From: jess99@ptd.net
From Philadelphia Inquirer:
Title: 'Roswell' marches to a different drama
LOS ANGELES-Can a small band of aliens, the sole survivors of
that legendary
crash in 1947 in Roswell, N.M., find happiness on Planet Earth?
As
teenagers, no less?
It's not easy, but somehow the kids-or whatever they are-seem to
be
surviving on the WB's uniquely rewarding Roswell.
The hourlong series -- new this season, broadcast at 9 Wednesday
nights on
Channel 17 opposite NBC's The West Wing and ABCs The Drew Carey
Show-hasn't
exactly taken off in the ratings. But there's little doubt it has
the
dramatic fuel to fly.
Few recent shows have managed to blend so many themes into such a
broadly
appealing hour. Mixing youthful alienation with science fiction,
pop culture
and a charming cast of actors and characters, Roswell is part My
So-Called
Life and part The X-Files, with a healthy dose of The Fugitive
thrown in.
Jason Behr and newcomer Shiri Appleby play Max Evans and Liz
Parker, two
highschoolers from different worlds: She's from Earth; he isn't.
Neither is Max's sister Isabel, played by Katherine Heigl. Nor is
his friend
Michael Guerin, portrayed by Brendan Fehr. As is fitting in
weren't heard
enough already.
Having kept a low profile since finishing their incubation all by
themselves, the three otherworldings were instantly jeopardized
when Max
lovingly brought Liz back from the dead in the series pilot --
exposing his
secret not only to Liz but to her more unpredictable friend
Maria, played by
Majandra Delfino.
And the sheriff (William Sadler) is on their trail. This being
Roswell,
N.M., he knows more that a thing or two about aliens.
"High school -- and adolescence - is such an important part
of people's life
and development that it leaves a very lasting mark on them
emotionally,"
says Behr, 25, on the Paramount Television Studios lot, where the
show is
filmed.
The oldest in a cast portraying teens, he finds it "very
easy to draw back
on my high school experience and my adolescence."
Appleby, 20, also says playing a 16-year-old isn't much of a
stretch. "High
school is, like, two years ago for me," she says.
In the minds of cast members, Roswell is more of a coming-of-age
story, with
sci-fi booster rockets to keep the show moving.
"I think that the alien metaphor is very unique in the
show," Behr says.
"And it's something that I think is universally appealing. I
think many
people associate with ... feeling very alienated or feeling very
different
from anybody else and feeling worried worried and fearful that
people will
discover who they really are because they might not necessarily
accept
them."
That sums up a lot of childhood stories, doesn't it? "I'm
still growing up,
and let me tell you, it's still really, really difficult,"
Appleby says.
There is, however, no shortage of X-Files-brand conspiracy,
paranoia and
fear of the unknown to be found.
Just ask Jonathan Frakes, best known as Cmdr. William Riker of
Star Trek:
The Next Generation and one of the series' executive producers
and
directors.
"I think the X-Files analogy is a good one because we're
using the FBI
characters in the same way [X-Files] executive producer-creator
Chris Carter
does."
Of course, Frakes adds, "The obvious double entendre of
teenage alienation
is not lost on us."
There are a lot of questions to be answered on Roswell - which,
naturally or
unnaturally, is part of its appeal.
How long, for instance, can the sheriff go on chasing the kids of
Roswell
when they are essentially standing in one place and he knows, but
just can't
prove yet, that Max and company are from another planet?
"That's out biggest challenge," says Frakes, who runs
the show with Jason
Katims, formerly of My So-Called Life, and David Nutter from The
X-Files.
"We have to keep the number of people who know the secret
down to four."