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Family is power. The Original Vampire family swore it to each other a thousand years ago. They pledged to remain together, always and forever. Now, centuries have passed, and the bonds of family are broken. Time, tragedy and hunger for power have torn the Original Family apart. Now, in the midst of a thriving New Orleans, a city known to be steeped in magic and history, the long-smoldering war is about to reach a fever pitch, and the Originals stand as the catalyst. As lines are drawn and strategies are laid out, one truth will echo through the French Quarter – power begins and ends with family.
Spin-offs can be extremely difficult to pull off. They're obviously made to appeal to fans of the series they are branching off from, but they also have to appeal to new viewers if they hope to cultivate a sizable audience. Their pilots have to introduce characters and plots to the uninitiated while not feeling redundant or boring to the established fans. When executed correctly, spinoffs can be a wild success: by now, many forget that "NCIS" was actually a spinoff of the CBS series "JAG" and, at eleven seasons, has outlasted its originator and is currently the most-watched drama on network television. But for every "NCIS" there's a "Joanie Loves Chachi", the notorious flop that was a spinoff of "Happy Days".
So how does "The Originals" fare? It was definitely a smart choice by The CW to spinoff their highest-rated show, "The Vampire Diaries", because it has the biggest built-in fan base. But due to its very stereotypical CW-ness, the show isn't going to draw in anyone who's not already a fan of The CW -- and anyone who's already a fan of the The CW is already watching "The Vampire Diaries" -- which means that unless every single person who's watching TVD is also watching "The Originals", then it's inevitable that this spinoff will not prove to be the network's most successful show anytime soon.
Not being a regular CW-watcher, nor having ever seen a single episode of the show's parent-series, it's somewhat difficult to review "The Originals". It's clear that the viewer is already supposed to know who "Klaus" and "Elijah" and "Rebekah" are, thus not much time is spent getting to know these characters. The pilot begins in medias res, with any unfamiliar viewer struggling to keep up. This diving in head-first may work for procedural shows like "NCIS", but for a show with a deep mythology like "The Originals", it makes it difficult to keep up.
So is there anything here worth watching for a non-fan of TVD? Probably the strongest thing this series has going for it are its admittedly high production values. The gothic New Orleans setting is consistently beautiful and the atmospheric lighting that casts deep shadows over the actor's chiseled cheekbones makes "The Originals" easy on the eyes, at least. But in typically-CW fashion, the casting director has esteemed physical attractiveness as a more important asset than acting ability, and what follows feels more like a vampire-themed fashion show than any sort of quality drama. This won't come as a surprise to anyone who's caught bits of CW shows while channel-surfing, and it won't be anything that will dissuade CW fans, so it's all a moot point anyway.
"Moot." That's pretty much what "The Originals" boils down to. It's a foregone conclusion that the legions of TVP followers will flock to this show, and it's equally a foregone conclusion that no one else will give it a second look. Speaking of "NCIS", this spinoff is scheduled to air against both that juggernaut as well as ABC's popular new show "Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.", so they're clearly not even trying to attract viewers who aren't already tuning in to The CW. We'll see if a portion of the 2-3 million people who are watching TVD will be enough to keep "The Originals" undead.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwnq3pQLJaI[/youtube]
