I'm hopeless. With Shiri Appleby in Life Unexpected and Colin Hanks in The Good Guys I couldn't resist watching Roswell's pilot again. The last time was probably in 2003 ! I thought the tides of time would have blurred my memories but Liz Parker and her friends never left my side. Indeed now that I'm a bit more experienced the connection she has with Max Evans took an other dimension. There's still something cheesy about it but I think exchanging souvenirs just by touching someone is a beautiful ability. Of course in real life it would be a lazy way to know someone but on screen it allowed their relationship to instantly blossom and touch our heart at its core. The way he saw her in his eyes, his first look at her when they were children
All these moments remain some of the best I've ever seen on TV. Time can't make them obsolete or less memorable because Liz & Max love story is timeless. There's also something quite romantic about it as they didn't even kiss. These days it's sex at first sight but I prefer when the characters take it slow, like in Smallville with Lois & Clark for example.
As for the rest Roswell is full of good surprises. First it's funny to see Katherine Heigl as Isabel Evans because nowadays she's one of the most glamour woman on Earth. There's something almost pagan about her poetic beauty. Her maturity also contrasted with the cast, specially the fragile and pretty Appleby. Second William Sadler is quite convincing as Sheriff Jim Valenti. In fact now I realize that William Fichtner reminded me of him as Tom Underlay in Invasion. I let you pair the other performers and characters even if such a game is a bit disrespectful
Third Jason Behr is both irresistible and weird. I mean there's something strange about his facial attributes, specially his ears, and he definitely plays in the same league as Donnie Darko's protagonist. Fourth Hanks character, Alex, is interesting because his awkwardness should help most teenagers to relate to him, like for Xander in Buffy the Vampire Slayer even if Nicholas Brendon looked less geeky than Hanks. But of course a few issues tainted such an ideal portrait. For example the story itself is not really original and some sci-fi elements like their special abilities are a bit cheap. However I think the writers found the right balance between fantastic romance and inside conspiracy. Indeed for once it's the aliens adventure we follow and not the good guys who try to catch them.