Show new take on teen angst

This season’s neverending stories of teen-age angst take on a new face tonight, as “Roswell” premieres at 9 on WB.

This time, it’s the face of an alien. Three aliens in fact, who look just like ordinary teens in the small New Mexican town made famous as the alleged site of a 1947 UFO crash.

For 16 years, this trio of extraterrestrial orphans has blended into the native population. Then one day, Max Evans (Jason Behr) blows his cover by saving the life of human Liz Parker (Shiri Appleby), whom he has had a crush on for years. Star-crossed romance, indeed.

When Liz tries to find out from Max how he saved her from a gunshot, he explains his special citizenship status (bringing new meaning to the term “illegal alien”), much to the chagrin of his fellow extraterrestrials Isabel (Katherine Heigl) and Michael (Brendan Fehr). Liz also gets pressured and reveals Max’s secret to her drama queen best friend, Marie.

Also poking his nose into the shooting at the Crash Down Diner is the town’s sheriff (played by William Sadler), whose father was laughed out of the FBI for his many alien-conspiracy theories. He finds Liz’s ketchup-stained dress and takes it to the FBI, who before long are cleaning out his files as a result.

So “Roswell” is part “Dawson’s Creek” and part “X-Files,” as the alien threesome and Liz try to stay a step ahead of the authorities while continuing with high school life as usual. By the end of the debut, viewers will be feeling for these aliens, who know nothing about their former life and are just trying to fit in to their new life, without getting vivisected by the powers that be. So far, the suspense is pretty lightweight, but it will have to get turned up in future episodes, for the drama part of “Roswell” is pretty glacial. Still, for uniqueness alone, “Roswell” deserves investigating.