Alias changes personality, doesn't fit disguise.
Rambaldi, SD-6, the Covenant, 47, CIA, K-Directorate, Project Christmas, the Alliance, doubles, the Prophecy, the Man, Khasinau, Laura Bristow, Sark, Sloane, and that was only the first two seasons. Alias, the high-tech, big fight, hot costume show on ABC has now finished its fourth season. Unfortunately the plots and detail that could be named in a long list from past years could be summed up in one short sentence this year. It sucks.
What made it good? The amount of detail, plots, and subplots made the show very unique and wonderfully interesting to watch. The episodes were told in a “to be continued” fashion every week. Viewers were always left wondering if the main character, Sydney Bristow, would survive until next week. At one point, Sydney had fallen from a ladder in a deep cavern. We were left wondering how she survived the fall until the next episode. Fortunately her fall was slowed by an outcropping branch and we got to see another hour of her undercover life.
Sydney was a double agent working with the CIA and trying to bring down the crime infested SD-6. She was constantly pretending to like her SD-6 boss Sloane, who had her fiancé killed. Sloane was part of the Alliance, a group responsible for terrorist training and black market weapons trade. But after a year and a half, some intelligence fell into their laps which allowed Sydney to finally bring down SD-6. At this point the show made a drastic turn.
Gone was the major premise of Alias. No longer was it about Sydney trying to take down SD-6, it was about her trying to deal with her “thought to be dead, but is actually alive and evil” mother. After years of thinking she was dead, Laura Bristow turned herself in to the CIA. This actually went extremely well for the rest of the season. The chemistry between Sydney and Laura was some of the best on television today. Lena Olin, who played Laura, was outstanding in portraying her character. We never really knew whether or not she was trying to change, or whether she was just putting on a disguise.
Once she left at the end of season two, the show really started to break apart. Season three was decent, but not up to the high expectations of the past. The plot lines were different; the characters had changed and moved on in different ways. Things were not the same. Then there was a huge break between the end of season three and the start of season four. Fans waited an extra four months before Alias returned.
When it did, everything was shaken up again. Granted, the changes were made to boost low ratings, but they were not very welcome to long time fans. The long arc type of episode was simplified so that each episode was self-contained. Another reason that the show turned sour was because they lost the complicated storylines. No longer was the show about deception and personal relationships, it was about a hot girl wearing many costumes and going on quick, semi-dangerous missions. This new format did bring in new viewers, as did its new time slot behind a brand new show called Lost, created by J.J. Abrams, the same person behind Alias.
The problem is that show is no longer the same and it’s heading into deep water. There are no big plot twists, no depth to the stories, and no emotion in the characters. The amount of detail and intrigue that first stirred up a cult like following is no longer found. Now it will be sent to the 8 pm Thursday night “timeslot-of-death.” But the thing is, I no longer care. No matter what happens with the new timeslot, if Alias does not change back to its old ways soon, consider this viewer disavowed.
