In the midst of the reality, post-Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? craze,
ABC decided to resurrect a television genre that had typically been regarded
as a recipe for series cancellation by most TV networks. The network, in a bold
and daring move, debuted in 2001 a high-budget, high-octane action/drama series.
The title of the show was Alias and while its lead character dons many
disguises, wigs, and identities, its star has become universally recognized
as Hollywood’s hottest fresh face.
Alias gave popularity to Jennifer Garner, who previously appeared in
TV’s Felicity, and films such as Pearl Harbor and the critically
lauded, Dude, Where’s My Car? Garner has versatility unmatched
by most actresses of her caliber simply due to her extraordinary ability to
play both the innocent and tough girl roles. She still radiates her West Virginia
charm while maintaining the poise of a high-class socialite. It’s no surprise
that Alias creator JJ Abrams thus cast Garner in a role that would have
her playing a different role practically each episode.
For those of you unfamiliar with the show, Garner plays Sydney Bristow, a college
grad student by day, secret agent by night. We are introduced to Sydney in the
pilot episode as a girl with pretty much everything going for her. Her boyfriend
in medical school proposes to her in the opening five minutes of the series,
to which she happily accepts. Her double life as an agent, however, remains
a secret to him, as she struggles with her agent protocol and being honest with
the man she loves.
Sydney, for the seven years leading up to this moment, has trained and worked
as a secret agent for SD-6, an agency she is led to believe is a covert branch
of the CIA. Her missions have her going around the world under different disguises
and aliases, as she uses her sexy charm and acute intelligence to fight enemies
and retrieve items, such as stolen weapons, money, and priceless items. Her
conscious gets the best of her, and she confesses her life as an agent to her
fiancée.
When Sydney returns home from Sydney, she finds her fiancée brutally
murdered and dead in a bathroom. Knowing that SD-6 and her boss, Arvin Sloane
(Ron Rifkin), was behind the attack, Sydney confronts Sloane, to which he shamelessly
admits to being involved. Sloane says that Sydney endangered the agency by revealing
her secret to an outsider. Her estranged father, Jonathan Bristow, lets Sydney
in on an even bigger secret: SD-6 is the enemy she thought she was fighting,
and not a branch of the CIA. Vowing revenge, Sydney goes to the real CIA to
discover the truth: SD-6 is a secret enemy spy organization. Agent Michael Vaughn
(Michael Vartan) allows Sydney to work as a double agent, for both SD-6 and
the real CIA. Her mission: To destroy the branches of SD-6 that reaches worldwide,
and to destroy the heart of the organization.
Alias has developed its own cult status much like its contemporaries
such as Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and 24. Upon watching the first
season of the show on DVD, one will see that the Alias storyline, while
complicated with its many twists and turns, is an enjoyable ride for any action
fan. Each episode stands on its own with its own individual missions but is
part of a bigger, more complicated storyline. Series creator JJ Abrams recognizes
how to capture the fan’s attention by keeping them yearning for the next
episode, yet leaving them satiated for time being until the next episode. In
addition to the well-developed storyline, Alias also provides the viewer
with enough explosions and stunts fit for any theatrical production. It’s
almost as if the first season started out as a one-hour film with 21 one-hour
sequels afterwards. That being said, Alias is a must-own for anyone looking
for a fantastic story about romance, gadgets, and espionage.
The fans of the show will also be happy to learn that the first season DVD
contains all 22 episodes and several bonus features. There are three cases in
this Volume 1 set, with each case containing two discs.
All of the non-commentary special features have been placed on the sixth disc.
That means, if you wanted to see a deleted scene from Episode #11: “The
Confession,” which is on disc three, you have to switch out discs in order
to see what was cut out from that episode. Alias should have really taken
its cue from other TV show DVDs, as other shows typically include all the special
features related to that episode on the same disc.
For those seeking episode commentaries, don’t bother expecting much.
There are only three episodes with commentaries, but they happen to be the three
most important episodes: the Pilot episode, Episode #2: “So It Begins,”
and the season finale, Episode #22: “Almost Thirty Years.” The pilot
episode has JJ Abrams and Jennifer Garner speaking about the show’s origins
and what it was like when the show first began. Episode #2 is mostly a snoozer,
as we hear from that specific show’s director as well as the supporting
cast members. The exciting season finale, however, has Abrams and Garner back,
as well as many of the supporting cast. Commentaries like these are always fun,
as whenever there is a large group of people so passionate about what they’re
working on, the mood is often lighthearted and spirited.
On disc 6, we see the rest of the features. There is a Pilot Production Diary,
which chronicles a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the first episode,
narrated by JJ Abrams. While it’s not a day-by-day look at how the episode
was shot, we do see Abrams at work on all of the major stunt and action scenes
from the first episode. Interestingly enough, we immediately get a grasp of
just how much Garner loves her role, as we see that the first scene she ever
shot was a stunt sequence (using herself and not a double) of her climbing up
the side of the building. We then continue to see various goofs, jokes, and
laughter at various points in the production, as well as Garner at work, practicing
for her fighting moves. This diary featurette has Abrams mostly talking about
things that were visible on screen, with a few interviews here and there. I
would have liked to have seen more things about the actual production of the
episode, like the initial brainstorming sessions, script discussions, or maybe
even post-production work.
Next, we have the “Inside Stunts” featurette, which is a really
short look at Garner and her training for the episodes. We see her practicing
in the gyms or office buildings, continually refining and perfecting her fighting
choreography until she appears as if she’s a seemingly natural at kicking
butt. We learn that Garner tries to do as many stunts as possible, but one interesting
bit we learn is that despite having a fear of drowning, Garner volunteered to
do a stunt that had her in a car going into water. This is just another example
of a dedicated actress willing to do anything for her character.
My favorite featurette on this disc is the Gag Reel. This is a 3-minute compilation
of many of the actors bursting into laughter for no reason, or screwing up their
lines. The clips seems to hint that Garner is almost always in a lightest mood
while filming, as we see her on numerous occasions erupting into laughter, or
at the very least violently trying to control it. It’s always nice to
see that a show which demands a lot from its actors both physically and emotionally
never gets in the way of having fun.
The other features on the DVD set are pretty standard. We have a Deleted Scenes
section, which isn’t much if you ask me, because out of 22 episodes (which
translates to 22 hours of TV time), I’m sure there must have been more
than six scenes cut. But that’s all we have: Six scenes from not even
the most interesting episodes. Then there are the TV spots that ABC ran for
the show, a trailer for the Alias videogame coming out this fall, and
a trailer for the Alias: Season Two DVD set coming out in December. Guys
will want to watch this clip, as we see the infamous Jennifer Garner in red-and-black-lingerie:
the scene shown during the Super Bowl episode.
For the hardcore fans who watch these DVDs on their computer, the DVDs also
allow viewers to watch select episodes while reading the script along with it
at the same time. There is also a link to a hidden preview on the official ABC
Alias site, which gives fans a peek at what’s to come this fall
for Season 3.
Alias has become one of television’s most recognized and exciting
shows and it is, for this reason, why the show will continue to run until the
year 2007. Although it may take a while for the show’s central issue to
become resolved, we are in the meantime able to absorb the series’ intriguing
storyline and all of the subplots in between. For fans of the genre, Alias:
Season One doesn’t disappoint. And besides, 22 hours of Jennifer Garner
is never bad at all.
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