Mediaburn Classic 2001, Archived Television Review
Wolf Lake
CBS Wednesday 10PM ET/PT

Something is going down at Wolf Lake! CBS's new series starring Lou Diamond Phillips has aired it's first three episodes. Interesting in terms of visual delivery but so far the writing has weakened my enthusiasm. Lou Diamond Phillips plays Seattle Police Officer John Kanin. His girlfriend, Ruby Wilder, disappears shortly after leaving their apartment. Following a lead up to the small town of Wolf Lake in search of his fiancee, Officer Kanin encounters a townspeople that have a secret. The townspeople appear to have a longstanding and very close relationship with the wolves in the nearby wilderness. A very close and unholy relationship might be more accurate.

The show is shot very well, with nice visual compositions, music video-like interludes, and very interesting "wolf vision" sequences that have a sort of ultaviolet quality. The plot however, comes close to recycling the film The Lost Boys. An outsider comes to a town and gets involved in a dark, evil secret. As in The Lost Boys, this series involves the youth of Wolf Lake quite a bit. A notable performance is delivered by Graham Greene, who plays local biology teacher Sherman Blackstone.
- Written by Gary Santoro