Alphas
Encyclopedia
Alphas is an American
science fiction
dramatic television series created by Zak Penn
and Michael Karnow. The series follows a group of people with superhuman abilities, known as "Alphas", as they work to prevent crimes committed by other Alphas.
The series is broadcast in the United States on the cable channel Syfy
and is a co-production between BermanBraun and Universal Cable Productions. It premiered on July 11, 2011. After initial reports that the show was canceled, on September 7, 2011, Alphas was renewed for a 13-episode second season.
, the criminal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Defense. While investigating these crimes it doesn't take the team too long to discover that a group known as "Red Flag", who were thought defeated and eliminated long ago, are using other Alphas to commit crimes. With the inclusion of Dr. Calder in the episode "Never Let Me Go" it was established that Alphas takes place in a shared universe
with Eureka
and Warehouse 13
.
and ABC
. In late 2007 ABC
picked up the series with an initial six episode order. However, complications arising from the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
derailed the project. On August 5, 2009, after almost two further years of shopping the show around to the broadcast and cable networks, Syfy
placed a pilot order. Zak Penn
and Michael Karnow wrote the pilot, Jack Bender
was attached to the project as the director, with Gail Berman
and Lloyd Braun
serving as executive producers.
Casting announcements began in August 2010, with David Strathairn
and Ryan Cartwright first to be cast, Strathairn was cast as Dr. Lee Rosen, the overseer/team leader/prescribing doctor and all around mother hen to the team: an eccentric, absent-minded professor, and Cartwright as Gary Bell, a member of the team who has autism
and whose ability allows him to "read" wireless transmissions passing through the ether. Next to join the series was Warren Christie
as Cameron Hicks, a new recruit on the team with a history of psychological problems, drug abuse and an anti-authoritarian streak whose Alpha skill is hyperkinesis. Malik Yoba
and Laura Mennell
were next to be cast, with Yoba playing Bill Harken, a former FBI agent from working class roots. Harken's Alpha skill allows him to intentionally activate a "fight-or-flight mechanism" producing a power surge of adrenaline giving him increased strength, speed and immunity from pain, and Mennell cast as Nina Theroux. Seductive, intelligent, and confident, Nina has an Alpha ability that allows her to influence people into doing whatever she wishes. Azita Ghanizada
was the last actor to be cast, playsing Rachel Pirzad, who from an early age has been able to hyper-intensify her senses, one at a time – vision, touch, hearing, taste, and smell. The filming of the pilot episode took place in Toronto
, Canada
.
Alphas was ordered to series on December 8, 2010 by Syfy
to air in the summer of 2011. The series is a co-production between BermanBraun and Universal Cable Productions. Along with the series pickup, Syfy also announced that veteran Sci-Fi producer Ira Steven Behr
had been picked to serve as executive producer and showrunner.
. The New York Post
said of the first episode: "Alphas is fun, sure, but it has a 'been there, done that' feel."
TV Fanatic gave the show an average review saying, "Everything Alphas brought to the table has been done before."
The New York Times
gave the show a negative review: "It's neither here nor there: low on sci-fi mystery and intrigue and not yet convincing as ensemble drama. Right now it feels like the beta version."
Variety
gave a positive review: "At first blush, though, give Alphas high marks for effort and ingenuity, demonstrating a TV show needn't provide major pyrotechnics or a reinvented wheel to lay the groundwork for solid summer entertainment where the characters, somewhat refreshingly, are only sort-of super."
The Los Angeles Times
gave the pilot a positive review: "Alphas deftly balances all the building blocks of great genre--nonhuman abilities, twisty plot, cool special effects, smart dialogue and characters you want to spend more time with. And that's the most impressive superpower of all."
After eight episodes had aired, Maureen Ryan of AOL TV
called it the summer's most promising new drama: "Not only has Alphas successfully avoided many of the pitfalls that have bedeviled other superhero-flavored projects, it's done a good job of balancing character-driven moments with taut, well-paced storytelling."
In the UK the show is broadcasting on a Tuesday. The first episode took 666,000 altogether, 595,000 live and 71,000 on timeshift. When the second episodes aired, the views dipped to 469,000 together live and on timeshift. Despite the fall in viewers on a Tuesday showing, The show has become popular in the UK with Friday repeats rounding up around 150,000 viewers up.
US ratings
UK ratings
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
dramatic television series created by Zak Penn
Zak Penn
Zak Penn is an American screenwriter and director. Penn wrote and directed Incident at Loch Ness, The Grand, and co-wrote the script for X-Men: The Last Stand. With Michael Karnow, Penn is the co-creator of Alphas.-Early life:...
and Michael Karnow. The series follows a group of people with superhuman abilities, known as "Alphas", as they work to prevent crimes committed by other Alphas.
The series is broadcast in the United States on the cable channel Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
and is a co-production between BermanBraun and Universal Cable Productions. It premiered on July 11, 2011. After initial reports that the show was canceled, on September 7, 2011, Alphas was renewed for a 13-episode second season.
Series overview
The series follows five people, known as "Alphas", led by noted neurologist and psychologist Dr. Lee Rosen as they investigate criminal cases involving other suspected Alphas. Rosen and his team of Alphas operate under the auspices of the Defense Criminal Investigative ServiceDefense Criminal Investigative Service
The Defense Criminal Investigative Service is the criminal investigative arm of the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense...
, the criminal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Defense. While investigating these crimes it doesn't take the team too long to discover that a group known as "Red Flag", who were thought defeated and eliminated long ago, are using other Alphas to commit crimes. With the inclusion of Dr. Calder in the episode "Never Let Me Go" it was established that Alphas takes place in a shared universe
Shared universe
A shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....
with Eureka
Eureka (TV series)
Eureka is an American science fiction television series that premiered on Syfy on July 18, 2006. Since then four seasons have aired, and a fifth is currently being filmed. The second half of season 4 began on SyFy on July 11, 2011 and ended on September 19, 2011...
and Warehouse 13
Warehouse 13
Warehouse 13 is an American fantasy television series that premiered on July 7, 2009 on the Syfy network.Executive-produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins, the dramatic comedy from Universal Media Studios has been described as borrowing much from 1980s television series Friday the 13th: The...
.
Main characters
- David StrathairnDavid StrathairnDavid Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
as Dr. Lee Rosen – A doctorPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
specializing in the study of people with super abilities that he has dubbed "Alphas", he leads a government sponsored team of such Alphas to help identify and aid other Alphas or stop dangerous ones. - Ryan Cartwright as Gary Bell – A young autistic man who lives with his mother and is socially functional to a degree. He has the ability to view and interact with wireless communication signals out of thin air and process information as fast as any computer.
- Warren ChristieWarren ChristieHans Warren Christie is an Irish-born Canadian television and film actor known for his roles as Ray Cataldo on the ABC drama October Road and as Aidan "Greggy" Stiviletto on the ABC series Happy Town...
as Cameron Hicks – A former Marine with the superhuman ability of "hyperkinesthesis" which allows his brain to process movement at a much faster rate than others. This allows him, for example, to predict trajectory by eyesight. However, he cannot always do it when under extreme stress. - Azita GhanizadaAzita GhanizadaAzita Ghanizada is an Afghan American actress in the United States who has appeared in a number of television series. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, her family fled her native country when she was still a baby in the wake of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. They travelled to the United States and were...
as Rachel Pirzad – A former CIA linguist with the ability to heighten one of her five senses (sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch) to extreme levels, by disabling all of the others. She uses this, for instance, to view things at a microscopic level or detect complex chemical composition by scent. The fact that all of her senses are permanently heightened to a degree above normal, along with her synesthesiaSynesthesiaSynesthesia , from the ancient Greek , "together," and , "sensation," is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway...
make it difficult for her to interact socially. - Laura MennellLaura MennellLaura Mennell is a Canadian actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in Watchmen, Montana Sky, and the Emmy nominated Flight 93. Mennell currently co-stars on the Syfy television series Alphas...
as Nina Theroux – A young woman who is able to mentally "push" people into doing whatever she verbally asks of them (this is called Hyper Induction). She used to use this for personal gain, culminating in her accidentally "pushing" her boyfriend into suicide. She is now helping Dr. Rosen in an effort to redeem herself. - Malik YobaMalik YobaAbdul-Malik Kashie Yoba , better known by his stage name Malik Yoba, is an American actor and occasional singer. He is perhaps best known for his starring role as NYPD Detective J.C. Williams on the FOX police drama series New York Undercover or as Yul Brenner in Cool Runnings...
as Bill Harken – A former FBI agent with the ability to activate his endocrinal "fight or flight" response at will, resulting in increased durability and superstrength. He cannot keep this up for very long, however, due to the stress it causes on his body.
Recurring characters
- Callum Keith RennieCallum Keith RennieCallum Keith Rennie is a British-born Canadian television and film actor. He started his career in Canadian film and television projects, where his portrayal of Stanley Raymond Kowalski in the TV series Due South was his first international success...
as Don Wilson – An FBI agent who has worked with Dr. Rosen in the past. - Mahershalalhashbaz AliMahershalalhashbaz AliMahershalalhashbaz Ali is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Richard Tyler on the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400, and "Tizzy" in the 2008 motion picture The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.Ali was born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore in Oakland,...
as Nathan Clay – The head of a tactical unit within the U.S. Department of Defense tasked with dealing with rogue Alphas. - Valerie CruzValerie CruzValerie Cruz is an American actress.Cruz was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey of Cuban ancestry. She attended Florida State University and received a BFA theatre degree....
as Kathy Sullivan – A Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Defense assigned as the DOD liaison to Dr Rosen's team of Alphas.
Development and Production
Originally known as Section 8, Alphas was initially developed by Zak Penn and co-creator Michael Karnow in 2006. The series was then shopped around to various networks, with some interest from both NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and 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 late 2007 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...
picked up the series with an initial six episode order. However, complications arising from the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
derailed the project. On August 5, 2009, after almost two further years of shopping the show around to the broadcast and cable networks, Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
placed a pilot order. Zak Penn
Zak Penn
Zak Penn is an American screenwriter and director. Penn wrote and directed Incident at Loch Ness, The Grand, and co-wrote the script for X-Men: The Last Stand. With Michael Karnow, Penn is the co-creator of Alphas.-Early life:...
and Michael Karnow wrote the pilot, Jack Bender
Jack Bender
Jack Bender is an American television and film director, actor, television producer and also a screenwriter. Bender was an executive producer and lead director on the ABC television series, Lost. He directed the series finale of Lost. Bender has also directed on other popular shows such as The...
was attached to the project as the director, with Gail Berman
Gail Berman
Gail Berman is the former president of entertainment at Fox Broadcasting Company and the former president of Viacom's Paramount Pictures.She graduated from the University of Maryland in 1978...
and Lloyd Braun
Lloyd Braun
Lloyd Braun is a television and Internet media executive who currently runs the entertainment firm BermanBraun.-Early life and career:Braun earned his B.A. from Vassar College in 1980, and his law degree from Hastings College of the Law in 1983...
serving as executive producers.
Casting announcements began in August 2010, with David Strathairn
David Strathairn
David Russell Strathairn is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for portraying journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck...
and Ryan Cartwright first to be cast, Strathairn was cast as Dr. Lee Rosen, the overseer/team leader/prescribing doctor and all around mother hen to the team: an eccentric, absent-minded professor, and Cartwright as Gary Bell, a member of the team who has autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
and whose ability allows him to "read" wireless transmissions passing through the ether. Next to join the series was Warren Christie
Warren Christie
Hans Warren Christie is an Irish-born Canadian television and film actor known for his roles as Ray Cataldo on the ABC drama October Road and as Aidan "Greggy" Stiviletto on the ABC series Happy Town...
as Cameron Hicks, a new recruit on the team with a history of psychological problems, drug abuse and an anti-authoritarian streak whose Alpha skill is hyperkinesis. Malik Yoba
Malik Yoba
Abdul-Malik Kashie Yoba , better known by his stage name Malik Yoba, is an American actor and occasional singer. He is perhaps best known for his starring role as NYPD Detective J.C. Williams on the FOX police drama series New York Undercover or as Yul Brenner in Cool Runnings...
and Laura Mennell
Laura Mennell
Laura Mennell is a Canadian actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in Watchmen, Montana Sky, and the Emmy nominated Flight 93. Mennell currently co-stars on the Syfy television series Alphas...
were next to be cast, with Yoba playing Bill Harken, a former FBI agent from working class roots. Harken's Alpha skill allows him to intentionally activate a "fight-or-flight mechanism" producing a power surge of adrenaline giving him increased strength, speed and immunity from pain, and Mennell cast as Nina Theroux. Seductive, intelligent, and confident, Nina has an Alpha ability that allows her to influence people into doing whatever she wishes. Azita Ghanizada
Azita Ghanizada
Azita Ghanizada is an Afghan American actress in the United States who has appeared in a number of television series. Born in Kabul, Afghanistan, her family fled her native country when she was still a baby in the wake of the Soviet war in Afghanistan. They travelled to the United States and were...
was the last actor to be cast, playsing Rachel Pirzad, who from an early age has been able to hyper-intensify her senses, one at a time – vision, touch, hearing, taste, and smell. The filming of the pilot episode took place in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Alphas was ordered to series on December 8, 2010 by Syfy
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
to air in the summer of 2011. The series is a co-production between BermanBraun and Universal Cable Productions. Along with the series pickup, Syfy also announced that veteran Sci-Fi producer Ira Steven Behr
Ira Steven Behr
Ira Steven Behr born 23 October 1953, in New York City, New York, USA is an American television producer and screenwriter, most known for his work on Star Trek, especially Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, on which he served as showrunner and executive producer...
had been picked to serve as executive producer and showrunner.
Critical reception
Alphas has received mixed reviews. It earned a score of 63 on MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. The New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
said of the first episode: "Alphas is fun, sure, but it has a 'been there, done that' feel."
TV Fanatic gave the show an average review saying, "Everything Alphas brought to the table has been done before."
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave the show a negative review: "It's neither here nor there: low on sci-fi mystery and intrigue and not yet convincing as ensemble drama. Right now it feels like the beta version."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
gave a positive review: "At first blush, though, give Alphas high marks for effort and ingenuity, demonstrating a TV show needn't provide major pyrotechnics or a reinvented wheel to lay the groundwork for solid summer entertainment where the characters, somewhat refreshingly, are only sort-of super."
The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
gave the pilot a positive review: "Alphas deftly balances all the building blocks of great genre--nonhuman abilities, twisty plot, cool special effects, smart dialogue and characters you want to spend more time with. And that's the most impressive superpower of all."
After eight episodes had aired, Maureen Ryan of AOL TV
AOL TV
AOL TV was the name of both a thin client which uses a television for display , and the online service that supports it, both of which were launched in June 2000 to compete with WebTV....
called it the summer's most promising new drama: "Not only has Alphas successfully avoided many of the pitfalls that have bedeviled other superhero-flavored projects, it's done a good job of balancing character-driven moments with taut, well-paced storytelling."
Ratings
The pilot episode premiered with 2.5 million total viewers, scoring 1.2 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic and 1.3 million in the 25–54 demographic, making it Syfy's most watched debut in two years. Live + 7 day ratings for the series premiere updated those numbers to 3.6 million total viewers, scoring 1.7 million viewers in the 18–49 demographic and 1.8 million in the 25–54 demographic. By the 11th episode (its season finale) however, the ratings had dropped to 1.16 million total viewers.In the UK the show is broadcasting on a Tuesday. The first episode took 666,000 altogether, 595,000 live and 71,000 on timeshift. When the second episodes aired, the views dipped to 469,000 together live and on timeshift. Despite the fall in viewers on a Tuesday showing, The show has become popular in the UK with Friday repeats rounding up around 150,000 viewers up.
US ratings
| Season | Season Premiere | Season Finale | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Viewers Total | Viewers 18-49 | Date | Viewers Total | Viewers 18-49 | |
| 1 | July 11, 2011 | 2.52 | 1.21 | September 26th, 2011 | 1.16 | style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal" |
UK ratings
| Series | episode | Viewers (5* and 5*+1) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 666,000 |
| 1 | 2 | 469,000 |
| 1 | 3 | 505,000 |
| 1 | 4 | 435,000 |
| 1 | 5 | 413,000 |
International broadcasting
| Country | Network | Premiere date |
|---|---|---|
 Canada |
Space | July 11, 2011 |
 United Kingdom |
5* | 18th October 2011 |
 Australia |
Seven Network Seven Network The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach... |
2012 |
 Brazil |
SyFy Syfy Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a... |
2011 |