When we at seenit.co.uk were still young, Michael J. Fox starred a film called Teen Wolf, it was successful enough to spawn a Fox-less but decent sequel and a so-so animated TV series.
26 years later, MTV have revived the Teen Wolf brand for a new live-action series ever so slightly inspired by the original film and cashing in on the supernatural vogue of the day.
While high quality UK shows about supernatural creatures living in the modern, every day world are nothing new (think Ultraviolet and Being Human), the US’s efforts largely seem to consist of the likes of True Blood which left us colder than a member of the undead.
Teen Wolf the TV series takes the central premise of a teenager coming to terms with his hairy palms, the name of the central character (Scott, played by Tyler Posey) and his mate Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) and not much more.
In this version Scott gains his werewolf tendencies after being bitten and must struggle to keep them hidden while coming to terms with his new habit of howling at full moons.
In place of everything its jettisoned, the show has snazzy one liners, a sense of fun, some very credible werewolf transformation effects and a continuing plot line.
The writers have largely avoided all the pitfalls and obvious plot developments though the twist to the teen romance subplot won’t surprise many.
We’ve been watching the show on Sky Living HD which has already screened five of the first run’s 9 episodes.
If you’ve missed the series so far we’d recommend waiting for the channel to reshow them from the start. The good news for those already watching is that the show’s been picked up in the US for a second series.
