Discussion: Alex or Isabel

Are you a stargazer? Want more Alex and Isabel? Then come in here and talk about it.

Moderators: truelovepooh, Forum Moderators

User avatar
truelovepooh
Forum Moderator
Posts: 94
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2004 8:32 pm
Location: stuffing crackpipes in my big 80's hair

Discussion: Alex or Isabel

Post by truelovepooh »

I wanted to start a discussion about a theory that is discussed over and over in the Stargazer/Roswell fandom. It seems in this pairing, people lean towards one character or the other. I know this has been fought/discussed in other threads on this forum, I wanted to try to break it down to figure out why this is. This is not a why we love Isabel or Alex thread, this more of a why we lean towards one over the other. Does that make sense?
Image
User avatar
Sternbetrachter
Roswell Fanatic
Posts: 2301
Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2002 10:05 am
Location: Austria

Re: Discussion: Alex or Isabel

Post by Sternbetrachter »

a bit :P

I prefer Alex - like me, he wasn't popular and a bit geeky and I really would have loved to be such a nice person as he is :lol: and well ... he was the guy in the pairing, I'm a girl ... ;)
Colin Hanks
icon by elv_graphics
User avatar
truelovepooh
Forum Moderator
Posts: 94
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2004 8:32 pm
Location: stuffing crackpipes in my big 80's hair

Re: Discussion: Alex or Isabel

Post by truelovepooh »

Sternbetrachter wrote:a bit :P

I prefer Alex - like me, he wasn't popular and a bit geeky and I really would have loved to be such a nice person as he is :lol: and well ... he was the guy in the pairing, I'm a girl ... ;)
but don't you think that would be a person's perception? I personally don't think Alex was at all geeky, or even unpopular. He wore the clothes that were in style at the time and he was in a band, that might be considered different in some schools ( not in mine, it was very cool :P ) He seemed to get along with everyone but choose to hang out with 2 great girls alot.

So being a girl, you naturally lean towards the guy in the couple?
Image
User avatar
Sternbetrachter
Roswell Fanatic
Posts: 2301
Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2002 10:05 am
Location: Austria

Re: Discussion: Alex or Isabel

Post by Sternbetrachter »

yes, I never hate or dislike the girl but for some reason, I always side with the guy :lol: (so much for females sticking together)
Colin Hanks
icon by elv_graphics
User avatar
StarGazing101
Addicted Roswellian
Posts: 173
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2001 12:03 pm
Location: In My Own Head
Contact:

Re: Discussion: Alex or Isabel

Post by StarGazing101 »

Personally, I don't (and try not to) truthfully have a preference and, though writing-wise I tend to be more of an Isabel writer, I have attachments to both.

Alex often reminds me not of the typical high school geeks, but the masterminds, class clowns, and some of the band students from my high school, who had a tendency to chameleon through all groups where lines of socialization were more blurred than polarized (particularly in the honor student/lazy genius category because all subgroups within that category tend to mesh because there are less persons and due to the fact you tend to take classes with the same persons all four years of high school). I had a lot of people who knew of me, and I had a surprisingly large group of friends considering that I am extremely studious (when I want to be), and I had a friend who pointed out that if I'm like any character (at that point in my life), I was most like Liz, in the studious, science/math nerd sense. Though, I'll full on admit to wanting to be more like Alex, and that I admired many of the persons who were similar to my description of him.

But unlike Liz, I'm emotionally very much like Isabel, and I have a very sarcastic tone and a rather dark sense of humor, which both Isabel and Alex exhibited throughout the series. I am very obsessive-compulsive about having things organized, to the point that I have annoyed teachers (and my parents) by my OCDness and have been praised beyond belief for having perfect assignments, projects, and having my binder exceptionally organized (color-coded to be exact). Academically (and work-wise), presentation is everything to me, which is very Isabel-esque (as well as S1!Liz), except that she chose to use it in every aspect of her life than just work (volunteering) and school.

Isabel's queen-bee status never was because she wanted to be popular, in my mind, but because she liked to watch everyone from the 'top of the tower', so to speak. Despite the fact we saw her followers in season one; she hangs out with Max and Michael, and even told her two cronies to chill when they caught her waitressing at the Crashdown. If Liz and Isabel have any similarities (as I have all ready pointed out that they do), they are both 'people' observers: Liz was more from a fascination stand point, Isabel from the need to have available information at her hands to use to her advantage when necessary. Due to all of this, Isabel seems very much unapproachable, which I can immensely relate to because I don't wear my heart on my sleeve, and because I don't have automatic reactions especially to emotionally-invested news. That makes me seem very cold and makes my responses seem half-hearted, which I completely understand from an outsider's viewpoint can be very disheartening.

Obviously, because of that emotional attachment, I suppose that online I am more likely to side with Isabel, where as I really attempt and tend to side with both, but it really, really depends on the discussion at hand. Just because I am a sliver more likely to side with Isabel does not mean I agree with how she handled everything with respect to Alex and vice versa.

I hope that all makes sense, and feel free to disagree with my descriptions if you so please. I have put a lot of thought (possibly too much, LOL) into this subject, very much so since I returned to posting actively last year. So to conclude, have at folks.
User avatar
cardinalgirl
Addicted Roswellian
Posts: 405
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2004 2:01 pm
Location: California
Contact:

Re: Discussion: Alex or Isabel

Post by cardinalgirl »

When I first came into the fandom, some of my earliest and most eagerly-written stuff (a lot of which is still sitting on my harddrive to be honest) were Alex scenes. He was easily a favorite character on the show, because he tended to have the funniest lines and the funnest quirks. Like Pooh said, I never really saw him as a "geek," at least in any way that could possibly have a negative connotation. I'd even venture to say that between the two, Alex was actually more popular than Isabel. Sure, Isabel had the social status, but Alex had friends who... you know... actually "knew what species he was," etc. Aside from Michael and Max—and in some cases it seems like Max's is entirely out of obligation—Isabel didn't. Alex's only real social faux pas is that he gets [very] awkward when he's nervous. Which is actually kind of charming. :mrgreen:

The more fics I was reading, though, the more I came to find that Isabel was comparatively a fairly under-examined character, and as a writer, anything that is under-examined (especially in such a vast spectrum as Rosfic) is very, very appealing. I feel in some ways that the things I would have liked to say about Alex in fanfic have already been done, and in most cases better than I could have dealt with it myself. I could spout off names of amazing portrayals of Alex—but you already know what they are. Great portrayals of Isabel are available too, of course, but they're harder to find, from my experience, and I did feel as if I had a point of view on Isabel that was somewhat unique and new, at least a look at her from a new angle.

Which is not to say that I ever got tired of writing Alex. I wouldn't even say that I've written any more from Isabel's POV than I have Alex's... just that less of my Alex stuff has made it off my harddrive, again. lol Alex is just too much fun to give up writing. In fact, I have two or three characters in original stories that are somewhat Alex-esque (or at least, they're played by an Alex-aged Colin Hanks in my head. :P)

I would probably say that emotion-wise, I'm much more like Isabel... I'm a very introspective person, and am often labeled "shy," just as Isabel is labeled "cold." I've definitely had people who disliked me simply because I was overly-quiet. At school, though, my group was definitely more in the Alex range of people... a little quirky, smarter than your average high schooler and mischievous to boot. Like Alex, we had a knack of "getting away with things" with the teachers, if you know what I mean. (Electrocuting desks? No, we didn't. Clearing entire classrooms of furniture for April Fools, though? Uh, yeah.)

The thing I've always loved about the Alex/Isabel relationship is that in some ways they seem to me to be much more equal a relationship than either of the other two main CC's. With Max and Liz, there's always been the idea that she's "the smallest of small town girls," and then Max heals her and suddenly her life is interesting.... which I've always thought was a little unfair. And with Michael and Maria, it quite often felt like Maria was teaching Michael how to be... or how she wanted him to be. I'm not saying that that's entirely true (part of it was messy handling by TPTB) but again, that sometimes felt unfair.

Alex and Isabel, though... they didn't really have that. Isabel would have liked to think she had the upper hand on Alex, but it was usually the other way around. He was always surprising her and meaning more to her than she had intended him to, and their vulnerabilities are so comparable that they just... work. I couldn't possibly say that I love one of them more than the other. That's what's so great about them. I don't feel like I have to pick a side. I'm totally on their side. If I come to Isabel's defense more often... it's just because I feel like less people do. And that Alex doesn't really need me. Because... he's Alex. Hee. :P
User avatar
killjoy
Roswell Fanatic
Posts: 1627
Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2005 12:24 pm
Location: Alabama

Re: Discussion: Alex or Isabel

Post by killjoy »

Alex all the way.Ok I have a hard time putting my feelings down but here goes.

The way he was treated by Liz,Maria and later Isabel always made me mad.

Liz and Maria,after learning about the aliens,almost cut him out of their lifes without an explanation but than still demanded he drop everything and come to their aid.The donating blood for example.And after he did drop everything and come to their aid they would than push him out the door with a 'sorry we can't tell you' excuse. :roll: I always wanted to see Alex get a phone call during that time and when Liz and/or Maria demanded he show up for something he would just say 'no' and slam the phone down.

Isabel was the worst of all.The way she broke up with Alex and than threw Grant in his face made sure I was not a fan of her character.That was why I LOVED it when Alex came back from Sweden....well you know what I mean....and turned Isabel down when she asked him to Prom.The speech he gave her and the way she looked after it almost made me stand up and clap for him

To be honest with you guys I think Alex was treated worse than a dog through most of the show.The only reason he stuck by everyone's side through all of that only shows what a great,loving big hearted person he was.
User avatar
Sternbetrachter
Roswell Fanatic
Posts: 2301
Joined: Wed Jun 05, 2002 10:05 am
Location: Austria

Re: Discussion: Alex or Isabel

Post by Sternbetrachter »

hear hear :D
Colin Hanks
icon by elv_graphics
User avatar
truelovepooh
Forum Moderator
Posts: 94
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2004 8:32 pm
Location: stuffing crackpipes in my big 80's hair

Re: Discussion: Alex or Isabel

Post by truelovepooh »

so much to say here, I'll be back...
Image
User avatar
SarahWhitman
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 508
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2002 2:59 am
Location: Ohio, USA
Contact:

Re: Discussion: Alex or Isabel

Post by SarahWhitman »

I really think there's more to each character than what you first see. I'm not sure exactly what to say here...you guys have all done so well ahead of me! But I think I'm an "Alex" person...yeah. Good idea for a discussion! I'll think about it more and come back when there's not so much background noise here.
I want an Alien Blast! <3
Post Reply