Alias - The Complete Fifth Season

I've read a lot of rumors regarding Alias' fifth and final season. I've read that Michael Vartan was only present in a few episodes due his breakup with series star Jennifer Garner. I've read that the season's episode order was cut from 22 to 17 because of Garner's pregnancy. Whether those rumors are true or not, who can say? Do Vartan's notable absence and the shortened episode order impact the series: yes and no. I'll start with the yes. From day one, Michael Vartan's character, Agent Michael Vaughn, has been instrumental in Sydney Bristow's life, initially as her CIA handler coordinating her double-agent status then as a romantic interest. His absence gives the impression that the writers and producers were trying to fill a void with the addition of new characters. If Alias had survived for a sixth season, this might not have been the case. As for the shortened episode order ... some shows may be able to have just as much of an impact with just five of its season's episodes cut. Alias is not one of those shows. While the finale was satisfying and riveting, it was simply unable to address a lot of the unanswered questions from previous seasons. You can tell they tried to wrap up as much as possible, but also knew that trying to cram in too much would have made it feel more fake. Personally I feel a sixth season should have been produced. Even if that meant airing it from January to May without interruption, the wait would have been worth it just to have a full final season that truly answered everything. Despite what I've mentioned, the fifth and final season is still worth watching and have many standout episodes. Of the new characters ... some worked, some did not. Renee Rienne (Elodie Bouchez) worked well, as did the character of Tom Grace (played by Balthazar Getty). Rachel Nichols as Rachel Gibson does not work; her character is interesting enough, but Nichols did not make me care much for the character. Also, her chemistry with Balthazar Getty was not as strong as it should have been. I love Amy Acker ("Fred," from the Joss Whedon series Angel) as terrorist Kelly Peyton and wish she had received more screen time. In addition to Michael Vartan appearing in five of the season's seventeen episodes and having a cameo in another, Lena Olin returns as the deliciously insidious Irina Derevko for two full episodes and has a cameo in another. Bradley Cooper (Will Tippin), Gina Torres (Anna Espinosa) and Merrin Dungey (Francie Calfo) each make an appearance as the series nears its home stretch. As for the product itself, it arrived in excellent condition and the shipping was actually a day ahead of schedule.

Judging from the prior seasons, and from having seen the final epiode, I'm quite certain this season will be up to any/all expectations (I'll eventually add more once I've watched all the episodes). The show has always had top-notch production values and been highly reminiscent of La Femme Nikita. In the spy-thriller genre, Alias is second only to its LFN progenitor, but a step above (in my opinion) 24 in terms of overall story arc. The DVD releases have always been impressive: good video quality, good audio quality (granted I'm not a sound/video snob, and I don't have a 30" plasma TV yet). The discs always have sufficient bonus materials from deleted scenes to commentary tracks, and blooper reels. I expect this release will be no different. I will note however that they have changed the packaging format (just like LFN did on their fifth/final season; speaking of which is it coincidence that both series ended on a shortened fifth season and made large attempts to tie up all the "loose ends" of the series?). However, I'm not as thrilled with the changes to Alias' packaging as I was with the changes to LFN. Whereas LFN change from an attractive book format to a more standard double-thin pack format, Alias appears to have changed to a double-stacked fold-out configuration, that I frankly dislike in no uncertain terms. IE, to get to disc 2, you have to take out disc 1 then take out disc 2 then put disc 1 back into the fold-out case. I really wish that studios would stop doing that to customers (I vaguely recall they did that with one or two of the last Highlander seasons too, much to the dismay of fans). I'd have preferred that they simply used two double-disc thin packs like LFN did. I much prefer those to double-stacked fold-outs. That aside, the rest of the packaging is pretty standard, down to the outer plastic slip case with the special fetures printed on the back, and Jennifer Garner printed on the front. Though for those who tend to throw out the outer plastic, it would be NICE, if they'd print the special features on the back of the fold-out packaging rather than the outer plastic. C'est la vie. I look forward to catchign the last season in DVD re-run. I'm sure it will be spectacular, one way or the other. And I know the ending is appropriate.

My interest started with a couple of episodes on TV. It was so compelling I bought the entire series and watched every scene until the conclusion. Jennifer Garner is well placed as the lead in this enthralling spy series. I loved it and am sure you will.

The last season of alias is better than the ones before it.It is the perfect way to end a 5 year adventure.Through pain and heartbreak Sydney and vaughn live happily ever after.But some do not make it out alive.This season is full of death and returns.We see the return of some pretty big villians from alias past my favorite being julian sark.It is sad when certain charecters die but it does make up for itself.There are some new recruits,and i like the way the were introduced into the show.They weren't forced but it's like they just fell into place.Sloane is better than ever ecspecialy from the episode "30 seconds" to the final minutes of the show and Arvin sloane got just what he deserved.And last but not least we see the Rambaldi prophecy we've been waiting five seasons to see play out and everything adds up,And we learn very quickly that Nadia is not the one that makes up the other half of the Rambaldi symbol.The end was sad but very well done,And in true alias fashion we get left with a cliffhanger,But not one that keeps you wanting more but one that makes you think the story has just begun.It all happens in the final moments of JJ Abrams best series ever!

The close of the series is both excellent and great workmanship. The story was left open as to a possible continuation of the series , even with new cast members, but had the story close out with a happy ending even though it dragged the viewer through some interesting sessions. Glad I bought this series after seeing the first season and never making it back until the show went off the air. Was glad to buy the last four seasons.

***This review may contain spoilers, if you have not seen through season 4 of Alias and do not wish to know of plot points up to that point I recommend that you stop reading now!*** ABC has been dealing with what many have referred to as the Mork and Mindy curse for a couple of decades. Since Mork and Mindy was cancelled within a year of being moved to Thursday nights, it appears that shows that are moved to, or premiere, on Thursday nights don't last a full year. Shows to suffer the fate are: Samantha Who, FlashForward, My So-Called Life, My Generation, and this year Charlie's Angels among many others. The curse appears to have also caused the end of Alias in its fifth season. Feeling that Alias could have done better numbers if it didn't have to compete with American Idol and trying to strengthen their failing Thursday night line-up, ABC opted to move Alias to Thursdays at 8 PM for its fifth season in September of 2005. The move resulted in the lowest numbers in the show's history, so then ABC moved it to Wednesdays at 10 PM that December for two episodes. The show then took a four month break to allow Jennifer Garner to give birth before coming back in April of 2006 to the Wednesday, 8 PM slot. The juggling ultimately led to a series low average of 6.7 million viewers per episode and the show's cancellation. Following the climactic car crash of season 4, as Michael Vaugn (Michael Vartan) was telling Sydney (Jennifer Garner) about the truth of who he was, Sydney escapes a secret organization known as Prophet Five, finds out that the CIA is investigating Vaugn for being a double agent, and that she is pregnant with Vaugn's child. Meanwhile, Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin) is in prison for working with Elena Derevko, but is offered help in getting out of prison and aiding his daughter Nadia (Mia Maestro) by Prophet Five in exchange for information on APO and Sydney. Season 5 does a great job of fixing some of the issues of season 4. Where season 4 started off with quite a bit of bloat; season 5 jumps right into the issues that will plague the season from the beginning. For a truncated season with a few less episodes than the last four seasons, this season is filled with twists and action maybe even a little more than previous episodes. Of course the shorter length may also have helped keep the show more on track than the previous season where a truncated length may have helped keep things on track. The one major problem with this season would have to be the fact that everyone seemed to know it was the last season. Vartan wasn't available for most of the season due to filming a movie, and Greg Grunberg moved on to Heroes. Jennifer Garner remained fully invested, but due to her pregnancy she was given something of a protégé in Rachel Gibson (Rachel Nichols) who lacks the charisma of previous female stars of the series. Also added to the cast is Balthazar Getty as Thomas Grace to replace Vartan and Grunberg, and with the addition of the new characters comes some subplots that really could have been excised from the finished product. With this last season though there is some joy to be had in the return appearance of characters who were major players in the first season or two but have been lacking in appearances since. Merrin Dungey returns for the finale in a flashback as we learn more of Sydney's past (a great choice of framing for the series finale that also sets up the brilliant epilogue), and Bradley Cooper gets to have a little fun reprising Will Tippin and going on a mission for the CIA. Although I do have to admit that I found his involvement a little troubling. One of the great things about Jason Segel's appearance in season 4 was that it illustrated the world outside the spy world, and Tippin had always been great in illustrating that previously. Here we see him pulling off an accent and fighting a woman that even Sydney has had trouble with it. It just felt that in the end the show kind of lost the line between the spy and non-spy worlds. 4/5 Be sure to check out: Armadillo & Sands: Intellectual Properties at Work !

For those who missed this series, starring, and making a star out of , Jennifer Garner, it was on opposite 24. Every episode. The ultimate counter programming between ABC(Alias) and FOX(24). So, Alias flew under the radar, except for those of us rabid fans who saw the future of TV in this series. The long form storyline. Just like LOST, the series needs to be told from the pilot. Every year has a stand-alone story, but the entire series builds a mythology of double agents, CIA/SD-6 warfare, and the myth of Rimbaldi, a DaVinci like prophet that predicts ...Well, that is a spoiler. Unlike LOST, the last year, the finale of the series, is completely satisfying. I remember the message boards, people crying with sorrow and joy as favorite characters, good and evil, get their karma paid. Watch the series from year 1, build a relationship with Sydney, Sloane, her Dad and the rest, and you too will be satisfied with the ending. One more thing. The villains. No character in this series is one dimensional. There are times you will cheer for Arvin Sloane, the big baddie of the series. Because you will understand his obsession. An adult series.

DVds in great shape. All discs worked.