Roswell

I never make plans on monday nights. Roswell is one of the top shows on television today... or any other day. It's excellent if not a little unlikely. the character chemistry is perfect. The only thing i would change, is the amount of romance. I'd definitly get more serious into the sci-fi, and give kyle(Nick Wechsler) and alex (Colin Hanks) more screentime. They keep the show from getting to serious... with just the right amount of confusion, they give us comic relief. And their chacters are a fresh change from Max's "Whoa is me" self-pity

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.

This interesting story of extraterrestrial alienation is a fascinating metaphor of teen angst -- a topic that has often been treated in movies and on TV, but here it is offered with new and insightful perspective.

The show is a way to symbolize common human fears in an imaginative parable. Issues that are woven into the story line include not knowing who you are, the experience of being a foster child, keeping secrets from parents and other authority figures, the danger of making close personal connections with others, and the isolation of being in or from one's own strange world.

ROSWELL is a clever idea with a fresh, interesting young cast. The show is an imaginative cross between, on the one hand, THE X-FILES and THE FUGITIVE, and, on the other, the odd perspective of ALF and THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN. This is an excellent show in a time when too many shows are carbon-copies or silly assembly-line junk. I give the show an A+.

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

I once heard that when "Bonnie and Clyde" was first released, the reviewer for Newsweek savaged the film. Then, a week later, he saw it again and wrote a new review saying it was one of the landmark films of its era.

So, ok, I can be wrong, too. I was a Roswell fan from the start, but feared they were heading off in a very wrong direction in year two of this show, concentrating too much on sci-fi and action at the expense of what made the show great in the first place, characterization.

It turns out, none of my dire predictions have come true. The show has featured more sci fi action and a lot less about life in high school. But both of those moves have proved well advised and neither has hurt the show's quality.

Roswell continues to be a show about characterization. We have actually seen the characters taken to new places in this second season and I salute the writers/producers, directors and the cast for being able to do this.

Special praise should also go to the show's young actors and actresses. This season the talented Katherine Heigl, who plays Isabel, has been given some break out episodes and she has not wasted a single "moment." Her performance in the most recent episode, playing a duel role of both a good and bad version of Isabel, was absolutely brilliant. She may have lifted a little of her "bad girl" mannerisms from Angelina Jolie, but she's not a bad person to steal from since she has rather perfected the tough girl personna.

And of course, Shiri Appleby continues to astound, delivering some almost heart breaking performances as the girl dumping the guy she loves for his own good.

But again, hats off to the writers and producers for coming up with some very strong story lines, and even some cleaver tricks, like the "Summer of '47," episode and the current two-part episode featuring the four "evil" alien duplicates. Giving talented young actors the chance to play different roles on the same show is a master stroke which keeps it interesting.

Well done one and all!