Star-Crossed: Pilot Review

First aired February 17th, 2014.

The CW has taken the “star-crossed lovers” angle and spun it with an intergalactic twist in its latest drama, Star-Crossed. Instead of being separated by feuding families, this modern day Romeo and Juliet are on opposing sides of an alien-human war.

Aliens have landed on Earth looking for refuge and peace with humans. Perhaps having seen one too many science fiction movies, the military decides not to take any chances and attacks them. The two lovers first meet as children when Roman (played by Matt Lanter) hides in Emery’s (played by Aimee Teegarden) garage. The soldiers don’t find the wide-eyed boy adorable and promptly fire on him once they discover him.

Flash forward ten years later and the aliens (who call themselves Atrians) have been forced into internment camps. Sympathetic humans have set up a program to allow a small group of teenage Atrians to attend public school in an attempt to integrate the two species. Of course, Roman ends up attending the same school as Emery and the relationship slowly blossoms from there.

The show will likely gather a teenage following who will enjoy the romantic and teenage drama. However, that’s actually the least interesting aspect of the show. The alien-human dynamic does not put much of an original spin on the teenage drama that has been shown on television for decades.

Star-Crossed would do better to focus more of the show’s plot on the tension between the Atrians and the humans. Viewers won’t be as interested in the relationship between the two leads as they would be in the escalating conflict between the two species. For example, whether the Atrians become tired of being treated as minority prisoners and rise up against their human captors, as well as what methods humans have or may try to use to exterminate them.

The backstory of the Atrians is a rich plot point that the show should also explore in more detail. What happened to their planet and why did they choose Earth as a new home? Since the show jumped ten years in time there is also ample backstory in how they have been living since their incarceration. Humans may have run experiments on them. This, coupled with the abilities they may possess (such as their blood apparently being a medical cure), are areas the show should delve into.

Overall, Star-Crossed does not make a great first impression in its premiere but has the potential to be a great science fiction show. It can look into the dynamic of aliens and humans attempting to coexist the same way True Blood did with vampires and humans. However, if the major focus continues to be the teenage drama, the show will not be rising to the potential it’s capable of.

Quotes/Thoughts

Emery’s father shooting Roman’s father (albeit accidently) is definitely a major relationship block.

“Technically, Martians are from Mars. We’re from a far superior planet.”

High school students can generally be very mean, so that’s probably the worst place to try and cultivate human and Atrian relationships.

The Atrians resemble humans apart from the body art they have, which looks really cool.

“Dude, she chose a ‘Tattie’ over you, own it.”

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