WARNER BROS has released the first season of "THE VAMPIRE DIARIES" on blu-ray. What could very easily have been nothing more than a mediocre attempt at cashing in on the "TWILIGHT" success, ends up as one of the past year's best new series! Creator Kevin Williamson,(DAWSON'S CREEK) has a unique way of presenting teen melodrama in a manner that can make its audience cringe with embarrassment and addicted to it, all at the same time. It also helps that the citizens of "Mystic Falls, Virginia," tend to be more attractive than one finds in virtually any other town. Brothers Stefan and Damon, both vampires, have been in existence for hundreds of years. But the brothers have a bitter rivalry borne out of Damon's desire to continue feeding on humans, whereas Stefan has chosen to feed in more humane ways. Opting to separate from his brother, Stefan has found a peaceful existence in the town of Mystic Falls, and is smitten with the beautiful Elena, a look-alike of the same beauty he and his brother had both fallen in love with over a hundred years earlier. When Damon pops in unexpectedly, the rivalry rears its ugly head in a way that shakes up the town, romances and loyalties in exactly the way which makes it easy to eagerly hurry for the next episode. Elena, (Nina Dobrev) is easily one of the most beautiful finds of television teen-targeted drama, in recent years. But, female viewers will be taken with the male cast as well.

It takes more than the first three episodes to begin getting really worthwhile, but it's worth the wait. By the 4th episode, the basic storylines of the first season are in place, and characters(albeit somewhat one-dimensional)are defined as well as they're going to be. While the actor playing Damon(Ian Somerhalder)veers towards playing over-the-top with virtually every line he gets, this makes for one of the show's more guilty pleasures as well!

WARNER BROS. has provided the correct 1.78:1 aspect ratio for this VC-1 1080p blu-ray release.  The image is a mixed bag. Colors are vibrant in one scene, but subdued in another. Detail is also all over the place! At times, the image looks terrific, aided by inky blacks. But, in other scenes, even facial characteristics resemble a waxy finish. It's frustrating! WARNER BROS has given impressive care to other series released on blu-ray, so one wonders what happened here. Not horrible, and even very good at times, but so inconsistent, it's the kind of release one wishes the studio would revisit.

WARNER BROS. has provided a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. While still frustrated WB isn't jumping to release their tv series with DTS-HD MA mixes, so often found on HBO and UNIVERSAL series, at least this one is pretty darned good! While one can't confuse it with an aggressive mix, surrounds are effective at various moments. The LFE kicks in with impact more than expected, and a fair amount of discrete/panning effects make it an engaging mix. Dialogue is always intelligible and free from distortion. Balance is impressive.

The 4 disc blu-ray set includes various extras. Williamson's contributing commentary for the pilot, is aided by two other producers. It's one of the more interesting ones we've heard, energetic and insightful without ever becoming dull.

Two featurettes are offered in HD, with cast and creator commenting on the series and its audience. Unfortunately, the best part, auditions, are minimal.

Deleted scenes are only offered in standard resolution.

A gag reel is offered in HD, along with for webisodes. Fans of the original books, will appreciate the audiobook recording of "THE AWAKENING," the first novel in the series.