ROSWELL TV STORY

                                                                      

#23 Season 2 Premiere
    So, first we get a little flashback from Max about last season's events while he is speaking to a shrink. Then there's a new & improved opening credit sequence. We learn that 3 months have passed and the "alien-squad" in the FBI is being disbanded, thanks to Nasedo posing as agent Pearce, who is long since dead and buried. Or is he? Some geologist finds his buried skeleton, and the police dig him up, with the bones on his ribs all melted. Michael is brought in for questioning, but Valenti manages to get him out of trouble - this time. Congresswoman Whitaker, who is very close to Pearce, gets nosy in Roswell and suspects aliens. Incidentally, Liz is working for her and looks up to her. Isabel expresses interest in the hunky geologist, after telling Alex she is not interested in being with guys period. Maria tries in vain to capture Michael's attention again, but unfortunately Michael is still obsessed with the fact that he killed someone and he is a soldier who cannot have a romantic life. Liz has also brushed Max off, and Max desperately tries to get her to come back to him.
    Michael is arrested for murder, and Nasedo is called in to help get him out. They figure the only way to clear him is to get to those bones. Whitaker suspects they contain some sort of metallic compound not found on Earth. With Isabel & Tess's help, Max sneaks into the testing facility at some university and uses his powers to erase traces of the alien substance and age the bones 42 years. The science people figure that the bones are all melted funny because of radiation testing 42 years ago. Michael is free. Nasedo, however, encounters an enemy (I'm guessing the aliens Max's people are at war with). He is attacked and manages to crawl to Max's window before dying. Max cannot save him.

My Opinion: I think they did OK with this premiere. I'm wondering where all the others aliens we saw at the end of the season 1 finale are, but I started to get intrigued at first signs of enemy aliens. And finally, Nasedo is out of the way. I didn't like him - he seemed so different from the others. Of course he was, without human DNA. But I'm also concerned that Max and the others aren't powerful enough to defend themselves against the alien enemies who managed to kill their protector. I'm glad the relationships thing between the characters has been held off for a while. That was moving way too fast. I am very not impressed with the way Max, Maria and especially Michael have changed their hairstyles. Michael's looks like girl-hair, I'm sorry to say, and it's very unappealing. Maria has also seemed to change in attitude. She seems a lot more laid back and a lot less "wacky" like she was in the first episode. I liked it when she was wacky, so I hope her old self comes back. And I can't wait to see what happens with the enemy aliens, though previews of the next episode didn't look too promising.

#24 Ask Not
    The episode begins with Isabel, Maria, Liz & Tess at the Crashdown, listening to music and dancing. Alex and Michael are there, just sitting and watching. Meanwhile Max is running for through town, shirtless and with a bloody handprint on his chest. He finds them, spoiling the mood, and Michael takes command. He and the other three aliens leave to take Nasedo to the cave and try to resurrect him with the healing stones. But it doesn't work, and Nasedo turns into a pile of dust. They now know their enemies are the Skins. Max doesn't know what to do now, though. He tries to comfort Tess, who is upset over Nasedo's death. Maria & Liz see them together and think they are seeing each other. Max and Tess get to her place to find someone has been there, someone who left behind a skin. So Tess stays with Valenti and Kyle now. Kyle freaks at this, still a little out of whack after the alien incident three months earlier. He was so upset that he turned to Buddhism over the summer. But he eventually calms, gives Tess his room and feels OK about her staying with them (as long as it's only temporary).
    Liz tells her boss, Congresswoman Whitaker, that Pierce left a message on her voicemail telling her he was never coming back. This upsets the Congresswoman, who proceeds to destroy any evidence of Pierce's existence. Then she and Liz talk about Liz's love-life, and Liz admits she left her former boyfriend because of Tess, a girl from his past. Whitaker seems sympathetic with Liz, but after Liz leaves the room, she grows serious and repeats the name "Tess". Meanwhile, Max finds out his old boss, Milton, sold the UFO Centre to some really strange, secretive guy with an accent. Max snoops into his office, with is restricted, and finds what appears to be an alien device. His new boss finds him and fires him before Max can learn anything else. Max has been edgy lately, almost exposing to himself to a human at school, thinking he was a Skin. Michael and Isabel, after hearing about the new museum curator, think he's a Skin and want to kill him before he kills them. Max is reluctant. He & Michael argue, and Michael decides to go off on his own. He sneaks in and sees the guy with the alien device, which promptly goes off, knocking Michael to the ground. Michael revives and escapes before the guy can get him. But now he's determined to kill the guy. So Max finally agrees, and the three of them set out to the UFO Centre to kill it's new owner. But before they go to his office, Max uses his powers to put a forcefield between him and Michael & Isabel. He goes in alone to confront the guy. At first it seems the guy is an alien like them. But then Max finds out the guy is a supposed alien abductee, trying to reestablish contact. Max, Isabel and Michael leave very relieved. Later, at the Crashdown, Max confronts Liz and tells he loves her and he always will, no matter what. Lastly we see Courtney (who has been flirting with Michael) go into the bathroom and remove a layer of skin from her face, flushing it in the toilet. Aha!

My Opinion: Definitely interesting. Now that the emotionless, blunt and sometimes cruel Nasedo is out of the way, everything is on Max's shoulders. I kind of like how they compared him to JFK - it was just an interesting way of doing things. I didn't think it was quite necessary to have Max flying through town, half-dressed. I mean, Max doesn't usually freak out like that. Nor is he that careless (going around with Nasedo's bloody handprint on his chest for the whole world to see). I'm sure it was just an excuse to show Jason Behr shirtless. I like how they have Tess staying with the Valenti's now. It was cute how Kyle freaked out when he found her sleeping half-dressed on the couch. It wasn't so cute the way she treated him after that. It was a little rude, but fortunately they made up in the end and seemed to at least semi-respect one another. I really liked finding out that Whitaker is a good actress, fooling Liz into believing she was drunk and upset over her ex-boyfriend. And Liz gave her Tess's name so easily. I don't think Liz should hate Tess, though. Tess may not be very likeable sometimes, but she's not really a bad person. And it seems as if she'll be in trouble next week. I also enjoyed seeing confirmation that Courtney is indeed one of the Skins. I knew she was!!

#25 Surprise
    This was an interesting episode, as we see at the beginning Isabel, in a very fancy dress, all dirty in some power plant looking for Tess, who is found beat up, and eventually confronting the enemy (not shown). Then it skips back to two hours earlier, where Isabel walks into the Crashdown to find a surprise party waiting for her, orchestrated by Max. Everyone is there except Liz, who is working at Whitaker's office. Apparently Isabel is all dressed up because she was supposed to meet that geologist, Sorenson, for a date. He shows up with rare purple roses, but then leaves to let her have her party. Max and Michael are both suspicious of him. Courtney keeps putting the moves on Michael, and Maria gets jealous. Then Alex shows up in a police uniform to do a strip-tease for the birthday girl, but stops about halfway through when he sees her mom. Whitaker shows up at the office and invites herself to the birthday party. When she goes to freshen up, Liz discovers a CD with her phone discussions on them, so she knows Whitaker has been spying on her.
    Isabel has been having weird flashes in her head all day about Tess being hurt. They get so intense she thinks something is really wrong. Max goes to Valenti's to try to find her. Michael goes to search Whitaker's office after Liz tells them about the CD. Isabel gets another flashback about Tess being in trouble, and decides to go after her. Maria goes with her, while Liz is left behind to deal with Isabel's mom. At Whitaker's, Michael finds pictures of Courtney, right before Whitaker returns. Max and Valenti discover Sorenson called Tess' cell phone, so they go to his motel room to search it, but he comes and tells them (angrily) he only called to see what Isabel would like as a gift. Meanwhile Isabel and Maria discover the power plant. Isabel goes in, while Maria goes back for help. She sees Michael confronting Courtney, who says Whitaker was spying on her to make sure she stayed away from the Congresswoman's step-son. At the power plant, Isabel finds Tess, and the enemy finds them. It turns out Whitaker is a Skin, and she's looking for something called the Granolith so that she can live longer (Skins have a hard time adapting to Earth, so only last 50 years). She also tells Isabel that in her past life, she betrayed her brother for the love of one of the Skins (I believe that's what she meant). But Isabel fights back and kills Whitaker right before the others arrive. Isabel then needs to be alone, so she goes to the cave, where she gives this emotional soliloquy. Then she finds the Granolith, hidden behind the pods.

My Opinion: OK, first of all, I have to say that strip-tease scene of Alex's was completely hilarious. It was so absurd, I couldn't stop laughing the whole time. Too bad Isabel's mom was there. Apparently Alex was wearing a thong. Anyway, the rest of the episode was fairly intense. Isabel's flashbacks were weird, and I wonder if that's some sort of alien power specific to her. And if not, why she alone got those flashbacks of Tess. It was very heroic of her, though, going after Tess by herself and facing Whitaker. She has a lot of courage. I'm really starting to like her character. And the discovery of Isabel once being a traitor to her brother and her people is a little intriguing. Now she's ashamed of what she did, and scared it might happen again. But I really don't think so. Also, since we all know Courtney is a Skin, I wonder what her relationship to Whitaker was. It is quite possible that the story about the step-son is true. Or maybe Courtney is really a traiter to her own people and wants to join Max's side. Who knows? I'm sure we'll find out soon, though. Next week's episode looks very, very promising, as it's a remake of the 1947 incident, with each character playing someone from the past. Very cool idea.

#26 Summer of '47
    In this episode, Michael goes to interview a military veteran for a school assignment. This Vet was one of the men involved in the 1947 crash. The episode switches back and forth between present time and flashbacks of 1947, where all the present-day characters (Max, Liz, Isabel, Alex, etc.) play characters from 1947. Michael plays the Vet (OK, I forget all the names) and Max plays his Buddy. So Vet and Buddy are assigned to the crash site and must take a truck back. They look in the back and discover something green and glowing in the back, but stay quiet about it. Maria plays a nosy Reporter who goes after Michael for a story. Alex plays a Sergeant or something and Valenti Sr. plays the Commander. ALl of whom are trying to disuade Vet from finding out the truth. Isabel plays a Tramp who sleeps with Michael, and then possibly later with the local Sheriff (played by Kyle). Liz is a military Nurse who sees the aliens and tells Vet, but who is then killed for her trouble. Michael gets info on the aliens, then gives it to the Reporter, who is also murdered to keep quiet. Vet's Buddy betrays him. Vet then decides to sneak into the base and figure out what's really going on. He gets into this lab and discovers two sets of four pods. Lab guys are on the floor, dead. The two aliens come out, all floaty and glowing. Vet tells them to save the pods, then creates a diversion for the aliens to escape. Vet also escapes. In present day, after Vet finishes telling Michael the story, he wonders if what he did was really beneficial. Then Michael uses his powers in front of him and tells him he saved his life. Vet hugs him. Awww.

My Opinion: Whoa, so now there are four more aliens like them? Where are they? Things could get interesting if more of Max's resurrected people show up. At least, I hope that's what the writers are implying. I thought the whole episode was rather cool. And I thought it was nice that Michael learned from Vet that a human was responsible for their survival. Made him appreciate Maria more, that's for sure!

#27 (Temporary Title: Message From the Future)
    We get a scene from 14 years in the future: a 30-year-old Max (with long hair and leather) and a 30-year-old Liz (also with leather but shorter hair) running into the Granolith room and saying good-bye as if they'll never see each other again. Then Max disappears and shows up outside Liz's window in present day. He tells Liz that she and Max must break up or else they will all die in the future. Liz is uncertain, but eventually trusts him and they devise a plan. First Liz goes to Tess and tells her she wants her & Max to be together. Tess is suspicious at first, but agrees. Then Liz sets them up, but Max finds out, goes to Liz (who is hiding behind a window) and kisses her. Future-Max is not impressed. Later, Liz goes to Max's room (where is is doing chin-ups sans shirt). He is pleased to see her at first, but then she tells him she doesn't want to be with him and she couldn't die for him etc. He is deeply saddened by this and says nothing as she leaves. But later, while talking to Maria, he says he is hopeless for Liz. Future-Max tells her that Liz & Max would have gotten married when they were 18. Liz is saddened by this, knowing it'll never happen now. Future-Max also tells her that the following night (present-day)was significant in there lives, ie. they made love that night. So Liz devises a more devious plan. She and Kyle get into her bed, mostly naked but for underwear, and wait for Max, whom Future-Max says will come that night bearing concert tickets (and a condom). Eventually Max comes and sees them in bed together. Heart-broken, he leaves. Liz is equally heart-broken. Later that night, she and Future-Max dance before he suddenly disappears. Max sulks on a park bench, when Tess comes along to give him company.

My Opinion: Gee, how sad. It really seems that Liz and Max can't be together. Of course, that's what the writers want us to believe. I have absolutely no doubt that by the time this series is over, Liz and Max will be together forever (and the world will be saved, etc.). As for Max (Jason Behr) playing two roles, I think he did a swell job, though I can't understand why Future-Max had to have that ugly long hair. Regular Max did some really cute things, like sing that song for Liz. The expressions on his face when Liz rejected him almost made me sad. But I have no fear of what the future will bring. The writers implied that Tess and Kyle may be attracted to one another, but who knows about that.

#28 (Temporary Title: Enemy's Camp)
    There is a report on the news that Congesswoman Whitaker died recently, when the aliens et. al. know she died a month or two ago. They go though Whitaker's office and discover something about the Friendship League in some small town in Arizona (let's call it Corral for now), which happens to be where Whitaker is from. So they all go except Michael and Maria, who stay to spy on Courtney. Max & the others get to Corral (on the way, Max asks Liz about her sleeping with Kyle, but she doesn't reply) and end up at Whitaker's parent's place. They seem nice, and have a young son named Nicolas, about fifteen or so. Meanwhile Michael & Maria find a Michael-shrine in Courtney's closet and discover she has another apartment right across from Michael's. When they stake it out, Courtney finds them and confronts them. She tells them she's a rebel Skin on Michael's side (not Max's) and says he should be in charge, not Max, so the two species can get along. Maria thinks it's bull, but Michael seems to believe her. Courtney says Corral is full of Skins, so they go to help the others. The others are invited to Whitaker's memorial, then discover they are surrounded by Skins. Max, Tess and Liz try to hold them off. Meanwhile Isabel follows Nicolas into the basement of some barn where there are a bunch of Husks - the protective, living shells Skins use to survive on earth. Skins can only use Husks 50 years before they need new ones, and the new ones are almost ready for harvest. Nicolas also tells Isabel he's going to take her to her Skins lover, I forget his name (Kevar or something). She refuses. Michael comes along and fights Nicolas, who says he killed the previous Michael. Courtney then destroys the husks, allowing them to escape (Michael taking Courtney's Husk). Max, Tess and Liz also escape, and they flee from Corral.

My Opinion: Quite interesting. It's beginning to seem as if Isabel did betray Max and Michael wanted to, for the sake of the two species uniting. It also implies Max wasn't a very good King, and didn't necessarily have everyone's best interests in mind. I wonder how that will play out. I also wonder where Alex is.

#29 (Temporary Title: Invasion of the Skins)
    OK, while the Sheriff & Kyle are fishing (Kyle catches a fish & lets it go to the surprise of his dad) and Liz & Maria are out of town to pick up something for Liz's dad, something happens. This green rod sticking out of the Welcome to Roswell sign starts sending off this signal. All the humans in Roswell disappear, including Max & Isabel's mom. Liz & Maria arrive in town and freak a little. They find a shedded skin. Max, Isabel, Michael and Courtney (wearing her new, immature Husk) congregate at the Crashdown. They think all the humans are gone, when Liz and Maria burst in. They figure it was the Skins. And indeed it was, since a bus full of the Skins from Corral, including Nicolas, arrives in Roswell. Tess, Valenti and Kyle join the team. When the Skins come looking, Tess uses her powers to keep them hidden. Then they go to hide at the UFO museum. Isabel sneaks off to see Nicolas. He catches her, and she says she knows he's the one she came for (implying Nicolas is her ex-lover, perhaps??). They move to kiss, but she attacks him. Nicolas' mom comes and knocks Isabel out. At the Crashdown, one of the Skins sneaks in and attacks Maria. Tess saves her. Valenti disappears. Apparently the Skins used a time dimensional thing, where all the humans are stuck in the place outside of time or something. It caught up to Valenti, and will eventually catch up to Kyle, Liz & Maria. So the three humans go to destroy the green rod while the others go after the Skins. Courtney disappears, and we find out Michael told her where the Granolith is. Nicolas catches her and uses his powers of stealing people's thoughts to find out where the others are hiding, but she kills herself before he can get the location of the Granolith. Max and the others find Isabel at the schhol, then the Skins catch them and Nicolas proceeds to try to read Max's mind. Max resists. Tess lashes out, and suddenly this wall of fire erupts behind her and destroys all the Skins. She's not sure how she did it. At the road sign, Kyle and Liz disappear, so Maria must take jumper cables and attach them to the rod to short-circuit it. She manages this just before she disappears. So now all the Skins are gone & the humans are back.

My Opinion: Not exactly the ending I expected. I thought the Skins would hold out longer than that. I also wasn't expecting Courtney to die. Now I wonder what will come next. There's no way the war is over with just that one battle. More enemies will come. Hopefully we'll see other species of alien. If not, that's OK. Tess' powers seem to be greater than they seemed at first. Maybe the power she used to destroy the Skins is the power Future-Max talked about being key to the success of the war. She is still a very mysterious character. Out of all of them she is the least predictable. You never know what she's thinking. I'm looking forward to the storyline progressing, as it seems to be more complex than I ever imagined it would be at the beginning of the series.

#30 Meet the Dupes
    Episode begins with the "dupes", the alternate versions of Max, Tess, Isabel and Michael, all of whom are dressed as punks and live in New York. Michael2 and Isabel2 want to go to this summit meeting, but Max2 doesn't want to. They get into a fight, but then seem to make up. In Roswell, Max is trying to ignore Liz, who wants to be friends with him. Maria is having little luck with Michael, but the UFO museum curator across from the Crashdown has a huge crush on her - even giving her a $100 tip! Meanwhile the dupes, sans Max2, steal a car and drive to Roswell. Isabel2 and Michael2 meet Valenti, who thinks they are dressed up for a party, and sneak into Max's room. Mr. Evans comes in, but Isabel2 tells him she's dressed up as Juliet for a Rock'n Roll version of the play. Michael2 goes to the high school and comes on to Liz, even kissing her. Liz is surprised and laughs it off. Later, the the four original aliens, Maria, Liz and later Alex meet at the UFO museum to talk. The dupes show up and introduce themselves. It seems they are the ones who were in the other four pods (see episode #26, Summer of '47). The second group of aliens was created because the first group (Max et.al.) was too human. The dupes tell them that their Max, Max2, died in a car accident. (The dupes all have other names, but I forget them all except Isabel2/Velandra) They need Max to go with them to the summit meeting because he's king. Max says no. Isabel2 then goes to him and tells him her & Isabel's secret, that Velandra betrayed her brother for the love of an enemy. This upsets Max. He waits for Isabel, then starts freaking out on her. Isabel freaks out right back at him. Michael comes along and tells Max he shouldn't go to New York, so Max decides he will. Once Max leaves, we see that it wasn't Isabel or Michael at all - it was their dupes in disguise. So Max & Tess plan to go to NY. Max goes to Liz' and gives her back a gift she gave him, saying he wants a clean break. Then they meet up with the dupes. Tess2 suddenly refuses to go with them, and through a flashback we find out that Michael2 and Isabel2 actually killed Max2. Max & Tess go with them, leaving Tess2 behind.

My Opinion: This was actually a hilarious episode, even though it had very serious elements. The four dupes were great. Very evil, of course, but very funny, too. It seems that Max is starting to lose it. His dad says he's in therapy and that it doesn't seem to be working all that well. From his blowup with Isabel/Isabel2 and his treatment of Liz, I think I can safely say Max's judgement is erring greatly. It's no wonder his sister betrayed him in their other lives. I have a feeling it goes deeper than that, but I seems, like I said before, that Max may not have been a very good king. I can't wait to see what happens in New York, and how Tess2 interacts with those left behind in Roswell.