Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Possibly the best season yet of the fun cult-show Alias., 19 Jul 2006
I can recall Jennifer Garner, the golden-globe winning star of the hit-show Alias stating that "At the end of every season we're just like 'this is it, ok, bye!'".
Indeed, it's always seemed to be a boyish quality that's emanated from the cast and crew of this show, created by J.J.Abrams (who went on to create Lost, and direct the late Mission Impossible film), and it's a charm that's undeniably been reflected in the show's stamina for a long time now, but sadly, during the Christmas sweeps of 2005, all the charm in the explosion-filled world of Alias couldn't secure Sydney Bristow another season, and in its fifth year, this really was `it'.
The decision to can the crazy spy-life this May was in no small part thanks to shoddy treatment from the show's network, ABC, and yet it was thanks to the early call of the reaper that Alias got a chance to rev up before it ascended into TV heaven. In fact it enjoyed what was, perhaps, its greatest season yet.
What's particularly impressive about the quality of this season is its shockingly awkward opening - the premiere opens with a scene clearly shot the previous working year, but after that it's dodgy camera-work and shifty prop-placements as Jennifer Garner is clearly pregnant. It's almost a joke as she walks to a party in Venice, sporting some kind of hand-scarf that covers the bulge in her stomach. It's even sillier than we're used to, but Jennifer Garner continues to play her character with elegance and grace, which is just as well as she's the one responsible for giving the writers such a sudden cliff-hanger of their own.
It's a shame that the season has to open so uncomfortably, especially considering the main event of the episode itself, but, at the end of the struggling starter, the audience is informed that four months has passed, and all is well once again in the world of Alias...
In contrast, something not handled awkwardly would be the introduction of not one but three new characters. First comes Renée, a chic-chick who's deadlier with a pair of pistols than Lara Croft and just as busty too. She's a French belle, a beautifully spoken assassin whose presence on the show is fresh and appropriately dark. She does in fact remind one of Irina Derevko, Sydney's merciless mother, long absent from the show, barring her brief stint in the climax of the fourth season.
Tom Grace, played by Balthazar Getty, is added to the APO team, and acts as a genuine (if a little bland) rock for this season's final addition, Rachel Gibson, to rely on. He's not unlike the beloved Will and Francie for Sydney in the earlier seasons, but the fact that he works for such an esteemed branch of the CIA gives him a much newer edge, as well as the chance for an interesting sub-plot towards the end of the season.
Ms. Gibson, played by Rachel Nichols, blends drama and soap-opera Garner style with a tint of her own new mix, which is mostly brilliant stuff; her greatest highlight perhaps is the alias of a timid prostitute in her first solo mission in the sixth episode.
Alias has always had the best casting, and the most interesting characters (bar none, in my opinion) and Nichols might be the greatest new member to the team this year, were it not for the fantastic presence of Amy Acker who plays the electrifying, helicopter shooting, old-enemy associating, afraid-of-nothing (until the end - you'll see) Kelly Peyton. She's a formidable foe, and if there's anyone here who really deserves a spin-off, she's the one my money would be on.
As the season draws into it's final 8 episodes (with the bill for the entire season reduced from the normal 22 down to a meagre 17), it really is never a dull moment. There's so many faces to cram in, in so little time: Bradley Cooper, Lena Olin, Mia Maestro, David Anders, are all back along with many more, reprising their roles on the show that give tribute to just how vast the cast of the Alias universe has become.
But what is it exactly that made this season just so good? My vote would go for its spirit. Jennifer Garner, along with her cast of familiar and not-so-familiar faces marched this show past the beckoning reaper's bony fingers and made it shine as it neared its untimely end, bringing intense drama, believable mythology, high-budget action and relatable dynamics together smoothly and strongly, working from the writing, which took an equally upbeat turn as the writers neared the climax of their five year run.
Just wait until you see Renee slinging daggers at bad-guys after Sydney, or until you see the Bristow family on another mission together, or Irina flip a CIA ambulance at the wheel of a monster-truck. Or until you witness the deaths. Or the resurrections. Like I said: never a dull moment. And boy, will you know it when you watch this DVD.
Alias was funny, sexy (even whilst Garner was preggers), suggestive and ground-breaking, and despite everything that the Bristow's may have suffered over the series as a whole, they still came out on top in the end, as they always have and always will do in the hearts of those who will remember them.
Rest in peace, Syd. We were happy to see you go out the way you did.
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36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thanks For Five Incredible Years, 2 Sep 2006
I have watched Alias from the beginning, and I absolutely adore the show. I would have liked to see the ending that had been planned by the makers instead of this one, but I couldn't bring myself to lop a star off. I loved it too much.
It is true that they raised a lot of questions and started a lot of complicated story arches that then fell short, but that was only because the show was cancelled halfway through and then had to simlipify the ending. If they had been given enough time to make the other seven or eight episodes, the series would have tied together better, but the ending they gave us was pretty great, if not completely satifying to lovers of the show.
Still, they kept the magic up through the final 2 hours of Alias. I actually cried twice at the unexpected character deaths, and then once more at the end. There were also some typical laugh-out-loud Alias moments, and enough cringe-worthy bits to keep everyone who doesn't want too much fluff happy. Overall, it was a fantastic ending to a fantastic show.
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Alias ends on a high..., 1 Aug 2006
Alias, like any TV series, had its up's and down's. Personally I saw season's 1 & 4 the best, 2 not so far behind and season 3 being a tad disappointing. Season 5 probably slots in middle.
The season 4 finale allowed the story to move swiftly onto the last 12 months of Alias. There's room for more Sydney heartache, trauma, shocks & ofcourse twists.
Alias may have suffered as a result of J.J. Abrams having to abandon it for 'Lost' and 'Mission Impossible' but I think the latter stages of season 5 gave evidence that there was life whilst J.J was away. Whilst it seemed fairly rushed, fitting 22 episodes in 17 episodes, there was certainly no leakage of quality. Right until the last minute they leave you with twists and turns.
For me though, this season was defined by Jack Bristow. We see him rise to power and finally develop his relationship with Sydney. It's the season where we actually see Jack smile, and by the end of it, Jack and Sydney's relationship seems as great as any father and daughter's relationship.
Cleverly, though, writers 'failed' to fully close storylines and characters. There is certainly lots of foundations for further storylines. Hopefully it is not too long before Sydney is back, either on the small screen or big screen.
Until then though. Sydney, Jack, Vaughn, Dixon and, most of all, Marshall.... we salute you.
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