by DarkLady

"You got your 'Dawson's Creek' in my 'The X Files'!"
"You got your 'The X Files' in my 'Dawson's Creek'!"

This is what a lot of early reviews sounded like. Which would have been fine, except for the last six episodes of the first season. But did the fundemental shift from romance to scifi change the show or make it more of what it already was?

From the start "Roswell" was touted as a science fiction program. Thus myself and other genre fans tuned in. The Pilot offered just enough to either get us hooked or interested. I was personally sold when Max attended the Crash Festival dressed as a Man In Black. I laughed out loud at that for a good five minutes. I knew "Roswell" would have the intelligence level I demand from a show As you can imagine, I don't watch a lot of television.

As the season progressed, the show took what I felt was a logical, if sometimes mushy, progression: we got to know and care about the characters. We were happy when Isabel threw Alex a bone of attention, when Michael bought Maria junk food and gave her the bed in that skanky motel, and when that silver hand print faded from Liz's tummy *just in time*. The science fiction aspect was barely there, except for Michael's endless pursuit of his origins. I'm afraid many viewers were lulled into a false sense of "Dawson's Creek". This is the only explanation I can think of to explain why some viewers started complaining when "Roswell" took a heavier sci-fi turn in the last six episodes of the first season. "Roswell" was merely becoming what it had been promoted as all along: a science fiction program.

The stage has been set for an intergalactic shoot-em-up. It's hard to have two main plotlines carried out for the whole season. What we may see is a reversal of the first year trend: the first part of season two may be all sci-fi, with the second half refocusing on the relationship aspects, just in time for the prom is my guess. Another possiblity is a continued focus on group dynamic rather than a specific couple. How many times did we hear "It's the (fill in number) of us now"?

It's not that I mind the relationship aspect of the show, I just don't a soap opera where a genre program is supposed to be.