The thing about The Vampire Diaries is that the show is so absolutely frantic without being fragile. In other words, it completely pulls off stuffing each episode to the brim with twists, turns, and shocks without ever truly derailing itself. The solidity is in the characters and their development, I believe.

Someone recently asked me who my favorite character was on The Vampire Diaries and I found myself stumped. Under most circumstances, I can rattle off my favorite character, or at least my top two, from a television show as a knee-jerk reaction. In this case, it takes me a while and I inevitably change my answer. Another friend also alerted me that this was the vampire show that was created for the sole purpose of gathering the best looking cast possible. This makes sense too. 

I nearly always forget that it’s Nina Dobrev playing both Elena and Katharine. That’s how good she is at playing the yin and yang. As much as I like Damon as a character, I hope the writers are smart enough not to play with fire too fast in having Elena cave to Damon. I think her and Stefan are perfectly fine together and I think it’s way overplayed, at this point, to have characters on a teen drama-type show flipflop in romance. It wouldn’t make enough sense to me… some sense, not enough.

I really like Caroline. I was always fascinated by Caroline because I think this is the kind of show where the urgency is mostly in the supporting cast. It’s in the people who know nothing about the supernatural half of the show. By “urgency” I mean, that’s where, as a viewer, you subconsciously know the big drama can happen. That’s where the wild cards are played. That’s where someone can die.

I like Caroline’s development now, more so, though, than the role she played within the “urgency” of the show during season 1. I think it says something about the character that she was pushed into the supernatural realm of the show head over feet and reacted so well. I always find myself so frustrated that the other characters are so hard on her after all that she’s been put through. She will never have children! This seems like the type of girl who aspired to be a trophy wife and now she has to battle werewolves! Having said that, I think death suits her well and it seems to be the best thing to ever happen to her. She also looks twice as good as a vampire.

I think where the show’s subsequent pitfall may be, eventually, is in its pacing. I think a show that moves at such a fast pace is brilliant at its start and usually lackluster by the end of season 3 or beginning of season 4. I think Gossip Girl is the perfect example of this. You hit the audience with episode after episode of impossibly dramatic scenarios and intensely tried relationships and then you’re suddenly left with very little to do with your immediate cast. Thus, you’re forced to write in new character after new character for more ridiculous scenarios. Only problem? The audience never likes these characters nearly as much as the original cast and so, the new plots are dead before they get off the ground. I sincerely hope The Vampire Diaries can escape this demise because right now it’s soaring. 

Tidbit: Word on the streets is Jenny Humphrey won’t be returning for Season 4 of Gossip Girl. Rumors aren’t sure if she’s leaving The Big Apple or just getting killed off a la Mischa Barton on The OC (same series creator). Her departure will have something to do with the big shock during this season’s finale, though. 

Update: Jenny won’t be back for at least the first episodes of Season 4 but there’s no telling if she’s coming back at all… yet. There is some speculation that her character will follow the book’s trajectory and head off to boarding school for a while or for forever. That’s lame, she’s the show’s saving grace right now.

Gossip Girl officially crosses the line between popular guilty pleasure and completely mainstream ridiculousness this season, and it’s all but entirely disappointing. Of course, I’ll keep watching.

Here’s why I think the show is going down hill. First, some of the characters have completely outgrown the others, leaving the structure of the show entirely out of whack. Chuck Bass is on a completely different level than anyone else, as searching for his mother has led him on wild goose chases and upper east side extreme scavenger hunts, while poor Dan Humphrey is left to lame NYU college dorm parties. Now, I know from personal experience that NYU will never ever throw a wild indoor luau… never! Dan is all but non-existant on the show as of now, and he used to be the show’s leading guy! What happened?

I’m also frustrated with the show’s usage of Blair Waldorf and Nate Archilbald for pure comic relief and plot progression. We all know Blair’s shenanigans are funny and that’s a big part of what made the first two seasons fun, but I don’t care to see her sexual role playing anymore, especially if Chuck isn’t even paying attention. Blair is probably the most popular character. I know they’re trying to be fair by spreading the attention, but the ratings for Gossip Girl are sucking so give her more to work with.

As for Nate, he’s coming off more like one of Serena’s many many flings, which isn’t good at all. It took her three seasons to settle for Nate. Why would he feel good about this? This is just embarrassing.

Also, how can Jenny Humphrey never learn a single lesson? I think Jenny is the character the viewer is supposed to most relate to, and I think people empathize with her more so than others. They bring her character to the brink of destruction each and every season, yet she still keeps rebelling. What are you rebelling against, Jenny? Your dad married the top upper east side socialite bride and you never have to worry about status again. Maybe that’s it… maybe the show is setting this all up so that the viewers can, yet again, learn that money and power aren’t everything. This moral is getting kind of stale, especially when a lot of these rich kids look very happy, and so I find myself wondering more and more…

How many more times can Serena say she’s turned over a new leaf when she’s banged everyone on the show?

 I do like Jenny dating the drug dealer, though. 

In Touch Weekly gives the cast of Jersey Shore a Gossip Girl spin.

I love everything about this picture. I love that Pauly D refused to let them ruin the blowout and was forced to wear a cabbie hat (“It takes forever. I’ve got a million other things to do today.”) I love that Vinny looks oddly comfortable and somewhat unchanged. I love that there is so much I want to “bold” in this post that it reminds me of when highlighting used to become coloring in middle school. I always love JWOWW… always! More so than all of that even, I love that In Touch Weekly released this just in time to remind us that there is absolutely no need for a Real World: Washington DC.