what went wrong with ALIAS?

[Keepcoolbutcare]

Can someone fill me in here?

I've noticed a lot of ire directed towards Abrams here and in the TB's so I'm curious. I've watched seasons 1-3, and while the third doesn't hold a candle to those (no Lena Olin.. ) I didn't think it was that bad.

So what gives with season 4? Is it that bad? Should I not bother with it when it's released on DVD? When did this show dolphin flip the orca? Is Abrams a hack? You are my eyes and hears of all things coax people, and I need intel!

P.S.- I might at one point have slagged on Dino for calling the Alias pilot the Best.Pilot.EVER., but the show did leave me addicted and wanting more, so thank you Dino for the recommendation.

P.P.S - And thank you Burl and T.i.t.G for the Carnivale love. I'm diggin it so far.

[lyra belacqua]

Can someone fill me in here?

I've noticed a lot of ire directed towards Abrams here and in the TB's so I'm curious. I've watched seasons 1-3, and while the third doesn't hold a candle to those (no Lena Olin.. ) I didn't think it was that bad.

So what gives with season 4? Is it that bad? Should I not bother with it when it's released on DVD? When did this show dolphin flip the orca? Is Abrams a hack? You are my eyes and hears of all things coax people, and I need intel!

P.S.- I might at one point have slagged on Dino for calling the Alias pilot the Best.Pilot.EVER., but the show did leave me addicted and wanting more, so thank you Dino for the recommendation.

P.P.S - And thank you Burl and T.i.t.G for the Carnivale love. I'm diggin it so far.

First, let me add to the Carnivale love. As much as it pissed me off at times, I couldn't wait each week to see the new episode and was sad it went bye-bye.

As for Alias, well, I've become too attached to it to ever even think of not watching it, but yes, it peaked with season 3 (actually 2, but 3 wasn't bad). I would watch forever just for Victor Garber-he's always great. And while I found season four fun enough and I love the Rambaldi stuff, I had to overcome lots of rational thought to enjoy it.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

<blows kiss in Lyra's general direction>

Thanks love.

BTW, sorry for the harlot crack in the TB's...I just missed you is all.

[lyra belacqua]

<blows kiss in Lyra's general direction>

Thanks love.

BTW, sorry for the harlot crack in the TB's...I just missed you is all.

I miss you too baby

And not to dig up any "disagreements" from other threads, but I would never take offense because I know and live by the old axiom: "if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen."

Is it hot in here? Oh, yes, I forgot, that's why I can't be wearing my skirt anymore.

[ONeillSG1]

If there ever was a jumping the shark moment, it was when Sydney and Vaughn stood in the rubble-filled remains of SD-6 and kissed the kiss of death.

From then on, they could never recover.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

That early? Wasn't that season 2?

I kinda liked the kiss, but I can see where you're going with that line of reasoning.

[ONeillSG1]

That early? Wasn't that season 2?

I kinda liked the kiss, but I can see where you're going with that line of reasoning.

The middle of season 2. Once the SD-6 dynamic was gone, it seemed that they had no direction and no real foundational plot other than the smoke and mirrors of Rimbaldi.

[RogueScribner]

I'm not up on my Alias history, but I know I watched most of last season and while I thought the first batch of eps were okay, it started getting stupid towards the end so I quit watching.

Lost is a much better show.

[burlivesleftnut]

I had the opposite reaction to last season. I thought it started off terribly, but despite a really stupid plotline, I found the last part of the season more compelling. One of my major problems with last season was Sydney's sister Nadia. I thought she was a terrible addition to the cast, and he character never made a lot of sense to me. I hope she never comes back, unless its just to take her out Francie style. My other big beef was putting Sloane in charge of APO. That was nine kinds of ALF and the contrived melodrama that went with it was the opposite of interesting.

I watched tonights episode after missing the season opener last week, and I actually thought it was pretty good. The technology is getting more and more lame, but I thought there was some good suspense and the bad dude was such a weasel I loved it. I also liked the additions of Getty and Locke. Both are very appealing actors, so it will be interesting to see how well the integrate next week. But of course, I am still not sure how someone who is on the CIA's most wanted list at number 7 is going to be integrated into the team somehow.

So, is Vaughn gone for good?

[bluebottle]

what they said.

once sd6 went down, so did the show.

no direction at all.

[burlivesleftnut]

I didn't say that, ya putz.

[darthevilbob]

I just watch it for marshall best thing since the geeky guys from x-files - the lone gunmen!

Glad "SPOILERS FOR ANYONE NOT SEEN EP1 SEASON 5" he makes Jack look like he has a range of emotional expressions.

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

I watched tonights episode after missing the season opener last week, and I actually thought it was pretty good.

I also liked the additions of Getty and Locke.

I'm inna the same boat, eh? Missed a last a week's but watched a last a night's... The Dino, he not so crazy about a the addition of a the Getty. It's a like "hmm... we need a the bad boy... the renegade... the Wolverine character... call a the Central Casting!"

[burlivesleftnut]

But apparently he's not the crazy one.

[saucyminx]

They screwed it up for me when they killed Francie and made Will disappear. And I hated those Sydney-Vaughn googoo eyes moments.

Funny thing was, the series was quite addictive.

[AtomicHyperbole]

Didn't stop you criticising how crazy it was. You lurved it.

[saucyminx]

Just because I liked it doesn't mean that I won't criticise it.

[Chilli]

Its over... its done... and in true Alias style...

WHAT THE DEUCE?

[MasterWhedon]

Can someone tell me, SPOILER-FREE, now that Alias is done, is it worth getting into on DVD? Is there a certain point where the quality drops off?

[Pudie]

Can someone tell me, SPOILER-FREE, now that Alias is done, is it worth getting into on DVD? Is there a certain point where the quality drops off?

Most people will say season3, but I say season 4. But it's still quality throughout IMO and worth checking out. The first 2 seasons are some of the best TV out there.

[Seppuku]

Can someone tell me, SPOILER-FREE, now that Alias is done, is it worth getting into on DVD? Is there a certain point where the quality drops off?

I'd say almost slap-bang in the middle of Season 2- basically what O'Neill said above. So buy the first season and have a whole lotta fun, and if you really want to clear up those loose ends buy the second, but after that don't expect too much. Maybe rent it out on DVD if you're not certain.

[Ribbons]

Can someone tell me, SPOILER-FREE, now that Alias is done, is it worth getting into on DVD? Is there a certain point where the quality drops off?

I'd say almost slap-bang in the middle of Season 2 -- basically what O'Neill said above. So buy the first season and have a whole lotta fun, and if you really want to clear up those loose ends buy the second, but after that don't expect too much. Maybe rent it out on DVD if you're not certain.

I agree with this post. The handful of Season the Third that I saw wasn't bad either (have barely watched any of Season the Fourth, although what I did watch of it did not please me), but if you're going to buy or Netflix or whatever any "Alias" but you're feeling kind of wishy-washy, I'd recommend just the first two seasons. Possibly even just the first one; once it drops the SD-6 angle it almost feels kind of rudderless. Neither of their finales' cliffhangers have especially satisfying resolutions, so don't let that factor into your decision to watch the next season's batch of episodes. Unless you have a Lena Olin fetish. But the first season really was something special, and if you're a fan of Abrams and don't mind strong female protagonists I suspect it'll be right up your alley.

[Keepcoolbutcare]

Unless you have a Lena Olin fetish.

[saucyminx]

Yeah. The first season is the best.

The whole triangle between Sydney, Vaughn and his evil wife Lauren was so stupid, it was like some silly soap opera with a handful of espionage action thrown in. And the whole "cool" disguises felt a little cheap by then. I felt so cheated when they pulled a "Mission Impossible" disguise somewhere near the end of the third series.

[ZombieZoneSolutions]

I think both LOST and ALIAS are horrendously overrated. The former
because its a Shaggy Dog Trick concealing a Red Herring; boring,
pointless, empty. Being oblique for its own sake isn't deep or intelligent,
its masturbatory. Come chomp at the doggy treats dear viewers!
Evangeline Lilly has a wet t-shirt on! Sad fact being theres a decent
2 hour psychological sci-fi mystery thriller movie (or brief miniseries)
hidden within countless hours of mind-numbingly bad digression in the
show. Oh well.

ALIAS fell apart for similar reasons; pretensions to an intelligence thats
not really there to begin with. ALIAS would have been great if the
creators just went balls out action-campy and had preposterous model
chickee beating the crap out of other preposterous model chickees all
the while layering on thick pink gobs of candy colored camp and 60s
pop-art proto-crypto Dumbledore references. Unfortunately, someone over
at ABC actually believed these shows were more intelligent than they
actually are (or were) and have effectively killed themselves with
unintentional self-parody.

There were two, count em, two intelligent and interesting meta-shows
on tv -- TWIN PEAKS and THE PRISONER. Nothing I have ever seen,
before or since, even comes close. Abrams would have to stand on
top of the ghost of the Twin Towers to even blow a kiss to the feet
of Lynch and McGoohan.

[MasterWhedon]

Can someone tell me, SPOILER-FREE, now that Alias is done, is it worth getting into on DVD? Is there a certain point where the quality drops off?

I'd say almost slap-bang in the middle of Season 2 -- basically what O'Neill said above. So buy the first season and have a whole lotta fun, and if you really want to clear up those loose ends buy the second, but after that don't expect too much. Maybe rent it out on DVD if you're not certain.

I agree with this post. The handful of Season the Third that I saw wasn't bad either (have barely watched any of Season the Fourth, although what I did watch of it did not please me), but if you're going to buy or Netflix or whatever any "Alias" but you're feeling kind of wishy-washy, I'd recommend just the first two seasons. Possibly even just the first one; once it drops the SD-6 angle it almost feels kind of rudderless. Neither of their finales' cliffhangers have especially satisfying resolutions, so don't let that factor into your decision to watch the next season's batch of episodes. Unless you have a Lena Olin fetish. But the first season really was something special, and if you're a fan of Abrams and don't mind strong female protagonists I suspect it'll be right up your alley.

Thanks, all.

I'm working through The Sopranos right now via Netflix, so once I finish that up I'll move over to Alias for at least a season or two.

[Doc Holliday]

I've come VERY late to the party as far as Alias is concerned - I watched my first episode only about 4 weeks ago....I'm guessing I've just watched season 3 perhaps? Its the season that ends with her killing Francie then waking up in Hong Kong two years later.

I've never felt more Bi-Polar in my life then when I watch this show...half the time I groove on it...the other half I really have to fight not to turn my TV off and leave the house for at least an hour.

They could do themselves a favour and find a better expository tool then that stammering fuck-nut...is it Marshall? A man whose unfeasibly-sized head I'd still detest, even if I had it pickled and in a jar on my bookshelf - which I so very badly want to happen. Thank the Christ Terry O'Quinn was on hand to show how it should be done....no wonder Abrams felt such a debt of gratitude to him when casting for LOST back in the day.......

[Ribbons]

You don't like Marshall? Blasphemy!

[Doc Holliday]

Sorry Ribbons....overwritten, overacted, overrated......all in my humble little, soon-to-be-besieged opinion that is......

[Keepcoolbutcare]

There were two, count em, two intelligent and interesting meta-shows
on tv -- TWIN PEAKS and THE PRISONER.

I'll give you the Prisoner, but in what ways would you classify Twin Peaks as meta?

and "Hey now!", meta shows and no mention of Larry Sanders? I know stylistically it's no the same as your selections but that whole show was meta.

[ONeillSG1]

Can someone tell me, SPOILER-FREE, now that Alias is done, is it worth getting into on DVD? Is there a certain point where the quality drops off?

Most people will say season3, but I say season 4. But it's still quality throughout IMO and worth checking out. The first 2 seasons are some of the best TV out there.

Actually, One and a half seasons.

[Chilli]

I never hated Alias at all (not like I hate Lost... fucking Season Two was absolute shite) but from 'Phase One' to 'The Index' was decent, but nothing special. The second half of S4 rocks though... but not as good as S1/S2.

[unikrunk]

it got a green light.

[Fawst]

Wow... I have been watching my roommate's Rambaldi box set, and I have only two episodes left to go. Two, and the show is done for me I can't understand all the hate for this show. They pack so many "YES!!!" moments into it that it doesn't matter if the show goes completely loony at times.

*SPOILERS*

For instance, when Vaughn died. I swore up and down I was done with the show, I could live without seeing the end because it killed the dynamic of the show. And they did such an amazing job with showing you that he was absolutely, without a doubt DEAD. The man was absolutely littered with bullets.

And then they show a split second shot of him smiling when he is told that Sydney had given birth to a daughter. That moment made me shout with joy. And god DAMN, they bring EVERYONE back for Season 5! Sark, Irena, Nadia, Will, Anna... everyone that ever mattered has their place. It's all been coming to a close, and I have only TWO HOURS LEFT. I'm quite distraught. Alias set the bar high for some really good serialized television, Lost put it into space. I can't imagine what Abrams and co. will come up with next, but I fear that it can never be as good as these two shows.

[sephirenn]

I think it lost it's steam in the fourth season. Although you KNEW in the third that vaugn's wife was a traitor. And at the end of the fourth, why would vaugn's wife know about that safe deposit box or whatever? That always bugged me. But otherwise, it was a great series, and even though it wraps up too quicky and ruins the great set-up it had going for 5 seasons, it was astill a great ending.

[Evil Hobbit]

I liked this show a lot. Basicly because of Marshall and Sloan and Jack. The rest, well, they where ok. The last episode however was such a letdown. I hate it more then the X-files final episode and that was a huuuuge stinker, much like the stinkers I drop each morning in the white chair.

[TheButcher]

Rumor: ABC To Reboot JJ Abrams’ Alias?!

[Tyrone_Shoelaces]

I'm not sure they should bother. Seems that Abrams figured out what went wrong and turned it into "Undercovers" for NBC. That's what "Alias" should have turned into after season 3.

[Peven]

after reading through this thread i have just one thing to say........thank God that smug Struggling Background Artist ZZS isn't around anymore, i forgot just how much of an asshole he was

[DennisMM]

[Peven]

i know, Dennis, I used to roll my eyes at his posts all the time, too

[DerLanghaarige]

Don't remember that guy, but judging by the one post, I think he is now known as AsimovLives.

[Ribbons]

I am about to watch season 4 of Alias.

Wish me luck guys!

[so sorry]

I loved Alias!


For like, 2 seasons. I know I stuck with it thru season 3...but I think we parted ways by season 4.

[Ribbons]

Yeah, samesies. I stopped watching about midway through season 3. I went back and finished 3 a year or so ago, and it was... not pretty. But I remember the season 4 finale involved zombies or something, so there's that to look forward to.

[DerLanghaarige]

ALIAS was absolutely great in its first two seasons and then entered we-know-its-ridiculous-but-we-have-fun-with-it country. If you were looking for a serious, gritty spy drama, you were wrong. But if you were willing to have fun with ridiculous plot twists about absurd MacGuffins and senseless triple crossing, it was a blast. I still could have lived without the whole Rambaldi story.
And the series finale is great.

[Ribbons]

The last episode of Alias should have been titled "Don't Forget to Drink Your Ovaltine"