Star-Crossed Series Premiere Review: “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)
The CW hasn’t premiered a show breaching the extraterrestrial terrain since it’ predecessor, the WB, made a short-lived hit out of Roswell in 1999. 15 years later the network is attempting to tap into the same market with it’s new midseason series, Star-Crossed. And as the title hints at (loudly), there’s an underlying Romeo and Juliet love story threatening to take center stage at any moment.
The premise of Star-Crossed is pretty straightforward. An alien ship crash lands on Earth in the not-so-distant future. During the resulting chaos, one of the alien children manages to escape the fighting. He meets a human girl who shelters him before he is located by authorities, and taken (unconsciously) into custody. Humans, obviously threatened by the arrival of the aliens, quarantine the newcomers (or Atrians, named after their home planet).
Ten years after they arrive on Earth seeking refuge, the government begins the process of desegregation, which in the world of Star-Crossed means that a group of lucky teenagers get the privilege of attending an all-human high school. Included among them, Roman (Matt Lanter), the aforementioned boy. Oh, and the human girl he met, Emery (Aimee Teegarden), also happens to attend this same school. Feel free to connect the dots of what this means for the plot in your head.
Although the alien-human condition mirrors a certain historical context, offering up some conspicuous social commentary, there are some sweet, albeit predictable, moments that seem very appropriate for a CW drama. Star-Crossed wastes no time cementing itself among the other shows on the CW roster with over-the-top teen angst and love at first (err, second) sight.
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