Teen Wolf is Back!...Yay?
Jun. 23rd, 2014 04:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
geeklover80I want to be excited about TW coming back but when I think about it I just either get apprehensive or start frothing at the mouth. When I found out Teen Wolf would be back on June 23rd after the finale, my first thought was "That soon?" And I still feel the same way. I just wish there was a longer wait between seasons, then maybe my aggravation with the prior season would have passed. It's kind of sad that when I saw the first promotional shot of the cast all together, I just got really sad. There was Scott, Stiles, Lydia, and Derek still, but it just felt like another representation of how this show really isn't the one I signed up for anymore.
Usually when people complain about something they haven't seen yet I'm one of the first people to go, "Well give it a chance. How can you know it'll be bad if you haven't seen it yet?" Then again, maybe I should just shut up when I say that. Sometimes you can see clips or see trailers and kind of know exactly what you're going to get. I saw the trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past and thought that's going to be awesome - and it was. I saw clips of Sharknado and thought "that could be crappy, but kind of funny" and, yep, it was both. Having read some spoilers, I'm just not enthused about this season of TW.
Part of me keeps thinking if I'm dreading it so much, than maybe I shouldn't watch it. And I've seriously considered it. I've considered not watching it all together or just waiting for most of the season to be done before I start it. I mean I gave up Pretty Little Liars this season, so I know I can do it. I was still tempted to potentially give PLL another shot right before this season debuted. But the news of them dragging this out for at least two more seasons, plus not hearing anything that intrigued me from the first two episodes made me quite comfortable with my decision to drop it.
I think a big part of being okay with not watching PLL anymore was that I didn't hate it, but I just became really indifferent to a lot of it. There were a lot of times last season I'd miss an episode and couldn't be bothered to catch up with it. I was annoyed by the main story (the mystery) and the biggest sin was that I just didn't care enough about any of the characters to continue. Unfortunately/fortunately with TW, I still care a great deal about some of the characters. I love Scott and Stiles and their friendship. I still really like a lot of the other characters too - like the Sheriff, Melissa, Derek, and Deputy Parrish. So even if I wanted to drop it, I can't. And I don't want to hold off on watching the season because I don't want to get spoiled.
I honestly want to watch the season premiere and be pleasantly surprised. Actually, I'd love to watch the whole season and be pleasantly surprised. The last couple of seasons have started out strong and then fizzled, either really fast or by the last few eps, so an entire season that didn't suck would be awesome. A lot of people these days "hate watch" stuff, but I don't really find that idea appealing. I don't want to watch something that fills me with rage and makes me want to rant every week. I don't necessarily think this season is going to suck, I just have heard almost nothing that makes me excited to see it.
The only thing I heard recently that gave me a twinge of interest was Tyler P. at EyeCon saying that this will be the most important arc ever for Scott. That could just be hyperbole, but since Scott is my favorite that does interest me a bit. But it's kind of a vague, general spoiler. No specifics that I've heard really intrigue me. Just like last season, it feels like they're going to have way too many storylines and there will probably be no depth or insight given to anything. I know we lost Isaac and Allison (I'm not counting Aiden and Ethan since I don't think their exits are on the same level) but there was no reason to inject so many new characters this season.We're going to have Kate back, a bunch of new characters, some storyline about some Benefactor trying to off a bunch of supernatural beings, the kids having financial issues, Derek's going to have his issues, Lydia's dealing with her banshee powers, Malia and Peter are father and daughter, etc. It feels like too much. I know Jeff Davis has said this season is going to bring back the humor and adventure from the earlier seasons, but I'll believe that when I see it.
I like the talk about Scott and Stiles' friendship "coming back" but A) I never felt it really went anywhere in the first place and B)I'm so beyond not interested in Stiles and Scott spending most of their time dealing with some "younger brother" type character. I have to laugh every time I read JD talk about bringing on these new younger characters so they can contrast with the other characters and bring a fresh perspective to the show. Scott, et al. I don't believe are even seniors at this point, so they're basically only two years older than these new kids. I know Scott and his pack have been through a lot of stuff and matured somewhat, but they don't have enough experience yet where I feel we need to drag new characters in and act like Scott, Stiles and the gang are seasoned pros at this stuff. Despite everything that's happened Scott and the gang are still newbies themselves and have a lot to learn. They're not senior citizens yet, Jeff!
I find that I have the opposite viewpoint when it comes to Kira and Malia then most of the reactions I've seen on-line. I have the minority opinion of not liking Kira. It feels somewhat irrational. It's like when people were hating on Zooey Deschanel for some reason, and I never really got it. I think I dislike Kira partly due to the same reasons, in just finding her quirk and cuteness annoying. I hated that, other than Stiles or nogitsune!Stiles, she was basically the only character last season who got any development or focus. I felt she was shoved down my throat and I'm not looking forward to any expanded role for her. Whereas with Malia, I've seen a lot of hate for her already, and I don't really feel any one way about her. From what I saw of her last season, I don't dislike her or like her necessarily. I have seen some spoilers that she may get shoved down our throats this season, and if that's the case I might turn on her. I don't have any problems with her relationship with Stiles. I like Sterek, but was never the hugest fan and knew they would probably never happen. And I don't like the idea of Stiles/Lydia as anything more than friends, so I rather Malia be paired with him than Lydia. Of course the one new character I though they did a good job introducing last year and that I actually like, Parrish, I've heard next to nothing about what he'll be up to.
I think the main reason I'm not too hopeful about this season is Jeff Davis. I don't think Jeff Davis is the devil (that's Russell T. Davies ;)) A big part of my liking of this show came mostly from my love of the characters and the cast, but Jeff Davis did have some good ideas and wrote an interesting show. There are some things he does right. A lot of the intentional humor on the show really does work. And the parent/child relationships on this show are some of the best I've seen on a teen show in a long time (then again maybe the reason those relationships work so well is mostly the actors and also since they're not the focus of the show, it gives Jeff Davis less of a chance to fuck them up with his plot holes and ADD writing style.) I guess I can't blame JD to badly for the changes this season, since they aren't technically JD's fault. Most of the actors lately, willingly chose to leave. But I say technically because I have a sneaking suspicion that people like Daniel, especially, wouldn't have left if the writing for their characters were better or had any depth whatsoever. That would be JD's fault.
JD is still one of those showrunners I want to sit down with and go "Look at your life! Look at your choices!" Actually replace "life" with "writing." One of the saddest/sweetest things about reading tweets and reports from EyeCon was hearing about some of the actors, actually most of the actors, like Sinqua Walls, Eaddy Mays, Daniel Sharman, etc. talk really lovingly about their characters and talk in detail about their ideas about the character's backstory and where the characters could have gone. And, of course, most actors should be concerned with their character's backstories. But you know who else should be concerned with the characters and their development - the headwriter. Unfortunately, from reading several interviews JD just strikes me as a writer who's main concern is going from plot point to plot point to plot point, what looks cool, and how he can get as many references to old films he loved in to the show.
Case in point - Isaac's non-goodbye. I will be incensed about this until the show is over and beyond. Here you have a character, who despite no character depth or consistency given to him, managed to cultivate a large fan following. He has characters he's created strong bonds with. Do we get to see that character get a proper send-off. Nope. If he's mentioned in the premiere in anything but a one-off, shrug of the shoulders, throwaway line explanation like Jackson or Cora was, I will die of shock. But who did warrant a good-bye scene - Ethan! While I'm sure there were people who liked Ethan well enough, he was not an overwhelmingly popular character. Maybe I would have been more okay with the scene if I thought it was there because Jeff wanted to give Danny, a long-running, popular character some closure with this relationship. But no that wasn't the reason What was the point of Danny/Ethan's good-bye - so Jeff could get in a (mildly amusing) reference to a scene from The Lost Boys. Sure, I think it was kind of cute to find out Danny's known for awhile about the supernatural stuff, but that scene, plus most of the scenes in the last five minutes(is there a reason we needed to see Scott training Malia, that couldn't have waited) I felt could have been edited or removed completely to give Isaac more of a good-bye than him ominously walking with Chris towards a door for one second of screen time.
I find myself lately comparing TW to a lot of different shows, including early season Teen Wolf. I look back at season one and seriously wonder what happened to that writer, what happened to that show? Season one wasn't perfect by any stretch, but it was still so much better than what the show has turned in to. It had funny moments, it had interesting parings and character interactions. There was danger and suspense, but romance and moments of true heart between the characters. The first season finale was great, a really good microcosm of the whole season. Secrets were revealed, questions were answered, but there was still room left for stories to continue into the next season. And even with everything going on, it didn't feel like the episode was just moving from one plot point to the next with no room for character moments.
I've noticed similarities with TW and The Vampire Diaries, none of them good. That show also has an idiotic showrunner, who can't be trusted in interviews as far as you could throw her. A show that was really good at developing relationship and having humorous situations, with lots of great adventures and heart. And then it just devolved into a three character focused mess. I don't think TW is as bad off as TVD, but like with Teen Wolf, I'm only sticking around with TVD for a couple of characters that I like.
I think the shows I think about most often when it comes to TW is Merlin and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Merlin was a show that started out such a goof fun with a good heart and then just became, not the show I signed up for, and became dark and depressing. They also had showrunners who just did not get it when they did interviews. They also had an overabundant reliance on slo-mo fights. But I loved the cast immensely and adored how much they cared for one another and how much they cared about their characters. They deserved so much better than they got. I feel the exact way about the TW actors. They're also so earnest and sweet and it's awesome how much they care about each other and the show. They deserve a better show and better treatment from their writer. Loyalty to the actors is also one of the reasons I'm sticking around.
I kept thinking about how much I don't like change, which might be why I'm so wary of this season. It's definitely true change and me don't usually go well together, but that made me start thinking about Buffy and how they basically went through a very similar change in their fourth season. There's was mostly dictated by storyline-dictated issues (the characters graduating high school) and a couple of characters going to a spin-off. It probably helped that the exits from Buffy were not of characters that I cared about that much (I really liked Cordelia but I didn't like Angel at all until he got his own show) and it also helped that (other than a few minor characters) none of them died and they all got a proper send-off. Also, Buffy did have some characters brought on that felt like almost carbon copy replacements (Anya for Cordelia, Spike & Riley for Angel) like it feels with TW and Kira for Allison, Liam for Isaac, and Malia for Erica/Cora.
Also some of the storylines for this season of TW are reminding me of some of Buffy's later seasons storylines, and not in a good way. As much I've bitched about TW needing more character related storyline and a bit more realism, I'm not all that jazzed about storyline dealing with teenager's money woes. I wasn't interested when after Buffy's mom died and she had issues with the house and finances and had to get that horrible restaurant job. It just doesn't feel like a storyline that belongs on a show like that. I wasn't interested in Liam being a possible Isaac replacement and I'm even less interested in him being a bratty younger brother type character. It makes me think of Dawn and that just makes me want to break out in hives. Though at least with Dawn, they waited to introduce her when the gang was in college and had really matured and there was a significant gap in age and maturity level with Dawn, and it was a way to bring high school back into the show.
Of course the biggest difference between Teen Wolf and Buffy is a show runner who actually cares. I'm not a Joss Whedon uber fan. I don't think he can do no wrong. I don't even follow him on Twitter yet. But from interviews I've seen and just watching some of his shows, he is someone that cares about his characters. It isn't just about the coolest looking stunts or twisting the characters to fit whatever plot comes to his brain. I sometimes thought, especially on Angel he got a little death happy, but his characters got proper good-byes. Cordelia didn't get a good-bye tour on Buffy but she got closure with the characters that mattered. And when she (sob) died on Angel they brought her back for some closure. Characters don't just die, or leave, and then Joss waved it off by saying "Oh, we're a goofy teen show and have no time to deal with the ramifications when characters leave" unlike someone else. Characters dealt with things on Buffy, it didn't just roll of the character's back like it didn't happen. It wasn't just swept under the rug; there was continuity.
So, I just wish Jeff Davis cared more about his characters than caring about what new mythology he could steal from or how to choreograph more stupid slo-mo fights. I think the show would be much, much better off. But, unfortunately, there's no getting rid of JD so I'm going to have to try to just enjoy my favorite characters, the actors that I adore elevating shitty material, the shirtlessness, and try to ignore the general fuckery of the writing, which is easier said than done, and I'm pretty sure I won't be successful with. I'm also going to try to avoid JD interviews as much as possible and keep my distance from Tumblr. Whether reading rants or raves, being on their sometimes just heightens my emotions to an unhealthy degree when it comes to the show.
Stacey
Usually when people complain about something they haven't seen yet I'm one of the first people to go, "Well give it a chance. How can you know it'll be bad if you haven't seen it yet?" Then again, maybe I should just shut up when I say that. Sometimes you can see clips or see trailers and kind of know exactly what you're going to get. I saw the trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past and thought that's going to be awesome - and it was. I saw clips of Sharknado and thought "that could be crappy, but kind of funny" and, yep, it was both. Having read some spoilers, I'm just not enthused about this season of TW.
Part of me keeps thinking if I'm dreading it so much, than maybe I shouldn't watch it. And I've seriously considered it. I've considered not watching it all together or just waiting for most of the season to be done before I start it. I mean I gave up Pretty Little Liars this season, so I know I can do it. I was still tempted to potentially give PLL another shot right before this season debuted. But the news of them dragging this out for at least two more seasons, plus not hearing anything that intrigued me from the first two episodes made me quite comfortable with my decision to drop it.
I think a big part of being okay with not watching PLL anymore was that I didn't hate it, but I just became really indifferent to a lot of it. There were a lot of times last season I'd miss an episode and couldn't be bothered to catch up with it. I was annoyed by the main story (the mystery) and the biggest sin was that I just didn't care enough about any of the characters to continue. Unfortunately/fortunately with TW, I still care a great deal about some of the characters. I love Scott and Stiles and their friendship. I still really like a lot of the other characters too - like the Sheriff, Melissa, Derek, and Deputy Parrish. So even if I wanted to drop it, I can't. And I don't want to hold off on watching the season because I don't want to get spoiled.
I honestly want to watch the season premiere and be pleasantly surprised. Actually, I'd love to watch the whole season and be pleasantly surprised. The last couple of seasons have started out strong and then fizzled, either really fast or by the last few eps, so an entire season that didn't suck would be awesome. A lot of people these days "hate watch" stuff, but I don't really find that idea appealing. I don't want to watch something that fills me with rage and makes me want to rant every week. I don't necessarily think this season is going to suck, I just have heard almost nothing that makes me excited to see it.
The only thing I heard recently that gave me a twinge of interest was Tyler P. at EyeCon saying that this will be the most important arc ever for Scott. That could just be hyperbole, but since Scott is my favorite that does interest me a bit. But it's kind of a vague, general spoiler. No specifics that I've heard really intrigue me. Just like last season, it feels like they're going to have way too many storylines and there will probably be no depth or insight given to anything. I know we lost Isaac and Allison (I'm not counting Aiden and Ethan since I don't think their exits are on the same level) but there was no reason to inject so many new characters this season.
I like the talk about Scott and Stiles' friendship "coming back" but A) I never felt it really went anywhere in the first place and B)I'm so beyond not interested in Stiles and Scott spending most of their time dealing with some "younger brother" type character. I have to laugh every time I read JD talk about bringing on these new younger characters so they can contrast with the other characters and bring a fresh perspective to the show. Scott, et al. I don't believe are even seniors at this point, so they're basically only two years older than these new kids. I know Scott and his pack have been through a lot of stuff and matured somewhat, but they don't have enough experience yet where I feel we need to drag new characters in and act like Scott, Stiles and the gang are seasoned pros at this stuff. Despite everything that's happened Scott and the gang are still newbies themselves and have a lot to learn. They're not senior citizens yet, Jeff!
I find that I have the opposite viewpoint when it comes to Kira and Malia then most of the reactions I've seen on-line. I have the minority opinion of not liking Kira. It feels somewhat irrational. It's like when people were hating on Zooey Deschanel for some reason, and I never really got it. I think I dislike Kira partly due to the same reasons, in just finding her quirk and cuteness annoying. I hated that, other than Stiles or nogitsune!Stiles, she was basically the only character last season who got any development or focus. I felt she was shoved down my throat and I'm not looking forward to any expanded role for her. Whereas with Malia, I've seen a lot of hate for her already, and I don't really feel any one way about her. From what I saw of her last season, I don't dislike her or like her necessarily. I have seen some spoilers that she may get shoved down our throats this season, and if that's the case I might turn on her. I don't have any problems with her relationship with Stiles. I like Sterek, but was never the hugest fan and knew they would probably never happen. And I don't like the idea of Stiles/Lydia as anything more than friends, so I rather Malia be paired with him than Lydia. Of course the one new character I though they did a good job introducing last year and that I actually like, Parrish, I've heard next to nothing about what he'll be up to.
I think the main reason I'm not too hopeful about this season is Jeff Davis. I don't think Jeff Davis is the devil (that's Russell T. Davies ;)) A big part of my liking of this show came mostly from my love of the characters and the cast, but Jeff Davis did have some good ideas and wrote an interesting show. There are some things he does right. A lot of the intentional humor on the show really does work. And the parent/child relationships on this show are some of the best I've seen on a teen show in a long time (then again maybe the reason those relationships work so well is mostly the actors and also since they're not the focus of the show, it gives Jeff Davis less of a chance to fuck them up with his plot holes and ADD writing style.) I guess I can't blame JD to badly for the changes this season, since they aren't technically JD's fault. Most of the actors lately, willingly chose to leave. But I say technically because I have a sneaking suspicion that people like Daniel, especially, wouldn't have left if the writing for their characters were better or had any depth whatsoever. That would be JD's fault.
JD is still one of those showrunners I want to sit down with and go "Look at your life! Look at your choices!" Actually replace "life" with "writing." One of the saddest/sweetest things about reading tweets and reports from EyeCon was hearing about some of the actors, actually most of the actors, like Sinqua Walls, Eaddy Mays, Daniel Sharman, etc. talk really lovingly about their characters and talk in detail about their ideas about the character's backstory and where the characters could have gone. And, of course, most actors should be concerned with their character's backstories. But you know who else should be concerned with the characters and their development - the headwriter. Unfortunately, from reading several interviews JD just strikes me as a writer who's main concern is going from plot point to plot point to plot point, what looks cool, and how he can get as many references to old films he loved in to the show.
Case in point - Isaac's non-goodbye. I will be incensed about this until the show is over and beyond. Here you have a character, who despite no character depth or consistency given to him, managed to cultivate a large fan following. He has characters he's created strong bonds with. Do we get to see that character get a proper send-off. Nope. If he's mentioned in the premiere in anything but a one-off, shrug of the shoulders, throwaway line explanation like Jackson or Cora was, I will die of shock. But who did warrant a good-bye scene - Ethan! While I'm sure there were people who liked Ethan well enough, he was not an overwhelmingly popular character. Maybe I would have been more okay with the scene if I thought it was there because Jeff wanted to give Danny, a long-running, popular character some closure with this relationship. But no that wasn't the reason What was the point of Danny/Ethan's good-bye - so Jeff could get in a (mildly amusing) reference to a scene from The Lost Boys. Sure, I think it was kind of cute to find out Danny's known for awhile about the supernatural stuff, but that scene, plus most of the scenes in the last five minutes(is there a reason we needed to see Scott training Malia, that couldn't have waited) I felt could have been edited or removed completely to give Isaac more of a good-bye than him ominously walking with Chris towards a door for one second of screen time.
I find myself lately comparing TW to a lot of different shows, including early season Teen Wolf. I look back at season one and seriously wonder what happened to that writer, what happened to that show? Season one wasn't perfect by any stretch, but it was still so much better than what the show has turned in to. It had funny moments, it had interesting parings and character interactions. There was danger and suspense, but romance and moments of true heart between the characters. The first season finale was great, a really good microcosm of the whole season. Secrets were revealed, questions were answered, but there was still room left for stories to continue into the next season. And even with everything going on, it didn't feel like the episode was just moving from one plot point to the next with no room for character moments.
I've noticed similarities with TW and The Vampire Diaries, none of them good. That show also has an idiotic showrunner, who can't be trusted in interviews as far as you could throw her. A show that was really good at developing relationship and having humorous situations, with lots of great adventures and heart. And then it just devolved into a three character focused mess. I don't think TW is as bad off as TVD, but like with Teen Wolf, I'm only sticking around with TVD for a couple of characters that I like.
I think the shows I think about most often when it comes to TW is Merlin and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Merlin was a show that started out such a goof fun with a good heart and then just became, not the show I signed up for, and became dark and depressing. They also had showrunners who just did not get it when they did interviews. They also had an overabundant reliance on slo-mo fights. But I loved the cast immensely and adored how much they cared for one another and how much they cared about their characters. They deserved so much better than they got. I feel the exact way about the TW actors. They're also so earnest and sweet and it's awesome how much they care about each other and the show. They deserve a better show and better treatment from their writer. Loyalty to the actors is also one of the reasons I'm sticking around.
I kept thinking about how much I don't like change, which might be why I'm so wary of this season. It's definitely true change and me don't usually go well together, but that made me start thinking about Buffy and how they basically went through a very similar change in their fourth season. There's was mostly dictated by storyline-dictated issues (the characters graduating high school) and a couple of characters going to a spin-off. It probably helped that the exits from Buffy were not of characters that I cared about that much (I really liked Cordelia but I didn't like Angel at all until he got his own show) and it also helped that (other than a few minor characters) none of them died and they all got a proper send-off. Also, Buffy did have some characters brought on that felt like almost carbon copy replacements (Anya for Cordelia, Spike & Riley for Angel) like it feels with TW and Kira for Allison, Liam for Isaac, and Malia for Erica/Cora.
Of course the biggest difference between Teen Wolf and Buffy is a show runner who actually cares. I'm not a Joss Whedon uber fan. I don't think he can do no wrong. I don't even follow him on Twitter yet. But from interviews I've seen and just watching some of his shows, he is someone that cares about his characters. It isn't just about the coolest looking stunts or twisting the characters to fit whatever plot comes to his brain. I sometimes thought, especially on Angel he got a little death happy, but his characters got proper good-byes. Cordelia didn't get a good-bye tour on Buffy but she got closure with the characters that mattered. And when she (sob) died on Angel they brought her back for some closure. Characters don't just die, or leave, and then Joss waved it off by saying "Oh, we're a goofy teen show and have no time to deal with the ramifications when characters leave" unlike someone else. Characters dealt with things on Buffy, it didn't just roll of the character's back like it didn't happen. It wasn't just swept under the rug; there was continuity.
So, I just wish Jeff Davis cared more about his characters than caring about what new mythology he could steal from or how to choreograph more stupid slo-mo fights. I think the show would be much, much better off. But, unfortunately, there's no getting rid of JD so I'm going to have to try to just enjoy my favorite characters, the actors that I adore elevating shitty material, the shirtlessness, and try to ignore the general fuckery of the writing, which is easier said than done, and I'm pretty sure I won't be successful with. I'm also going to try to avoid JD interviews as much as possible and keep my distance from Tumblr. Whether reading rants or raves, being on their sometimes just heightens my emotions to an unhealthy degree when it comes to the show.
Stacey
