y name is Liz Parker and five days ago I died. Then things started to get really weird. With these opening lines, the audience is introduced to one half of a pair of literally star-crossed lovers at the center of Roswell. When Liz (Appleby) is shot while waiting tables in her parents' alien-themed restaurant, the Crashdown Cafe, a shy classmate named Max Evans (Behr) comes to her aid. Fortunately for her, Max is no ordinary teenage boy. Placing his hand over the wound, he dissolves the bullet in an instant and begs her not to reveal the miraculous act to anyone.
Turns out, Max, his sister Isabel (Heigl) and their friend Michael (Fehr) are "not of this Earth." Although the three of them look like ordinary teenagers, they were actually survivors of the infamous UFO crash in Roswell, N.M., in 1947. Since emerging from their stasis pods as 6-year-olds in 1989, the trio of aliens has lived in secrecy and isolation, hiding their powers from everyone. Until now.
After saving Liz, Max has no choice but to reveal his extraterrestrial nature to her. She soon discovers that Max's true identity isn't his only secret. He has been in love with her from afar for years, unable to act on his feelings for fear of being discovered. She soon develops strong feelings for him as well, which creates problems in her current relationship with the sheriff's son, Kyle Valenti.
After the shooting, both Kyle and his father, Jim (Sadler), become suspicious of Max and his fellow pod squad. Sheriff Valenti, in particular, begins to wonder if his own father, whose belief in aliens cost him his job and his family, may have been unjustly persecuted. While the teens see the sheriff's pursuit as a danger to their existence, they face an even greater danger from the FBI Special Unit, which has been alerted to their presence with the news of the mysterious incident in the Crashdown.
In the midst of evading the sheriff, fleeing from the FBI and following various leads that may provide the answer to the question of their origins, Max, Michael and Isabel find the time to develop bonds with their human counterparts, Liz, her best friend Maria (Delfino) and their friend Alex (Hanks). But none of them is prepared for the ultimate truth, which will change their lives forever.
Appreciating the potential before it fades
Anyone who watched all three years of Roswell (the first two on The WB, the last on UPN), may find it difficult to remember the early days of the first season, when it was sweet, slow-moving and less focused on the science-fiction elements of the story than the relationships and emotions of its characters. Like the aliens themselves, Roswell was always an uneasy hybrid, with one foot in the science-fiction genre, and the other in teenage drama. But the first season has some of the best examples the successful blending of the two. Episodes like the pilot, "285 South" and "UFO Convention" which mix well-written action and suspense with drama and angst, demonstrate what the show could have and should have been.
Somewhere along the way, however, the show lost its central metaphor—the almost too on-the-nose concept of teenage alienation. This is especially apparent in the last six episodes, which ratchet up the action and intrigue to otherworldly levels. Contrast an early episode such as "Leaving Normal," in which Liz deals with the death of Liz's grandmother and her conflicting emotions for Max and Kyle, with a later one such as "Max to the Max," in which an alien shapeshifter in the form of Max kidnaps Liz and leads the FBI, the sheriff and the rest of the kids on a wild goose chase with sloppily justified motives. The change in tone is startling in juxtaposition.
When viewed as a whole, though, the collection provides an interesting overview of season one, as well as sense of closure for the show's dedicated fan base—who saved it from cancellation not once but twice. In the two included featurettes, the creators of the show and the young adult novels on which its based dedicate the DVD as a "love letter to the fans." Presumably they are referring to the fact that it was released at all rather than the special features included, which are sparse and often choppy. Katims is less than eloquent in his various commentaries, providing little new information and background on the production. Much more fun are the commentaries by Appleby and Delfino on two separate episodes. Their mixed feelings about the experience come through in between bouts of girlish giggling and amusing anecdotes.
One major disappointment, although understandable, is the replacement of much of the show's original music with less recognizable selections to cut down on licensing fees and, ultimately, the retail price tag. Also noticeably absent is any recent contribution from the show's male stars Behr and Fehr (although they do appear in interview segments taped during the show's first season). Whether they were too busy with other projects (for which they arguably have Roswell to thank), or whether they are simply eager to leave the show behind them, only their agents know.
