The New Roswell: The CW's Star-Crossed

Remember that story about a group of stranded kids from another planet who try to fit into a high school setting?  And two of the alien kids were siblings?  And one of the alien boys falls for an Earthling girl?  And he even shows his powers in the first episode of the show by healing another student?  Well, you may remember the story as The WB's 1999 series Roswell, but it has been reincarnated as Star-Crossed on the 2014 version of The WB - The CW. The first episode premiered last Monday (February 17th) and you can still see it on The CW's website.  Overall, it was interesting enough, but so far it pales in comparison to other recent alien invasion stories.

But first, here is the basic story from the CW: 

When Emery was 6 years old, an alien spacecraft crash-landed in her small town. Whether they came in peace or with more sinister intentions didn’t matter: a fierce battle erupted as humans fought for control over their new rivals, an alien species called the Atrians. In the midst of the conflict, Roman, a 6-year-old Atrian boy, found his way to a shed behind Emery’s house, where she protected him from harm, bringing him food, comfort – and friendship. In their brief time together, Emery and Roman forged a deep bond, but the authorities wasted no time tracking Roman down and capturing him in a violent confrontation. Emery has grown up believing that Roman was killed that day. Ten years later, the Atrians have been acclimated to life on Earth, but they are interned in a heavily-guarded camp known as the Sector to keep them separate from humans. Now, for the first time, a group of Atrian teens will enroll in a suburban human high school, with the goal of testing the feasibility of human/alien integration. The eyes of the nation and the whole world are fixed on this historical social experiment, an endeavor fraught with suspicion and fear. In the mayhem of the first day, Emery is amazed to learn that Roman was not killed by the authorities and is, in fact, one of the Atrian students. Their childhood bond is quickly rekindled - in a school and a society that distrusts everything about the Atrians, Emery and Roman have found each other again. However, their relationship is threatened by the small-mindedness of their respective communities and the political agendas of people in power. While the world around them rages with anger and prejudice, their bond becomes increasingly strong and increasingly dangerous. As an epic Romeo and Juliet romance unfolds, a violent encounter between Roman’s father and Emery’s father occurs in the Sector. Can Roman and Emery’s love - and peace between the species – survive?

And now a few comments.   First, similar to Roswell, the alien kids are almost identical to human kids.  In this case, a few simple tattoos are the only variation, and I can already see future episodes where human kids start acquiring similar tattoos because it is "cool" to be an outsider.  Of course, the alien healing powers and even reference to a second heart may mix things up down the road, but the variation in biology to date has not been all that overwhelming, which makes this more of a show about fitting into high school than any commentary on alien otherness, as you get in the movie District 9.  Similar to District 9, you do have a ship in the middle of the city, but this one is a wreck rather than a hovering monster.  And for some reason, 10 years after the alien crash the hulking damaged ship in Star-Crossed is still being dismantled.  You would think the Pentagon would have moved it out of the main shopping district of Baton Rouge, but maybe they have other things to do than investigate AN ALIEN SPACESHIP! 

Some of my favorite recent invasion TV shows include SyFy's Defiance and TNT's Falling Skies.  In the first, you have a terra-reformed Earth after a horrible alien space war where our planet was collateral damage.  In the second, you have a still smoldering Earth with the alien occupiers continuing to wipe-out the last few humans.  Both are bleak and have little time for high school romances.  So my suggestion is that you check out these other shows if you want to see a true clash of cultures.  However, if you want to see an alien-version of Twilight or Dawson's Creek, this is the show for you.  And if you want to see the original alien boy meets girl and takes her to the prom, you still cannot go wrong by revisiting Roswell.