#rnm cast projects

[dr-lizortecho]

Thank you for all your lovely tag/s and notes on the ladiesandgentsofrnm blog. I have a new blog that's devoted to one of the roswell ladies but I have only made one lone post it on so far as I would want to get a theme made for it before I post about it. Sorry for my rambles but happy your loving the rnm cast content that Im posting ;)

Of course <333 I love the content and getting to see parts of the fandom still thriving (I’m excited to see what your other project is)!

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here friend, wishing you a Happy New Year 🎉🎆🍾!! Hope things are going well so far and you're not too drenched in ice or snow or cold (my brother is in NM and he's freezing his ass off apparently). For reasons that definitely include the upcoming season's proximity, I'm going to try to get more into 911 LS this year. I've decided that while we've got excellent taste in ships, we've done poorly in focusing on shows where those ships can thrive, meaning they have a showrunner who can

tell a compelling story, writers who can bring that story to life, and a promo team that can get the audience excited. Let's take just promo for example. LS just came out with its 2nd or 3rd trailer and it's still 3 week's away!! Even if they are also doing smaller emergencies, the frog storm looked a hell of a lot of more exciting than the blimp "emergency". And from what I've seen of the stills, it will feature a lot of Tarlos, and I haven't seen much in the way of guest stars. Contrast that with RNM. We all remember the seasonal promo posters that looked like an elementary school project and the 5 sec episode previews they abandoned during S4 (this isn't even considering the episode synopsis where if a particular character was mentioned my excitement level flatlined). Then there's the Malex if it all, remember we got so excited when a still of them was promoted on Twitter for 4x02 since it had literally never been done before?? Sad days. And as for OG lately we've gotten confusing/inaccurate episode synopsis, previews of scenes that were made to look intense and turned out to be "meh", stills released right before the episode and then 50 scenes released the day it premieres. Its a mess. And I guess I can't complain that those things didn't feature Buddie since there wasn't anything in the season for them to feature.  I don't think we have to rehash the baffling and horrible writing choices of both RNM and OG's showrunners those are well documented. So that leaves the individual writing of each show, where RNM abandoned logic and 911 abandoned emotion in order to force scenes that did no one any favors. Anyway this got longer than intended and ultimately saltier, I was trying to say Happy New Year and it turned into this. So again happy New year!! Maybe with time and GA input KR will come up with a plotline that doesn't make me hear nails on a chalkboard when it's mentioned.

Hi my friend and Happy New Year to you as well, even though this is now a few days late. (I wanted to finish the book I started yesterday, a sequel to a romcom I very much enjoyed and one of the only actual books I’ve managed to read recently, but it ended up being kind of awful and torpedoed my whole day and sucked the serotonin right out of me instead of giving me MORE like it was supposed to 😒😒😒 hate this for me. So I put this off a little longer so I didn’t end up being TOO salty or going off on a fully unrelated tangent). Luckily I’m back home where it’s chilly (for me) but nothing too wet or miserable and I got to enjoy some sweatpants for a few days before I have to go back to my cold office and uncomfortable work clothes.

You���re so right, we DO have excellent taste in ships but whooo boy WHAT is the deal with being shafted by shows? (And now books too apparently because my life is a joke, hell bent on not allowing me to thrive with the things I find joy in.) I have been soooo jealous of not just the promo coming out so early, but also official stills coming from set during filming! OG couldn’t even get stills for for some episodes until a few hours before airing! To say nothing of the incorrect synopsis/previews, and 700 clips released on episode day messes. Plus LS got new cast photos this year while OG has still been using stuff from s1-2!  I’m not gonna lie, I haven’t been paying much if any attention to news about LS so all I know is the Tarlos stuff sounds really exciting and the only guest stars I remember is for some FBI/DEA something or other operation that (of course) Owen is for some reason involved in helping with. Color me unsurprised. But knowing that’s how LS has been pretty much from the jump, it’s easier to just grit my teeth through the Owen centricity and sometimes it’s at least entertaining 🤷🏻‍♀️ The frog thing sounds interesting but definitely feels like a “hook” that’s going to end up being almost nothing and quickly resolved but if we’re lucky we’ll at least get some jokes out of it about TK taking one home and Carlos getting a panicked look about it. Also, the LS emergencies have never had quite the resonance or the tie in with the main plots that OG had so them cutting back after the ice storm (which really was excessive at 4 episodes and by cutting down on the weird Owen centricity could have been done in 2 *maybe* 2.5 or 3 episodes tops, revolving around the group as a whole more) isn’t probably going to change the format of regular episodes much from previous seasons. But with the wedding coming up, the possibility of Carlos getting injured, and Ronan being a tease and really excited for multiple episodes, I feel like the Tarlos stuff is going to be really good!

I’m cackling because taking shots at the RNM promo department will never NOT be funny. I mean, honestly WTF was their deal with promo posters?! *insert “is this a promo poster for ANTS” gif here* At least they were somewhat more honest by always seaming to make Alex the smallest and furthest away and never near Michael which is....mostly what we got after s1 so 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️. Not that OG 911 is much better since there’s a fan that does massively impressive posters for episodes that completely outshine anything the official team does.

ANYWAY, I’m with you down in the salt mine and surrounded by wasted potential so lets hope this year we can finally get some more fulfilling stories/storylines, and that our beloved OG wee-woos can get back on track. The only good thing about them having a longer hiatus is they have the chance to take the reaction to the finale, especially Buck’s mess of a storyline, and 6a as a whole into consideration and maybe make some changes. Honestly if they completely dropped Buck’s storyline and it never came up ever again I wouldn’t even care and would actually prefer that at this point. Remember when he got meaty storylines that involved the other main characters and was the focus for a few episodes and then arcs finished and new ones started and we got several things going on for multiple characters at once? *cracked voice* yeah.... Well, here’s to hoping! 🍾🥂 *clink*

[gra-sonas]

The trailer for Kiowa's new show Dark Winds (on AMC+ this summer) 👏

[ladiesofrnm]

AMBER MIDTHUNDER || The Ice Road Trailer

[rileychester]

I haven’t been watching because I’ve been busy with other shows.

So I figured I would just watch the season in one go when it’s completely over to save time.

But it does seem like a bs story writing tactic, to have Alex who is a main character or main character adjacent. Been there since the start of the show. Who is the soulmate of a main character and one half of one of the biggest pairing of the show. And they had a lot of complicated angst getting to finally be together, where they actually moved in together in the opening of the season.

Only to have Alex be kidnapped and no one including his boyfriend Michael who talks about him like he’s off on a business trip. Yet it’s not strange to anyone that Alex hasn’t been keeping in contact by phone or text. Or even gotten in contact with his super secret job base over the data he’s apparently collecting.

That’s not driving the story forward?

A major character, whose been a part of the show since the pilot has been taken by the bad guys and that’s not a major plot point for our heroes to fight against? 

That doesn’t make any sense.

Where Michael finding out that Alex has gone MIA and we don’t have Michael doing everything he can to find out what happened to his love? Alex whose been a part of the group since childhood and none of them seem to blink and eye that he’s gone? Alex who showed up for them through all their crap that was the focus point for a lot of episodes and the show doesn’t have them return the favor?

This is like god tier of bad writing, see this is the crap that gets you canceled. Because all the cast of characters of the show have connections to Alex, this could have been a united project of story B for them all to be working on and could tie into the main story A of the bad guys aliens that are trying to continue Jones work in this season. Instead it sounds like Alex being taken as bait, or leverage, or as a weapon against Michael and the gang is like story E on the level of importance. And it’s gonna be shoved in down the line for forced drama that won’t have the same gut punch for the audience to connect to because the show itself put so little strength behind the story.

But from what I heard everyone is just scattered to the wind, while it’s just new people and more alien lore. While characters like Alex and Rosa are just forgotten about and skipped over and they have been there from the start.

This is typical CW writing, RNM isn’t special in this regard and it’s sad to see them go in such a fashion.

[echo-bleu]

WIP Game

Rules: post the barebones plot of your wips and let people send you an ask with the title that intrigues them the most and then post a snippet/tell them something about it! Then, tag as many people as you have WIPs

Tagged by @mansikkaomenabanaani , thank you 💙

It’s been a good while since I’ve done a tag game. I used to be able to answer this one (or ones like this) with a long list of WIPs but i’m in-between hyperfixations at the moment. Still, hopefully something for everyone?

- our hands clasped so tight is technically still a WIP even if I’ve finished the main story, communication and trauma and disabled characters in love (RNM)

- Nothing In This World is on hiatus but not abandoned, exploring family dynamics (Encanto)

- Eyes on the Horizon is a big big project I never posted, a Hamilton Sense8-ish AU that’s close to my heart, looking at communication, telepathy, found family, growing up and figuring yourself out, discrimination and oppression (Hamilton)

- Holding Angels is a fic I’m trying to finish as part of spring cleaning, chock-full of Alec angst and whump with a side of worldbuilding (Shadowhunters)

- Singer Street is my original project, with a cast of neurodivergent and queer characters, roommates-to-lovers, found family, understanding and embracing yourself.

Send me ask! I love talking about my writing.

No pressure tagging @t-lane-writes @thatwouldbee-enough @moonlight-breeze-44 @decoolz @withlove-louis

[sour-n-salty-citrus]

Rick and Morty for the Blorbo ask game!

(Fucked up my answer to yours at first sorry!)

(Haha dw about it!)

Blorbo (fave)- ohh definitely Morty bsjshsjsjs. I just. I love him- he is my baby, my boywife, my beloved. I also project onto him LMAO so there's that- (fr tho khkahdkbdjssj my rnm art is 90% morty and like- 10% rick, im sorry rick dbdbdb-)

Scrunkly (baby)- morty again toxic Morty. (Ok most of these are going to be morty- but come on! Rick and Morty and their alternate selves make up like 90% of the existing cast leave me alone ;-;) toxic morty is just a sad little babey but he's so cute and I just wanna hug him hnhngngng.

Scrimblo bimblo (underappreciated fave): Evil Rick! He gets totally overshadowed by evil morty and it's a shame because he's so attractive interesting!

Glip Shitto (obscure fave): Girl Morty! Not Morticia, but the pocket mortys Girl Morty! I like her a lot :D

(Oh! Also- idk how obscure this is but Squanchy! I fuckin love squanchy, he's the best, people don't talk about him enough).

Poor Little Meow Meow: Jerry akdhskhkdhsjdh. Listen, is he a pathetic manchild? Yes. He's also a poor little meow meow and I think he gets a lot of undeserved hate. The rest of the Smith family aren't exactly better sjdbsjdhjsm. And he can be sweet and endearing at times! ... sometimes-

Horse Plinko (torment time): c-137 Rick. LOOK i love him and all, but it's so fun and satisfying seeing him get his ass handed to him. Especially this latest season, I was like YES! BRING ON THE BEATINGS! HUMBLE HIS ASS! I just love watching this mean old man get his ass handed to him, it's great. (Again- i do love him, but also he deserves it sometimes so hsbdjdhsjsh).

Eeby deeby (you're getting sent to superhell): Mr Jellybean.

Cause seriously. Fuck that guy.

[michaels-blackhat]

thoughts on evil Forrest 😈

We are going to start out by apologizing. This is very very late. I’m sure when you sent this ask, you meant it to be in the same joking tone that I approach all of my other propaganda posts. Sadly, this is actually going to be a deep dive into a few Evil Forrest related things, including the moment I feel they changed directions, the perfect wasted build-up, and the implications of the change/how it then negatively impacted the story. As I’m sure you already know, by being on my blog at all, I don’t think the story was good to begin with, so we are going to focus on the weird hoops they made themselves jump through to make that story still work. Additionally, I am only going to mention once, right now, how much of a waste it was to not have Forrest ‘fall for his mark’ and complete one of my absolute favorite tropes. Honestly, I think “because I want it” is a completely valid reason to like Evil Forrest. But, the question was “Thoughts on Evil Forrest” and these thoughts have been developing for over a year and a half. So, I apologize in advance.

The majority of this is under a cut, with highlights in the abstract. If no one wants to read this, I understand completely. Go ahead, skip it.

Note: it pains me greatly to not actually have full sources for this essay. Just know that in my heart I am using proper APA citations, I just absolutely do not feel like digging through tweets to find sources to properly cite.

Abstract:

Previous research indicates that Roswell New Mexico has a history of repeating excuses to explain mid-season changes to plots. This essay explores how those excuses are not only loads of crap, but how they hinder the show’s ability to tell a coherent story, misuse the multiple-plot structure to enhance the themes being explored, and lead to decisions that mean the show continuously goes over budget. This also means that characters are not used to their full potential and has led to what some fans consider to be “out of character” behaviors. While these behaviors are not universally agreed on, evidence can be shown that these behaviors directly contradict emotionally important character arc/plot points in the show.

The author of this paper acknowledges that the show took some strides to mend this problem. However, once again no consensus could be found on whether Forrest was a low-level member of Deep Sky and thus just allowed to fuck off on a bus, or his job was recruitment because he did a piss poor job of making Alex not join.

The concept of Evil Forrest has been with the fandom as early as New York Comic Con (NYCC) in 2019, when it was revealed that Alex had a new “blue-haired love interest”. Speculation abounded within the fandom, with some people, including the author, going “yeah, he’s evil” while others rejoiced in the concept of Alex having a loving partner. Speculation increased as fans discussed Tyler Blackburn’s seeming disinterest in his new love interest, prompting some once again to scream “EVIL” at the top of their lungs to anyone who would listen. Very little was revealed, beyond the fact that the new character would show up somewhere around episode 3 of the second season.

Episode 2.04 aired with some commenting on how he barely interacted with Alex- prompting more evil speculation- and others excited to see the characters interact more. The character appears again in 2.06, where he invites Alex to dubious spoken word poetry (which Alex attends); 2.08, where they have a paintball date and go to The Wild Pony; 2.10, where the two are seen writing together briefly at the beginning of the episode; and 2.13, where Alex performs his song at open mic night, tells Forrest his relationship with the person in the song was long over, and they kiss. Forrest was not revealed to be evil during season 2.

Amidst the season airing, Word of God via Twitter post announced that yes, Forrest had originally been planned as a villain, though not the main villain, but it was changed as filming progressed.

The Word of God Twitter post revealed that Forrest had originally been planned as a villain, but they decided that they could not make their “blue-haired gay man” a villain. This mirrors a similar situation and excuse used the previous season, where the character of Jenna Cameron was originally planned to work with Jesse Manes against the aliens, before it was changed because they just “loved Riley [the actress] too much”. Both of these examples occurred while already filming and reflect on a larger problem with the show. Though not the topic of this essay, it is important to note that both characters are white, both in the show and by virtue of being played by white actors. The fact that they couldn’t be villains for one reason or another is not a courtesy extended to the male villains who are all the most visibly brown, and thus ‘other’, members of the cast.

This also highlights the fact that, via Twitter, it has been revealed two other times that occurrences that were reported in season 1 also occurred in season 2. During the airing of episode 1.02, it was revealed that the single best build-up of tension in the show- when Alex walks to the Airstream not saying a word to Michael after a dramatic declaration- happened because one actor was sick at the time and they had to go back and film the kisses later. At the point of airing for episode 2.08, it was revealed that one of the actors were sick and unable to film a kissing scene. Allegedly, this caused the writers to retool the entire scene and deviate from the plan to make that subplot about Coming Out. The execution of this subplot will be explored later in this essay.

The last occurrence revealed via Twitter also revealed larger issues within the show: lack of planning and poor budgeting. During the airing of season 1, Tyler Blackburn was needed for an extra episode beyond his contracted 10. A full explanation was never given, but speculation about poor planning and to fill in because Heather Hemmens had to miss one of her 10 episodes due to scheduling conflicts for another project. During the airing of season 2, yet another tweet came out saying they made a mistake and Tyler would once again be in an additional episode. No explanations beyond “a mistake” were given, though once again speculation occurred. It is the opinion of the author that this was due to changing plot points over halfway through writing, while episodes were already in production. It has been speculated by some that these changes occurred during the writing of 2.08, which was being finished/pre-production was occurring roughly around the time of NYCC 2019.

Previous Literature:

A brief look at different theories of plots and subplots

Many people have written on the subject of plotting, for novels and screen alike. The author is more familiar with film writing than tv, but a lot of the concepts carry over. Largely, the B- and C- (and D- and E-… etc) plots should reinforce the theme of the A-plot. This can be through the use of a negative example, where the antithesis of the theme is explored to reinforce the theme presented by the A plot, or through other examples of the theme, generally on a small scale.

A movie example of this would be Hidden Figures (2016), where the A-plot explores how race and gender impact the main character (Katherine Johnson) in her new job. The B-plots explore the other characters navigating the same concepts in different settings and ways- learning a new skill as to not become obsolete and breaking boundaries there (Dorothy Vaugn) and being the first black woman to complete a specific degree program and the fight it took to get there (Mary Jackson). A TV example that utilizes this concept of plot and theme is the 911 shows. Each of the rescues in a given episode will directly relate to the overall theme of the episode and the overall plot for the focus character. This example is extremely blunt. It does not use any tools to hide the connection, to the point you can often guess the outcome for that A-plot fairly quickly.

This is not the only way to explore themes within visual media. Moonlight (2016) looks at three timestamps in the life of Chiron. Each timestamp has a plot even if they feel more like individual scenes or moments rather than plots as some are more used to in films. Each time stamp deals with rejection, isolation, connection, and acceptance in different ways. So while there is no clear A-, B-, or C-Plot, each time stamp works as their own A-Plot to explore the themes in a variety of ways, particularly by starting out in a place of rejection and moving to acceptance or a place of connection to isolation.

Please note that there are many ways to write multiple plots, there are just two examples.

While there are flaws within season 1 of RNM, overall the themes stayed consistent throughout the season, mainly the theme of alienation. The theme threads through the Alien’s isolation/alienation from humanity which is particularly seen through Michael’s unwillingness to participate and Isobel’s over participation. There is Rosa’s isolation from others, how her friendship with “Isobel” ended up compounding her existing alienation from her support system due to her mental illness and coping mechanisms. We see how Max and Liz couldn’t make connections. This theme presented itself over and over in season 1. While this essay is not an exploration of the breakdown of themes in season 2, it should be noted that there were some threads that followed throughout the season. The theme of mothers/motherhood was woven throughout season 2, with some elements more effective than others. Please contact the author for additional thoughts on Helena Ortecho and revenge plots.

One of the largest problems within season 2 was the sheer number of plots jammed into the season. These plot threads often ended up hindering the effectiveness of the themes and made the coherence of the season suffer. Additionally, a lot of them were convoluted and difficult to follow.

Thesis:

Essentially, season 2 was a mess. To look at it holistically is almost an exercise in futility. Either you grow angry about the dropped plots and premises, you hand wave them off, or you fill them in for yourself. Instead, this essay proposes to look at individual elements to explain why Forrest should have stayed evil.

We first meet Forrest in 2.04 when he is introduced on the Long Family Farm, which we later learn was the location where our past alien protagonists had their final standoff. He’s introduced. He’s largely just there. The audience learns he has more of a history with Michael. In 2.06, we meet him again with his dog Buffy (note: poor Buffy has not been seen again and we miss a chunky queen). There’s mild flirting, Alex is invited to an open mic night, which he attends. For the purpose of this essay, the author’s thoughts on the poetry will not be expressed. Readers can take a guess.

It is after this point that the author speculates the Decision was made. This choice to make Forrest not evil- paired with the aforementioned ‘can’t kiss, someone’s sick’- impacted the plot. We have Alex have a scene with his father- which the author believes could have been pushed to a different episode- and then have Alex go on a date and then not kiss Forrest at the end of the night. Here, the audience sees Forrest hit Alex in the leg, allegedly not knowing he had lost his leg despite ‘looking him up’, which parallels the shot to the leg that happens to Charlie. Besides wasting this ABSOLUTELY TEXTBOOK SET UP WTF, it also takes Alex away from the main plot and then forces a new plot for him. Up to this point, Alex’s plot was discovering more about the crash and his family’s involvement. Turning Alex’s date from a setup for evil Forrest to a Coming Out story adds yet another plot thread to a packed season. It is also the author’s thought that this is where the convoluted kidnapping plot comes in. With Forrest already in 2.10 for a moment, a plot where Alex is evil has Forrest attack him for Deep Sky rather than Jesse abduct him for a piece of alien glass Alex was going to give him anyway and then for Flint to abduct Alex from Jesse. It’s messy. In a bad way. Evil Forrest would have been a cleaner set up: no taking back a piece of alien glass Alex gave to Michael in a touching moment. No double abduction. Instead, there is only Forrest, who Alex trusts, breaking that trust to take him as leverage over Michael.

Implications:

Now, Alex has two plots (Tripp & Coming Out). The Coming Out plot is largely ineffective, as they are only relevant to scenes with Forrest and have the undercurrent of there only being a certain acceptable way to be out. This could have been used for Alex to discover his comfort levels, mirroring Isobel’s self discovery, but there was not enough screen time for that. Additionally, Isobel’s coming out story was about her allowing herself the freedom to explore. Alex’s story was about the freedom to… act like this dude wanted him to. Alex’s internalized homophobia played out often in the series but it was also informed by the violence he experienced at Jesse’s hands and the literal hate crime he and his high school boyfriend experienced. With that in mind, the “kissing to piss off bigots” line comes off poorly. This is a character who experienced what a pissed off bigot could do- reluctance to kiss in public is not the same as not being out. There is more to be said on this topic, but as it is not actually the focus of the essay, it will be put on hold. To surmise: Alex’s coming out is attempted to be framed as being himself, but it is actually the conformity to someone else’s ideals. It does not work as an antithetical to Isobel’s story, as the framing indicates that the conformity/right was to be out contradicts Isobel’s theme.

Further Research:

MAKE FORREST EVIL YOU COWARDS

Author Acknowledgements:

The author of this paper acknowledges that the show took some strides to mend this problem. However, once again no consensus could be found on whether Forrest was a low-level member of Deep Sky and thus just allowed to fuck off on a bus, or his job was recruitement because he did a piss poor job of making Alex not join.

[larenoz]

Roswell, New Mexico New Fan Resources

Coming into a new fandom can be a challenge. So below is a list of resources about Roswell, New Mexico to get you started!

General

Fanlore - Roswell, New Mexico - https://fanlore.org/wiki/Roswell,_New_Mexico - A fan focused wiki for RNM, that provides basic information about the show and also includes information about fandom history - including controversies (with sources).

Fandom Roswell Wiki - https://roswell.fandom.com/wiki/Roswell_Wiki - A fan maintained wiki for all verisons of the Roswell universe - Roswell High books, Roswell (1999) and Roswell, New Mexico (2018) tv shows.

Wikipedia Roswell, New Mexico - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell,_New_Mexico_(TV_series)-Includes information about development, cast, episode summaries, and external links.

RNM Ep Guide - Roswell New Mexico Transcript & Scene Guide Project - https://saadiestuff.tumblr.com/rnm-ep-guide - The project is to make an episode transcript and scene guide for RNM that will be pretty searchable and can serve as a resource for fandom content creators.

RNM Screentime Project - https://rnmscreentimeproject.tumblr.com/ - What it says on the tin - the amount of screentime each characters has for S1 and S2.

Aggregators

Roswell, New Mexico Fandom Events - https://rnmevents.tumblr.com/ - A blog listing and promoting any Roswell, New Mexico events.

RNM Fan Vids - https://rnmfanvids.tumblr.com/ - links to RNM fanvids on Tumblr and YouTube.

Roswell, NM Source - https://roswellnmsource.tumblr.com/ - A fan-run source blog dedicated to CW's Roswell, New Mexico. Tracking #roswellnmsource & #roswellnmedit

Roswell, New Mexico March for Meta - https://rnmmarchformeta.tumblr.com/ - (This one technically isn't an aggregator but an event blog. But it will give you a good idea of who the meta writers in the fandom are.) We are asking you to put on your analyst hat and share your meta thoughts on everyone’s favorite alien drama. The prompts are made with analysis in mind but all contributions are welcome. Tag your posts with #roswellmarchformeta2021 or #rnmmarchformeta2021

Roswell Details - https://roswelldetails.tumblr.com/ - Outlines the major plot points, issues, mysteries, lore etc for each episode. A great way to deep dive into each episode.

Social Media

Twitter

@CWRoswellNM - official CW Roswell, NM

@RoswellNMRoom - Roswell Writers Room (this posts better stuff than the offical account).

@itsjeaninemason

@MichaelVlamis - it’s radio silence for months then it’s a three year old on a sugar high.

@itsdesantos

#RoswellNM

#RoswellNewMexico (used more often by UK viewers).

Instagram

@cwroswellnm - official CW Roswell, NM

@roswellnmcostumes - the Roswell, New Mexico costume dept. Some great behind the scenes photos.

@itsjeaninemason

@michaelvlamis

@heatherhemmens

@tylerjblackburn

@ambermidthunder

@michaeltrevino

@lilycowles

@kiowajgordon

@mrkaranoberoi

@dylanmctee

Tumblr

@michaelvlamis

#roswell new mexico

#roswellnm

#roswell nm

#rnm

Discords

Roswell 18+ - This is 18+ in the sense you need, to be over 18 yrs to join. It isn’t a free-for-all - it is an adult friendly space.

This server is for all aspects of the Roswell, New Mexico fandom - it's a multi-shipper friendly server with spaces for creators such as writers, artists, vidders etc. There are also channels for mythology, meta, and off-topic social discussion.

Literal Skeletons - A server for new and old fans alike dedicated to flailing over our favorite alien cowboy show, the CW's "Roswell, New Mexico."

Archive of Our Own (AO3)

Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)

Dreamwidth

Roswell, New Mexico Community - https://roswellnm.dreamwidth.org/

[roswellnmsource]

cadlymack A little Liz Ortecho 💄 armor felt appropriate this morning. Here goes...

This week, I made the difficult decision to resign from my role on Roswell, New Mexico. I obviously don’t take this decision lightly, but ultimately due to fundamental differences, I’m departing and entrusting RNM to capable hands. I’m so proud of what we built over the last two years, and I believe in the heart and soul of the show: asking tough questions, striving to make the world better, amplifying marginalized voices, and fighting the good fight.

This cast is exquisitely talented, and there’s no kinder or harder working crew in TV. I’ll be rooting for you guys (and of course continuing my nonprofit work to ease the burden the crew has experienced during the COVID-19 shutdown).

Because there’s a lot of nonsense getting spread around, let me make it clear this decision has nothing to do with any of the cast, crew, or writers. I love them in an epic forever handprints-on-my-soul kinda way. Finding Liz Ortecho with Jeanine has been a joy. I think any fan who joined us for a glass of wine on Instagram live during this shutdown knows there’s no “tension,” so I’m just gonna go back to texting with her about the home reno projects we’re both working on and roll my eyes at that boring attempt to pit women against each other. What year is it?

As for ~secret anonymous sources~ revealing that I wasn’t in the writer’s room as much as I’d have liked to be, TRUE TRUE TRUE. 😂 Shooting on location while writing in LA is so hard. Thank god for my co-showrunner/friend/partner/champion Chris Hollier; together we could be in two places at once.

Over the last few months, the team and I broke the Season 3 story together, I had talks with the actors about the season character journeys. I put my finishing touches on the season premiere this week. But this is a business, and there were fundamental disagreements about a couple of things that were and are very important to me.

Here’s to the happiest of endings. ❤️👽❤️

[piccolina-mina]

Hi, im the anon wondering about which character is the favorite. Tbh i was just curious, but i understand how that could create drama 😅 my bad. Youre probably thinking im from the rnm fandom and you would be right. I had a hunch of which character it was, but i wasnt positive. I dont really see them playing favorites in terms of writing but that might just be because the favorite character is also my favorite character. I was curious as to your opinion but I understand if you dont wanna answer

I think narratively the show favors Michael. The writers openly discuss how much they love writing for him. He's everyone's favorite. He's Carina's favorite. He's a fan favorite. And that is fine.

But I do think there are some days when it's so blatant that it's a clear flaw on the part of those creating the narrative. There are many layers to this too, some more disconcerting then others, but I'll stick to the narrative.

The fact that I (and others I'm sure) don't actually have to mention his name and people automatically know sort of proves the point.

And it's not a slight against his character or the actor, and it's not to suggest that his storylines aren't enjoyable either. Case in point, personally, I think he and Alex are having the strongest personal arcs out of everyone this season.

But then, that isn't exactly surprising is it?

More often than not, I feel like it's Liz's story in name only, but consistent, deep, gritty, well thought out etc storytelling falls on Michael. I can see and feel all the time and energy dedicated to this specific character.

That's cool, but when you have an ensemble cast, the hope is that it's spread out a bit better. The first season is testing the waters. The second season gives you a better idea of how things are and will be now that there is a rhythm.

In the second season, Liz, our lead, has gotten lost and swallowed up in the plot. Jeanine is great and has some shining moments, but she doesn't exactly have her own personal story that isn't wrapped up in alien stuff. This is where it's frustrating that ... we don't spend a lot of time with the Ortechos, something they've attempted to rectify a bit this season, but it's still mostly unsuccessful.

This is where her arc with Rosa has not been as strong as it should be and got lost in Liz trying to bring Max back. This is where I repeatedly point out the lack of focus on her relationships outside of the pod squad. Her friendships with Maria and Alex suffer a great deal and honestly with Kyle as well.

This is where all things alien consume her, and she doesn't seemingly have a life or rather chooses to expend any focus to a life outside of the pod squad and their issues.

And this is where because of all her energy being put into such a narrow focus on solely alien issues often at the expense of every other facet of her life, she often feels decentralized from her own narrative.

But we have Michael, and I do think one of many reasons he's such a favorite is because of all the focus he gets and how well-rounded and developed he is compared to the others. I mean if that's the character everyone pours everything into ... then yeah, he would be the favorite, yeah?

He's fun to play with, the witty oneliners, the bad boy with a heart of gold, the misunderstood tragic not a hero but really a hero, the lovable jackass, the endearing "screwup" so on and so forth. He's wrapped up in a bow, the catnip of all the most endearing tropes.

And they love peeling back layers for him and developing him and expanding on his background and characterization carefully and thoughtfully.

And that's awesome and enjoyable even, but when you have an ensemble cast and it doesn't begin to be spread about evenly, then it's a reasonable nitpick.

I feel like we have a better grasp on his past than any other character. He naturally was the one who wanted to go back home, but almost all of the past alien history and folklore has essentially centered him or involved him more so than Isobel and Max.

He's the one who heads to and finds out about Caulfield. He's the one who sees his mother and where the aliens were held. He's the one who watches her die in front of him. He's the one who continued to be tied into that plot while they hand waved why Max and Isobel weren't interested in learning more when they dropped enough breadcrumbs to support why they should be.

Until this season, until very recently with Isobel, everything related to their origins fell on him, he is the face of the pod squad being invested in finding out about their history. It then ties in with his tragic backstory as the foster kid who never had nor felt "home."

By spending a season and a half essentially centering him alone in a narrative that should involve all of them, it seemingly made it his plot. And that's BEFORE we even get to these recent revelations with Sanders and this implication that Michael was "the special one" not Max (which the mere idea of a special one at all was not and has not been something I particularly care to subscribe to in the first place), so it's doubling down and solidifying something they didn't need to emphasize this much.

The alien past has always felt like Michael's story and Max and Isobel are just hitching a ride. The many ways it was only tied to Michael makes it that way. It was Michael that Jesse had a file on.

It's Michael whose first love is a product of the Manes Project Shepherd element. It's Michael who gets that conflict with Alex.

The Valentis have just as much ties to that as the Manes and yet that angle is barely explored or used to add an extra layer to the tension between Max and Kyle for example.

It was just barely used to flesh out Kyle during the first season, and then seemingly dropped altogether this season when he should have just as much claim in this narrative as all three pod squad members and Alex.

Ironically, this is a big disservice to Isobel. And this is where this exclusive focus on pouring so much into one character comes at the expense of others.

Isobel, people like her and all, but when I look at the actual narrative and her place in it, if not for the fact that she's an alien, she's not a character with much purpose, and that's a huge problem.

Because narratively, outside of being used as a victim, they honest to goodness don't know what to do with her. They barely invested enough in her character to give her a fully formed, consistent personality. There's no real pull there. And as the only female alien, they could have done so much more beyond being a vessel for Noah and an abortion storyline where the only point was to make a statement about women and reproductive rights that didn't land as intended because of Isobel's privileges and access.

Max benefits from being the co-lead and being part of the primary love story. And then of course there is the eternal and patently unfair and imbalanced fraternal angst that ALSO is more often than not used to serve Michael's storyline and development.

It's about Michael working through his resentment. It's about Michael's abandonment issues. It's about Michael's battle with self worth. And 2.05 was about Michael realizing how much his brother always loved him. And him growing from that realization. And him saving his brother.

Just like now, it's about Michael protecting Max and "suffering" for it. It's about Michael being a dark horse martyr and sin eater for his siblings after taking the blame for killing the girls from Isobel and now damning himself to a screwed up life on Max's behalf.

The weight of the revelations geared toward Michael. The Sanders connection was significant and that was ushered in through his connection to Michael.

In the same vein we found out Michelle Valenti has what should be an equally as impactful and longstanding connection with Max ... but did it carry the same weight as Michael and Sanders at all even though those respective relationships have run neck in neck throughout the series? No.

We know Maria was sidelined all first season. This season most of what they've given us feels performative to address the concerns people had because of how things are handled ... with her splitting redundant narratives with side characters, having things happen offscreen, or shuffled to a side, or left on the editing floor.

And her biggest relationship all season is? Michael.

Kyle is getting sidelined this season. There's so much we don't know and could about him. His love interest storyline also feels performative and perfunctory... they didn't invest in it at all. It was like going through the motions.

Rosa's storyline hasn't exactly taken off as you'd have expected given the circumstances. And they just jumped around with key and crucial character building and meaningful moments with that too. They sailed right on past the Maria and Arturo reveals without letting them breathe. Almost like they just didn't have any strong interest in doing much outside of hitting the necessary notes: tell Maria, reunion with Arturo, save Max, overdose.

Liz's core relationships are all over the place. Maria, Arturo, Rosa, Alex, Kyle ... not enough investment in them. Not enough digging deep into them. Not enough exploration. While Max was gone most of the season. And she worked with and provided support to Michael and Isobel, hung out with Cam, but continuously neglects the aforementioned others who should matter.

But Michael's core relationships have layers and stay intact ( Max, Isobel, Alex, and Maria) and he gets substance with other ones ... Kyle ... Sanders ...

So yeah, nothing wrong with having favorites. And if that person is your favorite then maybe it's easier not to care or think too hard about it or whatever.

But the reason I dislike when you can tell when one character is a favorite is because of how it affects the narrative overall.

It seriously impacts the storytelling. It's like writing entire chunks around a character and this specific position you want them instead of writing the story and weaving in the character.

It can take me out of a piece when I can tell the objective is to get to a precise moment with a specific character. When I can tell that some of the writing is obligatory and then "the real fun" happens with X.

It's like stuffing your face with all of your vegetables because you have to in order to get to that ice cream Sundae. Like "if I get through A-W then my reward will be Z."

This is me coming from an objective viewpoint because I can separate when analyzing. I have actually enjoyed Michael a lot this season. He and Alex have had the best character growth this season, in my opinion, and I really love that.

But this is also a glaring issue, and I hate when favoritism bleeds into a series, especially an ensemble cast when it leads to issues with the storytelling.

And despite my enjoyment, that's what I feel is happening here a lot.

It certainly isn't the first and only show I've noticed this with. And yeah, I've even made these same observations and criticisms when it's my favorite character too.

It's the same on another series I watch with one of my favorite characters, and it's so frustrating except in that case, it's a character who can do no wrong even when they're wrong, and ... that's a whole other discussion.

But yeah. I don't expect agreement with this. It's probably one of those unpopular opinions or hot takes that can definitely bug people, especially those whose favorite character is Michael.

But this is my observation and why I feel that like him or not, storytelling suffers, is predictable, or underwhelming, or annoying, or jarring when you can sense the obsession and favoritism.

[dr-lizortecho]

RNM & 4,7,17!

4) why you should choose to check out the world of this story and choose three gifs that should underline my point

answered here and I love that theme so much (I’d argue outside of the immigration storyline it’s the invisible bridge of rnm)

7) how likely I am to follow the writers and directors from this project to their other ones and why

I learned my lesson from Hollier and co. and will definitely execute extreme caution going into anything they’re involved in- barring its Marvel or Disney adjacent and/or the entire cast are white dudes and there’s no sensitive topics being handled

The cast however! I’m already so excited about Jeanine’s role on Upload and am staying up to date with Heather’s hallmark movies (if only for the purpose of writing delevans and milica au’s) and am hoping Nathan and Trevino jump aboard a project soon <3 as well as joining the whole nation in staying up to date with Amber’s projects!

17) the world-building aspect of the story I have the greatest admiration for

This ties very much into 4 for me, because the amount of strings they interwove to make such different claims about legacy is really cool! Outside of that the aliens not having a spoken language and their tech resembling an ocean of written language trapped behind glass… pretty cool if you ask me

send me a fandom/character/ship ask <3

[roswelldetails]

RNM 2x13 (pt 2) - Tripp's Journal and Flashbacks

Mimi gives Maria a locked wooden box.

Michael refuses to open it with his powers because he doesn't trust Mimi. But then he finds the key - on Tripp Manes' body.  

Michael, Alex, and Isobel meet at the Crashdown to open the box.  Inside is Tripp's Journal.  Michael passes the box to Alex, who opens the journal and begins reading it aloud.

We get a pretty good look at the first page, and it's pretty readable. 

Here's the transcript:

Dear Patricia

My name is Eugene Manes. If you are reading this, I'm dead."

Tripp's story begins the night of the UFO crash. He wrote about everything. Every detail.

"Men who had been to hell and back during the second world war were plumb terrified of what we found that night in the desert."

-"But I never felt fear"

"Here I was looking at a being from another galaxy. But I knew her.  I felt her in the (thumb in the way) of my being."

Scien-- (thumb) say were made (hand in the way) star (thumb) That's how I (hand) --derstand it.

(Hand) from the same.

Note...this is pretty close to a transcript of the scene.  And the punctuation reads like Tripp isn't the one telling the story... he's being quoted. Like in the scene.

After Alex starts reading there's a zoomed in shot of the journal.

Different handwriting. Different text.  No weird punctuation.

The transcript of this page:

Dear Patricia. My name is Eugene Manes. I'd you're reading this, I'm dead.  Manes men have always had an often difficult expectation placed (out of shot) us by (our fathers)

I'm guessing the last two words but I suspect they're right.

Anyway, I'll throw out there that I think the first one was whatever they gave the cast to read aloud, and the second one was for shooting.  The first was probably just an oopsie and wasn't meant to make the final cut.  Just a personal theory though.

But back to the Deets. Here is the actual dialogue in these scenes with a few notes.

"Tripp gave this to Maria's grandmother Patricia."

"Dear Patricia. My name is Eugene Manes. If you're reading this, I'm dead."

"His story starts the night of the UFO crash."

Note: Michael is explaining while Alex is reading aloud.  Which does imply that Michael had already read it. With Maria.

Tripp's voiceover as we see him and Nora meet the night of the crash. 

"I couldn't hurt her. She was from another galaxy, and yet somehow she was as familiar as my own reflection.

It took a few weeks to find her, but I was drawn back to the Long farm."

Tripp visits Nora in the barn:

"Wait. Don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you. You must know that. The same way I know you aren't here to hurt me."

"It's warmer, closer to the fire."

Tripp voiceover:

"It's as if we were built from the same star…"

Alex reading: 

"...drawn together by something cosmic."

Skipping forward to the next scene:

"So did he make a move or what?" Come on Michael. Read it out loud."

"I'm vaguely uncomfortable with his description of my mom tasting ice cream for the first time."

Tripp voiceover:

"She confessed that she and Louise had been sneaking off to build something deep in the desert. The device in the barn was just a piece of the puzzle."

Tripp and Nora:

"Is it a ship? Like the one that crashed the night we met? Nora, if it's the military you're afraid of, I've got a way to keep us safe. I have a friend on a reservation. A man I trust."

"I don't fear humans. There was a man on board my ship who shouldn't have been there."

"He was a stowaway."

"Yes. He crashed the ship here and now he's hunting us."

"Everyone on board either died or was captured by Project Shepherd."

"If Louise and I got away, so did he. Please. Help me with the supplies."

"I'll get you the tools you need. I'll protect you."

Tripp Voiceover:

"I wanted to show her everything good about this world. I thought I could make her stay. I thought I had time."

Back to present and Alex:

"I just keep thinking about how different my dad might have been if Tripp had a chance to mentor him. How different everything might have been

Nora and Tripp in the bunker:

"Don't let Harlan find you here.  He'll make you prove you hate me."

"Can you use your abilities to unlock this?"

"They've been putting needles in me. Is Louise all right? And the baby?"

"There's still a heartbeat. But Louise won't speak to anyone."

"She goes into her mind, where things are beautiful. Where there's no pain.  Where we're all together."

"I'll get you out of here, I swear."

"No. You have to obey them. Tripp, if your brother kills you and Louise is lost in her mind, there will be no one to protect my son, her daughter, and...the other. Without me to wake them, they won't emerge for 50 years. June 14,1997. It'll be safer then."

"What? No. I'll be long gone."

"Perhaps you'll have a son. Someone you can trust with a secret."

"Nora, I don't want a family without you. You have to know that by now."

There's noises as other soldiers approach and Tripp has to leave. And that's the last of the flashbacks.

[gra-sonas]

CLUBHEAD 👀

[ladiesofrnm]

itsjeaninemason FYC for #ChristmasOnTheSquare with my Dolly babes. @dollyparton @therealdebbieallen @jeniferlewisforreal @marylanehaskell & #ChristineBaranski. I love every second we spend together. Thank you @netflix & @warnerbrostv!

•Styling: @britt.theodora, Makeup: @carolinadali. 💛 @galvanlondon, @stuartweitzman•

[suzteel]

2020 Giffing Summary

I made 228 gifsets in 2020. 222 of these were RNM with another 4 being for RNM cast members in other projects (3 Jeanine, 1 Lily). 2 were for The Untamed. 

Of the RNM ones:

54 sets featured Liz

54 sets featured Alex

54 sets featured Michael 

47 sets featured Rosa

44 sets featured Maria

38 sets featured Isobel

29 sets featured Max 

17 sets featured Kyle

Did that three way tie between Liz/Alex/Michael crack me up when I realized? Yes, yes it did. But also that number for Kyle makes me sad. :( 

Other RNM characters I giffed this year: 

Jenna Cameron (11)

Arturo Ortecho (10)

Forrest Long (10) 

Mimi DeLuca (7)

Michelle Valenti (7)

Iris Sanchez (4)

Ann Evans (3)

Bert (3)

Helena Ortecho (3)

Steph (3)

Louise Truman (3)

Gregory Manes (3)

Noah Bracken (2) 

Nurse Kate (2) 

Charlie Cameron (1) 

Nora Truman (1) 

Jesse Manes (1)

Diego (1)

Frederico (1)   

Deputy Joe (1)

Mr. Jones (1)