I agree with everything you said - particular about the cast, as a whole, having no chemistry. It's one thing to hire the right actor for the role, but they also have to meld well with all the other actors. For some reason they nailed this in our original Roswell.
I so far can't stand new Michael, he seems nasty and out of control. Isobel was woefully miscast, I think.
I guess I'll reserve final judgement if I watch one or two more episodes, but I also don't know if I even want to.
Btw Michael is apparently bi, which I think is great - but I don't want them to just make him bi to gain points - I want them to explore his actual character further rather than just instantly shoving it in our faces like they did when he started kissing Alex (also don't care for that actor). The struggles of a secret alien AND being bisexual in today's society can be super compelling, but something tells me that they don't have the ideas or writing skills to bother with this
(ok, I'm judging way early, but still).
Maria? What Maria?