Couch Potato: ‘The Vampire Diaries’ review

I feared for “The Vampire Diaries” during the opening moments of its pilot.

As the camera panned through a desolate and foggy wooded area, a voiceover kicked in: “For over a century, I have lived in secret, hiding in the shadows, alone in the world. Until now.

“I am a vampire, and this is my story.”

Yikes.

The show, which premieres at 8 p.m. Sept. 10, would have been better served by jumping right into the action, sans that cheesy voiceover.

Because once it does, zeroing in on a young couple as they drive along a deserted road, the series picks up steam and distinguishes itself as yet another (mostly) entertaining chapter in pop culture’s latest vampire craze.

It’s also the perfect companion to the similarly dark “Supernatural,” which returns for its fifth season the same night.

The aforementioned young couple isn’t long for this world — that whole “driving along a deserted road” thing never ends well — and are soon attacked by an unseen creature.

But don’t worry. The culprit is not our narrator.

Stefan, played by the very handsome Paul Wesley, is one of those peaceful, tortured, blood suckers (think “Twilight’s” Edward, “True Blood’s” Bill or, the granddaddy of them all, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s” Angel) who has returned to Mystic Falls, Va., because, he tells us, he has to “know her.”

We soon find out that the “her” in question is Elena (Nina Dobrev, an alum of the Canadian teen soap “Degrassi: The Next Generation”), a high-school student who recently lost her parents in a car accident. She also bears an eerie resemblance to a woman from Stefan’s past.

The two meet-cute, running into each other in the hallway at school, where the magnetic Stefan has already caught the eye of pretty much every female student. But he only has eyes for Elena.

Wesley and Dobrev are both likeable leads and share an easy chemistry. But their characters’ burgeoning relationship is threatened when Stefan’s evil brother, Damon, shows up to wreak a little havoc.

As Damon, Ian Somerhalder (“Lost’s” Boone) is your quintessential bad guy: sarcastic, mischievous, menacing.

“I promised you an eternity of misery,” he sneers at Stefan, “so I’m just keeping my word.”

That might not be welcome news to Stefan, but it should be for viewers.