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Roswell (TV series)

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Roswell
File:Roswell Season 2 DVD Cover.jpg
Second Season DVD Cover
Created byJason Katims
StarringShiri Appleby
Jason Behr
Katherine Heigl
Majandra Delfino
Brendan Fehr
Colin Hanks
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes61
Production
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkThe WB
ReleaseOctober 6, 1999 –
May 14, 2002

Roswell was 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 passing as humans in Roswell, New Mexico. The aliens are survivors of a 1947 UFO crash popularly known as The Roswell Incident. One of the aliens, Max Evans, played by Jason Behr, falls in love with human Liz Parker, played by Shiri Appleby.

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.

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 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.

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.

Basic premise

Template:Spoiler

"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 that go to school in Roswell. Liz is working at the Crashdown Café and is accidentally shot during an argument between two customers. Classmate 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. The aliens all appear human and attend the same school in Roswell, however their lives have diverged somewhat due to very different home lives (Max and Isabel were adopted by a doting middle-class family whereas Michael grew up sharing a trailer with an abusive foster father). It is clear that Max has strong feelings for Liz, who is immediately drawn to him although she is dating 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. Subsequent seasons explore the aliens' origins, their powers and their past.

DVD releases

These are the DVD release dates for region 1.

These are the DVD release dates for region 2.

A boxed set of all three seasons is available for a reduced price in both regions.

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

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 it's surrounding districts.
  • One notable quirk was the aliens' favorite condiment, Tabasco brand hot sauce (reputedly the show's prop bottles were actually filled with raspberry sauce), which they liberally sprinkled on nearly every meal. The Tabasco connection was later highlighted by fans who sent thousands of the tiny bottles to network executives along with pleas to save the show.
  • Although Behr and Heigl played siblings on the show, the actors began dating off-screen during the show's run and reportedly were engaged for a while after the show ended.
  • Delfino — who was pursuing a musical career off-screen — sang several times on the series, most notably the Phil Collins single "In The Air Tonight" and the gospel classic "Amazing Grace".
  • The theme song was Dido's "Here With Me", from the album No Angel (1999).
  • 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 UFO Convention" and "Secrets and Lies".
  • Another link with the Star Trek franchise occurred in the 3rd season episode "Secrets and Lies" in which Max auditions for a role in Enterprise while staying in Los Angeles.
  • Series regular Colin Hanks is the son of Tom Hanks.
  • Katherine Heigl plays a character named Isabel, the same name as her character on Grey's Anatomy.

Main cast list

Other recurring cast members

Pop culture influences

Besides the "Roswell High" books, "Roswell" has frequently been compared to its various pop culture influences, including:

== Episodes == (original airdates in parenthesis)

Season one

  1. Pilot (10/6/1999)
  2. The Morning After (10/13/1999)
  3. Monsters (10/20/1999)
  4. Leaving Normal (10/27/1999)
  5. Missing (11/3/1999)
  6. 285 South (part 1 of 2) (11/10/1999)
  7. River Dog (part 2 of 2) (11/17/1999)
  8. Blood Brother (11/24/1999)
  9. Heat Wave (12/1/1999)
  10. The Balance (12/15/1999)
  11. Toy House (1/19/2000)
  12. Into the Woods (1/26/2000)
  13. The Convention (2/2/2000)
  14. Blind Date (2/9/2000)
  15. Independence Day (2/16/2000)
  16. Sexual Healing (3/1/2000)
  17. Crazy (4/10/2000)
  18. Tess, Lies and Videotape (4/17/2000)
  19. Four Square (4/24/2000)
  20. Max to the Max (5/1/2000)
  21. The White Room (part 1 of 2) (5/8/2000)
  22. Destiny (part 2 of 2) (5/15/2000)

Season two

  1. Skin and Bones (10/2/2000)
  2. Ask Not (10/9/2000)
  3. Surprise (10/16/2000)
  4. Summer of '47 (10/23/2000)
  5. The End of the World (10/30/2000)
  6. Harvest (11/6/2000)
  7. Wipeout! (11/13/2000)
  8. Meet the Dupes (part 1 of 2) (11/20/2000)
  9. Max in the City (part 2 of 2) (11/27/2000)
  10. A Roswell Christmas Carol (12/18/2000)
  11. To Serve and Protect (1/22/2001)
  12. We Are Family (1/29/2001)
  13. Disturbing Behavior (part 1 of 2) (2/5/2001)
  14. How the Other Half Lives (part 2 of 2) (2/19/2001)
  15. Viva Las Vegas (2/26/2001)
  16. Heart of Mine (4/16/2001)
  17. Cry Your Name (4/23/2001)
  18. It's Too Late and It's Too Bad (4/30/2001)
  19. Baby, It's You (5/7/2001)
  20. Off the Menu (5/14/2001)
  21. The Departure (5/21/2001)

Season three

  1. Busted (10/9/2001)
  2. Michael, The Guys and The Great Snapple Caper (10/16/2001)
  3. Significant Others (10/23/2001)
  4. Secrets and Lies (part 1 of 2) (10/30/2001)
  5. Control (part 2 of 2) (11/6/2001)
  6. To Have and To Hold (11/13/2001)
  7. Interruptus (11/20/2001)
  8. Behind the Music (11/27/2001)
  9. Samuel Rising (12/18/2001)
  10. A Tale of Two Parties (1/1/2002)
  11. I Married An Alien (1/29/2002)
  12. Ch-Ch-Changes (2/5/2002)
  13. Panacea (2/12/2002)
  14. Chant Down Babylon (2/26/2002)
  15. Who Died and Made You King? (4/23/2002)
  16. Crash (4/30/2002)
  17. Four Aliens and A Baby (5/7/2002)
  18. Graduation (5/14/2002)

See also

References

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