Well, Teen Wolf is back and remade for an entirely new generation. If you remember Teen Wolf, then you remember Michael J Fox riding on top of a van, possibly dunking a basketball as a wolf man, and generally being everything great about 80’s movies. This isn’t that. The sport is also different; basketball has been replaced by lacrosse, I guess because lacrosse is the new hip sport. Still, the general details are the same: Scott’s still kind of a loser, he’s got a best friend name Stiles (Dylan O’Brien), and of course, he’s still a werewolf. Fortunately for Scott and the show, that’s going to change. A midnight walk through the woods with Stiles in search of a half-eaten dead body allows Scott to have a close encounter of the American Werewolf in London kind, and all of a sudden also allows Scott the asthmatic nobody to reach his full potential, including lycanthropy and sports stardom. But first, he has to get used to his new body, and he’s also got to score a date with cute new girl in school Allison Argent (Crystal Reed). Argent like silver, get it? All things considered, the pilot episode is actually pretty damn good. A big reason for that is the guiding hand of two folks: creator/writer/producer Jeff Davis (of Criminal Minds fame) and director Russell Mulcahy (of Highlander fame). Davis’s script finds a nearly perfect balance between teen angst, werewolf angst, high school drama, action, and reasons to get Tyler Posey shirtless, while Mulcahy’s direction is sharp, with great editing, some wonderful tracking shots, and a nice balance between scenes and cuts. Fittingly, Russell Mulcahy directed the very first video to appear on MTV: Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles. One of the best things about the new Teen Wolf, aside from the soundtrack provided by MTV’s many connections to what’s left of the music industry? It’s actually got some good acting as far as teenage supernatural dramas go. It’s not Teen Wolf. Aside from the name, it’s not even trying to be Teen Wolf. That said, it’s still not a bad way to spend an hour thus far. The show’s got plenty of room to grow into itself, but the structure is there for what may shape up to be a very interesting scripted revival by MTV.
US Correspondent Ron Hogan has always wanted to be a werewolf. While he doesn’t howl at the moon or eat live animals, he does have a massive beard. Find more by Ron daily at Shaktronics and PopFi.
