F - Favourite TV Show (Teen Wolf)

Teen Wolf is an American TV programme that started back in 2011. The show is based around a teenager called Scott Mcall (played by Tyler Posey), who is bitten by a werewolf in the very first episode of the show, and he must cope with how the change effects his life - how he has to fight off different supernatural creatures in order to protect his town as well as keep up with his school work and how it effects the people close to him, including his best friend Stiles Stilinski (Dylan O'Brien). The shows premise actually originates from the 1985 film "Teen Wolf" however apart from the similarity of a teenager being bitten by a werewolf the plot is completely different.

 I first started watching Teen Wolf in 2013. My friend, Paige, had come across the show earlier in the year, so when she started talking about it, I read up on the plot and before we'd even watched the first episode we were invested in the lives of both the characters and the actors as well as the constantly twisting storyline. We had to wait till December to watch the first two seasons as Paige was getting the DVDs for Christmas, however we quickly binge watched through those 24 episodes and I've since kept up to date with the weekly aired show. I've also re-watched the first two seasons several times. Not long after me and Paige watched them, I bought the DVDs for myself and made my sister and my best friend, Meg, watch them as well. I think it's safe to say the first two seasons are definitely my favourite. All the original main characters were still appearing in the show and there's still a lot of light hearted banter between the characters, before things got more serious, dark and dramatic for the characters in season 3. However, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy the latest seasons, I do, they're just more tense to watch and you're constantly on edge as you watch the loveable characters fight life-ending battles with these supernatural creatures that you know are much stronger than them. You fear for their lives as you constantly wonder how they will actually beat this creature and come out alive the other side, however, most of the characters do (of course there are some character deaths - it wouldn't be a dramatic TV show without them), and at the end of the last episode of the season there's always heart-warming scenes that show them laughing and smiling together like normal teenage friends (and they also give a hint of the supernatural creatures to come next season).

Although I enjoy the show, I think my main investment is in the the three remaining original characters, and that's why I continue to watch the programme. The plot, although it can be good in places, does have continuous plot holes and sections that just don't fit in with the situation the characters are in. The writer Jeff Davis is constantly not giving enough character development to certain characters or just using them - especially in the more recent seasons - as an object. For example, Malia is introduced in season 4, however for the whole season her whole purpose is represented as to be with Stiles, so Stiles finally gets the girl and has a girlfriend. Another example is in the most recent season - season 5b - the pack reunite however part of the time Lydia is stuck in the Eichen house (where unstable supernatural's go) but none of them even mention her for the first few episodes - when normal friends would be constantly worrying where she is. This is the same for Kira, she is working on her own problems throughout the season and it's obvious she hasn't spoken to the pack about where she is or what she's doing, but again, when she's not at pack meetings, none of them mention where she is. 

Although there are issues with the shows writing, the characters are so loveable I feel I can't stop watching the show until at least my favourite characters have left. The sarcastic and awkward, Stiles Stilinski is definitely my overall favourite character he's so relatable and the constant battle he has to feel like he fits in with pack as a human member who is better at researching the supernatural creatures than fighting them. He kind of represents every teenager who is having an internal battle with themselves and is struggling to find their place with their friends. 

The only place Teen Wolf is aired in the UK is 5 Star who are currently airing season 2 of the show. To be able to keep up to date with the show I have been watching it online, however I would also recommend buying the DVD's after each season has aired as it means you can watch the episodes in good quality. To find out more about the show click here.

"Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up again" 

Until tomorrow, 

Alice x 

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The Maze Runner Series

Ok, so I watched and read the Maze Runner back in September/October time - so it hasn't exactly been recently that I became a fan of this series - but, the plot of the stories seriously kept me interested and absorbed.

I'll start by writing about the books. I came across the series after I found out that Dylan 
O'Brien, was playing the lead role as Thomas in the film. (O'Brien also stars as Stiles Stilinski in the American TV show Teen Wolf, this is where I first came across him.) Now, James Dashner, the American writer of the series released the first Maze Runner book back in 2009, following this he also released 'The Scorch Trials' in October 2010 and to finish the series 'The Death Cure' in October 2011. These three books are all continuous from each other, they continue the story of Thomas, Minho, Newt, Gally, Teresa, Winston and all of the other guys, as well as introducing new characters along the way. I'm not the biggest reader ever, and a book or story have to have an interesting plot to keep be captivated, however, although James Dashner isn't the best writer I've ever come across, the plot and the emotional attachment you get to these characters makes up for the average writing. The story follows Thomas, from when he first enters the maze, when he's fitting in with the rest of the guys who live maze, when he's trying to convince them to escape, when Teresa arrives, and to when they escape. The story is fast paced, unusual and completely different to any other franchise at the moment, but I think that's what makes it so interesting. Dashner has also written a prequel to the maze runner 'The Kill Order', now I did purchase this book, however, although I am intrigued to find out what happened before the maze was created, I have yet to read the book. This was mostly because it is basically a completely  separate series. I have read prequels in the past, however I have struggled to pick up this book and read it, just because the characters are completely different and I have become use to reading about Thomas and his friends. I know once I actually get the motivation to pick up the book and read it, I will most likely enjoy it, it's just getting use to the change in characters.  

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Right, onto the film. The Maze Runner was released in October 2014 (UK) and directed by Wes Ball, a new and upcoming Director. The Maze Runner was the first film Ball has ever directed, however you wouldn't be able to tell because the structure and setting of the film is absolutely amazing. The plot obviously slightly differs from the books, like all films do, but most of the changes were necessary. For example, in the books Teresa and Thomas can communicate through their minds, now although this was a major feature of the book, it was unrealistic to put it into the film, so it was decided the connection between the two characters would be shown another way, this was done by Teresa and Thomas recognizing each other even though all of their memories had been wiped (well, it is a little bit more complicated than that but you need to watch the film to understand that). The casting for the film was also completely spot on (ok I may be a little bit biased because Dylan O'Brien but sh). The characters are exactly how I imagined them to be in the book - Newt being played by Thomas Brodie-Sangaster (who also starred in Nanny McPhee as Simon Brown), is portrayed as a tall, square jawed, blonde haired, teenager. Sangaster is a British actor and because of his characters repeated use of the british-curse 'Bloody', he was allowed to keep his British accent  whilst filming for the maze runner. Gally, portrayed by Will Poulter, was the main character in the book and film who didn't get along with Thomas, Gally is a tough looking guy, who is very serious and has a hard accent, he mainly didn't like Thomas because of his determination to escape the maze. This was the type of cast I expected, they almost meet the descriptions of the characters in the book to a point, and they portray the people that were written about exceptionally well. All of the actors in the film are young but really, really talented.

The only thing that irritates me about the Franchise films at the moment is the fact that they're all getting pushed aside because of the Hunger Games. Don't get me wrong, the hunger games is an absolutely phenomenal series and I am massive fan of it, however new and upcoming franchise series keep getting ignored or knocked out of the way by the British community because of it. The Maze Runner still did amazingly well and was recognized,  however, cinemas don't seem to understand that they can recognize more than one franchise series at once, the same happened when the Harry Potter films were being released, all other big sequels were knocked aside by cinemas. This is a massive downfall for these companies because younger people such as myself, enjoy hearing about and watching lots of ongoing sequels at once.   

"If you ain't scared you ain't human" 

The Maze Runner film was on DVD on the 16th December 2014 in the USA and is released on DVD on the 9th February 2015 in the UK - Make sure you check it out! 

Until next time,

Alice x 

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