Why the Roswell, New Mexico Reboot is My New Favorite Show
When the Roswell adaptation was announced in 2018, many lamented that yet another remake was landing on their screens. Roswell, New Mexico, is adapted from the original Roswell High books written by Melinda Metz where Liz was Liz Ortecho of Mexican descent and not Liz Parker, as in the 1999 show that catapulted actors like Shiri Appleby and Katherine Heigl to stardom. Roswell, NM is a very different show that explores the story differently while making leaps in the area of representation.
The 2019 series sees Liz Ortecho as a young biomedical scientist, the daughter of Mexican immigrants returning to Roswell, NM after 10 years, after the funding for her research has been slashed. The premiere episode shows her working at Crashdown Cafe, the alien-themed eatery owned by her father Arturo. The cafe is attacked by a gunman, who holds the Ortechos responsible for the death of two girls - friends of Liz’s older sister Rosa who had died in a car crash 10 years prior along with them. As in the 1999 series, Liz is caught in the crossfire and her life is saved by Max Evans, an alien assimilated as a human and has healing powers. We find out later in the episode that Rosa’s death may have not been due to a mere car crash. The first season explores this mystery, along with Max, Isobel (his sister) and Michael (another alien who went into the foster system) trying to find out more about their past and where they come from.
What makes Roswell, NM stand out is its exploration of the themes of race, queerness and the otherness these factors cause. At a time when the world is fraught with racial tensions, the show navigates what it means to be what others see as outsiders, trying to assimilate in their adopted homes.
The obvious case of this is that of the aliens - who are all white, making it easier for them to be part of the American population. What makes them different - their powers and their biology - are things the aliens take great care to hide from the rest of the world - they know of the dangers they will be exposed to if humankind finds out they are aliens. In fact, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the developer of the show Carina Adly Mackenzie stated: “the alien story is a metaphor for Islamophobia”. The show takes great care to explore the fear that lies in humans of the unknown and beyond.
This is not the situation of the Ortechos. Liz is a first-generation American citizen, her parents having immigrated from Mexico. Despite being American, despite being human, Liz is confronted by bigots in what is her hometown. The Valentis -- another Mexican-American family in the show, whose family had been in the US for generations -- do not face the same kind of adversity. The reason for this is explained in a statement by Sheriff Valenti who says “the Ortechos make good immigrants look bad” because of their lack of assimilation. Immigrants who do not abandon their cultures completely and whitewash their experience, seem threatening to other Americans - as seen in the news daily.
The show also explores LGBTQ characters with a nuance that is not seen on TV or movies much. Michael, the third alien who went into the foster system is bisexual, but his relationship with Alex Manes is kept a secret from everyone else. Alex Manes, a gay military veteran, ostracised by his father for his sexuality, does not conform to the stereotypical notions of what a gay man should look like and behave.
Yes, the dialogues can be corny at times - but with all the good things the show is doing to show that brown people, gay people and maybe even aliens live among us. What makes one “human”? Is it biology? Is it the color or sexual orientation? Roswell, NM tries to answer these questions through the mysteries and romances it portrays and it will continue to do so through Season 2.
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