Pilot Perception: Star-Crossed

Welcome to Pilot Perception, our feature in which we break down the first episode of each new show in order to help you decide whether it’s worth your time.

The Show: Star-Crossed, the CW in the U.S., Mondays at 8/7c

(As far as I could find, Star-Crossed is not scheduled to air on a Canadian network other than the CW, where available. If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know!)

The Pedigree: The show was created by Meredith Averill (The Good Wife), who also executive produces and wrote the pilot. The pilot was directed by Gary Fleder (Beauty and the Beast).

The Cast & How You Know Them: Star-Crossed stars Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights), Matt Lanter (90210), Grey Damon (The Secret Circle), Malese Jow (The Vampire Diaries), Natalie Hall (Pretty Little Liars), Titus Makin, Jr. (Glee), Chelsea Gilligan (How I Met Your Mother), and Greg Finley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager).

The Premise: Star-Crossed is about a town where aliens crash-landed a decade ago and were isolated in an internment camp. Now the high school is trying to integrate, and this social experiment is causing all sorts of drama, including an alien/human Romeo & Juliet-type romance.

A Taste:

What Works: I was skeptical of the premise of this show, but I liked the pilot more than I feared. I enjoy the science fiction elements being put into the high school setting, especially the futuristic tech like fingerprint locker scanners and some sort of food replicator in the cafeteria. While I definitely enjoy love stories, I like that this one includes a large helping of social commentary, too, and I’m curious to see how that all shakes out. The cast has decent chemistry and the writing is serviceable.

What Doesn’t: While this was enjoyable, as I said, there was nothing huge that reached out and pulled me in. It was pleasant and I’ll watch more, but it wasn’t wildly compelling in any way. And while the blend of sociopolitical commentary and high school melodrama has potential, it would also be way too easy for that to go wrong by either making the commentary too heavy-handed or giving it up and just going for soapiness, so we’ll see how they progress.

Our Favorite Line: “I wish we were the kind of aliens that carried rayguns.”

You Might Like This if you like teen alien/human drama Roswell or maybe the CW’s other human/non-human romance, Beauty and the Beast (though, for what it’s worth, I thought this had more promise than Beast).

If You’re Interested: The pilot reruns tonight at 9/8c, or check for it on the CW site, Hulu, or on demand. Then set your DVR for next Monday at 8/7c.

(Photo courtesy of the CW.)