Roswell

The first season of Roswell was a magical experience. It was about love, about alienation, about self-discovery and learning to trust people. Unfortunately, when the show was faced with cancellation at the end of its first season, the writers took what was a mystical show and made it into a hackneyed and badly written science fiction rip off. The magic of Roswell lay in the three aliens (Max, Michael and Isabel) and the fact that they knew nothing about where they came from or why they were on Earth. All Max Evans knew was that for some reason, he was in love with Liz Parker. They were faced with trouble from the government, who wanted to study them, and strangers who claimed to be related to them, but they were never sure who they could trust except each other. Even after Genie Francis appeared in holo-mom form with a ridiculous tale of inter-galactic royalty and war, the show could have been saved - that hologram should have been revealed as a tactic by the mindwarping Tess, but the aliens made the mistake of not doubting it for a second. When Tess was accepted as their friend (and there was no reason for them to trust her), this show took a plunge that it never came back from. Stick with the first 15 episodes - the rest is a downward spiral.

My sister got me hooked on "Roswell" at the beginning, but I kept watching because it was such a fantastic show! The episodes are wonderful, I love the music, and the storylines were incredible (even the often-dreaded Season 3, which I actually liked). I identified most with Max because he had been an outsider all his life, and had been in love with one woman but never had the courge to tell her (I felt like that a lot of the time). All the actors were wonderful, but I wish they hadn't made some of the decisions for Season 2 that they had. Well, I might as well list my favorite episodes, so here goes:

Season 1: Pilot, Leaving Normal, Blood Brother, The Toy House, Max to the Max.

Season 2: Skin & Bones, A Roswell Christmas Carol, Heart of Mine, The Departure

Season 3: Who Died & Made You King?, Graduation

Normally I do not get so pathetically obsessed with things, but what can I say -- Roswell was and is by far my favourite show ever made. It had angst without being too teen-y, it had passion, idealism and realism, and a compelling storyline. The setting was superb, the plots were for the most part perfect (I have to admit, Season 3 was a bit of a disappointment after Seasons 1 & 2, but not enough to make me stop watching), and the acting was great. A teen show like Dawson's Creek, or Buffy for that matter (I still can't understand why so many people like it -- ick), cannot hold a candle to Roswell. It's unfortunate that it had to end, but all good things usually do before their time.

As for the comment about Katims not being able to pull off sci-fi -- puh-lease. The best sci-fi is that which is realistic enough and embedded enough in everyday life that it is believable. The best thing Katims did was not make it tacky, as-if sci-fi.

There are shows from your past that you thought were sensational (as a kid or teen), and then see them as an adult and wonder, "What was I on?" But watching Roswell as an adult, I can honestly say that it will likely remain my favourite show for a long, long time, considering the kind of mindless crap coming out of Hollywood these days. I love the show so much that even I, a poor pharmacology grad student, made an effort to tape reruns of Season 1, had the foresight to tape Season 3 (even if it was sub-par for the show), and after the Space station here in Canada stopped the reruns, paid way too much for Season 2 on VCD, just so I can watch it whenever I want, whenever the current lineup on TV gets me down. I honestly think that if more of the population had an open mind to realistic sci-fi, and if Roswell had received more publicity (esp. considering how much is devoted to Buffy, an inferior show), the show could have went on much longer, and maybe Season 3 would have been up to par.

I HIGHLY recommend this show, for everyone.

This was my favorite show. I dont understand why it got cancelled. It had such a loyal big fan base. Anyway the first season followed the lifes of 3 teenagers living in roswell. They happen to be aliens. In one moment there lives are changed, Liz (played by Shiri Appleby) gets shoot and Max rushes to heal her. The rest of the series is about the relation between the aliens and the human that now share their secret, and the sheriff is onto them and spends all his time trying to prove they are aliens. The first series was very promising. It had 8 brillant actors who had so much talent. The storylines were always satisfing and creative. Each episode we learnt interesting facts about each character, and it was filled with suspence. The most interesting aspect of the show was the central story, the relationship between Liz and Max. It was real and touching and the viewer felt for them, we followed the heartache and the happiness. The chemistry between Jason Behr and Shiri Appleby was amazing. The second season was a little less as brillant as the first, but it did have interesting storys and new characters that were good. The best episodes were the end of the world, it was filled with feelings, and watching it i was absorbed into the world of roswell and it felt almost real. The Third season was stronger, more creative and better than the previous two. I have no idea why they wanted to cancell such a brillant show. The show will always remain in my heart and i will always be a fan no matter what!!! If it was on dvd i would recommend you buy it, it wouldn't be a waste of money, but money will spend. 10/10

This show starts out sweet and tenderly as a coming of age teen drama with a SF undertone to keep things interesting and succeeds in this up to mid season 1,than quickly falls apart into teendrama 101 with melodramatic endless loops. Still season 1,some season 2 episodes - mostly those with a story arc spanning two or three episodes -,and very few season 3 episodes are enjoyable to watch.