As my very first post stated, Alias is one of my favorite TV shows of all time. It aired on ABC from 2001-2006; the second television venture from J.J. Abrams. It follows the life of Sydney Bristow, who realizes in the pilot episode that the espionage organization she was recruited into, SD-6, was not a part of the CIA, as she was told, but part of a rouge enemy conglomerate called the Alliance. So she becomes a double agent for the real CIA, and the first one and a half seasons followed her quest to take down SD-6 by working counter-missions for the CIA. I have the first two seasons on DVD, and I’ve just finished “Phase One,” the 13th episode of season 2, the one that aired after the Super Bowl. In that episode, the premise of the show is blown to shreds, SD-6 is taken down, and the show basically hits the reset button.
Watching the first two seasons over again, I’m amazed at the obvious network meddling that ABC did to try and pick up more viewers. The exposition, the clip show, and finally, just starting over when that all failed to work…it’s not really subtle, and it sucks, because this show could have been so much better had they just accepted the 8 million viewers they had and moved on.
I loved so much about this show, starting with Jennifer Garner, who I’ll follow into every last “Elektra” or “13 Going on 30” because I have such a massive girlcrush on her from this show. Then there was SpyDaddy, or Jack Bristow, played by Victor Garber, who did more with a twitch of his cheek than most do with an entire monologue. And of course there were cute boys: Michael Vartan, who played Syd’s CIA handler, Michael Vaughn, now appearing on Big Shots. (Totally the only reason to watch that show) Also, this show introduced David Anders into my life. He played Mr. Sark, an awesomely badass British assassin. (Allie will be putting up a list of her favorite “bad boys” soon, and I’m actively lobbying to have him on the list.) He was most recently seen on Heroes, playing another British bad guy, Adam Monroe.
Even though Alias really went to pot during the third, and especially fourth, season, it redeemed itself enough that I sobbed through the series finale in April 2006. I miss the wigs, the fights, the crazy locales, and stretching my credulity to the limits every week. J.J. Abrams has of course moved on to bigger and better things – maybe you’ve heard of Lost, or Cloverfield, or the upcoming remake of Star Trek – but it was this show that made me a fan of his for life.
Watching the first two seasons over again, I’m amazed at the obvious network meddling that ABC did to try and pick up more viewers. The exposition, the clip show, and finally, just starting over when that all failed to work…it’s not really subtle, and it sucks, because this show could have been so much better had they just accepted the 8 million viewers they had and moved on.
I loved so much about this show, starting with Jennifer Garner, who I’ll follow into every last “Elektra” or “13 Going on 30” because I have such a massive girlcrush on her from this show. Then there was SpyDaddy, or Jack Bristow, played by Victor Garber, who did more with a twitch of his cheek than most do with an entire monologue. And of course there were cute boys: Michael Vartan, who played Syd’s CIA handler, Michael Vaughn, now appearing on Big Shots. (Totally the only reason to watch that show) Also, this show introduced David Anders into my life. He played Mr. Sark, an awesomely badass British assassin. (Allie will be putting up a list of her favorite “bad boys” soon, and I’m actively lobbying to have him on the list.) He was most recently seen on Heroes, playing another British bad guy, Adam Monroe.
Even though Alias really went to pot during the third, and especially fourth, season, it redeemed itself enough that I sobbed through the series finale in April 2006. I miss the wigs, the fights, the crazy locales, and stretching my credulity to the limits every week. J.J. Abrams has of course moved on to bigger and better things – maybe you’ve heard of Lost, or Cloverfield, or the upcoming remake of Star Trek – but it was this show that made me a fan of his for life.
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