Alien Powers
All of the aliens in the show have some type of 'otherworldly' power. Some are stronger then others,
some have better control than others, but they all can do things that humans are not capable of.
They can all do some things, like changing colors of items, altering appearance of items,
heating items, make mechanical items work, unlock doors, etc.
Some of the aliens seem to have a special or unique power. For example Max can heal and he
has a shield, Isabel can enter people's dreams, Michael has destructive power, and Tess can
make people see what she wants them to.
We don't know if these powers are unique to the individual, or if they are just better at them
than the others, like a talent. Perhaps other aliens could learn to do these things.
In an interview, JK said that the alien's powers reflected their personalities.
Here is a little more info about alien powers, right out of the show
In the Pilot, Liz asks Max what powers the aliens have.
He says - "We can connect with people, as you know. We can manipulate molecular structures,
and we can..."
Liz interrupts him and we never hear what the 'and' is, but we do know that each of the pod squad
seem to have a 'special' power that is unique to them, or perhaps they are just better at it.
The guys' unique powers seem to be more physical, and the girls have more
psychic or mental abilities.
~~~~
In the episode 'The White Room' we learn a bit more about the aliens' powers.
Max is being held in the White Room and attacks Agent Pierce with a burst of
super speed. This is the only time we see this ability in the show, and it is
quickly over as Max seems to have used up all his energy and collaspes.
Pierce tells Max - "The serum we injected you with – very effective in
suppressing the neurotransmitters in your cerebral cortex. Experiments on the
alien in the forties taught us that that’s where most of your powers come from."
~~~~
Later in the episode Nasedo tells Michael a bit more.
"Humans are weak – which doesn’t bother me – and wasteful. Their brains are
incredible machines they haven’t even begun to use. When you were engineered,
you were given the capacity to do everything the human brain is capable of."
"Everything you can do is human. You were just programmed to be several
thousand years ahead of mankind, that’s all."
(So if the aliens have powers on their planet, does that mean they are similar to humans, or their brains
are similar, just more advanced? Do their powers come from the same place in the brain?)
Nasedo also tells Michael about some limitations to their powers.
"That door is made up of depleted Uranium; a metal composed of heavy atoms,
which we can’t manipulate."
~~~~
In Destiny, Michael uses his powers to save Max and Liz, but he admits that
he didn't know what he was doing, it just happened. Tess tells Michael,
'It's just your own energy, Michael, and how you focus it. That's what
Nasedo was trying to teach you.'
~~~~
In the episode 'Skin & Bones' it is revealed that when Michael or Nasedo use
their powers, Cadmium X is produced. It is an isotope of Cadmium that doesn't
exist on Earth. (it is possible that all the alien produce this, but we only
know about Michael and Nasedo)
Here is a list of alien powers used in seasons 1 & 2.
I didn't document every use of powers in every episode, but I tried to list
each different type power that was used by each person.
If I missed any, let me know.
Season 3 is such a piece of crap, I'm not motivated to reference it,
and I prefer to pretend it doesn't exist
Click on a name to jump to it
Max Evans - Isabel Evans - Michael Guerin - Tess Harding - Liz Parker - Shapeshifters
Zan - Lonnie - Rath - Ava - Courtney Banks - Congresswoman Vanessa Whitaker
Nicholas - T. Greer - Skins - Emissary - Larek, Hanar, Kathana, Sero
Times when alien powers didn't work
Max Evans
(special or unique power - Healing & Protective Shield)
  
Multiple Episodes
- Heals
- Connects with Liz
- Locks & unlocks doors
- Uses a shield
----------
Pilot
- Smooths clay bust, and restores it
----------
Leaving Normal
- Allows Liz to connect with her dying Grandmother
----------
285 South
- Flattens the tires on the FBI guy's car
- Repairs tear in the Jeep's soft top
----------
River Dog
- Presumably he fixes Maria's jetta
(Michael couldn't & Isabel doesn't seem mechanical, since she had the Jeep fixed at a repair shop)
- Makes a light
----------
Missing
- Activates vending machine
- Gets a flash off a CD
----------
Toy House
- Extinguishes fire
----------
Into the Woods
- Alters a card in his hand to allow Jeff Parker to win
- Re-ignites Nasedo's signal
----------
Blind Date
- Gets up on a store sign, with no ladder or other visible means
- Spray paints a heart on Liz's wall
- Makes the heart glow like neon
- Replaces Maria's and Alex's face on a photo with his own
- Makes a street light flash like a disco ball
- Makes car alarms go off, and then play music
- Makes parking meters shoot sparks
----------
The Convention
- Pushes a gun out of reach
----------
Sexual Healing
- Makes Liz's skin glow
----------
Four Square
- Opens the pod chamber door
----------
The White Room
- Uses super speed
- Possibly blocked Isabel from connecting him
(Isabel says he won't let her in)
----------
Destiny
- Presumably blocks Kyle from getting flashes when he healed him.
(In the episode End of the World, Kyle tells Liz that he didn't get
flashes from Max when Max healed him, but it sure looks like Max got flashes when he healed Kyle.)
- Uses the Orb
----------
Skin & Bones
- Alters or removes cadmium-x from bones
- With a touch, sends Liz a series of flashes of them together
- Ages bones
----------
Ask Not
- Opens a keypad lock
This is an interesting cut scene from 'Ask Not'
INT STOREROOM – DAY – CONTINUOUS
In a blur of motion, a figure whirls around in the DARK room – there’s a BRIGHT LIGHT EMANATING from his hand! An alien energy burst?
Max instinctively ducks and throws out a hand to ward off whatever seems to be coming at him. As he’s bathed in a REDDISH GLOW from o.c. he closes his eyes and braces himself for the impact.
But nothing happens.
He carefully opens his eyes to see A WALL OF ENERGY a few feet in front of his still outstretched hand. (We should be able to see through the wall. Think of it like a crackling and multi-hued forcefield.)
On the other side of the energy field, sits a teenaged STONER, staring at the iridescent light show while he cradles a joint in one hand and a small lighter-torch in the other.
(Which we now realize was the source of the bright light seemingly reaching out for Max from the darkness.)
Max is shocked -- he had no idea he could do something like this. He pulls his hand back and the field DISAPPEARS. The Stoner blinks a few times...then exhales a cloud of SMOKE. He gives Max a wasted smile.
STONER
Dude. Did you see that?
MAX
See what?
The Stoner blinks again...then gets an even bigger smile on his face.
STONER
(re: joint) All right...
Max takes a deep breath and steadies himself.
----------
End of the World
- Changes the color of roses as he threw them to Liz
----------
Meet the Dupes
- Feels depressed after Zan dies
(even though he didn't know of Zan's existance)
----------
A Roswell Christmas Carol
- Lights a bulb on a Christmas Tree
----------
Departure
- Plans to fire a bold of energy through the heater that will start a 'controled' fire to kill Leanna. He says he can contain it long enough for the other people to evacuate the building
- Seems to be about to kill Tess in the pod chamber. He raises a hand to her head until she reminds him that it would kill his son too.
Isabel Evans
(special or unique power - Dreamwalking & Connecting with people without touching them)
  
Muptiple Episodes
- Dreamwalks
----------
Pilot
- Plays CD
- Heats food
(Apparently cooking food from scratch with alien powers makes it taste bad,
but reheating food with alien powers doesn't.)
----------
Monsters
- Makes the radio on Maria's Jetta louder
- Boosts the power on Maria's Jetta's air conditioning
----------
285 South
- Cleans coffee off clothes
- Lights Kerosene lamp
----------
Blood Brothers
- Draws Alex's blood
----------
Heatwave
- Changes color of nail polish through the bottle
----------
The Balance
- Changes ketchup to mustard through the bottle
----------
Toy House
- Changes color of lipstick on her lips
----------
Into the Woods
- Re-ignites Nasedo's signal
----------
Blind Date
- Restores grass after it was burned
----------
Sexual Healing
- Turns off lights, ignites candles & starts music with a snap of fingers
----------
The White Room
- Connects with Max from across town
(but later in the same episode is unable to do so again, saying Max is blocking her)
----------
Destiny
- Sees Pierce's thoughts even though she is in another room and he is awake
- Uses the Orb
----------
Surprise
- Makes a hole in a metal door
- Repels electricity
----------
Wipeout
- Pushes the boys out of the bathroom and slams door
----------
To Serve & Protect
- Connects with Laurie when she touches her, and sees the ganderium
Here is an interesting cut scene from the script
ISABEL: How am I supposed to dreamwalk Melissa Foster when I don't know who she is?
MAX: Valenti showed you her picture. Try to dreamwalk her.
ISABEL: I know everyone that I dreamwalk. I have no idea who or where this girl is.
----------
Disturbing Behavior
- Reverses the connection through Brody to contact Larek
----------
It's Too Late & It's Too Bad
- Turns paper to ash in her hand
----------
Off The Menu
- Cooks burgers and fries
(Apparently cooking food from scratch with alien powers makes it taste bad,
but reheating food with alien powers doesn't.)
Michael Guerin
(special or unique power - Blowing things up)
Michael doesn't have as much control over his powers as Max and Isabel and often unexpected things happen.
  
Multiple Episodes
- Blows things up
----------
Morning After
- Unlocks window
- Vision when he touches the key
----------
Missing
- Sharpens pencil
- Removes paint from a canvas
----------
Leaving Normal
- Changes answers on test
- Melts lock on locker
- Causes iching
Here is an interesting exchange between Max and Michael about his powers that is supposedly an cut scene from the episode 'Leaving Normal'
This takes place in the bathroom just before Michael tells Max that he sealed Kyle's locker shut.
MICHAEL
Max, something's happening to me. Check
this out.
Michael takes an abandoned cup of coffe that's sitting on the
windowsill. He puts his hand over it.
MICHAEL
Those guys beating the hell out of you
got me angry, and suddenly I'm able to
do all this stuff I never could do
before. It's like I'm you or something.
Michael turns the cup over. First dry ground coffee comes
out. Then sugar. Then he pours the rest out -- water.
MICHAEL
I can separate things.
Max looks at what Michael just did, amazed...
MAX
You're getting good, grasshopper.
----------
285 South
- Pushes Kyle across a room
----------
Into the Woods
- Heals River Dog
- Re-ignites Nasedo's signal
----------
Independence Day
- Makes lights flash, wind blow and cupboard doors bang
----------
Sexual Healing
- An interesting cut scene from SH
Michael reaches over to a CD that's glowing on the
table next to them. The minute he touches it, the loud music
and the glowing stop.
MICHAEL
The CD player broke. Just something I
figured out how to do
----------
Four Square
- Young Michael opens pod chamber door
----------
The White Room
- Changes his fingerprints
----------
Destiny
- Disables car
- Kills Pierce from across the room with a blast of power
- Uses the Orb
----------
Summer of '47
- changes Orange Soda to beer
- Snaps his fingers and makes fire to light a cigarette
----------
A Roswell Christmas Carol
- Locks door
----------
Disturbing Behavior
- Locks Laurie in Maria's Jetta
----------
How the Other Half Lives
- Sucks the air out of a room
----------
Viva Las Vegas
- Seals his locker with the money inside
- Alters drivers' licenses
- Cheats at roulette
----------
It's Too Late & It's Too Bad
- Fixes garbage disposal
----------
Baby It's You
- Throws the alien 'bomb' out the window
----------
| |
