Devon Gummersall on Roswell (Jason Katims' new show)

[M&M]

Hey everyone!



It's so nice to see that MSCL will never be forgotten. It will always be my favorite coming of age teen drama... but I want to talk about another show right now.



As you all probably know, former MSCL writer, (the brilliant) Jason Katims, now works on the new WB drama Roswell. I'm a WB viewer and when I saw Jason's name attached to credits for the show I knew it would be good. And it IS. Roswell is arguably one of the best dramas out there right now. It's not silly as the premise may make it look. It uses aliens as a metaphor for teen life and (pardon the pun), teen alienation. It's more Buffy than it is silly Dawson's Creek. The storylines are rich, and the acting is really good too.



Those who have watched Dawson's Creek know that the kids act smarter than the parents do, but not on Roswell. True to MSCL... Jason has created smart adult characters too, played by veteran actor William Sadler, Jo Anderson, and Diane Farr among others. The young actors who portray the aliens, Jason Behr (Max), Katherine Heigl (Isabel), and Brendan Fehr (Michael), don't do it with such an "in your face" manner that other young actors do, instead they show the vulnerability, and rich layers of the characters. Growing up is tough, but it's even tougher when you're different and have to hide everything from everyone. The other actors (humans), Shiri Appleby (Liz), Majandra Delfino (Maria), Colin Hanks (Alex), and Nick Wechsler (Kyle) are terrific as well. Max and Liz are one of the sweetest couples on TV, and Michael and Maria are totally spunky and sexy together. The romance is alive as ever under Jason's skillful pen.



Written by anyone else Roswell could be a freak show rampant with silly and lame storylines, but Jason is a master of teen angst, drama, romance, and sensitivity. I urge you MSCL fans to give it a try. One of the best episodes of the season airs in repeat tonight. It's called 285 South, it's on The WB at 9, right after Dawson's Creek.



The main reason for my post is that although liked by critics, Roswell just doesn't have enough viewers. Maybe people are freaked out by the sci-fi edge to the show, but it only adds another rich layer of storylines and is never campy. Jason wouldn't let it be. Instead it's really compelling tv, always exciting and suspenseful like The X-Files.



I'm part of a campaign to promote viewer awareness of this awesome show. The WB is hoping to get more viewers by moving it from it's tough timeslot to MONDAYS @ 9 starting April 10th. But until then it'll be on Wednesdays at 9 after DC. Please give it a try. I was hooked after one ep, I'm hoping you will be too!



And if you're already a viewer, I'd love to hear what you think of the show.



Thanks,

) Court

[oldguy]

Hi --- Loved your message. I too am a big Roswell fan, although
I'm not sure if that many of the regulars here at this site really like
it. I have posted here several times before on "Roswell" (See
earlier posts of mine since October.).

I think Jason Katims has incorporated many of the fine elements
of MSCL into "Roswell" --- quality acting, good scripts with detailed
continuity from episode to episode, and one of my favorite features:
a lot of great use of music & sound effects. I also like the fact
that "Roswell" often deliberately makes allusions to MSCL ---- One
good example is the end of the beginning montage that features the
main character Liz before a stretch of dimly lit school hallway, just
like the familiar scene of Angela running down a similar hallway in
the intro to MSCL.

Having said all of that, though, I think one can over-do it a bit on
the comparisons. MSCL was very much a reality-based show,
and the stories centered around typical, realistic teen experiences.
"Roswell" is much more allegorical, with the basic premise of the
show being much more fantastic.

Personally, I love the premise of "Roswell" ---- I think the "other-
worldly" plot element allows for a tremendous variety of possible
directions the show could take ---- It is far less likely to become
boring. Although I loved MSCL, I have often told people that if
the show stayed on for three or four seasons, I bet it would have
gone down hill (There's only so many interesting topics or story
lines.).

Anyway, that's my opinion. But I'll be honest, I kind of expected
from the time I watched my first episode of "Roswell" that it was the
sort of show that would probably be cancelled quickly. It's such a
daring premise for a show --- and most people (especially teens) are
just not that into anything too weird or far-out. I hope it stays on for
another season, but I'm not holding my breath.

Old-Guy

[ataris]

I've only see 1 episode of Roswell and parts of other episodes. I saw an episode from the middle of the season and was very confused. But I will check it out again because you guys give it such praise, and if it really turns out to be a good show I don't want to lose it like MSCL.

[M&M]

Great! Thanks for your support guys ) It really is worth watching!!

[emmie]

I also love Roswell. the characters have real passion between them. they have depth and faults. I think it would be a great idea for MSCL fans to help the Roswell cause, we've been there before. I would hate to lose another of my favorite shows just because ratings are bad and it's not making enough money. anyway, I found a website that is committed to keeping it on the air. it's http://www.crashdown.com and it has an address that fans can write to to try and keep the show. I hope people will help out!!

emmie

[ataris]

This is I'm sure a stupid question but I will ask it anyways. I wasn't here while you were trying to save MSCL, wish I would have been that's why I probably don't know the answer to this. But anyway I was wondering how do they know what the ratings are? How do they know how many people are watching the show? I was just curious.

[M&M]

Thanks for posting that link. It's a great site, I visit it everyday. The real info on how to save Roswell is at http://how.to/save_roswell. Please go and help. The tabasco idea is genious and really getting The WB exec's attention so I hear. )



As for ratings, the WB's ratings are down in general.. DC for example used to get ratings in the 9 point range... now they get 4.2's and stuff like that. Roswell gets 3.9's most of the time... The reason for the drastic drop is mainly due to the loss of WGN. It used to carry the WB, but the affiliate dropped out last year sometime. It was a big affiliate too...



Also... the ratings are decent but not ground breaking... I think the fan dedication will be what saves the show. It's got more potential then Popular (it's main competion. The WB is renewing Angel and either Popular or Roswell. Jack and Jill is pretty much on hold.), and more viewers... but as old guy said it's the sci-fi edge that isn't jamming with the teen viewers. I'm 19 and I love it... but the WB gets many younger viewers (such as those of Popular and DC, mindless teen shows at times), and targeted the 14-19 ages as their demographic... which was a HUGE mistake. Cause mostly older more mature teens and adults watch. Funny thing about Angel's success is that it's big with 40 year old guys! Who knew?



The point is please continue to watch the show and do all you can to promote viewer awareness. Thanks so much for the support!!



) Court

[oldguy]

Ataris:

Ratings are based on a mixture of statistical science and marketing research.
Basically it goes like this: Select a representative sample of households that will
have special gear strapped to their tvs to monitor everything they watch. I don't
know the exact numbers of such households, but basically what they watch com-
pletely determines the ratings. The scientific principle is that if the sample
of homes is representative, then the proportion of those folks watching Roswell
matches pretty well the proportion of all households watching Roswell.

Patrick (Old Guy)
This is a little over-simplified, but it gives the basic idea.

[oldguy]

Question for you: What's "OT kinda" mean?

[Odessam]

Well i think it means On Topic (could be pretty obvious what that means ) )
Well anyway first post here in ages but yeah

Sam

[oldguy]

I noticed today's USA Today had an article about the WB Channel's dilemmas.
Roswell was referred to as a "big disappointment". That doesn't bode well.
I'm expecting the MSCL scenario repeated --- meaning cancellation.

[Guest]

Winnie Holzman played a psychic on the Roswell episode "End of the World" and Devon Gummersall is rumored to play a ghost on "A Roswell Christmas Carol" which will be on 12/18/00. Majandra Delfino (who plays Maria on the show) mentioned in an article that "Gavin Gummersall" would be on the Christmas show, but most of the Roswell fans believe she meant Devon.

[Guest]

From Jason Katims chat on the WB:

thewbandrew: caro1275@aol.com asks: "Will we ever see any "My So Called Life" characters/actors appear on Roswell?"

jasonkatims: "Actually, there's already been one. Winnie Holzman played the fortune teller in "End of the World." Winnie is the creator of "My So-Called Life" and made several appearances on that show as the guidance counselor. Also, Devon Gummersall (Brian Krakow) will be playing a recurring character on Roswell (as Sean). His first episode will be "To Serve and Protect" and that airs on 1/22."

[blueone]

Well I just watched the Roswell Christmas episode and as you know Roswell is another show Jason Katims has developed. He's written a number of episodes and the christmas episode being one of them.

It has some striking similarities with the christmas episode of My So-Called Life It was really great to watch it and especially since the christmas episode of MSCL was my favorite episode. Some of the same songs are used in this christmas episode of Roswell and they all gather at church/mess as well as a few miracles taking place.

Even though I think Roswell sort of went downhill a bit in season 2 this christmas episode really made me fall in love with the show again.

[tennisgirl55]

Did anyone see those episodes, I think he did a great job.....