Maybe's it's Mostly the Same, but I Still Liked It: Roswell, New Mexico

I was one of those people who was in high school just when Roswell aired on television. It was one of my favorite shows at the time. So of course I gave Roswell, New Mexico a spin.

This all seems so familiar...

The majority of reviews of this show are correct, that it does follow the plot of the show (based on the books) fairly closely. But the added wrinkle that these characters are adults, not teenagers, means that their relationships can be even more complicated, and there's a layer of many years between when they were teens to now that add heft to those connections. Those connections between past and present can have great potential that they may have only just begun to tap in this season.

For something that's supposed to be a secret, it seems like the whole town learns about the extraterrestrial nature of Max, Michael, and Isobel fairly quickly. This was something that grew very steadily in the original show over the course of several seasons, so that element of secrecy felt facetious and a bit rushed.

The individuality of their powers was more developed here, and that clarity was appreciated. So was the more authentic representation of New Mexico as being a state with a diverse population. Although many times the way in which questions of immigration and the Trump administration are handled is very transparent and heavy-handed. The show may not age well for those reasons, where it would be fairly easy for new audiences to watch the original Roswell and not feel alienation (forgive the word) in terms of the sense of place.

They also rushed through the developments of the fourth alien and his relationship to the dynamic trio. Again, it felt like the whole original show was rushed into this first season. Perhaps that means they can do more fresh plotting in a second season. At least I do hope that. Though it was fine as a show it was just too similar to really merit existence, unless they can take this show to a new level. I suppose it's just another way of rewatching a show without actually rewatching it.

K Rating: 3/5