The one hundred fortieth TV show: #832 The Vampire Diaries
For a long time, I was looking at this show as a quite standard teen vampire drama. Stefan, the lead vampire character, is the guy who struggles with his heritage but remains human, while Damon gives into his impulses more, in a controlled but darker way. It's a bit edgy and very teen angsty and seems to have that Twilight inspiration. I was about to say that while it pulls it off well enough, the frequent shirtless guys and good looking teens looking sad are such teen drama staples that it's just that element added to make it stand out. It's fine, but not something I'd have continued.
Then around episode 16, as I'm about to give up, the show turns and Stefan turns from protagonist to (semi-) antagonist. I don't know yet whether it lasts, but having this changed around will mean that this can always float around as a more realistic element. It means we can focus more on Damon too, who is the more interesting character, and on the whole the show benefits from these changes. I'll need to see how much longer this will last, but at the moment it certainly has my attention.