ROSWELL

By: Frederick C. Szebin
Date: Monday, April 03, 2000

Somebody at the WB had a nifty idea when it was decided to set an SF/suspense series at a Roswell high school. Since most teen-agers are alienated anyway, it seemed like a cool idea to make some of them the descendants of aliens from that New Mexico event in 1947. And backed by some of the creative talent from The X-Files, the show seemed to have all it needed to make the most of its concept. But like many of the plans of mice and men, Roswell didn't meet its potential, thanks mostly to the excessive ladlings of teen angst and sappy romance.
Set up: there were indeed survivors of the Roswell crash, human-like children that were in pods and found themselves wandering the desert until picked up by locals driving by. These kids, brooding Max (Jason Behr), 'sister' Isabel (Katherine Heigl), and troubling making Michael (Brendan Fehr) are alienated teens in more ways than one. They are not the popular set at school, and aren't even from this planet. They have no memories preceding their youthful walk in the desert, are able to manipulate molecular structures with a touch, can melt their own cheese, listen to CDs just by holding them to their ear, and have an interesting love of Tabasco sauce, which they practically drink out of the bottle.
They've always been seen as a little weird, and pretty Liz (Shiri Appleby) finds out just how weird when an argument in the diner she works at explodes with a gunshot that lands right in her cute little belly. Max, breaking the unwritten rule of his sibs, uses his powers to heal her, thereby awakening the throbbing teenage passion these two handsome brooders have had for each other for years. Out of the loop for the first half of the season is Liz's childhood bud, Alex (Colin Hanks, Tom's boy), who is later duped into having some of his blood switched for hurt Max's when some of his is taken in a hospital after an accident. It's at this point when Alex is so fed up with Liz's lies that she finally tells him the truth, bringing him up to speed with another of Liz's buddies, Maria (Majandra Delfino), a quick-witted, world-wise young lady who briefly partners up with Michael, and experiences some of the alien love Liz has been getting since October.
A wrench in their works is Sheriff Valenti (William Sadler, who isn't used nearly enough), whose own childhood experiences have manifested themselves in an obsessive urge to find who has been leaving little silver hand prints on murder victims, a temporary signature that soon fades, which peaked Liz's curiosity in the pilot when her own handsome mid-drift had one. Apparently there was yet another survivor of the fateful crash who may be a serial killer, but that doesn't stop Michael from trying to get leads on him, yet another tenuous connection to their mysterious past.

The pilot was handsomely mounted, quick-witted, romantic and suspenseful, but pilots are supposed to be that way. There was a nice moment in the second half when Roswell residents celebrate the long-ago crash with a cheesy saucer and little rubber alien bodies scattered about it that are set to flame as the real secret aliens look on in horror. Later episodes, with some good stuff in them, appeal directly to the Tiger Beat set with Liz and Max making constant mooneyes at each other even when they're supposed to be broken up. It is a romance so perfectly made in heaven (the heavens?) that Max's constant demand that they stay apart because they're 'so different' becomes dramatically exasperating and one wants to slap the boy and tell him to knock it off. One occasionally amusing episode was set around Liz being set up by a radio show to meet a handsome young man for a contest date, which was nicely interrupted by a drunken Max who used his powers to romance the girl as she deserves, only to sober up, not remember any of it, and leave her behind. Not romantic. Annoying. And maybe a bit anti-climactic.
This rocky romance is constantly cutting into anything interesting about the aliens and their past that makes it into the scripts. An almost good story about Michael nearing death after taking a potion at an Indian sweating ceremony was brought to a screeching halt a few times as Behr brooded and Appleby widened her lovely brown eyes.
Frankly the best character is Maria, with Delfino being the most appealing member of the young ensemble. Her humor and personality shine through much better than the brooding of the other characters. Hanks' character doesn't brood too much, so he probably deserves extra notice. Not quite a geek, he follows nicely in dad's footsteps.
The X-Files' David Nutter (who finds himself terribly burdened by youngsters these days because of this show and his not-entirely-unsuccessful feature, Disturbing Behavior) is co-executive producer, and Roswell showcases all the weaknesses of lesser episodes of the Fox program: a half-developed concept, needless interruption on what should be the episode's main thrust, viewer frustration at what might have been. The makers have missed the train to Roswell by spending so much time on the smarmy romance and not nearly enough on studying the mysteries of these people, their roots and purpose. There is some potential here if the young actors cease their James Dean impressions and are given scripts that more fully explore the mysteries at hand. And for God sake, if you have an actor as good as William Sadler, use him to his fullest abilities. He has talent, strength, a face that looks like it has lived, and doesn't look like it has spent too much time at the make up table, or soaking in Noxema.