So. Teen Wolf, huh?

[darkemeralds]

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

*eyes ravurian eyeingly*

I started watching Teen Wolf just...let's see here...three weeks ago. I completely dismissed it based on all the obvious things--its title, its promotional images, its general air of dumbness. Really, I need to remember that "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" sounded just as stupid in its day.

Now, TW is not quite Joss, but I gotta say after this week's episode "Battlefield" that it's starting to think about approaching that standard. I have mainlined all 23 extant episodes--several of them twice--in the past three weeks, and have lured vampirefan into the pack. I am reading fanfic. I am considering writing fanfic. You know how rare that is.

I know everyone else is already watching it, so I won't prose on. I just want to add that the sixteen-year-old in me has a huge crush on Jackson, the thirty-year-old in me is hot for Derek, and the timeless winged being of my soul adores Stiles.

Stiles is Willow and Giles and a bit of Xander all rolled into one perfectly heroic best friend character, played by a boy with a beautiful face and his heart on his sleeve, and I just love him so.

(And so does Derek. All the fic says so, and I agree.)

Comments

[sffan]

Prose on! Isn't it just insane? I'm pretty much in the same position as you - saw all my friends flailing and had to check it out and then MAINLINED it, because OMG, how is it so cool?

[darkemeralds]

It has four major things going for it: Beautiful people who can act, a genre premise that doesn't take itself too seriously, some very good dialogue, and more damn plot than I've ever seen. Man, they burn through plotlines as if they're actually creative, imaginative storytellers with a million more tricks up their sleeves and the confidence to sell them. Supernatural, to take but one obvious example, has been known to spend an entire 22-episode season doling out the amount of plot that TW has covered in the last three eps.

Also, great adult characters, a range of types of people, the most normalized approach to sexual and gender variations I've ever seen on TV, almost Joss-level humor...

...and homoeroticism out the ying-yang. Especially that.

[sffan]

Yes! All of that. I've been struggling to say why I think the show is so awesome whenever I tell people that I'm totally in to it. I usually just go "It's so AWESOME! You gotta watch!"

[darkemeralds]

The phrase "slashy as hell" has worked on a couple of friends of mine...including vampirefan.

[bluemeridian]

I feel your pain. :P I was so glad for... quite some time... that I wasn't in the fandom, because the fic counts were through the roof and it looked overwhelming! Yeah, it still looks like that from the inside, too, but I've been Stockholm Syndromed into it or something. (To butcher both standard grammar and psychological concepts.)

[darkemeralds]

I've enjoyed three or four fics so far in the fandom and am desperate for more. There's no shortage, but I just know that the upcoming hiatus is going to generate gobs and gobs more and I can hardly wait.

Heh. Stockholm Syndromed...I like that. Me, I felt a bit more Svengali'ed.

[ravurian]

Me, I felt a bit more Svengali'ed.

O RLY? LOL.

[darkemeralds]

Evil.

[donutsweeper]

Several friends of mine have been trying to convert me to Teen Wolf. I've seen a bunch of S2 episodes now (most, not all) and a handful of S1s. Stiles is a million kinds of adorables, isn't he?

[darkemeralds]

Stiles is the beating heart at the center of the show. He's one of those characters, played by one of those actors, who just transcends the whole concept and causes writers to writer for him and the whole show to shift its center of gravity slightly because of him.

I'm amazed at how much my cup of tea TW has turned out to be.

[donutsweeper]

I wonder if it meant to revolve around Stiles as much as it does. (And is it just me, or anyone else wondering about his first name?)

Something that has amazed me about the show is how it portrays those outside the 'norm'. Danny is gay. So what. He's Danny. The drag queens Stiles met? There's no making fun of them, but you need someone who knows how to party? Call them!

[darkemeralds]

I think everyone wonders what Stiles' first name is. And there is a very tantalizing bit in the latest episode that made me think we might be going somewhere with that mystery one of these days.

The portrayal of a non-homophobic town is absolutely wonderful--utopian, almost, I'd say. I love how in this small California mountain town there's a) a gay bar and b) enough variety of gay life to fill it up with drag queens and dancers and all skin colors. And like us, they all love Stiles.

And I really suspect that in original concept, the story was meant to revolve around Scott and Derek. But Dylan O'Brien just stole it so elegantly that there was absolutely no sidelining him.

[donutsweeper]

What tantalizing bit? I must have missed it.

I wonder how much of the characterization is how Stiles is written and how much is Dylan's portrayal.

[darkemeralds]

Peter delivers that whole thing about "Christian names" curing a werewolf. Now, Stiles isn't a werewolf and if they make him one I will never forgive them, but that bit was so weird and not really part of traditional werewolf lore that it might as well have had a little flashing arrow pointing at it saying, "THINK ABOUT FIRST NAMES."

Perhaps I'm over-fanning it.

My feeling about the Stiles characterization is that it's the most fortuitous, brilliant piece of casting, the perfect blend of actor and role--they stair-step each other upward. I don't know what it's like to be in a TV writing room, but can't you just imagine how satisfying it would be to hear the producers say, "The audience LOVES this kid--give him more lines," and then to write those lines and watch him deliver them?

[donutsweeper]

Ah. I thought that was supposed to show us how, during the Danny&Jackson conversation in the locker room that it was Danny yelling "Jackson!" that finally shook Gerard's hold for long enough for Jackson to deliver that warning of sorts for Danny to stay inside and stay safe.

[darkemeralds]

Oh wow, you're right. I watched twice and even *blush* took notes the second time through, but I missed that.

Nope, not too fannish here at all.

[donutsweeper]

It would be really interesting if it wasn't Lydia, but Danny that could be the key to breaking through to Jackson, wouldn't it?

There is no such thing as being too fannish :)

Personally, I want a scene about how the Sheriff started calling Stiles "Stiles". Usually parents don't do that sort of nickname. Did it start with the mom's death? Before that? Did the mom call him that too? Just how horrible IS his first name? Inquiring minds want to know!

[darkemeralds]

I think I saw a fanon first name for Stiles in a fic somewhere, presumably cobbled together from the extremely brief and cryptic view we get of his school file-folder. Coach calling him "Bolinsky" in that one ep seems to contribute to a notion that his name begins with a B.

I've found it hard to believe, too, that Sheriff Stilinsky willingly calls his own son "Stiles", but they play the family dynamics so heartbreakingly that I'll buy anything they're selling. We don't really know how old Stiles was when his mother dies, do we?

Well, we'll see what the writers give us. Twenty-four whole eps next season!

[donutsweeper]

Yes, yes and YES! Although, 24 episodes can be a blessing and a curse. It's vaguely possible they might drag out the pacing a bit as a result because if they want to get X, Y and Z done and that's what they wanted to get done when they thought they'd have 12 episodes if they don't add more things they wanted to get done they'd have 2x as long to do it and might add filler instead of adding more plot points/

I haven't read much/participated much in the Teen Wolf fandom so I'm clueless about fanon. I assumed the Balinski thing was due to the Coach being a bit of a flake when it came to anyone other than the "important" players.

Oh, a friend showed me this- I love this casts' opinions about life and their show, especially the first .gif

http://coltonhaynes.us/post/28117177842

[darkemeralds]

Oh, I've read all of three fics so far, so my fanon is very basic. You're right, of course, about the curse of the 24-episode season. I'm really enjoying all the shows like Suits and White Collar with 12-episode seasons. I think it makes for much better storytelling. OTOH, MOAR STILES

The Colton Haynes gif is fantastic! Good for him. As far as I can tell he makes no secret of being gay himself, but I've also seen rumblings that his representation is trying to squelch that information. Can't imagine why, but it's rumored.

As if.

[donutsweeper]

More Stiles is definitely a GOOD THING.

There were a bunch of clips and .gifs of similar interviews right around Comic Con time. The entire cast was like that. It was awesome to read some of the things they said. Of course I can't find them now, though

[darkemeralds]

OMG don't hook me up. I just spent half an hour down the rabbit hole of Tumblr.

[donutsweeper]

only a half an hour? I'm in awe of your fortitude, I get lost for hours and hours at a time on tumblr.

[darkemeralds]

It was a wrench to leave, I don't deny it.

[donutsweeper]

I am impressed! I find tumblr equal parts amazing and utterly frustrating. Yet still I stay. But, it is responsible for my interest in Teen Wolf, so there is that.

[ravurian]

Jeff Davis went on record that they're treating the 24 episodes as if they have two 12-episode seasons back-to-back, because they don't want to mess with the rhythm they've established and what they know works. Sensible, I think, and reassuring. Sorry to butt in!

[donutsweeper]

Oh, that's excellent. Thank you, that's great to know.

[darkemeralds]

Thanks for the good word. That IS reassuring.

[prime_meridian]

Oh god, you too? You just basically brain-twinned me. Except I mainlined all of the eps in about a week, and am about to finally sit down with Monday's ep. ::nervous::

Well said, though. :)

[darkemeralds]

It seems to have tsunami'ed in the last month or so. I expect it's because S2 started strong and just kept getting stronger. I'm so delighted to be sharing a fandom with you again!

2.11 is a hell of a thrill ride. Hope you enjoy it as much I did.

[cathexys]

the sixteen-year-old in me has a huge crush on Jackson, the thirty-year-old in me is hot for Derek, and the timeless winged being of my soul adores Stiles. Perfect!!! You nailed the myriad appeals :)

[darkemeralds]

You know, you're right! I just turned that into a tweet. LOL!

Fab show. Very promising fandom, too.

[twasadark]

Haha! I know, right? I'm hooked, too! It's unexpectedly intelligent and charming! And I even had a fangirl encounter with the guy who plays Scott in the elevator at Comic Con, lol. He's very sweet. Stiles is such a great character - and his moles are very cute in a totally non-pervy way.

[darkemeralds]

Sorry--earlier comment deleted as responding to wrong person.

I remember you posting about having ridden in an elevator with some young star, but that was, IDK, two or three days before I discovered the magic that is this show. Now I'm totally retroactively a-squee for you!

Stiles' moles--OMG, right? They're so...dotty and random. Kind of like Stiles.

[twasadark]

LOL - definitely!! Yeah, at first I wasn't interested in giving TW a shot, because it was on MTV and full of pretty people and I thought it was correspondingly brainless. I'm so happy to be proven wrong!

[darkemeralds]

Yes, yes, and yes! Same here, exactly!

[alizarin_nyc]

I know everyone else is already watching it, so I won't prose on. I just want to add that the sixteen-year-old in me has a huge crush on Jackson, the thirty-year-old in me is hot for Derek, and the timeless winged being of my soul adores Stiles.

I could not have said it better myself. :)

[darkemeralds]

Doesn't he just break your heart???

[alizarin_nyc]

He does lots of things to my heart!!!

[darkemeralds]

:D

Yeah. I don't know what it is, exactly, but that boy just throws himself out there, vulnerability ablaze, and it's going to be very interesting to watch him grow as an actor. Even if he goes on playing Stiles-like characters the rest of his career, it'll be wonderful.

[bluemeridian]

*sidles back in* Since I'm not sleeping at 5am, I have a few things for you after reading upstream: most commonly, Stiles' first name according to fandom is Genim. I have no idea where that came from, but I kind of like it.

I swear that Colton Haynes is captain of the Good Ship Sterek (forgive the portmanteau - at least it doesn't bother me as much as some others), which is just adorable for some reason.

Dylan O'Brien's acting experience prior to Teen Wolf was basically... YouTube videos. It's insane; his natural affinity for acting is through the roof. Dylan's costars agree. :P

Really, I'm surprised I managed to hold out as long as I did considering it's about werewolves, which is like Blue catnip, but it's the cast that finally made me cave. They're just... adorable. *sheepish grin* Considering I'm reading about their characters, not them, I don't know why that matters to me, but there you go.

[darkemeralds]

I did a little googling on Genim (interesting name) and came across a ComicCon panel quote where Tyler Posey says, "Well, it's not Stan."

Hee! Stan Stilinisky. LOL

Also, apparently in the original movie, Stiles' real first name is Rupert, but the cast assures us that the Jeff Davis didn't use that.

The cast is right about his natural talent. (Great link, thanks.) I've never seen anything like it. vampirefan commented after watching the first ep that Dylan reminded her a lot of the young River Phoenix, and you know, she's right. Not, perhaps, the same gravity, but a physical resemblance and a distinctly similar natural talent.

[vampirefan]

because i am obsessed right now, i came read the comments on this post and checked out the link you posted here... and then i realized that it's from CAST COMMENTARY from the pilot ep!!!

OMG. HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT THERE WOULD BE DVDS???? AND COMMENTARY???

*MAKES PLANS TO RUN TO THE STORE AFTER WORK*

[darkemeralds]

Oh fuck. And I just cleaned out my entire DVD collection. I don't want more DVDs! Waaah! And I'll have to watch the commentaries and outtakes and gag reels if I'm going to write RPS be a good fan.

[vampirefan]

ok. now the conundrum. the dvds for s1 are out. but i really would love this show on bluray. do i wait? or not? arrrrggghhhhhh!!!

[darkemeralds]

I'd say wait, but then I don't have very much impulse control either, so it would be hypocritical.

[tehomet]

I have seen precisely one episode and I too adore Stiles. *sigh*

[darkemeralds]

I have seen precisely 24 episodes, all twice and several three times, and I still adore Stiles. I can't remember when I've seen more perfect casting or more pure natural talent.