Post by BloodyMonkeyZ on Jun 25, 2013 10:08:49 GMT -6
When I heard about the Teen Wolf series, I was leery about it. I had fond memories of the 1985 movie and, to be honest, didn't have much faith in the channel behind 16 and Pregnant putting out a decent werewolf series. A few weeks ago MTV sent me DVDs of season 2. So now I have a series in hand needing to be reviewed.
And I was completely surprised by what I saw.
First of all, I did have a little confusion at the start because I hadn't seen season one. But I was able to figure out who was who relatively quickly. The titular character Scott McCall is played by relative newcomer Tyler Posey. His friend Stiles and girlfriend Allison know his secret and have issues of their own. Stiles dad is a local cop and is constantly having to deal with his son being in the wrong place at the wrong time thanks to his friendship with the Teen Wolf. And Allison has a totally different set of issues. Her dad is a hunter (pretty much straight out of Supernatural, too bad they aren't with the same network as a crossover would have been awesome. Whether it involved Sam and Dean in the world of Teen Wolf or the Argent hunters having a mission that ran afoul of the Supernatural boys.) and knows about Scott's animalistic nature.
Pros for the series. . .
1) One thing which I like about the show is that it keeps a relatively light hearted approach to itself. Humor is woven into the show quite well.
2) And they do a decent job of making it really feel like a high school setting. Unlike Vampire Diaries which seems more like they are all well to do college students.
3) Scott plays on the school LaCrosse team. I think this is a nice aspect because it is a non traditional sport. I imagine the creator must have liked or played (or maybe liked a girl who played, you never know.) (Not a complete CON against, but I am not a huge fan of the coach, he seems like a real putz who doesn't have a clue about anything.)
4) They are building a complete world around their werewolf mythology. Something that a tv series really allows creators to do. When season 3 comes to an end, they will have about 27 hours worth of screen time
Cons against it. . .
1) The entire second season was really one story. I know that is a major aspect of modern storytelling, have one big story that unfolds over 10 or 12 or however many episodes. I didn't mind because I watched the entire season over the course of two days, but I would have been frustrated having to wait week after week as it aired live.
2) This is a teen drama and has all the angsty overly dramatic aspects that, well. . . teenagers have. (Not entirely sure this is a real CON, just something to be aware of.)
3) There really isn't any actual "wolfing out" in this show. Their faces get a bit "Buffy demonic" looking and their ears go pointy and their teeth go fangy. But I am yet to really see any wolfiness. And I like my Werewolf shows to have, well. . . actual werewolves.
There are quite a few special features on the DVD set. The CGI reel was interesting to watch as was the fight choreagraphy (although don't watch these until you watch all the episodes, spoilers exist in them.) The gag reel was funny as well. Three of the episodes had commentary tracks. I love me commentary tracks. I never understood why they don't offer commentaries for all episodes though. And mixing it up with who is on them. It was just creators who talked. I enjoy their takes, but cast are often really fun as well.
I really do heartily recommend this series. It was well done and enjoyable. I plan on hunting down season 1, watching 1 and 2 and then catching up on season 3 which is airing now. I have absolutely no qualms at all giving this 4 stars.
And I was completely surprised by what I saw.
First of all, I did have a little confusion at the start because I hadn't seen season one. But I was able to figure out who was who relatively quickly. The titular character Scott McCall is played by relative newcomer Tyler Posey. His friend Stiles and girlfriend Allison know his secret and have issues of their own. Stiles dad is a local cop and is constantly having to deal with his son being in the wrong place at the wrong time thanks to his friendship with the Teen Wolf. And Allison has a totally different set of issues. Her dad is a hunter (pretty much straight out of Supernatural, too bad they aren't with the same network as a crossover would have been awesome. Whether it involved Sam and Dean in the world of Teen Wolf or the Argent hunters having a mission that ran afoul of the Supernatural boys.) and knows about Scott's animalistic nature.
Pros for the series. . .
1) One thing which I like about the show is that it keeps a relatively light hearted approach to itself. Humor is woven into the show quite well.
2) And they do a decent job of making it really feel like a high school setting. Unlike Vampire Diaries which seems more like they are all well to do college students.
3) Scott plays on the school LaCrosse team. I think this is a nice aspect because it is a non traditional sport. I imagine the creator must have liked or played (or maybe liked a girl who played, you never know.) (Not a complete CON against, but I am not a huge fan of the coach, he seems like a real putz who doesn't have a clue about anything.)
4) They are building a complete world around their werewolf mythology. Something that a tv series really allows creators to do. When season 3 comes to an end, they will have about 27 hours worth of screen time
Cons against it. . .
1) The entire second season was really one story. I know that is a major aspect of modern storytelling, have one big story that unfolds over 10 or 12 or however many episodes. I didn't mind because I watched the entire season over the course of two days, but I would have been frustrated having to wait week after week as it aired live.
2) This is a teen drama and has all the angsty overly dramatic aspects that, well. . . teenagers have. (Not entirely sure this is a real CON, just something to be aware of.)
3) There really isn't any actual "wolfing out" in this show. Their faces get a bit "Buffy demonic" looking and their ears go pointy and their teeth go fangy. But I am yet to really see any wolfiness. And I like my Werewolf shows to have, well. . . actual werewolves.
There are quite a few special features on the DVD set. The CGI reel was interesting to watch as was the fight choreagraphy (although don't watch these until you watch all the episodes, spoilers exist in them.) The gag reel was funny as well. Three of the episodes had commentary tracks. I love me commentary tracks. I never understood why they don't offer commentaries for all episodes though. And mixing it up with who is on them. It was just creators who talked. I enjoy their takes, but cast are often really fun as well.
I really do heartily recommend this series. It was well done and enjoyable. I plan on hunting down season 1, watching 1 and 2 and then catching up on season 3 which is airing now. I have absolutely no qualms at all giving this 4 stars.