TriggerPullerUSMC I don't expect TV shows to be perfect when it deals with agency stuff or covert activities but since some lower budget shows get it fairly right there is no reason a show like this shouldn't be better. Weapons handling is horrible not just SYDNEY but everything be on the show acts like a child playing cops and robbers. Tactics are completely ridiculous. Using tranq. Pistols all the time is utter garbage. Seriously if you are going to do a show like this spend some time and energy getting it at the very least close. It is a fairly cute show and after a hard day at work it is a show that you can watch and not have to put too much effort in to it. I had to turn it off several times out of disgust. The worst part is the inconsistencies as in world class spies but too stupid to realize they are being had- top shelf agents that have way too many narrow escapes. How can you buy in to a show where they are half genius have bumbling fools. And finally reality is you get burned 1 time you get compromised and they know your identity you are no longer operational you become a desk jockey or find a new job. If you watch it suspend reality and just go with it.

ElessarAndurilS I found Alias on one of those top shows on Netflix nobody is watching. I watched the pilot and 6 episodes later went to bed primed for more. I am surprised I had never heard of it given the first two episodes launched the viewer into the world of Sidney at an intense pace, like grabbing a bullet train at full speed and trying to hang on. I'm only half way through the show, but I can't imagine the show self destructing. The pace of Sidney's missions are insanely fast, but that is part of what makes the show exciting. Things happen fast, change fast, and surprises are woven into the story line on a regular basis that are of large magnitude and game changing it is amazing that the show maintains its story with the constant ground breaking changes and shocking revelations. Realistic? Who knows, I'm not exactly in the position to judge the accuracy of a show about the life of being a double agent. Yes, it is a bit unbelievable that a group could fool its participants into believing they are part of the CIA when they are actually acting in complete counter actions to the CIA but then again they are supposed to be black ops under the radar and by definition without the oversight that the CIA has making them buy that the CIA can't acknowledge them because they aren't aware of them. So while it has its stretches it has an incredible pace, is exciting and Jennifer Garner a treat to watch even though until seeing her in this show is really the first time I've really liked her. In costume she comes off fantastic in her diverse characters that she pulls off great. They make the skinny little woman look capable of taking down 5 foreign intelligence officers as the fights are choreographed to be at a speed and her actions with precision that she has the skills to pull it off. I have read some harsh slams about the show, but it is the best show I've never heard of and am grateful for those lists of good shows nobody watches because I have found several very good shows that may not have won rave reviews but for me are top notch and this is one of them. Might be old, but as I waited for Season 3 of Arrow to come out the day Season 4 started it was a great filler to give me a show to watch that was difficult to fall asleep watching from the adrenaline rush. I love it!

gridoon2018 (Lots of spoilers here, so proceed with caution)I have to admit that my initial motivation for finally sitting down to watch this entire 5-season, 105-episode series was the chance of seeing a hot woman like Jennifer Garner kicking all sorts of a$$ and performing wild stunts while being dressed in colorful wigs and skimpy outfits that reveal her fit body. And while that is, undeniably, part of the show's appeal, "Alias" is much more than that. In fact, my favorite character in the series turned out to be not Sydney Bristow, but the evil (?) mastermind Arvin Sloane: Ron Rifkin's exceptional performance turns this character's journey through the seasons into an almost Shakespearean tragedy about ambition, sin, loss, guilt, redemption, obsession and fate.Season 1 is the most fun and traditional of "Alias": the emphasis here is on the action, the gadgets, the globe-trotting, and Sydney's efforts to avoid being exposed as a double agent for the CIA. Still, the show does not shy away for the dark sides of espionage (after all, the heroine does lose her fiancé AND some of her teeth in the first episode!), and Jack Bristow's (Sydney's father, also a double agent for the CIA) often morally questionable tactics remind us that this is a world where the lines between good and bad are not always clearly defined. My favorite episode: "Page 47".Season 2 introduces Sydney's long-considered-dead mother, Irina Derevko (fascinating performance by Lena Olin), which creates further emotional and moral complications for Sydney and Jack, and halfway through it changes the initial premise of the show, taking off in a different direction. Family dynamics, unexpected enemies and intense action make this season arguably the most popular of the show. My favorite episode: "Passage".Season 3 is my personal favorite, because it is the most Rambaldi-driven, puzzle-like and plot-heavy, because Sloane is at his most ambiguous, and because a twisted, amoral couple (Sark and Lauren) steals the show from the "official" leads, Sydney and Vaughn. Of course, these are the reasons that some people consider this their least favorite season; decide for yourself. The action begins to rely more on guns and less on kickboxing from this point on. My favorite episode: "Conscious" (special guest star: David Cronenberg!).Season 4 has a frustrating start, because it puts most of season 3's plot lines on hold, and goes off in a series of "stand-alone" episodes that don't even end on the series' trademark cliffhangers. With that said, some of those episodes are enjoyable, the introduction (though technically it was done in season 3) of Sydney's little sister Nadia (the incredibly beautiful Mia Maestro) works well, and the pace does pick up in the second half. Trivia: Jennifer Garner made her directorial debut in this season with "In Dreams", and it's easily one of its best episodes. But my favorite is "The Index".Season 5 is (or should be) the most controversial, especially for the way it handled the apparent death of a main character. It is also shorter than the others (17 instead of 22 episodes), which makes parts of it, especially near the end, feel rushed. The ultimate Milo Rambaldi secret is finally revealed, but most loyal fans will have already guessed it. Garner was pregnant in real life - and in the show - during the first half of this season, so most of the action was handled by the other characters, including some new arrivals who all have their merits, but not quite the personal connection to Sydney (or Sloane!) that Nadia had. The advantage that season 5 has over season 4 is that it returns to the puzzle-like, one-clue-leads-to-the-next format of seasons 2 & 3, which means very few slow spots. My favorite episode: "The Horizon"."Alias" has its drawbacks: the main one is that it often requires MASSIVE suspension of disbelief, since nearly every character (not just Sydney) has abilities (physical, intellectual, technical, or all three) that are close to the supernatural. At the same time, "Alias" never - or almost never - forgets the motto: characters come first, action comes second. The action scenes - especially the vehicle chases & crashes - are often movie-level, but it's the dialogue scenes, and the superb acting from everyone in the (regular & guest) cast, that draws you into this world.At its best, "Alias" is an extremely addictive TV series. At its worst, it's still better than, say, most of the James Bond movies!

hnt_dnl When ALIAS premiered in 2001, I just knew something special had been thrust upon the TV viewing audience! The pilot episode was brilliantly constructed. It starts out telling the tale of one Sydney Bristow (played with stunning conviction and depth by the delectable Jennifer Garner!), a 26-year old graduate student, who is engaged and has a circle of close friends (Bradley Cooper and Merrin Dungey). Her friends think she works part-time at a bank, but it is quickly revealed as Sydney enters the bank one day that she works in a super-secret organization underneath the bank called SD-6, which Sydney thinks is a component of the CIA. Syd's SD-6 partner is Marcus Dixon (played solidly by Carl Lumbly).When she tells her fiancé of her double life, the Director of SD-6, Arvin Sloane (played with slick, easy bravado by Ron Rifkin) has him killed because Sydney violated a major SD-6 protocol. Sydney tries to quit the organization, which she now knows is working with the enemy, not the CIA. In an attempt on her life in a parking garage, she escapes with the help of her father, Jack Bristow (more on him later) who she finds out is also a secret agent with SD-6 and has been most of his life, even when she was a child (she thought he was an airline exec).Jack Bristow is played by Victor Garber and for my money, this is one of the best TV characters ever! Garber's portrayal of Daddy Bristow was ALWAYS spot on, even when the series started to falter in its later years. Jack was smart, slick, gutsy, and 100% lethal! He would not hesitate to do what was necessary to get the job done. Of all the so-called evil geniuses this show threw at the viewer over the years, Jack Bristow, one of the good guys, was scarier than all of them put together! Screw Jack Bauer and 24! Jack BRISTOW was the best secret agent "Jack" running around in the early 00s!Sydney wants to quit, but realizes that to take down SD-6, she must work with the CIA, so she goes to the nearest LA office and meets with a "handler" Michael Vaughn (played solidly by Michael Vartan). Sydney and Vaughn of course had an underlying chemistry and sexual tension that would be stretched out (but not for long!).The first season and a half focused on Sydney working with Vaughn and her father to try to take down SD-6 from within. I say that the first season of ALIAS is one of the top seasons in all of TV history. There were so many twists and turns, exciting episodes, great character interactions (Sydney and Jack didn't exactly get along early on) that made this show highly enjoyable. There was a HUGE twist/cliffhanger at the end of the 1st season that is amongst the best cliffhangers ever! Then in its 2nd season, they introduced Sydney's mother Irina Derevko (played with cold-hearted, close-to-the-vest appeal by Lena Olin), who Sydney and Jack thought had died years ago. Turns out Syd's mom was an enemy agent tasked to seduce, marry, and betray Jack and she faked her death. The 2nd season was a pretty brilliant season as well, but then they took down SD-6 midway through the season in a surprising twist! And this is when the show started to run out of ideas IMHO. They did a cliffhanger at the end of Season 2 that I absolutely hated! And it really ruined the show for me. Then in later seasons, with no SD-6 around, Syd and her friends ended up working directly for the CIA and I found the CIA dynamics less interesting than when she was working indirectly for them to take down SD-6.Stories in the last 3 seasons seemed repetitive. You find yourself asking the same questions over again. Can Syd trust Jack? Can Vaughn prove Irina killed his parents? What is the mystery of Arvin Sloane? Etc., etc., etc. I also disliked that they abandoned Syd's double-life after season 2. Her friends found out who she really was one way or another and that spoiled that great early double (actually triple!) life dynamic of the show. Still, I say that from that first season, Jennifer Garner was flat out robbed of the Lead Actress Emmy! She plain should have won based on her incredible work in that impeccable season. And Victor Garber could have won at least 2 or 3 times (sadly, he kept losing to those WEST WING guys!). Also, special mention should go to Kevin Weisman as the hilarious Marshall. Marshall is ALIAS version of Q from the James Bond series. Marshall's lighthearted moments explaining the gadgets with his fidgety, funky personality ALWAYS made me laugh!Season 3 was essentially ruined for me by Melissa George (who played Vaughn's wife), who was a major character that didn't measure up to the other already established cast. But the absurd 2nd season cliffhanger surprise is what really led to it. There was some interesting stuff in Season 4 which kind of led to renewed interest, but by that point the show was really never the same as it had been it's first 2 brilliant years. Still, one of the better shows in the early 00s, but sadly, overall, not amongst the best!