Some of you may recall that before delving into the espionage world of "Alias", J.J. Abrams had co-created a very much different television series titled "Felicity" back in 1998. That show garnered a loyal cult following during its 4-season run from 1998-2002. Like the lead character Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) in "Alias", "Felicity" also featured a strong female lead by the name of Felicity Porter (Keri Russell). Another similarity that both shows seem to share is in their cast of actors: Jennifer Garner made appearances in several episodes of "Felicity" while Greg Grunberg, who plays Agent Weiss on "Alias" was a "Felicity" regular. Grunberg, who is an old friend of Abrams, has appeared in many of Abrams's other projects, including short cameos in "Lost" and the recent Abrams-directed movie, "Mission: Impossible III". Keri Russell also managed to land a part on "M:I III" as well. As you can probably deduce by now, JJ Abrams likes to work with people whom he is familiar with, casting them in more than one of his many projects. If one were to play "Six Degrees of Abrams", it would not be hard at all to find the many connections between Abrams and the actors that he has worked with over the years.
I have been a big fan of "Alias" since being enthralled by the show's pilot episode when I reviewed the show's first season DVD release. Although my first introduction to the show was through DVD, it got me hooked and I started watching it regularly on TV. Starting with the show's second season premier on TV, I have ever missed an episode since. For me, the show's best years were the first three seasons, establishing an intriguing and thoroughly addictive storyline. Matching the wits, gadgets and weapons of the CIA's clandestine group of super agents against the world's most notorious criminal organizations, namely SD-6 and later on, the Covenant, "Alias" proved that a slightly exaggerated (some might even say campy) and fictional modern spy series deserves its rightful place on today's television screens. Remember how unlikely it was that we were all pretty much hooked on a certain high school vampire killer?
Although I never wanted to believe it but whispers of "Alias"'s demise had steadily grown louder over the past couple of years. In reality, its days were numbered and it was probably just a matter of time before the show got the boot. Going up against tough and very competitive shows in the same timeslot, "Alias" just did not have the staying power or the pull to keep all but its most loyal fans. The show's ratings had always been mediocre at best but its loyal fan base probably kept the show afloat longer than many would have anticipated. As "Alias" finally comes to a close in this, its fifth season, it's hard to fathom, from a fan's perspective, how low the show has slid since its first three solid seasons.
It really pains me to see "Alias", one of my favorite TV shows in recent years, bow out in such lackluster fashion. However, from my point of view, "Alias" shot itself in the foot when it refused to let go of the drawn-out and often confusing Rambaldi storyline that started early in the series. Strangely enough, it was brought on as an intriguing subplot seeks to lend a prophetic and mystical aura to the show but has grossly overstayed its welcome. This is very much like what had happened to "The X-Files", with its perpetual alien abduction/government conspiracy theme that I thought kicked the show down a few notches from its perceived greatness. For me, the varied and often more interesting standalone episodic stories were better at conveying the true character of the "X-Files" series than the ongoing conspiracy stuff. This unfortunately holds true for "Alias" as well.
A TV series, running on a full regular season schedule, generally produces a minimum of 22 to 24 episodes. As if to underscore the show's lame duck status, "Alias", in its final season, produced only a paltry 17 episodes. Not only that, the show was unceremoniously broken up into two sessions, with an incredibly long 4-month gap in between. That sure says a lot about the network's commitment (or lack thereof) to seeing the show complete its run with a great run until its series finale. In my opinion, the show's troubles started when JJ Abrams found himself with a surprise mega hit show, "Lost" on his hands. As he slowly transitioned to the new show, "Alias" not only lost its main creative force in Abrams, the show basically lost focus after that.
For all its troubles, "Alias" ended its fourth season with literally a bang, creating a major cliffhanger for fans to anticipate and ponder over the lonely summer months. In the season finale, after enduring some really silly predicaments (zombies included) with a Rambaldi-related device, the happy couple of Sydney (Jennifer Garner) and Vaughn (Michael Vartan), finally gets to take some much needed time off to go on their oft-delayed vacation. However, just as Vaughn is about to make a stunning confession to Sydney that his name is not really Michael Vaughn, their car is t-boned by another and the episode ends. Talk about your cliffhangers, huh?
Season 5 opens with the dramatic aftermath of the car accident. If you are hoping for some answers to who Vaughn really is, well, you are not going to find it in the first few episodes. To make matters worse for Sydney, not only does she find out that she is pregnant with Vaughn's child, now she has to find out who the man really is. For all she knows, she could have been in love with a double agent all these years, which is quite ironic since that was exactly what happened between her father Jack (Victor Garber) and mother, Irina (Lena Olin), now a wanted fugitive. This season also introduces us to a new criminal organization called "Prophet Five", whose members have infiltrated various government agencies at the highest levels.
With Sydney's pregnancy progressing as the season wore on, it is clear that she can't do any of the action-heavy scenes that are usually the staples of every episode. And with Vaughn missing for most of the season (presumably dead), something has to be done to shore up APO. With this in mind, the producers saw fit to bring in a couple of new agents--Thomas Grace (Balthazar Getty) and Rachel Gibson (Rachel Nichols)--to temporarily replace Vaughn and Sydney. This infusion of new blood into the show is certainly a welcomed move that probably should have been done two seasons ago. Both of these new characters seem to bring a new lease of life to the show, surprisingly surpassing the usual Sydney, Vaughn, Dixon (Carl Lumbly) and Jack combo. Also, giving Rachel a backstory eerily similar to Sydney's (they both started out working for the bad guys, thinking that they are working for the CIA) gave fans some glimmer of hope that Rachel might eventually replace Sydney if the show were to continue on past the fifth season. We now know how that turned out. As for agent Grace, he seems to have his moments but it's just too bad that his story is not as well developed as Rachel's. Given the rather short amount of time that both of these two new characters had to make an impact, I would say that they were both successes and great albeit short-lived additions to the show.
I have been a big fan of "Alias" since being enthralled by the show's pilot episode when I reviewed the show's first season DVD release. Although my first introduction to the show was through DVD, it got me hooked and I started watching it regularly on TV. Starting with the show's second season premier on TV, I have ever missed an episode since. For me, the show's best years were the first three seasons, establishing an intriguing and thoroughly addictive storyline. Matching the wits, gadgets and weapons of the CIA's clandestine group of super agents against the world's most notorious criminal organizations, namely SD-6 and later on, the Covenant, "Alias" proved that a slightly exaggerated (some might even say campy) and fictional modern spy series deserves its rightful place on today's television screens. Remember how unlikely it was that we were all pretty much hooked on a certain high school vampire killer?
Although I never wanted to believe it but whispers of "Alias"'s demise had steadily grown louder over the past couple of years. In reality, its days were numbered and it was probably just a matter of time before the show got the boot. Going up against tough and very competitive shows in the same timeslot, "Alias" just did not have the staying power or the pull to keep all but its most loyal fans. The show's ratings had always been mediocre at best but its loyal fan base probably kept the show afloat longer than many would have anticipated. As "Alias" finally comes to a close in this, its fifth season, it's hard to fathom, from a fan's perspective, how low the show has slid since its first three solid seasons.
It really pains me to see "Alias", one of my favorite TV shows in recent years, bow out in such lackluster fashion. However, from my point of view, "Alias" shot itself in the foot when it refused to let go of the drawn-out and often confusing Rambaldi storyline that started early in the series. Strangely enough, it was brought on as an intriguing subplot seeks to lend a prophetic and mystical aura to the show but has grossly overstayed its welcome. This is very much like what had happened to "The X-Files", with its perpetual alien abduction/government conspiracy theme that I thought kicked the show down a few notches from its perceived greatness. For me, the varied and often more interesting standalone episodic stories were better at conveying the true character of the "X-Files" series than the ongoing conspiracy stuff. This unfortunately holds true for "Alias" as well.
A TV series, running on a full regular season schedule, generally produces a minimum of 22 to 24 episodes. As if to underscore the show's lame duck status, "Alias", in its final season, produced only a paltry 17 episodes. Not only that, the show was unceremoniously broken up into two sessions, with an incredibly long 4-month gap in between. That sure says a lot about the network's commitment (or lack thereof) to seeing the show complete its run with a great run until its series finale. In my opinion, the show's troubles started when JJ Abrams found himself with a surprise mega hit show, "Lost" on his hands. As he slowly transitioned to the new show, "Alias" not only lost its main creative force in Abrams, the show basically lost focus after that.
For all its troubles, "Alias" ended its fourth season with literally a bang, creating a major cliffhanger for fans to anticipate and ponder over the lonely summer months. In the season finale, after enduring some really silly predicaments (zombies included) with a Rambaldi-related device, the happy couple of Sydney (Jennifer Garner) and Vaughn (Michael Vartan), finally gets to take some much needed time off to go on their oft-delayed vacation. However, just as Vaughn is about to make a stunning confession to Sydney that his name is not really Michael Vaughn, their car is t-boned by another and the episode ends. Talk about your cliffhangers, huh?
Season 5 opens with the dramatic aftermath of the car accident. If you are hoping for some answers to who Vaughn really is, well, you are not going to find it in the first few episodes. To make matters worse for Sydney, not only does she find out that she is pregnant with Vaughn's child, now she has to find out who the man really is. For all she knows, she could have been in love with a double agent all these years, which is quite ironic since that was exactly what happened between her father Jack (Victor Garber) and mother, Irina (Lena Olin), now a wanted fugitive. This season also introduces us to a new criminal organization called "Prophet Five", whose members have infiltrated various government agencies at the highest levels.
With Sydney's pregnancy progressing as the season wore on, it is clear that she can't do any of the action-heavy scenes that are usually the staples of every episode. And with Vaughn missing for most of the season (presumably dead), something has to be done to shore up APO. With this in mind, the producers saw fit to bring in a couple of new agents--Thomas Grace (Balthazar Getty) and Rachel Gibson (Rachel Nichols)--to temporarily replace Vaughn and Sydney. This infusion of new blood into the show is certainly a welcomed move that probably should have been done two seasons ago. Both of these new characters seem to bring a new lease of life to the show, surprisingly surpassing the usual Sydney, Vaughn, Dixon (Carl Lumbly) and Jack combo. Also, giving Rachel a backstory eerily similar to Sydney's (they both started out working for the bad guys, thinking that they are working for the CIA) gave fans some glimmer of hope that Rachel might eventually replace Sydney if the show were to continue on past the fifth season. We now know how that turned out. As for agent Grace, he seems to have his moments but it's just too bad that his story is not as well developed as Rachel's. Given the rather short amount of time that both of these two new characters had to make an impact, I would say that they were both successes and great albeit short-lived additions to the show.
Some of you may recall that before delving into the espionage world of "Alias", J.J. Abrams had co-created a very much different television series titled "Felicity" back in 1998. That show garnered a loyal cult following during its 4-season run from 1998-2002. Like the lead character Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) in "Alias", "Felicity" also featured a strong female lead by the name of Felicity Porter (Keri Russell). Another similarity that both shows seem to share is in their cast of actors: Jennifer Garner made appearances in several episodes of "Felicity" while Greg Grunberg, who plays Agent Weiss on "Alias" was a "Felicity" regular. Grunberg, who is an old friend of Abrams, has appeared in many of Abrams's other projects, including short cameos in "Lost" and the recent Abrams-directed movie, "Mission: Impossible III". Keri Russell also managed to land a part on "M:I III" as well. As you can probably deduce by now, JJ Abrams likes to work with people whom he is familiar with, casting them in more than one of his many projects. If one were to play "Six Degrees of Abrams", it would not be hard at all to find the many connections between Abrams and the actors that he has worked with over the years.
I have been a big fan of "Alias" since being enthralled by the show's pilot episode when I reviewed the show's first season DVD release. Although my first introduction to the show was through DVD, it got me hooked and I started watching it regularly on TV. Starting with the show's second season premier on TV, I have ever missed an episode since. For me, the show's best years were the first three seasons, establishing an intriguing and thoroughly addictive storyline. Matching the wits, gadgets and weapons of the CIA's clandestine group of super agents against the world's most notorious criminal organizations, namely SD-6 and later on, the Covenant, "Alias" proved that a slightly exaggerated (some might even say campy) and fictional modern spy series deserves its rightful place on today's television screens. Remember how unlikely it was that we were all pretty much hooked on a certain high school vampire killer?
Although I never wanted to believe it but whispers of "Alias"'s demise had steadily grown louder over the past couple of years. In reality, its days were numbered and it was probably just a matter of time before the show got the boot. Going up against tough and very competitive shows in the same timeslot, "Alias" just did not have the staying power or the pull to keep all but its most loyal fans. The show's ratings had always been mediocre at best but its loyal fan base probably kept the show afloat longer than many would have anticipated. As "Alias" finally comes to a close in this, its fifth season, it's hard to fathom, from a fan's perspective, how low the show has slid since its first three solid seasons.
It really pains me to see "Alias", one of my favorite TV shows in recent years, bow out in such lackluster fashion. However, from my point of view, "Alias" shot itself in the foot when it refused to let go of the drawn-out and often confusing Rambaldi storyline that started early in the series. Strangely enough, it was brought on as an intriguing subplot seeks to lend a prophetic and mystical aura to the show but has grossly overstayed its welcome. This is very much like what had happened to "The X-Files", with its perpetual alien abduction/government conspiracy theme that I thought kicked the show down a few notches from its perceived greatness. For me, the varied and often more interesting standalone episodic stories were better at conveying the true character of the "X-Files" series than the ongoing conspiracy stuff. This unfortunately holds true for "Alias" as well.
A TV series, running on a full regular season schedule, generally produces a minimum of 22 to 24 episodes. As if to underscore the show's lame duck status, "Alias", in its final season, produced only a paltry 17 episodes. Not only that, the show was unceremoniously broken up into two sessions, with an incredibly long 4-month gap in between. That sure says a lot about the network's commitment (or lack thereof) to seeing the show complete its run with a great run until its series finale. In my opinion, the show's troubles started when JJ Abrams found himself with a surprise mega hit show, "Lost" on his hands. As he slowly transitioned to the new show, "Alias" not only lost its main creative force in Abrams, the show basically lost focus after that.
For all its troubles, "Alias" ended its fourth season with literally a bang, creating a major cliffhanger for fans to anticipate and ponder over the lonely summer months. In the season finale, after enduring some really silly predicaments (zombies included) with a Rambaldi-related device, the happy couple of Sydney (Jennifer Garner) and Vaughn (Michael Vartan), finally gets to take some much needed time off to go on their oft-delayed vacation. However, just as Vaughn is about to make a stunning confession to Sydney that his name is not really Michael Vaughn, their car is t-boned by another and the episode ends. Talk about your cliffhangers, huh?
Season 5 opens with the dramatic aftermath of the car accident. If you are hoping for some answers to who Vaughn really is, well, you are not going to find it in the first few episodes. To make matters worse for Sydney, not only does she find out that she is pregnant with Vaughn's child, now she has to find out who the man really is. For all she knows, she could have been in love with a double agent all these years, which is quite ironic since that was exactly what happened between her father Jack (Victor Garber) and mother, Irina (Lena Olin), now a wanted fugitive. This season also introduces us to a new criminal organization called "Prophet Five", whose members have infiltrated various government agencies at the highest levels.
With Sydney's pregnancy progressing as the season wore on, it is clear that she can't do any of the action-heavy scenes that are usually the staples of every episode. And with Vaughn missing for most of the season (presumably dead), something has to be done to shore up APO. With this in mind, the producers saw fit to bring in a couple of new agents--Thomas Grace (Balthazar Getty) and Rachel Gibson (Rachel Nichols)--to temporarily replace Vaughn and Sydney. This infusion of new blood into the show is certainly a welcomed move that probably should have been done two seasons ago. Both of these new characters seem to bring a new lease of life to the show, surprisingly surpassing the usual Sydney, Vaughn, Dixon (Carl Lumbly) and Jack combo. Also, giving Rachel a backstory eerily similar to Sydney's (they both started out working for the bad guys, thinking that they are working for the CIA) gave fans some glimmer of hope that Rachel might eventually replace Sydney if the show were to continue on past the fifth season. We now know how that turned out. As for agent Grace, he seems to have his moments but it's just too bad that his story is not as well developed as Rachel's. Given the rather short amount of time that both of these two new characters had to make an impact, I would say that they were both successes and great albeit short-lived additions to the show.
I have been a big fan of "Alias" since being enthralled by the show's pilot episode when I reviewed the show's first season DVD release. Although my first introduction to the show was through DVD, it got me hooked and I started watching it regularly on TV. Starting with the show's second season premier on TV, I have ever missed an episode since. For me, the show's best years were the first three seasons, establishing an intriguing and thoroughly addictive storyline. Matching the wits, gadgets and weapons of the CIA's clandestine group of super agents against the world's most notorious criminal organizations, namely SD-6 and later on, the Covenant, "Alias" proved that a slightly exaggerated (some might even say campy) and fictional modern spy series deserves its rightful place on today's television screens. Remember how unlikely it was that we were all pretty much hooked on a certain high school vampire killer?
Although I never wanted to believe it but whispers of "Alias"'s demise had steadily grown louder over the past couple of years. In reality, its days were numbered and it was probably just a matter of time before the show got the boot. Going up against tough and very competitive shows in the same timeslot, "Alias" just did not have the staying power or the pull to keep all but its most loyal fans. The show's ratings had always been mediocre at best but its loyal fan base probably kept the show afloat longer than many would have anticipated. As "Alias" finally comes to a close in this, its fifth season, it's hard to fathom, from a fan's perspective, how low the show has slid since its first three solid seasons.
It really pains me to see "Alias", one of my favorite TV shows in recent years, bow out in such lackluster fashion. However, from my point of view, "Alias" shot itself in the foot when it refused to let go of the drawn-out and often confusing Rambaldi storyline that started early in the series. Strangely enough, it was brought on as an intriguing subplot seeks to lend a prophetic and mystical aura to the show but has grossly overstayed its welcome. This is very much like what had happened to "The X-Files", with its perpetual alien abduction/government conspiracy theme that I thought kicked the show down a few notches from its perceived greatness. For me, the varied and often more interesting standalone episodic stories were better at conveying the true character of the "X-Files" series than the ongoing conspiracy stuff. This unfortunately holds true for "Alias" as well.
A TV series, running on a full regular season schedule, generally produces a minimum of 22 to 24 episodes. As if to underscore the show's lame duck status, "Alias", in its final season, produced only a paltry 17 episodes. Not only that, the show was unceremoniously broken up into two sessions, with an incredibly long 4-month gap in between. That sure says a lot about the network's commitment (or lack thereof) to seeing the show complete its run with a great run until its series finale. In my opinion, the show's troubles started when JJ Abrams found himself with a surprise mega hit show, "Lost" on his hands. As he slowly transitioned to the new show, "Alias" not only lost its main creative force in Abrams, the show basically lost focus after that.
For all its troubles, "Alias" ended its fourth season with literally a bang, creating a major cliffhanger for fans to anticipate and ponder over the lonely summer months. In the season finale, after enduring some really silly predicaments (zombies included) with a Rambaldi-related device, the happy couple of Sydney (Jennifer Garner) and Vaughn (Michael Vartan), finally gets to take some much needed time off to go on their oft-delayed vacation. However, just as Vaughn is about to make a stunning confession to Sydney that his name is not really Michael Vaughn, their car is t-boned by another and the episode ends. Talk about your cliffhangers, huh?
Season 5 opens with the dramatic aftermath of the car accident. If you are hoping for some answers to who Vaughn really is, well, you are not going to find it in the first few episodes. To make matters worse for Sydney, not only does she find out that she is pregnant with Vaughn's child, now she has to find out who the man really is. For all she knows, she could have been in love with a double agent all these years, which is quite ironic since that was exactly what happened between her father Jack (Victor Garber) and mother, Irina (Lena Olin), now a wanted fugitive. This season also introduces us to a new criminal organization called "Prophet Five", whose members have infiltrated various government agencies at the highest levels.
With Sydney's pregnancy progressing as the season wore on, it is clear that she can't do any of the action-heavy scenes that are usually the staples of every episode. And with Vaughn missing for most of the season (presumably dead), something has to be done to shore up APO. With this in mind, the producers saw fit to bring in a couple of new agents--Thomas Grace (Balthazar Getty) and Rachel Gibson (Rachel Nichols)--to temporarily replace Vaughn and Sydney. This infusion of new blood into the show is certainly a welcomed move that probably should have been done two seasons ago. Both of these new characters seem to bring a new lease of life to the show, surprisingly surpassing the usual Sydney, Vaughn, Dixon (Carl Lumbly) and Jack combo. Also, giving Rachel a backstory eerily similar to Sydney's (they both started out working for the bad guys, thinking that they are working for the CIA) gave fans some glimmer of hope that Rachel might eventually replace Sydney if the show were to continue on past the fifth season. We now know how that turned out. As for agent Grace, he seems to have his moments but it's just too bad that his story is not as well developed as Rachel's. Given the rather short amount of time that both of these two new characters had to make an impact, I would say that they were both successes and great albeit short-lived additions to the show.
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