Roswell

Inspiration Thursday

Today I want to talk to you about a story that not made me fall in love with it from the pilot episode, but also inspired multiple fan fiction stories. One of those stories is Just One, which has grown from a small cringle-worthy (full of grammar errors) story with a short sequel into a planned seven to eight book series of which three books have already been written (two are early drafts now).

About Roswell

Roswell (1999-2002) was a television show, a story related to the famous 1947 weather balloon or alien crash in Roswell, New Mexico (USA). From this monumental event in history, a story by Melinda Metz came to life (as a book series). Jason Katims put it on the small screen, bringing forth young actors you may recognize, such as Shiri Appleby, Jason Behr, Brendon Fehr, Katrine Heigl, Colin Hanks, Emilie de Ravin, Majandra Delfino, Nick Wechsler, William Sandler etc.

I fell in love with Roswell from the pilot episode. The dynamic, the storyline and the mystery of what this means, what will happen now, etc. It made me question the plot more than most shows. There has never been a television show like it where my imagination went wild with questions…. And it was questions I didn’t always get answers to. Obviously, I couldn’t influence the story’s progression, but because of this, my questions grew to the point where I started a fan fiction – Just One.

First Draft of Just One

My original fan fiction focused heavily on the alien aspects of the story – the background (past lives), their connections and powers. In my original fan fiction, my main characters had to remain true to the original (because that’s what that type of text is), but the past lives that it allowed me to explore was a whole other ball game.

From writing that one, a sequel called Just One: Weight of the World was born, which is now planned as the third book in the series. This one went far beyond Roswell, with characters re-invited entirely. I’ll share more about this original fan fiction, its sequel, and some similarities and differences in next week’s blog.

A lot has changed, but what has remained many years later was my love for a story and the original universe it was born in. I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving Roswell and what it has given me in inspiration and creativity.

About Roswell, New Mexico (1999-2022)

Ever since the new show landed, I have seen some comments about how this is not “their” Roswell or to the extent, but frankly, this new version of the show was enjoyable as it opened doors to other aspects of the story that weren’t originally explored and for that, especially the more SciFi aspect which I craved for in the first reincarnation. For this reason, I very much enjoyed getting immersed in the new adventures.

While I can completely understand the resistance some fans may have about a reboot, as it took me a hot minute to figure out how I felt about this development when I first heard about it. The thing is, I decided early on not to compare the two versions. My Max and Liz will always be Shiri Appleby and Jason Behr, there is no doubt about this. At the same time, taking it as this new story allowed me to really get into it. Ultimately, this was the right decision because the early storylines stayed true to the original, but as the new seasons landed, different aspects were explored which gave the show its own direction. So yes, I would encourage any die hard fan to consider it like that.

After doing a quick google search to make sure I have my years correct, I’ve learned that the show was cancelled and would not be returning for season 5. Which was rather disappointing because (big spoiler alert), when the last season ended, Max had gone to his homeworld to help save it. I would have adored learning more about Antar, which as what was missing from the original TV show, I thought. This was part of the reason for my own fan fiction. But one should never say never, because the original show was ended somewhat abruptly (tied into an open ending, but could have a lot more storylines if possible). Maybe someday, it will be concluded.

Bonus to my love for Roswell is this – a mutual love for this short live TV show was the beginning of the best friendship in my life, one I still have, with my best friend.

Hey, that was a bit of inspiration Thursday. Diving into yet another aspect of my writing history was super fun. Next week, I’ll be going more in-depth into my time writing fan fiction, where I will be going a bit more in-depth about the original Just One fan fiction and several others that have stayed with me through the years.

Thanks for reading; make sure to like this post.

Your Thoughts and Comments

When I have you here, though, comment as well. I would love to hear from you about this subject. Did you watch the original TV show? Who was your favorite character and couple? Was there any aspect of Roswell that made you hungry for a different story direction or made you wonder “what if?”.

I’ll give you an example. Obviously, for anyone who hasn’t seen the show, this is a spoiler alert moment. At the end of season 1, in the episode “Destiny”, you have the four aliens and Liz in the cave, listening to a message from Isabel’s and Max’s mother. She gives them this whole speech about why they came down, and how she sent down “your young bride” (to Max). Some fans have shared their theories about how the reason the message activated was because Liz was in their presence, and she was the intended “young bride”.

Another wonderful example is a fan fiction I read on the same forum where I wrote. This was a story about two sets of our beloved aliens, but not the New York City Ones. Two sets of four are made, and one set has brown eyes and other other blue. In the story it’s discovered that Liz is one of the four in Roswell, and Tess is one of the other four (all four have blue eyes). But the story leads into learning that it was Liz who was the scientists in the past life and made a clone of herself because Khivar (the show’s villain) was either betrothed to her or wanted to be, while she loved Max’s original self. The alien conflict in the end is Khivar having fallen in love with Tess’s predecessor, but learning he was betrayed and his clone wanting Liz, which Khivar stood at the side-lines wanting to make sure everyone is paired as they’re supposed to (hence the eye colours). I absolutely loved this fan fiction.

I’d love to know if you’ve seen Roswell, New Mexico as well, and hear your thoughts on that. I was personally thrilled to hear bout Shiri Appleby and Jason Behr had guest roles in the tv show (Shiri directed as well). Leave that comment, share your thoughts about the new storylines, new characters, the direction these characters went etc.

~ Love, L.V.