Get Up to Speed Via Reruns

Thanks to Janet for submitting this:

I thought this one was neat so I’m sending the relevant parts – also profiled: The West Wing, Once and Again, and Judging Amy

EVERYDAY MAGAZINE
GET UP TO SPEED ON TV FAVORITES VIA RERUNS OF THESE FOUR SHOWS

Gail Pennington Post-Dispatch Television Critic

06/21/2000

St. Louis Post-Dispatch
FIVE STAR LIFT
Page E1
(Copyright 2000)

We’ve all done it — meant to catch a TV series that everybody’s talking about, but for one reason or another never managed to tune in. Before long, we may well decide we’re too far behind to figure out what’s what and who’s who.

Never mind. That’s what rerun season is for. Here, to get you started – just as the summer is starting — are vital statistics on four series worth watching this summer. All will return in the fall, so now’s the time to get on board.

” Roswell “

When: 8 p.m. Mondays on Channel 11

The attraction: The show is based in Roswell , N.M. So what do you suppose the secret is?

Fun facts: The aliens (code name: Czechoslovakians) can manipulate molecular structure to change an item’s shape or color; that power also allows them to heal, although they leave a silver handprint on the body. Their other powers include “dreamwalking,” sending telepathic messages and moving objects by telekinesis. Otherwise, they’re just ordinary teens with an extraordinary fondness for Tabasco sauce. Campaigning successfully to get ” Roswell ” renewed, fans sent
bottles of Tabasco to WB executives.

Who’s who:

* Shiri Appleby is Liz Parker, a high school sophomore. Liz works at the Crashdown Cafe, owned by her parents, where the series opener found her fatally shot in a fracas.

* Jason Behr is Max Evans, Liz’s classmate, who mysteriously saved her life by laying his hands on the wound. Doing so gave away an important secret — he’s a space alien — and endangered his life, but Max couldn’t let Liz die; he’s loved her since the first time he saw her.

* Katherine Heigl is Isabel Evans, Max’s “sister.” Ten years earlier, they woke up in incubator-like pods in the desert, looking like human 6-year-olds. Wandering naked, they were found and adopted by the Evanses, Diane and Phillip.

* Brendan Fehr is Michael Guerin, a pod-child like Max and Isabel, who hid when the Evanses found them. Michael, brilliant but rebellious, wound up in foster care, and who lived with Hank, a cruel alcoholic. More recently, he got his own place.

* Majandra Delfino is Maria DeLuca, Liz’s best friend, who also knows the aliens’ secret. Maria and Michael are a couple.

* Colin Hanks (son of Tom) is Alex Whitman, Liz and Maria’s sweet pal,
who eventually learned what’s up with his odd classmates. Alex has a
crush on Isabel and she recently reciprocated his affections.

* Emilie DeRavin is Tess, the new girl in town who Max seemed obsessed with and even kissed. Near the end of the season we learned that she also is an alien.

* William Sadler is Sheriff Jim Valenti, who’s desperate to expose the truth. Jim likes Maria’s mom, Amy (Diane Farr).

* Nick Weschler is Kyle Valenti, Jim’s son and Liz’s ex- boyfriend. Kyle is clueless.

Sound bite: “Five days ago I died, but then an amazing thing happened. I came to life.” – Liz, in her journal.

Loose ends: Oh, so many. Throughout the season, the aliens struggled to stay out of the government’s clutches while also learning the truth about their past. In the last few episodes, Max was captured and subjected to medical experiments, then learned he was the chosen
leader of his people. The season finale ended with a cryptic message: “It has begun.”

Recommended Web site: crashdown.com, with voluminous episode summaries and character profiles.