TV REVIEW: Star-Crossed Pilot Episode

Star Crossed is the new and very heavily trailed CW teen drama. The show premiered on 17^th February 2014 in the US and stars Aimee Teegarden, Malese Jow and Chelsea Gilligan. The pilot episode was shown at last year’s San Diego Comic Con to mixed reviews. This review will contain minor spoilers from the pilot.

PLOT

About an epic romance between a human girl and an alien boy when he and eight others of his kind are integrated into a suburban high school 10 years after they landed on Earth and were consigned to an internment camp.

WHY I WATCHED

Malese Jow who I first saw as Anna in The Vampire Diaries is the reason I paid attention to this show back when it was known as Oxygen and was being paraded around in the run-up to Comic Con. I kept hearing about the show as she tweeted out details and behind the scenes photos.

WHAT I THOUGHT

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this, the problem with all the hype is that you get the major media outlets trying to pigeon hole a new show into something that viewers will understand, as if we viewers have absolutely no imagination. One of those pigeon holes that stuck out to me and almost sent me to the hospital with an eye rolling injury was that Star Crossed was a “Romeo & Juliet” tale featuring an alien boy and a human girl, this was indeed somewhat accurate it could be argued but I think that sells things short.

I can only hope that there will be a decent amount of plot time dedicated to the differences between the culture, like West Side story but with less singing perhaps. On a more serious note the performances so far have been pretty good, I know it was just the pilot but I’m optimistic that they are going to keep it at this level. I have to make special mention of Malese Jow who has at least in the pilot the most emotional range to work through as her character contemplates her own mortality.

As for the rest of the cast we have more placeholders than real characters as to be expected as this is only the pilot, we have the racist bully, queen bee and of course the competing love interest with a few actors that CW fans will recognise from other network shows. Those I know I think more than capable of bringing and some of the new ones I find intriguing, what can I say? I’m a sucker for a tough girl.

I am not sure where this will go, though the pilot does suggest something very close to war at least brewing after the fallout at the end of the episode. Furthermore, I am not sure about how this will fare in the endless chase for ratings but I for one am happy to watch as many episodes as CW choose to release.

TV Shows - Teen Wolf Premiere Discussion

Teen Wolf is an American television series that currently airs on MTV. It is based on the 1985 film of the same name. The series premiered on June 5, 2011, following the 2011 MTV Movie Awards.^[1] The series follows Scott McCall (Tyler Posey), a high school student and social outcast who is bitten by a werewolf while looking for a dead girl in the woods. The show recently returned for a second season.

This is my write-up for the 2 Hour Premiere.

WHAT I THOUGHT

First thing to say is that supernatural teen dramas like to take their time in establishing their story so we initially get some plot development in finding out what happened after the finale of last year when Derek killed the Alpha after he killed Crazy Aunt Argent. Big Papa Argent really doesn’t want his daughter anywhere Scott and communicates this through dragging him out of a car through the window and threatening to blow his brains out. You would have thought that might be enough but teenage hormones are a powerful thing so Scott and the Argent Archer are still sneaking around.

Stiles is still pining for his one true love, Lydia who is in the hospital but seemingly on the mend before she has a Teen Wolf patented vision/dream thingie and takes off out a window. I am not going through the whole episode but that is a flavour of the opening act.

There are so many questions to be answered this season but given the nature of shows like this it is likely we will be waiting till the end of the season or so to find out what has really happened to Lydia and what will happen to Jackson. Along the way though there is more than enough comedy and action to keep us watching usually. I can only hope that we don’t spend too much time with Scott and the Argent Arrow because that tends to drag a little onscreen in my opinion. It might just be me thinking they don’t have chemistry but I can’t be sure.

Derek wanting to make a new pack seems a reasonable enough idea but choosing Jackson was a seeming mistake while the other guy who was being physically abused seemed a lot more sensible, anyone who has seen the trailer or the ‘more to come’ bit at the end of the first episode knows that he also turns a girl who was seemingly pretty ill beforehand but we have not met her yet so she seems a sensible choice.

Finally I need to visit the issue of Colonel Tigh becoming the new principal which is what I like to term a large ‘writing’ stretch to be sure. I can understand grief at losing daughter but using that to justify the destruction of all werewolves seems a little weak especially after she killed an entire family by burning them alive.

THEORIES

Why is Jackson fighting the Bite. I think it makes sense that this is down to way back when Derek was slowly dying from the Wolfsbayne wound (or was it another drug) anyway while he was creeping around school doing his sex offender impression he clawed Jackson so perhaps the drug being in his system was passed onto Jackson and that is why now he didn’t take to the bite. Remember also Jackson had a few Teen Wolf Visions after getting clawed.

So overall this season of Teen Wolf so far is looking to be keeping up with the first season.

TV POST: The US TV Off-Season Cometh

So MTV was running a competition/challenge via YouTube to get their Official Trailer for Teen Wolf Season  Two to 2 million hits. I have been checking back from time to time but slacked off recently busy with job chasing and fun with Diablo III installation problems. They recently hit their target and released the first 10 minutes of the new season on their website which strangely I could view even from the UK (albeit with a terrible framerate) I have presented it below from a friendly YouTube user.



Teen Wolf of course is not the only show with a mighty marketing mammoth behind it. True Blood is stepping things up with a series of posters and of course a trailer for the new season.

I don't know which one I will enjoy more. Teen Wolf was really good last season but too many shows trip up in the second season while True Blood's last season was absolutely woeful in my opinion and I can only hope this gets a lot better.

What shows are you waiting for in the Summer TV season?