(S01E1) The Vampire Diaries has everything that a show on the CW should have: nubile young actors and actresses staring longingly at one another while delivering flippant dialogue, decent special effects and enough teen angst to choke a small town.

The Vampire Diaries stars Smallville alums Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, both strong jawed and steely eyed, as Stefan and Damon, mysterious strangers who arrive in the town of Mystic Falls and fall into the company of a sweet straight-A student named Elena, played by the pretty Nina Dobrev, who's still mourning the loss of her parents. Both brothers, one good and one bad, seem to have eyes for Elena, we're just not yet sure why.

Honestly, there's really not a lot to say about this show. The faces are pretty and the vampire special effects are high end, but the writing is so stilted and cliched, it should even embarrass the high schoolers this is meant for.

As Stefan and Damon, Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder both do a decent job carrying the show. Somerhalder especially brings a nice devilish charm to his character. He's all stone cold stares and crossed arms that just scream: I will not hesitate to snap your puny neck in two. Wesley though, is less likable as Stefan, and in fact, comes off as pretty creepy in his obsession of Elena.

The show really bogs down when it veers from their back story to focus on Elena's group of high school friends, who are typically one-dimensional. There's Matt, The Jock and Elena's ex, who suspects that something's not quite right with the brooding new kid. And Bonnie, The Black Best Friend who may be psychic. Plus there's Jeremy, Elena's kid brother and The Sensitive Geek. Finally you have Caroline, The Bitchy Blond Nemesis.

The show perks up a bit once Stefan's younger brother Damon enters the picture. The two, who've been apart for 15 years, immediately lock fangs and go flying through a window, already literally at each others throats. Their stormy relationship livens up the otherwise mundane teen problems. The vampires' back story is also more engaging than the high school drama. I did find myself interested in knowing more about the mysterious Katherine that Stefan still seems to be carrying a torch for.

And of course, everyone is hiding something, and more poignantly, stuck in the past, grieving over those that are dead and gone. Knowing what Kevin Williamson was able to accomplish with Dawson's Creek, I think there's decent raw material here to to turn The Vampire Diaries into something other than just a teen soap, but it hasn't gotten off to a great start.

The pilot also seems to have cribbed it's vampire lore from its many predecessors and sticks to well-established tropes. I'd be interested to see if there's anything new or original the show is wiling to add to an already over-crowded genre.

Fans of the young adult novels may flock to the show, but it remains to be seen whether TVD can capture any of the devoted Supernatural fans (who, you know, have a thing for hot brothers who are fighting their own internal demons) or pick up new viewers bored with the other spate of network offerings.

So, what say you viewers? Is the show worth sticking around for? Is it just a Gossip Girl version of Twilight? Or perhaps it's a PG-13 version of True Blood? Maybe a Dawson's Creek for the tween generation? Either way, it's not very original.

Update: Looks like the this was a huge win for the CW, ratings wise. The real test though will be to see if the first wave tunes in for the second episode.