S01.E01: Pilot

[starri]

I enjoyed that.  It's not Golden Age of Television, but it was enjoyable.  I'll be back.

I didn't really see chemistry between Max and Liz, and really didn't see it between Izzy and her husband (?), but I think Michael and Alex mitigate it somewhat.  I did like the actors, so maybe the chemistry will grow on me.

[phoenics]

To answer the question about Nacedo, no, he's not from the books - he's only from the 1999 OGRoswell show.

To fans who are mourning no Maria/Michael - again, the showrunner tweeted "Who said there would be no Michael/Maria?" so there is hope there still.

I feel like the show has a ton of potential - I'll probably always wish we could have OGRoswell back, but my little Roswellian heart is just so happy to have Roswell in any form back again on tv that I'm giving it a lot of room to get better.

But let me run down my Likes, Dislikes and Questions about the show:

Likes:

• Max/Liz chemistry.  While not much can compare to OGMax/Liz, I still thought nuMax/Liz had good chemistry.  I think part of my issue with their scenes was how they were written - it's a miracle I saw chemistry at all the way their interactions got hacked up.
• Max, Liz, Michael, Isabel and Maria FELT like the characters I know and love from the books and even (for the most part) from the OGRoswell show.  Max was reserved but still totally all about protecting/leading Michael and Isabel and he seems to have the soft, sweetness of OGMax - even if he's playing Max slightly stilted, Isabel was still a bit of an Ice Queen, but also still the "planner", Michael was a total hothead and prone to trouble, and Maria was quirky, sweet, funny and wise cracking.  Kyle still had that "my body is but a vessel for your needs" vibe with Liz that made me laugh.
• The Michael/Max fight with Isabel trying to break it up was so classic, lol.
• I really, really like that they are letting Michael be the genius he is - in the books, they were all brilliant - like super smart - so it was always bothering me on OGRoswell that they made Michael look dumb at times.  I LOVE that Michael is exploring the ship material - this is his way of trying to find his home.
• Liz's sister, Rosa.  I love that they aren't dropping that and that it seems to tie into the Giant Alien Conspiracy.  I loved that aspect of the books and I love it even more here because in the books her death had nothing to do with Max, Michael and Isabel.  Here, it totally does.  I'm very excited about this because I remember all of the fanfics that connected Liz directly to the aliens because of the woman who is dead in the pictures with the handprint who turned out to be that dude's wife, but here, it looks like it's going to be Rosa instead.  That, and I suspect that Liz might have found out about Max and the rest of them back when Rosa died and Isabel Mindwiped her to get her to forget, leave town and leave Max.  I'm SO HERE for this storyline.
• In the books and the series - Liz can feel what Max is feeling when he gives her the flashes.  It was really nice to see Max refuse to take advantage of the state that put Liz in.
• I love that Kyle is a doctor - because I hope he eventually joins the PodSquad and can help the aliens when they are injured, sick, etc..
• Even though Maria appears to have been sidelined, I really, really liked what I saw of her and I want to see more and more of her friendship with Liz.
• It's great to see LGTBQ representation - I hope it's not coming at Maria's expense though - trading one marginalized group being represented for another doesn't feel like progress - and I'm even a little worried about the hate Maria might get if she does get paired with Michael - she'll probably be viewed as an interloper.... Waiting and seeing on this one.  Michael and Alex had some whew! chemistry though.  Damn.
• I loved the musical score (not the songs) - the instrumental parts.  I did not like most of the musical selections.  They need to hire someone else to pick music.  The only song they got right was the song played when Max sent the flashes.  Oh and Counting Crows.  Okay and maybe the song at the end - but it still pales in comparison to "Fear" and "Crash".

 

Dislikes:

• Alex's dad, the Captain/Sargeant/Whatever Manes.  He was wooden and his dialogue about them coming to kill everyone and how they were an army, etc..  Way too heavy handed.  Also - the way that they just came out with what he'd been leading seemed like the show hadn't earned it yet.  I know the books didn't waste time revealing this organization either - but it was a bit more subtle about it, leading with the sheriff thing first and THEN the super secret alien hunters.
• Alex didn't feel like Alex to me at all.  I saw not one hint of dorkiness or anything to show he'd ever been a dork or a nerd.  As a nerd myself, even if I've grown into a swan so to speak, my nerdiness is still there - so it was jarring to see Alex not feel like Alex.  For that reason - I don't know what Alex/Michael see in one another?  The reason, imo, Michael and Maria worked was that they balanced each other out - she was "home" for him - even more so in the books than on the OGRoswell show.  But still in the show, she was that balance for him even though they went at it all the time - mostly her upset he wouldn't act right, lol.  With Alex I can't tell why they were drawn to one another - because I don't recognize this Alex at all.
• Is Alex even friends with Maria and Liz?  If not, that's unacceptable.
• I couldn't tell when the radio show guy was ranting about extraterrestrial aliens vs illegal aliens.
• Liz's wall line, her chat with her dad and the police stop were the best story elements around immigration without feeling over the top heavy.  The radio show guy and his rants sent it over the top in a bad way.
• Maria was NOT in this episode nearly enough.
• Having Liz be shot in an empty diner made the show lose a lot of urgency and tension.
• Max, Michael and Isabel being unaware that Manes is already onto what happened (even if he's not onto THEM yet) makes the show lack tension - that's probably being saved for episode 2, but this feels weirdly dragged out.  I suspect they are going to dive into Liz being rattled by finding out her sister died at the hands of an alien (and freaking out it might be Max) and THEN Manes will become a menacing factor immediately.
• Liz believed, accepted and skipped over Max being an alien WAY TOO FAST!  It wasn't believable.  BUT I think some of the panic will come in future episodes when Liz finds out her sister was likely murdered and maybe aliens did it (maybe there is a handprint)... then maybe we will get Liz's panic then.
• I did feel like several characters were stuck in place.  I hope the show goes into that - Kyle seems like the only well adjusted one who made something of himself.  Alex followed his dad's footsteps, but doesn't seem happy about it.  Maria just seems like she ended up in a dead end situation.  Isabel actually seems exactly where she'd end up - they can't leave Roswell I guess and have to stick together, so it makes sense she'd become a housewife.  Michael just floundering on the outside because he's focused on learning about who they are makes total sense.  Max becoming a cop makes sense too - he's a natural leader/protector.  

Questions:

• What did Isabel do to Liz?
• How involved had Liz and Max gotten before Isabel did what she did?  Did M/L "cement" and that's why Max couldn't move on?
• What happened to Rosa?  
• Are there other aliens still alive?
• Is their home planet still around, or is it gone or what?

Edited January 17, 2019 by phoenics

[truthaboutluv]

Well as a person who watched the original Roswell but wasn't super loyal to it (in fact I think I only watched the first season and quickly got bored and just reading about all the Tess nonsense made me know that I didn't miss much), I was curious to see what they would do with the reboot. My first thought was how many familiar faces I saw in this that I was not expecting - I knew Jeannine Mason was the new Liz but did not know Nathan Parsons was Max (still love him. Such a waste on the piece of crap that was General Hospital), also was not expecting Tyler Blackburn, Trever St. John and Michael  Trevino (although I see Julie Plec (ugh) is involved in this so that makes sense). 

In general I liked it and will likely stick with it for the first season. But I can see the same happening with this version as with the original, where I just lose interest. Because the thing about shows like this with the type of premise it has, it's almost impossible to keep it going without the story getting more and more ridiculous. Essentially it's hard to sustain. I do agree with others about the actress playing Isabelle being the weakest link. She's not awful but so far, not feeling the connection Jason Behr, Katherine Heigl and Brendan Fehr had as the original Max, Isabelle and Michael between the three. Something is lacking in that relationship. 

Very interesting they made Michael and Alex gay in this version. Guess that's a no to the Michael/Maria pairing and Alex being in love with Isabelle, as they did in the original. And damn Tyler Blackburn has chemistry with EVERYONE. And yeah a blind person could see there being some big secret regarding Liz' sister's death. 

 

Quote

The Diner scene lost all kind of impact  since it was just some random event with no one around, they even had the perfect opportunity to play Dido with the jukebox and they failed.

Here's the thing though, as many have noted, the comparisons are already inevitable, where this show will struggle for a few episodes to stand on its own without the constant comparisons from those who watched the original show. In my opinion, the last thing it needed was a recreation of the same pivotal scene from the original show. The point is to have it be its own thing. 

 

Quote

 Alex/Michael seemed rushed and just a way to let the audience know "we have gay characters!" 

YMMV but I got the impression that the writing was hinting at their having had a past. So I don't think the hookup at the end was particularly rushed or sudden. From their first scene I thought it was obvious there was some tension between them. So my guess is they have a romantic past.

 

Quote

Did Max even talk about them not having memories of anything from the crash / their home planet?

Yes, he did. He said they woke up with no memory or understanding of how they got there, no ability to speak, etc.

 

Quote

 I am wondering if Max and Liz were much closer before Liz left and Isabel erased her memories so she'd leave Max and Roswell

I'm pretty sure they confirmed that's exactly what happened. I think Michael referenced it when suggesting she do it again, if Liz decided to tell their secret. 

Edited January 17, 2019 by truthaboutluv

[Primal Slayer]

I wonder if it will be revealed that Rosa is kind of like OG Liz, found out the gang were aliens in high school, befriended them, helped them with some things and ultimately died helping save them.

[Jenniferbug]

15 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

My first thought was how many familiar faces I saw in this that I was not expecting - I knew Jeannine Mason was the new Liz but did not know Nathan Parsons was Max (still love him. Such a waste on the piece of crap that was General Hospital), also was not expecting Tyler Blackburn, Trever St. John and Michael  Trevino (although I see Julie Plec (ugh) is involved in this so that makes sense). 

Yes! Someone else who loved Nathan Parsons on GH! I recognized so much of this cast, so I'm really hoping the show is good.

[memememe76]

I watched 1/2 an episode of the original series, but still checked this one out. I watched the whole episode. I liked that everyone are adults. Not high schoolers.

I do see the chemistry in the main couple. I have to say, that last song has me rewatching the final scene over and over again. 

[calliope1975]

5 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I'm here🖐🏻 heh.  (My screen name has been shapeshifter since the FanForum Roswell board in the late 90s.)

Roswell was my first online fandom, but I can't remember which forum I posted on. Was that the board where IIRC Brenden Fehr posted and we all lost our shit? (Also, whatever board it was, someone linked to a recap on Mighty Big TV which led to TWOP which led to here, so thanks, Roswell!)

[Emily Thrace]

1 hour ago, Jenniferbug said:

Yes! Someone else who loved Nathan Parsons on GH! I recognized so much of this cast, so I'm really hoping the show is good.

Yeah I kept trying to remember if he was actually Australian or his GH accent was a fake. I think that's why he was a little flat actually. He was slipping up quite a bit. I think once he settles in a bit more we'll see that wonderful charm that he had as Dodge. 

Also Michael Trevino (Kyle) is Mexican American like Kyle is supposed to be. Tyler Blackburn (Alex)  has partial Native American heritage. Which as a Native American myself I figured out just by looking at them. Also Blackburn used a Native American long ou in his first scene. It would be interesting for them to use that aspect of the actors background on the show. Especially if the show uses the Native American aspects of the book. Thats actually the one thing that worries me about them borrowing from the books more. The show did alright by us but the books not so much.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Primal Slayer said:

I wonder if it will be revealed that Rosa is kind of like OG Liz, found out the gang were aliens in high school, befriended them, helped them with some things and ultimately died helping save them.

In this episode they kept hammering home that Rosa was a drunk driver who killed 2 other people when she crashed. So how would that work (her dying to save the non-terrestrials)? Maybe some acetone/nail polish remover in her blood (that seemed to be alcohol)? Is that possible?

At the end, from the closed captioned script:
[Isobel] Because if Liz Ortecho turns on any of us. . . 
[Max] you will get inside of her head and erase it. Make her leave Roswell . . . Just like you did ten years ago.

This could have been used to pick up where the original series left off, except that in the original series, Tess was the mind-warper.

 

36 minutes ago, calliope1975 said:

Roswell was my first online fandom, but I can't remember which forum I posted on. Was that the board where IIRC Brenden Fehr posted and we all lost our shit? (Also, whatever board it was, someone linked to a recap on Mighty Big TV which led to TWOP which led to here, so thanks, Roswell!)

What was your old screen name (if you can recall)? 
 

[ParadoxLost]

I'm probably going to be here for a while just because the original is the first show to introduce me to forums / message boards.  I spent tons of time in the spoiled dreamers thread on fanforum.

What is working for me so far is that I buy that Max loves Liz  from the time they were kids and its just something he can't get over.  Admittedly I have no reason to buy that this is as plausible at this point.  Its the kind of thing that makes more sense when its a bunch of kids falling in love for the first time or if they were actually together and tragically parted.  Not with people that are nearly thirty, but I think my residual irritation over how the last show went off the rails is guiding my reaction on this one.

I'm liking Maria.  I think my poor reaction to Liz, driven a lot by the heavy handed messaging, would be helped by them hanging out together.  Liz actually loosened up with Maria.  For that matter, that is probably part of the issue with Alex. 

Everyone having been off doing stuff for ten years.  None of these presumed relationships, outside of Max/Isobel/Micheal, have a foundation to them.  If they are going to go directly to relationship angst, it would be nice is the human friendships already existed.

Its so ridiculous making Kyle contacting Maine into some overblown mission started by his "ancestors" seventy years ago to protect the world from aliens.  My ancestor flew test planes at the base outside of Roswell when the "crash" happened.  I called him Grandpa.

[calliope1975]

22 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

What was your old screen name (if you can recall)? 

I think it might have been my name, Jennifer. So, I'm winter cleaning and my scrapbooks  happen to be handy. Just looked and found a printed out poem that a user made incorporating all the names of the posters on the Roswell Fan Forum board from 1/23/00. So, we were on the same board together! Small world. 

All that said, I doubt I'll check this show out unless I hear the next few episodes are really good. 

[tennisgurl]

I haven’t seen Roswell in years, so I dont remember a whole lot of it, except it was so very WB (the CW of its day!) and it had lots of sappy love songs that my teen self absolutely adored, and aliens, so I liked it pretty well. I guess I can get why they wanted to age everyone up, but its super weird that everyone isnt in high school. Everyone still kind of acts like teenagers (especially Michael and his teen angst in his 20s) so it comes off as kind of weird. I can also get why they decided to add the political stuff (I mean, having the Hispanic family being faced with prejudice while actual aliens who look like white people can do whatever is just too juicy) and some of it worked, and some of it...didnt. 

Anyway, I liked the pilot enough to give it some time to find its feet, but it seemed a bit boring. Like everyone else, I wish that Liz had been in a crowded building at the time, it would have added way more drama, and added more suspense, with more people being suspicious of what happened to her. Now, no one knows, and I dont know why anyone would ever know. It seemed really low key, like "oh, aliens. Cool" and everyone just moves on. The actors are alright, and new Max and Liz have decent chemistry, but not really enough to carry the whole show. But, again, I will give it some time. I do like the Max and Liz actors. 

So Isabelle and her husband are into some kinky stuff, huh? Nice ;) I like older Isabelle, I can see her as an older version of the teenage version. The Michael/Alex thing was not at all what I expected, but I am open to it. Also, Alex is definitely the character who has changed the most, but maybe thats the point? He used to be all cute and dorky, but shit went down, and now he is kind of a wistful and stoic adult? Really, most of the characters seem kind of like that. Its not great. 

There were a lot of nice shots though, and I am interested in what happened with the sister, and how they seem to be interested in more Roswell mythology and world building. That part sounds promising, if they can get the character stuff down better, and give them all more to do, and more personality. 

Edited January 17, 2019 by tennisgurl

[methodwriter85]

2 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

What is working for me so far is that I buy that Max loves Liz  from the time they were kids and its just something he can't get over.  Admittedly I have no reason to buy that this is as plausible at this point.  Its the kind of thing that makes more sense when its a bunch of kids falling in love for the first time or if they were actually together and tragically parted.  Not with people that are nearly thirty, but I think my residual irritation over how the last show went off the rails is guiding my reaction on this one.

I think that right there is where this show works on a basic level for me. I buy Max. I buy that Max is a sad puppy dog who was waiting for Liz to come back. I also think that that this Liz carries the show competently. Those are two solid building blocks to build the show on, at least in my opinion.

The OG show was definitely more together right out of the gate, but this isn't bad. Also, I like looking at Nathan Parsons so that helps.

3 hours ago, memememe76 said:

I liked that everyone are adults. Not high schoolers.

That really helps me divorce from the memories of the OG Roswell show.

The reason why they're all adults is because the CW tried launching a show called Starcrossed like 5 years that felt like a blatant rip-off of Roswell. The CW in general just doesn't have that much success with teen shows- the only successful ones they've launched are Gossip Girl, the 90210 reboot, Vampire Diaries, and Riverdale. It's kind of weird for me that the reboot of a teen show I watched 20 years ago as a 14-year old  features actors/characters that are only about a few years younger than me. Hell, I was a senior when these characters were freshmen, if we're going with them being class of '08.

Edited January 17, 2019 by methodwriter85

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

What is working for me so far is that I buy that Max loves Liz  from the time they were kids and its just something he can't get over.  Admittedly I have no reason to buy that this is as plausible at this point. 

I want to say this is in the books—which the show is based on—but I honestly can't remember. @phoenics, is that correct? Or was it in the 1999 show too? Like maybe

Spoiler

did little girl Liz find little boy Max or maybe it was a schoolyard incident?

[steelyis]

Oh, no, Maria is black. Cast in a show with Julie Plec as executive producer. I hope Kat Graham reached out to Heather Hemmens and offered condolences.

I remember liking the 1999 Roswell pilot a lot more. I also recall instantly falling in love with Shiri Appleby and Majandra Delfino's Liz and Maria. Seriously, those two were friendship goals personified. No character in Roswell, New Mexico stood out like those two did.

I do think most of the cast, except Lily Cowles and Michael Vlamis, gave solid performances. Cowles was too bland and Vlamis's attempt at swagger was awkwardly try hard. I usually find Nathan Parsons hit or miss as an actor, but he was fine as Max (even though I was distracted by how much he looked like Jason Behr and Nick Wechsler's love-child).

I think the show has legs, but I can see it falling apart quickly if it's not handled carefully.

[Whimsy]

7 hours ago, calliope1975 said:

Roswell was my first online fandom, but I can't remember which forum I posted on. Was that the board where IIRC Brenden Fehr posted and we all lost our shit? (Also, whatever board it was, someone linked to a recap on Mighty Big TV which led to TWOP which led to here, so thanks, Roswell!)

That was Fan Forum lol. I remember that!

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

So Isabelle and her husband are into some kinky stuff, huh? Nice ;) I

I don’t necessarily think they are into kinky stuff. I think that’s a shortcut to show the audience that their marriage is stale and they’re trying to spice up their love life. 

[kj4ever]

37 minutes ago, Whimsy said:

That was Fan Forum lol. I remember that!

I don’t necessarily think they are into kinky stuff. I think that’s a shortcut to show the audience that their marriage is stale and they’re trying to spice up their love life. 

and http://www.roswellfanatics.net/  That one is still alive and kicking with fan fic.  I have a few old fanfics still in rotation over there...lol  I check it out every couple of years and am always surprised to see it still thriving!

[phoenics]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

In this episode they kept hammering home that Rosa was a drunk driver who killed 2 other people when she crashed. So how would that work (her dying to save the non-terrestrials)? Maybe some acetone/nail polish remover in her blood (that seemed to be alcohol)? Is that possible?

At the end, from the closed captioned script:
[Isobel] Because if Liz Ortecho turns on any of us. . . 
[Max] you will get inside of her head and erase it. Make her leave Roswell . . . Just like you did ten years ago.

This could have been used to pick up where the original series left off, except that in the original series, Tess was the mind-warper.

 

What was your old screen name (if you can recall)? 
 

One thing - what they are describing with Liz is a mindwipe and they all had that ability in the books, I think.  It's different than a mindwarp.  In the books, a character named Nikolas (not the same Nikolas from the tv show) blew into town and influenced Isabel to use her powers more and that was one power he had - he also was good at knocking folks out.  I think there was some kind of stone that allowed them to boost their powers - and he used it to mindwipe.  I think.  Ugh - I need to go read the original books again.

Also - it was Michael who makes the comment about getting inside Liz's head and mindwiping her again.  Not Max.  All Max said at the end was that Liz could never find out what happened to Rosa.

I DO think that Rosa might have been in on the alien conspiracy - sort of an OGLiz almost and she died helping them ... or something... the whole thing has me super intrigued and excited - I can't wait to see what happens.  I love the "future fanfic" possibilities this show has - it's like it's a fanfic all on its own.  But now that I've thought about it - the way Max was so eager with nearly no hesitation to tell Liz the truth, I don't think Rosa was in on it.  Because if she had been and then got killed because of it, Max would NEVER want to put Liz in danger like that and thus would have held out much longer in telling her the truth... but I could be wrong.  Either way, I'm SOOOO intrigued.

I think the show deviating from the first book and even the 1999 pilot (because the book and the 1999 pilot are soooo similar) is smart - this show is going to take more time to world build and I think in the end, that will serve it well.  

[phoenics]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I want to say this is in the books—which the show is based on—but I honestly can't remember. @phoenics, is that correct? Or was it in the 1999 show too? Like maybe

  Reveal hidden contents

did little girl Liz find little boy Max or maybe it was a schoolyard incident?

Kinda both, but to varying degrees... see below...

I think the emphasis on Max seeing Liz when he got off the schoolbus when they were in 3rd grade came mostly from the 1999 show - not the books - even though that's still when Liz and Max met (in the books).  But it was the 99 show that really punched that "first meeting" home with the way little Max got off the bus and could not stop staring at Liz.  It was really love at first sight for him.  He was such a goner.  The 1999 show really focused hard on that in how little Max was so fixated on Liz the moment he saw her.

But the flashes in the book and in the tv show (even this one) show Max seeing Liz for the first time and then all of the other times he stole glances at her and spent time with her... and from that, Liz can feel the depth of his love/emotion/crush for her.  In the books, Liz Ortecho realizes that he was in love with her, from the flashes.  In the 1999 show, Liz Parker realizes to him she's beautiful.  And in the this new show, Liz Ortecho realizes he would have followed her when she graduated and left town.

So, the concept is in the 1999 show and the books, but the 1999 show really made that a pivotal moment in terms of direction and how the scene played out.

Edited January 17, 2019 by phoenics

[Sakura12]

In the flashback was Rosa encouraging Liz to go for Max or stay away from him? I was too busy trying to figure out who the actress that played Rosa was that I didn't pay attention to that. (I did figure out that she plays Kerry in Legion)

Edited January 17, 2019 by Sakura12

[shapeshifter]

38 minutes ago, phoenics said:

But the flashes in the book and in the tv show (even this one) show Max seeing Liz for the first time and then all of the other times he stole glances at her and spent time with her... and from that, Liz can feel the depth of his love/emotion/crush for her.  In the books, Liz Ortecho realizes that he was in love with her, from the flashes.  In the 1999 show, Liz Parker realizes to him she's beautiful.  And in the this new show, Liz Ortecho realizes he would have followed her when she graduated and left town.

Thanks! I really do love the new show version of this--probably due to my personal perspective, so mileage may vary, as always.

 

25 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

In the flashback was Rosa encouraging Liz to go for Max or stay away from him? I was too busy trying to figure out who the actress that played Rosa was that I didn't pay attention to that. (I did figure out that she plays Kerry in Legion)

That was Rosa?

[Sakura12]

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Thanks! I really do love the new show version of this--probably due to my personal perspective, so mileage may vary, as always.

 

That was Rosa?

I figured it was since that's the flashback Liz has before she visited the accident site. 

[peachmangosteen]

21 hours ago, tessaray said:

I liked it more than I expected to but since I wasn't expecting much it was a pretty low bar to clear. 

This. I wasn't even going to watch because I already watch too many shows, but I was like I'll check it out, not expecting much, and I enjoyed it.

I watched the original and I remember liking it, but I honestly don't remember much of what happened lol. I remember (most) of the characters and the relationships, but none of the actual things that happened.

I remember not being that into Max/Liz in the original. I liked them better here. I actually really liked this Liz. I think Nathan Parsons was pretty bad, but I have affinity for him because of GH so I'm hoping he'll get less dull eventually.

[shapeshifter]

51 minutes ago, Sakura12 said:

57 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

1 hour ago, Sakura12 said:

In the flashback was Rosa encouraging Liz to go for Max or stay away from him? I was too busy trying to figure out who the actress that played Rosa was that I didn't pay attention to that. (I did figure out that she plays Kerry in Legion)

 

That was Rosa?

I figured it was since that's the flashback Liz has before she visited the accident site. 

Oh, right! I was thinking of a different scene. And during the scene in the car with Rosa, I was so busy thinking that they really do look like sisters that I missed the dialog! LOL
So, I think this is the dialog from the closed captioning transcript, but I'm not sure if the last line belongs in that scene:
   Really? Max Evans? So vanilla.
   It's like I've taught you nothing.
   All our lives, that kid's made moon eyes at you, and now two weeks before graduation, you look back at him?
   I guess I've been thinking about things I'll miss, and maybe I don't want to miss Max Evans.
   He's already in the rearview mirror.
   Trust me.

So it sounds to me like Rosa thought Liz could do better than plain ol' Max Evans.

And, as I said in my first post:

On 1/15/2019 at 9:25 PM, shapeshifter said:

My name is shapeshifter, and I am a Roswellholic.

--and I have obviously totally fallen off the non-Roswellian wagon.

 

Edited January 17, 2019 by shapeshifter

[Melina22]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

I think Nathan Parsons was pretty bad, but I have affinity for him because of GH so I'm hoping he'll get less dull eventually.

Haha. The SNL song "Lowered Expectations" just ran through my head. I love your qualified optimism. 

[kj4ever]

3 hours ago, phoenics said:

One thing - what they are describing with Liz is a mindwipe and they all had that ability in the books, I think.  It's different than a mindwarp.  In the books, a character named Nikolas (not the same Nikolas from the tv show) blew into town and influenced Isabel to use her powers more and that was one power he had - he also was good at knocking folks out.  I think there was some kind of stone that allowed them to boost their powers - and he used it to mindwipe.  I think.  Ugh - I need to go read the original books again.

Also - it was Michael who makes the comment about getting inside Liz's head and mindwiping her again.  Not Max.  All Max said at the end was that Liz could never find out what happened to Rosa.

I DO think that Rosa might have been in on the alien conspiracy - sort of an OGLiz almost and she died helping them ... or something... the whole thing has me super intrigued and excited - I can't wait to see what happens.  I love the "future fanfic" possibilities this show has - it's like it's a fanfic all on its own.  But now that I've thought about it - the way Max was so eager with nearly no hesitation to tell Liz the truth, I don't think Rosa was in on it.  Because if she had been and then got killed because of it, Max would NEVER want to put Liz in danger like that and thus would have held out much longer in telling her the truth... but I could be wrong.  Either way, I'm SOOOO intrigued.

I think the show deviating from the first book and even the 1999 pilot (because the book and the 1999 pilot are soooo similar) is smart - this show is going to take more time to world build and I think in the end, that will serve it well.  

I'm thinking Rosa's death had something to do with the aliens.  It seemed like Isabelle was adamant about not doing that anymore, so my train of thought went to the fact that maybe Rosa wasn't mentally ill at all and the aliens accidentally damaged her. 

[kirkola]

18 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I wonder if it's too late to tweet your idea, @kirkola, to the show runner. And not just for safety reasons. It's so much more interesting! And there could be a humorous bit with somebody trying to use it as nail polish remover.

I deTessted (hated) Tess. I kept hoping she would go away. But then my 20s and 30s were populated by more ex-girlfriends showing up than I can count--always after I'd slept with the guy. So I just hate all triangles on TV. But I guess it is likely. *sigh*

 

Be my guest.  I have a twitter (I think), but I'm never on it.  My one sibling (who didn't watch the original) assumed the same thing I did about the Nail Polish Remover.  Ewwww.

 

I also hated Tess.  And it sadly, my dislike has spilled over to the actress, who is probably better than either of the two roles I've seen (this and Once Upon a Time).

[Kareny]

I watched the pilot and then fired up Hulu to rewatch the original pilot, to see how my fond memories of it stood up to time. (Has it really been twenty years?)

While the changes are unsettling and I miss some of the emotional punch from the original, I have to say the new one is probably better done overall. They're trying to do something different with the same source material, and I'm excited to see where they're going with it. I just hope there's enough of an audience for it between new viewers and the old diehards (guilty). 

[crashdown]

I'm underwhelmed, mostly because I think the actors are really weak. I'm digging New Michael ok (interesting choice to have him be gay, or bi), but New Max is a snore, and there's absolutely no chemistry between him and New Liz. The one bright side for me is that suddenly my screen name is relevant again: like @shapeshifter, mine comes from the original Roswell. (If I recall, everything I wanted to use from Buffy was taken when I signed up for TWOP, and I settled on Crashdown.)

[methodwriter85]

I re-watched this and noticed that you can hear the slight strains of "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain on the jukebox. Wrong show but it was 90's Peak WB and it made me smile. (Dido made some pretty disparaging remarks about Roswell OG and I'm guessing that's why they didn't even try to bother getting the rights to "Here With Me.") I did like that this Liz's favorite song is from the Counting Crows.

I also really like the feel/look of the town. It looks like they're doing on-location shooting in Mexico which is cool.

If Maria's mother shows up, can she be barely like 10 years older than Maria in keeping with the original?

Edited January 17, 2019 by methodwriter85

[blueace]

I finally got time to watch this.

It's impossible for me to watch this completely unbiased and without comparing it to the original.  It's been well over a decade since I've last watched it but I thought the original 1999 pilot was not only THE BEST episode from the original TV series, I thought it was one of THE BEST TV pilots EVER in general.

The original pilot was written by Jason Katims who also worked on "My So Called Life" and "Friday Night Lights".  It was directed by David Nutter who would later win an Emmy for directing "Game of Thrones".  So IMO that's a lot for Julie Pleck, and Carina Adly Mackenzie to live up to.

In general I think pilot episodes are hard because they have to cram so much into so little time. And this new pilot certainly felt more like a general TV pilot than the amazing pilot from the original series I have in my memories.  But I've watched some amazing TV series that only had so so pilots.

Yeah, this new 2019 pilot didn't live up to original pilot to me.  The pacing, chemistry, and acting felt poor in comparison ...maybe that was just me comparing too much to the old show, anyways I hope everything improves or my opinion of it improves in the next few episodes.  

However with the characters now all being adults, this gives the new series some interesting potential.  Perhaps more potential than the highschool version of these characters. We'll see where the writers/showrunner takes it.

I'll continue watching.

Also finding out Shiri Appleby, the original Liz, directed episode 9 makes me excited to see that one.

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, crashdown said:

I'm digging New Michael ok (interesting choice to have him be gay, or bi), but New Max is a snore, and there's absolutely no chemistry between him and New Liz. The one bright side for me is that suddenly my screen name is relevant again: like @shapeshifter, mine comes from the original Roswell. (If I recall, everything I wanted to use from Buffy was taken when I signed up for TWOP, and I settled on Crashdown.)

ITA with your opinions above, @crashdown. We also share the experience of having screen names that are not easily searched and found in files about Roswell, heh.

 

 

6 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

If Maria's mother shows up, can she be barely like 10 years older than Maria in keeping with the original?

Diane Farr is 19 years older than Heather Hemmens, which I think would be perfect, but she'd probably have to have a small role on R,NM or else a different shooting schedule than her current show.

 

 

1 hour ago, blueace said:

I thought the original 1999 pilot was not only THE BEST episode from the original TV series, I thought it was one of THE BEST TV pilots EVER in general.

The original pilot was written by Jason Katims who also worked on "My So Called Life" and "Friday Night Lights".  It was directed by David Nutter who would later win an Emmy for directing "Game of Thrones".  So IMO that's a lot for Julie Pleck, and Carina Adly Mackenzie to live up to.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, and seriously, yes.

[phoenics]

9 hours ago, kj4ever said:

I'm thinking Rosa's death had something to do with the aliens.  It seemed like Isabelle was adamant about not doing that anymore, so my train of thought went to the fact that maybe Rosa wasn't mentally ill at all and the aliens accidentally damaged her. 

OMGosh I love this theory.

Also - I wanna say that it's really a testament to the amazing way Jason Behr played Max that they cast another actor who resembles him (especially what he looks like now) and who sounds like him too sometimes.  And the actress who plays Liz now seems to have studied Shiri Appleby's way of looking lovestruck at Max.  I think that's why nuMax/nuLiz worked so well - for me at least.  I do hope the direction with them catches up - a lot of the Behr/Appleby chemistry was because the writing didn't force them to talk in chemistry-packed scenes and allowed them to communicate with their eyes/expressions instead.  Jason was also amazing at speaking in a tentative whisper when he was with Liz - and Liz would go mute and mostly just nod at him and look at him with huge doe eyes that said everything.

God I loved them.

Edited January 18, 2019 by phoenics

[methodwriter85]

God, it's kind of weird that both Marias are close enough in age that they could have gone to high school together. Weird mind warp. I like the change to them being adults, but it's warping my mind because as an early 30's guy I expect these characters to be like 16 and played by people that were born in like 1996 like on Riverdale. Instead, they're like my age or just a little younger.

So since we know that Liz spent her 20's in Denver, does this mean that she has big Bad City Boyfriend who will sweep in at some point to convince Liz to go back to her Big City lifestyle? If so, I'm voting for Matt Barr.

In any event, the set-up of this show really does feel like a fanfiction I could have read back in 1999/2000 and that makes me smile.

Edited January 18, 2019 by methodwriter85

[phoenics]

43 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

God, it's kind of weird that both Marias are close enough in age that they could have gone to high school together. Weird mind warp. I like the change to them being adults, but it's warping my mind because as an early 30's guy I expect these characters to be like 17 and played by people that were born in like the mid-1990's like on Riverdale. Instead, they're like my age or just a little younger.

So since we know that Liz spent her 20's in Denver, does this mean that she has big Bad City Boyfriend who will sweep in at some point to convince Liz to go back to her Big City lifestyle? If so, I'm voting for Matt Barr.

In any event, the set-up of this show really does feel like a fanfiction I could have read back in 1999/2000 and that makes me smile.

One of the things I love about the reboot is that it's set literally 10 years after the beginning of the 1999 show - so the actors now are the same age as the original actors from Roswell.  It's kinda cool and a nice nod to the original series.

ETA - yikes - it's set exactly 20 years after the beginning of the 1999 show.  Wow - I'm old!  Nevermind my other thought, lol.

Edited January 18, 2019 by phoenics

[methodwriter85]

Well, some of them. Jason Behr is almost old enough that he could've fathered Nathan Parsons.

[phoenics]

10 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

Well, some of them. Jason Behr is almost old enough that he could've fathered Nathan Parsons.

I think JB was the oldest one in the cast, right?  Out of the teens?  How old are these characters supposed to be?  10 years past high school (there was a reunion)?  So 28ish?

[methodwriter85]

Yeah. MD and ER were the youngest, while the rest of the cast seemed to range from a 1977 to 1979 birthyear.

In this version, it's 2018 and they're class of '08, which corresponds to 1989/1990-ish birth year. Of course, the aliens are really like 71. LOL.

[phoenics]

2 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

Yeah. MD and ER were the youngest, while the rest of the cast seemed to range from a 1977 to 1979 birthyear.

In this version, it's 2018 and they're class of '08, which corresponds to 1989/1990-ish birth year. Of course, the aliens are really like 71. LOL.

LOL - I just realized I can't count.  

[galax-arena]

As much as I liked Shiri Appleby/Liz in the OG series, I'm glad they didn't whitewash Liz this time around. 

[Sakura12]

Maybe what happened to Rosa is similar to what happened to OG Alex? Having her wiped too many times. 

[phoenics]

2 hours ago, Sakura12 said:

Maybe what happened to Rosa is similar to what happened to OG Alex? Having her wiped too many times. 

Taking my speculations to the spoiler thread...

[Jacks-Son]

Never having read the books, I DID, however watch the Original about 10 times total from start to finish and am surprised at the changes. Making Michael Gay, ruins part of the fun of the show between Maria and her hygenically-challenged boyfriend, “Space boy” Michael. Then to put Michael and Alex together, two people that didn’t trust each other a bit in the original, is so odd. I was a Shiri Appleby and Katherine Heigl fan and I hate to say that while many have complained about Katherine Heigl’s acting, I like her version of Izzy better than this actress, so far,

[methodwriter85]

When Izzy said to fall in love with someone else, I kind of wanted her to tenderly touch Max's arm in keeping with the incesto vibe they had in the og. (It was a running joke on the MightyBigTV board. I think the actors dated and it showed.)

[shapeshifter]

25 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

When Izzy said to fall in love with someone else, I kind of wanted her to tenderly touch Max's arm in keeping with the incesto vibe they had in the og. (It was a running joke on the MightyBigTV board. I think the actors dated and it showed.)

Yes, they dated. The actors were all really young and not as professional as they would have been later in their careers. Posters made jokes about Jason Behr being so old, but, seriously, a 25-year-old guy is not generally mature. With this version having adult actors, at least there won't be a reliance on off-screen chemistry to bleed through to on-screen relationships (which we saw in the early OG episodes with Max-Liz).
Disclaimer: I am not in Hollywood; this is all just my opinion--and I'm stickin' to it!

[MzLiz]

I really liked it. I loved the old Roswell. This gives me similar feels. I totally buy the chemistry between Max/Liz. Yes it’s different but that’s ok. It actually needs to be different because if it was a straight replica, it would die a fast death.

I’m in!

[Kareny]

I'm watching this a second time. God help me. Twenty years later, why do these horny, paranoid aliens still get to me so much? 

We need to be real about the fact that OG Roswell had one good season, and a lot of ups and downs afterwards. I think this reboot has a lot of potential. Even with the changes, a lot of things feel familiar, the Max/Liz connection feels even deeper and higher stakes, and Max is the same old asshole he always was.  Even more so now that he has a big(ger), deep(er) dark(er) secret. 

Could the "voices" that Rosa and Mama Ortecho heard be alien-related? That would definitely elevate the stakes. 

Another bit that I think has flown under the radar is when Liz comments about Max wanting to be a writer and he looks surprised - "You remember that?" It seems like a throwaway, but could be significant given her memory wipe and the clues that she and Max had a closer relationship before the memory wipe.

Like others have said, this could have been a fanfic back in the OG Roswell days, but it's just different enough, and the actors and writing seem skilled enough, that it justifies the reboot. There better be enough of an audience to sustain this on the CW now, because I'm dying to know where they're going with it. The original had wonderful characters, but abysmal plotting - let's be real - and so far this one feels like higher quality overall, at least to start out with.

Dare I say they might even be able to do a better job with the source material? I hope I'm right.

[HerkyJerky]

I never watched the OG Roswell.  I LOVE So You Think You Can Dance.  So, I just tuned in to see how Jeanine Mason was as an actor since she was AWESOME as a dancer.  It wasn't the dumpster fire I expected and I kinda enjoyed the show.

[tessaray]

23 minutes ago, HerkyJerky said:

I never watched the OG Roswell.  I LOVE So You Think You Can Dance.  So, I just tuned in to see how Jeanine Mason was as an actor since she was AWESOME as a dancer.  It wasn't the dumpster fire I expected and I kinda enjoyed the show.

That's interesting because most of the comments I've read have been from OG fans. (Myself included.)  I think some people have seen JM on Grey's Anatomy too.  She feels like Liz to me, for the most part.  Maybe without the sense of vulnerability that Shiri Appleby's Liz had but ten years will do that to you. 

[Whimsy]

7 hours ago, HerkyJerky said:

I never watched the OG Roswell.  I LOVE So You Think You Can Dance.  So, I just tuned in to see how Jeanine Mason was as an actor since she was AWESOME as a dancer.  It wasn't the dumpster fire I expected and I kinda enjoyed the show.

THANK YOU!  It was killing me that I couldn’t remember where I knew her from. I knew it wasn’t from the shows people have mentioned here since I don’t watch those but I knew I KNEW her from somewhere. Wow. That was a huge relief now lol. I liked her on this. I thought she was the most “natural” of all the actors in this pilot.