So I'm continuing my viewing of the complete series of Roswell. To recap, for those who don't know the basic set up, Roswell is set (unsurprisingly) in the town of Roswell, New Mexico where aliens are rumoured to have landed in the 1940s.Using the rumoured alien spaceship crash as inspiration, Roswell tells the story of three orphans who are revealed to be Alien/Human hybrids, brought to Earth for some unfathomable reason.
The first season really focused on the relationships of the various characters. A sort of Dawson's Creek meets X-files via Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Most episodes dealt with slowly revealing the mystery surrounding Max, Isobel and Michael - why they were brought to Earth and why they were hidden away in a pod chamber until they "hatched."
Season two changed gears (apparently due to pressure from the executives at WB) and focused more on the sci-fi elements.
Oddly, this is where Roswell stumbles as a series. The characters, and actors playing them, are cool and interesting. When the series focuses on character episodes, Roswell's strength as a series shines. These are not your typical two-dimensional people - like in Smallville - or cheesy stereotypes, like in Buffy.
No, Roswell's characters have a lot of interesting depth and background. Most of all, the series keeps the characters consistent from episode to episode. (Although there are the occasional continuity flaws from the props department and camera crew - one episode is glaringly obvious for this...)
I think that's what I really like about Roswell. The characters have been built up and developed - even the more minor roles. When one of the main crew dies unexpectedly, it carries a lot of weight for the show. Furthermore, there are some stand-out performances from ALL the main cast over the course of this season. I really believed in the characters emotions, and the cast manage to really sell you on the whole premise - even in the shockingly lame story arc involving an alien infestation.
In some ways Season Two feels a bit like Babylon 5 Season 4. A lot happens, and is all crammed into one Season when it could have been stretched out over two or three.
One big issue of this is that certain episodes work better than others and one was placed out of sequence because the executives thought that the clue in the episode would be lost unless it was placed directly before the finale where the hint reaches fruition.
It's a shame really - because the episode happens chronologically out of order during a very very tense arc in the Season.
However it all comes together in a very cool finale that left the series open for a third season, while still wrapping up most of the loose ends from Season One.
Oddly the best episodes were the least science fiction based. Firstly there is the Christmas episode, where we get to learn a lot more about the various characters - and although it has a schmaltzy "miracle" sequence, I actually liked it for that. The pain and emotions were very well done by the cast who clearly set out to have fun with the episode. The other great episode was the Las Vegas one, where the gang go off to gamble away money.
Another great character episode that tells us more about everyone's motivations. Unfortunately one of the characters ends up being changed later in the season - although it is worth noting that if you go back to the first time the character shows up, everything still remains consistent from a bigger picture point of view. Which is actually cool - because you get sucked in by that character's lies as much as everyone else.
With one more season to go, I'm hoping that everything comes to a satisfactory conclusion. I'm not sure I'd be happy if they just drop the storyline about the revolution on the alien's homeworld - there needs to be a satisfactory resolution to that other than "we stay on Earth and let them sort it out..."
Only time will tell...
Conan
Currently Reading: Burning Empires
Currently Playing: Exalted: Nexus of the Sun; Orpheus: Shades of Gray
Mood: Feeling good!
1 comment:
As an update on Roswell - the Third season is so far, in my opinion, the best. The first few episodes have managed to capture the best parts of the previous two seasons.
They have changed for a more darker tone, but with some humour. There is more focus on character, telling the story through the personalities. Furthermore, the consequences of everything that happened previously have had serious effects on everybody in the series - which is cool to see.
More about third season when I have finished watching it. :)
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