Note: this is a spoiler-free review of the first episode of Stargirl, which is available to stream now on the DC Universe app. A condensed version of the pilot will air on The CW on Tuesday, May 19.
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With the release of Stargirl on DC Universe and The CW, Warner Bros. Television is counting on the fact that we all have room in our lives for yet another DC show. And given how so much of the entertainment industry has ground to a halt in 2020 – including the Arrowverse – they’re right. Stargirl is just what a bored superhero TV fan needs right now – a fun and lighthearted romp that breaks both the Arrowverse and DC Universe mold and tries something a little different.
Thanks to the recent Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, we know that Stargirl takes place on Earth-2 in the DC live-action multiverse – a world that was destroyed in the final season of Arrow and reborn in a new form in the last chapter of Crisis. Fortunately, you don’t need to know any of that backstory to enjoy the Stargirl premiere. For all intents and purposes, this is a fresh start with a new world and a new cast of heroes and villains.
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If anything, Stargirl is at its weakest early on when it attempts to flesh out the history of this world and its incarnation of the Justice Society of America. The opening flashback is all over the map in terms of tone. It attempts to combine superhero melodrama and quippy humor together and, predictably, pulls off neither one. This is most glaring in the scenes involving Joel McHale’s Starman. The snarky nature of Starman’s dialogue is completely at odds with the otherwise grim tone of that scene. Hopefully that character is utilized better going forward, because McHale is theoretically a great fit for this superhero universe.
But despite that rough start, the premiere quickly settles into a groove when it jumps to the present and shifts focus to the story of Courtney Whitmore (Brec Bassinger) and her new stepfather, Pat Dugan (Luke Wilson). Even this early on, the series really thrives on the strong chemistry between the two leads and the awkward family bond they share. With so many superhero stories revolving around a character grieving for their dead parents, it’s refreshing to have a show so centered on a father/daughter relationship.
For that and other reasons, Stargirl feels like neither the product of the Arrowverse nor DC Universe. Whereas all the previous DCU series have skewed in a very adult-oriented direction, Stargirl is firmly and proudly an all-ages series. It also skips over most of the Arrowverse tropes DC fans might be accustomed to at this point.
Stargirl is as much a high school comedy as it is a superhero series. It dabbles in a lot of the usual teen comedy tropes – high school cliques, vengeful bullies, etc. – but it does so with just enough self-awareness to suggest there’s a deeper purpose at work. There’s a low-key mystery element to the series involving Pat and Courtney’s move from Los Angeles to Blue Valley, Nebraska, and that’s actually one of the most interesting plot points in the pilot. There are long stretches where Stargirl’s pilot doesn’t really feel like a superhero series. Given the awkwardness of the opening prologue, the series may be better off because of that.
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The production values, if still not feature film-worthy, are a clear step above what The CW is able to accomplish with its more limited resources. There’s a clear Spielbergian quality to the series that’s most obvious wherever Courtney tests out her new powers and gets used to wielding the Cosmic Staff. That mystical artifact turns out to be a solid supporting character in its own right, sort of the show’s answer to Doctor Strange’s eccentric Cloak of Levitation in the MCU.
While it is a little disappointing that the Art Deco vibe of the old Earth-2 has been phased out in favor of something more traditional and contemporary, the series does find more subtle ways of acknowledging the old-school roots of the Justice Society. The doo-wop-heavy soundtrack, the cheesy nature of the costumes and the vaguely Leave it to Beaver-esque nature of Blue Valley itself all help the show feel like it’s detached from time and operating in its own, goofy little corner of the DCU. It’s not just another Arrowverse offshoot, and that’s just fine.
Source: IGN.com DC Universe's Stargirl: Series Premiere Review