Alias 2.13 - Double Agent (2-2-03) (1 Viewer)

[Paul P]

Oc course it's not the same. I think that's the point. And here we go again with the jump the shark vs. it has to change and evolve to stay alive argument.

 

[Michael Martin]

What other spy dramas are on right now?

Doh! I forgot about 24 (and The Agency). Hmmmm...

From what I understand, Alias and 24 are very different in tone and concept. Even though Syd is now a "straight" field agent, there's room for both shows on TV.

To those who say Alias has jumped the shark - what are your ideas on where the show should have gone? I'm not asking sarcastically - really would like to hear your thoughts.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Oc course it's not the same. I think that's the point.

Well, maybe not The Point, but I'm glad Abrams recognized that when you do something as serial as Alias it's a good idea to (1) tie up loose ends on occasion and (2) re-invent and refocus the show every once in a while. Otherwise, you get The X-Files, a contradictory nightmare of backstory that obeyed to such a rigid formula that when the time came when there was no getting around evolution, neither the writers nor the audience were up to the task.

Of course, any number of shows have gone off the rails when they tried to reinvent themselves (the truism that letting the leads get together will inevitably kill the show), but I think that's mostly because writers don't get a chance to consider the new set-up like they did the initial one - people spend months on a pilot, then refine while waiting for a pick-up, and then have a little more time before actually starting work on the series, but only have a few weeks to work when a show is retooled (often due to network pressure). Here, it looks like Abrams knows what he's doing and has put some thought into what Alias would be like/about post-SD-6, so I think he's got a fighting chance.

 

[PhilipG]

To those who say Alias has jumped the shark - what are your ideas on where the show should have gone?

I'm not sure that it has (a lot of people said it had at the end of the first season), but I'll answer your question since last night's ep was so poor.

Here's what I'd like to have seen in this previous episode:

the debrief of Marshall and Dixon.
tracking down the whereabouts of Sark.
digging up Alliance classified info on Irena.
more Sloane.
an answer to the question: where the heck was Will?
followup on Jack's execution of that FBI agent.

WRT the series as a whole, I'd like to see some mini-arcs of Syd on more difficult missions. The usual order of play is that Syd finds a room with her mission objective, kicks a couple of guards unconscious, and leaves. It is rarely more complicated than that. If I were in charge of the series, I'd separate Syd from Vaughn and the CIA ASAP. Perhaps have her become a rogue agent in order to bring Sloane down.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I will judge the season once season 2 has concluded (probably with a cliffhanger). I like where we have a more dangerous, and more personal foe with Sloane being the big bad, vs. the nebulous Alliance as the big bad.

The cat-n-mouse games that FF can play with Sydney should be fun to watch.

 

[Patrick Sun]

BTW, Alias got a small bump in the ratings: 6.7/10

 

[Joel C]

Mediaweek lists the ratings as 8.0/11.

Remember, this episode was written as a post-Super Bowl standalone, then slightly modified to fit with the events of "Phase One." As a standalone with those constraints, I think it worked pretty well.

I don't see how anyone can make "jump the shark" comments yet. It has had a different feel "since the SB"? What, in all ONE episodes they've shown? I'm not saying that complaints about this episode aren't valid, as without the SpyFamily it did feel a bit different, but give it a chance before you proclaim the entire show a failure.

I'm not saying "wait until the end, then you'll see you were wrong about "Double Agent" like a certain Buffy Apologist on this board is wont to do. I'm saying, think of the 35-odd episodes of entertainment the show has given you, and be willing to allow a clunker or two before you declare the death of Alias.

Plus, is anyone else sick to death of the phrase "jumped the shark"? It was ok for a few years, but I think we needed a new metaphor, oh, about the time they actually SHOWED Homer jumping sharks on The Simpsons.

 

[Michael Martin]

If I were in charge of the series, I'd separate Syd from Vaughn and the CIA ASAP. Perhaps have her become a rogue agent in order to bring Sloane down.

Another very interesting idea. Abrams could have a lot of fun with this, and it sure would make things more tense for all involved.

I could even see the series ending with Syd successfully bringing down Sloane, but at great personal cost - perhaps even her own life.

Appreciate the thoughts, Phillip.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Remember, this episode was written as a post-Super Bowl standalone, then slightly modified to fit with the events of "Phase One."

Was it, in fact, modified? I was under the impression that both "Phase One" and "Double Agent" were both just pushed back a week, resulting in the (somewhat odd) scheduling of one rerun between new episodes two weeks ago.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

No, this was originally going to air before Phase One, so they reworked it to take place afterward. Which is why Dixon and Marshall didn't get long scenes, but just a remark. In the original timeline for this episode... SD6 wasn't taken down at all yet.

"change your face" thing.

You're kidding right? Did you forget that 24 used this same tactic in season 1? How is that show okay to suspend belief, but not this one?

 

[Jeff Kohn]

You're kidding right? Did you forget that 24 used this same tactic in season 1? How is that show okay to suspend belief, but not this one?

You're going to have to refresh my memory, because I sure don't remember anybody becoming an exact physical double of another person through gene therapy/dna modification in season 1 of 24. It's one thing for somebody to modify their appearance via plastic surgery so that they're no longer immediately recognizable; it's quite another to create an evil doppleganger who looks and sounds exactly like somebody else.

And I agree that this episode totally screwed up the continuity of events from last week. To not hear anything from Will or get any closure with Dixon and Marshall was a big disappointment. Not to mention nobody at the CIA seemed to voice any real concerns about Sloan and Sark. This episode should not have aired after Phase One, it should have aired the week before instead of a rerun. As PhilipG said, there is just too much "aftermath" from Phase One that could have easily been an entire episode in itself.

And I'm willing to wait a few more episodes before passing final judgement, but at this point I'm leaning towards saying Yes, the show has jumped the shark. Whether that turns out to be true will depend on how they handle some of these issues:

1) Whether they can put some conflict back between Sydney and Vaughn without resorting to lame, contrived, soap-opera-like gimmicks.

2) Whether they let the Fake Francie plot get too ridiculous. If they insist on Syd and Will remaining clueless despite obviously inconsistent behavior by FFrancie that will annoy me.

If they don't start to revisit some of the more important story arcs (Sloan, Sark, Rombaldi, Irina) and insist on each week just being some mindless action with gratuitious bikini footage I will lose interest in the show.

 

[Joel C]

If they don't start to revisit some of the more important story arcs (Sloan, Sark, Rombaldi, Irina) and insist on each week just being some mindless action with gratuitious bikini footage I will lose interest in the show.

Did you see the preview for next week? Irina, Sark, Sloane, and Will are all back. So no worries. Also, the double thing in 24 happens in the very first episode, where they've transformed the guy into an exact double of the photographer.

 

[Ken Chan]

is anyone else sick to death of the phrase "jumped the shark"

Sure. Not only has the phrase itself jumped the shark, pointing that out has also apparently jumped the shark!

I never saw the episode of Happy Days where Fonzie literally jumps the shark -- and when I say "literally", I really mean literally, not actually, amazingly, or especially (but I digress) -- but that couldn't have been like this. With Happy Days, you had a long running show that staged a ridiculous stunt that was out of character for the show.

//Ken

 

[Matt Goddard]

Also, the double thing in 24 happens in the very first episode, where they've transformed the guy into an exact double of the photographer.

In the premiere of 24 last year Ira Gaines had the assassin undergo plastic surgery to look like the photographer, Martin Belkin. They simply took somebody with a like build and surgically changed his face. All he had to do was look like the guy on the ID card to get into a single event. He didn't have to trick Belkin's lifelong friends or anything like that.

There was never any indication that the 24 assassin underwent gene therapy.

 

[Patrick Sun]

But at least the real Martin got to join the milehigh club before his untimely demise... (IIRC about Mandy's exploits/technique).