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Watch the Big Picture Come
Together...
We Doubt You'll Regret It!
Posted March 17, 2002 -- by Kay Kellam
Follow Up Article Alias
Underground Game Article
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When Alias first hit the air I was unsure, could they maintain the fast
pace, could they keep the story interesting, & would those cliffhanger endings
be worth it! (I am not a fan of
“to be continued…” at the end of each episode.
In a show like this I expect the drama to be continued next week – you
don’t have to tell me it will be.)
Regardless of my hesitations, I tuned in & tried to stay up to speed with the story, but with a schedule that involves traveling, that can be a challenge. Then they did something wonderful – a marathon of the first ten episodes on ABC Family. Now, while I continue to question if this is “family” programming ala Brotherly Love with the Lawrence Brothers & So Little Time with the Olsen Twins which tends to be what I expect to find on ABC Family, I was very grateful for the opportunity to spend a day being brought back up to speed. I even watched several of the episodes I had seen originally air to see how the story fit together.
That is what sets this show apart from so many others – pieces that fit together. Relationships are being built, & torn down. Double Agent Sydney Bristow & CIA Agent Vaughn are building a professional understanding… & more personal one is following. He understands about her father – she understands about his father. They can comfort one another when things go wrong, & make an unbeatable team when things go right – or when things need to be set right!
In the end Sydney works with & for Vaughn & the CIA, but she is walking a fine line, for she has to convince Arvin Sloan at SD-6 that she works with & for him! Complicate that with one simple fact that motivates most if not all of her actions -- Sloan had her fiancée killed after Sydney told said fiancée she was a spy. Sloan is the epitome of evil in her mind -- & he is the evil she wishes to rid the world of. She periodically looses perspective, whether it is because of her simple desire to have a real life, or that rage & hatred she has to face daily, it is fortunate that she has found Vaughn who understands the closed off life she must lead, & who finds ways to help her regain her perspective.
Francie is a bit of a mystery. She is a whiner, & Sydney doesn’t need that in her life – & yet if you look carefully you will find that Francie is Sydney’s link to the real world. It is Francie that Sydney turns to for a more simple life – & more simple problems. And to that end she needs Francie. Without Francie Sydney’s life would be full of bombs, guns, & world changing events – with Francie we find out that men are still jerks, & men can still be nice. And we thank Charlie & Will for helping her make the point crystal clear.
Dixon comes & goes – one would expect Sydney’s partner to be in every episode, but in her eyes Vaughn is her partner & he is in every episode. It is just us audience members, & those over at SD-6, that think Dixon is her partner. He seems to be a good guy, who cares about his partner & wants her to stay out of trouble. Should he be “turned” & be a double agent as well? Could he handle it? He seems to do okay lying to his wife day in day out – but that is in the name of patriotism. Could he handle the same discoveries that shook Sydney’s world? The love of his life wasn’t killed – he has no need for revenge to pull him back in & force him to go through the daily grind. And while the situation was a tad contrived, the fact that he hadn’t been turned put Sydney in a horrible position, & I kind of hope it continues to. That personal quandary is very real – & should remain. She needs to keep questioning who can she trust – & keep facing the fact that both teams THINK they are acting out of patriotism & loyalty to their government. Marshall and Dixon BELIEVE they are on the side of all that is right & good. And I hope we have to wait for them to realize they aren’t. (I also hope that something happens to make them wonder how many times they did just the opposite of what they were believing they did – I hope they fear they did harm, for that will make a much more interesting story!)
Will is a fun character. He is one of Sydney's friends who works for a small time publication as a reporter. He knows nothing of her "real" life, & yet he is unwittingly trying to destroy it. The audience knows a great deal more than he does – & in the name of love, & protecting the one he loves, he’s putting himself, & her, in great amounts of danger. He’s willing to be gallant, willing to put himself in danger – but the moment he realized he could be making things bad for Sydney, everything suddenly changed. (There is a lot going on behind the scenes on this one with SD6 Agent Sloan & Sydney's Dad, Jack. Talk of simply killing the reporter before he asks one too many questions -- or writes one article too many.) He needs a few episodes to convince himself he can defend her – & then he’ll be back on the trail of SD-6 with no idea what he’s about to do – or the pain he’s about to cause Sydney. I love knowing that his desire to protect her may be her undoing! Another great quandary!
Marshall has some of the best scenes. He's the gadget man who goes off on tangents that leave everyone else in the room spinning, & his excitement, & love of what he does is infectious – for the audience. And the way others in the room react tells volumes about them. For him, this is more than just a job, & the performances give the impression the actor could easily say the same.
Sydney’s greatest wild card is her father, Jack Bristow – he has a great poker face. One never knows what he knows, what he believes, or what is really going on with him. The one thing the audience can be certain of is his desire to protect his daughter. He can try & claim ulterior motives, & in most cases tries to, but in the end he is always trying to protect her.
If you haven't seen an ep yet, before you tune in I suggest you take a moment to go to either the ABC Alias page, or a site like www.alias-tv.com & find out what you’ve missed. The big picture is starting to take shape, & this will help you catch up. (I also suggest trying to catch the episode Q&A which is a great recap on the plot to date. It fills in a lot of the back story where I've tried to highlight relationships here.)
In the end? I’ll tune in
to Alias week in week out to see what great adventures the lady spy goes on
– to find out more about Rambaldi’s great plan, & to see the United States
of America defended time & again from the Alliance of Twelve.
Check
out the Alias
Online Adventure Game
(launched August 28, 2002, we do not know when this game will end.)
For our story on the Alias Underground Game go Here
Alias
is a show
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Alias Spy Store
Registration
@ Ebay then start shopping
(C) Kay
Kellam, 2001 for PopArtsPlace.com
Prior to having her first novel, A
Life to Di For, published author Kay
Kellam enjoyed a variety of jobs that helped to shape her outlook on the
world, and her profession. more...
Alias Images are (C) ABC 2002, All Rights
Reserved.
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