Oh, and regarding The Vampire Diaries again, it may not be apparent in the first couple of episodes, but it's got a number of smart, strong female characters, which is one of the reasons I like it so much. This blog points out some of the show's strengths as well: http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2010/04/12/smart-girls-or-why-do-people-on-tv-so-rarely-act-like-we-would/

Not trying to talk you into anything (not that I could do that *g*), but I'm assuming that you're not liking it because it seems "Twilight-like" and vampire romance novel in the beginning, and it's really not that at all.