ROSWELL on PLANET-SF

PLOT

There are days when everything seems wrong, when little things just irk you for no good reason. And then there are days like today when the world just sings to you from the minute you open your eyes in the morning 'til the minute you shut them again at night, days you actually enjoy cleaning the milkshake machine.

At the Crashdown, Liz is in a good mood, unlike Maria who is clearly having a bad day, and this isn't improved when Max and Michael enter the cafe. Sitting at a booth, Michael tells Max that he wants to go, admitting that he and Maria "kind of broke up", although he doesn't seem too sure about it. The situation seems clearer when Liz brings Max a cherry cola on the house, while Maria tells Michael he has to pay for his.

As Michael gets up to leave, he knocks his drink over the table. His and Max's books end up on the floor and as he picks up Max's notebook he pulls out a sheet of paper with the symbols from River Dog's case drawn on it. He asks Max what it is since he also recognises it and wants to know how long Max was planning on keeping it from him.

Later, Alex catches Maria sticking pins into an alien doll and asks if it's anyone he knows. He tells her that he's got two theories - either she and Liz have been brainwashed by a drug cult or he's trapped in an extremely long, extremely weird nightmare. Maria admits that the first couple of days were tough for her too but reassures him that they won't physically hurt him. After Maria tells him that her thinking was changed by Max saving Liz when he could have just left her dead, Alex says that maybe he should just talk with one of them - maybe Isabel - directly. Maria tells him not to get involved with them, using her and Michael as a warning.

In his room, Max tells Isabel and Michael that he drew the symbols from memory, but he doesn't even know if they mean anything. Isabel is certain that they do because they all seem to recognise them - it's as if the symbols are their language or something. Michael is more concerned that Max choose to keep it from them, but Max tells him that there was too much going on - Topolsky was all over them, and it was too risky.

Isabel says she's sure that Max had his reasons, but Michael wants to know why he could trust Liz but not him. Max tells Michael that he's demonstrating precisely why he didn't say anything - he'd just jump to a wild conclusion and do something crazy. Isabel tells Max that he still should have told them.

Max's mom shouts to tell him that Liz and arrived and he tells the others that they're going out for some Chinese food. He claims that it's no big deal, but Isabel points out that he's still changing his shirt. Max says that they'll figure out the questions they want to ask and then go back to see River Dog. Michael agrees to wait but after Max has gone he says that he's going on his own.

At the reservation, Michael is told by Eddie that River Dog is busy with a sacred ritual and that he can't go into his tent unless he's invited. Even after Eddie warns him that the "sweat" is an intense spiritual cleansing, Michael is still determined to see River Dog.

At the Crashdown, Alex and Isabel discuss humans and aliens. Alex finds it hard to believe and wants to know what purpose they have in coming to the Earth. Isabel explains that when they came out of the pods, they looked just like normal kids and that they have the same emotions, feel pain and are just as human as him, except that they can manipulate molecular structure, which she demonstrates by turning a bottle of ketchup into mustard.

Once they are inside the tent, Eddie instructs Michael not to talk and to just follow the chant. Both of them take part in the ritual, which involves drinking water from a bowl that is passed around the circle. River Dog throws something onto the fire, causing it to crackle. Afterwards, Eddie tells Michael that he did warn him it was intense. "What the hell was that?" Michael asks in reply.

Isabel shows Alex the symbols Max drew and tells him that it's the closest they've ever come to any kind of connection with their home. She also tells him that his constant staring at her is making her uncomfortable; he apologises and says he'll look at the symbols instead. Isabel replies that she thinks he's seen enough for one night.

On their date, Liz impresses Max with her pool playing and then shows him how to line up a shot. After dinner, they break open their fortune cookies: "This is the best night of your life," Liz reads aloud, before admitting that it's better than "a broken clock is still right twice a day." Max agrees that it hers was better and tells her that his is "Ask a girl to dance with you", although whether this is true or not depends on what Liz's answer is.

Liz says yes, and the pair start dancing but their kiss is interrupted by Maria, who tells them that they have to get to the Crashdown. At the cafe, they find Michael lying on the ground with his head in Isabel's lap. Isabel strokes his forehead and tells Max that Michael is really sick, however, he seems to recover and tells them that he just wants to go home.

After everyone else has gone, Liz and Maria discuss Max and Michael while eating some ice-cream. Maria says that kissing Michael was as if every cell in her body felt the same cell in Michael's and started heating up. Liz says that she got really dizzy and she didn't get any of those feelings when she was with Kyle. She wonders if they feel like this just because Max and Michael aren't human and Maria asks if the two aliens have ruined it for them with anyone else. She tells Liz that human-alien relationships are bound to be disasters and warns her not to think that she won't get hurt in the end. However, Liz is confident that it's going to work out.

In the UFO Center, Alex tells Isabel that he's been looked into Max's drawing, but she tells him to drop it - they've already checked his theories out. "What if this could help you find your planet?" he calls after her. Everyone in the Center looks at him, and Milton tells him to joke about such things. Alex apologises to Isabel but they're interrupted by a commotion elsewhere in the Center.

Milton tells everyone to move aside and they find Michael on the ground. He opens his eyes, which are a cloudy white and Max hurriedly pushes a pair onto him, telling the crowd that he suffers from migraines. Refusing Alex's offer of help, Max and Isabel get Michael out of the Center.

At the Crashdown, Liz and Maria are filling bottles when Max comes in and tells Liz that they need her help. In the back, Michael is burning up and they carry him upstairs to keep him safe. Isabel tries to take his temperature, but the thermometer only goes up to 112. Michael starts chanting and when Max asks what he's trying to say he tells him, "River Dog."

Liz and Max arrive at the reservation where they're met by Eddie, who tells them that they're not welcome because they told someone what they found. He tells them that Michael was tested by River Dog and that he didn't pass. Liz explains that Michael is really sick and that they need River Dog, but Eddie tells her that he's gone. Max says that he'll wait there until he comes back. Later, as they walk around the reservation, Max tells Liz about the first time he saw Michael, on the night the three of them first came out of their pods and wonders if what's happening to Michael is just part of their life cycle.

Back at the Crashdown, Isabel is watching over Michael, who she says is cold. Maria tells her that he's burning up. Alex comes up to check whether everything's okay, at which Isabel tells him and Maria to leave - she's taking care of Michael.

Later, Maria brings Isabel some food and a bottle of Tabasco, telling her that she didn't know how much she liked. She tells Isabel that she also cares about Michael, and Isabel says she knows this, but Max and Michael are all that she has. Then Michael starts convulsing and chanting again and Isabel tells Marie to get Alex.

At the reservation, Liz tries to call the others on her cell phone, but there's no reply. Max think they should leave but then they hear a group of people in a tent chanting - it's exactly the same chant as Michael has been saying.

Michael wakes up and finds himself standing outside surrounded by all the alien symbols. He looks up and sees a constellation.

Liz and Max look into the tent, where they see the chanting Indians passing around a bowl. Max says that maybe what's happening to Michael isn't natural after all. River Dog and tells them to bring him to the reservation and adds that they may not have much time.

The pair arrive at the Crashdown, where they find Isabel and Maria sitting next to Michael, who is covered with some sort of webbing. They take him to River Dog's cave, where the Indian tells them that when he was a boy the elders tested a man who they believed was an evil spirit. They invited him into the sweat, but his reaction was quick and severe, which is why he dismissed Michael. But when Max told him Michael was sick, he realised that he was another visitor, which is what the man called himself. In River Dog's language, the word is "nasedo", so that's what he called him.

River Dog explains that after the sweat, he disobeyed the elders and went after Nasedo, who he found dying in the cave. He had to trust River Dog with his secret so that he could heal him. He tells them that he'll try to heal Michael, but that he'll the help of all of them.

Michael, covered from head to foot in the webbing, is lying in the centre of a large circle with five lines leading from the centre to the edge, which Alex, Isabel, Liz, Maria and Max all take their places. River Dog gives them each a stone, which he tells them were given to him by Nasedo, who said that the stones carry the same energy as his body. He called this the Balance, and the heat from the sweat disrupted it in some way.

Nasedo told River Dog to hold the stones until his energy activated him which would restore the Balance. However, there is a risk - the Balance can change both their body and their mind unless they navigate it properly. He tells them to drink from the bowl to begin the connection and it's passed around until it gets to Liz, who is hesitant to join in. River Dog tells her that she's afraid for someone and that she has to step back. He starts chanting and the others join in.

Michael is outside again and the others, including Liz walk up and greet him. He sees himself in the webbing, and then Max and Isabel (and their younger selves) reaching out to him. Michael hesitates before climbing out. Back in the cave, Michael wakes up and pulls the webbing off of himself.

He tells Max that he saw things and ask for them to give him their rocks, which he inserts into the cave drawings. After he inserts the last one, the rocks start glowing, revealing a constellation. "It's a map," he tells the others.

I've always been the one who comes through in the time of crisis. I do what's necessary, and I don't panic. But seeing Michael so sick and having no way of knowing what was wrong or how to help made me scared. Scared that one day something could happen to Max and I wouldn't know how to help this person who means to much to me, who means everything.

Max climbs up to the roof of the Crashdown where Liz is writing her journal. He tells her that Michael is fine, but that he's not - he can't keep pretending that he's normal. Liz apologises for having doubts earlier but Max tells her that he doesn't blame her, because they don't belong together. He tells her that they should take a step back for a while and starts climbing down the ladder, but Liz tells him to wait before kissing him, saying that she just wanted to remember. Max climbs down and Liz looks upwards at the constellation that Michael saw.

CAST

Steve Hytner, Ned Romero and Tod Thawley return as Milton, River Dog and Eddie respectively, while the young Max and Isabel are once again played by Daniel Hansen and Zoe K Nutter.

CONTINUITY

Max to Liz: I remember the first time I saw Michael. It was in the desert the night we first came out of the pods. The sky was bright with stars and this full moon. Isabel and I found each other first. We didn't know how to speak, but we could communicate anyway. We walked for a while, but we could both feel someone else.

He said he saw us, but that he was afraid. So he just watched us for a long time. When he finally revealed himself, he was standing on this rock. Just like you'd expect from Michael. "Here I am. Deal with me." He said it was the hardest thing he's ever had to do... to trust me.

We all saw the headlights at the same time. Isabel took my hand. We knew we'd be safe as long as we stayed together. I held out my hand for Michael. I knew he wanted to. He just wouldn't take it. So we just looked at each other for a long time. We didn't see him again for three years. Isabel would cry every night, wondering where he was.

Maria has had chicken pox. Max likes cherry cola. Liz demonstrates a surprising ability to play pool.

NOTES

Cherry cola at the Crashdown costs $1.25 (unless you're Max). Also on the menu: MEN IN BLACK-berry pie.

COMMENTS

Max's apparent failure to copy the drawings on the cave wall in RIVER DOG is dealt with as we learn that he did draw them, sparking a predictable response from Michael.

Liz and Max continue to offer up plenty of sweet scenes (contrast this with the lack of chemistry between Buffy and Riley in season four) - particularly when they're playing pool, although it's a bit of a shock to see her as something of a pool shark.

There's also lots of infilling on the aliens' background (notably how they first emerged from their pods) and mythology (River Dog's explanation about Nasedo), although exactly how the cocoon/webbing forms around Michael isn't explained at all.

As usual, there are plenty of good double-acts on show: Max and Liz, Liz and Maria, Maria and Michael, Maria and Isabel trying to be the one looking after Michael, and Alex and Isabel in the Crashdown (although she has the unfair advantage of having seen his dreams). However, it's also a good ensemble piece with the six teenagers all getting a decent slice of the action. BACK TO THE TOP

THE BALANCE

Written by THANIA ST. JOHN

Directed by JOHN BEHRING

STARRING
SHIRI APPLEBY
Liz Parker

JASON BEHR
Max Evans

KATHERINE HEIGL
Isabel Evans

MAJANDRA DELFINO
Maria DeLuca

BRENDAN FEHR
Michael Guerin

COLIN HANKS
Alex Whitman

NICK WESCHLER
Kyle Valenti

and WILLIAM SADLER
Sheriff Jim Valenti

GUEST STARING
STEVE HYTNER
Milton Ross

NED ROMERO
River Dog

TOD THAWLEY
Eddie

CO-STARRING
ZOË K. NUTTER
Young Isabel

DANIEL HANSEN
Young Max

NICHOLAS STRATTON
Young Michael

US/UK TRANSMISSION DETAILS
The WB: 15 December 1999
Sky One: 16 March 2000
BBC2: 16 November 2000

EPISODE RATING: 8/10

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