Quite obviously you’ve probably read reviews of this show on other sites by now.  It’s aired 4 episodes.  But I held back my review based on my television review standards (read about them here).  I liked the pilot a lot. But I’m skipping ahead of myself.  Let’s start with what it’s about.

 

Life Unexpected is about an orphan named Lux (Brittany Robertson) who is trying to get emancipated on her 16th birthday because she hates life in foster care.  To be able to do this she needs to get signatures of her birth parents.  So she tracks them down.  The first one she is able to find is her father, Nate Bazile (Kristoffer Polaha), better known as Base, pronounced basil without the il.  He is running a local bar and had no idea he had a kid that was out there.  When Lux asks about her mother she discovers that she is actually a well known local radio host, Cate Cassidy (Shiri Appleby).  Base and Cate have not talked since High School and even then no one knew about the baby or the fact that Cate and Base even had sex.  Apparently Cate had it secretly and gave it up for adoption but Lux had a heart condition and needed a lot of surgeries which is why she was never adopted.  Anyway long story short both Cate and Base wind up with a bit of a connection to their spawn and also are both total opposites.  When the day of Lux’s hearing comes up the judge declares she cannot be emancipated but since she has 2 birth parents who can care for her they will have to take care of her.  So now Cate and her fiancee/co-host and Base must care for teenage Lux who they are just meeting.

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The Vampire Diaries is one of The CW’s new shows this season.  Now I don’t expect much out of the CW, especially after killing Veronica Mars, so I wasn’t expecting much out of this show either.  I mean it’s an obvious grab at some of that Twilight market.  This too is based on a series of books.  Also it’s run by Kevin Williamson.  My disdain for that man runs deep.

 

But before we get to into things let’s go over the basic premise of the show.  The main character is 17 year old (looks 25) Elena, who’s parents recently died in a car accident.  She now lives with her young aunt, along with he r 15 year old brother.  They live in the small town of Mystic Falls (groans are appropriate here).  When the new school year starts a mysterious new student appears.  He’s Stefan and he’s a vampire who’s creepily stalking Elena because she looks like a girl he once loved.  He’s a good vampire who doesn’t eat people though (reminding you of any books/movies yet?).  But people are being attacked in a vampire like way and we learn by the end of the first episode that that’s because his brother, Damon, also a vampire (not the good kind) is in town and wants to ruin things for Stefan.  I’m told along the way this is supposed to turn into a love triangle.  Anyway there’s also Elena’s friends of whom one is a witch (what no werewolves? How about a mummy?).

 

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