PILOT REVIEW: Roswell, New Mexico

ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO

Starring: Jeanine Mason, Nathan Dean Parsons, Michael Vlamis, Lily Cowles, Tyler Blackburn, Heather Hemmens, Michael Trevino, Trevor St. John, Karan Oberoi

Based on the Book series "Roswell High"
Developed by Carina Adly MacKenzie
Written by Carina Adly MacKenzie, Directed by Julie Plec

IN SHORT: Aliens get CW-ified

THE PREMISE:
A reboot of sorts of the cult hit from the WB, Roswell, New Mexico is centered in the town made famous for the famous 1947 crash that launched a million conspiracy theories that resonate to this day. Jumping in fully with the premise that there was something to that crash, this series is set in the present day and the return of Liz Ortecho (Jeanine Mason) to Roswell. She instantly reconnects with a friend from high school, Max (Nathan Dean Parsons). But what Max isn't sharing is that he is an alien alongside sister Isobel (Lily Cowles) and troubled Michael (Michael Vlamis). Several other members of the community round out the main cast.

THE REVIEW:
I never watched the original Roswell series, though I was surprised in reading about this show to discover that the original was created by one of my favorites - Jason Katims. I don't know how I didn't know that fact! Anyway, this new series does some things quite well and I walked away from it being pleasantly surprised by it, which is always a good thing. That's not to say it's going to become part of my regular viewing schedule, but I didn't really expect much and I would say it exceeded that. Even as someone who is not into sci-fi stuff, I think there is inherently an interesting story to be centered around the Roswell mystery. Like the Kennedy assassination, it's just one of those things that has enough questions surrounding it to continue to be compelling.

The cast was solid here and there is some decent chemistry between Jeanine Mason and Nathan Dean Parsons. I also liked the dynamics between Parsons and his fellow aliens. The pilot just barely touched on the personal lives of the other two aliens but I think that was actually smart. This wasn't a pilot that tried to do too much. I thought they smartly mixed the "CW romance" of the two lead characters along with the sci-fi Roswell stuff. They didn't feel a need to delve too much into Isobel's life and husband, for example and that helped make the pilot not feel overwhelming.

Unlike some CW shows, this one didn't really look or feel all that cheap. I know that can be true of pilots but I think the fact that it films in New Mexico doesn't hurt matters either. There was a certain level of authenticity that this show seemed to have and even though it still had some hopeless romantic elements so common in non-DC CW shows, it also felt like a show that was heading somewhere. I appreciated all that, but it wasn't so over the top good that it made me want to actually stick with the show as someone who doesn't really like this genre. So it's not game changing, it's just pretty decent.

BOTTOM LINE:
This show doesn't seem to have a lot of buzz even on its premiere night so I'm not expecting too much but the bar is also pretty low for the CW. So, I think it has as good a chance as any.