Show cover for Roswell

The Best Episodes of Roswell Season 1

Every episode of Roswell Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Roswell Season 1!

Bizarre things start happening in the little New Mexico town where UFOs were spotted in 1947. Cut to 1999, when a cute high-school student saves the life of a teenage waitress. Surrounded by cliques of clever, angst-filled classmates, the two form a bond that threatens the survival of a secret universe involving superhuman powers, a yen for hot sauce and an alien gene pool.

Genres:Sci-Fi & FantasyDrama
Networks:The WBUPN

Season 1 Ratings Summary

The best episode of "Roswell" season 1 is "Pilot", rated 7.9/10 from 622 user votes. It was directed by David Nutter and written by Jason Katims. "Pilot" aired on 10/6/1999 and is rated 0.5 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "The Morning After".

  • Pilot
    7.9/10 622 votes

    #1 - Pilot

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 10/6/1999

    Liz Parker learns Max Evans' out-of-this-world secret when he saves her life and must rely on her to safeguard his secret as an orphaned extraterrestrial.

    Director: David Nutter

    Writer: Jason Katims

  • The Morning After
    7.4/10 422 votes

    #2 - The Morning After

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 10/13/1999

    Liz tries to maintain her relationship with Kyle despite her deep bond with Max; Michael is obsessed with the idea that there was another alien in Roswell in 1959 and tries to decipher the meaning of the flashes only he sees. Meanwhile, Liz suspects the new guidance counselor Ms. Topolsky is hiding something, especially when she sees her with Michael's file.

    Director: David Nutter

    Writer: Jason Katims

  • Monsters
    7.4/10 373 votes

    #3 - Monsters

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/20/1999

    Isabel is concerned about Maria's nervous reactions to Sheriff Valenti, so she invades one of Maria's dreams to determine whether she can keep the aliens' secret.

    Director: David Semel, David Nutter

    Writer: Thania St. John

  • Leaving Normal
    7.4/10 367 votes

    #4 - Leaving Normal

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/27/1999

    Liz's grandmother is rushed to the hospital after suffering a stroke prompting Liz to reach out to Max for comfort.

    Director: Chris Long

    Writer: Jason Katims

  • Missing
    7.4/10 346 votes

    #5 - Missing

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 11/3/1999

    Liz discovers her personal journal, which contains all she knows about the aliens, is missing and she fears it has fallen into the hands of someone who could expose the aliens.

    Director: David Semel

    Writer: Jon Harmon Feldman

  • 285 South
    8.1/10 382 votes

    #6 - 285 South

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/10/1999

    Michael's monomaniacal urge to find the geodesic dome that's been stalking his dreams leads him to hijack Maria's car to Texas.

    Director: Arvin Brown

    Writer: William Sind, Thania St. John

  • River Dog
    7.5/10 334 votes

    #7 - River Dog

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/17/1999

    Liz and Max journey to an American Indian reservation where they glean information from an elderly tribesman about the alien who vanished in 1959.

    Director: Jonathan Frakes

    Writer: Cheryl Cain

  • Blood Brother
    7.6/10 333 votes

    #8 - Blood Brother

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/24/1999

    Max is injured in a car accident and Liz pressures Alex to help protect him from medical procedures that could expose his identity by providing blood samples to replace Max's.

    Director: David Nutter

    Writer: Barry Pullman, Breen Frazier

  • Heat Wave
    7.8/10 362 votes

    #9 - Heat Wave

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 12/1/1999

    A freak December heat wave hits the town and sparks romance as Michael's relationship with Maria heats up and Liz's infatuation with Max intensifies; meanwhile Isabel enters into one of Alex's dreams only to discover her likeness already there and dancing with Alex.

    Director: David Nutter

    Writer: Jason Katims

  • The Balance
    7.3/10 321 votes

    #10 - The Balance

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/15/1999

    While at the reservation Michael ends up in an alarming hallucinatory state and the others must band together to save his life.

    Director: John Behring

    Writer: Thania St. John

  • Toy House
    7.2/10 310 votes

    #11 - Toy House

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 1/19/2000

    When Max rescues his mother from a kitchen fire she faces her suspicions about his extraordinary abilities; Liz reaches out to Kyle in friendship.

    Director: Michael Fields

    Writer: Jon Harmon Feldman

  • Into the Woods
    7.4/10 324 votes

    #12 - Into the Woods

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/26/2000

    A new UFO sighting sends suspicion and fear through the town and leads Max and Isabel to investigate the incident during a school camping trip.

    Director: Nick Marck

    Writer: Thania St. John

  • The Convention
    7.6/10 311 votes

    #13 - The Convention

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 2/2/2000

    Max plays host to actor Jonathan Frakes at the annual UFO Convention while trying to avoid the meddlesome couple who witnessed Max's life-saving abilities on Liz at the Crashdown Cafe.

    Director: Tucker Gates

    Writer: Emily Whitesell

  • Blind Date
    7.8/10 350 votes

    #14 - Blind Date

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 2/9/2000

    Maria enters Liz in a blind date contest; Max and Kyle commiserate about their shared feelings for Liz; Michael and Isabel send a signal to the fourth alien.

    Director: Keith Samples

    Writer: Thania St. John

  • Independence Day
    7.7/10 319 votes

    #15 - Independence Day

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/16/2000

    After Michael has a violent showdown with his father, Max and Isabel's father helps Michael set up his emancipation; the fourth alien emerges as a shapeshifter who watches over Max, Michael and Isabel.

    Director: Paul Shapiro

    Writer: Toni Graphia

  • Sexual Healing
    7.7/10 342 votes

    #16 - Sexual Healing

    Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 3/1/2000

    Liz is unnerved by her strong desire for Max and the visions that come when they kiss - visions that lead to a glowing orb in the desert.

    Director: David Semel

    Writer: Jan Oxenberg

  • Crazy
    7.7/10 299 votes

    #17 - Crazy

    Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 4/10/2000

    FBI agent Topolsky returns to warn Liz that a covert alien hunter inside the Bureau is pursuing Max and his friends -- and that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Meanwhile, Isabel befriends Tess, a new female student who immediately arouses Max and Michael's suspicions.

    Director: James Whitmore Jr.

    Writer: Thania St. John

  • Tess, Lies and Videotape
    7.8/10 302 votes

    #18 - Tess, Lies and Videotape

    Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 4/17/2000

    Max develops an uncontrollable attraction to Tess that includes intense sexual daydreams, and Sheriff Valenti learns that Topolsky was killed in a suspicious fire. Meanwhile, someone has secretly placed a video camera inside Michael's apartment.

    Director: Paul Shapiro

    Writer: Richard Whitley, Toni Graphia

  • Four Square
    7.5/10 293 votes

    #19 - Four Square

    Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 4/24/2000

    Harding finds the video camera hidden in his house and gives it to Valenti. The lawman then tells Max that his safety depends upon his willingness to share information. Meanwhile, Tess reveals a personal secret to Isabel.

    Director: Jonathan Frakes

    Writer: Thania St. John

  • Max to the Max
    8.0/10 302 votes

    #20 - Max to the Max

    Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 5/1/2000

    Tess's book suggests that she and Max are predetermined mates, as are Michael and Isabel, who thinks she might be pregnant -- with Michael's baby. Meanwhile, Nasedo disguises himself as Max and kidnaps Liz as part of a plan to trap FBI agent Pierce.

    Director: Patrick R. Norris

    Writer: Toni Graphia

  • The White Room
    8.2/10 328 votes

    #21 - The White Room

    Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 5/8/2000

    Max finds himself in a white room with no windows or doors, facing questions by Agent Pierce. Isabel telepathically contacts Max, who leaves her clues to his location. Michael, Isabel and Tess then set out on a rescue mission.

    Director: Jonathan Frakes

    Writer: Thania St. John

  • Destiny
    8.3/10 347 votes

    #22 - Destiny

    Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 5/15/2000

    After escaping from Pierce, the aliens save Nasedo. Michael accidentally kills Pierce. Nasedo, as the aliens' guardian takes Pierce's place to help the aliens. The aliens figure out how to use the devices and release a message from Max and Isabel's real mother. She says Max is their leader and Tess, his fiance and that Michael is Second in command and he is Isabel's fiance. After hearing all this Liz runs out.

    Director: Patrick R. Norris

    Writer: Toni Graphia, Thania St. John