If there was ever a TV series in recent memory that I enjoyed from the first episode on, it was “Roswell.” I watch a fair amount of television, but am pretty picky about what I want to see first-run, as opposed to the shows that I either pass on completely in the hopes of an eventual DVD release. I really didn’t know what to expect from “Roswell”, but all of the ads and commercials leading up to its 1999 premiere on the WB had me intrigued. I decided to give it a chance and plopped myself down in front of the TV on that first night. The lead-in scene definitely caught my interest, but if there was any deciding factor to my continued viewing, it was brought on by the opening credit theme. I know that sounds dumb, as under normal circumstances you can’t judge a show by its music. This was one time however, that the theme perfectly captured the essence of the show, and evoked as much emotion in those few seconds as an entire episode could (as I would later come to find out) each and every week.

“Roswell” was a difficult series to pigeonhole. Was it a romantic drama or was it sci-fi? Well, both actually. It centered on the town of Roswell, New Mexico (as you might have guessed), which was the site of one of the most famous ‘alleged’ UFO crashes back in the 1940’s. The premise of the series was that the crash was real, and that three ‘aliens’ survived in a cocoon-like state until just a few years ago. They began their lives as humans and are now in high school, with little or no realization of who they really are, or where they came from. They all know that they have unusual powers, and are careful to keep them a secret. That is, until the one day that Max (Jason Behr) saves the life of Liz (Shiri Appleby) when she is shot in a restaurant scuffle. From that moment on, their lives become inter-twined and she is determined to find out who or what her benefactor really is. I don’t want to give too much of the plot away in case you’ve never seen the series, so I’ll stop there.

The terrific first season of “Roswell” focused on the “will they or won’t they” relationship between Liz and Max, as well as how that relationship affected her friendships and his ‘family.’ My wife and I couldn’t get enough of the show and tuned in every week, or made sure to tape the ones we wouldn’t be home for. The show was that good. The series also premiered during the time that the WB was trying out all sorts of unusual shows with ‘hip music’ and this was one of the ones that worked. It built an incredibly strong and loyal fan base, so strong and loyal in fact that they were instrumental to the series lasting a full three seasons. I remember reading some of the Fansites almost daily when the series was threatened with cancellation, just to hear about the thousands of bottles of Tabasco Sauce that were flooding the network’s offices. (Tabasco was the ‘aliens’ favorite condiment.) And then they did it again at the end of the second season, when UPN was considering picking up the third season. I applauded their efforts and of course, benefited by getting two more seasons of the show.

I mentioned before the ‘hip’ music, and that was one of the key ingredients that made the show so good. Usually, I don’t really like it when songs are placed throughout a show. Often it’s more distracting then anything else. But in “Roswell”, much like in “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer”, the music is always set at the right place at the right time. The creators always seemed to make just the right choice, and used songs that often worked perfectly within the context of a scene. I did notice that for the DVD release of the 1st and 2nd seasons last year, they had to make some music changes due to rights issues, but for the most part they again, made good choices. The main theme, which as I told you sold me on the show, was Dido’s “Here with Me.” At the time I had never heard of Dido, but I went nuts over the song and immediately began searching out the CD. Fortunately, the rest of the CD is as good as that one song.

Getting back to the various seasons of the series, the first season went over very well with audiences because, despite the sci-fi aspects of the show. The focus was more relationship oriented and the budding romance between Max and Liz. No matter what weird things were happening, their relationship was front and center. After the series was renewed (thanks again to the fans), one of the network’s caveats was that the series had to take an even deeper dive into the sci-fi genre. So in the 2nd season a lot of the focus was taken away from Max and Liz directly and more of the action and drama of “Roswell” became entrenched (and sometimes mired) in the plot of who the aliens really were, and who was after them. It still allowed for some compelling storylines, but a lot of fans weren’t thrilled with the show’s direction. They were loyal however, and stuck with it.

The 3rd season went way out the door in terms of plotting, I think in part because the writers were trying to please the studio and the fans in order to save the show again and have a 4th season. The series was still really good, but was all over the place, often times forgetting important plot points from the prior seasons. Unfortunately, for all their efforts a 4th season was not to be. Because of this, they had to rush the last few episodes and try to wrap up as much as they could. I’d like to say they did it well, but the finale, for all its bluster, was a bit lackluster. Still, I don’t blame the writers; I blame the studio that did not have the foresight to let the show continue.

The DVDs for all three seasons of “Roswell” were on my list of sets I was dying to get just because I liked the show so much. Finally, I would be able to get rid of some of the tapes that were taking up space on my shelf, plus there were all of the extra features I knew would be included. Both the 1st & 2nd season sets had a bunch and the newer 3rd season release is no slouch, either.

There are a total of four commentaries, though I wish there had been more. Commentary by executive producer/writer Ronald D. Moore is featured on “I Married an Alien” It is an extremely well thought commentary for an otherwise comedic episode. Executive producer/director Jonathan Frakes shares his thought on “Secrets & Lies” and “Behind the Music”, while executive producer/writer Jason Katims speaks out on the series finale, “Graduation.” All are very good commentaries and well worth a listen.

As for the rest of the extra features, there are two short ones that take a look at the Roswell Class of 2002 and some video snippets of Shiri Appleby’s tour in Japan to promote the DVD.

I was glad to see that the packaging for the set leaned towards the newer super slim cases which are housed in a slipcover. The individually packaged discs are much easier to handle than the multi-fold packaging still being used on the “Buffy the Vampire”, “Angel” and “”X-Files” sets.

“Roswell” was one of those shows I recommended to all of my friends when it was on, and was one of the saddened fans when it ended. I will certainly continue recommending it now that all three seasons are available on DVD.

Episodes:
Busted
Michael the Guys and the Great Snapple Caper
Significant Others
Secrets & Lies
Control
To Have and to Hold
Interruptus
Behind the Music
Samuel Rising
A Tale of Two Parties
I Married an Alien
Ch-ch-changes
Pancea
Chant Down Babylon
Who Died and Made You King?
Crash
Four Aliens and a Baby
Graduation

Starring: Jason Behr, Shiri Appleby, Katherine Heigl, Brendan Fehr, Majandra Delfino, William Sadler, Colin Hanks, Nick Wechsler
Extras: Commentary by executive producer/director Jonathan Frakes on “Secrets & Lies” and “Behind the Music”, Commentary by executive producer/writer Ronald D. Moore on “I Married an Alien”, Commentary by executive producer/writer Jason Katims on “Graduation”, "Class of 2002" featurette, "Shiri Appleby's DVD Tour to Japan" featurette
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Fox
Release Date: 8/9/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
Website

We'll give Roswell: Season 3 a B-.