Tonight marks the return of Alias to our screens after a lengthy hiatus. Tonight also begins the countdown to the final episode of the series. The J.J. Abraham’s scripted show has been an inconsistent performer over its five season run but I’ve stuck through most of it. When the show was on, it was one of the best on TV, mixing the drama and politics of family with the drama and politics of the espionage world. In its lesser moments, the show would erase or redo past plot points in an attempt to make the show more accessible but would end up muddying the mythology of the show to the point of extreme confusion and frustration for the fans.
Like his current show Lost, Alias contained Abrams’ dry wit and humor shine along with his knack for leaving the audience grasping at straws. Alias has had some great cliffhanger moments including Sydney waking up in China finding out that years had passed and she was presumed dead or last year’s season ending car crash that literally made me fall off my couch. These great moments also led to problems with the show. We never received a satisfactory answer to what Sloan’s first Rambaldi machine told him (I believe the explanation the show gave is that it was a single word meaning love). In fact, the entire Rambaldi plan has never been flushed out.
Like his previous show Felicity, Alias featured Abrams’ ability to find great actors to speak his words. Jennifer Garner may not have a long career in front of her but her portrayal of Sydney, especially in the first two seasons, was Emmy worthy. I think it was a case of the actress and role finding a perfect match. The supporting cast has remained strong throughout the show. Kevin Weisman as Marshall has always been good for a laugh but has also shown some dramatic chops in the last few years when he’s been forced to keep APO from his wife and child. Carl Lumby as Dixon shined in the first two seasons and while he has not has as many opportunities in recent years he’s still a welcome sight. However, just as the complex storytelling sometimes bit Alias in the butt, so did their loyalty to cast members. Ron Rifkin’s portrayal of Arvin Sloan became an instant fan favorite. Here was villain we could grow to love. Unfortunately, when the time came to send evil Sloan up the river for good, the show decided to attempt to redeem the character. What we were left with was a watered down Sloan and an uncharacteristic turn by Sydney who was again working for the man that killed her fiancée.
Besides the attempts to rework the show and the mythology and the mistake in keeping Rifkin there is one last piece to this cancellation puzzle and that lies with Michfer Varner. This super name refers to the short lived real life super couple comprised of series stars Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan. Coming off a failed marriage to Felicity’s Scott Foley, Garner and Vartan soon took the on screen relationship off screen. The show seemed to hum along just fine and their already considerable on air chemistry only seemed to increase. Like most on set romances this one fizzled and the lack of chemistry during last season was almost painful. When Vartan’s character of Vaughn was killed off early this year one had to ask if this was due to plot demands or maybe star demands. While I don’t think this resulted in the cancellation, it certainly didn’t help.
Where Alias ends up in the pantheon of great shows might depend on how it goes out over the next few weeks. When the show went on hiatus we were left with the revelation that Sydney’s mom is yet again behind her latest run of bad luck, including kidnapping a very pregnant Sydney. There have been hints that Vaughn may not be as dead as we thought. Abrams’ has hinted we might get some kind of clarification on the whole Rambaldi issue. Plus with so many characters that have come and gone over the years, here’s hoping we get some Sark, some Will and maybe even some evil Francie as the show winds down.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment