Alias Apologetics

OK, I'm of the opinion that the 4th season of "Alias" works on a level rivaling the differences and similarities between The Evil Dead and The Evil Dead II. If you watch the sequel, you know that it is almost like a do-over, and it has nothing to do with the original except in telling the same story (with different circumstances).

As "Alias" fans know, the show has never enjoyed a great amount of success, and now with the "Lost" lead-in, it's finally getting some. I believe J.J. Abrams looked at this show and basically started it over again. Yes, there's the weird and possibly weak explanations for why Sloan is their boss again, but as he said in the first episode of the season to Sydney, "We made a great team, didn't we?"

The show needed to get new viewers. How to appeal to new viewers while not alienating old ones? Go back to the original formula, and stop making every episode rely on the previous one. I believe it sort of requires the fudging of character relationships--and there seems to be a lot of distrust among this group of CIA agents, yet they somehow get along--it's a sort of theme. In order for "Alias" to be a success on this go-around, they needed to play a tricky game--I'm not so sure how this plan was to be improved, and you're talking to someone who believes this season of "Alias" is top-notch.

I do think that the Vaughn-Sydney thing is an icy subject--they really do need to get out of it. And I have the same problem with them introducing supervillains every show that get killed quickly. In essence, though, the show is set up to be a fun spy show, with cool gadgets, intelligence, and action. This season has provided more than enough classics--the Russian couple spy farm, last week's where technical guru Marshall has to do a field job, last night's was an excellent hailing back to the old season one SD-6 format, with lots of lying and strategic risks.

I think season 4 is trying to backtrack a little, gain some steam, and we might be in for some really great stuff by the end. The thing about the show, and any complaint you might have with it right now, is that we simply don't know where it's headed--all of these concerns could be addressed by the season finale, and then we'll see either that the decisions made were masterstrokes or failures. That's just me.