Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Why You Should Watch A Show Called Teen Wolf Despite That It's a Show Called Teen Wolf

So I'm going to attempt to sell you on a show that if you're like me you would never, ever have contemplated watching due to the title being the combination of the words 'Teen' and 'Wolf'. I mean Middle-Aged Zombies or Geriatric Vampires is a sign me up given, but Teen Wolf? Puhlease.

So reasons to watch what superficially seems like the unwatchable.

Conservatives Would Hate this Show
This show features female (and male) characters who would have no problems saying "Yeah, I'm a feminist. And?", where being gay has non-blinking automatic acceptance, where the cast isn't a whitewash of, well, white, where families come in different shapes and sizes and that's okay. I expect the last episode to reveal that Beacon Hills is the creation of someone from Aro Valley on a hallucinogenic drug trip. You can probably buy artisanal cheeses and homemade pottery there, is what I'm saying.

The Cast Has Amazing Chemistry
One of the highlights in the show is the relationships between the parents and the kids. Scott and his Mum, Stiles and his Dad, Alison and her Dad etc. The other is the friendship between Scott and Stiles. I don't know if the actors all loathe each other in real life, but if they do extra acting awards that I will make out of toilet rolls and glitter for them. And the teen romance element that would normally have me vomiting and flinging myself from the lounge window (it's on the ground floor, it's mostly for effect) is actually nicely done. On the adorableness scale: Teen Wolf? More like Teen Puppies.

It Gets Better Every Season
The second half of Season Three is where you want to run up to your television and high-five it and then go out and buy a new television and get your hand sown up because that was a little bit too enthusiastic. Characters which were a tad one-dimensional get the three-dimensional treatment, and it kicks up a gear. I haven't seen Season Four yet but I expect at this rate it will change lives and cure ailments and I think I'm expecting way too much out of light entertainment.

Soundtrack
You would hope that a show produced by MTV would have a great soundtrack and you wouldn't be wrong. The music choices are phenomenally good. As in you wouldn't have thought that MTV had produced it, the music is that good.

It's Funny, Scary and It Gives You Feels
The sarcasm in this show is so good it makes me want to light up a cigarette and then wonder why I started smoking as I begin a grueling six month withdrawal from nicotine. The wonderful thing about the show is the unexpectedness of it, where one minute you're snorting with laughter and the next you're literally pooing yourself with fear, but not literally, that's just super gross and you should probably see a doctor about that. AND THE FEELS! I'm not saying that there are two or three times that I may have slightly welled up, but that's exactly what I'm saying.  Villains chew up scenery and Heroes save the day, and it's all a jolly good time.

Also: Coach/Greenburg is the greatest OTP of television history.

It's Inspirational
Given the cast are in pretty much the best shape that a human being can be in, and spend an inordinate amount of time showing everyone just that, it will either inspire you to get a gym membership or you'll fall into a pit of despair where tears track through your cake smeared face. Be warned, if you're over 30 you will spontaneously have a mid-life crises..

And while sometimes the wire work is obvious, there is back flipping and people jumping off roofs, and by hokey, they seem to be really back flipping and jumping off roofs. I imagine the stunt players are kept penned up on stage and then let out one-by-one, with a new set used for every episode. The insurance costs for this show must be phenomenal, not even including the bulk deals on Get Well Soon balloons. Thank god Wardrobe is able to save a bundle by not supplying shirts to the actors.

Actor Hunches, I Am Having Them
Chiwetal Ejiofor is one of my all-time favourite actors. If you ever want to have your brain combust watch Dirty Pretty Things and then Kinky Boots back-to-back (it's less x-rated than it sounds) and remember that this is the same actor playing both roles. Sometimes you get hunches about actors, and mine is that Dylan O'Brien has the talent to go on to Big Things, or he'll end up robbing gas stations for a crippling heroin addiction. You never know which way these things will go. But that kid has talent. Look for him on an awards stage / keep your wallet close to you if he walks into your local petrol station.

Plus an actor from The Wire is in it, and The Wire is TV Royalty.

***

So it's a liberal emotionfest of laughs, scares and some top notch production values which by the second part of season three has come into it's own, and even then it's a fun journey getting there. Thumbs up scrappy little show, you're a lot more fun than what I was expecting.

Amazon has the show available for ondemand viewing and if you don't check out the bloopers your life will be less than what it could have been and you will have forever regrets.