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Should I watch Alias?

GKarsEye

GKarsEye

Regular
So I'm trolling the free DVD rentals at the local library (yes I use the public library- free stuff! try it!) and I come across Alias. I have never seen an entire episode and only vaguely know that it stars that chick that everyone thinks is super-hot but I don't so much and she was in some superhero movie and some shitty romantic comedies. And that the show is some sort of spy thing.

I'm short on televised entertainment- all the shows I like are finished so I'm up for something new (to me). Thing is, I remember seeing people on the interwebs saying that the show turned retarded at some point. Too many shows I like do that: X-Files, Battlestar, Heroes, every single Star Trek, etc.

So would you Alias fans still recommend it? Should I just watch the good parts? And if I do, will it leave me with some sort of frustrating cliffhanger?

Fortunately the library has like 5 boxsets or so if I choose to partake, so lots freebies but legally.
 
IMO yes.

But watch Season 1 and 2 only. You can pretty much stop after that..it sort of unravels and doesnt go in any particular direction, and they dont do a good job at payoff.

But I did and do feel that Seasons 1 and 2 were very good.

That said, if you havent watched Farscape...I'd put that on the "must see" list before Alias.
 
Yeah, the show jumped the shark in S3 and I gather it got even weirder before it was cancelled. I wouldn't bother. Watch Dollhouse instead.
 
Of course I watched Farscape. I remember getting into a big argument with people here over the cancellation protests and everything.

I've heard mixed things about Dollhouse. I read a review of the new box set that says there's an unreleased ep there that's supposed to be the best one. Kinda messed up if that's true.
But I've not been able to get into any of the Whedonverse- the closest I came was Firefly and that was canceled. If Dollhouse isn't renewed I'm not gonna bother starting.


Does season 2 of Alias at least end well?

Eh, back to Family Guy repeats...
 
Dollhouse is decent. Started off weak, got better. Its only 12-13 episodes or something so its not a long-term watching festival yet.

OK no one beat my ass for saying this, or revoke my "Man Card" but here is another show I'd recommend:

Veronica Mars

Yep. I said it. I thought it was pretty decent, clever, and fun to watch. Unfortunately its set in High School years for the first two seasons....but its still a pretty good show.
 
GKarsEye said:
I've heard mixed things about Dollhouse. I read a review of the new box set that says there's an unreleased ep there that's supposed to be the best one. Kinda messed up if that's true.
But I've not been able to get into any of the Whedonverse- the closest I came was Firefly and that was canceled. If Dollhouse isn't renewed I'm not gonna bother starting.
Click to expand...

It's been renewed, and they're shooting episodes. The series is definitely uneven -- the first five or six eps are definitely shaky and another few down the stretch -- but there's some solid stuff in there and the unaired final ep opens up whole new horizons.

As I recall, Season 2 of Alias ended dramatically, but by posing lots of questions. To which, alas, the answers sucked.

Recoil said:
Veronica Mars
Click to expand...

I've heard really great things about that one -- including that the high school stuff was the best.
 
Yes watch Alias! For its problem areas, it's great.

For me personally... seasons 1 + 2 are great, as has been stated. If you watch anything watch them.

Season 3 isn't bad... just not as good. I'd still recommend watching it.

Season 4 is pants. Hard work, except for a few episodes towards the end of the season.

Season 5 is great, it's like old-style Alias again.

And because season 5 is great, I feel the show ended on a high. And season 3 is better after you've seen season 4, because you realise it's not *that* bad.
 
Alias is pretty good, altough my opinion of it has been steadily declining with each time I watch through it - and I actually haven't been able to watch S5 past the first few episodes because of the cheap reset.

Still, it's definitely a fun show to watch especially for the first time.
 
dreamer said:
Alias is pretty good, altough my opinion of it has been steadily declining with each time I watch through it - and I actually haven't been able to watch S5 past the first few episodes because of the cheap reset.

Still, it's definitely a fun show to watch especially for the first time.
Click to expand...

Reset to GOODNESS though.
 
reset to stupid, it made no sense given evrything that had happended before it.

was an awesome show though.
 
I concur with a lot being said so far:

Seasons 1 and 2 are by far the best. The show really blew me away with those.

Season 3 took a kind of stupid turn. Season 4 seemed to get back on track, but season 5 was kind of a re-vamping of season 3 but more stupid.

However . . .

Once you get into the characters and mythology and so forth, you kind of start to overlook some of the crappy-ness.

You can tell that Abrams abandoned it around season 3 (he went to focus on Lost instead). Some storylines were never really resolved, though they were set up nicely and either did not pay off or paid off in a kind of anti-climactic way.

Cool stuff:

Mama D
Anna (mmmm Gina Torres)
Jennifer Garner is awesome no matter what she's doing
Jack Bristow > Jack Bauer (Victor Garber is friggin' awesome)
Sloane's creepiness (it just never goes away)
Marcus Dixon is just about the coolest partner . . . . ever.
 
It is true that Papa Bristow is a god among men. I could start watching the show again for him alone, if I didn't have to work for a living...
 
KoshFan said:
It is true that Papa Bristow is a god among men. I could start watching the show again for him alone, if I didn't have to work for a living...
Click to expand...

This is true.

Back in the day we used to have discussions as to who was the badder-ass Jack. Jack Bauer (early seasons 24) or Jack Bristow. My money was on Jack Bristow.
 
Best Jack torture scene....

Spoiler for :
.... was when he would choke the dude then bring him back with paddles until he talked. He told the guy, "here's a secret, there is no white light for people like you." Dude fessed up!

On a sad note: what they did to Mama D was unforgivable, imho.

 
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