New York Daily News
January 24, 2003
A Super Sunday on ABC
Net scores with postgame screening of 'Alias'
ALIAS. Sunday after Super Bowl, ABC.
By David Bianculli
SPOILERS!
ABC's post-Super Bowl showing of its sophomore spy series, "Alias," is a bold and risky move. It's aimed at converting more viewers to the network's delightful drama - but for it to work, the episode has to catch, and keep, people who aren't familiar with the show's complex relationships and plots.
I've seen the episode, which ought to show up shortly after 10 p.m. Sunday, and all I can say is that creator J.J. Abrams has delivered his part of the bargain.
The first images showcase Jennifer Garner, the show's immensely talented star, strutting in a way that makes the wrestling women of that Miller Lite commercial look demure. The last image is also likely to draw gasps, but for a different reason.
This hour of "Alias" has surprises that it's not fair to ruin. What it also has is a straightforward narrative that wraps up more than one plot line and, while setting the stage for the second half of the season, stands alone as an action-packed hour.
And if you choose Sunday to watch "Alias" for the first time, you'll witness what fans of the series have been thrilling to all along. Garner, as secret agent Sydney Bristow, is delivering an astoundingly consistent and complicated performance each week. Yes, she looks great in her undercover costumes - but she'll also pull you in with the depth of emotion in her closeups.
More often than not, the Super Bowl has been used to launch pure junk. Every once in a while, though, something special gets the nod, like "The Wonder Years" or "Homicide: Life on the Street."
"Alias" belongs in that impressive company. And even if the show doesn't receive a long-term ratings spike because of this high-profile spot, ABC was right - and uncharacteristically intelligent - in giving "Alias" the show of faith.
In an era when reality TV dominates, scripted dramas are being crowded out of prime time. When you have a show as good as "Alias" - and right now, it's one of the best shows on television - it deserves to be nurtured.
In the program's last few telecasts, certain plots have developed that allow Sunday's episode to move forward at warp speed. All you need to know, if you're hopping aboard for the first time, is that Sydney works for SD-6, a spy operation that recruits its operatives as an arm of the government, but is actually one of 12 secret cells working for a multinational enemy organization known as the Alliance.
Sydney knows SD-6 is not what it purports to be, and so does her father, Jack, played so smartly by Victor Garber. But other agents, like Carl Lumbly's Dixon (Sydney's partner) and Kevin Weissman as tech wizard Marshall (their version of 007's Q), are good guys who don't know they're working for the bad guys.
Meanwhile, Jack and Sydney are double agents working undercover for the CIA, and Vaughn (Michael Vartan), whom Sydney secretly loves, is their contact. Tied into all this are the mercurial loyalties of Sydney's mother, played by Lena Olin, a traitor who has appeared to prove loyal to her daughter, and the sinister Sloane (Ron Rifkin), the head of SD-6, who had Sydney's fiancé killed in the series premiere.
There's no use denying that loyal viewers will get a bit more out of Sunday's episode than first-timers. But even as a first trip, this "Alias" is a thrill ride.
© New York Daily News 2003
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