Earlier this week I finished watching all three seasons of Roswell, the TV series. Then I bought them so I could watch them again.
This is a great series. In terms of my list of favorite scifi/fantasy shows of all time, I am currently giving it second place, just under Babylon 5.
At its heart, Roswell is a love story that takes place between a bright and attractive girl named Liz Parker and an alien named Max Evans. In the first episode, Liz gets shot and would have died if Max had not risked his cover to save her. (He had been secretly in love with her for some time and could not bear to let her die.)
A secondary love interest springs up after a few episodes between Liz’s best friend, Maria, and Max’s best friend and fellow alien, Michael. For my part, I enjoyed this secondary romance at least as much, if not more, than the one between Liz and Max. Michael has had a hard life in the foster care system, raised by a drunk who doesn’t care about him. Maria has the unenviable task of showing him how to love and be loved.
The first season is a quest for answers — who are the aliens (Max, Michael, and Isobel) and why are they there? None of them have any idea at first. The pace is brisk (starting with the sixth episode…episodes 2-5 appealed to me more after I finished watching the show than they did the first time I saw them) and each new revelation brings with it new questions.
Most of their questions are answered at the end of season one and season two comes with a new quest (which I will not describe for the sake of spoiling the first season for those of you who have not seen it). The fifth episode of season two, “The End of the World,” creates terrific tension between Max and Liz that almost hurt to watch.
Season three is pretty different from the first two and I have a sense that the writers of the show weren’t entirely sure where to go. I admit that as much as I enjoyed the show, I noticed some missed potential. The answers to their first season quest opened up lots of potential for many seasons of action and danger that were never fully realized. Also, season three was cut short and the last few episodes have a rushed feel to them. Some of the subplots could have been dealt with at a more leisurely and complete pace.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy the season three episodes and am happy to assure you that the show does come to a conclusion, even if it leaves room for sequels.
I would recommend this show to anyone who enjoys science fiction or romance. It also has a certain appeal to high school audiences, as it takes place in high school. (Although some of the topics in the show are of an adult nature.)
P.S. This is one of the reasons I love Netflix — I can watch these older shows from start to finish with no commercials and no waits.
Nice to have a place to talk about this show. It seems that my friends and even my teenage niece think anything scifi is not even a consideration. I guess I’m the opposite. If it isn’t beyond real then why bother watch? We get to (have to) live “real” so we might as well be entertained by fantasy and unreal. The premises that set the stage are so cleverly spectacular: a starship with the mission to search out new life… to go beyond where man has gone before… , a boy from an expiring planet is sent in a spaceship to earth as the last living being from his planet and must fit in with his new planet’s inhabitants, hide his secret and protect his earthly friends and parents… , three young aliens find themselves on earth in human form and the not knowing where they are from or why they are here leads them on the quest to understand and to simply survive!
The last two are a bit similar but aren’t they also similar to the same quests we humans are on… figuring out who we are and what we are doing here? I’m past the half way mark and I still don’t have a clue. Maybe it’s just me and maybe that’s why I like to watch science fiction. But then I can’t be the only one. These are popular shows, it’s just that no one in my circle cares to share my enthusiasm for scifi.
Babylon 5? Sounds like I should check it out.