Roswell

[Trubinator]

Made it to "Max to the Max" and I'm really liking the story revelations. Sadly, I wish they had scrapped 90% of everything that preceded it because the teen romance gives me a headache. It's kind of weird really. Most of the time I'm banging my head against the table in frustration, but occasionally they have X-Files moments that make my hair stand on end.

I also read about Alex's death beforehand on wiki, so no harm done. I also read that he's recurring in season 3, which makes me feel better. His death is terribly unfortunate though because he's the one character in the show who really seems to be like the elephant in the room. He's a great character, but is generally ignored or shat upon.

 

[NileQT87]

You've got to remember that not everybody who watches the show is a male sci-fi geek that can't stand romance at all. Some are women who are into the supernatural/fantasy/sci-fi romance aspect with the sci-fi plot twists thrown in.

This show is definitely more suited for the latter. It's the characters and relationships that most people who watched this show were invested in. The plot served the characters and threw them for loops, not the other way around. It's definitely a case of a show that introduced its characters, threw a wrench in the works to mix them all up and separate them and then tried to mend them back together at the end.

 

[FreezeC77]

I enjoyed the series... Christmas episodes were to Roswell what Halloween episodes were to Buffy in that there were some really good ones.

The thing I would agree on is I really disliked BOTH the 'leads' in the show. I always felt Shiri Appleby and Jason Behr were the weakest links in the show. Shiri's voice just grated on me like nails on a chalkboard and the whole diary thing "I'm Liz Parker"... I mean WTF? Why was she putting that in every single entry? Was she afraid of getting Alzheimers? Or ending up like the guy in Memento or something?

Maria totally made the show for me and I really liked Heigl's Isabel until the last season when they had no idea what to do with the character.

 

[Greg Cox]

You've got to remember that not everybody who watches the show is a male sci-fi geek that can't stand romance at all. Some are women who are into the supernatural/fantasy/sci-fi romance aspect with the sci-fi plot twists thrown in.

Yeah, it's worth remembering that the series was based on a popular series of young-adult novels. The teen soap opera stuff isn't an aberration or mistake; it's a fundamental part of the show's DNA. It was always meant to be DAWSON'S CREEK with aliens and conspiracies . . . which can be fun if you accept it on its own terms.

Teenage angst has its place in sf.

 

[Dick Whitman]

No one has pointed this fact out yet. Roswell debuted in the fall of 1999. 10 YEARS AGO! I feel so old...

 

[Trubinator]

You've got to remember that not everybody who watches the show is a male sci-fi geek that can't stand romance at all. Some are women who are into the supernatural/fantasy/sci-fi romance aspect with the sci-fi plot twists thrown in.

This show is definitely more suited for the latter. It's the characters and relationships that most people who watched this show were invested in. The plot served the characters and threw them for loops, not the other way around. It's definitely a case of a show that introduced its characters, threw a wrench in the works to mix them all up and separate them and then tried to mend them back together at the end.

I think you're slightly mistaken. I actually was a huge fan of the romantic aspect of Farscape and often find myself intrigued by love stories in science fiction. I was merely stating that, in my opinion, that aspect of Roswell seemed to be all there was to the show. And at 23, I've kind of moved beyond "OMG! Teehee! He's like, so totally over her now," and that crap.

I will say that I thought the last 2-3 episodes of the season were excellent. Everything fell into place and it seemed like an actual story was about to be told. Let's hope the show keeps hitting on those notes and moving forward.

 

[NileQT87]

It's not really about age though. Have you seen the women who watch soap operas? They aren't all spring chickens who should know better. LOL. Now those are worth banging your head against a brick wall from. Roswell, for all its teen angst, has a plotline with that teen angst/forbidden romance hook.

I bet there were a lot of bored housewives tuning in to shows like Buffy, Angel, Roswell, etc... And I bet you a lot of them were into the romantic plots. Those shows also attracted nerds in droves.

Funny thing, but the target Dawson's Creek audiences fled the shows when they got too fantastical or involved. It happened to all three of those shows. Well, Angel never even had a shot at the "Gilmore Girls" audience.

As for the Jossverse, the driving force of that fandom is STILL Bangel vs. Spuffy. Riling up two of the most infamous 'shipper groups is always a recipe for epic forum battles. The fact that those two couples are left hanging in the air after 12 years of storytelling (17, if you include the movie) is practically the second life of the franchise. On the other hand, Roswell was kind of wrapped up in a nice pretty bow. Though I would love to see the characters face being on the run. Roswell comics? I wish. Alas, the fandom is definitely in hospice at this point.

While the Jossverse has Angel and Spike as the most prominent female hooks, in the Roswell world, it's Max and Michael. Thankfully, in the latter, they never competed for the same lead.

And for the target audience, the relationships of Max/Liz and Michael/Maria WERE THE POINT.

The plot was mostly there to throw those relationships for a few wacky loops. You know, like, Tess (whose entire purpose is to threaten Max/Liz and to contrast the way that Max, Isabel and Michael grew up as humans). It's about those relationships with a side of discovering one's identity (something teenagers/young adults relate to)--the existential aspect to the show.

The sci-fi was there as flavor and to add a mystery that unfolded (again, the existentialism).

And yeah, I love those Christmas episodes. It's a tough race between Max and the cancer kids (yeah, I'm a sucker; it made me cry) and Santa-Michael with elf-Maria (hilarious).

Summer of '47 (it's just made of awesome--a flashback where the main characters act out a past they weren't in), A Roswell Christmas Carol and The Departure are probably my favorite episodes. All season 2.

 

[Trippy]

Though I would love to see the characters face being on the run.

Mangels and Martin's (of the ENT relaunch fame): Pursuit and Turnabout

 

[Greg Cox]

Though I would love to see the characters face being on the run.

Mangels and Martin's (of the ENT relaunch fame): Pursuit and Turnabout

I think Kevin Ryan also wrote a couple of post-series novels.

As it happened, when my own ROSWELL book came out, I had dinner with a local ROSWELL fan club. My impression was indeed that they were not really a sci-fi bunch, but were more into the relationships . . . .

Then again Pocket made a point of hiring us Trek writers to do the tie-in books (instead of, say, some SWEET VALLEY HIGH authors), so they were definitely trying to reach out to the scifi community as well.

 

[Trubinator]

It's not really about age though. Have you seen the women who watch soap operas? They aren't all spring chickens who should know better. LOL. Now those are worth banging your head against a brick wall from. Roswell, for all its teen angst, has a plotline with that teen angst/forbidden romance hook.

I bet there were a lot of bored housewives tuning in to shows like Buffy, Angel, Roswell, etc... And I bet you a lot of them were into the romantic plots. Those shows also attracted nerds in droves.

Funny thing, but the target Dawson's Creek audiences fled the shows when they got too fantastical or involved. It happened to all three of those shows. Well, Angel never even had a shot at the "Gilmore Girls" audience.

As for the Jossverse, the driving force of that fandom is STILL Bangel vs. Spuffy. Riling up two of the most infamous 'shipper groups is always a recipe for epic forum battles. The fact that those two couples are left hanging in the air after 12 years of storytelling (17, if you include the movie) is practically the second life of the franchise. On the other hand, Roswell was kind of wrapped up in a nice pretty bow. Though I would love to see the characters face being on the run. Roswell comics? I wish. Alas, the fandom is definitely in hospice at this point.

While the Jossverse has Angel and Spike as the most prominent female hooks, in the Roswell world, it's Max and Michael. Thankfully, in the latter, they never competed for the same lead.

And for the target audience, the relationships of Max/Liz and Michael/Maria WERE THE POINT.

The plot was mostly there to throw those relationships for a few wacky loops. You know, like, Tess (whose entire purpose is to threaten Max/Liz and to contrast the way that Max, Isabel and Michael grew up as humans). It's about those relationships with a side of discovering one's identity (something teenagers/young adults relate to)--the existential aspect to the show.

The sci-fi was there as flavor and to add a mystery that unfolded (again, the existentialism).

And yeah, I love those Christmas episodes. It's a tough race between Max and the cancer kids (yeah, I'm a sucker; it made me cry) and Santa-Michael with elf-Maria (hilarious).

Summer of '47 (it's just made of awesome--a flashback where the main characters act out a past they weren't in), A Roswell Christmas Carol and The Departure are probably my favorite episodes. All season 2.

I guess I just like shows that change. To me, there isn't much point in building a relationship unless it has an ultimate direction. Therefore, I have to roll my eyes when Max/Liz have their contrived breakup for the 1000th time. IMHO, they can push the story forward at an accelerated rate and still maintain the drama. Look at Jericho for an example of this.

I know it's not going to happen, but I think in an ideal world, the communicators activating in the season 1 finale would mean the show would change in Babylon 5 sort of way. I'd like to see them literally chased out of Roswell for good and make it a global show. Then they could perhaps return in the series finale.

The finale really raised some exciting questions and possibilities in my mind, so it kind of saddens me to expect a casual return to the high school realm with few consequences. I'd imagine an event like that would change everything...

**EDIT** I do appreciate your long explanations though, Nile.

 

[Michael Chris]

It's ok. The mall sucks, quite honestly. And, seriously, you have to drive to Artesia to even go to Burger King? Sheesh. That's a bit crazy. I like the design of it, just two real main streets. That place with the milkshakes is good, but I can't remember the name of it. I'll have to try it again. The whole alien theme is a bit weird, I mean come on do we really need Walmart to have an alien mural?

As to the TV show, haven't watched it. It's on Hulu? Might give it a whirl.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Though I would love to see the characters face being on the run.

Mangels and Martin's (of the ENT relaunch fame): Pursuit and Turnabout

I think Kevin Ryan also wrote a couple of post-series novels.

As it happened, when my own ROSWELL book came out, I had dinner with a local ROSWELL fan club. My impression was indeed that they were not really a sci-fi bunch, but were more into the relationships . . . .

Then again Pocket made a point of hiring us Trek writers to do the tie-in books (instead of, say, some SWEET VALLEY HIGH authors), so they were definitely trying to reach out to the scifi community as well.

Though the books were usually in the Young Adult section. So I imagine it was not that successful.

I read a few of the books. I had forgotten that you wrote one Greg. I like your books and will have to track it down!

 

[Trubinator]

Wow, I actually had no idea that you wrote professionally, Greg. Now that I think about it though, I think I read a few of your TNG novels at the county library in the old days. How funny is that?

 

[theenglish]

It is kind of sad that Smallville killed this show back during its first season. I remember Kryptonsite posting the ratings numbers for the two shows as if it were a prize fight every week.

 

[Trubinator]

On a different note, does anybody know of another Web site that has the other seasons? I may continue with it, albeit at a slower pace, at some point. But I don't think I'll ever feel like buying the seasons to accomplish that task.

 

[Vendikarr]

On a different note, does anybody know of another Web site that has the other seasons? I may continue with it, albeit at a slower pace, at some point. But I don't think I'll ever feel like buying the seasons to accomplish that task.

I don't think the other season are available on the web legally. Maybe try netflix or your local library and see if they have the dvds.

 

[Michael Chris]

Watched the first couple of episodes yesterday. Pretty good!

Although, seriously, the guy who played the sheriff must be Chris Cooper's doppelganger at least in terms of voice!

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

^William Sadler. He gets around. We probably best remember him here as Agent Sloane of Section 31 on Star Trek: DS9. He also played the father on Wonderfalls and he was the main villain in Die Hard 2.

I enjoyed Roswell a great deal when it was first on. I found the teen angst levels in Season 1 very difficult to take. Season 2 was a great improvement, although I only saw maybe half of it. Season 3 had some decent moments but it kinda felt like they had run out of ideas. They focused too much on the Max/Liz & Isabel/Jesse romances and not enough on Michael/Maria. Maria was always the one who kept me watching that show (although the actress seems to be a real bitch in real life. She even mocked the fans for being sad that the show was canceled).

I also read about Alex's death beforehand on wiki, so no harm done. I also read that he's recurring in season 3, which makes me feel better. His death is terribly unfortunate though because he's the one character in the show who really seems to be like the elephant in the room. He's a great character, but is generally ignored or shat upon.

Yeah. Kyle ends up taking over that role in Season 3, in terms of always getting the short end of the stick.

As for the Jossverse, the driving force of that fandom is STILL Bangel vs. Spuffy. Riling up two of the most infamous 'shipper groups is always a recipe for epic forum battles.

Which is why, although I'm now probably more of an obsessive Angel fan than a Trekkie, I avoid Buffy/Angel message boards like the plague. They're too girly & romance obsessed. I prefer to view these shows through the prism of Star Trek & other straight up SF/F shows.

Summer of '47 (it's just made of awesome--a flashback where the main characters act out a past they weren't in)

A great technique which I wish were used more often. Of course, Star Trek: DS9 did it with "Far Beyond the Stars." IIRC, Beverly Hills 90210 did it too. I wish that Star Trek: Voyager & Stargate Atlantis did the same thing when they did "11:59" & "The Real World," respectively.

It's ok. The mall sucks, quite honestly. And, seriously, you have to drive to Artesia to even go to Burger King? Sheesh.

Yeah, although they do have 3 Sonics!

I was just at the Roswell UFO museum a couple weeks ago. It was OK but kinda depressing considering all of the typos in the exhibits.

 

[Trubinator]

Sheriff Valenti is actually my favorite character in the show atm. I didn't know Mr. Die Hard was in DS9 though.

 

[Michael Chris]

Yeah, although they do have 3 Sonics!

I was just at the Roswell UFO museum a couple weeks ago. It was OK but kinda depressing considering all of the typos in the exhibits.

You know the few times I've been to Roswell, I have never even been to the UFO museum! As to the show it's staying pretty good. It's kind of ridiculous how hilly and mountainous they portray Roswell as (for those who don't know, Roswell is nearly completely flat).