The Originals: Season 1 (2013)
Average Rating: 5.5/10
Reviews Counted: 27
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 12
The Originals may overwhelm casual viewers with its myriad twists and bevy of supernatural beings, but this a sleek, atmospheric Vampire Diaries spinoff with potential.
Average Rating: 4.5/10
Critic Reviews: 10
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 7
The Originals may overwhelm casual viewers with its myriad twists and bevy of supernatural beings, but this a sleek, atmospheric Vampire Diaries spinoff with potential.
Season Info
A spin-off of "The Vampire Diaries" focuses on the original vampire family who return to New Orleans to reclaim the city they helped build that is now under the control of a diabolical vampire named Marcel.
Network: CW
Premiere Date: Oct 3, 2013
Cast
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Joseph Morgan
Klaus Mikaelson -
Daniel Gillies
Elijah -
Claire Holt
Rebekah -
Phoebe Tonkin
Hayley -
Charles Michael Davi...
Marcel -
Daniella Pineda
Sophie -
Leah Pipes
Camille -
Danielle Campbell
Davina -
-
Todd Stashwick
Father Kieran -
-
-
-
-
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Episodes
Always and Forever
A spin-off of "The Vampire Diaries" focuses on the original vampire family, who return to New Orleans to reclaim the city they helped build. In the opener, Klaus meets his former protégé, Marcel, who controls the supernatural inhabitants in town; and Klaus' former flame, Hayley, falls into the hands of a powerful witch.
House of the Rising Sun
Rebekah arrives in New Orleans and receives some unexpected news from Hayley. When she becomes concerned that Klaus is up to no good, Rebekah seeks help from a reluctant Sophie. Meanwhile, Klaus tries to uncover Marcel's secret weapon; and Marcel enlists Davina's help to carry out his own dangerous plan.
Tangled Up in Blue
After discovering interesting news about someone in Marcel's inner circle, Klaus and Rebekah come together to attempt to unravel Marcel's empire from within in spit of Elijah's concerns.
Girl in New Orleans
Davina convinces Marcel to let her attend an annual music festival in the city; Hayley visits a mysterious doctor in the bayou and makes a shocking discovery; Klaus takes a special interest in Cami who reveals alarming information about her past; Rebekah tries to get to the bottom of a recent strange encounter involving Elijah.
Sinners and Saints
Klaus becomes angry over recent events involving the safety of his unborn baby and demands answers from Sophie. Meanwhile, gruesome remains are discovered in the bayou; and Davina reveals some shocking information about the witches.
Fruit of the Poisoned Tree
Klaus goes to extreme measures to protect Hayley and their unborn baby when he learns Hayley's life is being threatened. Meanwhile, Cami turns to Father Kieran for guidance; Marcel seeks advice from an old friend; and Davina tries to control her magic.
Bloodletting
Hayley goes missing after someone from her past makes a startling revelation. Meanwhile, Klaus has a dangerous encounter with an unexpected visitor; Davina makes a surprising connection; and Marcel makes Rebekah an enticing offer that leaves her torn.
Critic Reviews for The Originals: Season 1
It's House of Cards, with a werewolf/vampire hybrid instead of a charming but ruthless Southern senator. Which, in these hyper-partisan times, just might work.
Like Vampire Diaries (and so much else), The Originals lacks a sharp wit, preferring the heavy-velvet drapery of self-seriousness and pretend passion.
[It's] ludicrously written and terribly cast.
It's not a bad spin-off so far.
This busy pilot - teeming with vamps, witches and werewolves - is so dense with backstory it fails to provide uninitiated viewers with what vampires require: An overt invitation to come in.
There are so many vampires and undeads and such on television these days that this crew is going to have a hard time getting attention, especially if the show continues to be as much of a grab bag as the pilot episode is.
The Originals has some graphic gore, including a decapitated body, that proves this show, like the one that spawned it, will deliver the goods to horror fans.
Yes, the pilot episode is somewhat bogged down by exposition as it gets everyone up to speed, but it's adequately mysterious and atmospheric and does a good job of sucking you in.
Vampire spin-off is as steamy, bloody as the original.
This one... strikes me as what Dallas might have been if J.R. and Bobby had been immortals. And living, of course, in the Big Easy.
For die-hard Vampire Diaries fans this could be heaven, but for the uninitiated, it's an exhausting ordeal.
[There are] acres of supernatural exposition in this turgid and convoluted pilot.
This all feels a bit like a shaggy dog has wandered onto the show to tell a story with as many loops, turns, twists, ironies and details as fans can possibly absorb or tolerate.
Best of all, the first episode ends with a shocker turn that's sure to spur viewers to come back for episode two.
It's as if the characters couldn't find a wooden stake and decided to try to talk each other to death.
One of this fall's least original new series is, ironically, The Originals.
If you're into The Vampire Diaries (I'm not), you'll get sucked into this sleek spinoff.
It's gotta be hard to start a spinoff to a heavily serialized TV show. That's the best explanation I have for why the premiere of The Originals stinks so much through the first two-thirds of its running time.
It's not tough to grasp, but isn't very entertaining.
There's a wealth of stories to be told about these new characters and I for one am excited to keep watching.
Even though the story repeats what is already known to Vampire Diaries fans, the suave presence of Elijah and the vicious hotness of Klaus should be plenty to keep the converted around.
The premiere really works.
I think there's a little something for everyone within the confines of this show. Viewers, regardless of whether or not they were already fans of the Originals, won't be disappointed.
With its high-stakes drama and it's dark and sexy undertones The Originals is like The Vampire Diaries on steroids. In the best way possible, of course!
There wasn't much original in the lifeless, poorly-written pilot. But I haven't laughed so much at dialogue since my sister-in-law took me to the second installment of The Twilight Saga so it does have some entertainment value.
The New Orleans based drama brings together a diverse array of new characters, as well as some old favorites that will keep veterans, and newcomers alike thoroughly entertained.
All in all, a pretty solid episode. Lots of juicy info and back-story,
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