In this article, you will explore some of the trivia and facts surrounding the WB TV show focused on the interaction of aliens and humans within a high school setting.
“Roswell” Trivia and Facts
The executive producer of “Roswell” (Jonathan Frakes) makes an appearance on-screen towards the end of the first episode. He is the individual on stage that announces there has been a crash of a UFO. He will appear other times throughout the show’s existence, as a guest speaker and as a casting director. If he looks familiar, you may remember him from another alien-related television show. He played Commander William Riker on the later Star Trek series.
After the first season of the show, fans were concerned that the series faced cancellation. To save their beloved show, they sent tiny bottles of Tabasco sauce (which was a favorite of the aliens depicted on the show) to the WB network. In the end, “Roswell” was renewed for a second season with executives shifting the show to a new night and time.
Did you know that Heath Ledger auditioned for the part of Max Evans?
At the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, Jason Behr was nominated for a Saturn Award in the category of Best Actor on Television. Additionally, other nominations went to Brendan Fehr for Best Supporting Actor on Television; Katherine Heigl for Best Supporting Actress on Television; and Jason Behr for Best Genre TV Actor. The show was recognized in the Best Network Television Series category.
The tagline used to market this TV show was “There’s truth to every rumor.”
Before gaining the role of Isabel Evans, Katherine Heigl actually auditioned for all of the three female leads in the series. Before accepting the role of Maria DeLuca , Majandra Delfina originally went out for the part of Liz, which went to Shiri Appleby, who also tested for all of the female lead roles. Appleby was given the part of Liz Parker after several callbacks. Nick Wechsler also auditioned for four different roles associated with the TV show.
At the start of the show’s credits, there are newspaper clippings that are shown. These are actual headlines that appeared in July of 1947 regarding the well-known Roswell “UFO Crash.”
Interestingly, the mountain that the alien-children come from and often make visits to is the same mountain that Captain Kirk climbs in a particular episode of “Star Trek.” The mountain is also featured in “Fastlane” (2002) and “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey” (1991).
The opening credits of “Roswell” show the names of actors and actresses appear in “alien” writing, which then morph into English.
In all of the pilot episodes that 20th Century Fox ever had , “Roswell” produced the highest test ratings.
Tabasco sauce was shown as a favorite of the aliens, but it wasn’t even used during production. Instead, V8 Berry Splash was used to avoid the watering of eyes and the cast running back and forth to drink water after each take.