I’ve been watching two new series that are spinoffs from established series that started this season. The Originals on the CW and Ravenswood on ABC Family.
The Originals is truly a stand alone that from the first episode put in their mythology, good storylines that will be strong enough to last more than one season, a cast that has major chemistry and follows the Vampire Diaries style to appeal to old fans but will still be appealing to new fans.
Ravenswood is spinoff from the ABC Family show Pretty Little Liars. My problem with the fantasy gothic show is that it assumes everyone watching is fan of Pretty Little Liars so from the opening scene it’s a bit muddled. The assume you know a lot more about the show than is explained so I felt lost from the opening scene. I saw the first commercial when watching Twisted (LOVE THAT SHOW!!!) and was mildly curious with the moody shadow supernatural vibe. It’s right up my geeky sweetspot of tv shows and I was hoping it would similar to the first season of Supernatural.
How both shows have handled being spinoffs is fascinating. If your never seen the original shows you might feel confused or lost with Ravenswood but The Originals philosophy is to map out something parallel but different that doesn’t rely on using the exact same map. Now it is a CW Show so it’s all about very pretty people, heaving bosoms, PG13 sex and has the popular sexy vampire thing going for it. While Ravenswood well in the first episode I’m not sure if it’s a haunted house, witches, ghosts or some other supernatural being. I’ll give Ravenswood 2 more episodes before cutting it lose if it doesn’t hook me.
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