***This review contains some spoilers***
Watch the SPOILER review on YouTube
The inaugural season of “Stargirl” gets off to a solid start, blending the lightheartedness of DC’s CW shows and the maturity of the DC Universe series. Unfortunately, there’s too much of a good thing as the large volume of good characters means that many of them don’t get enough quality screen time. The show bites off more than it can chew by being a Stargirl show, a Stargirl and the JSA show, and an Injustice Society show.
While the characters are solid overall, Brec Bassinger in the lead role stands out the most. She skillfully portrays all the different emotions Courtney goes through as she deals with a new stepdad, moving to a new town and trying to become a superhero. Luke Wilson as Pat Duggan is also a vital part of why the show works. He’s able not only pull off Pat’s laidback attitude, but also his heroic side. It’s clear his character has seen a lot of wild stuff in his time, and while a lot of similar characters fail to see the obvious, Pat tends to very quickly puts two and two together. The rest of the new Justice Society gets the short end of the stick. The new Wildcat, Hourman and Doctor Mid-Nite all get off to strong starts, but they don’t really get a lot more character development, or even much superhero stuff.
The large cast of villains mostly gets a fair amount of time to shine. Some are pretty-well fleshed out, and others are just fun to watch, but they combine to make an interesting group of characters. There’s also a nature vs nurture argument as it comes to the future of the villains’ children. It’s too bad that they generally get their stories pushed aside or just they stop showing up altogether.
Speaking of the villains, the extremely slow reveal of their masterplan hurts the overall plot of this season. We’re told they’re extremely dangerous, but without knowing the stakes, there’s not much tension. The other part of the season’s story arc is about becoming a hero, a while the emotional journey is there, they pretty quickly skip through the mastering of the superpowers stuff…which is usually a lot of fun. Instead we see the heroes fail, and then next time they’re in action, they got a lot better.
The show also looks great. There are some good looking locations, and the small town setting helps it stand out from all the other superhero shows out there. And, thanks to the bigger budget, the special effects are very good for television. Hopefully when the show moves to the CW next season, they can keep the same quality.
“Stargirl” season 1 gets things off to a strong start, giving us likable heroes in training, a strong family dynamic and some worthy adversaries that need stopping. But, there’s just too much going on out the gate, some interesting characters get shortchanged, and they rushed through a lot good ideas instead of saving them for a later season.
***1/2 out of *****