Jason Behr WPIX interview

Thanks to Michelle and MyrnaLynne who both transcribed this interview!

Interviewer: First of all, tell me about your character, what we’re going to be
seeing on Roswell, give me a little bit of a ? – -?. I know you guys are
wrapping up.

Jason: The first season, we really wanted to get to know the characters, so we
had this slow, drawn-out arc where Max and Liz were trying to figure out their
relationship, whether they’re going to be together, or just going to friends:
the regular, standard, complicated relationship.

And then we got to know their friends, that close circle of friends and how they
interact. Now that we know the characters, how they deal with each other, we’re
going to put them in situations and see how they react.

So if the first season was getting to know the characters and how they relate to
each other, the second season is going to be more about the situations and the
circumstances they’re in. We’re going to delve into, explore more about the
mythology of the aliens . . . : not just where they’re from, but why are they
here? Is it random, or is there a reason?

Interviewer: Is it tough to make the paranormal, the supernatural, aliens – –
believable?

Jason: Well, there are two ways you can do it: you can play it tongue-in-cheek
at some times, there’s nothing wrong with laughing at yourself or poking fun at
yourself, or even at that genre – – you can pay homage to it and poke fun at it
at the same time. . . . You can’t lose your sense of humor.

But I think the popularity and the success of shows like X-files is directly
attributable to their playing it for real: it’s not science fiction to them,
it’s science fact, and they play it as “that *is* their environment.” I think
that’s (more? really?) important.

Interviewer: Do you have anything else coming up over the summer?

Jason: Well, I’ve been sleeping a lot! Trying to catch up on a lot of sleep! I’m
not sure exactly what I’m going to do; I’ve been reading a couple of things here
and there, but . . . nothing’s set in stone yet.

Interviewer: Anything else you want to tell me, to wrap it up?

Jason: Wow! What else do I want to say? Thank the fans for everything they did
for the show, all the hot sauce that they sent! All the support they gave us
was tremendous, and very much appreciated – – and one of the reasons why we’re
back!