*The Vampire Diaries* Moves to New Orleans *The Originals*

The Vampire Diaries was entertaining the first season, which I watched while living a small town on the Chesapeake whose historic center was designed in the same layout and had the same architect for the old public business buildings as the Georgia small town where Diaries' exteriors were shot. Also the small Virginia town of Mystic Falls reflected the culture of my small old South town -- a village almost -- of constant public ceremonial observances of all important national, state and very local events.  The high school students were indeed forever holding car washes to raise money for a good cause and doing all kinds of services for the public good. This utterly delighted me.

Second season, less interesting -- already bored with the vamp brothers. When Elena's dark double vamp showed up, it got even more dark soap opera-y.  You either like this sort of thing or you don't. i.e. Dark Shadows, whose charms have eluded me.

However, the most recent episode of the current Vampire Diaries series was a sneak pilot for a spin-off vampire - werewolf - witch series.  This series, titled The Originals (what a terrible title! how unoriginal!) which is set in contemporary New Orleans.  I had to watch that, so I did.

It is suggested that the entire witch thang will make much more sense in New Orleans than it does in Diaries. The Mystic Falls's witches are black, who came to slaveholding Virginia from Massachusetts in the wake of the Salem witch trials.  Which seems as inexplicable as Tom and Huck sending Black Jim down the Mississippi from at least nominally free soil southern Illinois -- when northern Illinois was genuinely free soil --  in order to free him.  Further it is suggested these Mystic Falls witches are  descended from Tituba. but no histories of Salem's witch trials ever mentions she had children, but that at some point she seemed to have gotten herself back to the Caribbean from where she was brought.

However, black witches from 17th century Salem going to New Orleans seems highly unlikely as the official founding date of New Orleans isn't until 1718.  So that's the first thing The Originals has in common with Diaries -- an utter lack of history as chronology or effect.  O. The witches are also white it seems, with the exception of one elderly black woman telling fortunes on Jackson Square, complete with gelle headdress.

The witches also seem to be interchangeable with what New Orleans considers to be vodon.  You see one of them drawing veves (very badly) in one of the cemeteries.

In the real New Orleans, Katrina came to take up residence.  Which probably is why really bad television and movies get set there -- the state has provided huge subsidy and breaks for Louisiana  location productions.

There was a single aspect of The Originals that is is attractive -- one of the Bads, the black vamp, Marcelle, played by Charles Michael Davis. Marcelle's 'stolen' New Orleans from sort-of bad hybrid were-vamp, Klaus, who wants it back now. Within classic soap operatic dynamics, Klaus is Marcelle's sire. In the same vein, as Diaries watchers know, Klaus's brother is the sort-of good Elijah, who Diaries watchers also know. Klaus has managed to impregnate a witch.  Everyone just wants a family!

There's also a "Blonde Brave Bartender" who says she knows martial arts.

The witches? They all look alike.  But then, it's always dark night in this New Orleans, which evidently Katrina passed by.

It is all ridiculous. But is it a good thing for New Orleans?  Since this series' New Orleans seems confined to the French Quarter -- and the historic cemeteries -- maybe it will bring in more tourists to pour pee, vomit and money into the tourist economy, as an expanding segment of society pours into the city searching for the witches, the weres and the vamps they know are part of the Happening City. This will delight a lot of local power personages.