The Crossing, airing Mondays at 10pm, is ABC's latest attempt at finding a sci-fi hit. Following the success of Lost in 2004, the major networks have repeatedly tried to replicate its mainstream appeal and healthy ratings, with mostly failed results. There were one season failures like The Event, Surface, and Invasion, and slightly more successful multi-season shows like Fringe and Heroes. The Crossing will likely fall into the first category, if it even lasts a full season at all. The show opens with hundreds of people washing up on the beach of a small Pacific Northwest town-why do strange things on tv always seem to happen in the Pacific Northwest? Most of the people die from drowning, but 47 survive. Encompassing a wide range of ages and ethnicities, they soon begin to tell Homeland Security agents a bizarre and unbelievable story about how they ended up on the beach: they are from 180 years in the future, refugees from a war-torn America who traveled back in time to escape their horrible lives. What?! 😮 They claim that a mysterious entity named Apex is responsible for the war, but so far the show hasn't revealed anything about them. One survivor named Reece (Natalie Martinez) even seems to have supernatural abilities; in one scene she escapes a warehouse by swiftly taking down 3 police officers, leaping off the ground, and crashing through a high window. She may or may not be part of Apex. The show's main protagonists in law enforcement are local sheriff Jude Ellis (Steve Zahn) and Agent Emma Ren (Sandrine Holt). The other survivors are mostly a bland mix of people, with one small girl named Leah (Bailey Skodje), who lost her mom during their journey from the future.
The show definitely has an interesting premise, but so far it hasn't done much (really anything) to hook me in and bring me back for more episodes. The acting is lazy and boring all around; there are no compelling characters like Lost's Sawyer, Jack, or Kate for viewers to invest in. The writing isn't much better. The show's dystopian future elements could potentially become more interesting in future episodes. Last year's breakout Hulu hit The Handmaid's Tale used its depiction of a future war-torn America as commentary on the current state of American politics and the potential erosion of civil liberties. I wouldn't give The Crossing credit for presenting any such intellectual parallel yet, but it hinted at it ever so slightly in the pilot, with the refugees expressing relief at the fact that their "new" America offers more possibilities for them. One survivor says, "This is the America of old. Everyone has rights here no matter where they're from." This seems like quite a stretch for anyone struggling for civil rights in the divided America of today (the LGBTQ community, immigrants, African Americans, and other minorities), but the line hints that things could get much worse in the future if we continue down our current path (maybe a little too political for a network sci fi show, depending on your point of view).
The one aspect of the show that I can praise, without hesitation, is the cinematography. The underwater shots are eerie and beautiful, reminiscent of the recent Oscar winning film The Shape of Water. Also, the beautiful shots of the refugees sitting on the beach, looking out at the waves, were certainly a throwback to Lost. While the pilot of The Crossing didn't come close to matching the special effects and production values of the Lost pilot, its director and set designers definitely knew what they were doing.
While there is a chance that The Crossing could pick up steam in future episodes, overall I can't recommend it. I've seen too many other network sci-fi shows quickly fizzle out in less than a season, with mythologies that end up being overly complicated or incomplete (even Lost fell into this trap for many fans, although not me). It's hard to imagine this show being any different, but I hope that it proves me wrong.
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