Genre: Sci-Fi | Horror | Thriller
Air Date/Time: Episode 201: Sunday, June 3 at 11/10c; Episode 202: Monday, June 4 at 10/9c
Network: MTV
Created by: Jeff Davis
Writer: Jeff Davis
Summary:
Teen Wolf is a sexy, suspenseful drama about transformation set against the backdrop of contemporary teen life, with a forbidden, romantic love story at its core. In the first season, Scott McCall was an ordinary teenager until one strange night a vicious bite forever changed his life. Season one concluded with Scott caught in the middle of a war between hunters and werewolves, but discovering one last clue allowed him to enlist both friends and a previous enemy in order to stop the mysterious killings and win back Allison, the girl he loves.
Season two begins when a new member of the Argent family arrives in Beacon Hills and Scott and Allison are forced to continue their blossoming romance in secret. At the same time, Derek Hale, obsessed with gaining strength as a new Alpha, begins recruiting for his pack, including newly-bitten Jackson. While Derek’s final goal includes bringing Scott into his fold, the Argents have begun molding Allison into a skilled werewolf hunter.
The highly anticipated second season of “Teen Wolf,” which features 12 hour-long episodes, will premiere in two-parts, with part one kicking off on Sunday, June 3 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT, immediately following the “2012 MTV Movie Awards,” and part two debuting the following night, on Monday, June 4, in its regularly scheduled 10:00 p.m. ET/PT timeslot. The series will launch in Canada in conjunction with the U.S. premiere and will debut worldwide throughout the summer.
Teen Wolf stars Tyler Posey as Scott McCall, Crystal Reed as Allison Argent, Dylan O’Brien as Stiles, Tyler Hoechlin as Derek Hale, Holland Roden as Lydia Martin and Colton Haynes as Jackson Whittemore.
It’s almost become a mantra with me – Teen Wolf on MTV is nothing like the movie. This is closely followed by – and don’t prejudge it just because it’s on MTV. With apologies to the lovely people at MTV.
A friend of mine recently asked if Teen Wolf is “as good as” a big-network series. Let’s break that down a bit.
As good as a big-network series? The look and sound of it, yes. The music is terrific. The songs they use aren’t whiny angsty things, but action oriented, and they feel right for the show. Well done especially given the network. They, THANK WHOEVER DECIDED THIS, chose to not use a “whiner” song during any sad moment, like seemingly everyone else does. There is also a soundtrack that uses strings and horns and is terrific for atmosphere and tension. There are some nice effects, and some great effects; unfortunately I still haven’t seen a werewolf done to my satisfaction by anyone, anywhere. I do like the way the eyes are done, when they turn wolfish. They’re doing a wolf running action thing that I’m not quite sure about, but I may not have seen the final version. But there’s another effect which is really great, that I can’t tell you about, sorry. Spoilers.
As good as a big network series? The acting, yes. The Season 2 standout continues to be, as it was in Season 1, Dylan O’Brien as Stiles. Because he provides a fair amount of the comic relief he needs, and he has, the range to pull it all off, because if you can’t take him seriously during the serious bits, it could ruin the tension. No worries there with Mr. O’Brien, he can do serious. Tyler Hoechlin does nice work as the new Alpha, having the power but still learning, and wait til you see him pull out a one million watt smile at the police station. Our Romeo and Juliet, Scott and Allison, are adorable, even without Scott’s Season 1 curls which I miss. The rest of the cast also does solid work, and this season they are all ably assisted by Battlestar Galactica’s Michael Hogan, whom I have seen in other productions as a badass and as a grandfather; in Teen Wolf he is a badass grandfather. You just know the character is capable of doing many horrible things with a smile, when Hogan is involved; he has a terrific presence.
As good as a big network series? The storyline and dialogue, yes or better. I watched a new-ish episode of an extremely popular police procedural today, one that I enjoy, that turned out to have dialogue that gave the actors zero personality and the speech range of second-graders. The actors clearly do all of the heavy lifting in that show. On Teen Wolf, the dialogue matches the characters’ ages and personalities, and is situationally appropriate.
What else makes it better for me than most big network series, other than the fact that it’s sci-fi (which is mostly ignored by the Big Four but that’s another discussion) is that it’s serialized, my favorite style. Procedural shows and situational episodes are easy and entertaining, but they don’t grab me like serials. Sure you can jump in to Teen Wolf whenever you want and probably get at least half of what’s going on – this is no Fringe – but there were some season-long story arcs in its first season which resolved by the end, at least to an extent, and the first two episodes of the second season have sent more than one new storyline ball rolling.
They’ve taken last year’s successful theme of bad guys on both sides, our favorite couple in the middle, and cranked it up a few notches. And like some of the best sci-fi TV, there are funny moments that reinforce my belief that the best comedies currently on TV are within dramas. Well done, writers.
I like any show that can make me say “ooo!” and “whoa!” and this does that. It’s fun, it’s engaging, and it’s not soapy. The showrunner has promised that there will never be any vampires on this show and I believe him, it’s just not that kind of series. I care about the hero characters and want to see them prevail. There’s plenty of eye-candy, some cool effects, and enough tension and action to keep it moving right along. I loved Season 1 and I loved the first two episodes of Season 2. This is a great summer show that, with 12 episodes, will take us right up to back-to-school time, and the crushing blow of reality that will bring. Don’t worry about that now, just sit back on the coolness of your couch and enjoy this treat of a series.
I give Teen Wolf: Season 2 Episode 1 “Omega” and Episode 2 “Shape Shifted” Five Out of Five Stars.
