Roswell Fanatics

I was just reading a fic that detailed the Future Max and Liz scene from the beginning of The End of the World, and a thought suddenly occurred to me. Right before Max leaves, Liz says to him, "I don't have any regrets." But doesn't the very fact that she's sending him off to change the past indicate that they both have regrets? It's just something that I never really noticed before, and I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts.

yeah, it struck me as weird. I mean, if you have no regrets, why don't you just die in each other's arms or something?

I gave up on trying to sort out all the nonsensical lines and inconsistencies. So many things were said that were either completely out of character or utter nonsense. This is just another example.

Just try and figure out the date of the shooting for example.

From beginning of "Pilot":

September 23rd. Journal entry one. I'm Liz Parker and five days ago I died.

OK so the date of the shooting should be September 18th right? Just one problem...

From end of "Pilot":

It's September 24th, I'm Liz Parker and five days ago I died.

Ok so the date of the shooting is either the 18th or the 19th right? Guess again...

From "The Convention":

LARRY: Yeah, right. Ok. Um...it happened right here...right in Roswell, New Mexico. September 17th. I was in the Crashdown Cafe. Now, that's right across the street. So I'm sitting there. 2 guys come in.

(Michael and Max exchange alarmed looks. Michael then makes his way towards Larry)

LARRY: Boom! They start having an argument. Boom! A gun is pulled.

(Michael puts a hand on Larry's chest, and gives him a nasty itch)

MICHAEL: Sorry.

LARRY: Oh...no, that's ok. So these 2 guys, they start to...ahh...they start to struggle, ok? Boom! A girl is shot. Boom! A seemingly normal teenage boy...now this teenage boy, Mr. Frakes, is someone who looks just like you and me. Boom! He goes up to the girl and puts his hand over her, uh, wound, and then, boom! She...uh...she's miraculously healed.

So we've got a total of three dates for the shooting. And just to top off the maddness....

From "Pilot":

Liz: Um, we're looking for a place...to study, for our Bio midterm.

Midterms? In September? Don't get me wrong I liked the show but consistency is not their thing.

Bwahahahaha! Okay, THAT is hilarious.

Zanity: You've got a point. They just didn't do very well with that, did they?

As for the line, I think she meant she didn't have any regrets about being with him. But then, why did she send him back in time to split them up if she didn't regret it? I think you're right, that was a weird line.

Hmm, yeah, it does jar a bit. How about if we turn around?? If future Liz is talking about their plan, instead of talking about regrets in the life they've led together??

In that sense, it kind of hangs together. She knows that Max is worried about what he's about to do, about rewriting their history. Liz is telling him that she doesn't regret what they agreed to, that even though she loves him, she's holding on to the time they had together and will always, in a strange way, have that, (even if it doesn't physically exist in the same way.)

Does that make any sense?? *shrugs*

This falls under the heading of "CHADs". "Couldn't Happen As Described", or "Continuity Holes or Annoying Discrepancies". There were fans that kept a list of major and minor CHADs, which ran to well over six hundred items I believe before the show ended. Season one had some, but seasons Two and Three were fairly choked with them.

One of the many reasons that the show eventually tanked. Every show has continuity errors here and there. Even some big ones....but I've never seen this many in one show.

Laters,
Rick

So that's what CHAD's stands for. I ran across the acronym once and couldn't figure it out.

Kzinti_Killer wrote:One of the many reasons that the show eventually tanked. Every show has continuity errors here and there. Even some big ones....but I've never seen this many in one show.

That was my actual point. This particular show has more holes than Swiss Cheese. I just pointed out the obvious ones in Pilot, the list goes on an on. It does however make for some of my favorite fics when the author comes up for a creative fix for one or more of them.

Zanity wrote:

Kzinti_Killer wrote:One of the many reasons that the show eventually tanked. Every show has continuity errors here and there. Even some big ones....but I've never seen this many in one show.

That was my actual point. This particular show has more holes than Swiss Cheese. I just pointed out the obvious ones in Pilot, the list goes on an on. It does however make for some of my favorite fics when the author comes up for a creative fix for one or more of them.

We were blessed with a unique situation. A ton of captivating ideas, players with gobs of chemistry, and a show with bags of potential.....and more holes than a termite colony. I've read fic in one fandom or another for decades, and I've remarked a how explosive the fic phenomenon of Roswell was. It hit early and massively. We owe a lot (as fic writers and consumers) to those thumb fingred dolts in charge. Without them, we wouldn't be here now.

My wife has pointed out to me that over in her fandom of Farscape they had far better writing on the show itself. (Which I agree with her on...even if I'm not a Scaper.) And they got a happy schmaltzy ending for the main couple. They sailed into the sunset with their baby in the arms. Happily ever after. Finis.

Since then, fic writing has dropped to almost nothing in that fandom. They never had as many hooks to hang stuff on to begin with, and now they have none at all.

I suppose that you could call the sloppy mismanagement of the storylines and characters on Roswell a "silver lining". TPTB provoked us into writing and gave us so much material to work with that we haven't run out yet. Bless'em, may they one day learn to tie their own shoes.

Laters,
Rick