My Babysitter's a Vampire: Season One

Aired on the Disney Channel, this series puts a lighthearted spin on the supernatural-horror genre, situating the action in a high school culture where a Twilight-like series called Dusk has girls fascinated by “vampires who sparkle,” while real-life bloodsuckers plot to take over the school. In the TV-movie pilot (included here), geeky freshman Ethan (Matthew Knight), who can't be trusted to look after kid sister Jane (Ella Jonas Farlinger), is saddled with babysitter Sarah (Vanessa Morgan), who also happens to be an upper-class beauty. And, yes, she's a vampire, or rather a “fledgling”: she's been bitten but refuses to drink human blood and holds out for a cure. The subsequent 13 episodes from the 2011 first season play like a kind of Buffy the Vampire Slayer for adolescents in a sitcom format with tongue-in-cheek sensibility. While Ethan is a seer who has visions, his even nerdier best friend, Benny (Atticus Dean Mitchell), is an irresponsible wizard trainee, and they both get help from goofy vampire buddy Rory (Cameron Kennedy), who has a blast learning the extent of his powers. But it's not a journey series so much as a comic approach to a “monster of the week” show, with Ethan and Sarah teaming up to take on witches, ghosts, doppelgangers, bad vamps, zombie pets, and so on—all with a juvenile sense of humor. Extras include behind-the-scenes and featurettes. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)