eattle police detective John Kanin (Phillips) was the happiest man in the world. That is, until his fiancée, Ruby (Mia Kirshner), vanished one night after a bloody attack that left a man's severed hand behind. Later, John discovers Ruby wasn't who he thought she was. In fact, the police can't find any
record of her ever having existed. Unsure how to go on, he dedicates himself to finding out what happened to her and hunting down every clue he can find.
Months later, John gets a mysterious call from a trucker who says he dropped off Ruby near the Pacific Northwest town of Wolf Lake. John hops on his motorcycle and rides in to the small town, quickly running into several of the friendly-but-odd locals, who maintain they've never seen Ruby before. When the town's sheriff, Matthew Donner (Matheson), gives John a lead, he quickly discovers that he's been sent on a wild goose chase. Then John runs into the high school's science teacher, Sherman Blackstone (Greene), who seems to be able to appear and vanish at will. In fact, John begins to find out that nothing in Wolf Lake is quite what it appears to be.
Only the sheriff's teen-age daughter, Sophia (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), seems to hint that there might be a reason for John to stay around. What John does know is that the people of Wolf Lake know something about Ruby, and he won't leave until he finds out what that is.
Late one night, he sees a white wolf. The wolf just stares at him, and he can't take his eyes off it. The next day, John tracks down Ruby's parents, only to discover they don't know any more than he does about where she is. John quickly begins to suspect that the secrets the town protects so preciously
are much deeper and more dangerous than he could ever imagine.
A promising long shot cries wolf
It's surprising that CBS has brought a moody, spooky werewolf story to its lineup. While odds might not be very good that the network will have the patience to stay with it, Wolf Lake is a promising new series that's more than a little different from the average network hour-long
drama.
Wolf Lake isn't your typical werewolf story, either. Rather, what the producers have done with the premiere is begin to create their own mythology about an isolated community of shape-shifting people who have a tendency to turn into wolves. From the press release, it seems John Kanin's search for Ruby will be only part of a bigger story about a shift in power that's beginning to set the human-wolf population on edge. The premiere starts to weave some of the threads into the story, but for the most part it stays focused on John and his introduction to the people of Wolf Lake. That's a good thing.
Considering the premise of the series has changed since it got its spot on the schedule, writer/producers Gansa and Kellard have done a fine job at keeping the pilot focused and creating a compelling setup for the series. Even smarter, they've filled the series with a solid supporting cast that makes the show fun to watch. Especially welcome is Graham Greene's portrayal of the strangest high school science teacher that's ever been a character on a television show. He's charming, funny, weird and mysterious, all rolled into one.
Phillips is good in the lead role as the determined but clueless cop, but his character's development will be tricky to pull off. And it points to long-term challenges the show will face as it continues. The mystery of Ruby is going to be interesting only so long, and there needs to be a good reason for John to hang around at some point. If they do that, and if they continue to keep some sort of logical mystery at the heart of the show, Wolf Lake just might have a chance.
