Back in 1999 I was one of the world's biggest X-Files fans, so when I heard that X-Files alum David Nutter was working on the pilot episode of another alien-related show, I figured I would check it out. I didn't think I would like it that much, since the story was based on a series of books about high school students and I was well beyond high school age, but I liked David Nutter and was willing to give it a try. Boy was I surprised. That show turned out to be Roswell, and I adored the pilot episode as well as the rest of the shows that aired that season (unfortunately the show started going downhill fast in season two, in my opinion at least). Believe me, I never expected it, but I became quite the closet Roswell fan...

The Show:

Bear with me for a moment here, because much like the X-Files, when I try to explain the premise of Roswell it will sound a bit strange... The show centers around 3 alien teenagers living in Roswell, New Mexico. They are (as we later discover) alien-human hybrids who emerged from pods in 1989 looking like human 6-year olds. They knew nothing of their origins or how they ended up on Earth. Max (Jason Behr) and his sister Isabel (Katherine Heigl) were picked up and later adopted by the Evans family, who raised them in a loving home, whereas the 3rd alien, Michael (Brendan Fehr), was picked up by Child Protective Services and was bounced from foster home to foster home. The three of them were raised as humans and never let anyone else know of their strange origins or their unique, non-human abilities.

Their lives were forever changed one fateful day when, while dining at the popular hang-out called "The Crashdown Cafe", classmate Liz Parker (Shiri Appleby) was accidentally shot by a patron. Max, who had harbored a crush on Liz for a while, couldn't stand to let her die, so he used his alien powers to heal her. That good act set off a chain of events that ultimately threw a light of suspicion on Max and everyone he cared about, as well as making Liz a bit curious as to exactly what happened.

Hence we have season one... the local sheriff (William Sadler) is desperate to discover exactly what happened at the Crashdown, the FBI's elite band of alien-hunters is also hot on their trail, Liz and her friends Maria (Majandra Delfino) and Alex (Colin Hanks - yes, he's Tom Hanks' son) get drawn deeper and deeper into the lives of the 3 earthbound aliens, and the 3 aliens struggle to come to terms with who they really are and continue to live the charade of life as normal human beings. It may sound like a silly premise, but it is done with such depth and seriousness that it is easy to suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the ride.

Thoughts on the First Season:

I admit to being a sci-fi fan, however the sci-fi aspects aren't really what drew me to the show. What really pulled me in were the emotional aspects... the relationships between the characters as well as each individual's struggle to figure out who to trust, what their priorities are, and who they really are as individuals. The exciting action-oriented stuff was the icing on the cake, but the real meat for me was the interpersonal push and pull. The bond shared by the small band of aliens and humans who knew their secret really pulled me in and kept me hooked, and I continued to be amazed at the depth of writing behind what I had assumed would be just another "teenybopper" show.

The story of Max and Liz is a true Romeo & Juliet story of otherworldly proportions. Max, Isabel, and Michael had agreed to never get too close to humans their own age, to never "fall in love" for fear of exposure. But Max cannot help the feelings he has for Liz, and during their time together Liz got to experience some of the feelings Max has for her (due to his alienesque ability to "connect" with how people he is close to are feeling... an ability he shared with her so she could see what kind of person he truly was so she wouldn't fear his alien-ness). Because of this link and bond that they share, they both fall head over heels love with each other. They know that they shouldn't be together for any number of reasons (Max may need to leave Earth someday, Liz might get injured if Max loses control of his powers in the heat of the moment, etc), but you cannot help who you fall in love with. The angst, the naked longing for each other, it's enough to make my heart hurt at times (and the chemistry between the two leads is fantastic, in my opinion). Luckily during season one the writers found just the right balance of happiness and angst in the Max/Liz relationship -- it keeps me on the edge of my seat and leaves me at times hurting for them, but other times thrilled for them that they've got each other.

Max, Isabel, and Michael may be aliens, but the only life they've ever known is human, so right at that time when even normal teenagers struggle to find their place in the world and come to terms with who they are as individuals, these 3 special teens have the additional baggage of being not-of-this-earth. On top of everything else they don't know the circumstances behind why they are here, and are desperate to discover where they are really from and find their "real" parents -- all the while being afraid to leave behind their human lives. They know that, if they want to keep living as normal, they simply cannot share their secret with anyone, but Max's act of saving Liz has exposed them all.

There's just so much that I like about the show. I love the way you'll get one show that focuses mostly on the relationships between certain characters (the friendships, the love-interests, etc) whereas others focus more on the action/alien aspects. Season one had a very good blend of the two types of storylines, varying the emphasis often enough that you never got bored with it. I love nearly all of the characters, and whoever cast the show really needs a raise because the acting is great (and the kids certainly aren't hard to look at either)! I love the way some characters seem to be "bad guys" at first (Sheriff Valenti, his son Kyle, etc), but as the show progresses you learn more about why they are who they are and see how they roll with the punches and grow as characters. I love the best-friend relationship between Liz and Maria. I love the way that the Max/Liz relationship seems to be a yin/yang type thing with the Maria/Michael relationship. I even love the parents (the Evanses, the Parkers, and Maria's mom) who are all clueless as to what is really going on. Through it all this is still a story about teenagers, so while they are exploring space travel, physics, and molecular biology they still have to deal with homework, curfews, and social biases. There's just so much in there to enjoy throughout Season One.

One thing that I didn't like too much was the addition of the Tess character late in Season One. In my opinion her character was salvaged for a while in Season Two (another complex mixture of good and bad, making her character not as black and white as one might believe), however by the end of Season Two I think they really botched her storyline badly so I have a hard time overlooking her in Season One. Another complaint I have is the music -- when Roswell aired originally it contained a lot of "popular", current music that had to be re-licensed for the DVD release. Not all of the original songs could be salvaged. At first I didn't think I would mind or even notice the change, mostly because I hadn't seen the episodes in so long, but I caught a marathon of reruns on the Sci-Fi channel recently and was struck by how much more I liked the original music. The songs were more familiar, and if you paid attention they sometimes gave more meaning to the scene (such as Marcy Playground's "Sex and Candy", which is missing from the DVD-version of the "Sexual Healing" episode). That being said, some meaningful songs were kept (like "Crash Into Me" by the Dave Matthews Band in the pilot episode), and the theme song (Dido's "Here With Me") is still there (which is so hauntingly perfect that I couldn't imagine watching the show without it). I would certainly choose to have Season One with changed music rather than not have Season One at all.

One of my favorite things about this show is the fact that the 6 main characters (Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, Isabel, and Alex) are all good people (you can argue that Michael is a bit rough around the edges, but he's still a good person). They are loyal, good friends to each other. Unlike so many other teen-oriented shows, they aren't constantly swapping love interests or experimenting with bad things -- they are just good kids trying to do good things and live normal lives (although circumstances keep their lives far from normal). Max and Liz in particular seem like such sweet, honest, open people. It made me want to spend an hour each week rooting for them, enjoying spending some time with them. This wide-eyed innocence got lost in Season Two, which was part of the reason I stopped enjoying the show as much as I had in Season One.

Technical Specs:

This set contains all 22 episodes from Season One spread across 6 discs. The discs are in slimline cases (meaning each case takes half the space of a normal DVD case), which I like because I'm always running out of room to store stuff.

All of the episodes are presented in widescreen format (which I LOVE!), and the sound is 5.1 Dolby Surround.

Subtitles for each episode are available in English, Spanish, and French. There are 12 chapters per episode.

Disc Contents:

~~ Disc One:

The Pilot (#100):
A great episode that really sets things in motion. It starts quickly, with Liz shot at the Crashdown and Max healing her. We learn, along with Liz, that Max, his sister, and his best friend are aliens. The local sheriff investigates Liz, and the teens struggle to keep their secret.

Bonuses: Commentary by Executive Producer/Writer Jason Katims and Executive Producer/Director David Nutter - while some of it was dry I really loved some of the little stories they told (such as Jason Behr being so terribly ill when he auditioned for Max that he could hardly speak, but he showed that depth, loneliness, and pain that they needed in Max so they cast him -- then worried that he wouldn't act the same after he got well). The one deleted scene in the entire set is here as well - a scene between Liz and Maria after Liz is shot. It certainly didn't add anything to the story, so I can see why it was cut.

Morning After (#101):
Michael, who has not had the loving home environment Max and Isabel were blessed with, obsesses over the idea that there is another, older alien on Earth that they may be related to. A new substitute teacher's interest in Michael raises Liz's suspicions that she is not who she claims to be.

Monsters (#102):
Maria is still upset at the idea of aliens living among us, and Isabel invades Maria's dream in an attempt to determine whether or not she can be trusted. Sheriff Valenti pressures Maria to see if she'll crack and tell him what really happened at the Crashdown. Max takes a job at the local UFO center, and guidance counselor Topolsky does vocational evaluations of each student.

Leaving Normal (#103):
A very touching episode - Liz's vivacious grandmother has a stroke. Liz's boyfriend's friends rough up Max as a warning to stay away from their buddy's girlfriend. Isabel fills in for Liz at the Crashdown so she can be at the hospital with her grandmother, and Max does what he can to make Liz's last moments with her loved one meaningful.

~~ Disc Two:

Missing (#104):
Liz's journal, in which she writes everything that happens to her, is missing. What with FBI agents and the local sheriff all looking for proof of alien intervention, the journal would be devastating in the wrong hands. Michael obsesses over a "vision" he had that is a link to their past.

285 South (#105):
Michael kidnaps (sort of) Maria on a road-trip to Texas to search for the dome he had a vision about, but they end up bonding along the way. Liz, Max, and Isabel are in hot pursuit. They end up learning some interesting new facts when they reach their destination, all while avoiding Sheriff Valenti and Special Agent Topolsky.

River Dog (#106):
This episode continues exactly where "285 South" left off, with the kids in danger. Later, after Max and Isabel's house is broken into and the files they've hidden there are taken, Isabel learns of a link between the necklace she took from the dome in Texas and some Indians living in Roswell. Liz and Max go meet River Dog, an Indian who was friends with another alien visitor named Nacedo some 40 years ago.

Blood Brother (#107):
When Max is seriously injured in a car accident, the friends must find a way to keep the hospital from analyzing his blood (which would show that he is not human). Needing to replace his blood with that of another human male, Liz begs her friend Alex, who does not know Max's secret, to contribute his blood, even though she cannot tell him why. Even though a huge strain is put on their friendship, Alex helps Liz expose Agent Topolsky for once and for all.

Bonus: commentary track by Executive Producer/Director David Nutter

~~ Disc Three:

Heat Wave (#108):
An unexpected heat wave is turning up the temperature on various relationships throughout Roswell. Maria and Michael pair up, as do Maria's mom and Sheriff Valenti, and even Liz's ex-boyfriend manages to find someone new. Liz and Max continue to fight the feelings they have for each other, and Liz's friendship with Alex is put under even more strain.

Balance (#109):
As Liz and Max enjoy their newfound boyfriend/girlfriend status, Michael decides to go see River Dog for himself. Unfortunately the visit leaves him seriously ill, and causes Max and Isabel to wonder if this is how they die. Their alien differences are the focus in this episode, causing rifts between certain characters.

Bonus: commentary track by Co-Executive Producer/Writer Thania St. John.

Toy House (#110):
Max uses his powers to save his mother from an accidental kitchen grease fire, but his actions (and Sheriff Valenti's prodding) arouse his mother's suspicions that there is something different about her adopted son. Isabel wants them to share their secret with their mom, but Max and Michael vote her down.

Into the Woods (#111):
After a UFO "sighting" in the local woods, the kids decide to investigate the area by attending a school camping trip with their respective fathers (sans Michael, who ends up in the woods anyway with River Dog). Isabel and Alex manage to do a little bonding as well.

~~ Disc Four:

The Convention (#112):
Parts of this episode are rather funny -- poking fun at itself and UFO "fans" in general. A true alien hunter has returned to town because he's interested in Max. Sheriff Valenti finally shows us that he's not as bad as we might have thought he was.

Blind Date (#113):
Maria entered Liz in a blind date contest, and Liz won! Now reluctant Liz must go on a blind date with a stranger, and both Max and Liz's ex-boyfriend Kyle drown their sorrows in alcohol. Max has never touched the stuff before, and it has an interesting affect on his system... Also, Maria becomes the lead singer in Alex's alternative band.

Independence Day (#114):
Michael shows up to school with a black eye, and reluctantly admits that his foster-father occasionally abuses him. Max and Isabel convince Michael to apply for emancipation.

Sexual Healing (#115):
Max and Liz discover that whenever they kiss they each get visions from the others' past -- Max about Liz's childhood, Liz about Max's travel from his world. Liz's visions give the 3 aliens clues as to their origins, so everyone encourages them to, well, make out a lot... There's also some cute stuff between Maria and Michael as well as Isabel and Alex.

Bonus: Commentary from Shiri Appleby (Liz) and Majandra Delfino (Maria), which I really liked. The two seem to be really great friends, which just makes me like the show that much more.

~~ Disc Five:

Crazy (#116):
Agent Topolsky is back - haggard and terrified. She tries to warn the teens that a dangerous division of the FBI is onto them, but the kids don't know who to trust. Additionally, new student Tess Harding arrives and quickly befriends Isabel.

Bonus: another fun commentary track by Shiri Appleby and Majandra Delfino

Tess, Lies, and Videotape (#117):
Max, still head over heals in love with Liz, finds himself inexplicably drawn to new-kid Tess. After Michael discovers that his apartment is bugged, the kids hack the bug and plant it at Tess' house, where they witness something very strange indeed.

Four Square (#118):
The 3 alien teens learn much more about themselves and their alien past from Tess, some of which is upsetting to them. Isabel has a strange dream after learning that she and Michael were "destined" to be together.

Max to the Max (#119):
It turns out that Tess' dad is really Nacedo, an alien shapeshifter who isn't shy about killing any human who gets in his way. He shapeshifts to look like Max and kidnaps Liz in an effort to trap the FBI special forces himself, but his plan backfires when the real Max attempts to rescue Liz.

~~ Disc Six:

The White Room (#120):
The kids' worst nightmare has come true -- Max has been captured by Special Agent Pierce. Max is held in a white room and is being tortured to give up information about his alien race and various other things Pierce thinks he is hiding. The others are despirate to save him, and will go to any means necessary to bring him out alive -- including accepting help from Nacedo and Sheriff Valenti.

Destiny (#121):
Rather than spend the rest of their lives running from Agent Pierce, the kids band together to take back the semi-normal lives that they cherish -- however things don't always turn out as intended. As Season One ends, the group gets a message from Max and Isabel's real mother. She reveals much about who they really are, and who they are meant to be. It seems as though their future is pre-determined and they are meant to return home someday, which would mean leaving behind Liz and Maria...

Bonus: commentary track by Executive Producer/Writer Jason Katims and Director Patrick Norris.

Area 51: Behind the Scenes of Roswell
This is a 30 minute documentary with brief interviews of most of the major players. Many of the interviews are older, done back while the show was filming, but some (particularly Colin Hanks, who played Alex) appear to be current. It's a nice little documentary.

Roswell High: The Making of Roswell
A 10 minute documentary with Laura Burns and Melinda Metz, the two women responsible for the Roswell High series of books upon which the show is based. I really enjoyed this little documentary (I'm not usually a big fan of books-turned-into-movies, but love hearing about it when the authors are very happy with the results).

Actor Audition: Emilie de Ravin as "Tess"
We get to see some raw audition footage as Emilie de Ravin tries out for the part of Tess alongside Jason Behr (Max) and Katherine Heigl (Isabel).

Music video for Sense Field's "Save Yourself"
The music video also features Shiri Appleby, who plays Liz on the show (although she doesn't appear as Liz in the video).

Final Thoughts/Comments:

My only real complaint about this DVD set is that the extras weren't that impressive. I wish they had included more behind-the-scenes stuff and more deleted scenes. My more minor complaint is that much of the music has been changed, but I'd rather have the DVD set with different music than no DVD's at all. Overall I highly recommend this set. I found Season One of Roswell to be intriguing, approaching aliens-living-among-us in a way I had never seen before. The stories were thought provoking and touching at times, action/adventure oriented at other times. I thought the acting was excellent, and the chemistry between the various couples (Max/Liz, Michael/Maria) was excellent. The show was quirky and clever as well as deep and meaningful. As you can probably tell, I really enjoyed season one, and am grateful to have it on DVD.


Related Reviews:
Roswell: the Complete Second Season

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older