The Fourth Wiggins

Yesterday at the local slashers brunch -- or I guess, actually, the post-brunch dinner -- madeira mentioned that she'd like to re-watch Roswell, at which point I admitted to owning the DVDs. There was a weird sort of wry shame to the exchange, as we both acknowledged that it was a bad show, and that we secretly enjoyed it. She said something about having to love it because it was so very bad, though my memory is spotty on that.

I liked the show despite how bad it was, and the two main attractions for me I think echo through a lot of my other fandom preferences.

First, I enjoyed the concept, that trope of aliens hiding out among us, allowing us to explore what it is to be human by contrast. That they're dispossessed royalty waiting to reclaim their kingdom is just so much cake icing. I remember my childhood fantasy that I was really a fairy/alien princess in exile, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that one. The show speaks to that wistful childhood longing and plays with maturing it, examining the how-much-would-that-suck side of things.

The second was the Maria/Michael relationship. I'm mind-flailing around for the why of that one, and I can't seem to snag enough bits to explain it. It has something to do with Maria's forthright wisdom and Michael's dorkishness and *waves hands and makes fish noises*