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Roswell
Just 5 months ago a third season for Roswell was in question, but UPN came to the rescue. Now the question is: with a new station and a new time slot, how will the show fare in its junior year? Let's take a quick stroll down memory lane...just as the alien kids Max, Tess, Isabel and Michael were preparing to head home, we discovered that Tess was the one responsible for Alex's death. Furthermore, she intentionally got pregnant by Max as part of a deal Nasedo made with Kivar, of which the other was to deliver the three of them to Kivar. Then we watched as Tess blasted off into the sky, with Max vowing "I have to save my son..."
"Busted"
Season 3 Premiere
Directed by Allan Kroeker
Written by Jason Katims
For those of you who are familiar with Roswell, the show no longer opens with Maria and her chalkboard explaining what happened in the previous episodes. Instead, we see Max and Liz robbing a convenience store, followed by a police chase sequence ending with the two getting caught. As it turns out, there is a secret storage facility under the store where an alien spaceship was kept -- it is the same one that carried the royal four to Earth back in 1947 and has been reassembled. Only a few minutes into the premiere, there was already a handful of puzzling questions buzzing in my head. Who called the cops? How convenient is it that another spaceship becomes available and in working condition, no less, while it took an entire season to figure out how the granolith worked? This might be a bit picky, but the wall that hid the entrance to the underground room had no visible way of being opened, which is probably why Max had to use his power to cut it open. Yet there's a locked door right behind it...make sense?
The rest of the episode is shown with flashbacks and the present intertwined to tell the story. Luckily it was handled gracefully, so it offered a change of pace rather than being distracting. As promised by the creators, Roswell will go back to being more relationship-focused instead of relying heavily on the science fiction element. This is immediately evident as we see Max trying to rekindle his relationship with Liz by taking her to the docks. The audience was teased with both of them stripped down to almost nothing for a quick dip in the water, but the date ended in disaster when Max almost drowned. We later found out that he had a vision of his son being born and felt him reaching out. Well, that is one powerful baby wouldn't you say?
Furthermore, while searching through Tess' belongings after her departure, Max discovered the existence of an artifact that will allow him to contact home. It turns out to be a crystal that happens to be on a traveling exhibition, which Max and Liz managed to steal rather effortlessly in front of multiple eyewitnesses.
Back in the present, both Max and Liz get a visit by their parents, and it turns out that Philip Evans will represent the kids as their lawyer. Since it is their first offense with no real evidence, the case probably won't go to court. Meanwhile, Michael is facing his own troubles at school -- he's going to miss graduation if he doesn't pass biology 101. While pleading with the teacher to let him take the course, Isabel shows up with news about Max and Liz's arrest.
During his search for the artifact, which Max threw away during the police chase the night before, Michael was approached and threatened at gunpoint by a stranger. He was told to relay a message to Max to not pursue the matter any further. We all know Michael is strong-willed and often hot-headed, but for some reason he later confessed that he was scared by the encounter. Kind of out of character for him don't you think? Both Maria and Isabel have relatively little screen time in this episode. The only somewhat interesting thing is Isabel's new love interest with Jesse, a new cast member that works in her father's firm. Why she's hiding the relationship remains a mystery.
At the court hearing Max was released under his parents' custody, and under the only condition that he not to return to Utah until his 21st birthday. On the other hand, Liz's sentence was harsher -- her case is to be transferred to the criminal court because possession of a firearm is a felony. Max later broke into the cell to rescue Liz, but she wouldn't go with him knowing it meant a life on the run and turning her back on those who she loves.
In the last few minutes of the episode, after retrieving the artifact from Michael, Max encountered Agent Burns with the FBI, who warns him not to be so nosey. We then see Max returning to the basement only to find the spaceship gone. His father shows up a few minutes afterwards -- apparently he had followed Max to the secret facility. The only thing left was a pile of powder on the floor, which they used to blackmail Agent Burns to have the charges against Liz dropped. The show ends with Max moving out because he couldn't tell his father the truth of what took place, and Liz's parents forbidding her to see Max any more.
Phew... for a standard one-hour premiere, there are just way too many things going on, and unfortunately that is the biggest problem in this episode, it seems to lack focus, while not giving enough time for important points to be developed. The other concern I have is the use of contrivance. I understand certain things have to be introduced quickly in order to advance the plot, but it borders on ridiculous when situations and items seems to occur too easily. Now don't get me wrong, there was plenty of good stuff in "Busted" -- you can feel the tension between Liz and her parents, Isabel and Max, and Max and his father. Katims sure came through on the promise to make relationships more central to Roswell. Just how much did Mr. Evans see when he followed Max to the underground facility? Who is the guy that approached Michael working for? Have we seen the last of Agent Burns and the FBI in general? These and many other questions demonstrate the potential for Roswell. Now only time can tell if they will be further explored, or just simply glossed over and be forgotten. Busted is a relatively decent episode, but definitely not one that would leave the fans breathless. My advice for newcomers is to give it a chance, you might just find something to like about the show.
Episode Rating: 6 out of 10
- Zalasta
