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Joe's Marathon Diary: Teenage Wolfiness Is Not A Crime

Primetimer

By Primetimer
in Teen Wolf [V]

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madhacker

madhacker

Joe it's totally worth the wait for Stiles. In my opinion he's the best written character on the show, especially in the relationship with his dad (it's just about as well written as Kurt from Glee's with his dad), you totally buy that Stiles and his dad are pretty close. Also just wait until I think Season 3 when the writers finally give Dylan a chance to shine by lets just say showing a darker side to the character (as in totally evil). Dylan showed how good of an actor he is by playing it subtlety, with just a little tilt of his head and a small smile.

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Ace Hansen

Ace Hansen

This show is balls-to-the-wall in terms of shirtless guys. Sometimes pretty literally.

The showrunner Jeff Davis required Dylan O'Brien to have the buzz cut, no tan, and be 10-15 pounds underweight for the first couple seasons - I suppose to make him look weird and dorky. Stiles is my favorite character because under the quips, he's really angry and fairly mean which I find delightful.

Teen Wolf is generally a complete train-wreck but it was my most favorite fan-crush show until season four when I sorta lost patience.

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lion10

lion10

 

I know there are packs and alpha wolves and a family dynasty of hunters, but as of right now, it still feels pretty piecemeal.

 

It continues to be piecemeal.  Not to sound like a broken record but Teen Wolf has some of the worst, half-assed worldbuilding I've ever seen on TV or literature.   

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tv-is-addicting

tv-is-addicting

SethCohen ButGoyishe - HEE! The oldies who watched it in real time were expecting a sub par version of a dreadful Michael J Fox [1985] Jason Bateman[1987] sequel movie. Combined with it premiering in the summer back when there was a dearth of off season programming; our expectations were so dreadfully low it was regarded as a delightful surprise. However, after reading your analysis you're 100% accurate on all counts. I wasn't thrilled with the most recent season for the exact same reasons you enumerated with different actors, plotlines, characters - I long for knock-off joey potter after Scott's current bore interest.

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planetofapes

planetofapes

I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I watch and enjoy this show. Yes, it is nonsense but it is enjoyable nonsense. Also, as correctly noted, the buffness of the bods does not go amiss. Nice work MTV. The kids are looking a bit too old for high school in later seasons but hey, who cares. Hehe. My only wish is that the parents of said kids were better looking.

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onyxrose81

onyxrose81

While Dylan is #1 for me, Linden and Melissa are other favorites so I'm glad they went for people who could actually act. I think Melissa is beautiful and well, I must admit I've had a bit of a crush on Linden since Melrose Place (showing my age here so I'll see myself out).

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Snarkette

Snarkette

Just wait until Season 3B, when Stiles gets to shine. He's really good. Season 1 summary: Shirtless. Season 2 summary: Shirtless and goopy. Season 3A summary: Oh Lydia has a plotline! Season 3B summary: OMG, that guy who plays Stiles can be really good at this. Season 4 summary: Shirtless Deputy

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bettername2come

bettername2come

They've had to cut down on Scott's shirtlessness because Tyler Posey got more tattooed than Scott did, right? It's a shame. I could never connect with other characters' shirtlessness the way I connected to Derek and Scott's.

 

For all this show's flaws, I will always love the early seasons for actually showing the kids at school, taught by multiple teachers. And supernatural shenanigans actually interfered with Scott's schooling across multiple seasons!

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Bruinsfan

Bruinsfan

(edited)

The show very quickly identified its core audience of teenage girls and gay men, and pandered to them (us) until MTV decided to discard those demographics in favor of hypothetical 18 to 34 male viewers about a year and a half ago. Cue gratuitous Malia and Kira sexy dancing, Stiles and Derek not being allowed in the same room together, etc.

Edited by Bruinsfan
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Snarkette

Snarkette

 

The show very quickly identified its core audience of teenage girls and gay men, and pandered to them (us) until MTV decided to discard those demographics in favor of hypothetical 18 to 34 male viewers about a year and a half ago. Cue gratuitous Malia and Kira sexy dancing, Stiles and Derek not being allowed in the same room together, etc.

Naked. Deputy. Clothes. Burned. Off.

 

How does that not appeal to teen girls / gay men?

 

Malia and Kira should be thrown off a cliff.

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lion10

lion10

(edited)

I don't see it so much as "discarding" teenage girls and gay men as MTV trying to expand its viewing demographic in the later seasons.  For all we know, the Kira and Malia dancing would be used to bring in lesbians as much as straight guys.  Where Jeff Davis mis-stepped wasn't trying to appeal to more people, but making such a threadbare plot with dumb character motivations and only barely acknowledging Allison's death and Kate's ensuing rage about it.  Even in this season, there was more appealing to women and gay guys than any other demographic.  

 

 

Naked. Deputy. Clothes. Burned. Off.

 

How does that not appeal to teen girls / gay men?

 

Malia and Kira should be thrown off a cliff.

 

WTF?  Do people in the Teen Wolf fandom really hate these characters so much?  Or is it because Malia manages to break up an entirely fictional ship that Tumblr decided should become canon?

Edited by lion10
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Snarkette

Snarkette

 

WTF?  Do people in the Teen Wolf fandom really hate these characters so much?  Or is it because Malia manages to break up an entirely fictional ship that Tumblr decided should become canon?

One at a time. Kira. She is overpowered so can't be used, has no potential growth arc, has zero chemistry with Scott, doesn't challenge him, doesn't add to the story. The cool bits about that storyline (her mom in the camp) were never about her. Dragging her in was pointless where at the start she was exposition girl and then after that was "Hey, I'm in my 30s but act as if I'm a clueless teen". No grit, no interest. Bad writing, bad character.

 

Malia. She should have been Jackson. She got dragged in to do this Peter's child story, and while I like the actress a lot, the character has been terribly served by the series. She's in a very dysfunctional relationship with Stiles, but one that isn't played with growth or development, but in a weird caricature of a screwball comedy. Despite having one the best lines of S4 ("Deer!"), she and Stiles don't work as a couple and they're not interesting to watch together outside of a few moments like the basement scene in IED.  You can't be raised by wolves (coyotes) for 8 years and get back into highschool as if nothing has happened, dump your real dad, etc etc. The actress is doing a terrific job with the material she's given, but she's being given absolutely terrible material.

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Bruinsfan

Bruinsfan

I don't see it so much as "discarding" teenage girls and gay men as MTV trying to expand its viewing demographic in the later seasons.

Most of the discarding comment was about treatment of the Sterek fandom, which Davis and MTV were all for back when they were trying to gain viewers and entertainment press notice and promptly attempted to distance themselves from sometime in Season 3. Their reaction also resulted in non-shippers (like me) being deprived of comedic scenes between the two characters and a bunch of poorly-considered attempts at heteronormative relationships for them glossing over some pretty glaring consent issues.

 

I think just about the entire show has collapsed into a hot mess of characters being bent out of shape to fit a plot checklist, sadly including the brotherly bond between Scott and Stiles that was the foundation the whole series was built on. Awesome single parent-child relationships are about the only redeeming feature.

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lion10

lion10

Most of the discarding comment was about treatment of the Sterek fandom, which Davis and MTV were all for back when they were trying to gain viewers and entertainment press notice and promptly attempted to distance themselves from sometime in Season 3. Their reaction also resulted in non-shippers (like me) being deprived of comedic scenes between the two characters and a bunch of poorly-considered attempts at heteronormative relationships for them glossing over some pretty glaring consent issues.

 

I think just about the entire show has collapsed into a hot mess of characters being bent out of shape to fit a plot checklist, sadly including the brotherly bond between Scott and Stiles that was the foundation the whole series was built on. Awesome single parent-child relationships are about the only redeeming feature.

 

Okay, I get that.  On an aside, I can see Stiles being bi, but Derek has never (IIRC) shown any interest in the same sex.  No hints, no wanting to know if men find him attractive, no longing glances, nothing.  He barely shows interest in the opposite sex now that I think about it.  Derek comes across to me as very asexual for some reason.  I don't know if that's supposed to show Kate's negative impact or that's just how Tyler decided to play him.

 

I was thinking earlier today that Teen Wolf could really benefit from having more episodes per season.  Instead of 12, have 14 or 15.  Jeff Davis has interesting ideas and subplots but I feel like at times they get shortchanged due to having only twelve 45 minute episodes to tell a story and have good character interactions.  Season 4 was a prime example of this.  A lot of the plot didn't make sense and could have benefited from more time to explain what was going on.  Why did the Berserkers obey Kate?  How did Peter find Kate?  What did it mean for Derek to "evolve"?

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Snarkette

Snarkette

From what I understand, they did something like 36 episodes nonstop between 3a, 3b, and 4, and everyone got burned out. Not that Teen Wolf was ever a masterpiece of plotting. 

 

The best stuff, the stuff that works, is always the bits with the parent/child relationships but any good solid meaningful relationship moment works in this show.

 

Stiles and Derek were comedy gold together but no way no how were they ever going to make it canon. Obvious adult with underage boy was never going to happen plus at some point (they've dropped it) Stiles was defined by his loyal adoration of Lydia. Writing to promote shipping is just silly. The Stiles and Derek relationship worked because it was so great to pair off irreverent and overly grumpily serious.

 

Similarly, Stiles and Scott's scene at the MRI with Scott's promise showed why that was such a great writing touch point.

 

With Stiles / Lydia, having that resolution that did not lead to romance in 3A was a great step forward, although now they have no idea what to do with her. She's sort of been pushed to the side, although she had better moments in 4 than 3B and I hated what they did with her in 2.

 

The great thing about Teen Wolf is always the heart, and if they can give us more of that in 5, I'll be pleased. I suspect 5 is the end of the line, the high school year, after which there are no more teen wolves.

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Bruinsfan

Bruinsfan

Okay, I get that.  On an aside, I can see Stiles being bi, but Derek has never (IIRC) shown any interest in the same sex.  No hints, no wanting to know if men find him attractive, no longing glances, nothing.

To be fair, back in Season 1 and the first few episodes of Season 2 there were a LOT of moments where Derek was stalking and manhandling a half-dressed (or less!) Jackson in the showers, lockers, and men's restroom, and he led him off into the woods in what looked for all the world like a nighttime park hookup. As it turns out all that was predatory but non-sexual behavior in combo with the series never missing an opportunity to get Colton Haynes out of his clothes, but at the time it could easily have been mistaken as an indication of how Derek's affections leaned.

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