We here a Geekstronomy have been given the opportunity to preview another
of the Syfy’s brand new series, Bitten, which premieres tonight Monday, January 13th. Bitten is based on the novel of the same name written by best-selling author Kelley Armstrong and stars Laura Vandervoort(Smallville) as Elena Michaels, the lone female werewolf in existence.
Life isn’t easy in the big city, but to Elena Michaels, the struggle is well worth all the effort. Vowing never to return to her werewolf pack family, Elena has settled in Toronto as a photographer. It’s been over a year and a half since she left her old life behind and moved in with her boyfriend Philip (played by Paul Greene). She is close to obtaining a life that she has longed for but her supernatural circumstances threaten to destroy what little she has gained.
Things only get worse when Elena receives a phone call out of the blue. It is Jeremy Danvers (played by Greg Bry
k) her old wolf pack alpha ordering her return to Stonehaven. Dead bodies are showing up on pack territory and it looks like wolves are responsible. The existence of werewolves may be exposed jeopardizing Elena’s hopes for living a normal human life. The reasons Elena left in the first place still haunt her, including her werewolf ex-boyfriend Clayton (played by Greyson Holt).
Fans of the book will notice that the story doesn’t follow the first book very closely with only about 40 percent of what was in the novel actually making to the screen. For example the first two episodes only highlight about the first third of the book. Minor points in the book are lost and other story points glossed over to move the story along.
Certain roles have been extended to help offset and explain details that were covered in the book by Elena’s own internal monolog but I still feel that a lot of things had to be left out. Without reading the book many parts of the story are left to interpretation. This may also stem from the fact that the episodes are very short. The first two episodes should have been a single hour long premier instead of chopped into two.
THE BOTTOM LINE:
If sex, murder, and the supernatural are what you seek, Bitten is a must see for you. Bitten offers the standard Syfy visual flair so transformations won’t blow your mind. With a little bit of time for the story to play out, viewers will become more vested in the characters assuring the success of the series and with it hopefully some extra cash flow for visual effects.
-Nate Biller
