"The Convention"
Airdate: February 2, 2000

In an obvious attempt to bring in even more tourist dollars, the town of Roswell hosts a UFO convention that features as its special guest series producer Jonathan Frakes in a cameo appearance. The gathering attracts freaks, geeks, that weird couple who witnessed Monotone healing Liz in the pilot and a fearsome alien bounty hunter.

Okay, so he's not so fearsome. Well, unless you think Billy Bob Thorton is fearsome. 'Cause that guy was the spittin' image of ole' Billy Bob. Seriously. Only he was less threatening.

Once again the time spent between the lead couple is kept at a minimum and I don't remember one instance of my hands curling into fists. I'm now confident that my theory that sans the human pet rock, Liz really isn't so bad. I get the feeling that in order to keep Shiri Appleby from overshadowing Jason Behr, the directors of the early episodes had to drug her lest she betray any sort of emotion that required something other than gazing vacantly at a spot they pointed to on her co-star's forehead.

While the episode delved deeper into the mythology that the series seems to have finally decided merits some exploration, it's a case of too little too late. The damage has been done and it's clear that their male lead -- the actor who is supposed to shoulder most of the show's burden -- isn't up to the job. Even when confronted by the alien hunter and Sheriff Valenti, Behr's Max just seems flat. If I'd turned off the sound and just looked at his face, I would never have known he was yelling.

Are we sure he's not just some sock puppet like that dog from Pets.com? They seem to have the same range of expressions after all. Except that dog is entertaining.

I'll say it again, while not perfect, the pairing of Michael and Maria and their placement as leads would have been a wiser choice. Despite my horror at their continued inability to display any common sense when it comes to hairstyles, Michael and Maria actually do stuff. I hate to admit it, but Brendan Fehr and Majaranda Delfino have presence. Oh, sure it's a quirky, wacky, formulaic sort of presence, but it's a lot more than Behr can claim.

Heck, sometimes I'm not sure if Behr can claim a pulse.

But to back on the subject of couples, Alex and Isabel have hit a snag as well. You'd think she'd be slap happy that even a geek like Alex would want her after he learned her secret. Only those damn aliens... Nothing satisfies them.

But really, that's all minor squabbling and the Michael/Maria and Alex/Isabel moments are entirely too fleeting. Like, blink and you missed them. And instead of following that path of least resistance -- towards trashy teen soapdom -- the story has finally become larger than the problems of three little humans and three little aliens, which don't amount to a hill of beans anyway. Only, with Max still leading the series, it's impossible to summon the energy to care.

-- Linda M. Najera

Roswell airs at 9pm EST, Wednesdays on The WB.

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