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One can feel the influence of Buffy’s run in its wake. Dense mythology and serialization remains a staple of scripted drama in 2012. In addition, the supernatural as metaphor for growing up theme has been particularly popular. One show that seems almost as if it were a Buffy copycat in this respect is MTV’s Teen Wolf, just concluding its second season. Itself a dark take on a silly teen film takes a look at coming of age from the perspective of, of course, werewolf lore.

Now don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a more serious approach to the Michael J. Fox flick. However, the show comes across more as wannabe Whedon than its own distinct entity. While Whedon takes his vampire mythology seriously, there is a sense that the Teen Wolf folks are trying to take lycanthropy seriously despite themselves. They certainly expand on the film’s mythology, bringing in all kinds of back-story and werewolf rules, but there is a sense that they are catering to the supposed MTV crowd, a mythical demographic who loves the weightiness of Buffy while swooning over the sparkle of Twilight.

Look no further than the casting. Though, by no means perfect, Whedon’s cast favors talent over appearance, individuality over hipness. Wolf’s cast is largely generic and nondescript. Though competent, none rise above as folks like Alyson Hannigan or James Marsters do. Even the stronger Teen Wolf actors seem like copies of someone better. Dylan O’Brien (Stiles) comes off as a poor man’s Dominic Monaghan. And please don’t get me started on the lead, Tyler Posey. Whedon may get some flack for Sarah Michelle Gellar, but she’s Meryl Steep next to this generic version of the Fox character.

And then there's the mythology. I love that they expand the bare bones framework of the movie, but where Whedon’s world building flows logically, Teen Wolf’s is just confounding. I’m a sucker for the details of fictional universes, but this one loses me. Wolf bites sometimes turn you into wolves, other times into lizard things, other times make you wander town naked. You’re immune to your own venom, except when you’re not. Alphas become betas, become omegas, and back again. I try to keep it all straight, but it seems as if the rules change to fit the story, not the other way around.

I could go on and on, but I think I’ll have plenty more to say about it when season three kicks in. It’s not a bad show, just one that misses the heights of its ambitions. So I’ll move on to what may be one of the best dark reinterpretations ever, Battlestar Galactica.

Much like Buffy, Galactica’s story is a bit legendary. Eager to capitalize on the Star Wars craze back in the late '70s, ABC and creator Glen A. Larson gave viewers a post-apocalyptic sci-fi extravaganza which, to contemporary eyes, seems slow, episodic and campy. So along came Ronald D. Moore and David Eick to give the concept the weight and gravity that it begged for.

You see, a story about the few thousand survivors of a 12 planet holocaust isn’t a topic to be taken lightly. Moore, himself a veteran of the Star Trek world, wanted to take the strong central idea, and strip it of sci-fi cliché. The result is one of the most acclaimed shows of the 2000s.

Unlike the other properties I address, few stories are as dependent on a bleak vision than that of the survivors of an apocalypse. Moore realizes that the winking wit and epic declamatory verbiage of the original doesn’t jibe with the theme of end of the world survival. This isn’t to say that Moore’s Galactica lacks for humor, but the light moments are tinged with tragedy. The funnier characters, Baltar, Starbuck, etc., maintain layers, never dismissing or forgetting the stakes.

The series’ final episode proves to be one of the more controversial, with some fans decrying its vague resolutions of some storylines and spiritual musings, valid critiques, even if I don’t necessarily agree with them. Again, however, love it or hate it, Moore resists the simple resolutions, and gives viewers an ending stimulating discussion for years to come, a far cry from the silly Star Wars knock off from which Moore’s version springs.

Of course, though Teen Wolf lives on to pretty solid ratings success, Buffy and Galactica have entered the history books. Rumors have circulated around Galactica and Buffy remakes. My guess is that, in order for them to work, they’ll have to be at least a bit lighter in mood than their predecessors, if they even come to fruition. My hope is that this will be a natural progression, not an attempt at playing it safe, post Colorado shooting. However, if one of the unfortunate consequences is an overall lightening up of Hollywood, at least we’ve got the upcoming Oz movie. Here’s hoping that that one turns out as awesome as it looks. In the meantime, let’s all go see The Dark Knight Rises one more time. What do you say?

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