Teen Wolf Season 3 Part 1 is on DVD now!

Teen Wolf Season 3 part 1 howled its way to dvd on December 10^th, you know in time for you to pick one up for Christmas, and stuff some stockings full of goodness. As suggested by the title it’s only half of the season, the other half has yet to air, and although the extras are sparse, the dvd set is still worth every penny for the Teen Wolf lover, or heck for those who missed the first airing of these episodes. I would be in the latter category, and heck, MTV’s scheduling isn’t always the easiest to find reruns. So I managed to get my hot little hands on a copy, and I could not wait to dig right in!

Season 3 doesn’t start off right where Season 2 ended, which is a great thing. There were some pretty big twists last season, and the fallout needed time to solidify. Let’s face it, this isn’t the fun, light hearted Michael J. Fox Teen Wolf, this is the shirtless rip your heart out Tyler Posey version, and it gets crazy quickly. But it is a teen show, or rather the characters are teens, Juniors this year to be exact, and there’s little pauses for a budding romance between Lydia (Holland Roden) and Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) as they play detective. If you were at comic con this year, you heard how the room went wild when it was revealed that these two shared a smooch. If you forgot of course, Lydia and Jackson (Colton Haynes) broke up last year, he was a Kamina, and he moved to London. His absence is sorely missed this year, mostly because I adore his portrayer Colton Haynes and he’s underutilized over at Arrow at the moment.

But with the close of some heavy storylines, where Jackson’s life nearly ended and Peter Hale was resurrected, there is a new big bad lurking about. A gang of Alphas led by Deucalion (Gideon Emery) wants Derek (Tyler Hoechlin) to join them, and to make sure he doesn’t have a change of heart, they plan on slaughtering the rest of Derek’s current pack. Boyd (Sinqua Walls) and Erica (Gage Golightly) are held captive, and things get a little nutty. Of course if one big bad is good, two is better. There’s also a Darach running about, and Scott (Tyler Posey) and the others are forced to figure out who it is before some truly terrible deeds are committed.

This season, Scott tries his hardest to become a better person, Stiles started reaching the end of his rope, and Allison dealt with the consequences of her actions from season 2. Lydia learned what she really was, Peter showed his true colors, and Derek continued his tragic spiral.

As allegiances shift, secrets are revealed, and relationships are changed, a fair number of characters are both introduced and lost this season. That may be one of the draws of Teen Wolf: it has not shied away from getting rid of characters when the story calls for it, or even sometimes just to pump up the excitement level, and Season 3, Part 1 is certainly no exception to that. Which can only be expected with a dense monster population, and one bent on ritualized human sacrifice, but the storyline is so masterfully crafted it doesn’t slip into slasher porn territory. Sure the blood flows, but it doesn’t come out of left field, there’s been plenty of bread crumbs leading up to it.

The DVDs are pretty flawless conversion, but they’re still not blu-ray. And while I’m a sucker for the show and the hard bodies, I’d love to see it in a higher definition. The special effects still look pretty good.

As for the extras they include: Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel , Return of the shirtless montage, and Back to the Pack. Deleted scenes are pretty standard fare. I do adore the Gag Reel. Seeing the funny faces, and stuttering of lines is always fun. But the best special feature may be the shirtless montage. I mean, the cast is very easy on the eyes and all. And the “Back to the Pack” is a perfect must watch BEFORE viewing the DVDs. It’s a TV special that aired prior to season three in which the cast discusses the first two seasons and previews what’s coming up in the third.

Also a limited edition 2014 Teen Wolf calendar is said to be included in the DVD box set as well. Unfortunately, as I didn’t get one, since it’s a review copy. But when you purchase your very own in the store, you’ll get one. And if you’re saying to yourself “But I already bought the Official Teen Wolf calendar,” this is not the same calendar. And really you could use another.

"TEEN WOLF, SEASON 3, PART 1"  was released on DVD‏ Dec 10, 2013

And be sure to stay tuned for Teen Wolf season 3, part 2, which premieres on January 6, 2014 at 10 p.m. EST on MTV.