Thanks SO MUCH to Michael for sending this in. I apologize for the delay in posting it :( (I scanned the following from the October 2000 issue of Sci-Fi Magazine which is published by the Sci-Fi Channel. Of interest is that on page 87 of the magazine there is an ad from a company whose web site is : www.uniquecollectibles.com which is offering various autographed pictures of Roswell stars for fees of $35 for Fehr and Heigl, $45 for Behr and Appleby and $150 for the cast (Behr, Fehr, Applelby, Hegl and Delfino). I wanted to leave it to your discretion whether it should be posted since although they claim there is a certificate with “lifetime guarantee of authenticity “ included, I obviously can’t vouch for their honesty.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tabasco sauce seems like an odd token of affection, but apparently, it worked: The fan-driven campaign, which involved sending bottles of the Roswell aliens’ favorite food to WB execs, helped spur the show’s renewal. We may never know just how much of an influence the various mail-in campaigns really were on the powers-that-be, but it’s clear that they made a difference. “They led us to believe that it went down to the wire,” remarks executive producer Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek First Contact). “I personally feel that we were in a pretty good position. The last six shows of our season were so strong, and it was such a new direction [for the series].” Having spent more than a decade experiencing the Star Trek fan phenomenon up-close-and-personal, the Enterprise’s former second-in-command wasn’t surprised by the outpouring of fan support when the future looked questionable. “I thought that was great,” says Frakes of the clever Tabasco sauce campaign. “I was thrilled that [that degree of fan loyalty] happened for Roswell; that was kind of a treat.” In contrast, Frakes noted, those on the cast and crew who were not accustomed to such reactions “were amazed by it.” This grassroots support will only gain more followers as the series gains more viewers. “I think people will catch up with [the show] this summer who haven’t seen it—there is great word of mouth—and I think it will do much better on Monday than it ever did on Wednesday.” Frakes maintains. When we last saw local Roswell high-schooler Liz (Shiri Appleby) and aliens Max (Jason Behr), his sister Isabel (Katherine Heigl), and Michael (Brendan Fehr), the group had opened up a Pandora’s box regarding their past. But where the series ended, its first season wasn’t particularly part of any larger vision, admits Frakes. "It evolved, in all honesty, into a show much more about the mythology of the aliens than about the angst about teen romance. It’s really become, in a lot of ways, as [creator] Jason Katims likes to refer to him, ‘not unlike Michael Corleone.’ He tries to get out, but he’s always brought back. He is the leader, he is the number one alien; it’s a great character for that.” In first season’s final episode, Frakes says, “we certainly let them know that our aliens are not the only aliens out there, which is also an appeal, and fuel for a lot of the season next year.” The growing mythology of the series is what prompted Frakes to encourage Katims to bring fellow Star Trek alum Ron Moore on staff as a co-executive producer of Roswell. “Ron Moore was the leader in creating the Klingon mythology that became such a big part of [Next-Generation] and Deep Space Nine.” Of the show hitting its stride in the second season, Frakes notes that “there’s a nice history of second seasons kicking in. Hill Street Blues certainly comes to mind, [as does] The X-Files, and I certainly think that Roswell is going to follow in that lexicon of television.” |