Roswell, New Mexico, Roswell (OG) and Roswell High

[tessaray]

Discuss comparisons here.  Note that there is a thread for the original Roswell  if you just want to reminisce,

[bettername2come]

All right, thirteen-year-old me was obsessed with the original show and books. Tried to fight watching this one, but I've caved. So first impressions:

I like that they're taking Rosa's death from the books and actually making it mean something. In the original, it really served no purpose, but here it will - good change. I liked that the Manes and Valentis are involved with the alien hunting organization. 

The shooting at the Crashdown being so different from the first book/pilot makes me wonder if they couldn't use it because it had appeared in both. Then again, the uniforms are virtually identical to the original show's, the aliens have different specialty powers and Isabel's married to a lawyer who doesn't know what she is, so clearly they're using some things from the OG show and not just basing it on the books no matter what they say.

The music choices feel very much like the original show.

[phoenics]

53 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

All right, thirteen-year-old me was obsessed with the original show and books. Tried to fight watching this one, but I've caved. So first impressions:

I like that they're taking Rosa's death from the books and actually making it mean something. In the original, it really served no purpose, but here it will - good change. I liked that the Manes and Valentis are involved with the alien hunting organization. 

The shooting at the Crashdown being so different from the first book/pilot makes me wonder if they couldn't use it because it had appeared in both. Then again, the uniforms are virtually identical to the original show's, the aliens have different specialty powers and Isabel's married to a lawyer who doesn't know what she is, so clearly they're using some things from the OG show and not just basing it on the books no matter what they say.

The music choices feel very much like the original show.

The shooting in the book pretty much happens exactly as it happens on the 1999 show - that's not why they went a different direction imo.  They could have done the exact same thing because that was pretty much how it went down in the books.

But I think the reason they didn't do that is because the shooter was specifically targeting Liz/Arturo.  So they did it at night after the place was closed - so no "innocent" people got hurt (except Liz or her dad of course).  Since Rosa's death really means something now and is being used to move plot, it has this cascading effect on everything else.

Also - in the 1999 show, there was no Rosa but they actually stole Rosa's storyline and gave it to Liz's dad for HIS sister.  That's why he was so crazed to keep M/L apart in S3.  In the books, I would say that Rosa's death did mean something because it's why Liz bonded so hard with Adam and also why she was hit so hard after his death.  But it didn't tie into the whole alien conspiracy, so in that way I agree.

And about Isabel's husband - I agree they definitely stole "Jesse", but changed his name, lol.

Edited January 28, 2019 by phoenics

[Kymmi]

I watched the first series, but never read the books.  Is Tess in the books, or was she an original character for the show?  I hated her so much, I'm not sure what I'll do if she shows up here.  

I do love that music is such an important part of the show.  It's very WB.

[phoenics]

5 minutes ago, Kymmi said:

I watched the first series, but never read the books.  Is Tess in the books, or was she an original character for the show?  I hated her so much, I'm not sure what I'll do if she shows up here.  

I do love that music is such an important part of the show.  It's very WB.

Tess was an OC for the show - she was not - I repeat NOT - in the books, so no worries there.  Buuuuut Jesse was also an OC for the show and they just duplicated him and called him Noah on this show.  So technically they could create an alien from Max's home world who believes she's destined to be with him and call her Jess, lol.  But I don't see that happening - they already have a spoiler in Cameron and honestly - Rosa's death looms so large in between M/L right now that no other spoiler is needed.

Also - we won't be seeing a Royal Four storyline here - that was solely on the tv show (and actually came from Thania St. John, who just recycled her Royal Krypton storyline from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman).  So yaaayyyy - even though I did kinda like the Royal Four concept - just not the execution... but c'est la vie because that definitely won't be a thing here.

Maybe they can be resistance fighters, lol.

[Kareny]

No Kivar? I see no downside to this. 

I want to go back and reread the original books to refresh my memory - I still own them all, plus all the tie-in novels. Are they even still in print? (Or will they now be again, with this show coming out now?)

[phoenics]

8 hours ago, Kareny said:

No Kivar? I see no downside to this. 

I want to go back and reread the original books to refresh my memory - I still own them all, plus all the tie-in novels. Are they even still in print? (Or will they now be again, with this show coming out now?)

They are rereleasing them, but you can get them on Amazon Kindle for like $2.99 or so each.  There are 10 books.  It's the Roswell High books by Melinda Metz.

Edited January 28, 2019 by phoenics

[shapeshifter]

17 hours ago, bettername2come said:

Then again, the uniforms are virtually identical to the original show's,

Good point. Now I'm wondering if the reason for not using Tabasco sauce or Tess (intellectual property owned by the network that did the original TV show) is not exactly correct.

[Sakura12]

With Tobacco they probably could've gotten a contract to use their sauce. Roswell didn't invent it. It's a brand. They could've used a sriracha brand instead.Although we'd probably have to sit through product placement in the episodes. I could that being a reason not to use them. Lol

That one doesn't seem like the original used it so we can't. 

Edited January 28, 2019 by Sakura12

[Myrrhine]

16 hours ago, phoenics said:

 

Also - we won't be seeing a Royal Four storyline here - that was solely on the tv show (and actually came from Thania St. John, who just recycled her Royal Krypton storyline from Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman).  So yaaayyyy - even though I did kinda like the Royal Four concept - just not the execution... but c'est la vie because that definitely won't be a thing here.

Maybe they can be resistance fighters, lol.

I also liked the Royal Four concept though not necessarily how it played out. I enjoyed them grappling with this awareness of their past selves and whether or not they had to play the same roles in the present. Were they destined to end up in couples or did one of them outrank the others? I actually thought they might be going that direction when Max started ordering Michael and Isabel around in the second episode, but it seems like that was part of his poisoned / rage / PTSD / whatever that Isabel sensed rather than an alien aspect of his character. 

[bettername2come]

21 hours ago, phoenics said:

So yaaayyyy - even though I did kinda like the Royal Four concept - just not the execution... but c'est la vie because that definitely won't be a thing here.

I have to say, I'll miss them being half human more than them being alien royalty. That was something that a little more unique and I liked how it gave them a connection to Earth besides just living there. It just made them have to think about their identity and where their loyalties really lay.

22 hours ago, Kymmi said:

I do love that music is such an important part of the show.  It's very WB.

Seriously. I half expect the velvety voice of the WB to tell me what album everything is from so I can go buy an actual CD of them all.

[shapeshifter]

8 minutes ago, bettername2come said:

22 hours ago, Kymmi said:

I do love that music is such an important part of the show.  It's very WB.

Seriously. I half expect the velvety voice of the WB to tell me what album everything is from so I can go buy an actual CD of them all.

*Sigh* Make it so. Not that I would buy them. It would just be pleasantly nostalgic.

[phoenics]

7 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Good point. Now I'm wondering if the reason for not using Tabasco sauce or Tess (intellectual property owned by the network that did the original TV show) is not exactly correct.

The uniforms are similar but different.  The uniforms on the old show had alien faces on them.  The uniforms on the new show do not.  There are subtle differences.  Maybe the loose description in the books of them being retro diner uniforms explains some of the similarities.

The other explanation is that Carina (the showrunner) said that any touches they are able to include from the old show are more like homages (and not direct copies), but they include them as little easter eggs and treats for us OGRoswell fans.  Tabasco is branded, so they couldn't use that (though they could've used other hot sauce brands), but maybe the uniforms aren't an issue to pay homage to.

Edited January 29, 2019 by phoenics

[phoenics]

1 hour ago, bettername2come said:

I have to say, I'll miss them being half human more than them being alien royalty. That was something that a little more unique and I liked how it gave them a connection to Earth besides just living there. It just made them have to think about their identity and where their loyalties really lay.

 

I agree with you on the half human part - but they can still explore this.  This theme is explored all the time in Superman graphic novels, movies and shows - and he's 100% alien.

[methodwriter85]

I would have loved if they use Frank's Red Hot. I lived in Western P.A. for awhile, and that was EVERYWHERE.

Edited January 29, 2019 by methodwriter85

[shapeshifter]

27 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

I would have loved if they use Mike's Red Hot. I lived in Western P.A. for awhile, and that was EVERYWHERE.

Or even any MadeUpName's Red Hot.
So much better than acetone/nail polish remover.
"Penny wise and pound foolish" with the props budget, if you ask me (but nobody ever does).

[methodwriter85]

It looks like the Max/Liz shipper name is Echo. I like it.

Also, Noah in no way, shape, or form resembles the Jess character from season 3 Roswell OG. We promise, Hulu!

Edited January 30, 2019 by methodwriter85

[phoenics]

Somethings the show might get into are the healing stones vs The Stones of Midnight.  The healing stones are from the show.  The Stones of Midnight are from the books.  

Also - in the books, the SoM are stolen from their alien homeworld and smuggled to earth on the ship that crashed.   There are 3 stones.

I wonder if the podsquad will stumble across another alien who helps to heal Max?  In the books, Trevor was that source, but he came along later - oh wait - what about Ray?

The radio guy seems to have disappeared from the show - haven't seen him since the pilot.  Maybe they decided he was too heavy handed.

[tessaray]

9 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

It looks like the Max/Liz shipper name is Echo. I like it.

Also, Noah in no way, shape, or form resembles the Jess character from season 3 Roswell OG. We promise, Hulu!

I'm not a television insider or an attorney but I'm pretty sure Hulu doesn't have any rights to Roswell other than a contract to currently air the original series. 

Intellectual property is a really weird thing.  Basically, the author (or in this case, the publisher who hired her to write the books) owns the characters/plots in the books.  With American television, usually an individual or company (A) buys an option to develop the story for television. Because all that costs money, the option for the story (and sometimes "A") will end up at a studio where the show will be made.  The studio now owns a piece (or all) of the show.  I'd guess that  20th Century Fox Television and Regency Television probably own the rights to the character of Jesse (and Tess, etc.) , though you never know without seeing the original contracts.  Check out the Writers Guild link to see who all gets a piece and in what circumstances.  (And this is just for writers in American tv, not any of the other participants.) 

https://www.wga.org/contracts/know-your-rights/tv-separated-rights 

As for Jesse vs. Noah, I think most of the similarities come from the character of Isobel and the kind of man she would be likely to marry. 

[Cristofle]

Quote

Also - in the 1999 show, there was no Rosa but they actually stole Rosa's storyline and gave it to Liz's dad for HIS sister.  That's why he was so crazed to keep M/L apart in S3.  

It was his girlfriend/fiancee, right? I'm somewhat embarrassed I remember that. LOL. Man, I loved this show so much as a teenager. Jason Behr was plastered all over my binders in high school. 

I'm wondering if they'll make Book!Nikolas a thing? I don't remember the books nearly as well as show, but IIRC, he was super wild and dangerous before he was killed by Valenti. I think. I need to find the books and give them a re-read. 

[shapeshifter]

19 minutes ago, Cristofle said:

Quote

they actually stole Rosa's storyline and gave it to Liz's dad for HIS sister.

It was his girlfriend/fiancee, right? I'm somewhat embarrassed I remember that. LOL. Man, I loved this show so much as a teenager. Jason Behr was plastered all over my binders in high school.

Wow, even I don't remember any of that, and I read the books multiple times. When the original show was on, I was a librarian in a girls high school. My two work-study students were also fans--but not as intense as I was--I think they humored me, LOL.
It was pre-Facebook, so we lost touch. One went into a dangerous aspect of the military, so  :'(

[phoenics]

2 hours ago, Cristofle said:

It was his girlfriend/fiancee, right? I'm somewhat embarrassed I remember that. LOL. Man, I loved this show so much as a teenager. Jason Behr was plastered all over my binders in high school. 

I'm wondering if they'll make Book!Nikolas a thing? I don't remember the books nearly as well as show, but IIRC, he was super wild and dangerous before he was killed by Valenti. I think. I need to find the books and give them a re-read. 

I hope they do - I loved Book!Nikolas.  He was super arrogant - I always hated that they just killed him when they could've reformed him, a la Damon or Chuck Bass.  

Oh and you're right - it was his girlfriend/fiance... 

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Wow, even I don't remember any of that, and I read the books multiple times. When the original show was on, I was a librarian in a girls high school. My two work-study students were also fans--but not as intense as I was--I think they humored me, LOL.
It was pre-Facebook, so we lost touch. One went into a dangerous aspect of the military, so  :'(

We mean that the 1999 show stole the "Liz's sister overdosed on drugs and died" storyline from the books, but didn't give it to Liz.  Instead, they gave it to Liz's dad as a reason for why he was so obsessed with keeping M/L apart in Season 3 after Max/Liz knocked over that gas station (lol wtf).

Edited January 31, 2019 by phoenics

[Cristofle]

LMAO, I could never take that plot seriously. Even then, and I think I was a freshman in college or something when it aired. Like those two goody two-shoes would EVER act like they were robbing a gas station. 

I'm trying to remember the other aliens beyond the Big Three in the books. There was the guy who owned the alien museum, the guy who ran the...TV station or newspaper or something, who turned out to be a major villain, Nikolas, and Adam. Was that it? 

For a hot second when Liz and Maria were talking about Rosa having a new boyfriend, I wondered if the secret boyfriend was Nikolas. But now I'm wondering she was involved with Isobel. 

Also, thank God they literally cannot involve Tess. Beyond the fact that Emilie de Ravin only learned how to act after Roswell, and her lack of chemistry with Jason Behr that was so severe it was almost a marvel, there were just so many creepy undertones to Tess that like...no one ever wanted to acknowledge. Like the fact that she mindraped Max in later S1 and then he was treated as unreasonable for not going all in on her being his soulmate for close to a year after that.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Cristofle said:

Also, thank God they literally cannot involve Tess

Ditto, cosigned, etc., but, like @phoenics and others have posted, this version could incorporate a Tess-like character—but I sincerely hope that doesn't happen —unless they can do it in a very different and better way.

[Cristofle]

I still get a lot of OG show vibes though, given that they're not really supposed to be drawing from that.

-In the books, I have nooooo recollection of Isabel being service oriented. She was going around in the dreams of all the high school boys to try to convince them to vote for her for prom queen. That's something I only remember from the show, her being involved in community service.

-Michael being this hostile loner is more of an OG show thing, I feel like. He was a foster kid in the books too, but IIRC, he came off as fairly friendly and jokey. 

-Liz and Kyle had one or two dates prior to the books that ended very badly (I do kind of remember that, because I LOLed - something about how he played Nintendo the whole time and wouldn't even give her a turn) and by the time the first book opened, she did not like him at all. It was in the show that they had some sort of relationship in high school. 

[ellieart]

On 1/28/2019 at 7:58 PM, phoenics said:

The uniforms are similar but different.  The uniforms on the old show had alien faces on them.  The uniforms on the new show do not.  There are subtle differences.  Maybe the loose description in the books of them being retro diner uniforms explains some of the similarities.

The other explanation is that Carina (the showrunner) said that any touches they are able to include from the old show are more like homages (and not direct copies), but they include them as little easter eggs and treats for us OGRoswell fans.  Tabasco is branded, so they couldn't use that (though they could've used other hot sauce brands), but maybe the uniforms aren't an issue to pay homage to.

As a designer and costumer, there are enough differences between the two uniforms that they aren't at all a direct copy, they're actually quite different.  I like that you brought up retro uniforms.  If you look at all retro diner uniforms that have existed over time and still do in some places, they're all based on one very similar design and oftentimes the color is that turquoise/robin's egg blue.  So to me these new uniforms are more a copy of the actual retro diner uniforms, while also a subtle homage to the OG show uniforms. 

 

20 hours ago, Cristofle said:

I still get a lot of OG show vibes though, given that they're not really supposed to be drawing from that.

-In the books, I have nooooo recollection of Isabel being service oriented. She was going around in the dreams of all the high school boys to try to convince them to vote for her for prom queen. That's something I only remember from the show, her being involved in community service.

You're right, book Isabel wasn't ever the community service type.  That became OG show Isabel in season 2.  This new Isobel isn't so much into community service as her job is an event planner.  It's similar, but also not really the same.  I honestly think they gave her that job in the new one because it keeps the characters in the middle of town action and keeps the town's hate for Liz more alive.  Without it, it seems like most of these characters would barely interact with each other.  Based on the casting calls I saw while they were shooting the season, they have a lot of events in 13 episodes.  I don't know, it seems weird and forced, like it's the only way they can make the town itself a character? And they only way they can find to make the town a character is to have a main character plan the events?  I haven't really figured it out yet.  

As for Noah/Jesse - Besides Noah being a lawyer and married to Isobel, I don't get any Jesse vibes at all.  It doesn't seem like this Isobel married Noah in a hurry.  These characters are 28, there is no way one of them wasn't going to be married by this point.  The logical one was always going to Isobel.  Yeah they maybe could have made him something other than a lawyer, but they already have a doctor, a cop, and a scientist so of course they have to pick lawyer.  Because no one can ever just have a boring office job ;)

Tess - Obviously they legally can't bring her in or anything that remotely resembles that character as she was created.  BUT bringing in another female to shake things up, that's a trope that exists all across tv in general.  Though I think if they go down that road, it's with Cameron and they've already established that Cameron and Max have a real friendship, partnership and FWB situation happening, so essentially, Liz would be the one coming between her and Max.  She's already so far removed from a Tess-like character as it is.  That being said, they could bring in another female character somewhere later in the season to shake things up.

[Minneapple]

So I binge-watched this last night in an effort to avoid the *other* broadcast network programming on last night. I keep thinking everything is a callout to the original show, even if it might not be. DID THEY USE THIS SONG ON THE ORIGINAL SHOW? LIZ GAZED AT MAX, THAT'S FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOW!

On 2/3/2019 at 5:18 PM, Cristofle said:

I'm trying to remember the other aliens beyond the Big Three in the books. There was the guy who owned the alien museum, the guy who ran the...TV station or newspaper or something, who turned out to be a major villain, Nikolas, and Adam. Was that it? 

What about the girl who was in love with Michael, was her name Courtney? Wasn't she some kind of alien too? It's been so long since I watched the original. 

The acting was better on the original show. The actress who plays Liz on this show isn't bad, but the Max actor is terrible. 

Edited February 6, 2019 by Minneapple

[Cristofle]

It's actually not based on the original show - they don't have rights to it. It's based on the book series the first show was based on. So they can't use Courtney - I don't think she was in the books, nor was the entire race of "Skins". In the books, Michael got involved with some other girl from the compound? For the life of me, I cannot remember her name, but I don't think it was Courtney. 

[ellieart]

27 minutes ago, Cristofle said:

It's actually not based on the original show - they don't have rights to it. It's based on the book series the first show was based on. So they can't use Courtney - I don't think she was in the books, nor was the entire race of "Skins". In the books, Michael got involved with some other girl from the compound? For the life of me, I cannot remember her name, but I don't think it was Courtney. 

It was Cameron

[Sakura12]

So is Cameron from the show going to be their version from the books? Except she's in love with Max not Michael. 

Edited February 6, 2019 by Sakura12

[Cristofle]

13 minutes ago, ellieart said:

It was Cameron

Ohhhhh! What was up with Cameron in the books? I have completely forgotten that plot.

[ellieart]

Just now, Cristofle said:

Ohhhhh! What was up with Cameron in the books? I have completely forgotten that plot.

She was tasked by Valenti to spy on Michael while he was in captivity.  Then they fell for each other.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, ellieart said:

It was Cameron

I knew the name was recycled!

2 hours ago, ellieart said:

2 hours ago, Cristofle said:

Ohhhhh! What was up with Cameron in the books? I have completely forgotten that plot.

She was tasked by Valenti to spy on Michael while he was in captivity.  Then they fell for each other.

So the character's plot is recycled too? (except Max not Michael)

[ellieart]

2 hours ago, Sakura12 said:

So is Cameron from the show going to be their version from the books? Except she's in love with Max not Michael. 

 

26 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I knew the name was recycled!

So the character's plot is recycled too? (except Max not Michael)

At first I didn't think there was any connection between this Jenna Cameron and the book's Cameron Winger, but after last night and Manes trying to recruit her, they may go down a similar-ish road, maybe.  Book Cameron was also human.  I'm not sure, I have some speculation about who might end up captured by the end of the season and the basics of book Cameron/Valenti's deal would need to be reworked to fit my own idea.

[Cristofle]

Man, I've got to read these books again. LOL. I feel like I remember the first three or four pretty well, and then after that it's mostly gone. Except I remember that Adam was super creepy at first, and Max was alarmed at him enjoying torturing some sort of animal, and then they kind of seemed to act like that wasn't a thing.

I remember in the books that Max and Michael scoured the desert together for any remnants of the crash. Presumably, this show has at least Michael doing it, from the looks of his trailer in the pilot. It's possible it's something Max and Michael did together before whatever happened to damage their relationship.

[methodwriter85]

Out of curiously, I looked up OG Roswell ship names and came up with this list.

I remember being into Pepperjacker and Past Indiscretions (Nicholas/Isobel) at one point. Wow though, it really brought back a rush of memories.

Apparently the OG ship name for Alex/Michiel was Knock Out. I seriously kind of want to see Colin Hanks and Brendan Fehr react to the fact that the new versions of their characters are in a celebrated ship called Malex.

[ellieart]

3 minutes ago, methodwriter85 said:

Out of curiously, I looked up OG Roswell ship names and came up with this list.

I remember being into Pepperjacker and Past Indiscretions (Nicholas/Isobel) at one point. Wow though, it really brought back a rush of memories.

Apparently the OG ship name for Alex/Michiel was Knock Out. I seriously kind of want to see Colin Hanks and Brendan Fehr react to the fact that the new versions of their characters are in a celebrated ship called Malex.

Ship names were so creative for the OG.  The new one has shit names, but that seems to be a problem across all of entertainment now...let's just combine the name of the couple we see/want to see.  So boring.

[methodwriter85]

We can blame Brangelina for that one. I think after that, ship names were just portmanteaus of names instead of something more creative.

[lavenderblue]

I think Bennifer 1.0 actually has to take the blame on that one...

I haven't watched this version -- not sure if I will or not at this point -- but am reading the discussions for now, having been a diehard uber in the OG days. And I'm also not familiar with any of the new actors other than Jeanine Mason, so I do indeed keep visualizing Brendan Fehr and Colin Hanks whenever someone mentions Michael/Alex and it's a little jarring, man.

[methodwriter85]

I seriously would love to see Colin Hanks and Brendan Fehr do a reaction video to Malex.

Edited February 10, 2019 by methodwriter85

[Minneapple]

Spuffy for Spike/Buffy predates those smash couple names. I believe Buffy/Angel was also referred to as Bangel.

[Whodunnit]

Didn't Izy have a twin/clone in one of the OG Roswell episodes? 

[paulvdb]

They all had clones (the Dupes) who lived in New York if I remember correctly.

[methodwriter85]

29 minutes ago, Whodunnit said:

Didn't Izy have a twin/clone in one of the OG Roswell episodes? 

I remember thinking the punk Izy had a strong lesbian vibe for some reason.

I think the twin/clone thing was purely Jason Katim's Roswell.

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, paulvdb said:

They all had clones (the Dupes) who lived in New York if I remember correctly.

IIRC, the Dupes said their Max had sadly died, but it turned out that the Dupes killed their Max. And now I'm thinking that the whole Rosa melodrama might be a non-copyright-violating spin on the murdered Dupe Max story.

[phoenics]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

IIRC, the Dupes said their Max had sadly died, but it turned out that the Dupes killed their Max. And now I'm thinking that the whole Rosa melodrama might be a non-copyright-violating spin on the murdered Dupe Max story.

Rosa died in the books of a drug overdose, just as it appeared in the pilot of the new show.  The twist on this is taking the dead body with the handprint that Sheriff Valenti shows Liz in the books and making ROSA that dead body.  Instead of Sheriff Valenti showing Liz a dead body at the morgue, Manes shows Kyle, who then shows Liz the picture of her sister, which sets Liz off to find out who killed her sister.

It was genius to tie Rosa's death to the alien conspiracy, imo.

I'm just glad we're going to finally move past them thinking Max did it - the Liz/Max tension was killing me, lol.

But this is so not over - I think in the end - this storyline borrows more from OG Alex being killed by Tess (and OG Liz's subsequent "I will find the killer!" quest) than dupe!Zan being killed by dupe!Lonnie/Rath on OG Roswell.

Especially since I'm convinced that if Isobel killed those girls - it was because she was mind-controlled to do it - just like Adam was mind-controlled to kill Valenti in the books.

[Myrrhine]

On 1/30/2019 at 11:57 AM, tessaray said:

As for Jesse vs. Noah, I think most of the similarities come from the character of Isobel and the kind of man she would be likely to marry. 

That probably makes sense. Who knows where they're going with him ultimately on this show, but Noah is not only a lawyer married to Isabel but also a nice, understanding guy who is being kept in the dark about all the alien stuff. But I agree that proceeds pretty naturally from Izzy's character.

I still think the Crashdown uniforms are a nod to the OG show. In the first book (which I am rereading), they are described as retro *Star Trek* style uniforms.

[phoenics]

On 2/10/2019 at 11:39 AM, Minneapple said:

Spuffy for Spike/Buffy predates those smash couple names. I believe Buffy/Angel was also referred to as Bangel.

And Bridge (Brooke and Ridge from the Bold and the Beautiful) predates absolutely every smash ship name I've ever heard of.  That's been around since the eighties.

[methodwriter85]

In the promo for the 2008 prom ep, we see Isobel ask Rosa to run away with her. So like are they going with the lesbian vibes, then? Of course I'm being influenced by the Peach/Beck storyline on You.

I still get the vibe it's going to be a major red herring.

[Kareny]

I've been binging some of the old series on Hulu for the first time in years. Aside from missing the original music (stupid rights issues), in watching it again after so much time, it's clear that they plain ran out of story once they started having to answer actual questions. Once Tess shows up and the Smallville rip-off origin story kicks in and the writers start humoring the actors (oy), it's all downhill, with a few great character moments in between. RIP to Liz Parker's journal.

That's what makes me so excited for this new retelling - the layers of mystery they've added like "who killed Rosa?" and "what happened to Michael's hand?" and "who is Ophiuchus?" and "what exactly is the military building on Foster Ranch?" and "why is Isobel blacking out?" and "what the hell with that creepy basement in Alex's cabin?" all are going to take time to answer, and that's time that can expand the story and not have to rely on cheap payoffs just to move episodes forward (i.e. "she's not Nasedo - OMG THERE WAS A FOURTH POD ALIEN!").

Getting to the actual origins of the aliens is naturally going to take longer this time around, which is perfect - it gives them more time to build and develop the explosive relationships between the characters, which is what always made this franchise work, and they aren't shying away from that element at all (helloooo, Malex).