The end of ALIAS

Here I am, one night after having viewed the series finale for one of my all-time favorite shows, Alias.  What was once the most exciting show on television, it was spinning its wheels in the last couple of years mired in lost direction and too many dangling plot threads.  Now that it's over, I can say that I will miss it terribly.  From the pilot episode until the final curtain fell, I can't say that I ever missed an episode, that's how big of a fan I was.

Was there doubt that the same man who brought the world the schmaltz that was Felicity could do double-agent spy-action?  Of course, but amazingly, I think JJ Abrams proved the world wrong with what was a most ambitious television show.  Starting at roughly the same time as another auspicious spy show, 24, the show raised the bar for action, drama, and for what people's perceptions of a television show could be.  What did we love about the show?

Action aplenty: this show packed it in every week from international set-pieces cleverly filmed on location (in Los Angeles) to some amazingly complicated stunt work.  I will always remember the climactic season 2 finale where Sydney squares off against her duplicated roommate for a fight scene lasting almost 5 minutes, which is ages in television screen time.  

High tension: 24 was the only other show for a long time that could rival Alias in the high stakes and perilous circumstances the main characters would find themselves in.  Although you would never question the fact that anyone would make it out alive, there were many times I felt Dixon would be cashing it in one last time.  It's still amazing to me that he made it to the very end.

Mad science: when I think of this show, I will equate it with what made it so great within it's first year.  It wasn't the fact that Jennifer Garner was a chameleon, it was the maguffin of Rambaldi.  Who couldn't love the story of a mythical Renaissance-age scientist and philosopher who's artifacts are treasured and sought after so fervently that people are willing to kill for them?  What could live up to the promise of the Horizon?  You would have to see the finale to find out.

Yes, there was romance and yes Jennifer Garner had a star-making role as Sydney Bristow, but the supporting cast was awesome.  Kevin Weisman as Marshall, Victor Garber as Jack Bristow, and David Anders as the inimitable Julian Sark brought the screen to life.  Even if there were too many new characters within the last year, one could count on these actors every time to make the show all the more interesting.

Whatever went wrong within the last two years, I can forgive the show for how great it was during its amazing first two seasons.  If anything, this show will springboard everyone involved into greater things.