TV Magic Monday: Roswell

First, I’d like to start by congratulating our winner of the New Moon Tattoos from Friday’s Mini Giveaway! I inserted the entries into random.org and the winner is:

Jaclyn Reynolds!!!!

Please contact us at hollowtreetales AT gmail DOT com with your address so I can ship those out! 🙂

Now, I know this this is a bit of a diversion from our usual movie Mondays but after talking about the striking similarities between Roswell and Twilight last week, Roswell has been on my mind.

The premise was simple. A small town girl is saved from death by a quiet, not so human hottie. But he’s not a vampire. He’s an alien. And he has the power to see into someone’s soul. *dreamy sigh* This may all sound kind of corny in theory, but the acting and the writing were so moving that they not only sold it, they made me believe it was real. Its one of those things you have to see for yourself because describing it doesn’t do it justice.

There were so many things that worked about that first episode. For starters the hook is phenomenal. When Max ran into the corner and told Liz to look at him I was breathless with anticipation. Their chemistry is effortless. It sizzles. And it only gets better throughout the season. The storyline perfectly blended scifi intrigue with high school drama constantly incorporating the themes of loneliness and alienation. And although by its 3rd season the show suffered miserably because of the corporate tools meddling in the writing, most fans watched loyally, too emotionally invested with the characters to leave them.

Even the side characters grew into their own. Everyone was multi-layered and well rounded. They all had their obvious flaws but we loved them even more for it. By the end of the first season, there were 3 couples, involving 6 of the characters, each unique and interesting in their own ways, each drawing a seperate fanbase. And who could blame them. Have you seen the pretties on this show?

If you’ve never seen it, I would highly recommend renting it. It has the allure of Twilight, but is… well, can I say this?… infinitely better. Roswell is everything Twilight failed to be. And it is still, in my heart, one of the best teen dramas ever to air. I miss it.

Fun Friday: The Vampire Diaries

So.  Are you watching?

I have to admit, I didn’t think I’d like this show.  Despite being the type of girl who’s read through the Twilight Saga twice (well, except for Breaking Dawn) I’m really not a vampire kinda gal.  I’m just not.  But I am, and always have been an Ian Somerhalder kinda gal, and so I decided that despite my currently-limited internet access and the complete and utter lack of The CW in my new area, I’d take a chance on this show.  I still haven’t seen last night’s ep (so don’t spoil me! :-P) but I’ve got to admit, what I’ve seen, I’ve liked.

The basic set-up is this:  Two vampire brothers, one good, one not so good (okay, he’s flat-out bad!) have returned to their hometown after a long time, and wind up in a battle of wills, of sorts, over the soul of a recently-orphaned high school girl named Elena, who happens to look remarkably like a long-lost love of Stefan’s—the good brother.  There’s a lot of mystery being trudged up over how Stefan’s relationship with Katherine, Elena’s look-alike ended, but however it did, we know that Stefan and Elena certainly have a connection in the here and now.  The problem is that Stefan’s brother Damon is basically set out to make Stefan’s life a living hell—that or get him to feed on humans again, and “remember who he is.”

So, I admit I haven’t read the book series this is based off of, but I’m really enjoying the show so far.  The characters have a lot more depth to them than I expect from your average CW show, and while my dear Ian looks a bit old to be in a high school show—I’m old enough to remember him in Young Americans, dears—he still looks pretty smokin’ hot, if I do say so myself.  Stefan’s not half-bad himself, of course, and I’ve kinda got a crush on Elena’s little brother, too… minus his “extra-curricular activities,” I suppose.  Elena’s ex Matt is pretty cute, too.  Basically the town is rolling in the hotties.  Elena strikes me as being intelligent, too, which is always refreshing to see on screen (or off).

I’m having a blast watching it.  What about you?  How does it hold up to the books, for those of you who’ve read them?  And if you haven’t seen it yet, what are you waiting for?  Check it out online!

Oh, and one more thing.  Slight spoiler here, if you haven’t seen episode two…

Did they really kiss at the end of the second episode?  Where’s the build-up, where’s the suspense?  Am I the only one who was expecting to have to wait a bit longer than that?

~Lisa, who had to wait until episode nine for Max and Liz to kiss on Roswell, thank you very much.