Tyler and Caroline forever.

There have been tiny hints of a possible romance between them for weeks. Not just in scripted moment mind you, but in the palpable chemistry between Candice Accola and Michael Trevino as well. They are stunning together and their performances this season are exactly what keep me so riveted. The fidelity of feeling they portray and the brilliant writing that allows them to create it are unparalleled. Though Matt broke up with Caroline weeks ago, there is still the possibility of a relationship between them, but after watching Caroline and Tyler connect on such a profound level, I doubt that can happen anymore. Caroline and Tyler have shared an experience Matt simply can’t understand. These characters found their humanity the moment they stopped being humans and they found it together. They need each other because their relationship is the only thing stopping them from giving into their monster instincts. It is a lovely and moving part of the show and let’s face it, how could I resist a Romeo and Juliet type of love story between a vampire and a werewolf? I cannot wait to see where the writers take that storyline and how Accola and Trevino play it.

Well, there you have it. That’s my choice for the Best show of 2010 and I will stand by it until the end of time. Not a single show has consistently given me such excitement and intellectual stimulation each week and I think it’s a shame that nobody has taken notice. If The Vampire Diaries were on HBO or AMC, the quality of the writing and acting would make it a shoe in for Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. On the one hand, I’m sad that the fact that TVD airs on The CW keeps people from taking a chance on it, but maybe it’s also what allows it to be so great. Since it’s on The CW and the creators know nobody takes them seriously anyway, they write with creative abandon. The only way to get people to acknowledge a CW show is to write the best damn program possible and that’s exactly what they do. They have nothing to lose so they go for broke. So I encourage anyone reading this to take that chance because I promise The Vampire Diaries will not disappoint.