7.9/10627 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
7.4/10424 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
7.4/10375 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
7.4/10368 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
7.4/10347 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
8.1/10385 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
7.5/10335 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
7.6/10334 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
7.8/10363 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
7.3/10322 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
7.2/10312 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
7.4/10327 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
7.6/10314 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
7.8/10353 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
7.7/10323 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
7.7/10345 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
7.8/10303 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
7.8/10305 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
7.5/10296 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
8.0/10305 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
8.2/10331 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
8.4/10351 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
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...
Genres:Sci-Fi & FantasyDrama
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Pilot" is the best rated episode of "Roswell" season 1. It scored 7.9/10 based on 627 votes. Directed by David Nutter and written by Jason Katims, it aired on 10/6/1999. This episode is rated 0.5 points higher than the second-best, "The Morning After".