Wolf Lake: The Complete Series

This 2001-02 series, a supernatural melodrama about a werewolf pack living as humans in rural Washington state, arrived on TV between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the current revival in fantasy/horror TV. Lou Diamond Phillips stars as Seattle cop John Kanin, who tracks his missing girlfriend, Ruby (Mia Kirshner), to a small town where cagey sheriff Matthew Donner (Tim Matheson) hires him as a deputy during a volatile time: local werewolf leader Willard (Bruce McGill) is dying of cancer, and young thug Tyler (Scott Bairstow) is vying for the alpha dog spot. Wolf Lake features early appearances by Paul Wesley (now on The Vampire Diaries) and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and costars Graham Greene (Twilight: New Moon) as a village elder with a droll sense of humor and Sharon Lawrence as a den mother with a ferocious streak. Transformation here becomes a metaphor for sex, especially among the high school characters, with the kids divided according to those who “do” and those who “don't.” Although only nine episodes were produced before the series was canceled, this is a well-made production ahead of the contemporary zeitgeist about controlling the animal within. Extras include a behind-the-scenes documentary, and the unaired original pilot (which is very interesting in that it presents a radically different approach that was entirely reworked before the series went into full production). Recommended. (S. Axmaker)