Season DVD Release Schedule
(Apr. 29, 2008)
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 04/29/2008 Run time: 924 minutes Rating: Nr
(Apr. 29, 2008)
Having grown up in Roswell with only a few close friends aware of their alien origins, Max, Isabel, and Michael have finally come of age. Uncertain about what lies ahead of them after graduation, they are suddenly forced into action when it becomes clear that the incidents in which they have used their alien powers to help others have finally caught up with them. As the Air Force and FBI close in, the trio realizes that Roswell is no longer the safe haven it once was. As they prepare to leave their friends and families behind, Liz has a shocking vision which makes everyone realize that it is not only the aliens who are in danger but their human friends as well.
(Aug. 09, 2005)
Having grown up in Roswell with only a few close friends aware of their alien origins, Max, Isabel, and Michael have finally come of age. Uncertain about what lies ahead of them after graduation, they are suddenly forced into action when it becomes clear that the incidents in which they have used their alien powers to help others have finally caught up with them. As the Air Force and FBI close in, the trio realizes that Roswell is no longer the safe haven it once was. As they prepare to leave their friends and families behind, Liz has a shocking vision which makes everyone realize that it is not only the aliens who are in danger but their human friends as well.
(Oct. 05, 2004)
Season 2 of the cult science-fiction series Roswell opens on a promisingly positive note, with the rescue of alien teen Michael (Brendan Fehr) by Max (Jason Behr) and his pals, but as soon as things settled down, new challenges threaten their existence. That was par for the course on this imaginative program, which hit its stride in its sophomore year (2000-2001) with a tighter blend of thoughtful youth drama and otherworldly action. The season's chief threats to aliens Max, Michael, Isabel (Katherine Heigl of Grey's Anatomy), and newcomer Tess (Emilie De Ravin of Lost), and Earthlings Liz (Shiri Appleby), Maria (Majandra Delfino), and Alex (Colin Hanks) are Vanessa Whitaker (Gretchen Egolf), a congresswoman with a very sinister secret agenda, and Brody Davis (Desmond Askew), the new curator of Roswell's UFO Museum, who harbors an equally unpleasant plan for the friends. The struggle between human and alien forces, both good and evil, to uncover the truth about Max and his companions leads to a pair of shocking events--a death among the group, and in the season finale, Max, Michael, and Isabel's possible return to their home planet. Other highlights from season 2 include the imaginative period piece "Summer of '47," with the series regulars assuming the roles of townspeople and government officials at the time of the original alleged UFO crash; the two-parter "Meet the Dupes" and "Max in the City," which poses the alien quartet against their physically identical doubles (with extremely different personalities); and "A Roswell Christmas Carol," which offers an unsentimental retake on the Dickens story.
As with the first-season set, supplemental features are surprisingly abundant for a relatively minor show; commentary is included on three of the 21 episodes (two by executive producer Ron Moore), while the featurette "Here with Me" has the writers, producers, and cast offering their opinions on the season. There's also another installment of the "Shiri and Majandra Show," with more lighthearted reminiscences from the actresses, as well as two additional featurettes on the program's score and the process of transforming a storyboarded scene into filmed action. A five-minute montage of clips set to music called "A Little Something Extra for the Fans" is the lightest of all the extras (and fans should note that many of the music cues featured in the original broadcasts have been replaced in this set), but Roswell aficionados will undoubtedly be happy with everything they get. --Paul Gaita
(Feb. 17, 2004)
Opening with a Dido theme song and featuring character-driven, sweet-natured melodrama, Roswell was a show with a surprisingly dedicated fandom, who twice won it reprieve from cancellation. One of its main strengths was, of course, the extent to which its premise--alien teenagers trying to sort out their identities while emotionally involved with their human contemporaries--was a free-floating metaphor for race and sexuality issues. Another was the strong ensemble that its cast developed: you believed in the strangeness of the alien trio and the well-intentioned normality of their three human friends. Jason Behr gave the alien Max a quiet authority and Majendra Delfino took the sidekick role of Maria and gave it both intensity and fine comic timing. It was also a show in which you were never sure which adults you could trust--William Sadleir trod a fine line of ambiguity as the local sheriff and Julie Benz was silkily sinister as an FBI agent. Anyone who ever loved this show will want these DVDs--and many others may want to find out what the fuss was about.
Roswell is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The special features include commentaries on six episodes by writer Jason Katims, the directors, and various cast members as well as a featurette on the making of the show and another on its adaptation from the original Roswell High series of young adult novels. The commentaries are unusually insightful on the casting process, and the discs also include the auditions for the part of Tess as well as a deleted scene and a music video. --Roz Kaveney







