Syfy is getting even more Canadian

Syfy just acquired rights to the new Space urban fantasy series - Bitten. It's based on Kelley Armstrong's Women of Otherworld books that starts with Bitten. It looks like the TV series will follow the first book and the werewolf characters introduced there. Unfortunately that means just one female character - Elena played by Laura Vandervoort - the only female werewolf.

I have uneasy relationship with urban fantasy. I want to like it but too often it devolves into love triangles (heroine and her inability to decide between werewolf and vampire choice is the most cliched of chliches in these) and Protagonist-Centered Morality and there aren't many things I hate more then that. I like the mix of fantasy horror and detective stories and the look into monsters among humans and fantastical fitting in among mundane. But I don't like when it becomes all romance porn fantasy and all about the showing how super strong our female lead is because she is always right and all the men are in love in her no matter what she does and if somebody disagrees they are evil and get shot or magicked away because she is a strong woman and nothing can stand in her way (yes, Laurel K. Hamilton I'm looking at you but also dozens of others who repeat this to a degree). Of course it doesn't only happen to the female led (and written) urban fantasy but prevalence of this kind of thing in this subgenre makes me afraid to even try a new series. I also tend to drop the series as soon as the second love interest shows up and/or if he is former bad guy who only behaves because he loves her so much. Also lack of any other significant female characters is a good indication one should quit.

It's not that any of these are bad on their own (except protagonist-centered morality - I really can't take that for long and it's my main reason for hating both Sword of Truth series and Supernatural). I'm OK with dragon and elves, lasers and hyperdrives so even romantic triangles have their place in my fiction if they don't take over the plot and become the centre of our protagonist life (or, you know, constant sex with all her "love" interest doesn't leave space for anything else in the book). I would also like a warning that this is romance/porn so I could reshuffle my expectations and not feel so damn disappointed when this happens again.

All this means I only have very few urban fantasy series that I follow. I liked Mike Carey's Felix Castor novels because it was mostly a noir detective story with very protagonist barely making it each time (and the only real romance is the awesomeness of Juliet and Susan). Another one I really like is Women of Otherworld series. Elena is not my favourite of the series protagonists. By mistake I started with novel 3 and Paige is still my favourite. Eve comes second. But I liked them all and I'm exited to see those stories on screen.

What I really love about the series that it follows a bunch of different supernatural women who know and often are friends with each other (there's even some great mother/daughter relationships). They are often secondary characters in one novel and main one in another. The romance doesn't take over the plot and the ones I like the most Paige/Lucas and Eve/Kristoff are equal, long-term and stable and feel like actual relationships not a sexual fantasy. I really loved Dime Store Magic plot because it was about hubris and misunderstanding and it left me feeling sad and wish for what could've been (especially later when we learn that Kristoff was actually a pretty nice guy and good father and thing he is most sorry about - besides not getting to know Savannah although that was his fault - is that he didn't get to tell his son he knew he was gay and that's OK and he still loves him). I like when evil and good isn't clear cut and life isn't fair and people make bad decisions. The best part, however, was Paige figuring things out thanks to her smarts and basically finding a way to change the power structure for the whole supernatural world.

So I really hope that at least some of that will transfer to the TV series and that they will expand the world and the number of female characters.