The Vampire Diaries followed The WB strategy to a T: a supernatural show with a beautiful cast from creator Kevin Williamson (Dawson’s Creek, Scream). Somehow, it took the network three years to arrive at the conclusion that this might be a good idea.

The result? The Vampire Diaries is now the #1 rated show on the network. Perhaps this will mean an end to this whole 90s remakes strategy that’s clearly not working. Or perhaps they’ll try again and relaunch The Heights, complete with a remake of “How Do You Talk to an Angel?”

Considering its ratings success, it comes as no surprise that Vampire Diaries has been picked up for a second season.

Stefan and Elena dug up the grimoire in The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 13, and then promptly were forced to hand it over to Damon.

Elena’s in a room with Ben, who does that eye thing to try to control her. That doesn’t work. He’s just lucky Anna is right outside the door to stop her from leaving. When Elena gets locked in the bathroom, she finds Bonnie in the tub.

Stefan accepts blame for Damon losing Katherine, and he apologizes. Now that that’s out of the way, he needs to know what he knows about Damon. Damon’s response: he hopes she dies.

Bonnie’s still alive. They need a witch to break the spell and let the vampires out. Either she helps them, or Elena gets it.

Caroline wrote a speech for Matt. It’s a “you kissed me and I don’t want things to be weird” speech. Oh, one of those. She offers him an escape clause, but he passes on that.

Damon goes to see Bonnie’s grandmother, who tells him the spirits talk, and he is no friend to them. Now get off her porch. He tells her to step outside and say that. She’d be happy to, and she proves that he doesn’t want to mess with her.

Anna says that Damon’s the only idiot who wants to see Katherine again. She’s just after her mother.

Bonnie grabs a glass of water, which she uses to set Ben on fire. This is not sufficient to allow Elena to escape, though.

Jeremy invites Anna to a party in the woods by that old cemetery. Sounds fun.

Anna and Damon meet to discuss a deal. He needs a witch; she needs a spell book.

Stefan breaks into the hotel and shines fresh sunlight on Ben. Bonnie and Elena escape, and Stefan tells Ben to leave town or die.

To put an end to this, Bonnie’s grandmother agrees to open the tomb so that Damon gets his girlfriend, but the rest have to be destroyed with fire. Elena goes to Damon to tell him of the plan, and she takes off her necklace to prove her point. He trusts her without taking advantage of this.

Jeremy’s happy to see Anna when she shows up at the party that he’s not enjoying, but she is just there to say goodbye. She and her mom are moving away. When they kiss, her face starts to turn, so Ben knocks Jeremy out. Now Ben’s going to have to drag him because she wants him to meet her mother.

Bonnie and her grandmother Sheila open the tomb. Not wanting to be sealed inside, Damon grabs Elena for leverage. On the surface, Stefan runs into the still in town Ben and his pal Anna, who says that she’s going to get her mother, or Jeremy’s going to be a main course. Stefan lets Anna go in, and Bonnie’s grandmother lets her pass as well, knowing she’s not coming out.

Flamethrower in hand, Stefan teaches Ben why he should have listened when he warned him to get lost.

Sheila has a word of warning for Stefan. Go in, and you won’t come out. Opening the door didn’t remove the seal. It just opened the door. The seal keeps vampires from exiting. As a human, Elena can leave, but that leaves Anna, Katherine, and Damon screwed.

It’ll be Gilbert blood that brings Anna’s mother back to life. Elena will do. When Stefan hears Elena’s scream, he runs inside. Seeing that, Bonnie decides to lower the seal, with or without her grandmother’s help. The seal goes down, and Anna and her mother are the first ones out. Stefan goes back to try to talk some sense into Damon, who’s upset that he can’t find Katherine. At Elena’s request, Damon agrees to exit with his brother.

Jeremy pretends he doesn’t remember anything, but when he gets rid of his sister, his first action is to go online to search for vampires.

Damon confronts Anna, who knew Katherine wasn’t in there. Her mother has an answer for that. The guard was under her spell like everyone else and let her go. Last time Anna saw her was Chicago, 1983. Katherine knew where Damon was, but she didn’t care.

That spell took a lot out of Bonnie’s grandmother, and Bonnie discovers her not breathing on the couch.

Back in the tomb, the vampires commence their return to life.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Vampire Diaries Episode 15, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on The CW.

The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 14 Fool Me Once airs Thursday February 11 at 8/7c on The CW.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11

“THE VAMPIRE DIARIES” (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET)

“Fool Me Once” (HDTV)

SECRETS OF THE TOMB Stefan (Paul Wesley) helps Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Bonnie (Katerina Graham) out of a dangerous situation. Jeremy (Steve R. McQueen) asks Anna (guest star Malese Jow) to a party in the woods, unaware that she has her own reasons for wanting to meet him there. When Stefan, Damon (Ian Somerhalder) and Elena work with Bonnie and Grams (guest star Jasmine Guy) to open the tomb, everyone is shocked by what they discover. Candice Accola, Zach Roerig and Michael Trevino also star. Marcos Siega directed the episode written by Brett Conrad (#113).

Preview

As Stefan pretended to be helping Damon gain access to the tomb in The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 12, two other vampires, Anna and Ben, surfaced, also looking for a way in.

Back in 1864, Katherine’s having herself a little killing spree, teaching Damon how he’s supposed to behave when she turns him.

Damon arrives to greet the less than fully clothed couple in bed. He assigns Elena to journal duty, explaining that the grimoire is kind of like a witch’s cookbook.

Katherine finds out that the townspeople are ingesting vervain, an indication that they’re on to them. Regardless, she does not intend to leave because she likes it there. Like the brothers, Anna is there, too.

Anna doesn’t seem too fond of her new friend Ben, who she chose because he was a sad small town bartender who lacked purpose.

As Alaric’s in school reading the journal, he gets a pair of visitors, with both Stefan and Anna stopping by. It’s Stefan he actually runs into. Stefan suggests having a seat. He may want to listen. He’s there in town because a vampire killed his wife. As for the journal, it’s on his desk. At least it was.

Back to the old days, Damon’s and Stefan’s father approaches them looking for help. They have a plan to kill the vampires, who do exist.

Alaric is well aware of Stefan’s brother. Who does he think killed his wife? He’d like to find her body, which they never found.

Damon has some advice for Jeremy about Anna: hot trumps weird.

Bonnie would die for Elena, a bit of information Ben may find useful.

It turns out Mr. Saltzman made a copy of the journal, which he was kind enough to “loan” Stefan.

Giuseppe, Stefan’s father, wanted to carry his secrets to the grave with him. Might want to go dig that thing up then.

Katherine bit Stefan, who’s been fed vervain by his father. When she collapses, he’s instructed to turn on her and forget everything he feels about her.

Going with Jeremy to meet Anna, Damon realizes he already knows her. If he wants the same thing she does, he’s going to have to help her. Well, that’s her theory anyway. Too bad he works alone.

Stefan and Elena rob his father’s grave, and they find the grimoire as expected. Of course, using his newfound knowledge that he obtained from Anna’s journal reading, Damon shows up to make it a threesome, or at least a twosome with a third wheel. Stefan’s got a choice. Hand over the book, or they can both have a vampire girlfriend that looks like Katherine again. They make the trade.

As Katherine’s being hauled away, Damon blames his brother for her capture. Anna’s on the scene, and she watches her mom get shot.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Vampire Diaries Episode 14 Fool Me Once, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on The CW.

The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 13 Children of the Damned airs Thursday February 4 at 8/7c on The CW.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4

“THE VAMPIRE DIARIES” - (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET)

“Children Of The Damned” (HDTV)

MORE SECRETS OF THE SALVATORE FAMILY HISTORY ARE REVEALED / KELLY HU AND JAMES REMAR GUEST STAR - In flashbacks, Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) recall the long-ago actions taken by townspeople including their father, Guiseppe Salvatore (guest star James Remar, “Dexter”), and Pearl (guest star Kelly Hu, “Army Wives”), leading to the devastating events that caused the rift in their relationship. In the present, Bonnie’s (Katerina Graham) date with Ben (guest star Sean Faris) takes a frightening turn. Elena (Nina Dobrev) helps Stefan as he and Damon race to find the missing journal that belonged to Elena’s ancestor. Stefan learns the reason behind Alaric’s (Matt Davis) interest in both the journal and the town’s history. Damon discovers that an old acquaintance has returned to town with an agenda he understands. Steven R. McQueen and Sara Canning also star. Marcos Siega directed the episode written by Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec (#112).

Sneak Peek

Elena found out why she looks like Katherine despite being from a different family in The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 11: she’s adopted.

Stefan says there’s another vampire in town, so they need to be careful. Too bad he invites the pizza delivery guy inside.

Jeremy writes a paper about vampires in Mystic Falls. His teacher, Alaric, who knows a thing or two about the subject, tells him to not bother getting too caught up in the conspiracy theories.

Caroline and Matt are growing closer. She says it’s because Matt’s not over Elena.

Bonnie suggests that Elena dig deeper into this adoption thing. Seeing as how she just found out her boyfriend is a vampire, it’s not as if things can really get much worse.

Elena gets a call from the guy she hit with her car. Why call if he just wants her dead? To protect her, Stefan gives her a compass, so he can find her if she’s in danger.

Elena’s parents delivered the baby of a teenager, but a few days later she disappeared. That left them with Elena. All Jenna knows about the girl is her name, Isabelle.

Stefan says he’s willing to do anything to get his brother out of town, even release Katherine, although the other 26 vampires will have to stay put.

Having received an invite inside Elena’s house, the new vampire in town is able to make his way in and attempt to attack her, but Stefan arrives just in time to save her. Damon suggests they go to a public place instead, using her as bait.

Anna continues to stalk Jeremy at the dance. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, they’re about as on a date as they can get.

Bonnie has decided to make a move on Ben, the ex-jock now bartender.

Anna insists that Jeremy give her his ancestor’s journal. When he tells her he gave it to Alaric, she tells him he shouldn’t give it to just anybody. Unless that anybody is her. As her face starts to change, she turns around and leaves. From there, she heads inside the school to see if she can find the journal, and she runs into Elena’s not so friendly stalker Noah, who’s working with her, more or less.

Elena gets another call. She’s told she has 5 seconds, or her brother dies. It’s not long before she realizes she probably can’t kill Noah with pencils through the heart, so it’s a good thing Damon and Stefan realize what’s going on. They don’t want to kill him. They just want to talk. And maybe torture him a bit. He gives in and tells them to check the journal to find out how to get into the tomb. Since he’s not going to talk any more and was invited into Elena’s house, that’s about all the use they have for him, so now he can die. At least now they know they need to find the grimoire.

Matt has decided he doesn’t want to risk the one good thing he’s got going, so he doesn’t plan to start dating Caroline. With that said, he doesn’t have to worry, since she has now lost interest in doing so. He chases after her and warns her it’ll never work, which leads to kissing anyway.

Alaric has decided to keep the talk of his ex-wife to a minimum when he’s around Jenna. Her name was Isabelle.

Stefan tells Elena he lied to his brother. He has no intention of helping him get in the tomb.

Anna sneaks up on Ben, who’s not surprised by her because he, too, is a vampire.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Vampire Diaries Episode 13 The Children of the Damned, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on The CW.

The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 12 Unpleasantville airs Thursday January 28 at 8/7c on The CW.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28

“THE VAMPIRE DIARIES” - (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET)

“Unpleasantville” (TV-14, LV) (HDTV)

THE NEW KIDS IN TOWN / SEAN FARIS GUEST STARS - As Stefan (Paul Wesley) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) try to figure out the identity of the new vampire in town, Stefan gives Elena (Nina Dobrev) jewelry filled with Vervain to protect her family and friends. Hurting for money, Matt (Zach Roerig) takes a job at the Mystic Grill, where former high school football-star Ben (guest star Sean Faris, “Never Back Down”), works as a bartender. Ben comes to Bonnie’s (Katerina Graham) aid when he notices Damon is bothering her. Damon and Stefan accompany Elena to a school dance with a 1950s’ theme, where Alaric (guest star Matt Davis) introduces himself to Damon. Steven R. McQueen and Sara Canning also star. Liz Friedlander directed the episode written by Barbie Kligman & Brian Young (#111).

Preview

Closing out the first half of the season in The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 10, Elena found out about Katherine, which caused her to flip out and flip her car.

Damon comes to the rescue. Not overly concerned about the fact that she could well be dying, her response to him is “I look like her.” When she wakes up in Georgia, Elena tells Damon he has kidnapped her, and she’s not going to Georgia. Except she’s in Georgia. Without her magic little necklace. Stefan calls on Elena’s phone, which Damon answers, and tells Stefan to have a good day and hangs up. Damon promises Elena she will be safe, and he will not do that mind control thing on her. He, however, will not promise that she can trust him.

Stefan heads to Bonnie, hoping she can use Elena’s necklace to make a connection. Nothing. There’s something wrong with Bonnie.

Damon’s destinaton: a bar outside Atlanta. He starts making out with the first woman he sees. She seems to know him. Turns out she’s a witch.

Bonnie fears that her powers are gone. Her grams warns her that she’s not going to find anything in any books. Whatever has her so scared needs to be cleared out.

Damon’s mission is to get into that tomb, but Bree tells him there’s no way in without a crystal.

When she goes out to think, Bonnie falls into a hole in the ground. Her grandma trusts Stefan will keep her safe, although she doesn’t intend to invite him inside.

Jeremy has decided that vampires were merely a metaphor for the demons of the day, the Union soldiers.

Stefan has managed to locate Bonnie. He guessed where. She heard them down there behind the door of the tomb. Stefan assures her she’s safe because the crystal has been destroyed.

Bree’s called another vampire to the scene to attack Damon. He seems upset because Damon killed his girlfriend Lexi. Elena begs him to be better than Damon and not set him on fire. He obliges. Upon recovering, Damon kills Bree.

Stefan tells Elena that the first time they met was the day their parents went off the bridge, not that day in school. Her dad was still alive in that car, but he didn’t want help until Elena was helped. After that, he spent months making sure she was not Katherine, realizing she’s nothing like her in the process.

So why does she look like her? She was adopted.

Jeremy’s new friend Anna has dug up some articles. Every so many years, there’s a series of animal attacks in the area. All the people involved in those attacks have been drained of blood.

When she returns home, Elena gets an earful from Aunt Jenna about lying. That said, she has a question: is she adopted?

Alaric knows Damon’s face quite clearly. It’s the face of the man who killed the woman he loved.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Vampire Diaries Episode 12 Unpleasantville, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on The CW.

The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 11 Bloodlines airs Thursday January 21 at 8/7c on The CW.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21

“THE VAMPIRE DIARIES” - (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET)

“Bloodlines” (TV- 14, V) (HDTV)

STEFAN UNCOVERS A STARTLING CLUE TO THE PAST - Damon (Ian Somerhalder) takes a trip to Georgia, where he surprises an old flame, Bree (guest star Gina Torres, “Eli Stone”) and enlists her help to figure out how to open the tomb. In the process, Damon comes face to face with someone who is determined to make him pay for past wrongs. Stefan (Paul Wesley) opens up to Grams (guest star Jasmine Guy) in his effort to help Bonnie (Katarina Graham) overcome her fears and accept her powers. While researching his history paper in the public library, Jeremy (Steven R. McQueen) meets a cute-but-geeky girl named Anna (guest star Malese Jow, “Hannah Montana”) who has her own theories on the folklore of Mystic Falls. When Damon returns from Georgia, Stefan is waiting with news that will change their world. Nina Dobrev and Sara Canning also star. Dave Barrett directed the episode written by Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec, with a story by Sean Reycraft (#110).

Preview

Aunt Jenna started dating Alaric in The Vampire Diaries Season 1 Episode 9. She also got a visit from Logan, the dead guy.

Logan says he was out of town. As far as Jenna knows, she was dumped, via e-mail. He claims he didn’t send any e-mail, but what he does need is an invite inside. Not happening. So instead he goes outside and eats a jogger.

Jeremy’s got his sketch pad out. Nobody’s saying anything, for fear of scaring him away from it.

Stefan and Damon both plan to leave town. Stefan mostly just wants to go wherever his brother is not. Damon wants to follow him, though. They’re a team. They could travel the world together. They could try out for The Amazing Race.

Damon gets a visit from the sheriff. There’s been another attack.

Bonnie’s not dead, and she’s also not undead. Back to her normal life as a witch.

Now that there’s another vampire in town, Stefan doesn’t want to leave any more. So that means he doesn’t have to say goodbye to Elena. Not yet.

When Damon arrives to figure out who was responsible for the attack, he’s shot at. Now he’s finding out Logan’s been turned. That’s news to him. If he didn’t turn him, who did? He won’t be finding that out just yet. It turns out he’s been doing a lot of killing. He’s been hiding the bodies, well, except for that one the cops found.

Jeremy goes to career day, where he’s surprised to find out that Ty is also an artist. As for Stefan, he’s not there to look for a job, but he has dabbled in a bunch of things. Problem is he could only stay a few years at each place before leaving, so that nobody could notice he wasn’t getting any older.

Then he sees Logan. Yeah, he thought he was dead, too. Logan doesn’t want to answer any questions about who turned him, but he does want to know how he could turn into a daywalker. Blackmail’s not going to work any more than shooting did.

Jeremy would like to have a pleasant conversation with Ty, seeing as how they both like to draw and did the same chick. After Ty insults Vicki, this goes south quickly, and they’re busted for fighting.

When he leaves the school, Logan sees Caroline. He used to babysit for her, and she’s looking for a ride home. No problem. Get in, and watch your head when it bashes into a window.

Ty’s dad has a solution when he drags Jeremy and Ty outside: fight in the parking lot. Alaric doesn’t like what he sees, and he breaks it up.

Logan calls up the sheriff to say he’s got her daughter and wants to make her a vampire. Not if the brothers get their way. Damon’s going to try again: who turned him? Rather than be tortured, Logan has an offer to help him get inside the tomb beneath the old church.

Not to be stopped by the brawl they almost got into, Jeremy would still like to be Ty’s buddy. Yeah, still not happening.

Elena thought she wanted to be a writer, until her mom died. She tries to convince Stefan that she already had bad stuff in her life. He says he’s doing this for her and walks away. It won’t be that easy. She loves him, and he if wants to leave, he’s going to have to do it for himself. If that day comes, it will not be today because they’re going back to his place.

Logan meets Alaric and believes he’s got the upperhand, but that lasts about two seconds before he’s staked.

After the deed is done and Stefan leaves the room to go get something to drink, Elena spots a picture of Katherine. Looks familiar.

The sheriff calls Damon to thank him for disposing of Logan’s body. Again, news to him.

Running away from what she’s just seen, Elena hits something standing in the middle of the road and flips her car. Whatever she hit, it gets right up.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recap of The Vampire Diaries Episode 11, which airs Thursday at 8/7c on The CW.