Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23204 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-04-26
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Number of discs: 6
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 6
• Running time: 990 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Opening with a Dido theme tune and featuring character-driven, sweet-natured melodrama, Roswell was a show with a surprisingly dedicated fan base, who twice won it reprieve from cancellation. One of its main strengths was, of course, the extent to which its premise--alien teenagers trying to sort out their identities while involved emotionally with their human contemporaries--was a free-floating metaphor for race and sexuality issues. Another was the strong ensemble that its cast developed; you believed in the strangeness of the alien trio and the well-intentioned normality of their three human friends. Jason Behr gave the alien Max a quiet authority and Majendra Delfino took the sidekick role of Maria and gave it both intensity and fine comic timing. It was also a show in which you were never sure what adults you could trust--William Sadleir trod a fine line of ambiguity as the local sheriff and Julie Benz was silkily sinister as an FBI agent. Anyone who ever loved this show will want these DVDs--and many others may want to find out what the fuss was about.

On the DVD: Roswell is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The special features include commentaries on six episodes by writer Jason Kanims, the directors and various of the cast as well as a featurette on the making of the show and another on its adaptation from the original Roswell High series of young adult novels. The commentaries are unusually insightful on the casting process and the discs also include the auditions for the part of Tess as well as a deleted scene and a music video. --Roz Kaveney

DVD Description
Episodes:

• Pilot
  
• The Morning After
  
• Monsters
  
• Leaving Normal
  
• Missing
  
• 285 South
  
• River Dog
  
• Blood Brother
  
• Heat Wave
  
• The Balance
  
• Toy House
  
• Into the Woods
  
• The Convention
  
• Blind Date
  
• Independence Day
  
• Sexual Healing
  
• Crazy
  
• Tess, Lies and Videotape
  
• Four Square
  
• Max to the Max
  
• The White Room
  
• Destiny

Special Features

• Audio commentary
  
• The Making Of Roswell featurette
  
• Area 51: Behind The Scenes featurette
  
• Actor auditions: Emilie De Raven
  
• Save Yourself music video
  
• Interactive menu
  
• Chapter selection

DVD Technical Information:

• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic
  
• Language: English
  
• Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, French
  
• Running Time: 14 hours and 50 minutes approx.
  
• Region Code: 2

Customer Reviews

The World of Roswell - Welcome
Roswell is a show that has inspired one of the most loyal fan bases in recent times and even now, some three years after it finished, there are still millions of fans around the world talking about it. The arrival of the DVD is the culmination of numerous campaigns by the fans to get it released and this encouraged the studio to resolve the legal/financial issues with the music that caused most of the delay.

"I'm Liz Parker and five days ago I died. After that, things got really weird". So begins a new life for Liz and her friend Maria after they discover that three of their classmates at Roswell High aren't exactly from "around here" (quote from back cover). Max jeopardizes exposing the alien's true identities after using his powers to save Liz's life. From then on the alien trio must learn to trust their human friends as they have to evade the special unit of the FBI that start to hunt them. Max and Liz are drawn together but can a relationship work when they are 'different'? Should it be allowed to? The discovery of a possible fourth alien also makes the trio want to discover their own true identities.

The DVD set is unusually packaged in that each of the six discs is self contained in a thin transparent case and these are all kept together by the outer cardboard box. The use of individual cases may have seemed like a good idea but pick the box up the wrong way and they end up on the floor at your feet. Each disc case has its own cover but the same background graphic is used throughout with an enlarged head shot of the main characters overlaid. The use of the graphics is uninspired in my opinion.

Picture quality is very good considering this was first recorded in 1999 with the images being sharp and colours vivid without being garish. Contrast is excellent with blacks coming over as solid and no bleeding along edges. The widescreen format (1.78:1) is great and the picture remains free of any artefacts unless you are looking very hard for them.

The Dolby Digital 5.1 will not stress your rear speakers but this is due there being little in the way of 'sound effects', as it is very dialogue heavy. In this respect the audio proved excellent with dialogue coming across as clear and precise even with loud background sounds.

Some of the soundtrack had to be changed to resolve the legal/financial issues and to quote Jason Katims "I am more exited to watch these versions of the episodes than the originals". In my own opinion some of the key scenes have been changed quite drastically and not for the better. If you are new to Roswell then this will have little impact on you but for any fan the difference is noticeable.

None of the above however can detract from the content, which is still without parallel when compared with other 'teen' programs (with the exception of Buffy). Its appeal has been widespread both, in terms of age and backgrounds, as I know of Doctors and Lawyers that are die hard fans and it's interesting to note that the average age of the Roswell viewer is well above that of the supposed teenage audience.

If you are new to Roswell I defy you not to be drawn in to the story as each episode unfolds. The more you watch the more you will want to watch. Welcome to the world of Roswell.

"Dawson's Creek" meets "The X-files" - and then some!
Take the self-aware teenage angst of "Dawson's Creek" and mix with the pseudo-science fiction and conspiracy theories of "The X-files", and the result is Roswell - the unlikely but compelling story of three teenage aliens growing up in a small town in the western USA, and of the human teenagers who become entangled in their lives. The "Roswell High" series of novels (as author Melinda Metz reveals in an interview on the DVD special features) were originally conceived for young teenage girls, and are heavy on romance and angst; but director Jason Katims has managed to infuse this basic premise with enough emotional depth to satisfy any fans of strong, character-led drama and enough excitement and mystery to appeal to those for whom action and sci-fi are more instinctive television. Fans of Buffy, the X-files and Alias, of whatever age and gender, are sure to be enthralled but the show is equally capable of reaching a far wider audience through the sheer strength of its lead characters and the compulsiveness of its storylines.

Okay, the plot. I have to admit that there are ups and downs in the storyline, which lurches somewhat from frenetic conspiracy thriller to teen romance from one episode to another. Those left breathless by the tension of "The Convention" and the high drama of "The White Room" may well cringe their way through the snog-fest of "Sexual Healing", and vice versa. There are some moments of unexpected depth; the exploration of ideas of free will and predestination in the closing episodes are certainly not what you'd expect from a teen show!

The casting is spot-on, with never a bad performance in sight. Shiri Appleby, as the show's narrator Liz Parker, manages to combine Dawson's Creek-style self-awareness with a mixture of steely determination and heart-melting vulnerability and is clearly destined to be a poster girl for a generation of socially self-conscious, intellectual young males. Majandra Delfino, as Maria, provides a combination of comic relief, quirky fashion sense and fierce independence that make her a far more accessible role model than the plastic women of the 90210 and Friends eras. The standout performances though come from Brendan Fehr (Michael) and Katherine Heigl (Isabel), whose respective efforts to deal with their "differentness" bring home the full power of the metaphor of "aliens among us".

In short, this is a piece of "cult" TV which is really far more deserving of mainstream attention. It's certainly up there with "Buffy" as one of the great TV achievements of the late 20th century. Watch it!

Best season
In my opinion the first season was truly the "golden age" for the series [Before W.B and U.P.N interferred with Katims vision], The show essentially revolved around 6 main characters (Liz (Human) [Shiri Appleby], Max (Hybrid) [Jason Behr], Michael (Hybrid) [Brendan Fehr], Isabel (Hybrid) [Katherine heigl], Maria (Human) [Majandra Delfino], and the intermixed relationships between the teenagers. Roswell never attaind the recognition it should have, and was cancelled in its third season. There are plenty of excellent episodes in season two and Three, but the atmosphere changed to drastically, for the die-hard fans, who did not adapt [nor particularly like] the change Roswell was being manipulated into [increased sci-fi]. However if you'd like to see something unique,emotionally moving and briming with mystery and sometimes tension, Roswell Deserves a place in your DVD collection