We're continuing to celebrate TV Turn-Off Week
here at TV Squad, and by "celebrate" I mean ignoring it completely. We believe that everyone should watch TV,
TV is good for you, and that there's no way we're going to shut off the tube for 7 straight days. We'd miss too
much.Case in point: not only is Alias in its last season, but tonight is also the 100th episode of the ABC series. J.J. Abrams said in an interview recently that the past couple of seasons, ABC told him to get away from the Rambaldi/mythology storyline, and he complied. But now that the show is ending - and Abrams and company actually knew it was ending, it wasn't some season-ending "oh, by the way, you're not getting renewed" - they can really focus on Rambaldi all they want and end the show the way that they want to end it.
Alias is and always has been a great show. It's like 24, only more believable. (Say what you want about mythical prophecies and lost years, at least it doesn't take place all in the same day). I feel sorry for people who like this sort of show but didn't give it a chance. But I guess that's why God made DVD sets.
In a nutshell: Sydney Bristow was recruited by the CIA in college. She hid it from her friends. Her bosses told her that if she told anyone, it might get her and her friends in trouble. In a phone mishap, her bosses find out that she told her fiancee' about her double life. They killed him. And this is when she found out that not only were her bosses not CIA but an evil organization, but also that her dad was a double agent working for the CIA inside of the bad organization, SD-6. To say more would not only make the show sound confusing (it isn't) and lame (it's quite fun and exciting, especially the first two years), so I won't go into detail. Let's just say that each season ends with a humdinger of a cliffhanger, and the seasons themselves have episodes that are incredbily entertaining and twisty. One of the best ensemble casts on TV, too, from lead Jennifer Garner and dad Victor Garber to baddie Ron Rifkin to computer geek Kevin Weisman. It's like a comic book come to life, but with a real emotional/family element to it all too.
This week sees the return of Will Tippin, Sydney's best friend who got a little too close to figuring out the secret that she worked for a secret organization a few seasons ago and had to be put into the witness protection plan. This is one of the great things that happens when you know a show is ending: you can get all the old characters back to wrap up their storylines. This week will also see the return of Anna, the evil assasin that has been a thorn in Sydney's side for years. And if you've been watching the past couple of weeks, you know that Irina (Sydney's spy mommy who is good and evil, depending on the weather) is back, and Michael Vaughn is actually alive and hiding in a cottage overseas.
I've always wondered why Alias never quite took off on the megahit level of Lost or the cool, buzzworthy level of 24. It has a continuing mystery just like Lost (and it's done by the same people, including Abrams), and it's set in the spy world like 24. And it also featured Jennifer Garner in some excellent lingerie and tight spandex, her body moving to the beats of the neat industrial music, slinky and sexy but with a power ... um, I'm sorry, where was I?
So, I'm not saying to watch these final three episodes. I'm saying that if you like fun action shows with a great cast and excitement and mystery and humor, go out and buy season one. If you're hooked, buy season two. By the time you get to these new eps, the last season DVD sets will be out and you can eventually see how the show ends. Earlier I said that I feel sorry for the people who haven't seen Alias yet. Actually, if you're about to see the show for the first time, I'm the one who feels sorry for myself. And just a bit jealous.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-26-2006 @ 9:26AM
Samuel McConnell said...
Last summer, I watched seasons 1, 2, and 3 on DVD. My roommate is a huge fan of the show, and we watched the whole series together (sans season 4, which was not yet available on DVD). It was incredible, watching Alias a disc at a time. I was so enthralled with the show.
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4-26-2006 @ 9:57AM
Jordy said...
Kudos! It's about time Alias got some recognition around here! This really has been a great show; I used to schedule my life around it (before Tivo). I didn't know ABC had pressured them into cutting out Rambaldi; I would say that is probably the cause for the decline in the show's excitement. Having Rambaldi gave it not only the spy-show quality, but a historical mythology (DaVinci Code, anyone?) that should have made it mega-popular. Sad to see it go!
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4-26-2006 @ 10:24AM
Keith McDuffee said...
Say, now that I look at that Rhambaldi drawing you put in your post, it looks a lot more like Amy Acker's character than it does Sydney.
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4-26-2006 @ 11:24AM
Cyberphin said...
Alias was cool that first season, but somewhere around the time Syd went missing it jumped the shark. Now that it's ending I really don't have a desire to see a grand finalle.
Also since I work 2nd shift I've realized that most TV is crap, since there is only 2 or 3 shows I make an effort to see. Smallville, Lost, and a little bit of Survivor since it's what the rest of the family is caught up in. Top Chef is the only reality show that I find fun right now.
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4-26-2006 @ 7:04PM
Lindsay said...
I completely agree with this article-it is perfect in describing my favorite show. And thankyou for saying it is more believable than 24-all of that stuff happening in one day-come on (it is a good show though...). Brilliant article as I was saying. It encapsulates Alias perfectly and I just wanted to say thanks for writing it.
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4-26-2006 @ 9:53PM
Bruce Wayne-Johnson said...
I was lucky I missed Season 1 and watched them all back to back - then weekly with Season 2...I declared Alias the best show on TV.
Then Season 3 started to get wonky...
Then Season 4 with the 1-off episodes went down the toilet. You can just hear the good writers leaving.
Then with this season its a little bit back to form, and I dont mind the new characters but its really lost its lustre.
I wonder, dont they have contracts for stars to NOT get pregnant during a series where THEY are the star and in an ACTION show? It seems they knew it was going to end this year and Jen decided to get pregnant...I just cant think that ABC with such a show would let their stars get pregnant - I know its happened before on TV but this pregnancy seemed kind of last minute worked into the story.
Anyways I am looking forward to how they resolve the whole thing - sorry but 5 episodes is not enough especially with the 2 they aired last week giving us no new information at all.
I still want my Jack Bristow spin-off show...Victor Garber before SD-6...
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4-27-2006 @ 2:19PM
Siraris said...
I used to love this show with a passion. I watched Seasons 1-3 on DVD in less than a week. I felt season 4 things went downhill, which was surprising to me since the writers from Buffy came on, and I thought they'd bring a lot to the show. This season is just ridiculous, almost as much as 24 is.
Alias, albeit a bit farfetched, always had real characters that you could identify with, where with 24, it's like watching people practicing how not to act. Alias still has wonderful acting, and I think Rachel Nichols does not get the respect she deserves (what about that dress at the club last night.......), and Victor Garber, Lena Olin, and the rest of the cast are always fantastic to watch, but things are just falling apart.
Someone PLEASE explain the exchange between Sidney and her Dad last night after Will was rescued. I rewinded 3 or 4 times, and every time Sidney said she was upset she had to lie to will about Vaughn being alive. Was there something between the end of the 2 hour episode and this past episode that I missed? How does she know that Vaughn is alive? And HOW is Vaughn alive? There's a certain point that you reach where people can't come back again, these people aren't cats.
What about Prophet 5, how did Sloan AND Irena not know they existed whatsoever? Why is Rhumbaldi back, after being gone for almost the entirety of last season? How can Marshall solve any technical problem ever, and yet he can't figure out a way to remove a bomb from Marshalls head?
In the past, things were out there, but they were done well enough to be believable. At this point, I feel like I am watching just to see how ridiculous it's going to be in the end.
This was one of my favorite shows, until it went into this downward spiral. I'm completely dissapointed by where this show has gone, and it doesn't help that 24 is going the same way. Can anyone explain how Charles Logan, one of the most bafflingly stupid people I've ever seen on a show, hatched a plot like he did in this season? The guy couldn't make a decision on his own if his life depended on it, and yet he's involved in this incredible conspiracy? Oye.
But please... someone tell me what I missed, since Sidney didn't know Vaughn was alive last week, and this week she suddenly does. I'm dying to figure this out.
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