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Alias (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams
which was broadcast on ABC
for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006. It stars Jennifer Garner
as Sydney Bristow
, a CIA
agent.
The main theme of the series explores Sydney's obligation to conceal her true career from her friends and family, even as she assumes multiple aliases to carry out her missions. These themes are most prevalent in the first two seasons of the show. A major plotline of the series was the search for and recovery of artifacts created by Milo Rambaldi
, a Renaissance-era
character with similarities to both Leonardo da Vinci
and Nostradamus
. This plot and some technologies used in the series places Alias into the genre of science fiction
.
In addition, Alias also featured many other famous actors in roles ranging from single-episode guest appearances to semi-recurring characters, including Raymond J. Barry
as Senator George Reed, Tobin Bell
as Karl Dreyer, Peter Berg
as Noah Hicks, David Carradine
as Conrad, David Cronenberg
as Dr. Brezzel, Faye Dunaway
as Ariana Kane, Griffin Dunne
as Leonid Lisenker, Vivica A. Fox
as Toni Cummings, Ricky Gervais
as Daniel Ryan, John Hannah
as Martin Shepard, Rutger Hauer as Anthony Geiger, Ethan Hawke
as James Lennox, Djimon Hounsou
as Kazari Bomani, Richard Lewis
as Mitchell Yaeger, Peggy Lipton
as Olivia Reed, Sir Roger Moore
as Edward Poole, Richard Roundtree
as Thomas Brill, Angus Scrimm
as Calvin McCullough, Jason Segel
as Sam Hauser, Christian Slater
as Neil Caplan, Quentin Tarantino
as McKenas Cole
, Justin Theroux as Simon Walker and Danny Trejo
as Emilio Vargas.
and Bad Robot Productions
, film production primarily took place in the greater Los Angeles area. Studio shooting primarily took place at the Walt Disney Studios
in Burbank, California
, along with some outdoor shots near some of the studio's famous buildings (such as the original Animation Building or the ABC building, which appeared as a building in Hong Kong in the season 1 episode "The Coup"). Despite its worldwide locales, only one episode was ever filmed outside the Los Angeles region, in Las Vegas
, Nevada
.
was an undergraduate student of English literature when she was approached with a job offer by someone claiming to work for SD-6, which was supposedly part of the Central Intelligence Agency
. She accepted the offer, and quickly became a field agent
. In the pilot, she tells her fiancé Danny that she is a spy
. As a result of revealing SD-6's existence to an outsider, her fiancé is murdered by SD-6.
It is then that Sydney is told by her father Jack Bristow
(another SD-6 agent) that SD-6 is not part of the CIA; instead, it is part of the Alliance of Twelve
, an organization that is an enemy to the United States. Sydney decides to offer her services to the real CIA as a double agent. She learns that her father is also a double agent for the CIA, when he notifies her that her offer is accepted. She begins the long and arduous task of destroying SD-6 from the inside.
Major plotlines from season 1 include Sydney hiding her triple-identity from her friends, both in her personal life and in her SD-6 job, Will Tippin
's investigation into Danny's death, and the past activities of Sydney's mother. Sub-plots included Sydney's friendship with Francie, Francie's romantic relationship with Charlie, and Sydney's developing relationship with her CIA handler Michael Vaughn, of whom she is skeptical at first but grows to trust as her life becomes increasingly stressful. Season One focuses on the development of Sydney's character, and allows the audience to become familiar with her. The other seasons share the feature of having a guest star who appears throughout the entire season.
, Sydney's mother, who soon becomes a vital part of the series. Midway through the second season, the series underwent a "reboot" of sorts with Sydney successfully destroying SD-6 (after gathering valuable intelligence for tactical strikes from an airborne SD-6 server) and becoming a regular agent for the CIA, still in pursuit of former SD-6 leader Arvin Sloane
, his associate Julian Sark
, and the Rambaldi artifacts. Sydney's friends at SD-6, Marcus Dixon
and Marshall Flinkman
, are finally made aware of her dual identity and recruited into the CIA. Sydney also begins a romantic relationship with Vaughn, now that their relationship will not endanger them.
In the second half of the season, it is revealed that Francie Calfo
, Sydney's best friend, was murdered and replaced by Allison Doren, a woman who was transfigured to look exactly like her. Allison was then in a position to spy on Sydney and Will. The end of the season saw Will possibly murdered and Sydney killing Allison and then falling unconscious. Sydney awakens two years later in Hong Kong, unable to remember the two years that have passed. She soon learns that her friends and the CIA believed her to be dead, and Vaughn found a new love and is now married.
The truth, however, is that Sydney was kidnapped by a terrorist organization called The Covenant
, who tried to brainwash her into believing she was an assassin named Julia Thorne. Eventually Sydney voluntarily had her memories of the two years erased in an attempt to forget some of the deeds she was forced to undertake as Julia and to ensure that one of Rambaldi's most dangerous artifacts would never be found.
As Sydney recovers, she begins investigating her absence while reintegrating into the CIA. There she deals with the facts that Arvin Sloane
had become a world-renowned humanitarian after being pardoned, and that Michael Vaughn
had married NSC agent Lauren Reed
. Reed is later revealed to be a member of the Covenant and a lover of Julian Sark
. The National Security Council
plays a role as a government organization that holds massive unsupervised power, with a Guantanamo
-like detention facility, considerable influence over the CIA, and driven by questionable motives. Sydney later discovers that her mother and Arvin Sloane had a child together, the result of an affair between the two years earlier. She locates her half-sister, Nadia, and rescues her from being killed by the Covenant.
At the end of the season, Sydney goes on a mission and encounters Lauren. After they battle, Lauren begins to taunt Sydney by saying she has information about her past. When Vaughn shows up, Sydney goes to him, leaving Lauren a chance to attack again. Vaughn shoots Lauren, and she dies, but before she does she gives Sydney the number of a security deposit box where she can find information about her past.
to cover for actress Lena Olin's presumed not returning to the series, as the first page refers to Sydney as the "active" subject of a "project" that began April 17, 1975, a possible reference to Project Christmas
, and also setting up Jack as either the real head of, or somehow involved with, the Covenant and/or being a descendant of Rambaldi/Rambaldi himself).
Sydney joins a black op
s division of the CIA, patterned after SD-6 and run by her one-time nemesis Arvin Sloane. The new division is dubbed "APO": Authorized Personnel Only
. Members of APO (all hand-picked by Sloane) include almost all of the recurring characters from previous seasons, including Jack, Vaughn, Sydney's former partner (and third season CIA director) Marcus Dixon
, the computer and technical genius, Marshall Flinkman
, and Vaughn's best friend Eric Weiss
(brought in after having to be rescued by Sydney and Vaughn, who he previously believed to have left the CIA). Sloane's daughter and Sydney's half-sister Nadia Santos
also eventually returns to join APO.
During the season, an Arvin Sloane impostor, jokingly identified as "Arvin Clone," acquired the technology to implement a Rambaldi-predicted apocalypse. Using Omnifam
, the real Sloane had polluted the world's drinking water with chemicals that caused feelings of peace and tranquility. However, these feelings can be reversed with the Mueller device
. The third Derevko sister, Elena
, had built a giant Mueller device in Sovogda, Russia, which drove the residents to insanity. Sydney, Jack, Irina, Nadia, and Vaughn parachute in, destroy the device and kill Elena. But Nadia is injected with the tainted water and driven insane. She battles Sydney until Sloane is forced to shoot his own daughter. Nadia is later put into a coma while a cure is sought and Irina escapes again.
The season concludes with Sydney and Vaughn becoming engaged. On a trip to Santa Barbara
, Vaughn confides a shocking secret: his name isn't really Michael Vaughn; their initial meeting wasn't coincidental; and that his allegiance may not be to the CIA. Before he can divulge any more information, another car crashes into theirs and the season ends.
. Four months later, as Sydney continues to investigate Vaughn's murder, she works with an assassin and associate of his, Renée Rienne
, in order to unearth the inner workings of Prophet Five, while at the same time trailing Dean and his criminal organization "The Shed," disguised as a black ops CIA division, very much like SD-6.
Two new members are added to APO
to replace Weiss, who moved to Washington, D.C. for a new job, and Nadia, who is still in a coma. Thomas Grace
is a brash young agent with unorthodox methods who often butts heads with Sydney. Rachel Gibson is a computer specialist who, like Sydney, was deceived into thinking she was working for the real CIA and briefly works as a mole within The Shed, as did Sydney within SD-6, before The Shed's destruction by Dean.
In an ongoing subplot, Arvin Sloane follows his own personal obsession, finding a cure for Nadia. Sloane is jailed for his actions during Season 4; however, he is released after the sentencing committee is manipulated by Dean. In exchange for his freedom, Sloane is now working for Dean as a mole within APO. Unaware of Sloane's new allegiance, Jack agrees to let Sloane rejoin APO and use its resources to seek a cure for his daughter.
With the series' end, it emerges that Sloane's ultimate goal is that of immortality, for which he sacrifices his daughter Nadia's life. However, he is trapped in Rambaldi's tomb by a critically wounded Jack, who sacrifices himself via a bomb strapped to his chest to avenge all the pain Sloane caused Sydney over the years. Thus moments after Sloane achieves immortality he is trapped for all of eternity in a cave, where even Nadia's ghost deserts him. Sydney tracks Sark and the Horizon to Hong Kong, finding Irina. After a final battle between them, Irina plunges to her death.
The series ends with a flash forward to several years in the future. Sydney and Vaughn are semi-retired and married, with a second child named Jack in honour of Sydney's father. Daughter Isabelle exhibits the same ability to complete the CIA test that marked Sydney's inborn skills to be an ideal agent at that age. After completing the puzzle, Sydney calls to her from outside, asking what she is doing. She responds by saying, "Nothing," as she casually knocks it over before running outside to join everyone.
' s Kristin Dos Santos reported that ABC was toying with the idea of rebooting Alias, but getting rid of the mythological Rambaldi elements to make the storylines more accessible for a mainstream audience. Subsequently, Entertainment Weekly
columnist Michael Ausiello
confirmed that ABC was in the early stages of developing a reboot, but that the potential series probably wouldn't make it beyond the development phase.
films, which likewise feature sometimes-lengthy pre-credits sequences. Depending on the demands of a particular episode, the credit sequence is occasionally dropped as the actor credits play over a scene; on those occasions, the series title does not appear on screen until the final fade out.
As the opening credits appear, the letters in the Alias reference flash in negative form one by one. The "S" is the last letter to appear, this time in permanent negative. In virtually every episode, the title of a city or town location will slowly zoom in, with one letter being shown in negative and a specific scene appearing within that negative. As it usually does with the "S" in the show title at the very start, this letter eventually takes up the entire screen and gives way to the scene itself.
The first three seasons used a minimalist credit sequence consisting only of the actors names appearing as the title Alias gradually forms in one corner of an otherwise black screen. For one frame in Seasons 1 and 3 during Victor Garber's credit, the Rambaldi "eye" symbol ( ) flashes over the Alias title, accompanied by a short "whooshing" sound; In Season 2, it flashes during Lena Olin's credit. In season 5 it flashes during Balthazar Getty's credit.
For the fourth season, a shorter, flashier credit sequence was introduced that used a new, remixed version of the theme. As the cast names appeared, 52 images of Sydney in 47 various disguises appear in rapid succession, ending with a shot from the third season premiere of her shooting a miniature grenade launcher.
For the fifth season, another credit sequence was designed, as the previous version was criticized for making it difficult to read the actors' names (since the eye was drawn to the many images of Jennifer Garner) and for focusing exclusively on Garner. Now for the first time, the actors are shown on screen as their names appear. The same remix of the theme music from the previous year is utilized. Also, the flashing of the letters when ALIAS is spelled out is actually in morse code. The flashing translates to AGENT KANE (who was a character in the 2nd season played by Faye Dunaway
). During the first half of the season, Elodie Bouchez
appeared in the opening credits, but beginning with the episode "S.O.S." her credit was changed to a "special guest star" credit outside the opening sequence and Amy Acker
was added to the opening credits in place of Bouchez.
Most episodes in the first season included a prologue narrated by Sydney Bristow, setting up the premise of the series. In the first half of season two this was replaced by a voiceover by Greg Grunberg (who plays Agent Weiss) and later in season 2 was dropped entirely.
midway through the first season suggests the series begins not long before, or not long after September 11
. (The series, in fact, premiered 19 days following the 9/11 attacks.) Though there was reference to such a part of government, the federal Homeland Security department was not established until 2003. (Aside from the Homeland Security reference, there is no explicit reference to 9/11 in the first season; however, there is a reference to Osama bin Laden
and a reference to the War on Terror
in two episodes in season 2). In season 1, each episode covers roughly the events of one week in Sydney's life, thus each episode is said to take place a week apart, although this pattern was not maintained throughout the series. In several episodes, references were made to actual real world events. For example, in one episode, Sydney suggested to Vaughn that they should catch a L.A. Kings
game, and that they'd be taking on the Islanders
. This actual game took place roughly around the same time the episode was broadcast on January 20, 2002.
The season 2 finale, which sees Sydney lose two years of her life, would suggest that the series as of the start of season 3 takes place two years ahead of "real world" time, however the series was not always consistent in maintaining this. For example, in season 3 episode 17 (airdate March 28, 2004), the date March 26, 2004 was shown on Lauren's event calendar. For most of the episodes in Season 3–4, the writers avoided mentioning any current calendar dates in any episode. The one fact that did contradict this was the date on the tombstone of the supposedly dead Irina Derevko, which, when calculated, would suggest that the show was still running on "real world" time rather than 2 years in the future. However, a statement made by Sydney in the fifth season premiere "Prophet 5" regarding the length of time since she first went undercover at SD-6, is in keeping with the established timeline. And finally, the timeline seems to jump back one more time. In the season 5 episode "Out of the Box", character Renee tells Dr. Desantis, the genetic double of her father from the cryogenic box that it is currently 2006. This appears to be the first direct reference to the actual date of events. In another episode of the same season, a hockey magazine received by Sydney indicates the date to be November 2005. Also in season five, Nadia Santos' hospital admission bracelet following her recovery in the episode "30 Seconds" reads "04-23-05" and she mentions that it has almost been a year since she was hospitalized.
No time elapses between the end of season 1 and the beginning of season 2, and there are two years, one month, and several hours between seasons 2 and 3, 3 and 4, and 4 and 5 respectively (in addition, the events of the season 5 premiere episode take place over the course of 4 months). Given that there were roughly three to four months between the airing of the first few seasons, an 8-month interval between the broadcast of seasons 3 and 4, and a 4-month hiatus in the midst of season 5, by the final season Alias would only be a matter of months ahead of real-world time, making the 2006 statement plausible in the timeline. The series finale makes a further jump forward of several years (circa 2014 based upon the age of Sydney's daughter).
.
Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
Although Alias was never considered a major "hit", its series run began during a time when the ABC
television network was in decline, after Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
saw its ratings plummet. In fact, Alias was one of the first shows to be placed in one of the old Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
timeslots, which were Sunday nights at 9 p.m. (Eastern & Pacific time) in late 2001. Unlike many of the programs on ABC
from 2001 to 2003, Alias was a series that garnered critical buzz, a cult following, and decent viewing numbers in the advertiser-friendly age 18–49 demographic. This led to ABC
keeping the series on its schedule for 5 years.
Despite earning critical acclaim from USA Today
for the January 26, 2003 episode entitled "Phase One" and attracting the largest audience of the series with 17.4 million viewers, this episode retained just 19 percent of the Super Bowl XXXVII
audience and has the dubious distinction of earning the lowest overall ratings for a program airing after a Super Bowl
since at least 1987 and the lowest rating ever (8.3 rating) in the age 18–49 demographic for a post-Super Bowl
program. Also, since the episode started airing at 11 p.m. on the East Coast, it was not eligible for the week's list of top primetime shows ranked by Nielsen Media Research
and thus, the episode's viewership numbers were not factored in the series' overall 2002–2003 season average.
Its ratings peak was reached in its fourth season, when ABC
moved the program to Wednesdays 9 p.m. (Eastern & Pacific time), the time slot following another (yet more successful) J. J. Abrams
' drama, Lost
, while airing the season's episodes in (almost) consecutive weeks beginning with the January 5, 2005 2-hour season premiere (watched by 15.8 million viewers; the second most-watched episode in the series) and ending in May 2005. However, the fourth season was the only season in which this near-consecutive-week schedule was used and the increase in audience numbers was minimal since it faced hefty timeslot competition from the results show of the fourth season of Fox
's mega-hit American Idol
.
Coming off its most-watched season, Alias was moved to Thursdays 8 p.m. (Eastern & Pacific time) in the fall of 2005 by ABC
in an effort to invigorate the network's lackluster Thursday night lineup. However, the move proved unsuccessful for the series, receiving the lowest viewership in the show's history. Alias became another scripted show in the history of ABC
to not survive more than a year in this timeslot since Mork & Mindy was cancelled in 1982, a phenomenon sometimes known as the "Mork and Mindy" curse. (other ABC
shows experiencing this Thursday 8 p.m. fate include but are not limited to: Joanie Loves Chachi
, The Fall Guy
, Sledge Hammer!
, Knightwatch
, Mission: Impossible
, Father Dowling Mysteries
, Delta
, My So-Called Life
, Nothing Sacred
, Vengeance Unlimited
, Threat Matrix
, Miss Guided
, In The Motherhood, Samantha Who, FlashForward
, The Deep End
, My Generation
, Charlie's Angels
)
ABC
gave the show a 4-month hiatus (to allow Jennifer Garner to give birth) and when it was brought back in April 2006, its new timeslot was Wednesdays at 8 p.m. However, the viewer numbers remained dismal, culminating in a 2-hour series finale airing on Monday, May 22, 2006 (against the season finales of the hit dramas, Fox
's 24
and CBS
' CSI: Miami
) which attracted 6.68 million viewers. In comparison, the first season averaged 9.7 million viewers.
Saturn Awards:
Screen Actors Guild Awards
:
Golden Globe Awards:
Saturn Awards
Screen Actors Guild
:
Television Critics Association Awards
:
Other spoofs and humorous references include:
was nominated for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series at the Emmys 5 years in a row (2002–2006); as well as 3 nominations and 1 win at the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards.
Notable contributions to the hair stylist team include:
containing 26 tracks. These tracks were tracks used in the show, including the opening theme. All of them are composed by Michael Giacchino, except for the opening theme which was composed by J.J. Abrams. The tracks share a similar dance genre, however a few tracks, such as 'In the Garden' share more of a slowed down tempo. A second Soundtrack was also released containing music from the second season, but didn't receive as much praise as the first soundtrack. A soundtrack for Alias: The Video Game was also released, but can only be downloaded online, and is composed by Chris Tilton.
, based on the series, is a third-person
stealth action title developed and released by Acclaim Entertainment
for the PC
, PlayStation 2
and Xbox
. The plot was written by the creators of the show and the game features the voices of the cast principals. It was released on April 6, 2004, and has a rating of T
for Teen. The game is set between episodes 19 and 20 of season 2. The game allows the player to be Sydney (and briefly on one mission Vaughn), and sends her on various missions to many different locations. The missions become more difficult as you come closer to finishing the game. The game includes using many spy-skills that Sydney uses in the show.
Prior to the Acclaim release, ABC Television produced an episodic
downloadable videogame entitled Alias: Underground which is available through ABC's website. The game was a 3D third-person
stealth action game much like the Acclaim production, with missions released monthly during the original broadcast of the TV show's second season.
reading audience. Due to the intricate and story arc
-based nature of the series, most novels published to date have been prequel
s to the series, some focusing on Sydney in her early missions for SD-6, and others focusing on Vaughn's missions before meeting her. Their canon
status with regards to the televised series has yet to be determined. Although aimed at young readers, the books tackle serious subject matter, such as one volume which details the first time Sydney kills someone.
The second series of novels, titled "The APO Series", fit into the season four timeframe and are published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment.
J. J. Abrams
Jeffrey Jacob "J. J." Abrams is an American film and television producer, screenwriter, director, actor, and composer. He wrote and produced feature films before co-creating the television series Felicity...
which was broadcast on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006. It stars Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
as Sydney Bristow
Sydney Bristow
Sydney Anne Bristow , played by Jennifer Garner, is the main character and protagonist on the television series Alias. She is an American woman with Russian-American family background who works as a spy for the CIA....
, a CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
agent.
The main theme of the series explores Sydney's obligation to conceal her true career from her friends and family, even as she assumes multiple aliases to carry out her missions. These themes are most prevalent in the first two seasons of the show. A major plotline of the series was the search for and recovery of artifacts created by Milo Rambaldi
Milo Rambaldi
Milo Giacomo Rambaldi is a fictional person from the American television series Alias. The work of Rambaldi, often centuries ahead of its time and tied to prophecy, plays a central role in the show.According to Alias creator J.J...
, a Renaissance-era
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
character with similarities to both Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
and Nostradamus
Nostradamus
Michel de Nostredame , usually Latinised to Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties , the first edition of which appeared in 1555...
. This plot and some technologies used in the series places Alias into the genre of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
.
Main characters
Alias featured an ensemble cast portraying the various people in Sydney's life. During the course of the series, every main character becomes involved in the world of espionage in some form or another.- Sydney BristowSydney BristowSydney Anne Bristow , played by Jennifer Garner, is the main character and protagonist on the television series Alias. She is an American woman with Russian-American family background who works as a spy for the CIA....
(Jennifer GarnerJennifer GarnerJennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
) is a graduateGraduate schoolA graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...
student in English in Los Angeles. She moonlights as an operative for SD-6Alliance of TwelveThe Alliance of Twelve, with SD-6 being one of its subsidiary cells, is a fictional international organized crime group in the television series Alias...
, which she thinks is a black opBlack operationA black operation or black op is a covert operation typically involving activities that are highly clandestine and often outside of standard military protocol or even against the law.-Origins:...
s division of the CIA. Her fiancé is murdered in the pilot episode, and she learns SD-6 is actually a branch of an international criminal organization known as the Alliance of TwelveAlliance of TwelveThe Alliance of Twelve, with SD-6 being one of its subsidiary cells, is a fictional international organized crime group in the television series Alias...
. She then becomes a double agent for the real CIA.
- Jack BristowJack BristowJonathan "Jack" Donahue Bristow, played by Victor Garber, is Sydney Bristow's father on the television series Alias. Jack is widely referred to as "Spy Daddy" in Alias fandom, and consistently ranks as one of the most popular characters on the show...
(Victor GarberVictor GarberVictor Joseph Garber is a Canadian film, stage and television actor and singer. Garber is known for playing Jesus in Godspell, Jack Bristow in the television series Alias, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, and Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Titanic.-Early life:Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber is...
) is Sydney's father and also works for SD-6 as a double agent for the CIA. In Season 1, his relationship with Sydney is strained. He was devastated by her mother's death and kept Sydney at arm's length for the rest of her childhood. As an agent, he is exceptionally ruthless and skillful as evidenced by his CIA call signCall signIn broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
RaptorBird of preyBirds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
. - Arvin SloaneArvin SloaneArvin Sloane is a fictional character played by Ron Rifkin. He was the former director of SD-6 on the television series, Alias.-Background:...
(Ron RifkinRon RifkinRon Rifkin is an American actor. He is best-known for his roles as Arvin Sloane on the spy drama Alias and as Saul Holden on the American family drama Brothers & Sisters.-Personal life:...
) is the head of SD-6, the show's main antagonist. Originally a loyal CIA officer, he is obsessed with a 15th century prophet - Milo Rambaldi.
- Michael VaughnMichael VaughnMichael C. Vaughn is a fictional character on the television series Alias. Played by Michael Vartan, Vaughn is one of Sydney Bristow's co-workers and her ongoing love interest. He, like Sydney, is skilled in a variety of areas...
(Michael VartanMichael VartanMichael S. Vartan is a French-American film and television actor. He is probably best known for the role of Michael Vaughn on the American television action drama Alias...
) is Sydney's CIA handler and later partner. He and Sydney share a mutual attraction, which eventually leads to a relationship. At the end of Season 4, it is revealed that it was not a coincidence that he met Sydney. - Will TippinWill TippinWilliam "Will" D. Tippin is a fictional character, one of Sydney Bristow's friends on the television series Alias. He is portrayed by Bradley Cooper.-Character biography:...
(Bradley CooperBradley CooperBradley Cooper is an American film, theater, and television actor. He is known for his roles in the films The Hangover, The A-Team, and Limitless. In 2011, People magazine named Cooper "Sexiest Man Alive".-Early life:...
) is a reporter for a local newspaper and one of Sydney's two best friends. After the death of Sydney's fiancé, Will begins to investigate and eventually learns of the existence of SD-6. This results in him becoming an analyst for the CIA, until he is put into witness protection prior to the start of season three. He makes occasional appearances in the following seasons. - Francie CalfoFrancie CalfoFrancine "Francie" Calfo is a fictional character on the television series Alias, portrayed by Merrin Dungey. She is Sydney Bristow's close friend.-Biography:Francie was Sydney Bristow's best friend and roommate during the beginning of the series...
(Merrin DungeyMerrin DungeyMerrin Dungey is an American film and television actress, best known for her roles on the television series The King of Queens, Alias and Summerland.-Early life:...
) is Sydney's other best friend. When Season 1 begins, she is Sydney's roommate and fellow graduate student. In Season 2, she drops out of her graduate program and opens a restaurant in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. She remains largely unaware of the spy world until the middle of season two when she is killed and her identity is stolen by a doppelgänger. She (and her double) also date Will during the second season. - Marcus DixonMarcus Dixon (Alias)Marcus R. Dixon is a fictional character on the television series, Alias. He has been one of Sydney Bristow's coworkers and the CIA's Director of Joint Task Force. He is portrayed by Carl Lumbly.-Character biography:...
(Carl Lumbly) is Sydney's partner and friend at SD-6. He is the first one to notice signs of Sydney's betrayal, but dismisses his thoughts as foolish. During the two-year gap between the second and third season, he becomes a field director at the CIA. However, he later resigns as he thinks the office job just isn't for him. - Marshall FlinkmanMarshall FlinkmanMarshall J. Flinkman is a fictional character on the television series, Alias. Flinkman, portrayed by Kevin Weisman, is the tech geek at SD-6 and then later the CIA...
(Kevin WeismanKevin WeismanKevin Weisman is an American film, television and stage actor. His best-known acting role was that of Marshall Flinkman on the television series Alias .-Early life:...
) is a genius who works in tech support at SD-6. He later performs the same job at the real CIA. Even though he is not field-trained, he has participated on missions in several occasions. - Eric WeissEric WeissEric Weiss is a fictional character, played by Greg Grunberg, from the television series Alias. He is one of Sydney Bristow's CIA co-workers....
(Greg GrunbergGreg GrunbergGregory Phillip "Greg" Grunberg is an American television actor. He is best known from starring as Matt Parkman on the NBC television series Heroes. Other notable roles included the characters Sean Blumberg on Felicity and Eric Weiss on Alias , both created and produced by childhood friend J. J...
) is a friend of Vaughn's and works with him at the CIA. He later becomes involved with Sydney's sister, Nadia. - Irina DerevkoIrina DerevkoIrina Derevko , is a fictional character on the television series Alias, and a main character during the second season of the series. Irina, played by Lena Olin, is the mother of the central character, Sydney Bristow.-Biography:...
(Lena OlinLena OlinLena Maria Jonna Olin is a Swedish actress.-Early life:Olin was born the youngest of three children, in Stockholm, Sweden. She is the daughter of actress Britta Holmberg and the director Stig Olin...
) is a former Russian spy and also the mother of Sydney. During the 1970s, she was sent to United States with the objective to seduce and marry Jack Bristow in order to steal information from him about a project he was working on. She also assassinated several CIA officers, including Vaughn's father.
- Julian SarkJulian SarkJulian Sark is a recurring fictional character portrayed by David Anders on the ABC television series Alias. The series follows Sydney Bristow, an operative working for an organization called SD-6 which she believes is a covert branch of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(David AndersDavid AndersDavid Anders is an American television and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Julian Sark on Alias, and as Adam Monroe on Heroes. Although Anders is American, both of these noted roles required him to use an English accent.-Early life:Anders was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, to parents...
) is originally introduced as an operative working for Sydney's mother, but later proves to be an antagonist on his own. He has an instinct for self-preservation, thus making his loyalty flexible. During the third season, he becomes the partner-in-crime of Vaughn's wife, Lauren, and eventually begins a relationship with her. - Lauren ReedLauren ReedLauren Reed is a fictional character played by Melissa George in the Alias television series. She is Michael Vaughn's wife during the third season of the series.-Character biography:...
(Melissa GeorgeMelissa GeorgeMelissa Suzanne George is an Australian film and television actress who has worked in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Melissa is perhaps best known for her role as Angel Parrish on the Australian soap opera Home and Away...
) is an NSC liaison at the CIA, and marries Vaughn during the two-year gap between the second and third season. She is later revealed to be a mole sent by The Covenant to watch over Vaughn should Sydney contact him during her involvement with them and also to steal crucial information from the CIA. - Nadia SantosNadia SantosNadia Santos is a fictional character in the television series Alias, and a main character during the series' fourth season. She is played by Mía Maestro.-Biography:...
(Mía MaestroMía MaestroMía Maestro is an Argentine actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Nadia Santos in the television drama Alias, and as Christina Kahlo in Frida.-Life and acting career:...
) is Sydney's half-sister, and the daughter of Irina Derevko and Arvin Sloane. Introduced at the end of the third season, she is "The Passenger," a person who provides a direct line to Rambaldi. Prior to joining the CIA, she worked for the Argentine Intelligence. - Rachel Gibson (Rachel NicholsRachel Nichols (actress)Rachel Emily Nichols is an American actress and model. Nichols began modeling while attending Columbia University in New York City in the late 1990s...
) is a computer genius and introduced at the beginning of season five as an operative working for an organization that poses as the CIA known as The Shed. Unaware of this, she indirectly helps to apparently kill Michael Vaughn. After the truth is revealed to her, she joins the CIA in order to take down the organization that lied to her, much like Sydney did years before. - Renée RienneRenée RienneRenée Rienne is a fictional character in the spy-fi television series Alias. Played by Élodie Bouchez, she was introduced as a new character for the fifth season...
(Élodie BouchezÉlodie BouchezÉlodie Bouchez-Bangalter is a French actress. She is best known in the United States for her role as Renée Rienne on the fifth and final season of the television show Alias...
) is an international terrorist known as "The Raven" who worked years with Vaughn in order to investigate a group of people known as Prophet Five. After Vaughn's assassination by the Prophet Five, she allies with Sydney to take down the group. - Thomas GraceThomas Grace (Alias)Thomas Grace is a character on the spy-fi drama series, Alias, and is one of the main characters from the series' final season. He is portrayed by Balthazar Getty.The character was introduced in the second episode of the fifth season...
(Balthazar GettyBalthazar GettyBalthazar Getty is an American film actor and member of the band Ringside. He is known for the roles of Thomas Grace on the American action drama Alias and Tommy Walker on the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters.-Early life:...
) is an operative who is hired by Jack to join APO after the apparent death of Michael Vaughn. Years ago, his wife was murdered by a car bomb that was meant for him. - Kelly PeytonKelly PeytonKelly Peyton is a fictional character played by Amy Acker on the television series Alias. She works for a terrorist organization known as Prophet Five, which is the focus of the fifth and final season of the series.-Character biography:...
(Amy AckerAmy AckerAmy Louise Acker is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series Angel as Winifred Burkle and Illyria and on Alias as Kelly Peyton. She is also known for her role as Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey on Dollhouse.-Early life:Acker was born and raised in Dallas, where she...
) is a friend and former colleague of Rachel's. She works for The Shed, and later directly to Prophet Five.
Recurring characters
- Emily SloaneEmily SloaneEmily Sloane is a fictional character from the American television series Alias. She was portrayed by Amy Irving.-Biography:Emily Sloane was married to SD-6 head Arvin Sloane for more than 30 years. Little is known of her life outside of her marriage to Arvin. She had worked for the State...
(Amy IrvingAmy IrvingAmy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
) is the wife of Arvin Sloane. She acts as a mother figure for Sydney. - Anna EspinosaAnna EspinosaAnna Espinosa is a fictional character from the television series Alias, . Born in Cuba, raised in Russia, Anna was a Soviet spy at some point, until the collapse of the Soviet Union...
(Gina TorresGina TorresGina Torres is an American television and movie actress. She is known for her roles in science fiction and fantasy. She has appeared in many television series, including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys , Xena: Warrior Princess , the short-lived Cleopatra 2525, as well as Alias , Firefly Gina...
) is a nemesis of Sydney's. During the first season, she works for K-Directorate. - Director Kendall (Terry O'QuinnTerry O'QuinnTerry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
) is the director of the field office that houses Irina during the second season. - Dr. Judy Barnett (Patricia WettigPatricia WettigPatricia Wettig is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for her roles in the television series Thirtysomething, Prison Break and Brothers & Sisters...
) is a psychotherapist who works for the CIA. Many of the main characters visit her during the second and third seasons. - Katya DerevkoKatya DerevkoYekaterina "Katya" Derevko, alias The Black Sparrow, was the second of the three Derevko sisters to be introduced on the ABC television series Alias. She was played by Isabella Rossellini.-Character Biography:...
(Isabella Rosselini) is one of Irina's sisters, and Sydney's aunt. She is introduced during the third season as an ally, but eventually betrays the CIA and is captured. - Hayden Chase (Angela BassettAngela BassettAngela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. She has become well known for her biographical film roles portraying real life women in African American culture, including singer Tina Turner in the motion picture What's Love Got to Do with It, as well as Betty Shabazz in the films Malcolm X and...
) is CIA director who oversees APO. She also begins a relationship with Dixon. - Elena DerevkoElena DerevkoElena Derevko is a fictional character from the television series Alias, played by Sônia Braga.Elena is the sister of Irina and Katya Derevko. Considered to be the most ruthless of the Derevko sisters, Elena is the secret leader of The Covenant. She was first mentioned in the season three episode...
(Sônia BragaSônia BragaSônia Maria Campos Braga is a Brazilian actress. She has been nominated for both a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award.-Early life:...
) is the last of the Derevko sisters. She is revealed to be the leader of The Covenant, and eventually manages to enter Sydney's life revealing herself as being the old caretaker of Nadia.
In addition, Alias also featured many other famous actors in roles ranging from single-episode guest appearances to semi-recurring characters, including Raymond J. Barry
Raymond J. Barry
Raymond John Barry is an American film, television and stage actor.-Personal life:Raymond John Barry was born in Hempstead, New York . His father, Raymond Barry, worked in sales. His mother, Barbara Barry , was also an actor, known professionally as B. Constance Barry...
as Senator George Reed, Tobin Bell
Tobin Bell
Tobin Bell is an American film and television character actor. After years of work doing stand-ins and background work on films, he got his first major acting job in Mississippi Burning and went on to star in made-for-television films and guest star in television shows throughout the 1990s.Bell...
as Karl Dreyer, Peter Berg
Peter Berg
Peter Berg is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is known for directing films such as Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom, The Rundown, Hancock and Battleship. He also developed the television series Friday Night Lights, which was adapted from the film he directed. As an actor...
as Noah Hicks, David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
as Conrad, David Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
as Dr. Brezzel, Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
as Ariana Kane, Griffin Dunne
Griffin Dunne
-Personal life:Dunne was born Thomas Griffin Dunne in New York City, New York, the son of Ellen Beatriz Dunne and Dominick Dunne. His mother founded the victims' rights organization Justice for Homicide Victims and his father was a producer, writer, and actor...
as Leonid Lisenker, Vivica A. Fox
Vivica A. Fox
Vivica Anjanetta Fox is an American actress and television producer. She is best known for her roles in the films Independence Day, Set It Off, Soul Food, Why Do Fools Fall In Love,Kill Bill and Juwanna Mann....
as Toni Cummings, Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Dene Gervais is an English comedian, actor, director, radio presenter, producer, musician, and writer.Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with friend and frequent collaborator...
as Daniel Ryan, John Hannah
John Hannah (actor)
John David Hannah is a Scottish actor of film and television. He has appeared in Stephen Sommers' Mummy Series, Richard Curtis' Four Weddings and a Funeral and Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow...
as Martin Shepard, Rutger Hauer as Anthony Geiger, Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
as James Lennox, Djimon Hounsou
Djimon Hounsou
Djimon Diaw Hounsou is a Beninese actor and model. As an actor, Hounsou has been nominated for two Academy Awards.-Early life:Djimon Hounsou was born in Cotonou, Benin, in 1964, to lbertine and Pierre Hounsou, a cook. He emigrated to Lyon in France at the age of thirteen with his brother, Edmond....
as Kazari Bomani, Richard Lewis
Richard Lewis (comedian)
-Early life:Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York City and was raised in Englewood, New Jersey. His father worked as a caterer and his mother was an actress. Lewis is Jewish. He later attended Ohio State University and was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity....
as Mitchell Yaeger, Peggy Lipton
Peggy Lipton
Peggy Lipton is an American television actress. She played "Julie Barnes" in The Mod Squad, and Norma Jennings in Twin Peaks.- Personal life and background :...
as Olivia Reed, Sir Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
as Edward Poole, Richard Roundtree
Richard Roundtree
Richard Roundtree is an American actor and former fashion model. He is best known for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft and in its two sequels, Shaft's Big Score and Shaft in Africa .-Personal life:Born in New Rochelle, New York, Richard Roundtree graduated from...
as Thomas Brill, Angus Scrimm
Angus Scrimm
Angus Scrimm is an American actor, best known for playing the Tall Man in the 1979 horror movie Phantasm and its sequels.-Life and career:...
as Calvin McCullough, Jason Segel
Jason Segel
Jason Jordan Segel is an American television and film actor, screenwriter, composer, puppeteer and musician, known for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the films Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, I Love You, Man,...
as Sam Hauser, Christian Slater
Christian Slater
Christian Michael Leonard Slater is an American actor. He made his film debut with a small role in The Postman Always Rings Twice before playing a leading role in the 1985 film The Legend of Billie Jean...
as Neil Caplan, Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
as McKenas Cole
McKenas Cole
McKenas Cole is a secondary fictional character portrayed by Quentin Tarantino in the ABC television series Alias. Formerly an operative for SD-6, he defected from that organization, first to work for "The Man" and later to assume a leading position in The Covenant.-Season 1:Cole first appears in...
, Justin Theroux as Simon Walker and Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo
Dan "Danny" Trejo is an American actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, most notably in roles as an antagonist, or anti-hero.-Early life:...
as Emilio Vargas.
Production and crew
Produced by Touchstone TelevisionTouchstone Television
ABC Studios is the television production division of Disney-ABC Television Group. ABC Studios was established as Touchstone Television in 1985 and given its current name in May 2007....
and Bad Robot Productions
Bad Robot Productions
Bad Robot Productions is an American film and television production company owned by J. J. Abrams. It is responsible for the television series Alias, Lost, What About Brian, Fringe, Six Degrees, Undercovers, Person of Interest and the feature length films Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol , ...
, film production primarily took place in the greater Los Angeles area. Studio shooting primarily took place at the Walt Disney Studios
Walt Disney Studios (Burbank)
The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, United States, serve as the international headquarters for media conglomerate The Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Studio's house offices for each of the company's divisions along with creative spaces designed for movie production. The Walt Disney...
in Burbank, California
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, along with some outdoor shots near some of the studio's famous buildings (such as the original Animation Building or the ABC building, which appeared as a building in Hong Kong in the season 1 episode "The Coup"). Despite its worldwide locales, only one episode was ever filmed outside the Los Angeles region, in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
- J. J. AbramsJ. J. AbramsJeffrey Jacob "J. J." Abrams is an American film and television producer, screenwriter, director, actor, and composer. He wrote and produced feature films before co-creating the television series Felicity...
– executive producer - John EisendrathJohn EisendrathJohn Eisendrath is a television series producer and writer. He produced the show on FOX called K-ville , and is currently writing Hitmen. He is a father of four, and lives in LA.-Writer:* "WIOU" TV series- Creator* Playmakers TV Series...
– executive producer (Season 1–3) - Alex KurtzmanAlex KurtzmanAlex Kurtzman is an American film and television screenwriter and producer.Kurtzman was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where he met his high school friend and long time collaborator Roberto Orci...
– executive producer (Season 2–3) - Roberto OrciRoberto OrciRoberto Gaston Orci is a Mexican-American film producer, television producer, and screenwriter.-Biography:Orci was born in Mexico City to a Mexican father and a Cuban mother. His mother had left Cuba for Mexico after Fidel Castro came to power. He is the older brother of screenwriter-producer J....
– executive producer (Season 2–3) - Jeffrey Bell - executive producer (Season 4-5)
- Jeff PinknerJeff PinknerJeff Pinkner is an American television writer and producer. He graduated from Pikesville High School in Baltimore Maryland in 1983. He is known for his work on Alias where he served as executive producer. In 2006 and 2007, he worked as an executive producer and writer for the mystery series Lost...
– executive producer (Season 5) - Jesse AlexanderJesse AlexanderJesse Alexander is an American television writer and producer. He was most recently a co-executive producer and writer on Heroes. Originally from Santa Barbara, California, Alexander attended Sarah Lawrence College and AFI Conservatory. At Sarah Lawrence, he befriended J.J...
– executive producer (Season 5) - Ken OlinKen OlinKenneth Edward "Ken" Olin is an American actor, director and producer. He is known for his starring role on the television series Thirtysomething, and most recently as Executive Producer, director, and recurring guest star of the television series Brothers & Sisters .-Career:As an actor, Olin...
– executive producer (and director) - Michael GiacchinoMichael GiacchinoMichael Giacchino is an American composer who has composed scores for movies, television series and video games. Some of his most notable works include the scores to television series such as Lost, Alias and Fringe, games such as the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series, and films such as...
– composer - Michael Haro – coordinating producer
Season 1: 2001–2002
Seven years before season 1, Sydney BristowSydney Bristow
Sydney Anne Bristow , played by Jennifer Garner, is the main character and protagonist on the television series Alias. She is an American woman with Russian-American family background who works as a spy for the CIA....
was an undergraduate student of English literature when she was approached with a job offer by someone claiming to work for SD-6, which was supposedly part of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
. She accepted the offer, and quickly became a field agent
Field agent
In espionage, a field agent is an agent who works in the field as opposed to one who works at the office or headquarters. A field agent can work alone or in a group but usually has a case officer who is in charge....
. In the pilot, she tells her fiancé Danny that she is a spy
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
. As a result of revealing SD-6's existence to an outsider, her fiancé is murdered by SD-6.
It is then that Sydney is told by her father Jack Bristow
Jack Bristow
Jonathan "Jack" Donahue Bristow, played by Victor Garber, is Sydney Bristow's father on the television series Alias. Jack is widely referred to as "Spy Daddy" in Alias fandom, and consistently ranks as one of the most popular characters on the show...
(another SD-6 agent) that SD-6 is not part of the CIA; instead, it is part of the Alliance of Twelve
Alliance of Twelve
The Alliance of Twelve, with SD-6 being one of its subsidiary cells, is a fictional international organized crime group in the television series Alias...
, an organization that is an enemy to the United States. Sydney decides to offer her services to the real CIA as a double agent. She learns that her father is also a double agent for the CIA, when he notifies her that her offer is accepted. She begins the long and arduous task of destroying SD-6 from the inside.
Major plotlines from season 1 include Sydney hiding her triple-identity from her friends, both in her personal life and in her SD-6 job, Will Tippin
Will Tippin
William "Will" D. Tippin is a fictional character, one of Sydney Bristow's friends on the television series Alias. He is portrayed by Bradley Cooper.-Character biography:...
's investigation into Danny's death, and the past activities of Sydney's mother. Sub-plots included Sydney's friendship with Francie, Francie's romantic relationship with Charlie, and Sydney's developing relationship with her CIA handler Michael Vaughn, of whom she is skeptical at first but grows to trust as her life becomes increasingly stressful. Season One focuses on the development of Sydney's character, and allows the audience to become familiar with her. The other seasons share the feature of having a guest star who appears throughout the entire season.
Season 2: 2002–2003
The second season begins with the introduction of Irina DerevkoIrina Derevko
Irina Derevko , is a fictional character on the television series Alias, and a main character during the second season of the series. Irina, played by Lena Olin, is the mother of the central character, Sydney Bristow.-Biography:...
, Sydney's mother, who soon becomes a vital part of the series. Midway through the second season, the series underwent a "reboot" of sorts with Sydney successfully destroying SD-6 (after gathering valuable intelligence for tactical strikes from an airborne SD-6 server) and becoming a regular agent for the CIA, still in pursuit of former SD-6 leader Arvin Sloane
Arvin Sloane
Arvin Sloane is a fictional character played by Ron Rifkin. He was the former director of SD-6 on the television series, Alias.-Background:...
, his associate Julian Sark
Julian Sark
Julian Sark is a recurring fictional character portrayed by David Anders on the ABC television series Alias. The series follows Sydney Bristow, an operative working for an organization called SD-6 which she believes is a covert branch of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, and the Rambaldi artifacts. Sydney's friends at SD-6, Marcus Dixon
Marcus Dixon (Alias)
Marcus R. Dixon is a fictional character on the television series, Alias. He has been one of Sydney Bristow's coworkers and the CIA's Director of Joint Task Force. He is portrayed by Carl Lumbly.-Character biography:...
and Marshall Flinkman
Marshall Flinkman
Marshall J. Flinkman is a fictional character on the television series, Alias. Flinkman, portrayed by Kevin Weisman, is the tech geek at SD-6 and then later the CIA...
, are finally made aware of her dual identity and recruited into the CIA. Sydney also begins a romantic relationship with Vaughn, now that their relationship will not endanger them.
In the second half of the season, it is revealed that Francie Calfo
Francie Calfo
Francine "Francie" Calfo is a fictional character on the television series Alias, portrayed by Merrin Dungey. She is Sydney Bristow's close friend.-Biography:Francie was Sydney Bristow's best friend and roommate during the beginning of the series...
, Sydney's best friend, was murdered and replaced by Allison Doren, a woman who was transfigured to look exactly like her. Allison was then in a position to spy on Sydney and Will. The end of the season saw Will possibly murdered and Sydney killing Allison and then falling unconscious. Sydney awakens two years later in Hong Kong, unable to remember the two years that have passed. She soon learns that her friends and the CIA believed her to be dead, and Vaughn found a new love and is now married.
Season 3: 2003–2004
The third season takes place two years after the events of season 2, with Sydney having been missing and presumed dead. DNA evidence in a badly burned body confirmed her death to her family and friends.The truth, however, is that Sydney was kidnapped by a terrorist organization called The Covenant
Covenant (Alias)
In the television series Alias, The Covenant is a large, powerful, and secretive intelligence/terrorist organization.The Covenant was a "loose affiliation of Russian nationalists" composed of retired KGB and former Central Committee members, all dedicated to the new world envisioned by Milo...
, who tried to brainwash her into believing she was an assassin named Julia Thorne. Eventually Sydney voluntarily had her memories of the two years erased in an attempt to forget some of the deeds she was forced to undertake as Julia and to ensure that one of Rambaldi's most dangerous artifacts would never be found.
As Sydney recovers, she begins investigating her absence while reintegrating into the CIA. There she deals with the facts that Arvin Sloane
Arvin Sloane
Arvin Sloane is a fictional character played by Ron Rifkin. He was the former director of SD-6 on the television series, Alias.-Background:...
had become a world-renowned humanitarian after being pardoned, and that Michael Vaughn
Michael Vaughn
Michael C. Vaughn is a fictional character on the television series Alias. Played by Michael Vartan, Vaughn is one of Sydney Bristow's co-workers and her ongoing love interest. He, like Sydney, is skilled in a variety of areas...
had married NSC agent Lauren Reed
Lauren Reed
Lauren Reed is a fictional character played by Melissa George in the Alias television series. She is Michael Vaughn's wife during the third season of the series.-Character biography:...
. Reed is later revealed to be a member of the Covenant and a lover of Julian Sark
Julian Sark
Julian Sark is a recurring fictional character portrayed by David Anders on the ABC television series Alias. The series follows Sydney Bristow, an operative working for an organization called SD-6 which she believes is a covert branch of the Central Intelligence Agency...
. The National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
plays a role as a government organization that holds massive unsupervised power, with a Guantanamo
Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
-like detention facility, considerable influence over the CIA, and driven by questionable motives. Sydney later discovers that her mother and Arvin Sloane had a child together, the result of an affair between the two years earlier. She locates her half-sister, Nadia, and rescues her from being killed by the Covenant.
At the end of the season, Sydney goes on a mission and encounters Lauren. After they battle, Lauren begins to taunt Sydney by saying she has information about her past. When Vaughn shows up, Sydney goes to him, leaving Lauren a chance to attack again. Vaughn shoots Lauren, and she dies, but before she does she gives Sydney the number of a security deposit box where she can find information about her past.
Season 4: 2005
Season 4 begins where season three ended with Sydney uncovering a shocking, classified document called "S.A.B. 47 Project." It is explained that the document authorizes Jack Bristow to execute Sydney's mother, who had mysteriously placed a contract on Sydney's life (this was apparently something of a retconRetcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
to cover for actress Lena Olin's presumed not returning to the series, as the first page refers to Sydney as the "active" subject of a "project" that began April 17, 1975, a possible reference to Project Christmas
Project Christmas
Project Christmas is a fictional black ops project from the television show Alias. Developed by the Central Intelligence Agency and headed by Jack Bristow in the 1970s, the project was designed to identify and train children as sleeper agents to become future spies...
, and also setting up Jack as either the real head of, or somehow involved with, the Covenant and/or being a descendant of Rambaldi/Rambaldi himself).
Sydney joins a black op
Black op
A black operation or black op is a covert operation typically involving activities that are highly clandestine and often outside of standard military protocol or even against the law.-Origins:...
s division of the CIA, patterned after SD-6 and run by her one-time nemesis Arvin Sloane. The new division is dubbed "APO": Authorized Personnel Only
Authorized Personnel Only
Authorized Personnel Only , is a fictional black ops unit within the Central Intelligence Agency in the American TV series Alias. It was formed at the beginning of Season 4 and is headquartered beneath the Los Angeles Subway system....
. Members of APO (all hand-picked by Sloane) include almost all of the recurring characters from previous seasons, including Jack, Vaughn, Sydney's former partner (and third season CIA director) Marcus Dixon
Marcus Dixon (Alias)
Marcus R. Dixon is a fictional character on the television series, Alias. He has been one of Sydney Bristow's coworkers and the CIA's Director of Joint Task Force. He is portrayed by Carl Lumbly.-Character biography:...
, the computer and technical genius, Marshall Flinkman
Marshall Flinkman
Marshall J. Flinkman is a fictional character on the television series, Alias. Flinkman, portrayed by Kevin Weisman, is the tech geek at SD-6 and then later the CIA...
, and Vaughn's best friend Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss is a fictional character, played by Greg Grunberg, from the television series Alias. He is one of Sydney Bristow's CIA co-workers....
(brought in after having to be rescued by Sydney and Vaughn, who he previously believed to have left the CIA). Sloane's daughter and Sydney's half-sister Nadia Santos
Nadia Santos
Nadia Santos is a fictional character in the television series Alias, and a main character during the series' fourth season. She is played by Mía Maestro.-Biography:...
also eventually returns to join APO.
During the season, an Arvin Sloane impostor, jokingly identified as "Arvin Clone," acquired the technology to implement a Rambaldi-predicted apocalypse. Using Omnifam
Omnifam
Omnifam was a fictional charity organization in the TV series Alias. Arvin Sloane was the chairman. In season four Sloane joined Authorized Personnel Only , with the team sometimes posing as Omnifam employees...
, the real Sloane had polluted the world's drinking water with chemicals that caused feelings of peace and tranquility. However, these feelings can be reversed with the Mueller device
Mueller device
A Mueller device is a mysterious piece of technology in the US television series Alias. It usually appears as a hook-shaped armature which levitates a red-orange liquid-filled sphere. It is named for Oskar Mueller, a chemist who was believed to have invented it, though it is later revealed to have...
. The third Derevko sister, Elena
Elena Derevko
Elena Derevko is a fictional character from the television series Alias, played by Sônia Braga.Elena is the sister of Irina and Katya Derevko. Considered to be the most ruthless of the Derevko sisters, Elena is the secret leader of The Covenant. She was first mentioned in the season three episode...
, had built a giant Mueller device in Sovogda, Russia, which drove the residents to insanity. Sydney, Jack, Irina, Nadia, and Vaughn parachute in, destroy the device and kill Elena. But Nadia is injected with the tainted water and driven insane. She battles Sydney until Sloane is forced to shoot his own daughter. Nadia is later put into a coma while a cure is sought and Irina escapes again.
The season concludes with Sydney and Vaughn becoming engaged. On a trip to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, Vaughn confides a shocking secret: his name isn't really Michael Vaughn; their initial meeting wasn't coincidental; and that his allegiance may not be to the CIA. Before he can divulge any more information, another car crashes into theirs and the season ends.
Season 5: 2005–2006
As season five begins, Vaughn is abducted. Sydney learns that Vaughn is under suspicion of being a double agent and that the crash may have been a cover for his extraction. Vaughn later escapes and explains to Sydney that his real name is André Michaux. He reveals that he is investigating a secret operation known as Prophet Five, which at one point involved his father. During a mission in recovering a Prophet Five book, Sydney receives a phone call from her doctor with some untimely news – she's pregnant. (This development was created to deal with the actress' real-life pregnancy.). Vaughn is later shot, and apparently killed, on orders of Prophet Five operative Gordon DeanGordon Dean (Alias)
Gordon Dean is a fictional character on the American television show Alias. He was portrayed by Tyrees Allen.-Biography:Dean was the head of The Shed, a clandestine criminal organization similar to SD-6. As at SD-6, most of the operatives of the Shed believed they were working for a black ops...
. Four months later, as Sydney continues to investigate Vaughn's murder, she works with an assassin and associate of his, Renée Rienne
Renée Rienne
Renée Rienne is a fictional character in the spy-fi television series Alias. Played by Élodie Bouchez, she was introduced as a new character for the fifth season...
, in order to unearth the inner workings of Prophet Five, while at the same time trailing Dean and his criminal organization "The Shed," disguised as a black ops CIA division, very much like SD-6.
Two new members are added to APO
Authorized Personnel Only
Authorized Personnel Only , is a fictional black ops unit within the Central Intelligence Agency in the American TV series Alias. It was formed at the beginning of Season 4 and is headquartered beneath the Los Angeles Subway system....
to replace Weiss, who moved to Washington, D.C. for a new job, and Nadia, who is still in a coma. Thomas Grace
Thomas Grace (Alias)
Thomas Grace is a character on the spy-fi drama series, Alias, and is one of the main characters from the series' final season. He is portrayed by Balthazar Getty.The character was introduced in the second episode of the fifth season...
is a brash young agent with unorthodox methods who often butts heads with Sydney. Rachel Gibson is a computer specialist who, like Sydney, was deceived into thinking she was working for the real CIA and briefly works as a mole within The Shed, as did Sydney within SD-6, before The Shed's destruction by Dean.
In an ongoing subplot, Arvin Sloane follows his own personal obsession, finding a cure for Nadia. Sloane is jailed for his actions during Season 4; however, he is released after the sentencing committee is manipulated by Dean. In exchange for his freedom, Sloane is now working for Dean as a mole within APO. Unaware of Sloane's new allegiance, Jack agrees to let Sloane rejoin APO and use its resources to seek a cure for his daughter.
With the series' end, it emerges that Sloane's ultimate goal is that of immortality, for which he sacrifices his daughter Nadia's life. However, he is trapped in Rambaldi's tomb by a critically wounded Jack, who sacrifices himself via a bomb strapped to his chest to avenge all the pain Sloane caused Sydney over the years. Thus moments after Sloane achieves immortality he is trapped for all of eternity in a cave, where even Nadia's ghost deserts him. Sydney tracks Sark and the Horizon to Hong Kong, finding Irina. After a final battle between them, Irina plunges to her death.
The series ends with a flash forward to several years in the future. Sydney and Vaughn are semi-retired and married, with a second child named Jack in honour of Sydney's father. Daughter Isabelle exhibits the same ability to complete the CIA test that marked Sydney's inborn skills to be an ideal agent at that age. After completing the puzzle, Sydney calls to her from outside, asking what she is doing. She responds by saying, "Nothing," as she casually knocks it over before running outside to join everyone.
Reboot
In May 2010, E! OnlineEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
columnist Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello
Michael Ausiello is an American television industry journalist and actor. He was a Senior Writer at TV Guide and its companion website, TVGuide.com. On May 28, 2008, Ausiello left TV Guide for Entertainment Weekly and posted his first blog for Entertainment Weekly on July 2, 2008...
confirmed that ABC was in the early stages of developing a reboot, but that the potential series probably wouldn't make it beyond the development phase.
Themes
- FamilyFamilyIn human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
– Family relationships abound throughout the show. In the first season this focused mainly on the strained relationship between Sydney and her father, with echoes in ArvinArvin SloaneArvin Sloane is a fictional character played by Ron Rifkin. He was the former director of SD-6 on the television series, Alias.-Background:...
and Emily SloaneEmily SloaneEmily Sloane is a fictional character from the American television series Alias. She was portrayed by Amy Irving.-Biography:Emily Sloane was married to SD-6 head Arvin Sloane for more than 30 years. Little is known of her life outside of her marriage to Arvin. She had worked for the State...
's relationship as surrogate parents for Sydney, and her idealization of her supposedly dead mother. The second season saw Sydney having to come to grips with issues surrounding her mother. The third and fourth seasons changed the mostly parent-child family dynamic, and instead introduced issues revolving around spouses and extended family, as Vaughn struggled to save his marriage and renew his relationship with Sydney. We also met the two sisters of Irina DerevkoIrina DerevkoIrina Derevko , is a fictional character on the television series Alias, and a main character during the second season of the series. Irina, played by Lena Olin, is the mother of the central character, Sydney Bristow.-Biography:...
. However, the parent-child dynamic survived as Vaughn learned that his father was more than a simple CIA agent and as Sloane discovered that he had a daughter. The fifth season can be, in some ways, regarded as a "next generation" in the family drama of Alias. Sydney and Vaughn were finally to be married, and Sydney is becoming a mother in her own right. This is literal, as Sydney discovered that she was pregnant, and also figurative as Sydney takes on a parental role in relation to the new agent Rachel, who needs much guidance. - ProphecyProphecyProphecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
and predeterminationDeterminismDeterminism is the general philosophical thesis that states that for everything that happens there are conditions such that, given them, nothing else could happen. There are many versions of this thesis. Each of them rests upon various alleged connections, and interdependencies of things and...
– A good deal of Alias revolves around the propheciesProphecyProphecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
of Milo RambaldiMilo RambaldiMilo Giacomo Rambaldi is a fictional person from the American television series Alias. The work of Rambaldi, often centuries ahead of its time and tied to prophecy, plays a central role in the show.According to Alias creator J.J...
. The viewer is first introduced to a prophecy about a woman who will "render the greatest power unto utter desolation". Later, as Sloane completes part of the Rambaldi prophecy he has received his own prophetic message. The Rambaldi storyline seemed to come to a close with the conclusion of Elena DerevkoElena DerevkoElena Derevko is a fictional character from the television series Alias, played by Sônia Braga.Elena is the sister of Irina and Katya Derevko. Considered to be the most ruthless of the Derevko sisters, Elena is the secret leader of The Covenant. She was first mentioned in the season three episode...
's endgame at the end of season four, but the fifth season introduced its own "prophet" (also in pursuit of Rambaldi) in the form of the mysterious organization known as Prophet Five, which ended up being a reference to Rambaldi and the final part of his endgame, immortality, which had been set up in the first season, though this was only one part of his plan. The first part was world peace, which Elena DerevkoElena DerevkoElena Derevko is a fictional character from the television series Alias, played by Sônia Braga.Elena is the sister of Irina and Katya Derevko. Considered to be the most ruthless of the Derevko sisters, Elena is the secret leader of The Covenant. She was first mentioned in the season three episode...
perverted and attempted in Season 4. - Strong female charactersGender roleGender roles refer to the set of social and behavioral norms that are considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture, which differ widely between cultures and over time...
– while there are many strong male characters throughout the show, Alias is highlighted by very powerful, strong, and capable women – women who either use their power for good or bad. Strong female characters include Sydney Bristow herself, the Derevko sisters, Anna Espinosa, Lauren Reed, Nadia Santos, Allison Doren as Francie,Renée Rienne, and Kelly Peyton. - Trust and betrayalBetrayalBetrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations...
– Much of the first three seasons of the show revolved around issues of trust and betrayalBetrayalBetrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations...
. Most obvious is the betrayal of Sydney by SD-6Alliance of TwelveThe Alliance of Twelve, with SD-6 being one of its subsidiary cells, is a fictional international organized crime group in the television series Alias...
which starts the show. However, the show includes numerous other examples of betrayal including Irina's betrayal of Jack, Sloane's betrayal of the Alliance, Sydney's betrayal of SD-6 and Sydney's lying to her friends. The first season can be viewed as a story of Sydney learning to trust her father and the second season can be viewed as Sydney struggling with trust issues relating to her mother. - Private and non-governmental intelligence agenciesIntelligence agencyAn intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
– The world of Alias has a large ensemble of fictional intelligence agencies. These agencies are clandestine espionage groups that trade secrets and weapons. Fictional spy organizations that have been featured on the show include:- SD-6Alliance of TwelveThe Alliance of Twelve, with SD-6 being one of its subsidiary cells, is a fictional international organized crime group in the television series Alias...
: one of twelve Section Disparu cells under the Alliance of TwelveAlliance of TwelveThe Alliance of Twelve, with SD-6 being one of its subsidiary cells, is a fictional international organized crime group in the television series Alias...
, employing Sydney Bristow in Season 1 under the pretense that it is a black-ops division of the CIA. - The Alliance of TwelveAlliance of TwelveThe Alliance of Twelve, with SD-6 being one of its subsidiary cells, is a fictional international organized crime group in the television series Alias...
: a ruthless international organization, originally formed by twelve defectors from various intelligence agencies. Each member of the Alliance of Twelve is believed to be in charge of an SD cell. - K-DirectorateK-DirectorateK-Directorate is a fictional organized crime group in the television series Alias, headquartered in St. Petersburg. It is an enemy of the Central Intelligence Agency and of the Alliance of Twelve. It figures most prominently in the first season....
: a private agency based in Russia and staffed by veterans of communist intelligence services. It is featured mostly in Season 1. - FTL: based in Hong Kong and apparently specialized in more high tech espionage. It was destroyed by Julian SarkJulian SarkJulian Sark is a recurring fictional character portrayed by David Anders on the ABC television series Alias. The series follows Sydney Bristow, an operative working for an organization called SD-6 which she believes is a covert branch of the Central Intelligence Agency...
who was working for "The Man" in Season 1. - "The Man" (aka Irina DerevkoIrina DerevkoIrina Derevko , is a fictional character on the television series Alias, and a main character during the second season of the series. Irina, played by Lena Olin, is the mother of the central character, Sydney Bristow.-Biography:...
) ran an unnamed organization which destroyed FTL and co-opted K-DirectorateK-DirectorateK-Directorate is a fictional organized crime group in the television series Alias, headquartered in St. Petersburg. It is an enemy of the Central Intelligence Agency and of the Alliance of Twelve. It figures most prominently in the first season....
. - The CovenantCovenant (Alias)In the television series Alias, The Covenant is a large, powerful, and secretive intelligence/terrorist organization.The Covenant was a "loose affiliation of Russian nationalists" composed of retired KGB and former Central Committee members, all dedicated to the new world envisioned by Milo...
was introduced in season three. They had co-opted many agents of other organizations including SarkJulian SarkJulian Sark is a recurring fictional character portrayed by David Anders on the ABC television series Alias. The series follows Sydney Bristow, an operative working for an organization called SD-6 which she believes is a covert branch of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, McKenas ColeMcKenas ColeMcKenas Cole is a secondary fictional character portrayed by Quentin Tarantino in the ABC television series Alias. Formerly an operative for SD-6, he defected from that organization, first to work for "The Man" and later to assume a leading position in The Covenant.-Season 1:Cole first appears in...
, and even (though undercover) Sydney. - Prophet Five: one of the oldest agencies yet to be discovered by the CIA, having been involved in some sort of high level research twenty years ago. It has been running at least one SD-6Alliance of TwelveThe Alliance of Twelve, with SD-6 being one of its subsidiary cells, is a fictional international organized crime group in the television series Alias...
-like organization, the Shed, which Rachel Gibson was a part of. Prophet Five is in control of a communications network that reveals infiltration of major intelligence agencies such as MI-6 and others. The twelve leaders of Prophet Five were all killed by Kelly Peyton in the series finale. - The Trust: five U.S. rogue partners, with places high up in the American government.
- SD-6
- Clandestine operationClandestine operationA clandestine operation is an intelligence or military operation carried out in such a way that the operation goes unnoticed.The United States Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms defines "clandestine operation" as "An operation sponsored or conducted by governmental...
s – The government agencies that Sydney Bristow works for are conducting secret operations in various countries regularly. The same applies of course to the mentioned illegal agencies which are battled against. Those clandestine operations deal with collecting the sought-after Rambaldi artifacts, but also with aspects like illegal arms trade or blackmailBlackmailIn common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
ing. To further their objectives, the CIA or APOAuthorized Personnel OnlyAuthorized Personnel Only , is a fictional black ops unit within the Central Intelligence Agency in the American TV series Alias. It was formed at the beginning of Season 4 and is headquartered beneath the Los Angeles Subway system....
, respectively, arrest criminals from other countries and bring them to interrogation facilities of the CIA.
Credits, logos, and graphics in the show
Alias is unusual for an American drama series in that the opening credits do not run until the end of the first long act, sometimes as late as 19 minutes into the episode. In some respects, this mimics the James BondJames Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
films, which likewise feature sometimes-lengthy pre-credits sequences. Depending on the demands of a particular episode, the credit sequence is occasionally dropped as the actor credits play over a scene; on those occasions, the series title does not appear on screen until the final fade out.
As the opening credits appear, the letters in the Alias reference flash in negative form one by one. The "S" is the last letter to appear, this time in permanent negative. In virtually every episode, the title of a city or town location will slowly zoom in, with one letter being shown in negative and a specific scene appearing within that negative. As it usually does with the "S" in the show title at the very start, this letter eventually takes up the entire screen and gives way to the scene itself.
The first three seasons used a minimalist credit sequence consisting only of the actors names appearing as the title Alias gradually forms in one corner of an otherwise black screen. For one frame in Seasons 1 and 3 during Victor Garber's credit, the Rambaldi "eye" symbol (
For the fourth season, a shorter, flashier credit sequence was introduced that used a new, remixed version of the theme. As the cast names appeared, 52 images of Sydney in 47 various disguises appear in rapid succession, ending with a shot from the third season premiere of her shooting a miniature grenade launcher.
For the fifth season, another credit sequence was designed, as the previous version was criticized for making it difficult to read the actors' names (since the eye was drawn to the many images of Jennifer Garner) and for focusing exclusively on Garner. Now for the first time, the actors are shown on screen as their names appear. The same remix of the theme music from the previous year is utilized. Also, the flashing of the letters when ALIAS is spelled out is actually in morse code. The flashing translates to AGENT KANE (who was a character in the 2nd season played by Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
). During the first half of the season, Elodie Bouchez
Élodie Bouchez
Élodie Bouchez-Bangalter is a French actress. She is best known in the United States for her role as Renée Rienne on the fifth and final season of the television show Alias...
appeared in the opening credits, but beginning with the episode "S.O.S." her credit was changed to a "special guest star" credit outside the opening sequence and Amy Acker
Amy Acker
Amy Louise Acker is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series Angel as Winifred Burkle and Illyria and on Alias as Kelly Peyton. She is also known for her role as Dr. Claire Saunders/Whiskey on Dollhouse.-Early life:Acker was born and raised in Dallas, where she...
was added to the opening credits in place of Bouchez.
Most episodes in the first season included a prologue narrated by Sydney Bristow, setting up the premise of the series. In the first half of season two this was replaced by a voiceover by Greg Grunberg (who plays Agent Weiss) and later in season 2 was dropped entirely.
Timeframe
The events of the first season of Alias begin in 2001, the same year the series first aired. A reference to Homeland securityHomeland security
Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...
midway through the first season suggests the series begins not long before, or not long after September 11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. (The series, in fact, premiered 19 days following the 9/11 attacks.) Though there was reference to such a part of government, the federal Homeland Security department was not established until 2003. (Aside from the Homeland Security reference, there is no explicit reference to 9/11 in the first season; however, there is a reference to Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
and a reference to the War on Terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
in two episodes in season 2). In season 1, each episode covers roughly the events of one week in Sydney's life, thus each episode is said to take place a week apart, although this pattern was not maintained throughout the series. In several episodes, references were made to actual real world events. For example, in one episode, Sydney suggested to Vaughn that they should catch a L.A. Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
game, and that they'd be taking on the Islanders
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
. This actual game took place roughly around the same time the episode was broadcast on January 20, 2002.
The season 2 finale, which sees Sydney lose two years of her life, would suggest that the series as of the start of season 3 takes place two years ahead of "real world" time, however the series was not always consistent in maintaining this. For example, in season 3 episode 17 (airdate March 28, 2004), the date March 26, 2004 was shown on Lauren's event calendar. For most of the episodes in Season 3–4, the writers avoided mentioning any current calendar dates in any episode. The one fact that did contradict this was the date on the tombstone of the supposedly dead Irina Derevko, which, when calculated, would suggest that the show was still running on "real world" time rather than 2 years in the future. However, a statement made by Sydney in the fifth season premiere "Prophet 5" regarding the length of time since she first went undercover at SD-6, is in keeping with the established timeline. And finally, the timeline seems to jump back one more time. In the season 5 episode "Out of the Box", character Renee tells Dr. Desantis, the genetic double of her father from the cryogenic box that it is currently 2006. This appears to be the first direct reference to the actual date of events. In another episode of the same season, a hockey magazine received by Sydney indicates the date to be November 2005. Also in season five, Nadia Santos' hospital admission bracelet following her recovery in the episode "30 Seconds" reads "04-23-05" and she mentions that it has almost been a year since she was hospitalized.
No time elapses between the end of season 1 and the beginning of season 2, and there are two years, one month, and several hours between seasons 2 and 3, 3 and 4, and 4 and 5 respectively (in addition, the events of the season 5 premiere episode take place over the course of 4 months). Given that there were roughly three to four months between the airing of the first few seasons, an 8-month interval between the broadcast of seasons 3 and 4, and a 4-month hiatus in the midst of season 5, by the final season Alias would only be a matter of months ahead of real-world time, making the 2006 statement plausible in the timeline. The series finale makes a further jump forward of several years (circa 2014 based upon the age of Sydney's daughter).
U.S. television ratings
Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) of Alias on ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
.
Note: Each U.S. network television season starts in late September and ends in late May, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps.
| Season | Timeslot (Eastern & Pacific Time) |
Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Ranking | Viewers (in millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Alias episodes (Season 1) The first season of Alias premiered September 30, 2001 on ABC and concluded May 12, 2002 and was released on DVD in region 1 on September 2, 2003... |
Sunday 9:00 PM (September 30, 2001 – May 12, 2002) | September 30, 2001 | May 12, 2002 | 2001–2002 | #60 | 9.7 |
| 2 Alias episodes (Season 2) The second season of Alias premiered September 29, 2002 on ABC and concluded May 4, 2003 and was released on DVD in region 1 on December 2, 2003. Guest stars in season two include David Carradine, Ethan Hawke, Richard Lewis, Christian Slater, and Danny Trejo... |
Sunday 9:00 PM (September 29, 2002 – May 4, 2003) | September 29, 2002 | May 4, 2003 | 2002–2003 | #72 | 9.0 |
| 3 Alias episodes (Season 3) The third season of the American drama/adventure television series Alias premiered September 28, 2003 on ABC and concluded May 23, 2004 and was released on DVD in region 1 on September 7, 2004. Guest stars in season three include Vivica A... |
Sunday 9:00 PM (September 28, 2003 – May 23, 2004) | September 28, 2003 | May 23, 2004 | 2003–2004 | #78 | 8.2 |
| 4 Alias episodes (Season 4) The fourth season of the American drama/adventure television series Alias premiered January 5, 2005 on ABC and concluded May 25, 2005 and was released on DVD in region 1 on October 25, 2005... |
Wednesday 9:00 PM (January 5, 2005 – May 25, 2005) | January 5, 2005 | May 25, 2005 | 2004–2005 | #37 | 10.3 |
| 5 Alias episodes (Season 5) The fifth and final season of the American drama/adventure television series Alias premiered September 29, 2005 on ABC and concluded May 22, 2006 and was released on DVD in region 1 on November 21, 2006. Guest stars in season five include Gina Torres.... |
Thursday 8:00 PM (September 29, 2005 – November 17, 2005) Wednesday 10:00 PM (December 7, 2005 – December 14, 2005) Wednesday 8:00 PM (April 19, 2006 – May 17, 2006) Monday 9:00 PM (May 22, 2006) |
September 29, 2005 | May 22, 2006 | 2005–2006 | #90 | 6.7 |
Although Alias was never considered a major "hit", its series run began during a time when the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television network was in decline, after Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
saw its ratings plummet. In fact, Alias was one of the first shows to be placed in one of the old Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television quiz show which offers a maximum prize of $1,000,000 for correctly answering 14 consecutive multiple-choice questions of random difficulty. Until 2010, the format required contestants to correctly answer 15 consecutive questions of increasing...
timeslots, which were Sunday nights at 9 p.m. (Eastern & Pacific time) in late 2001. Unlike many of the programs on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
from 2001 to 2003, Alias was a series that garnered critical buzz, a cult following, and decent viewing numbers in the advertiser-friendly age 18–49 demographic. This led to ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
keeping the series on its schedule for 5 years.
Despite earning critical acclaim from USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
for the January 26, 2003 episode entitled "Phase One" and attracting the largest audience of the series with 17.4 million viewers, this episode retained just 19 percent of the Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII
Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...
audience and has the dubious distinction of earning the lowest overall ratings for a program airing after a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
since at least 1987 and the lowest rating ever (8.3 rating) in the age 18–49 demographic for a post-Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
program. Also, since the episode started airing at 11 p.m. on the East Coast, it was not eligible for the week's list of top primetime shows ranked by Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
and thus, the episode's viewership numbers were not factored in the series' overall 2002–2003 season average.
Its ratings peak was reached in its fourth season, when ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
moved the program to Wednesdays 9 p.m. (Eastern & Pacific time), the time slot following another (yet more successful) J. J. Abrams
J. J. Abrams
Jeffrey Jacob "J. J." Abrams is an American film and television producer, screenwriter, director, actor, and composer. He wrote and produced feature films before co-creating the television series Felicity...
' drama, Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, while airing the season's episodes in (almost) consecutive weeks beginning with the January 5, 2005 2-hour season premiere (watched by 15.8 million viewers; the second most-watched episode in the series) and ending in May 2005. However, the fourth season was the only season in which this near-consecutive-week schedule was used and the increase in audience numbers was minimal since it faced hefty timeslot competition from the results show of the fourth season of Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's mega-hit American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
.
Coming off its most-watched season, Alias was moved to Thursdays 8 p.m. (Eastern & Pacific time) in the fall of 2005 by ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in an effort to invigorate the network's lackluster Thursday night lineup. However, the move proved unsuccessful for the series, receiving the lowest viewership in the show's history. Alias became another scripted show in the history of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
to not survive more than a year in this timeslot since Mork & Mindy was cancelled in 1982, a phenomenon sometimes known as the "Mork and Mindy" curse. (other ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
shows experiencing this Thursday 8 p.m. fate include but are not limited to: Joanie Loves Chachi
Joanie Loves Chachi
Joanie Loves Chachi is an American television spin-off of the popular American sitcom Happy Days that was originally broadcast on ABC from March 23, 1982 to September 13, 1983...
, The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy is an American action/adventure television program produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981 to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas. Majors and Barr are the only two actors to appear in all 112 episodes of the series...
, Sledge Hammer!
Sledge Hammer!
Sledge Hammer! is an American satirical police sitcom produced by New World Television that ran for two seasons on ABC from 1986 to 1988. The series was created by Alan Spencer and stars David Rasche as Inspector Sledge Hammer, a preposterous caricature of the standard "cop on the edge" character,...
, Knightwatch
Knightwatch
Knightwatch was a television drama aired by ABC as part of its fall 1988 lineup. It had been promoted as an original series in light of summer reruns continuing into the fall due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America Strike....
, Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible
Mission: Impossible is an American television series which was created and initially produced by Bruce Geller. It chronicled the missions of a team of secret American government agents known as the Impossible Missions Force . The leader of the team was Jim Phelps, played by Peter Graves, except in...
, Father Dowling Mysteries
Father Dowling Mysteries
Father Dowling Mysteries is an American television mystery series that appeared between November 30, 1987 and May 2, 1991. For its first season, the show was on NBC; it moved to ABC network for its last two seasons...
, Delta
Delta (TV series)
Delta is a short-lived U.S television sitcom series produced by ABC starring Delta Burke. Burke plays a woman who leaves her life behind to pursue her dream as a country music singer...
, My So-Called Life
My So-Called Life
My So-Called Life is an American teen drama television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz. It originally aired on ABC from August 25, 1994, to January 26, 1995 and was distributed by The Bedford Falls Company with ABC Productions. Set at the...
, Nothing Sacred
Nothing Sacred (TV series)
Nothing Sacred is an American drama series that aired from 1997 to 1998 on ABC. The series was created by a Jesuit priest named Bill Cain and producer David Manson.-Synopsis:...
, Vengeance Unlimited
Vengeance Unlimited
Vengeance Unlimited was a TV series broadcasted during 1998-1999 on ABC which lasted for just one season of sixteen episodes. The show starred Michael Madsen as Mr. Chapel, a mysterious and pragmatic character keen on serving justice to those who have been ignored by the law...
, Threat Matrix
Threat Matrix
Threat Matrix is a 2003 American drama television series. It lasted 16 episodes. The plot consisted of the events in a United States Homeland Security anti-terrorism unit, led by Special agent John Kilmer....
, Miss Guided
Miss Guided
Miss Guided is an American situation comedy that premiered on March 18, 2008 as a mid-season replacement on ABC. The series follows the life of Becky Freeley, a guidance counselor at a high school that she attended when she was a teenager...
, In The Motherhood, Samantha Who, FlashForward
Flashforward
A flashforward is an interjected scene that takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards are often used to represent events expected, projected, or imagined to occur in the future...
, The Deep End
The Deep End (TV series)
The Deep End is an American television series created by David Hemingson and produced by 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC television network...
, My Generation
My Generation (TV series)
My Generation is an American mockumentary television series that aired on the ABC network in the fall of 2010. The one-hour comedy-drama, produced by ABC Studios, follows a group of high school classmates in Austin, Texas in 2000, then revisits them ten years after graduation...
, Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels (2011 TV series)
Charlie's Angels is an American reboot television series developed by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar for ABC, based upon the 1976 series of the same name created by Ivan Goff, and Ben Roberts. The series ran on ABC from September 22, 2011 to November 10, 2011.Charlie's Angels was canceled on October...
)
ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
gave the show a 4-month hiatus (to allow Jennifer Garner to give birth) and when it was brought back in April 2006, its new timeslot was Wednesdays at 8 p.m. However, the viewer numbers remained dismal, culminating in a 2-hour series finale airing on Monday, May 22, 2006 (against the season finales of the hit dramas, Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
's 24
24 (TV series)
24 is an American television series produced for the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each 24-episode season covers 24 hours in the life of Bauer, using the real time method of narration...
and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami
CSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
) which attracted 6.68 million viewers. In comparison, the first season averaged 9.7 million viewers.
Awards won
Golden Globe Awards:- Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama Jennifer GarnerJennifer GarnerJennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
(2002)
Saturn Awards:
- Best Network Television Series (2003)
- Best Actress in a Television Series Jennifer GarnerJennifer GarnerJennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
(2003) - Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series Victor GarberVictor GarberVictor Joseph Garber is a Canadian film, stage and television actor and singer. Garber is known for playing Jesus in Godspell, Jack Bristow in the television series Alias, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, and Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Titanic.-Early life:Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber is...
(2003) - Cinescape Genre Female Face of the Future Melissa GeorgeMelissa GeorgeMelissa Suzanne George is an Australian film and television actress who has worked in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Melissa is perhaps best known for her role as Angel Parrish on the Australian soap opera Home and Away...
(2004)
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards
A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"...
:
- Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Jennifer GarnerJennifer GarnerJennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
(2005)
Awards nominated
Emmy Awards:- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Jennifer GarnerJennifer GarnerJennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
(2002–2005) - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Victor GarberVictor GarberVictor Joseph Garber is a Canadian film, stage and television actor and singer. Garber is known for playing Jesus in Godspell, Jack Bristow in the television series Alias, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, and Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Titanic.-Early life:Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber is...
(2002–2004) - Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (2002) J.J. Abrams
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Lena OlinLena OlinLena Maria Jonna Olin is a Swedish actress.-Early life:Olin was born the youngest of three children, in Stockholm, Sweden. She is the daughter of actress Britta Holmberg and the director Stig Olin...
(2003)
Golden Globe Awards:
- Best Television Series – Drama (2002)
- Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama Jennifer GarnerJennifer GarnerJennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
(2003–2005)
Saturn Awards
- Best Network Television Series (2004–2005)
- Best Actress in a Television Series Jennifer GarnerJennifer GarnerJennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
(2004) - Best Actor in a Television Series Michael VartanMichael VartanMichael S. Vartan is a French-American film and television actor. He is probably best known for the role of Michael Vaughn on the American television action drama Alias...
(2004) - Best Supporting Actor in a Television Series Victor GarberVictor GarberVictor Joseph Garber is a Canadian film, stage and television actor and singer. Garber is known for playing Jesus in Godspell, Jack Bristow in the television series Alias, Max in Lend Me a Tenor, and Thomas Andrews in James Cameron's Titanic.-Early life:Born in London, Ontario, Canada, Garber is...
(2004) - Best Actress on Television Jennifer GarnerJennifer GarnerJennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
(2005–2006)
Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
:
- Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Jennifer GarnerJennifer GarnerJennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
(2004)
Television Critics Association Awards
TCA Awards
The TCA Awards are awards presented by the Television Critics Association in recognition of excellence in television excellence. There are eleven categories, which are presented every summer.-Categories:...
:
- Outstanding New Program (2002)
- Individual Achievement in Drama Jennifer GarnerJennifer GarnerJennifer Anne Affleck , better known as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and film producer. Garner gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006...
(2003)
Parodies
The Alias production team has participated in at least two spoofs based upon the series and featuring cast members.- The first was produced in 2002 for a segment of ABC's Monday Night FootballMonday Night FootballMonday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
in which Sydney (played as always by Jennifer Garner) is ordered by Sloane (Ron Rifkin) to infiltrate the locker room of the Washington RedskinsWashington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
NFLNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
team in order to steal the coach's playbook. Syd disguises herself as a cheerleaderCheerleadingCheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
and distracts the "Hogettes," a group of Redskins fans, with a glass of beer before stealing the book. Upon returning to SD-6 headquarters, she is horrified to find Sloane wearing a pig mask and oinking. This skit was advertised as being included in the season 2 DVD box set, but it was dropped from the set at the last minute, presumably due to copyright reasons. Another specially filmed MNF segment featuring Garner was included in the season 3 DVD set, but this was not, strictly speaking, a spoof. - Another faux Alias "episode" was produced for a 2003 TV special celebrating the 50th anniversary of ABC. Featuring most of the regular cast of the series, the skit began with Jack Bristow preparing Sydney and Vaughn for a mission, and informing them that they will have a new partner – Detective Columbo (Peter FalkPeter FalkPeter Michael Falk was an American actor, best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the television series Columbo...
). Columbo, in his usual eccentric behavior, proceeds to wreak havoc at CIA headquarters, accidentally shooting Vaughn with an anesthetic dart and volunteering to wear a skimpy bikiniBikiniThe bikini is typically a women's two-piece swimsuit. One part of the attire covers the breasts and the other part covers the crotch and part of or the entire buttocks, leaving an uncovered area between the two. Merriam–Webster describes the bikini as "a woman's scanty two-piece bathing suit" or "a...
intended for Sydney during the mission. Columbo reveals that his mission is not to aid the CIA but rather to help Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
/ABC head Michael EisnerMichael EisnerMichael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until 2005.-Early life:...
better understand the show. His work completed, Columbo departs, leaving Jack to utter a confused, "Dear God, that was strange."
Other spoofs and humorous references include:
- "Alias: The Lost Episode" was created as a tribute to the show by Efram PotelleEfram PotelleEfram Potelle is a filmmaker from Portland, Maine, USA. He is now based in Los Angeles.He co-directed The Battle of Shaker Heights through the second season of HBO's Project Greenlight.-Filmography:*Hellholes *Insex...
and Kyle RankinKyle RankinKyle Rankin is a filmmaker.-Early life:Kyle Rankin went to school at the University of Maine in Orono where he founded the University's Film and Video Club...
's Newborn Pictures, an independent film company. A tribute to the series' beginnings, it is a parody of a typical Season 1 episode, from Sydney's relationship with Francie and Will, to Sydney's sexual tension with her CIA handler Vaughn, to the episode's cliffhanger. The co-writers and directors, who also act in the film (Rankin plays the part of Sydney Bristow), sent the short to J.J. Abrams, who in turn wrote letters of thanks to the cast and crew of the film. Potelle and Rankin later won the second Project GreenlightProject GreenlightProject Greenlight was a contest and television series focusing on first-time filmmakers being given the chance to direct a feature film. It was created by Alex Keledjian, developed by Eli Holzman and produced by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Sean Bailey, and Chris Moore through their production...
Competition. Their 15-minute short can be viewed online: ALIAS: The Lost Episode. - In an episode of Bradley CooperBradley CooperBradley Cooper is an American film, theater, and television actor. He is known for his roles in the films The Hangover, The A-Team, and Limitless. In 2011, People magazine named Cooper "Sexiest Man Alive".-Early life:...
's sitcom Kitchen ConfidentialKitchen Confidential (TV series)Kitchen Confidential is an American television sitcom that debuted on September 19, 2005 on the Fox network, based on Anthony Bourdain's New York Times bestselling book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly...
, Michael VartanMichael VartanMichael S. Vartan is a French-American film and television actor. He is probably best known for the role of Michael Vaughn on the American television action drama Alias...
guests as a rival French chef. Cooper's character makes a quip along the lines of, "it's almost like we used to work together". - MADtvMADtvMADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
created a season 1 spoof. - In episode 23 of Robot ChickenRobot ChickenRobot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
, the series is re-imagined with the part of Sydney being played by a killer whaleOrcaThe killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
("Whalias"), complete with red hair and lipstick. The sketch features Sydney undercover in a glamorous party at Sea WorldSea WorldSea World is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and theme park located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It includes rides, animal exhibits and other attractions, and promotes conservation through education and through the rescue and rehabilitation of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife. The...
, pretending to be a prize-winning cellist. A fight scene occurs in typical Alias style. - In episode 57 of Kim PossibleKim PossibleKim Possible is an American animated television series about a teenage crime fighter who has the task of dealing with worldwide, family, and school issues every day. The show is action-oriented, but also has a light-hearted atmosphere and often lampoons the conventions and clichés of the...
the characters (due to the use of a Pan-Dimension Vortex) find themselves appearing in various fictional (as compared to the real universe, but real to the Kim Possible universe) television shows similar to the main plot point of the movie The Last Action Hero. Each of these television shows is clearly a spoof of a real world (ours, not Kim Possible's) television show. During one such "appearance," Kim lands in a night club where she is confronted by a character with bright red hair. The character orders Kim to "Tell me what I want to know." In response, Kim addresses the character as "Miss Tries Too Hard." and adds "Nice Wig." A brief Alias-like hand-to-hand fight sequence then ensues. The end of the segment involves characters talking about "The Device." In the context of the episode, the device is "The Pan-Dimensional Vortex Inducer, but asking about a "device" would also track with the plot of many Alias episodes.
Hair and wigs
The program was renowned for the vast array of hair styles adopted by the characters. Head Hair Designer Michael ReitzMichael Reitz
Michael P Reitz is a critically acclaimed Film and TV hair stylist. He currently occupies the position of Department Head Hair Stylist at Star Request Film and Television where he has worked on a number of high profile productions....
was nominated for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series at the Emmys 5 years in a row (2002–2006); as well as 3 nominations and 1 win at the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards.
Notable contributions to the hair stylist team include:
- Karen Bartek (3 Emmy Award nominations)
- Julie Woods (1 Emmy Award nomination)
- Grace Hernandez (1 Emmy Award nomination)
- Kathrine Rees (1 Emmy Award nomination)
- Yesmin Osman (1 Emmy Award nomination)
Soundtracks
Alias released a season one soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
containing 26 tracks. These tracks were tracks used in the show, including the opening theme. All of them are composed by Michael Giacchino, except for the opening theme which was composed by J.J. Abrams. The tracks share a similar dance genre, however a few tracks, such as 'In the Garden' share more of a slowed down tempo. A second Soundtrack was also released containing music from the second season, but didn't receive as much praise as the first soundtrack. A soundtrack for Alias: The Video Game was also released, but can only be downloaded online, and is composed by Chris Tilton.
Video game
The video game AliasAlias (video game)
Alias is a 3D third-person stealth/action video game developed by Acclaim Cheltenham and published by Acclaim Entertainment for the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. It is based on the television series Alias. The plot was written by Breen Frazier and the game features the voices of the...
, based on the series, is a third-person
Virtual camera system
A virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in videogames where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; more generally, they are used in 3D virtual worlds when a third person view...
stealth action title developed and released by Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment
Acclaim Entertainment was an American video game developer and publisher. It developed, published, marketed and distributed interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms, including Sega's Mega Drive/Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, and Game Gear, Nintendo's NES, SNES, Nintendo...
for the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
. The plot was written by the creators of the show and the game features the voices of the cast principals. It was released on April 6, 2004, and has a rating of T
Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
for Teen. The game is set between episodes 19 and 20 of season 2. The game allows the player to be Sydney (and briefly on one mission Vaughn), and sends her on various missions to many different locations. The missions become more difficult as you come closer to finishing the game. The game includes using many spy-skills that Sydney uses in the show.
Prior to the Acclaim release, ABC Television produced an episodic
Episodic games
An episodic video game is a video game of a shorter length that is commercially released as an installment to a continuous and larger series. Episodic games differ from conventional video games in that they often contain less content but are developed on a more frequent basis.Such a series may or...
downloadable videogame entitled Alias: Underground which is available through ABC's website. The game was a 3D third-person
Virtual camera system
A virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in videogames where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; more generally, they are used in 3D virtual worlds when a third person view...
stealth action game much like the Acclaim production, with missions released monthly during the original broadcast of the TV show's second season.
Original novels
A number of original novels based upon the series have been published, primarily for a teenageAdolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
reading audience. Due to the intricate and story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
-based nature of the series, most novels published to date have been prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
s to the series, some focusing on Sydney in her early missions for SD-6, and others focusing on Vaughn's missions before meeting her. Their canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
status with regards to the televised series has yet to be determined. Although aimed at young readers, the books tackle serious subject matter, such as one volume which details the first time Sydney kills someone.
- Recruited – Lynn Mason (2002) ISBN 0-553-49398-1
- A Secret Life – Laura Peyton Roberts (2003) ISBN 0-553-49399-X
- Disappeared – Lynn Mason (2003) ISBN 0-553-49400-7
- Sister Spy – Laura Peyton Roberts (2003) ISBN 0-553-49401-5
- The Pursuit – Elizabeth Skurnick (2003) ISBN 0-553-49402-3
- Close Quarters – Emma Harrison (2003) ISBN 0-553-49403-1
- Father Figure – Laura Peyton Roberts (2003) ISBN 0-553-49404-X
- Free Fall – Christa Roberts (2004) ISBN 0-553-49405-8
- Infiltration – Breen Frazier (2004) ISBN 0-553-49437-6
- Vanishing Act – Sean Gerace (2004) ISBN 0-553-49438-4
- Skin Deep – Cathy Hapka (2004) ISBN 0-553-49439-2
- Shadowed – Elizabeth Skurnick (2004) ISBN 0-553-49440-6
The second series of novels, titled "The APO Series", fit into the season four timeframe and are published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment.
- Two of a Kind? – Greg Cox (April 26, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0213-9
- Faina – Rudy Gaborno, Chris Hollier (April 26, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0245-7
- Collateral Damage – Pierce AskegrenPierce AskegrenJohn Pierce Askegren , of the Louisiana Askegrens, was an American author best known for his work in adaptations of licensed properties.-Biography:...
(June 28, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0247-3 - Replaced – Emma Harrison (July 26, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0246-5
- The Road Not Taken – Greg Cox (October 4, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0248-1
- Vigilance – Paul Ruditis (December 6, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0928-1
- Strategic Reserve – Christina F. York (March 7, 2006) ISBN 1-4169-0946-X
- Once Lost – Kirsten Beyer (April 25, 2006) ISBN 1-4169-0947-8
- Namesakes – Greg Cox (July 11, 2006) ISBN 1-4169-2442-6
- Old Friends – Steven Hanna (September, 2006) ISBN 1-4169-2443-4
- The Ghost – Brian Studlet (November, 2006) ISBN 1-4169-2444-2
- Mind Games – Paul Ruditis (December 2006) ISBN 1-4169-2445-0
- A Touch of Death – Christina York (December 2006) ISBN 1-4169-2446-9
See also
- Alias DVD releasesAlias DVD releasesAll five seasons of the American television series Alias have been released on DVD by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.- Season 1 :...
- The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. is an American spy-fi TV series that aired on NBC for one season from September 16, 1966 to April 11, 1967. The series was a spin-off from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and used the same theme music composed by Jerry Goldsmith, which was rearranged into a slightly different,...
, a thematic antecedent to Alias
External links
- Alias-TV
- http://alias.energy51.com | Complete Episode Guide