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ALIAS season 4 ongoing thread (merged) - Page 17

post #481 of 788
3/24/05 at 11:18am
Quote:
I think it's more a combo of b) and d)
Bryan, I was kidding (and have edited my post to make this more clear). I agree with you, although a CSI re-run still does better than most people's 1st run shows.

Regards,
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post #482 of 788
3/24/05 at 11:58am
That's true, but that episode of American Idol wasn't even that high in the ratings. The previous episodes to go against the competition this season have performed much better. ALIAS hasn't slipped much since American Idol returned, and if the last couple of episodes are any indication, people are starting to tune out.

Is it also thinking too little of America to believe a lot of people tuned out because of the subtitles...? Part of me thinks that might be the case...
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post #483 of 788
3/24/05 at 12:25pm
American Idol Wednesday do-over: 12.2/18
CSI Re-run: 10.0/15

Alias' "Lost" Lead-in: 5.6/9

American Idol started airing on Wednesday night on 19-Jan. This corresponded with Alias 4.04 and a ratings drop of a half point. The competetion proper's results shows started on 23-Feb which corresponded with Alias 4.08 and another half point ratings drop.

Last night's and last week's "Lost" were the lowest rated Wednesday airings of that show to date, likely due to their airing against new episodes of "Survivor", and hence Alias' lowest rated lead-ins this season.

Alias' previous CBS competition has been the likes of "King of Queens" and "Yes Dear" and the Dan Rather send-off on March 9.

Regards,
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post #484 of 788
3/24/05 at 7:39pm
Just a question, but how do you read these Nielsen ratings? What does 12.2/18 mean? How does it compare to 10.0/15? Why don't they just same how many million people watched it?
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post #485 of 788
3/24/05 at 7:41pm
If I remember corectly 12.2/18 (for example) means that 12.2 million people watched it and it got an 18 share of the audience.
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post #486 of 788
3/24/05 at 10:27pm
This show seems very different from the first 3 seasons. It's not that it's bad or anything, but it isn't what I would expect from the show.

I might have to go back and watch some of the old episodes to see something a little more interesting.

It just feels that they really arn't doing anything with it any more. They really need to add an underlying story for this season. I just hope they do something with vaughns father soon and then maybe link it with some other things and give me something to look forward to.
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post #487 of 788
3/24/05 at 10:35pm
I find nadia and Mea(sp?) much more interesting than Vaughns one note acting. Does he have one facial expression?
I enjoyed the episode and was glad to see some backstory for Nadia .I didn't know, until recently, that she was in Motorcycle Diaries.

Quote:
Finally, there was too much subtitling.


Read much? C'mon. A nitpick about Subtitling?
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post #488 of 788
3/24/05 at 10:45pm
Robert,

As unfair as it sounds, subtitles probably didn't help the episode at all. Though I dont believe that is the shows only problem.

People are easily annoyed and will turn out immediately if they feel intimidated or confused. The average American also hates subtitles and feels they shouldn't have to read when watching something for entertainment. The average American also reads below the 8th grade reading level, so this doesn't help matters. If they aren't going to read a book, they sure as hell aren't going to be into foreign languages and subs.

I can see both sides here really. It is unfair for folks to immediately dismiss something that's different. On the other hand, there are those who work grueling 60/70+ hour a week shifts and are not in the mood to think when they flip on the tv. I mean they figure they only have two or so hours before they have to go bed, get up, and return to hell.

So, I can see both sides.

Personal Opinion: Alias feels like a very different show now. In ways, the entire feeling is just completely different.
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post #489 of 788
3/25/05 at 8:59am
You may be right. People like to do two other things while watching TV. They want to listen but not pay much attention (hense the reason why Arrested Development still isn't popular). People want TV to do the thinking for them.
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post #490 of 788
3/25/05 at 12:01pm
Subtitles don't bother me at all. I enjoy watching lots of foreign films and documentaries. That wasn't what bothered me about the Wednesday episode.

I went back and rewatched it and it's obvious that Jennifer Garner has just checked out of her role. Maybe it does have something to do with her injuries, but it's bad when you don't even want the main/lead character around anymore and frankly that is how I feel about Sydney. She has been boring me to no end this season.

The story lines are just weak. There is nothing interesting happening at all this season. I'm all hoping they do more with Vaughn because atleast his story is somewhat engaging. That was hard for me to say too, as I haven't been a Vaughn fan since day 1.

I'm really starting to think they brought in Nadia so that Sydney's role could be replaced.

Here's to hoping that they stop at season 4.
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post #491 of 788
3/25/05 at 5:20pm
If the show is so bad, why keep watching?
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post #492 of 788
3/25/05 at 7:58pm
Because we're optimists (read: suckers).

Although if the episodes don't improve this year, I really am gone next year.
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post #493 of 788
3/26/05 at 7:43am
Quote:
Although if the episodes don't improve this year, I really am gone next year.
I don't mean to be pessimistic, but if the episodes don't improve quickly, I don't think we'll have to worry about next year. Alias ratings are on the brink of collapse, and even with the benefit of a first-run episode of Lost as its lead-in, the future does not look very bright, IMO.

I hope they wrap up a good chunk of the Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
Rambaldi story line
during the 90-minute season finale featuring the Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)
return of Irena Derevko (Lena Olin),
because it would go a long way to help bring back some of the show's declining fan base.
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post #494 of 788
3/26/05 at 8:41am
Yeah, this could very well be the last season of the show because it really seems to be going nowhere fast and the ratings are dropping like a rock off the Empire State Building. I loved the first three seasons and thought they were all extremely entertaining(even though many bashed S3 for some reason), but I am totally disinterested in this season. Nothing has happened, there's no story arc to keep you waiting for next week's show and the acting is the worst it has ever been. Sloane and Jack have always provided the best performances on the show and even they are off their game this year. It just seems like this season has been a total waste which is really disappointing because I remember before the season started that everybody involved with the show(Jennifer Garner, JJ Abrams, etc) said how it had gone back and revamped itself to be the best season yet. Was that an April Fool's joke a few months early?
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post #495 of 788
3/30/05 at 2:39pm
Honestly I liked the backstory to Nadia this time around. I'm starting to feel like I'm the only one around here that doesn't care about an arcing story line.
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post #496 of 788
3/30/05 at 3:22pm
I wish there was an arc for the season but I've still enjoyed the episodes this year without one too.
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post #497 of 788
3/30/05 at 3:34pm
There is a arc, its just not as BIG as the Rambaldi/SD-6/Lauren arcs. The problem is they're airing some episodes out of order so it seems like theres no linear arc.
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post #498 of 788
3/30/05 at 4:22pm
The last few episodes have been better than the beginning of the season but I don't get excited to watch it anymore and that's not a good thing. J.J did this with Felicity too. Started up a great show and then it lost it's creative edge when he left. I think he's overloaded his plate.
Hopefully that 90 minute finale will make up for the lackluster 4th season.
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post #499 of 788
3/30/05 at 4:40pm
Its not 90 minutes anymore. They're having to take it back to 60 minutes because of Lost. Alias will air its finale at 10 PM on May 25th.

I dunno if they'll do anymore double eps in between that though. I think they would since thats the only way they're going to fit in 22 episodes.
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post #500 of 788
3/30/05 at 6:09pm
The last few episodes have been better than the beginning of the season but I don't get excited to watch it anymore and that's not a good thing. J.J did this with Felicity too. Started up a great show and then it lost it's creative edge when he left. I think he's overloaded his plate.


That seemed to happen with alot of Steven J. Cannell (sp?) shows back in the late 80's. He would get the show going for a year or so, then hand it off, and it woudl go downhill. Examples: 21 Jump Street and Wiseguy.

RG
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post #501 of 788
3/30/05 at 6:37pm
"Flinkman...Marshall Flinkman" should be the title of this episode. So far, Marshall has been cracking me up as he gets to play Agent Flinkman. You go, guy!
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post #502 of 788
3/30/05 at 6:51pm
OMG! This episode borrowed a couple of scenes from Tarantino (Sydney locked in a coffin, and Marshall inadvertently shooting the main bad guy while putting the cell phone gun together), and I was ROTFLMMFAO for like 10 minutes straight as Marshall had to use a spork to scoop out an eyeball. Jack was like "what's a spork?" HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Oh damn, funny episode. Marshall rocks. (Also LOL when Marshall was singing a lullaby to his son Mitchell on the phone half a world away).
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post #503 of 788
3/30/05 at 8:12pm
This was the best episode of the year so far! All the above mentioned Marshall stuff was great. Keep the momentum going, guys!

I liked the Kill Bill homage too. They even put Sydney in a coat that was similar to the one that the Bride had on
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post #504 of 788
3/30/05 at 9:56pm
I think Marshall should have gotten a kiss from Sydney after saving her.

And you know there's been a shift when the dancing woman turns around and you're disappointed it's Sydney instead of Nadia :b
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post #505 of 788
3/30/05 at 10:18pm
The Marshall stuff took the episode up a notch but overall the episode didnt have much to be excited about. This just seems like Alias Lite to me.
Why cant Marshall tell his wife? Is Sloan going to have her killed too? And what was with Nadia?? She looked worried the whole episode but didn't say anything.
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post #506 of 788
3/30/05 at 10:45pm
Yeah, tonight's episode was much better than some that have gone on previously. Marshall shined and it was good to see Carrie again. I'm hoping this ep starts a trend of good episodes. I can't wait to see how the writers explain how Irina is now alive after making the point of even showing her mausoleum slot.
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post #507 of 788
3/30/05 at 11:13pm
Thought tonight's episode was great.

HOWEVER:

It bugs me that the bad guys left Sydney's cellphone with her. Might as well have left her with a gun.
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post #508 of 788
3/31/05 at 7:23am
Quote:
Why cant Marshall tell his wife?
Because he works for a covert government organization that is not officially recognized. This was unclear? They couldn't even contact the real CIA to extraxt Sydney because of this.
Quote:
It bugs me that the bad guys left Sydney's cellphone with her. Might as well have left her with a gun.
No. That was Marshall's cellphone. (but I know what you mean)

This was the most entertaining episode since the last one they let Drew Goddard write (Welcome to Liberty Village). The scene between Marshall and Syd where he mentions that he hates lying to his wife and is at the same time silently realizing what Syd went through during the SD6 days was underplayed nicely.

Jack's slight pause after Marshall's description of a spork before saying "that will work" was deadpan comic gold. They also did a nice job having Marshall cut-off his own compulsive ramblings when faced with time-critical operations.

The editing was also skillfully done to hide the frequent use of doubles for Syd due to JG's injury, especially during the opening dance sequence.

Regards,
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post #509 of 788
3/31/05 at 7:31am
OK, I've been watching every episode since this season started... and usually fall asleep or otherwise drift away well before it ends.

After seeing the previews, I expected much the same for last night.

Surprise... I enjoyed it! In fact, I was very nearly riveted.

And I know why. Marshall is the only interesting character on the show. The rest are cyphers at best, so blank they're barely human. Like mannequins, these actors.

So, the actor who plays Marshall is a dwarf? But they shoot him so that he looks full height? He's got a certain Tarantino-esque quality, too. I'll say this: if this show was more about him, it'd be halfway decent.
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post #510 of 788
3/31/05 at 7:46am
Kevin Weisman (Marshall) might have a bit of dwarfism, but he's listed at 5'8" which is close to the average height of American males. His facial features do remind me of the oompa-loompas from the Wizard of Oz, though.

They had to double Sydney when she was kicking some henchmen ass on her way to Ulrich's office too. They hid the double behind the silhouetted movable panels.
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