... Am liking 'The Vampire Diaries'

Yes, I am. And please, don't ask why. Even I don't fully understand my strangely evolving moods when it comes to CW programs. (Why, I even liked this Monday's Parisian episode of "Gossip Girl"; more on that later.)  Aren't these shows supposed to be for people a fifth my age?

Meanwhile, 'Vamp' clips followed by my review...

 

"The Vampire Diaries," WPIX/11, 8.

Reason to watch: Season two launch of bodice-ripping blood-sucking CW teen vamp hit.

Catching up: Mystic Falls, Va., had quite the Founder's Day "celebration" in the May 13 season one finale. The mayor was killed; a small army of vampires plotted a revenge attack on the town's founders; vamp hater John Gilbert (David Anders) incapacitated every bloodsucker within a mile radius with a strange but highly effective machine, thus thwarting their attack. Vamp Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) lip-locked with Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), who is in love with his brother, Stefan (Paul Wesley.) Her own brother, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen), appeared to take his own life with a vampiric cocktail of pills and vamp blood. But was that really "Elena?" No, it was...

What tonight's about: Katherine Pierce (also Dobrev) is back full-force this season to screw with everyone's heads - especially Damon's (who has loved her for 145 years) and
his brother Stefan's (Paul Wesley), who now despises Kat, but once did not. To confuse matters - and they do get a bit confusing - Katherine and Elena are dead-ringers, or doppelgangers (Elena is presumably a distant relative). Tonight mostly takes place at the memorial for Mayor Richard Lockwood (Robert Pralgo), whose head was pretzel-twisted by a vamp last May. You'll also learn more about the fates of his son Tyler (Michael Trevino) and Caroline Forbes (Candice Accola), both injured in the season-ending car crash.

My say: Katherine made her evil undead appearance last season, but tonight is a pretty clear indication that she's not going anywhere soon, and yes, she's very much as evil and as undead as always. Katherine was a key - maybe THE key - protagonist of the L.J.Smith book series that "Vampire Diaries" is based upon, inasmuch as she essentially made the two battling Cain-and-Abel-like bros, Damon and Stefan. She and her human doppelganger, Elena, are also mirror opposites, representing the battle of good vs. evil. And THAT, friends, is the stuff gothic vampire fables and TV soap operas are largely made of.  Last season, Damon almost seemed like he was just as nice a guy as his brother - maybe a little more lovelorn and cynical. TWO decent brothers vying for the love of the same good woman? No thanks. Katherine makes him creepy all over again.
 Bottom line: Good start with a pair of shockers. Beware...

 Grade: B