Alias: Complete Season 1 [2002]

Confused? This is all just the first episode. With its double-edged tension (how long can Syd play double agent?) and one heck of a MacGuffin (the dreaded Rambaldi device, the mythic creation of a Renaissance genius), the show leads its viewers from episode to episode with visceral, compelling action, not to mention the nascent romance between Syd and her CIA handler, Vaughn (Michael Vartan), and her clashes with her heretofore distant father. Sharp, smart and always suspenseful, Alias' centre was held by the gorgeous Garner, a stellar action heroine and an even better actress who could pull off Sydney's exotic undercover missions and conflicted emotions with equal dexterity. By the end of this first series, which concludes with a breathtaking cliffhanger, you'll be seduced into Alias' world with, happily, no desire to escape. --Mark Englehart

With ALIAS reaching its third season in America, and Five showing ALIAS SEASON 2 over here, maybe its about time you caught up with Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber, Merrin Dungey, Michael Vartan, Ron Rifkin, Amy Irving, Lena Olin and guest stars such as Quentin Tarrintino and Faye Dunaway with Roger Moore popping in too!

The Plot (No Spoilers)
Sydney Bristow is a college student who leads the secret and thrilling life of a Double Agent for the CIA and a secret terrorist group named SD-6. Sydney's problems dont stop there, her father is also a double agent and her flatmates are beginning to suss her real identity. As well as that, not all is what it seems with her long deceased mother, Laura Bristow, and the season builds up this epic storyline to a jaw-dropping finale that was only rivalled by that of Season 2'S Finale.

Characters
Sydney is a highly developed character, and each of the other characters has their own themes to them, everyone from quirky Marshall to the dangerous Sloane and his cancer stricken wife, Emily. Sydney is strong and independent, and in season one, very much out for blood. But watch out for Season 3 When it comes to UK, Rumour has it Sydneys darker than ever...

Style
Alias OOZES style at every edge. From the beat of the technospy music to the dark, gritty feel and the astounding cinematography. Its a real experience watching this series.

Intellegence
24, CSI, Law and Order. None of them can compare, or come anywhere close, to the astoundingly crafted, jaw drapping, cliff hanger ridden, fast paced, heart wrenching storylines of every episode. Where ever Sydney goes, in a red wig, a blue dress, a chinese maid outfit, everywhere, she brings oodles of intellegence with her. The whole thing has obviously been PAINSTAKINGLY planned out, and to great effect.

Overall Scored : 100% (1st place)
Alias is simply THE best television show of all time, bar none, You wont believe how quickly youll get hooked. And thats not all, the show also stars the Jaw Droppingly Beautiful Jennifer Garner who is a hollywood superstar in her own right as well as an all star ensemble cast. Astounding Acting, Production, Direction, Scripts and Characters make this highly watchable series a classic

BUY THIS DVD!!!!


Subtitle information   September 3, 2005
Henrik Christiansen
23 out of 26 found this review helpful

There is no reason not to buy this item, because the Alias series are just incredible.

But, to all of you who doesn't come from an English speaking country, this would probably be nice to know before you buy this item.

These DVDs has subtitles in: English / English for the hearing impaired / Italian / Spanish / Swedish / Norwegian / Danish / Finnish


Shame about the scripts   November 15, 2005
Lendrick (London)
15 out of 58 found this review helpful

Bought this because I'd caught a few snatches on TV and thought Jennifer Garner was good in Elektra - what a dissapointment.

Good things first - Garner is a good actress and highly watchable, and the basic 'double agent' premis isn't bad. But thats about it.

The scripts are cliche ridden, again and again you will find yourself way ahead of these 'highly trained' agents. Yet the plots are preposterous. I gave up at about episode 5 when one of the agents started perfoming sugery in a speeding ambulance. Yet it takes itself very seriously.

The liking for cliffhanger endings is also an anoyance, it means the first 10 minutes of each episode are spent wrapping up the previous episodes plot. Then we move on to a new unrelated plot which won't be resolved till the next episode - makes it all very bitty.

I can see why some would like it - its glossy in a James Bond sort of way, complete with Q character providing gadgets. But for me its script and characters that make or break a show and Alias fails badly on these.


Who'd be a spy?   August 10, 2003
C E Forshaw
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

Your dad's a spy whose lied to you and shut you out for years, your love life has been ruined cos' of it, and worst of all, you cant even tell your friends the cool stuff you get to do: who'd be a spy?

Sydney Bristow, played by Jennifer Garner, that's who.

What can you say about Alias? This show is hip, sexy, and as Quentin Tarantino, who guest stars in the two-parter, "The Box", puts it, "It fulfills the promise of Man From UNCLE". That isn't to say it's corny and stars David McCallum, either, but rather that it's a globe trotting, action packed drama, with the fantastical spy-devices of Bond, the romance and intrege of a top notch drama, and the suspense of a man on a high wire with no safety net and no experience. And that doesn't even get to the plot, which is a twisty, turny, shocking and exciting story which even puts the shows action in the shade.

What else can I say? Well, the first and last episodes of this season are on a par with anything to have been released at the cinema... ever. The final episodes final cliffhanger is a work of genius. Any one who says Casablanca has the best final line ever, obvious has never heard the final, loaded for bear, line of Alias season 1.

Do your self a favour - buy this and then buy the next season. If you dont, you'll just feel left out.


High Octane Fun   September 11, 2003
Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

Sydney Bristow’s life is going along fine. She’s just become engaged to a wonderful guy and she’s doing well in her graduate English classes. There is her secret job, but it’s not a problem working for SD-6, is it?

When she makes the mistake of telling her fiancee, however, she learns the truth. SD-6 is not part of the US Government but really deals in organized crime. Now, she must join the CIA as a double agent to try to take down the people who have been lying to her for six years.

But life is not that simple. She now must work closely with her father, someone she hardly knows and doesn’t trust. She must fight her attraction to her CIA handler. And a friend is investigating a story that gets him closer to finding out her secret and putting his life in danger.

I absolutely love this show. There are multiple stories going on all the time, but the writers keep all the balls going believably, balancing action with the stories of what’s happening with her friends and giving us very real characters. And you can’t miss a moment. All the actors are top notch, keeping what could be an over-the-top concept real. Extra kudos must go to star Jennifer Garner who makes Sydney real as an action hero with a very vulnerable side.

When I got this set, I intended to watch just a few minutes and then dig it out when I’d have the time to really enjoy it. Didn’t happen. Even though I’d seen every episode here twice, I got pulled right back into the story. Of course, the cliffhangers at the end of every episode certainly help.

This set is any collectors dream. It contains the pilot and the rest of the first season, and the episodes, presented in surround sound and widescreen, look and sound incredible. Each episode is broken down into several chapters, mostly around commercials breaks, although they aren’t listed anywhere. There are four audio commentaries with various members of the cast and crew. Especially fun was the commentary on the finale featuring the entire cast. Since the commentaries were recorded as season two drew to a close, they provide some interesting insight into both seasons and helped me understand a little more about their choices this last year. Also included are a few deleted scenes, bloopers from the season, looks at the stunts and the filming of the pilot, and more. About my only complaint with the set was that no where did they tell you where to find these special features. While most are on disc six, I had to put each disc in to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.

I can’t recommend this series highly enough. It’s highly addictive fun that you’ll come back to time and time again.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I hear the pilot calling me again.