Roswell (TV series)

Roswell was a sci-fi series created by Jason Katims. The series ran between October 1999 and May 2002. Described by one reviewer as "a star-crossed teen-age love story with an otherworldly twist" (Roberts, Associated Press, September 29, 1999), the series focused on teenaged aliens passing as humans in Roswell, New Mexico. The aliens are survivors of a 1947 UFO crash popularly known as The Roswell Incident. One of the aliens, Max Evans, played by Jason Behr, falls in love with human Liz Parker, played by Shiri Appleby.

Airing history

"Roswell High" was originally developed by 20th Century Fox Television and Regency Television for the Fox network, though it landed on the WB (re-named simply "Roswell") thanks to the latter network's offer to extend a full 22-episode upfront commitment. The series premiered on October 6, 1999 to generally favorable reviews. Although it quickly garnered an outspoken fanbase, the series almost immediately entered a steady ratings decline that would keep the show under constant threat of cancellation.

Related Topics:
20th Century Fox Television - Regency Television - Fox - WB - October 6 - 1999

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In response to the ratings problems, the network ordered the relationship-driven standalone episodes of the early first season to be replaced with more sci-fi themes and multi-episode plot arcs. Starting with the second season, veteran sci-fi writer Ronald D. Moore was brought in to join Katims as an executive producer and showrunner, and to further develop the sci-fi elements. During seasons two and three, members of the fanbase increasingly grew divided between those who had preferred the original style (criticized by opponents as too soapy or melodramatic) versus those who preferred the newer style (criticized by opponents as too dark or convoluted).

Related Topics:
Plot arc - Ronald D. Moore - Showrunner

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In the United States, Roswell lasted for two seasons on the WB. On May 15, 2001, the WB cancelled the series, a move widely anticipated due to the disappointing ratings. But Fox was able to persuade United Paramount Network to pick up Roswell for a third (and ultimately final) season in a deal packaging the underperforming series with Fox's coveted property Buffy The Vampire Slayer which UPN had just managed to steal away from WB in a heated bidding war. However, Roswell failed to hold on to enough of the audience from its new lead-in, Buffy. So once again it faced cancellation. Roswell's final episode aired on May 14, 2002.

Related Topics:
United States - May 15 - 2001 - United Paramount Network - Buffy The Vampire Slayer - May 14 - 2002

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In the UK, Roswell (High) was shown on Sky TV but only the first two seasons were shown by the BBC. The BBC website has an explanation for their failure to show the third season.

Related Topics:
UK - Sky TV - BBC

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