Covert Affairs: Assuntos Confidenciais

Classy, smooth and Eyal, what more could a girl ask? Really enjoyed the whole thing on DVD, over and over!

When I saw who the producers are, I must admit, I felt some trepidation. The Borne Trilogy was good (no self-respecting film lover could deny it), but hardly TV series material. All my trepidation flew out of the window less than five minutes into the pilot. I'm not an easy judge to please, but I must say, I'm hooked.

The characterization was fabulous. The writers laid the strong foundation of the friendship/confidant relationship that few shows have managed to convey, and it's just the pilot. I can't wait to see how it's built up. The last time I saw such a thing, it was in BONES, and that was in the middle of the first season.

Piper Perabo plays a smart, overachieving spy missing the stop-digging-yourself-into-a- hole complex. Her character is balanced by a great performance by Christopher Gorham as Auggie, your friendly neighborhood blind tech-guy, a comforting voice in the madness of the "Agency". To top off the show, you have their boss, a preoccupied career woman used to having to find her own way in a job traditionally held by men: Joan Campbell, played by Kari Matchett.

For those of you thinking it's just another ALIAS, you've got another thing coming, just as I did. The only things it's got in common with J. J. Abrams' hit show is the CIA and strong woman lead. It has the action of all the best action films of the decade and the reasonably- subtle humor of BURN NOTICE and CHUCK.

COVERT AFFAIRS is in it for the long-run. I don't plan on missing a moment of it. If it's canceled, it'll prove to be as big a mistake as canceling FIREFLY. Watch it. You won't regret it.

I like the show but what bothers me is that it takes Annie almost four seasons to dye her hair. In season four she never took the time to wear a cap or sunglasses which makes her harder to be recognized. It puzzles me why she never disguises herself.

It's been 4 years since the series finale, and seems like yesterday that I used to watch its TV teasers and give a damm to it.

Except the spy theme and Piper Perabo, a charismatic petit mix of Julia Roberts, Amanda Peet, Jennifer Garner and brazilian actress Alinne Moraes, nothing about the show really caught my attention at that time. But now, after watching it on Amazon's stream service, I realized how wrong I was.

As a huge fan of Alias that I am, of course that comparisons are inevitable thru the episodes, but there's no room here for that glossy spy fetish sci-fi that somehow corrupted J.J. Abrams's show thru the seasons. Covert Affairs instead tries to be more down to earth like Veronica Mars.

As an episode themed series that it is, we cannot expect much plot development more than some action sequences that follows the main character's "weekly missions" and some lazy twists and cliched conflicts of the genre here and there. But anyway, the show makes its point as a light entertainment for those who just want to sit and watch it without the need to think too much. It has its charms though, like the main cast. Piper does a great job as the CIA recruit Annie Walker, and Keri Matchett as her CIA commander Joan Campbell is definitely an empowering role. Supporting actors like Christopher Gorham and Sendil Ramamurthy grows a lot throughout the seasons, and the chemistry between all of them is what makes viewers give it a fair try.

The best of the show is that Annie Walker is really well developed at the moment viewers realize that she gets stronger as her experience grows thru episodes and missions complexities expands. She gets smarter, more tactical and mature in a natural pace. That's why first 2 seasons looks a little clumsy and generic, like a derivative product of those aforementioned shows and then it gets better and some kind solid after that, finding its own personality from that on.

Interesting how a simple show as it is can turn out to be satisfactory and never pretentious. And five seasons were the necessary to make it not remarkable, but enjoyable in the exact amount.

Give it a try, you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

If you like Piper Perabo, you will probably like this show. Her character, Annie, is a CIA agent who hits the ground running right out of training. It helps that she is something of a prodigy--excellent with weapons, amazing at hand-to-hand combat, and a whiz with languages. Though she sometimes has to confront her personal fears, for the most part she is determined to tackle any problem by immersing herself in the heart of the matter.

I have watched this show from its inception and, seasons later, I am still interested. The character of Annie is multi-dimensional. By now, we know her romantic history, her personal quirks, and her weaknesses. Auggie is her personal handler and personal friend. He usually augments her in-the-field forays from HQ with his superior intelligence IQ, but he has been known to accompany her on location.

One thing I really enjoy about the series is the location filming. They film around the world, adding authenticity to the production.

For those critics who say the series is unrealistic (every series has them), well neither is Bond. But the writers know how to create stories that are filled with intrigue. And many of the show's story lines feel like they have been ripped from the pages of global news reports.