New York Post Online Edition
December 5, 2003
Dream a Lucid Dream of Me
by Coeli Carr
"ALIAS" is tweaking reality once again.
In last week's and this Sunday's episodes, the show's hyper-active heroine, Sydney Bristow (played by Jennifer Garner), is trying to retrieve her lost memories through a scientific phenomenon known as lucid dreaming.
In lucid dreaming, the dreamers are conscious they are, in fact, dreaming — and they commandeer the course of action of the dream, therefore controling what happens.
"The whole notion of lucid dreaming was part of this weird mix of things that, for one reason or another, interests me," J.J. Abrams, the show's creator, told The Post, calling that subject "a worthy thing to explore."
A long-time fan of films like "Altered States" and "Dreamscape" that were based, at that time, on fringe science, Abrams believed that weaving this theme into his main character's odyssey — while taking some artistic liberties, of course — seemed like a good fit.
"The idea of Sydney not only experiencing lucid dreaming but being sort of placed in a state so people could understand how she was able to achieve that lucidity during the dream" grabbed Abrams, who has often wondered what happens when we fall asleep.
"Is the brain cleaning house, is it keeping us sane?" he speculated. "The idea of being conscious in your typically unconscious state is fascinating and clearly proven that many people can do."
Abrams couldn't resist throwing in "some intense, sort of psychedelic, almost drug therapy," which would effectively make Sydney's mind work like a lucid dreamer's.
He also couldn't help himself when it came to casting. He used not-exactly mainstream movie director David Cronenberg, who directed the film version of Stephen King's "The Dead Zone" 20 years ago as well as writing and directing genre classics like "Dead Ringers" and "The Fly," to play the researcher with a wild case of the munchies to administer the meds. ("I'm a huge fan," Abrams said of Cronenberg.)
"Alias" is a combination horror, sci-fi, fantasy and romance, but Abrams says he's always looking for more ideas to bring to the table.
"Whenever there's anything where I personally feel, 'That's really cool, that's something I want to see,' it's always a thrill to see it translated onto a page," he said. "It might be more interesting to see someone have some lucid dream session than it would be to lie on a shrink's couch or be hypnotized."
So what lucid-dream experiences will Sydney Bristow have when she enters Room 47 this Sunday?
"What she sees makes her realize the journey she's on is going to take a turn she did not anticipate," he said. "Through lucid dreams, she was able to get the information she needs to continue."
"Scary dream stuff is always tricky and hard, but I think some people felt that they had taken drugs themselves when they were watching," Abrams said. "That was sort of the goal."
© NYP Holdings, Inc. 2003
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