Roswell (TV series): Difference between revisions

'''''Roswell''''' is an American [[science fiction]] television series that imaginespresents thea rumouredtimeline where the Roswell UFO exists, and its aliens are hiding in plain sight as a trio of high school-aged teenagers. Developed, produced, and co-written by [[Jason Katims]], the series debuted on October 6, 1999 on [[the WB]], and later shifted to [[UPN]] for the third season. The final episode aired on May 14, 2002. Sixty-one episodes in total were broadcast over the shows three seasons. In the [[United Kingdom]], the show aired as both ''Roswell High''<ref name="BBC">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/roswell {{"'}}Roswell High' on BBC"]. Retrieved on September 1, 2008.</ref> and ''Roswell''.

* [[Shiri Appleby]] as [[Liz Parker]]: A teenage girl who learnsdiscovers the aliens' secrettrue identities after Max saves her life. The two develop a relationship afterward.

* [[Jason Behr]] as [[Max Evans (Roswell)|Max Evans]]: The Alien Leader of the Royal Four with the power tohealing healpowers. Throughout the series, Max struggles with his relationship with Liz, his mysterious alien past, and finding his placedeveloping as a leader.

* [[Brendan Fehr]] as [[Michael Guerin]]: Max's best friend. Michael is an alien who struggles to find his place on Earth. He has a relationship with Maria. His special power is never revealed and heHe has the most troubledifficulty controlling himself, especially when his emotions are strong. His special power is never revealed.

* [[Katherine Heigl]] as [[Isabel Evans]]: Max's sister, who struggles to fit in carryingwith the secretweight of her secret alien existenceidentity. Isabel has the power to "dream-walk", or enter people's minds during their dreams or her own.

* [[Colin Hanks]] as Alex Whitman: Liz and Maria's best friend who helps them on their adventures andwhile hasnurturing a crush on Isabel.

* [[Nick Wechsler (actor)|Nick Wechsler]] as [[Kyle Valenti]]: Jim's son who hasovercomes initial suspicions about Max, butto eventually becomesbecome a friend.

* [[William Sadler (actor)|William Sadler]] as Sheriff Jim Valenti: The town sheriff who starts out as an enemy but becomes a powerful ally .

* [[Julie Benz]] as Kathleen Topolsky (season 1): FBI agent posing as a high school guidance counselor

* [[Richard Schiff]] as Agent John Stevens (season 1): FBI agent from thea special unit assignedtasked investigatewith existenceinvestigating ofalien existence aliens

* [[David Conrad]] as Deputy David "Dave" Fisher/FBI Agent Daniel Pierce (seasons 1–2): Head of the FBI special unit assigned to investigate existencealien ofexistence aliens

''Roswell High'' was originally developed by [[20th Television|20th Century Fox Television]] and [[Regency Television]] for the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox Network]], thoughbut it eventually landed on [[The WB]] (retitled simply to ''Roswell'') thanks to the latter network's offer to extend a full 22-episode upfront commitment. The pilot episode was filmed in 12 days with a budget of $2,000,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hackwriters.com/roswell.htm |title=Teen Alienation from novel to screen |publisher=Hack Writers |access-date=2008-06-19}}</ref> "The Morning After," the second episode of the series, was the first episode with the full title sequence utilizing the theme song, "[[Here with Me (Dido song)|Here With Me]]" by [[Dido (singer)|Dido]].

''Roswell'' was filmed in various locations around [[California]]. City Hall, Charter Oak High School, and several other businesses and residences in [[Covina, California|Covina]] served as locationsstand forins thefor fictional locations in [[Roswell, New Mexico]], as well as [[Vasquez Rocks]], a {{convert|905|acre|ha|sigfig=2|adj=on}} park in [[Los Angeles County]]. Episode 1 of season 3 was filmed partially in [[Salina, Utah]].<ref name="Filming Locations">[http://www.seeing-stars.com/Locations/RoswellPhotos.shtml Roswell Filming Locations]</ref>

The series premiered on October 6, 1999, on [[The WB]] in the United States to generally favorable reviews,<ref name="CNN">{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/TV/9910/14/roswell |title=Viewer alienation not a problem for teen drama 'Roswell' |access-date=2008-09-03 |last=Sydney |first=Laurin |work=CNN}}</ref><ref name=Salon>{{cite news |first=Joyce |last=Millman |title=From 'The Sopranos' to 'Greed,' a look back at the highs and lows of the year in television |date=1999-12-13 |url=http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/feature/1999/12/13/best/index1.html |work=Salon.com |access-date=2008-09-03}}</ref> and it quickly gained an outspoken [[fanbase]].<ref name="Zap2it">{{cite web |url=http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,274/75811/1/,00.html |title='Roswell' Finale Aims for the Stars |access-date=2008-09-03 |last=Kate |first=O'Hare |date=2002-05-09 |archive-date=2013-01-05 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105142816/http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,274/75811/1/,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In response to the problems the series had withlow ratings during itsthe first season, the relationship-driven stand-alone episodes of the early first season were to be replaced with more science fiction themes and multi-episode [[plot arc]]s. Starting with the second season, after a fierce fan-driven campaign involving bottles of Tabasco sauce—a favorite condiment of the show's alien characters—beingcharacters—were sent to the network's offices, veteran science fiction writer [[Ronald D. Moore]] was brought in to join Katims as an executive producer and [[showrunner]] and to further develop the science fiction elements of the show.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mania.com/roswell-ronald-d-moore_article_24835.html |title=ROSWELL: Ronald D. Moore |access-date=2008-09-03 |last=Kaplan |first=Anna L. |date=2000-10-09 |archive-date=2008-12-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220032646/http://www.mania.com/roswell-ronald-d-moore_article_24835.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Not all fans responded favorably to the shift to more science fiction-driven storylines during the second season and the ratings continued to disappoint, causing the network to finally cancel the show on May 15, 2001, after the show's second-season finale, a move widely anticipated due to the sagging ratings.<ref name="Zap2it" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue213/news.html |title=WB Announces Schedule |access-date=2008-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514042620/http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue213/news.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive. --> |archive-date=2008-05-14}}</ref> 20thHowever, Century Fox (theproducing studio that20th producedCentury theFox show) was able to persuadepersuaded [[UPN]] to pickcommit it up forto a third season as a package deal when UPN outbid The WB for one of its popular flagship series, ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series)|Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. During the 2001 – 2002 television season, ''Roswell'', in its third season, aired directly after ''Buffy'' on Tuesday nights on UPN, though it was unable to hold on to the audience ''Buffy'' provided as a lead-in. This eventuallylet resulted into the show's final cancellation from UPN as well.<ref name="Zap2it" />