Note: This writer has not read the Twilight series but can vouch for the greatness of the following suggestions.
Now that readers have come to the end of the Twilight series, and viewed the movie once or multiple times, they may be feeling a familiar sense of withdrawal – the longing and moroseness that occurs when a favorite book, television show or film has ended.
But for young fans of Twilight, there are other entertainment options – previous television shows and books that they may have missed in the past.
What to Watch - DVDs to Rent
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
A high school girl in love with a decades-old vampire... sound familiar? This isn’t just the basis for Twilight; it’s the most popular storyline from the hit television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which ran for seven seasons starting in 1997. Creator Joss Whedon has had a cult following since, but none of his follow-ups have had the same emotional pull as Buffy.
The difference between Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Bella is that Buffy isn’t just an everyday girl – she is the Chosen One, picked as this generation’s Slayer, to fight vampires. This makes it all the more complicated that she falls in love with Angel (David Boreanaz), a vampire with a soul (a curse was put upon him in order for him to feel guilt about his past killings as a vampire.) But if Angel ever feels true happiness, he’ll revert back to a soulless vampire. Other similarities to Twilight? There’s even a werewolf subplot.
The first three seasons are the best (after that, Angel got his own TV series and the college setting didn’t really work for Buffy and friends.) However, don’t discount the later years completely – season six and seven pick up again, with Buffy and Spike’s (James Marsters) intense attraction and the beloved musical episode.
Memorable Quote
"You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood... blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it."–Spike, to Buffy and Angel
Roswell
Based on the book series Roswell High, Roswell lasted only three seasons, and Season One is by far the best. Shiri Appleby stars as Liz, a high school girl who falls in love with Max (Jason Behr) – and discovers he, along with his sister Isabel (Katherine Heigl) and best friend, Michael (Brendan Fehr), are aliens.
Max, Isabel and Michael’s safety is in Liz’s hands (as well as her best friend who finds out the truth as well.) The series is unabashedly romantic – Dido’s dreamy “Here With Me” is the theme song – and was vastly underrated when it premiered.
Emilie de Ravin of Lost fame appears near the end of Season One, but it’s a spoiler to reveal her identity! Colin Hanks also have a supporting role throughout most of the series.
Memorable Quote
[from kissing Max] Max, this afternoon... I think I saw the crash. –Liz
Taken
Steven Spielberg’s 2002 ten-episode miniseries focuses on three families over the course of fifty years. It begins with the brief affair between a Texas housewife and a visiting alien, resulting in the birth of a son who lives his life a sa human but retains some alien powers. Forbidden love plays a roll throughout the series – otherworldly or simply between feuding families.
There are familiar faces throughout the cast, with Dakota Fanning narrating the series and having a key role in the second half.
Memorable Quote
“We would play a game sometimes, a game called, what's beyond the sky. We would imagine darkness, or a blinding light, or something else that we didn't know how to name. But of course, that was just a game. There's nothing beyond the sky. The sky just is, and it goes on and on, and we play all of our games beneath it. “ –Allie
What to Read
Both Sides of Time, by Caroline B. Cooney
and sequels: Prisoner of Time, Out of Time, For All Time
This four-part book series centers on teenage Annie, who “falls” back in time 100 years to 1895 and falls deeply in love with Strat, heir to a mansion and fortune. There’s also a murder mystery and plenty of heartache and romance to go around. Out of Time again focuses on Annie and Strat’s saga, though Prisoner of Time veers from the main story to develop a story about Annie’s brother Tod and Strat’s sister Devonny. This is an entertaining book on its own, but one misses Annie and Strat in the book – luckily they are back in the fourth and final novel, For All Time. The end is a bit maddening, mostly because it leaves the reader wanting more.
This series is best for ages 11 to 15. These books have also been republished with different covers called The Time Travelers. Both versions are available on Amazon.
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