Roswell (TV series)

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Roswell
Image:KatheriRoswell.jpg
Michael Guerin (Brendan Fehr) with Isabel (Katherine Heigl) and Max Evans (Jason Behr) in a promotional image for season two of Roswell
Genre Sci-fi
Teen drama
Running time 42 minutes (approx.)
Developer(s) Jason Katims
Executive producer(s) Kevin Kelly Brown
Jonathan Frakes
Jason Katims
David Nutter
Lisa J. Olin
Starring Shiri Appleby
Jason Behr
Katherine Heigl
Majandra Delfino
Brendan Fehr
Colin Hanks
Nick Wechsler
Emilie de Ravin
William Sadler
Narrated by Shiri Appleby
Opening theme "Here with Me" by Dido
Country of origin United States
Language(s) English
Original channel The WB (1999-2001)
UPN (2001-2002)
Original run October 6, 1999–May 14, 2002
No. of episodes 61 (List of episodes)
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Roswell is a sci-fi series created by Jason Katims. The series ran between October 1999 and May 2002. Described by one reviewer as "a star-crossed teen-age love story with an otherworldly twist" (Roberts, Associated Press, September 29, 1999), the series focused on teenaged aliens hiding in plain sight as humans in Roswell, New Mexico. The aliens are survivors of the 1947 UFO crash popularly known as The Roswell Incident. The love story comes into play when Max Evans (an alien), played by Jason Behr, and Liz Parker (a human), played by Shiri Appleby, fall in love.

The series pilot was based on the Roswell High young adult book series, written by Melinda Metz and published by Pocket Books. In some countries, the TV series aired under the Roswell High title.

Contents

[edit] Cast

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Main

[edit] Recurring

  • Julie Benz - Kathleen Topolsky, undercover FBI agent
  • Jim Ortlieb - Nasedo, the aliens' protector
  • John Doe - Jeff Parker, Liz's father
  • Jo Anderson - Nancy Parker, Liz's mother
  • Garrett M. Brown - Philip Evans, the adoptive father of Max and Isabel
  • Mary Ellen Trainor - Diane Evans, the adoptive mother of Max and Isabel
  • Diane Farr - Amy De Luca, Maria's mother
  • Devon Gummersall - Sean De Luca, Maria's cousin

[edit] Plot

"September 23rd. Journal entry one. I'm Liz Parker and five days ago I died. After that things got really weird..."

Series creator/producer Katims frequently described the show's alien themes as metaphor for teen alienation and coming-of-age.

As the show starts Liz (Shiri Appleby), Maria (Majandra Delfino) and Alex (Colin Hanks) are three best friends residing in Roswell, New Mexico. Liz is working at the Crashdown Café, her parents' restaurant, and is accidentally shot during an argument between two customers. Max Evans (Jason Behr) rushes to her side and heals the mortal wound just by placing his hand over it – bringing her back to life.

Liz later discovers a silver handprint on her stomach. She confronts Max, who is forced to admit that he, sister Isabel (Katherine Heigl), and their friend Michael (Brendan Fehr) are aliens. Max has strong feelings for Liz, who is immediately drawn to him though she is dating the sheriff's son Kyle Valenti (Nick Wechsler).

Liz is initially sworn to secrecy but eventually Maria and Alex learn the truth and these six reluctantly become friends as they struggle to protect the alien trio from mysterious government agents, curious UFO-seekers, and especially the suspicions of Sheriff Valenti (William Sadler) and son Kyle.

Early on, it is revealed that the aliens had emerged from incubation pods long after their spaceship crashed. They were able to survive as they were not yet born. When they hatched from the pods in 1989, they looked like human six-year-olds. Toward the end of the first season, a fourth alien hybrid named Tess Harding (Emilie de Ravin) is introduced, along with knowledge of their past lives, and the concept of their supposed destiny. Subsequent seasons explore the aliens' origins, developing powers, and desperate attempts to save themselves from the clutches of the FBI.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Roswell episodes

[edit] Airing history

Roswell High was originally developed by 20th Century Fox Television and Regency Television for the FOX network, though it landed on the WB (re-named simply Roswell) thanks to the latter network's offer to extend a full 22-episode upfront commitment. The series premiered on October 6, 1999 in the USA to generally favorable reviews. Although it quickly garnered an outspoken fanbase, the series almost immediately entered a steady ratings decline that would keep the show under constant threat of cancellation.

In response to the ratings problems, the network ordered the relationship-driven standalone episodes of the early first season to be replaced with more sci-fi themes and multi-episode plot arcs. Starting with the second season, veteran sci-fi writer Ronald D. Moore was brought in to join Katims as an executive producer and showrunner, and to further develop the sci-fi elements. During seasons two and three, members of the fanbase increasingly grew divided between those who had preferred the original style (criticized by opponents as too soapy or melodramatic) versus those who preferred the newer style (criticized by opponents as too dark or convoluted).

In the United States, Roswell lasted for two seasons on the WB. On May 15, 2001, the WB cancelled the series, a move widely anticipated due to the disappointing ratings. But Fox was able to persuade United Paramount Network to pick up Roswell for a third (and ultimately final) season in a deal packaging the underperforming series with Fox's coveted property Buffy the Vampire Slayer which UPN had just managed to steal away from WB in a heated bidding war. However, Roswell failed to hold on to enough of the audience from its new lead-in, Buffy. So once again it faced cancellation. Roswell's final episode aired on May 14, 2002. Shiri Appleby has been quoted as saying that the decision of the writers to go away from the basic love story of the first season, to a more convoluted sci-fi plot in season two played a large role in the cancellation, and that at least she felt the finale "gave the audience what it wanted," which was Liz and Max together as the final season more or less returned to the original season's plot lines.

In the UK, Roswell (High) was shown on Sky TV but only the first two seasons were shown by the BBC. The BBC website has an explanation for their failure to show the third season.

In France, Roswell was shown on M6.

In Spain, Roswell was shown on FDF and Antena3.neox

In The Netherlands 'Roswell' was shown on V8, which is currently known under the name of 'Veronica'.

In Malaysia, the show was shown on TV2

Roswell was also shown in many other countries around the world, including Australia and New Zealand.

[edit] DVD releases

Season Episodes Originally aired Release date and image
Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
1 22 1999 – 2000 February 17, 2004
 April 26, 2004
 April 2, 2004
2 21 2000 – 2001 October 5, 2004
 August 9, 2004
 February 7, 2005
3 18 2001 – 2002 August 9, 2005
 October 11, 2004
 March 15, 2006
1-3 61 1999 – 2002 — October 31, 2005
 April 19, 2006

A Region 1 boxed set of all three seasons is available.

Note: Each DVD release had many songs on the soundtrack changed from the original broadcast versions as a result of license fees.

[edit] Original Novels

Besides the original Roswell High book series that inspired the TV series, a range of novels was published based on the events depicted in the show. These largely ignored the continuity of the original novels, and acted to embellish on events that largely went unexplained on screen (i.e. how Isabel met Jesse).

[edit] The Pocket Books Novels

While Roswell was still on air, three novels were published by Pocket Books. Once the show was cancelled, this range ceased publication.

  1. Loose Ends by Greg Cox (June 2001)
  2. No Good Deed by D.A. Stern (October 2001)
  3. Little Green Men by D.W. Smith and K.K. Rusch (April 2002)

[edit] Simon Spotlight Entertainment Novels

Later in 2002, Simon Spotlight Entertainment (a division of Simon & Schuster), picked up the Roswell range and published a further eight novels. Following low sales, this range was also terminated a year later. The first four novels act a bridge between Seasons 2 and 3. The last four are set after the events of the series, and are considered by many fans to be 'Season 4'.

  1. Shades by Mel Odom (September 2002)
  2. Skeletons In The Closet by Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin (November 2002)
  3. Dreamwalk by Paul Ruditis (January 2003)
  4. Quarantine by Laura Burns (March 2003)
  5. A New Beginning by Kevin Ryan (June 2003)
  6. Nightscape by Kevin Ryan (July 2003)
  7. Pursuit by Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin (September 2003)
  8. Turnabout by Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin (November 2003)

[edit] Trivia

  • The television series was based on the Roswell High series of books created by author Melinda Metz under editor Laura J. Burns. The pair eventually joined the show in the 3rd season as staff writers. The episode "A Tale of Two Parties" marked their television-writing debut.
  • Despite being set in New Mexico, the series was filmed entirely within Los Angeles and its surrounding districts. Most of the exterior shots were filmed in the city of Covina, California.
  • The alien pod chamber (disguised as a rock formation of distinctive slanting rocks) are actually Vasquez Rocks, located outside of Los Angeles.
  • One notable quirk was the aliens' favorite condiment, Tabasco brand hot sauce, which they liberally sprinkled on nearly every meal. It was finally explained in the third season that when the aliens came out of the pods, for the first few months they could't smell or taste anything except for strong flavors such as tabasco sauce. Although their sense eventually matured, they kept the tabasco habit. The tabasco sauce connection was later highlighted by fans who sent thousands of the tiny bottles to network executives along with pleas to save the show.
  • Delfino — who was pursuing a musical career off-screen — sang several times on the series, including the Phil Collins single "In the Air Tonight" and the gospel classic "Amazing Grace."
  • Jonathan Frakes, an actor well known for his role in Star Trek: The Next Generation, was an executive producer, and directed several episodes. He also appeared in the pilot episode as an MC, then as himself in two other episodes, "The Convention" and "Secrets and Lies."
  • Another link with the Star Trek franchise occurs in the third season episode "Secrets and Lies" in which Max auditions for a role in Enterprise while staying in Los Angeles.
  • Yet another link to Star Trek was the guest appearance of J.G. Hertzler as teacher Mr. Lafeber in the episode "Ask Not." Hertzler is best known for his work in various Star Trek roles, most notably as the General/Chancellor Martok of the Klingon Empire in Deep Space Nine.
  • Show creators went to great lengths to ensure accuracy between the show and the real town of Roswell, New Mexico. License plates on cars, driver's licenses, and even state seals were used in the series.
  • Native American actor Michael Horse plays deputy Owen Blackwood in the first episodes of season 1. He was deputy Hawk in the series Twin Peaks and sheriff Charles Tskany in an episode of the X-Files.

[edit] Pop culture influences

Besides the Roswell High books, Roswell has frequently been compared to various pop culture influences,[citation needed] including:

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
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