The CW has found itself a potentially hit-worthy new series, but only if it chooses to play its cards right.
From the moment the show opened the show already provided for some intriguing television with a young girl finding a strange (and criminally wanted) boy/alien in her shed.. and of course she chucks and E.T. and befriends the otherworldly man (or being?). From that scene alone, I took the bait and became glued to the screen.
But after that exact moment, the show fell a bit flat as the fresh concept first introduced in the opening fell into familiar CW soapy teen drama territory. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.. but Star-Crossed doesn’t need to go there, the concept is already fresh and fun. Avoid that area please! after all Matt Lanter has already been on a abruptly cancelled teen drama series from the same network (yes I was an avid watcher of 90210) which was dedicated to the stuff. Also the side-story plot-line of Emery’s (Aimee Teegarden) friend Julia (Malese Jow) being ill has already been done to death and felt like a pretty corny attempt on this occasion. In saying this I mean the issue being dealt with needs a better approach rather than being used as a cheap plot device.
Now back to where the show worked, after we got pass all the middle material the show got back into full swing and explored the oppressive nature of the Aliens trying to fit into society. It’s a clever metaphor that can be seen as a relation to real-life issues of disadvantaged individuals trying to break the social norm. It’s a fresh concept for the teen-genre and the network made the right decision in saving this show for 2014 as the genre continuous to thrive.
Also finally, no television series can exist without romance being chucked into the mix. After all, the show is being marketed as “Romeo & Juliet with an Alien twist” and why not?. The leads (Aimee Teegarden and Matt Lanter) are hot and already share enough chemistry to keep the show engaging for its teen audience.
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| Leads Aimee Teegarden (Emery) and Matt Lanter (Roman) share enough chemistry to keep audiences engaged. |
VERDICT: If the show is careful with its material it will flourish and make for a particularly fresh and intriguing addition to the teen-fiction drama genre.
It will be interesting to see just which path the show will decide to go down. In this I say to Star-Crossed, you can either go hard or you can go home.
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