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ROSWELL "Busted"

Max (Jason Behr) and Liz (Shiri Appleby) happy to be together in the "Busted" episode of ROSWELL.
© 2001 UPN

Yet another genre property with a powerful fan following gets the "new beginning" treatment. First, STAR TREK got a shot in the arm with its "back to basics" approach to the prequel series ENTERPRISE. Next, BUFFY promised to raise its titular heroine back from the dead by planting her on a new network. Finally, those alien high schoolers from ROSWELL, NM have not only graduated, but they've also followed in the footsteps of their vampire slaying sister making the move to UPN and occupying the timeslot directly after hers.

However, there's more to ROSWELL than just a new time, a new network, and for star Katherine Heigl a new hairstyle. After two seasons of not quite knowing what it should be (Is it DAWSON'S CREEK? Is it sci-fi?) and narrowly surviving cancellation on several occasions, the series which focuses on three alien teenagers stranded on Earth seems to have found its groove. At least, that's what I can tell after watching the third season's opener.

Utilizing a series of flashbacks that shift between present day and three months earlier, "Busted" kicks off with Liz and Max "robbing" a convenience store in Salina, Utah. It turns out, though, that they are actually trying to find the entrance to a storage facility for a spaceship the spaceship that stranded Max, Michael and Isabel on Earth so many years ago. Alas, the two teenagers are caught and arrested, and their parents are called in.

Flashback to the end of last season...

Tess, who is carrying Max's unborn child, strands the series' three alien stars on Earth, leaving for her home world in the last working spaceship on the planet. As a result, the trio has accepted the fact that they must now live out the rest of their lives on Earth and have begun to take the appropriate steps toward making that a tolerable prospect. Michael, who has never given high school a second thought, pours all of his efforts into graduating. Isabel gets involved in a secret romance with new character Jessie Ramirez, a 26 year-old law associate of her father's. And Max has reconciled with Liz, taking the slow route toward rebuilding their shattered relationship until he receives a plea for help from his newly born child in the form of a painful vision.

Obsessed with getting back to his son, Max sets out on a quest to find his broken ship in the hopes of at least being able to communicate with the boy. First, however, he must find the ship's power source a peculiar looking diamond the size of a fist. With some brilliant detective work on the part of Liz, the two trace the diamond to a traveling exhibit in a nearby town. A distraction, a switch-a-roo, and an adrenaline rush later, the two have the diamond in their possession. Now to the ship!

Luckily, Roswell's UFO Research Center (which actually exists I've been there!) keeps accurate records as to the whereabouts of top-secret government storage facilities large enough to house spaceships. After investigating each one, Max and Liz discover the Utah based facility, which has a secret entrance within an ordinary convenience store. Hence, the staged robbery attempt.

Without giving away the outcome of the court proceeding (which you can probably figure out on your own) and the ramifications it has on Max and Liz's relationship, I can tell you that the tone has been set for what looks to be a more mature season.

Getting the major players (with the exception of Michael) out of high school and into the "real" world is key to the success of the series. So is the increased involvement of the cast's parents. Gone are the days when Max, Liz, Michael, Isabel and Maria can go off on an adventure for days on end without their parents getting suspicious as to their whereabouts there's only so many times that you can use the old "camping" alibi. This season, either the parents will be let in on their adopted children's/friend's secret or the group will come up with other more creative ways to dupe them already, Max has moved out of his parents home so as not to have to lie to them anymore.

Also setting this season apart from the previous two is the aliens' acceptance of Earth as their new home. The first two seasons were spent searching for the truth behind their origins and a means with which to return to their home planet. Now that they have the answers they were looking for and no means with which to travel into the farthest reaches of space, they have no choice but to accept their Earth-bound fate all of them except Max, that is. While starting the episode off with this mindset, the urgent plea for help from his son has re-invigorated his mission to find a way back home. Now, he just has to convince the others.

After a somewhat rocky start on the WB, the third season of ROSWELL seems to have kicked off on the right foot. A number of intriguing quandaries, both real world and sci-fi, have been posed (Will Max get back to his son? What is to come of Isabel's taboo relationship with Jessie, especially considering that every love interest she has had has met with an untimely death? Will Michael ever graduate from Roswell High?) and the series has a great lead-in with BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER at 8:00 p.m. So while ENTERPRISE and BUFFY would probably have been successful without the "new beginnings" hype, perhaps ROSWELL will benefit the most from the changes its made to both its marketing campaign and story arc.