She-Wolf of London

She Wolf of London was an interesting series in the mid to late 80s. Never more than a blip in mainstream media terms, the show did have a pretty large cult following, which it deserved.

When this show first came out, I was completely enthralled. Sure, I was in junior high school at the time, but good writing is good writing. Werewolf fans and horror aficionados alike could appreciate the amount of creativity put into each episode, not to mention the dry British humor. In addition, the presence of a strong female lead (played by Kate Hodge) put the series several years ahead of its time. The She Wolf paved the way for a certain Vampire Slayer named Buffy.

Early on, it was clear that this was tv for adults. I don't mean it was pornographic, but rather that it did not shy away from contemporary network no-nos like sex, death, and a dominating young woman who didn't take crap from anyone. The double entendres involved with Ian placing her in shackles in his family's basement were enough to win hearty guffaws from even the most innocent viewer. But of course, a series like this can never last long.

As the seasons rolled by, the quality of the show decreased more and more. It was clearly floundering in the ratings by the time its title changed to "Love and Curses." The characters moved to LA to fight demonic evils every week, and it was just as ridiculous as it sounds. (Apparently, this is a TV formula as common now as chicken pox.) This is about the time I stopped watching it, as the life had been snuffed out of the series. I recently found to my delight, however, that the Sci Fi Channel reruns first episodes of She Wolf of London in the wee early hours of the morning. If you're up really late and have nothing to do, then check out the show. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

A funny, clever and wonderfully atmospheric show that deserved much more attention than it originally received. It had an interesting quality that was very reminiscent of some of the better "Hammer Studio" horror films of the sixties and seventies. The humor of this show had a similarity to that on "The Avengers". "She Wolf of London" also possessed wonderful dialogue filled with double entendres and spoken by a really excellent cast. The leads had great rapport and the supporting players were unusually good.

The change of name to "Love &Curses" and setting to LA was a huge mistake and the loss of the distinctly English atmosphere hurt the show. However, even those episodes are funny, well written and well acted.

Watch it if you can!

I concur with the theory that this was Britain's answer to the Hulk, but I love this series for the fact that it introduced me to the lovely Kate Hodge. Despite the over-acting and the hokey effects of the werewolf role, she did act out the plight of a woman cursed with lycanthropy. Even with the limited premises, the series had a great idea sending her out all over England turning up ghosts, zombies, witches and succubi in her search for a cure for her condition, but then they ruined it by transferring the show to the United States. Not to bad mouth my country, but moving the series took away any credibility and likeability the show ever had and made if even too campy for my tastes.

A short-lived program for a short-lived network, She-Wolf began as serious horror, set in London. As episodes progressed, the writers started sprinkling in a little humor. Midway through its run, it settled on a mixture of comedy and Gothic horror that would later see huge success in Joss Wheadon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

The formula didn't last long - budget cuts and network fiddling lead to retooling the show, now a comedy based in Los Angeles. It retained the supernatural themes, but not the serious horror. The final third of its run had a noticeable drop in production value, and while those episodes could at best be described as silly, they were also very, VERY funny.

A flawed program, but influential and entertaining.

An American student named Randi Wallace travels to England in order to study mythology under British professor Doctor Ian Matheson. Whilst ghost-hunting out on the moors, she is attacked and bitten by a savage animal. At the next full moon she turns into a werewolf, and manages to convince her new professor of her condition. Together the two of them begin to investigate various supernatural occurrences, in order to explore mythology and attempt to find a cure for Randi's curse ...

As you can see, thankfully this series shares very little in common with the dull 1940's movie She-Wolf of London from which it takes it's name. It actually seems much more inspired by John Landis' classic 1981 horror movie An American Werewolf in London, not only with it's very similar storyline but also with it's darkly humorous approach to the standard supernatural horror formula. It certainly showed great promise in some areas, but unfortunately the English financial backers for the show dropped out after four months due to some poorly-written episodes. The creators were brave enough to move the show over to Los Angeles for six more episodes and retitle it "Love and Curses", but after this the series was soon cancelled altogether.

Considering the series is titled "She-Wolf of London", few of the episodes are actually focused on lycanthropy, and some don't feature the werewolf at all. Mostly Randi and Ian just investigate various supernatural occurrences, such as ghosts and zombies and nymphomaniac sex demons ... Randi is, however, constantly on the look-out for a cure to her condition, even in the most unlikely places. In the "London" episodes, Ian's extended family provide both comic relief and serve as key characters on occasion, and the "will they, won't they" relationship between teacher and student is prominent all the time, sometimes charming and sometimes irritating. Some have argued that "She-Wolf" was heavily influenced by "The Incredible Hulk" television series, but to me it seems more likely that it was simply following after Frank Lupo's Werewolf, which was certainly influenced by that show.

Kate Hodge gives a peculiar, quirky performance as Randi, which can become a little annoying at times but for the most part she's good. She seems more interested in the comic aspects of the series rather than the horror or the drama elements. Neil Dickson, meanwhile, is a superb actor who you may or may not remember for his excellent portrayal of every schoolboy's favourite World War One pilot in Biggles : Adventures in Time. Okay, so you probably won't. But anyway, he's perfectly cast as the stuffy, charming professor (a kind of proto-"Giles" character, if you will -- this series seems a strong predecessor for "Buffy"), and as long as the script is good he is a reliable performer.

The series isn't nearly as good as it could have been, but aside from certain episodes it's certainly not as bad as some would have you believe. The redeeming quality of the series is it's odd and original mix of creepiness and corny humour. Overall it was a promising blend of horror and comedy, with some truly excellent episodes, and it's a great shame what ultimately became of it.