User reviews

I loved watching Alias. It was one of the few series where I would freak out if I missed an episode - it was just that good. Season 1 through 3 were the best seasons though and I think it got rather heavy after that - ridiculous plot lines and Sloane's crazy obsession with Rembaldi, clones...

The cast are terrific - Jennifer Garner's such a terrific actress and she's surrounded by a stellar cast - Victor Garber, Michael Vartan, Ron Rifkin..

It really is a great show - if you don't mind the confusion now and again and just watch it with an open mind, take it for what it is - a really great series!

Give or take, Garner was 30 years old when Alias hit the big screen and there was no turning back for her.

Have heard so many different stories about how she was "discovered" in Tinseltown that I do not know which to believe.

What I do know is that, for a period of time, JG was the new "it girl", she could do no wrong, and audiences simply could not get enough of her.

Alias, which ran for 5 years, was simply an OK premise taken to heights of high-camp based solely on the star power of Garner.

She was hot, she could act, she could do stunts, she had great reaction shots, and she made it all seem so easy. Even her film roles in his period are worth a look (which is another section of the IMDb entirely).

Recommended for teenage boys of all ages.

From the very first episode to the series' final moment, 'Alias' never failed to keep me on the edge of my seat. Dramatic, funny, thrilling, action-packed and smart, it brings you through so many twists and turns that you may have to come up for air once in a while, but will undoubtedly find yourself diving in for more. Three years after its conclusion 'Alias' still remains my favorite show, thanks to a stellar cast, gripping score, intelligent writers and great production values; with the lovely Jennifer Garner being the glue that holds it all together, and of course, the brainchild behind it all, J.J. Abrams. Part James Bond, part Indiana Jones, Garner's Sydney Bristow is a hero for the ages. 'Alias' is at once epic, heart-warming, exciting, and ultimately unforgettable; a true gem in the history of serialized television.

I simply cannot understand anyone who slates this show, unless perhaps they simply were not intelligent enough to follow it's superbly complex and intricate story. The immaculate acting of both Victor Garber and Ron Rifkin alone should be enough for anyone, but the incredible plot twists and threads, superb character development and, dare I mention it, exciting action sequences too, just add to this outstanding show.

Personally, I was hooked from the first episode, but I strongly urge anyone who has either never seen it, or seen a few episodes and dismissed it, to give it a chance. I agree it might be a little frustrating, particularly in the first two seasons, because (much like that other fantastic JJA show, Lost) each episode leads directly into the next and so missing an episode can be confusing, but it really is worth it.

Watching the final episode and understanding just how everything in the past five years has been building up to the conclusion made me realise just how talented the writers were. Although I am glad the show went out on a high (although there never really was a low point), I still mourn the loss of possibly the greatest television show on Earth.

This show is one of the most consistently entertaining shows I have seen. If you've a mind to, as many seem to do, you can find any number of reasons to rate this programme lowly but it is undoubtedly one of the best shows of recent years. It doesn't take itself too seriously but manages to involve the viewer time after time with character development and the intricate plotting. Garner takes on the lead role enthusiastically and, even in the most absurd situations, carries it all off with great aplomb. Victor Garber, as Jack Bristow, is the mainstay of the show and deals with everything that comes his way in a professional and confident manner. All the other characters (and actors) fulfil their roles superbly. Anyone who thinks this show is poor either enjoys badmouthing or cannot appreciate simple enjoyment. Sit back and enjoy.

Just watched the whole series again. Still one of my all time favourites. Extremely binge-worthy! Loved every moment. Amazing actors, a fantastic storyline and awesome dialogue. The perfect combination of action, romance, intrigue and wit. Do yourself a favour!

I love this show. That being said, it has some flaws. You can tell when it went downhill is when J.J. Abrams stopped working on it regularly. Season 1 is great, Season 2 is great, Season 3 was OK, Season 4 not so great, and I'm going to pretend Season 5 didn't happen. I'd have to agree with some of other reviewers on here, it seems like they ended up with a bunch of different writers that lost direction or understanding of what the show was about and where it was supposed to be going. It started out as a spy show with a hint of sci-fi, and ended up the other way around which was just weird. It seems like the only person who really understood the whole Rambaldi thing was JJ. I think that the actors did a good job with what they were given. Watch Season 1-3 if you want to check it out. Its on Netflix as of 8/16.

I just finished the first season. So far it is amazing !! I haven't seen a very good series for a few years now. So far it's amazing. It reminds me other very good series, I used to watch in the past. I was surprised to see Quentin Tarantino playing in 2 episodes, so far. Most actors are very good in their role and convincing. Even if it is old, it doesn't looks old. Very good job so far.

This high budget TV show. It uses lush, dramatic, international sets.

The plot has layers upon layers. It is like the old Saturday afternoon serials, ending each episode with a cliff hanger. I think this show is primarily the work of women. Our heroine, Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, dresses in elaborate high-fashion costumes, makeup and hair barely recognisable each time. There are plenty of handsome charming young men who adore her. The focus is on relationships.

Jennifer Garner runs for miles at top speed in every episode. The stunts are well done. It appears Garner is doing them herself. It is quite an athletic performance.

Garner speaks a number of languages in each episode (without subtitles). I don't speak these languages, but her accent was very convincing.

They did a number of technical things that made me angry they were so inept. Sydney moves back and forth between two groups of warring spy agencies without taking any precautions that she is being followed or that her phone is tapped. She dismantles a nuke and holds up a grey sphere which she proclaimed is the plutonium core. Plutonium is radioactive, and as soon as it is formed into a sphere it explodes. Oddly road flares go off in a bank vault.

She is a double agent, but at times does some bit of daring for both simultaneously. The plot often does not make sense, which amusingly one of the characters points out.

I remember this show debuting when I was a teenager. I was so engrossed in it that I was considering one day becoming a government agent. Looking back at this, it still holds up. Between the clever story telling, and character development, it also shows a bit of the spy cliches that I fell in love with. It's also pretty crazy to see a young Bradley Cooper and where he would go from here. The gadgets and technology that is used in the show may look dated but I think it gave Alias its charm. I would love to see Abrams try to come back to this project and bring it to the modern day audiences.

I've seen many series, and movies which are cop or espionage procedural or a mix of both, like 24,prison break, etc. But when it comes to Alias the the first roll is a woman and a hero ,it makes me more excited. Sidney Bristow became my roll model while I watched it, though I think to have all those talents together is imaginary or fantasy ,however I loved the dream sold. And the most important is that it has almost a happy end ,unlike most of similar movies or Tv series. The button end is that it is a fun, fast paced, moving spy series that shows everything you expect from it and makes you believe the unbelievable.

Jennifer Garner is the best , love her doing action movies and this is a great series.

She should do more. The other agent is good too. Let's see more series with them both in please.

College student Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is working for SD-6, a secret division within the CIA. Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin) is the head and Marcus Dixon (Carl Lumbly) is her partner. Her friends Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper) and Francie Calfo are clueless to her double life. Then it's revealed that SD-6 is a vast criminal conspiracy opposed to the CIA. She gets Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan) as her CIA handler. Her estranged father Jack Bristow (Victor Garber) is also a double agent inside to bring down SD-6.

This is JJ Abrams' second big hit after Felicity and launches him on his way to being one of the biggest name in Hollywood. It's a simple concept of a hot supermodel 007 Jenny Bond in a secret worldwide spy organization. It's completely unreal fantasy. There is nothing but popcorn fun here. The problem is that as this fantasy universe gets rolling. It made less and less sense. The twists and turns lead to too many blind alleys. It's too serious and eventually, the show collapses under the weight of it's convoluted story. The good thing is that it introduced the world to Jennifer Garner and Bradley Cooper. Now can somebody tell me what happened to Michael Vartan?

Although Alias may not be correct in everything it displays, what TV show is? it has everything a good series should have; action, romance, and characters that aren't idiots. Each character delivers something new and different to the screen. The plot is always moving and it's hard to tell where it's going, so when you arrive.. it's a complete surprise! With unending twists and turns, never knowing good characters from bad, the viewer simply falls into the plot and feels like they, instead of Sydney, are the main character. The only thing bad to say about the series is it sometimes takes a bit too much time to get into the plot- especially at the beginning of season 1. but, continue in and you'll find a series worth watching, a series worth buying and collecting.

Simply amazing, from the second I turned it on to the last episode (after which I didn't know what to do with myself) I literally couldn't stop watching. I needed up staying up til 3am watching its immense. Such a strong female lead with so many twists and turns. A show perfectly done- the writing, the acting, the costumes, etc. I'm still hoping for a spin off.

"Alias" is a knock-off of the earlier TV series "Nikita" which was a knock-off of a hit French cult flick by Luc Besson. The parallels are undeniable. Both feature reluctant hardbodied secret agent hotties who use disguises, martial arts, hi-tech gadgetry, and the resources of their super secret ops group to rid the world of evil. Both protags work directly for men who they love without reciprocity and organizations so secret that anyone who threatens it will be compromised/cancelled/kaput. Etc. Both series require swallowing a lot of improbabilities and impossibilities as the globe trotting bootie kicking babes work through their secret missions making audience ease of disbelief suspension a necessity. Although Garner has the range she is not always well directed and IMHO doesn't have the hottie charisma which Peta Wilson seems to exude naturally. However, "Alias" seems to have better production value though it's less edgy and annoyingly ends on cliff hangers while "Nikita" wraps up each episode. Those who have enjoyed one might want to give the other a look. (B-)

ALIAS is the drama series I could never decide whether to be loved or hated. Probably one the most entertaining shows I've ever seen on TV, but also one of the biggest disappointments in my life. Now, how comes that? Arguably, Alias is a great example on how to ruin a drama show that started out with such a great potential. Not with a ground-breakingly original idea (the show obviously resembles La Femme Fatale Nikita and dozens of similar espionage stories), but with its interesting characters and slightly unrealistic but rather clever story lines and plot twists, it DOES manage to get you hooked, after just a few episodes (provided you get to see the right episodes). It sounds good so far, so what the hell went wrong?

Well, during its 5-years run, nearly everything. Too bad Alias never managed to become a mainstream show, somehow it always remained kind of underground, a cult show, having said that its ratings never were what network executives expected. Which, despite the initial hype around the show, really was a shame. That was why the network finally decided to tamper with Alias, and the results were somewhat mixed. So it wasn't long before the show started to lose its fanbase, its core audience, and since the show never had sky-high ratings, I consider losing its fanbase... well, the obvious downhill of Alias. For me, it definitely was season four, when ABC had an attempt to introduce Alias to a larger audience, so they had JJ Abrams reboot the show, yet again. Nothing wrong with that... except it went horribly wrong, in my opinion. ABC's idiotic mandates such as avoiding any potentially great long-term plot or mystery (including Rambaldi) made the show so simplistic, so dumbed down, that you might as well have watched any other drama series involving dumb CIA agents fighting dumb terrorist organizations. Gone are the plot twists, the interesting story lines, even the cliffhangers, Alias had lost nearly all of its elements that kept us watching it week to week, only to introduce awfully uninteresting, clichéd stand-alone episodes and dumb criminals that no-one ever cared about. Only when the fourth season came to an end, it was terribly disappointing too. The writers' attempts to make up for the boredom in the first half of the season were absolutely ridiculous, and I just couldn't believe why the same producers that banned Alias from being intelligent and creative (not to mention the Rambaldi storyline) let the season's (and apparently the Rambaldi storyline's) conclusion turn into something that resembles some low-budget 70's horror flick. Undoubtedly that was when I realised that Alias had turned into something it was never supposed to be, and I was praying that the fifth season would somehow make up for the disappointment of the fourth.

Sadly, it didn't. Banning Rambaldi again for about the half of season five (but at least not being so desperate about the self-contained format as in season 4), the network clearly had no idea about what they were doing and how much harm their tampering would cause to the show. However, it quickly became clear that Alias would be cancelled, so all we could expect that all the story lines and mysteries would finally be resolved. We also hoped that it would go out with a bang - with the same bang it was introduced to us. But every now and then, we were let down. Really let down.

Most of the blame should fall on ABC, for constantly dumbing down Alias and turning it into something it was never supposed to be, and JJ Abrams, who had abandoned the show and moved on to Lost, leaving his own 'child' for the dead (which you might consider a successful move if you are a Lost fan, but otherwise you might as well hate Abrams forever). They should have asked themselves the question: is Alias exactly the same great, intelligent, exciting, suspenseful drama that the audience came to know in its first season? And if there's even a slight possibility that the answer would be 'No'... then clearly, something has gone wrong. Horribly wrong. And it needs fixing. That is what the creators of Alias, along with the network, always failed to do. And this is what led to the ultimate destruction of a once-great TV show. So to answer my initial question: the show is to be loved, and the creators are to be hated for killing it.

(Let's be a little bit rude with the rating. The first 2 seasons were near-perfect, the third was a so-so, the last 2 were utter crap. Golden mean it is, I give Alias 5 stars.)

Alias has to be one of the best shows aired on television. Its fun, its sharp, its intense, and you just gotta love it. Though the story line did get side tracked and was most of the time too confusing for new viewers to catch on, Alias was a weekly ritual for fans. Jennifer Garner was gorgeous and the genius JJ Abrams himself never ceased to wow fans with action and thrills. One of the best things about the show I believe was the way Sydney (Jennifer Garner) was forced to balance her life of being an agent and keeping her cover. How she handles love, betrayal, and lies makes the show an absolute joy to watch. My advise to those people who have heard of this show but are looking for opinions......rent the first season and you'll be hooked to watched to watch the following 4. Happy watching!