More Ruminations of Alias

After Jonathan's comments on "Alias," I went and did something I usually do when it comes to writing intelligently about a subject, and that is research. I wanted to see what was going on in the world according to "Alias," and come out of it with some sort of greater understanding.

I was experiencing some slight dizziness. Could I have possibly not been enjoying this series as much as, well, I thought I was? Was I just looking at the title, "Alias," and being partial due to my enjoyment of the previous three seasons? I couldn't figure it out. I'm usually damn good about keeping emotion out of my critical gaze.

I went and looked at some message boards. On one, a guy asks, "Has 'Alias' lost its mojo?" and I was expecting to see an outpouring of flame messages going towards that guy's direction, like, "Dude, are you fuckin' kidding me? Eat shit and die," etc. I'd say it was 99% in agreement. Old fans are hating the new episodes, they are the comic book guy decrying, "Worst...Episode...Ever." I went to another message board. Someone else complains about it, declares, "I'm not watching again!" and others in agreement. A few in that thread echoed my own remarks, believing the show has its best in store in the future, and there were replies to that in effect saying, "Fuckwad, a show has to be absolutely perfect all season to be worth a damn." Then there were some people who said, "Hey, man, don't say 'fuckwad,'" and then there was a thread breaking down the meaning of the word, origins, and how in the present context, it is befitting of a fan of the current "Alias."

The same thing happened to "The Simpsons" once it began to skew towards disjointed storylines, often going to great lengths to put the family into some crazy situation, and turning Homer into a spouter of incredibly dumb white male-speak (and I mean, the sexist, Neanderthal kind). "The Simpsons" certainly isn't in that groove of season 4-5-6 where everything was funny, but almost every season after that has contained some pretty funny episodes, and every episode usually contains something funny. Season 15 was very close to being those early seasons again. 16 has been OK, but again, worth watching.

But what it all swirls down to is that these shows have a Tiger Woods syndrome, where they've set the bar so high that when they go under it, it's a super disappointment, even though it's still better than most television shows. I will stick with "Alias" because, like Jonathan has said, it's still better than most things you can watch, and I still believe in a guy like J.J. Abrams, who has proven his talent. I believe the usual greatness of the show will return, and that's worth watching the merely good episodes to see.

I guess, here's my final take. I've never been one to compare current seasons with past seasons until the current one is over, and I guess that's why I've been able to not be so critical of "Alias" yet. I'm still hooked to the show, even though I like "Lost," "24," and "House" better right now. Asking me what I think of this season at this moment would be like asking me if I believe someone's life is a success or a failure before they've died. The last two seasons of "The Sopranos," for instance, have not nearly been as good as those early seasons, mainly because those seasons always seemed to be building towards something big and then never delivered. I believe the same will be true of my opinion of "Alias" should it not finish well. No matter what happens, I imagine it won't be as cool as the previous seasons, but I have to wait and see. It's good enough to where I'll find out.