Pilot (Roswell)
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| “Pilot” | |||||||
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| Roswell episode | |||||||
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| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
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| Written by | Melinda Metz | ||||||
| Directed by | David Nutter | ||||||
| Guest stars | John Doe Michael Horse Wendle Josepher Kevin Weisman |
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| Production no. | 1ADA79 | ||||||
| Original airdate | October 6, 1999 | ||||||
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Pilot is the pilot episode for the television series Roswell.
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[edit] Plot Synopsis
Liz Parker discovers a fellow high school classmate has otherworldly powers when she's shot during an altercation at the Crashdown Cafe.
[edit] Summary
During an altercation at the restaurant where she works, teenager Liz Parker is shot in the stomach but is miracously saved by fellow classmate Max Evans through special powers. She finds out that he is actually an alien, along with his sister Isabel and friend Michael, who survived the Roswell crash of 1947. She is the first non-alien person he has told, which opens up a can of worms. Being suspected by the Roswell Sheriff Jim Valenti, Max, Michael, and Isabel pull a ruse over the sheriff with the help of Liz and her best friend Maria, which saves them from having to leave what has become the only thing they have ever considered "home".
[edit] Expanded overview
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The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. |
The episode opens on Liz Parker writing in her new journal about how "five days ago, I died. After that, things got really weird." We are then taken back to see Liz working in a restaurant (the Crashdown Cafe). She serves two tourists, who are in town for the Crash Festival, a sensational party in the desert based around the Roswell crash of 1947. These tourist become enthusiastic when Liz shows them a supposed alien picture from the crash site. While Liz laughs off the encounter to her waitress friend, Maria, a heightened spat between two surly men results in one drawing a gun and inadvertently firing, which hits Liz. As the two men flee, Max Evans runs up to Liz, rips her shirt open, and lays his hand on her stomach. Inducing flashbacks, Max miraciously heals Liz's wound, opting to hide his handiwork with ketchup to hide her blood. Max then runs out of the cafe with his friend Michael. Liz stands up, alive and shocked as she watches Max and Michael speed away.
As things start to settle down, Sheriff Valenti shows up on the scene and seems sceptical from the start. The two tourist from before intervene, mentioning how there was no bullet and that after the gun was shot, a boy did "something" to Liz. Valenti notices empty Tabasco sause bottles on the vacated table where Max and Michael had been. When Liz returns home, she finds a glaring silver hand print on her stomach where the wound had been. The following day, while in biology class, Liz observes some strange cell structures from a pencil that had been in Max's mouth. After class, she pulls him aside to question him. After a brief encounter with her boyfriend Kyle, Sheriff Valenti's son, the Max and Liz talk about her findings. Max acknowledge's that he is "not-of-this-Earth." She freaks out and he tells her that no one must know, that his life is in her hands.
Max has to tell his sister, Isabel, and his friend, Michael, that he had told Liz about his secret. It turns out that the three of them are all aliens. They discuss the possibility of leaving Roswell now that some knows about their secret. It is revealed that Max and Isabel were found together and raised together in a good home, while Michael lives with a foster father of whom he is not happy with. Liz tries to avoid Maria, but is confronted in the school bathroom by her friend who proceeds to grill her. At the same time, Max, Isabel, and Michael as pulled over by Sheriff Valenti, who happens to spy a Tabasco sause container at Michael's feet. He lets them go, but a fight ensues with Michael leaving the jeep in a huff. That evening, after Liz goes on a date with Kyle, he happens to see the silver hand print on her stomach. Sheriff Valenti questions Liz the next day, showing her pictures of a similar marking on an autopsy photo. When asked to show her stomach, it is revealed that the mark has faded. Valenti is then seen conversing with a man, most likely from the FBI, about the possibility that this has something to do with the Roswell crash. It is revealed that Sheriff Valenti's father, a previous sheriff, used to chase leads on UFO's, aliens, and such. The man finds no real validity to Valenti's claim and leaves Roswell, warning Valenti not to tread down the path his father had.
Liz confronts Max for further information after the mark has faded. He tells her that they were in "incubation pods" for a number of years after the 1947 crash. He tells her that Isabel and Michael are also aliens. He discusses some of their powers, saying: "we can connect with people ... we can manipulate molecular structures". He says that not even their parents know, that Liz is the first one outside of the three. She tells Max about the pictures and what happened with Valenti. Max makes the decision that it is time for the three of them to leave because of Valenti suspecting them.
Maria confronts Liz and demands to know the truth. Liz reveals her secret and Maria ends up flipping out. After calming Maria down, she and Liz find the Max, Michael, and Isabel and convince then into a plan to get Valenti off their tail. They end up at the Crash Festival where Valenti accosts Max. While cuffing Max, Maria gets "hit" by a car driven by Isabel and is "saved" by an alien-masked man, who leaves a silver print on her chest. Liz, Deputy Owen, Sheriff Valenti, Max, Alex, and the two tourists from the Crashdown witness the feat. When Valenti goes after the masked person, it turns out to be his son. Michael is then shown taking the same exact mask off and disposing of it in a port-o-poty. Valenti has to let Max go, but not before he warns Max that things are not over. Max, Michael, and Isabel watch the recreation of the Roswell crash sullenly while the rest of the crowd cheers loudly at the end of the Crash Festival. Max meets Liz atop a hill, telling her it is not safe for the two of them to be together. The episode ends with a voice-over of Liz writing in her journal, much like the beginning of the episode:
It's September 24th. I'm Liz Parker and five days ago, I died. But then the really amazing thing happened. I came to life.
[edit] Cast
Jason Behr as Maxwell 'Max' Evans
Shiri Appleby as Elizabeth 'Liz' Parker
Katherine Heigl as Isabel Evans
Majandra Delfino as Maria DeLuca
Brendan Fehr as Michael Guerin
Colin Hanks as Alex Whitman
Nick Wechsler as Kyle Valenti
William Sadler as Sheriff Jim Valenti
John Doe as Jeff Parker
Wendle Josepher as Jennifer
Kevin Weisman as Larry Trillin
[edit] Powers used
- Max heals Liz's bullet wound, thus saving her life. He is considerably drained by the act to the verge of near collapse, but is able to run out of the Crashdown with vigor.
- Max's cells are very much alive when Liz views them under the microscope, as opposed to hers. This may suggest regenerative powers.
- Isabel heats up a taco with the palm of her hand.
- On the trip back from eating, Isabel is playing a CD by having it close to her ear.
- Max enduces a vision for Liz to see into his past.
- Max changed the molecular structure of a clay sculpture to appear blank before changing it back.
[edit] Trivia
- Liz serves Sci-fi themed food to the tourists; a Sigourney Weaver(the Alien series) and a Will Smith(the Men in Black series). Both platters look very similar.
- One of the executive producers is Jonathan Frakes of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame. He also appears at the Crash Festival to countdown the crash itself, reminiscent of the ball dropping on New Years Eve.
- W Roswell High School motto: Pathway to Excellence and Integrity
- W Roswell High School: Home of the Roswell Comets
- Alex is reading the Roswell Daily Record. Headline: Shootout at the Crashdown.
- Max and Isabel's address is 7632 Newtown Ave, Roswell, NM, 88201
- The date on the autopsy photograph is November 16, 1959.
- Dave Matthews Band song Crash plays at the end of the episode, which is most likely a nod to the countless "crash" references: The Crashdown Cafe, The Crash Festival, the actual Roswell crash.
