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Roswell
It's about time that Roswell finally moves forward with the spaceship arc introduced during the premiere, and even better, fans are treated to a short but nevertheless fun crossover with another science fiction show, namely Enterprise. There's quite a bit of ground to cover, so let's get started.
"Secrets & Lies"
Season 3, Episode 4
Written by Russel Friend and Garrett Lerner
Directed by Jonathan Frakes
Tonight's episode opens in Los Angeles with Joey and Bunny. You may remember Joey from 3 weeks ago -- he's the one that told Michael to give a message to Max in Utah at gunpoint. While Bunny steps outside for a smoke, a flash of light startles her. When she turns around, she catches a glimpse of a man surrounded by an eerie light walking into the darkness, and to her horror, discovers the burnt corpse of Joey in the driver's seat. The next day Max gets a visit from the deputy sheriff. Apparently the police found a piece of paper with his license plate number in Joey's car. Michael recognizes the picture of Joey shown to them and later told Max of his earlier encounter with the man.
Liz and Max later meet up to discuss what had transpired, and conclude that Joey's death was probably caused by a shapeshifting alien, and also agree that Max will travel to Los Angeles to find him. It's curious that Max has so much free time on his hands -- the guy moved out of his parents' house, doesn't hold a job but never runs into money trouble, and skips classes but no one is really concerned about it. I don't mean to be picky, but I believe a good show should pay attention to little details like these, rather than doing what's the most convenient.
Following Liz's theory that shapeshifters can only change appearance temporarily and always have to return to their base form, Max shows up at Joey's funeral and meets a talent agent named Julius. Back at Roswell, Liz and Kyle hook up as partners for a journalism project, and at Jim's request they pay a visit to grandpa Valenti at the nursing home. While trying to clean up the mess Kyle's grandfather made, he snaps out of his catatonic state and yells, "they are among us!" Reluctant to discuss anything about his father, Jim reveals that "They Are Among Us" was actually the title of a B movie shot in Roswell in the fifties. During the production the leading lady was killed by a freak lightning strike (very much the same way as Joey) and Jim's father was the sheriff at the time and has always believed that it was the work of an alien.
In Los Angeles Max finds a note which disintegrates telling him to go back home. When he breaks into Joey's apartment looking for clues, he discovers an email warning him to stay away -- it seems that someone is following his every step. Meanwhile Liz and Kyle continue their investigation by finding the hair and makeup person that worked on the film. According to Ms. Covendall the only suspect in the actress' death was the clapper loader. Liz then contacts Max and relays the information to him, assuming that the clapper loader is the body the shapeshifter always return to, so he should look the same as he did about 40 years ago. They agree that Max will need to get his hands on the dailies in order to find out what he looks like, and Liz reveals that it can be located in the Paramount film vault.
Max decides to contact Julius to try out for an alien role on Enterprise. Lucky for him the agent was quite resourceful and was able to get him in to see the director, who turned out to be none other than Jonathan Frakes. Max reads some lines with John Billingsley (who plays Dr. Phlox) and ironically was told that he didn't sound too convincing as an alien. I suppose he didn't get the part. Now free to roam around the lot Max finally finds what he came for, and to his surprise the clapper loader is the famous movie producer Kal Langley (played by Joe Pantoliano.) Kal then shows up and renders Max unconscious by throwing him against the wall, setting the film reel on fire as he mouths, "I warned you to stop looking for me."
How exciting to have another shapeshifter in our midst, considering the power Nasedo wielded. I'm sure Kal's got a few tricks up his sleeve, but is he friend or foe? And just what is he doing in Los Angeles? Things are definitely heating up in Roswell as secrets are coming out into the open. I'm glad to see that the relationship aspect of the show doesn't get sacrificed when the episode becomes more focused on the science fiction elements. This was evident in Liz and Kyle's attempt to reconcile Jim and his father, as well as Isabel finally revealing her engagement with Jesse to her parents, even though every time she tries to talk about it, they are always asking about Max. A well-paced episode promising greater things to come, Roswell is looking better and better.
Episode Rating: 7 out of 10
- Zalasta
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