Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends

Overview

On the show, the Roswell incident which is part of a conspiracy theory is portrayed as being a man made phenomenon. It was set up by humans to deflect popular attention from the truth. The unidentified flying object was a prop; the body of a little green or grey man was a dummy; the witnesses to the crash were plants; as were the Air Force investigators. In fact the whole shadow world surrounding Area 51 was nothing but a distraction from the fact that the aliens had landed long ago and there were known incidents of their desire to attack, assimilate and/or destroy the human race.

These known incidents could be found in legend, myth and folklore of beings so strange and alien that they became the fabric of what human beings thought of when they thought of being frightened; vampires, werewolves, banshees, manitou, evil spirits, etc. As human beings progressed into the Industrial Age the attacks seemed to lessen, but recently they have begun to go on the rise.

The story begins as Nick Logan, a bounty hunter, gets tapped to hunt down what he thinks is a regular bounty, but things don't stay regular for long. When his next bounty turns out to be a very unusual girl, he soon finds himself involved in something both incredibly outrageous but also potentially satisfying. There are aliens among us and he can possibly play a part in helping to protect the earth. His new circumstances could also help him discover the truth behind his biological father's disappearance. Raised and trained by a stepfather in the know, Nick is one of a few human beings born with an innate sense of seeing through alien deceptions; most of the aliens can morph into human form at will. This ability gives him a unique advantage. In time he discovers his father and grandfather shared this advantage too.

Nick ends up teaming with Sh'lainn Blaze, a rogue Banshee who wants to be the bridge that helps humans and her species co-exist on the planet together. The Banshee have not fared well in an age of cold iron and Sh'lainn seems aware that they are plotting some form of 'final' solution. Together they become agents under James Rinaker the current Executive Officer of The Global Alliance, an international agency responsible for keeping the secret from the public and keeping the aliens in check by preventing the more aggressive and volatile ones from hunting human beings.

Characters

Main characters

Nick Logan (Alex Zahara): Former bounty hunter now newest Global Alliance Agent and part of the Detection Unit. Logan's father, Walter, disappeared during an unexplained alien encounter at Roswell, New Mexico; his grandfather was one of the original members of the Alliance. Nick was raised by his step-father never knowing at the time that his "play time" was secret training to fight aliens. Nick is capable of seeing through alien illusions. Nick is a rogue within the Alliance, seldom following procedure and taking many actions upon his own accord. Nick spends most of the series looking for his kidnapped step-father and searching for information on his real father's disappearance.

Sh'lainn Blaze (Janyse Jaud): A rebellious member of the Banshee clan, a race of aliens that landed in the British Isles around 527 BC. She, like her kind, possesses the ability to predict when someone will die. She can also levitate and emit energy streams. She's been targeted by Queen Mab. She becomes a new member of the Alliance and Nick's partner in the Detection Unit. As the series progresses it is clear that Nick and Sh'lainn develop a relationship. She ultimately forms a psychic bond with Nick when she brings his lost memories to the surface.

James Rinaker (L. Harvey Gold): The head of the Global Alliance and the executive responsible for staging the Roswell Incident. Rinaker is committed to protecting humans from the aliens among them and to preserving the secrecy of the Alliance - at any cost. Throughout the series Rinaker's agenda is to wipe out hostile alien factions and makes alliances with his enemies whenever it involved weakening another foe. This served only to further divide and weaken the alien factions. Toward the end of the series it is revealed that he is actually a Shadoen double agent and sub-commander named Wraith. He killed the real Rinaker in 1946 and absorbed his biological tissue to replicate his DNA. Wraith assumes complete command of the second Shadoen Multitude when he misled commander Keel into underestimating the humans, leading to the commander's personal ship to be hit by a nuclear warhead. Wraith is killed when the Shadoen Multitude fleet is wiped out by the EMP bomb.

Jefferson Trueblood (Eli Gabay): Sheriff of Roswell. He is the leader of the S.T.A.R. teams and Rinnaker's right-hand man. He is very skillful in combat and in the use of weapons. Trueblood's father was also one of the original members of the Global Alliance. Trueblood became the chief of his tribe following his great uncle, One Fox's, death during a Lycanthrope attempt to eradicate another alien race, the Kachina. He fights honorably and although he normally obeys Rinaker, he will take matters into his hands if he feels Rinaker's orders risk the lives of others. Rinaker's actions ultimately cause Trueblood to distrust the general and, at one point he stole the Lycanthrope EMP bomb from Rinaker and moved it to the vision cave at his native home in Arizona. When Rinaker reveals himself to be Shadoen, Trueblood intercedes when he is about to kill Nick. He sacrifices himself while fending off Wraith to allow Nick to escape.

Alliance operatives

Ti-Yet (Dale Wilson): A Guardian among the Yeti. He was responsible for the safety of his people and protecting their most valued possession from their sworn enemies. He eventually becomes integrated as an agent of the Alliance and becomes a great friend to Nick. First appearance: Episode 3 - Mountain Retreat.

Ms. Smith-Heisen: She is the liaison between the Alliance and the government, acting as sort of a director, but not superior to general Rinaker. She is the first to discover the second Shadoen Multitude Fleet approaching the Earth but was incapacitated by Rinikar before he tried to escape.

Keung Ling: A human agent within the Global Alliance with a thirst for power and attention. He temporarily shares control of his body with a Vodun named Babul, which enhances his abilities above the average human. Babul and Ling come to respect one another and act as a team. Babul assumes complete control over Ling to assist the Vodun when they take over the bunker but regrets his actions; Babul ultimately sacrifices himself to destroy the Vodun and to allow Ling to survive.

Dorian Wyrick: A former US marine and a close friend of Trueblood, he is a good soldier and a loyal agent to the Alliance. He rescues Ms. Smith-Heisen after she was assaulted by Rinaker upon discovering the Shadoen Fleet approaching Earth. He also forms part of the team that retrieves the EMP bomb, left in the vision cave by Trueblood.

Prof. Antonio Alascano: The section head among the scientists who develop the weapons, gadgets and vehicles used by the Alliance.

Dr. Marina Petrovic: The Alliance pathologist, an eccentric woman who has the task of eradicating alien viruses or find antidotes to vampires poisons.

Delfin Tabada: One of the most loyal men of Rinaker. He is a militant, grumpy, and rude torture expert put in charge of the Omega Level.

Enemies

Queen Mab (Saffron Henderson): The leader of the Banshee Clan. Almost a counterpart to Rinaker, she is determined that her people should survive and thrive on Earth - even if it means sabotaging and retarding human innovation, for technology is poisonous to Banshees. Mab banishes Sh'Lainn from their clan for joining the Alliance, also branding her as a traitor and target. The conflict with the Alliance as well as bitterness for Sh'Lainn leads Mab to even summon Minotauri warriors - a technological race previously sealed by the Banshee - in order to kill Sh'lainn, but her efforts were thwarted by Nick. In the end, she forgives Sh'lainn and welcomes her back into the Banshee Sisterhood. First appearance: Episode 1 - The Bait (Part 1).

Ruck (Scott McNeil): The werewolf pack leader. Relentless, resourceful, and a cunning liar, he takes any opportunity to continue his people's war with the Yeti. His only family is his son Athos, with whom he has a strained relationship - because of Athos' appearance and ideology. Ruck is an enemy of the Alliance throughout the series, but ultimately became one of their greatest heroes as he died aiding the new Alliance against the Shadoen's second invasion. Approaching the end of his life cycle, he and Nathan Boyar decided to pilot a hastily crafted ship equipped with an unstable beam cannon to destroy the invading fleet's primary weapon, along with many other Shadoen vessels. First appearance: Episode 3 - Mountain Retreat.

Hanek (Dale Wilson): Vampire Leader of a successful Vampire Family. He is calculating and extremely ambitious. Under the cover of his company, Intracom, he took control of the remaining Vampire clans on the West Coast after the events of Episode 5 - Peacemaker, and then expanded his control by taking over the Vampire clans on the East Coast after the events of Episode 17 - The Partnership. He is blinded in one eye and receives a scar following an attempted coup by the Vampire Valra. Hanek was killed by Nick Logan while attempting to use the life energies of Banshee to power teleporters. His second-in-command, Dorn, subsequently took over. First appearance: Episode 7 - The Roswell Incident.

Dorn (Lee Tockar): He is originally appointed by Hanek to assist the Alliance in capturing Valra. He becomes Hanek's second-in-command and takes over Intracom operations after Hanek was killed. His resolve for world domination was not as strong as Hanek's which allows him to consider the possibility of forming an alliance with the other alien races, including the Banshee. First appearance: Episode 23 - Vampire Amok.

Other characters

Nathan Boyer (Dale Wilson): When the real Walter Logan disappears in 1979, Rinaker appoints Nate to pretend to be Walter Logan. He comes to love Nick as if he were his own son, and without Rinaker's knowledge, indirectly teaches Nick to combat aliens such as Werewolves and Vampires. When Nick is grown up, Nate retires as an agent but continues to pose as Walter Logan and is admitted into a retirement home due to his heart condition. When Nick's memories begin to return Nate reveals that he is actually Nick's stepfather. Shortly afterwards, Intracom kidnaps Nate. Nick spends most of the series searching for Nate, finding him and losing him multiple times. When the new Alliance is formed to defend Earth from the Shadoen invasion, Nate apologizes to Walter for playing into Rinaker's hand. He atones for his actions when he and Ruk decided to pilot a hastily crafted ship equipped with an unstable beam cannon to destroy their primary weapon along with many other Shadoen vessels. First appearance: Episode 1 - The Bait (Part 1).

Kraker: A close friend of Nick and his informant from his days as a bounty hunter. A very skilled hacker, he is very useful as a son of a gun of non-Alliance tainted information.

Walter Logan (Dale Wilson): Nick Logan's father and someone with insider knowledge of the Alliance. He was also the founder of the Conduit and wanted humankind to peacefully coexist with the other alien races. He was kidnapped by the Shadoen posing as General Rinaker, and put into cryogenic stasis in the Omega Level of the Alliance's maximum security prison at the Bikini Atoll. Later on, he was freed by his son, Nick, and was instrumental in forging a new Alliance between humans and aliens.

Wi-Yoom: A female Yeti, she is Ti-Yet's mate and leader of the Yeti once he is captured and later conscripted into the Alliance. She was first seen when she and the other Yeti are forced to evacuate their original underground village in the Himalayas with the EMP bomb once the Lycanthrope attack. After the EMP bomb is taken back by the Lycanthrope, she contacts the Alliance in order for Ti-Yet to deactivate it as it was inadvertently activated during the firefight.

Athos: Losing his mother due to Alliance anti-Lycanthrope action shortly after his birth, he is secretly raised by Nick and Sh'lainn. Due to the Lycanthropes' natural ability to simulate human appearance from visual information during childhood, Athos bears a striking resemblance to Nick, whom he imprinted on as a father-figure shortly after his birth. Having found out that Logan and Sh'lainn were keeping a Lycanthrope, the Alliance kidnaps Athos for study, thus leading to a brief conflict with Nick, resulting in Athos being returned to his real father, Ruck. Athos is one of the few Lycanthropes in the show that do not seek war, same as Kara, his late mother, who wished for him to join the Conduit. After his father's heroic sacrifice, it is presumed that Athos assumed new leadership of the werewolf pack. First appearance: Episode 18 - The Cub.

Alien races

Aesiri (AKA Viking gods): The Aesiri come from a gravity-heavy planet via a comet centuries ago. Due to the condition of their homeworld, their bodies can withstand much more punishment than any other species. One of the Aesiri, Odin, is shown using laser vision. The Aesiri are notoriously sadistic and psychopathic, enjoying causing both physical and psychological torture. While the Aesiri cannot shapeshift, they can project mental holograms into the minds of others, and seemingly take others' forms. Two Aesiri, Odin and Loki, were being held in the Alliance maximum security containment facility in the Bikini Atoll. They escaped and planned to use a Frost Giant to initiate Ragnarök only to perish when the Frost Giant they physically bonded to fell into a ravine of lava.

Argonian: A race of yellow and bulbous humanoids with red antennae that inhabited a planet known as Argonius, a planet that was conquered by the Shadoen. They possessed the ability of flight, enhanced strength, as well as heat vision but were susceptible to a yellow element known as Argonium. Little is known about their technological state, but they were known to use technology that was advanced enough to make them shapeshift like the Vampires.

Banshee: A race of female humanoid teleporters who live in harmony with the Earth, but are poisoned by humanity's growing dependence on electronics. Banshee can predict when someone will die, and can fire energy bursts or fly. They are most well known for their ability to produce piercing shrieks. They also have lifespans ranging for hundreds or thousands of years, and have been on Earth since they landed in Ireland around 527 BC. This race is in constant warfare with the Vampire Empire, which is fundamentally their ideological opposite - draining life and using technology. One interesting trait is that a banshee can initiate a deep mind probe into another person to retrieve lost memories. However, such a process will form a permanent bond between their life forces. This can be considered as the banshee version of marriage. Sh'lainn and Nick form this bond in order for him to regain his lost memories. As evidenced in Episode 11 - Countdown, a Banshee who spends too much time around technology contracts a sickness known as the "Iron Death", which causes her to go wild as she transforms technology into organic material and directs it against others. Though initially deemed incurable by Mab, her daughter, Sh'rain, later reveals that an Ur stone can counter this sickness. A Banshee is also weakened when in space, due to her power being drawn from the Earth. The race is tied to the Tree of Light in their hidden lair, and its destruction would also bring about the deaths of every Banshee.

Credits

Co-created by Kaaren Lee Brown, the show's pilot episode and bible were written by Bob Forward and Greg Johnston, Story Editors. Some sources say it was set up to be shown as either 20 one-hour-long episodes or for each episode to be split in half to equal 40 thirty-minute episodes. Aside from a few dual part episodes, however, the storytelling reads better as 40 separate episodes. There was a production budget from Bohbot of U.S.; $500,000 per episode with a blend of cel animation and special effects at Epoch Ink in Santa Monica, California, with the talents of Joe Pearson, Tom Tataranowicz, Chuck Patton, Brad Coombs, Young Yoon, Harry Warner, Rick Ungar, Brad Rader and Gregg Davidson. Stephanie Graziano produced. Pearson was later credited with showrunning the series, where he met Kevin Eastman, the co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Production

On May 13, 1998, it was announced Bohbot Entertainment would be producing Roswell Conspiracies — Aliens, Myths & Legends for a fall 1999 broadcast on the syndicated Bohbot Kids Network. The episodes were budgeted at $850,000 each for 44 half hour long episodes. However, in June 1999 it was reported the run would actually consist of 40 episodes budgeted at a total of $18.7 million or $467,500 per episode. Gargoyles creator Greg Weisman was initially announced as a writer and producer for the series, though Weisman ended up having no affiliation with the final series. Weisman wrote the original pilot under the title The Roswell Conspiracies, however the pilot script was rejected though some of Weisman's concepts were incorporated into the final version of the series. The series marked Bohbot Entertainment's first time producing an animated series rather than serving as just a distributor. The series was the first project for Bohbot Kids Network, a syndication package similar to Bohbot's Amazin' Adventures that aimed to have the look and feel of a network block similar to Fox Kids. Stephanie Graziano was chosen to head up BKN given her role in helping establish Fox Kids.

Broadcast

The series began broadcasting in first-run syndication on August 28, 1999 and continued to broadcast until June 3, 2000. A dual distribution deal between Bohbot Entertainment and Sci-Fi Channel saw the series broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel from August 27, 1999 through November 26, 1999. On April 4, 2001, it was confirmed that the series was picked up by Fox to air on Fox Kids block from April 7 through May 27 of that year, which the series reran on as part of the network's Saturday-morning and Weekday schedules. The series reportedly struggled to attain a foothold in the United States.

Bohbot Entertainment sold international broadcasting rights to the series to various regional distributors including BBC in the United Kingdom, Super RTL in Germany, Mediaset in Italy, Antenna TV in Greece, M-Net in South Africa, Televisa in Mexico, and Cartoon Network in Latin America.

The show achieved some success in the international market such as when the show was in Top 5 children's shows in the UK on BBC in April 2001. Germany's Super RTL credited the series along with Max Steel with attracting older kid viewers to their after school block.

Home media releases

United States

In 2007, budget distributor Digiview Entertainment released five DVD volumes containing four episodes each, titled "Bounty Wars", "The Bait", "Conduit", "Countdown", and "Area 51". Plans for a DVD box set, slated for release on July 30, 2007, came and went, with its availability unknown due to problems with retailer support; however, Target carried a $5 box set with episodes 1–20 in early 2010. The series is available to stream on various platforms, such as Tubi (with an alternate listing of episodes 19-40), Pluto TV, and Prime Video.

Discotek Media will release the entire series on Blu-ray on October 27, 2026.

Germany

The German company Pidax released all 40 episodes on 3 volumes (2 DVDs each) in 2018.

United Kingdom

As of March 9, 2020, the first 20 episodes were made available on Amazon Prime Video UK.

Merchandise

A toy line of action figures based on the series was produced by Giochi Preziosi.

Other media

In June 1999, it was reported that Bohbot Entertainment had entered into a deal with Red Storm Entertainment to produce video games for both consoles and PCs bases on the series. In April 2000, it was reported Red Storm with three developers: Red Lemon Studios, Climax Studios, and Crawfish Interactive to develop the games. The PlayStation version was made by Red Lemon Studios (makers of the 1999 Braveheart game), the Game Boy Color version was developed by Crawfish Interactive, and the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast versions were made by Climax Studios. In detailing the Dreamcast version, the game was intended to contain over 26 huge levels in 6 different locations and would feature a story that voice actors from the show. Unlike other versions, the Dreamcast version of the game was slated to use a cel shaded art style similar to other games on the system like Jet Set Radio. The Dreamcast version had been slated for a November 2000 release. At the 2000 E3, Red Storm was able to demo the Dreamcast version of the game, but the Nintendo 64 version was absent as the team were dealing with a multitude of issues with the developers citing challenges with making individual elements (Collision detection, artificial intelligence, etc.) come together into a cohesive whole. During development, the Nintendo 64 version was struck by repeated delays and Red Storm was reportedly having second thoughts about the market viability of the game in the wake of their acquisition by Ubisoft due to the show it was based on not having much staying power or impact within the United States and the Nintendo 64 being at the end of its lifespan meaning cartridge sales would not justify further production. In March 2001, it was reported the Dreamcast version had been cancelled with the PlayStation and Game Boy Color versions still slated for release.

The PlayStation and Game Boy Color versions of the game were released on July 13, 2001 by Ubi Soft, just one year after the series had finished its run on June 2, 2000. A Nintendo 64 version was also in development before being cancelled.

The Game Boy Color version, developed by Crawfish Interactive and gives players control of Nick Logan. The game is said to deliver ongoing suspense as any passerby could possibly be an alien. The game has five locations to explore and has ten levels, seven driving games and five Boss Battles. Another game was released in 2006, with twenty levels, and said to be more plot-driven.

Reboot

In November 2019, it was reported that 41 Entertainment had begun development on a computer animated consisting of eight 44-minute episodes for an estimated release in Fall 2021. Per a statement by 41 Entertainment's Kiersten Halstead, development was spurred by the resurgence of interest in UFO conspiracy theories, in particular citing the Facebook event and viral phenomenon Storm Area 51 which the reboot planned to include as a plot point. The series was planned to take place 20 years after the end of the original with the Alliance having safely contained the last of the hostile alien forces leaving only the most peaceful alien species to assimilate with Human society. With no further active threats, the Alliance now consists of an older staff whose duties include maintaining the ruse of Area 51 and watching over the alien prisoners. When the viral Storm Area 51 leads to thousands of conspiracy theorists overwhelming what remains of the Alliance guards, the chaos frees several dangerous extraterrestrial creatures including Nosferatu whose species is the source of Earth's 'Vampire legends. With these dangerous aliens now unleashed upon the world, the Alliance is rebuilt to deal with the fallout with a new generation of agents with Nigerian-born Michael “Eek” Ekong and his rookie partner from Norway, Valerie Torsdotter, leading the charge. To date, the series has not seen release or further updates on its development.