Review | Teen Wolf: The Complete Season One

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Plot: What’s it about?Video: How does it look?Audio: How does it sound?Supplements: What are the extras?

Plot: What’s it about?

Scott (Tyler Posey) and his friends have heard about a brutal murder in the woods, thanks to an overheard conversation between members of the local law enforcement. They’ve heard that the corpse was torn in half, in a horrific fashion that has shocked even the hardened police officers. So Scott and some friends venture into the woods to see the carnage first hand, but bad luck soon arrives when Scott is attacked by a mysterious animal. As it turns out, he was bitten by a werewolf and now he is turning into one himself, which causes all kinds of problems. In addition to the worries of his own high school life, he is now in the middle of a harsh power struggle within the werewolf realm. Even as he experiences these incredible changes, he keeps the truth hidden and tries to continue a normal life. He wants to be a sports star, help his friend find romance, and spark a relationship with the girl of his dreams, all while battling to keep his dark secret under wraps. But as time passes and his two worlds start to overlap, what will become of Scott and those around him?

While this series takes the Teen Wolf name from the wacky teen comedies of the 80s, Teen Wolf the show isn’t a fun, over the top look at high school life. Instead we have a deadpan teen drama, with tons of hooking up, almost constant shirtless guys, and a cast that seems more CW than MTV. The whole deadpan approach adds in unintended humor, given how wooden most of the performances are and the whole werewolf subject matter. But in the end, Teen Wolf is going to appeal to fans of shows like Vampire Diaries and Supernatural, or other shows about vapid, self involved young people. I had hoped for some retro, self aware content given the Teen Wolf license, but that doesn’t happen in this first season. The end result feels more like a standard CW show mixed with a Twilight vibe to cash in on that trend. So while I didn’t find Teen Wolf to be a great show, I know there is a massive audience out there that will devour this show. Although I doubt it will happen, I’d like to see future seasons work in some self aware humor, which could do a lot to enhance the series. Overall, I wasn’t taken with Teen Wolf’s first season, but it was a smash hit and given the success of Twilight and The Hunger Games, the public obviously loves this kind of stuff.

Video: How does it look?

The episodes are presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. As you’d expect from a new, well financed show, Teen Wolf looks excellent on home video. The show’s visual design is upheld and the image looks clean, so detail is able to be strong through the episodes. I am curious why a Blu-ray release wasn’t made available, but even on DVD, the show looks refined and well detailed, so fans should be satisfied.

Audio: How does it sound?

The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is more than solid, with good presence throughout. The more tense scenes pack a nice sense of dread, while more mundane scenes have clear dialogue. This is an MTV show, so of course there is a wealth of music (though some changes have been made from the broadcast version) and it also comes across well in this treatment. Not much else I can talk about here, the show sounds terrific in all aspects. This release also includes a French language track, as well as subtitles in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Supplements: What are the extras?

The extras include an extended season finale, deleted scenes, audio comments from the cast on select episodes, a gag reel, and several promotional featurettes.

Disc Scores

Plot: What’s it about?

Video: How does it look?

Audio: How does it sound?

Supplements: What are the extras?