Alias

I love this show. That being said, it has some flaws. You can tell when it went downhill is when J.J. Abrams stopped working on it regularly. Season 1 is great, Season 2 is great, Season 3 was OK, Season 4 not so great, and I'm going to pretend Season 5 didn't happen. I'd have to agree with some of other reviewers on here, it seems like they ended up with a bunch of different writers that lost direction or understanding of what the show was about and where it was supposed to be going. It started out as a spy show with a hint of sci-fi, and ended up the other way around which was just weird. It seems like the only person who really understood the whole Rambaldi thing was JJ. I think that the actors did a good job with what they were given. Watch Season 1-3 if you want to check it out. Its on Netflix as of 8/16.

I remember this show debuting when I was a teenager. I was so engrossed in it that I was considering one day becoming a government agent. Looking back at this, it still holds up. Between the clever story telling, and character development, it also shows a bit of the spy cliches that I fell in love with. It's also pretty crazy to see a young Bradley Cooper and where he would go from here. The gadgets and technology that is used in the show may look dated but I think it gave Alias its charm. I would love to see Abrams try to come back to this project and bring it to the modern day audiences.

This show is one of the most consistently entertaining shows I have seen. If you've a mind to, as many seem to do, you can find any number of reasons to rate this programme lowly but it is undoubtedly one of the best shows of recent years. It doesn't take itself too seriously but manages to involve the viewer time after time with character development and the intricate plotting. Garner takes on the lead role enthusiastically and, even in the most absurd situations, carries it all off with great aplomb. Victor Garber, as Jack Bristow, is the mainstay of the show and deals with everything that comes his way in a professional and confident manner. All the other characters (and actors) fulfil their roles superbly. Anyone who thinks this show is poor either enjoys badmouthing or cannot appreciate simple enjoyment. Sit back and enjoy.

This high budget TV show. It uses lush, dramatic, international sets.

The plot has layers upon layers. It is like the old Saturday afternoon serials, ending each episode with a cliff hanger. I think this show is primarily the work of women. Our heroine, Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, dresses in elaborate high-fashion costumes, makeup and hair barely recognisable each time. There are plenty of handsome charming young men who adore her. The focus is on relationships.

Jennifer Garner runs for miles at top speed in every episode. The stunts are well done. It appears Garner is doing them herself. It is quite an athletic performance.

Garner speaks a number of languages in each episode (without subtitles). I don't speak these languages, but her accent was very convincing.

They did a number of technical things that made me angry they were so inept. Sydney moves back and forth between two groups of warring spy agencies without taking any precautions that she is being followed or that her phone is tapped. She dismantles a nuke and holds up a grey sphere which she proclaimed is the plutonium core. Plutonium is radioactive, and as soon as it is formed into a sphere it explodes. Oddly road flares go off in a bank vault.

She is a double agent, but at times does some bit of daring for both simultaneously. The plot often does not make sense, which amusingly one of the characters points out.

Give or take, Garner was 30 years old when Alias hit the big screen and there was no turning back for her.

Have heard so many different stories about how she was "discovered" in Tinseltown that I do not know which to believe.

What I do know is that, for a period of time, JG was the new "it girl", she could do no wrong, and audiences simply could not get enough of her.

Alias, which ran for 5 years, was simply an OK premise taken to heights of high-camp based solely on the star power of Garner.

She was hot, she could act, she could do stunts, she had great reaction shots, and she made it all seem so easy. Even her film roles in his period are worth a look (which is another section of the IMDb entirely).

Recommended for teenage boys of all ages.