Monday, May 15th marked the end of Roswell's first season on the WB with a spellbinding cliffhanger about destiny and the power to change fate. Ironically, the same issues were facing fans of the show, who were facing a cliffhanger of their own in real life -- was Roswell "destined" to air a second season, or had its fate already been sealed by the WB executive team of Jamie Kellner, Susanne Daniels and Jordan Levin?

The rumours of Roswell's potential demise began swirling around February, when it was suggested that the critical acclaim and rabid fan base of the show weren't translating into the strong ratings the WB had hoped for. Less than a year before, the network had shown Roswell an unprecedented show of solidarity by ordering an entire 22-episode run for its debut season. Though ratings were steady, they weren't high -- and they weren't reflecting the coveted "teen" demographic (13-to-17-year-olds) the WB had established a reputation for advertising to; in fact, the median age of Roswell viewers was 27 -- 10 years older than anticipated! High production costs for all the sci/fi special effects for each episode didn't help matters, either.

Word began to leak out that the WB were debating whether or not to keep the same show they had so heartily endorsed previously. The idea that Roswell could very likely not live to see its sophomore season was inconceivable to fans. What wasn't to like? A talented cast, intelligent writing, suspenseful plot, brilliant directing and a unique combination of science fiction, romance, adventure, comedy and mystery were seamlessly woven together to create a show that was as original as it was mesmerizing.

Fans did not take the threat of cancellation lying down. Legions of Roswellians the world over rallied together to organize one of the most creative, diverse and successful "Save Our Show" campaigns in the history of television. The first order of business was to create a web site, http://how.to/save_roswell, where all the campaign news, stragegy, brainstorming and resources could be stored. In just three months, the site garnered over 90,000 hits and hundreds of e-mails from viewers in almost 30 countries.

An aggressive letter-writing blitz to the three WB executives came next -- with a twist. Writers were encouraged to mail in bottles of Tabasco with their letters, underscoring the belief that "Roswell is HOT," both figuratively and literally (the condiment is regularly used by the alien trio on the show). Over 6,000 bottles of the spicy sauce poured in, prompting the WB to recycle them by re-mailing them to various media outlets across America along with a press release detailing Roswell's move to Monday nights.

Support for the show was also shown through an ad in the Hollywood trade publication the Daily Variety on April 10th, to coincide with Roswell's Monday night relaunch. Fans from North America, Europe and Australia paid for the full-page, black-and-white ad, which proudly proclaimed their belief in and continued support of the show, and encouraged the WB to do the same.

Thousands of fans, largely mobilized through the Roswell 1 and 2 message boards on Fanforum.com and the immensely popular fan site Crashdown.com, bombarded prominent television programs, newspapers, radio stations, magazines and Web sites with messages of support for Roswell (and on occasion, a bottle or two of Tabasco), pushing for media coverage of the show and the subsequent renewal efforts with tremendous success. Newspapers like The New York Daily News, The Toronto Star and The New York Post, magazines including TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly and Time, and Web sites such as Scifi.com, Eonline.com and Thefutoncritic.com all pledged their support. In fact, TeenPeople.com -- one of the most popular teen destinations on the Internet and a junior version of People magazine -- went so far as to create a Web page on their site entirely dedicated to http://how.to/save_roswell and the campaign. Over 22,000 e-mails were sent to the WB executives through this site.

While fans would have to wait many long, hot months to find out the fates of Roswell's characters, they would only have to wait until May 16th to find out Roswell's destiny. Less than 24 hours after Roswell's dramatic cliffhanger, the WB announced their fall 2000 line up at a press conference in New York City. It was a bittersweet victory. All those e-mails, letters, petitions, advertisements, Web sites, press, publicity and bottles of Tabasco had finally paid off ... sort-of. The good news was that Roswell has not been cancelled. The bad news was that it had not been fully renewed, either. The WB committed to a 13 episode pick-up, with the remaining nine episodes to be optioned pending ratings.

Obviously, the fans' efforts alone didn't get Roswell renewed -- significantly improved ratings in the new Monday night timeslot had a lot to do with it. But there can be no underestimating the power of the viewers' support and their tireless campaigning to bring back their much-loved show. Here's hoping that same unbeatable spirit and unwavering dedication can continue in the coming months to ensure the rest of the season is locked in, too.