|
|
|
A DVD Review of...
S E A S O N O N E
Images (C) ABC, 2003 |
Genre: Action/Drama
Cast: Jennifer Garner, Michael Vartan, Victor Garber,
Ron Rifkin, Bradley Cooper, Merrin Dungey, Carl Lumbly, Kevin Weisman
Synopsis: Sydney Bristow was recruited in college to work for a divison of the CIA called SD-6. Soon her life is shattered when her boyfriend is killed after learning about her real profession, whilst her estranged father Jack reveals to her SD-6 is the enemy and so she goes to the real CIA to become a double agent for them just like Jack has been for years.
So begins Syd's life working covertly with her CIA handler Michael Vaughn and her father to bring down SD-6 and its dangerous leader Arvin Sloane from the inside, whilst hiding her identity from the likes of her housemate Francie and her
reporter friend Will Tippin. As the year progresses Sydney learns some shocking secrets about artifacts created by a
15th century inventor named Rambaldi, the truth behind her mother's death and father's seemingly betrayal
to the KGB years before, the true dark nature of Sloane and the Alliance, and come face-to-face with the head of SD-6's main threat - an underworld organisation leader known only as 'The Man'.
TV Show Review: I first heard about this show a little over two years ago, during the annual US TV season break from June til September in 2001. TV critics are even harder than film ones, yet that year of the forty or so new shows for the Fall season the one that was the most consistently picked as the #1 must-watch was "Alias", even more so than the more hyped "24". By the time the show made its debut here early in 2002 the show had become one of the most solid raters of the newcomers - by contrast "24" was struggling in the ratings to the point that cancellation came close halfway through the season, thankfully that show's truly inspired second season has picked up significantly (thanks partly due to Fox's rushing out of that show onto DVD which suits the format perfectly). I decided what the hell, sat down and watched the pilot - and haven't looked back since.
To put it simply "Alias" is the closest thing you'll get to a James Bond movie in a series format, and as a massive 007 fan that was a huge plus. Many action/spy shows feel very limited by either their budget or storytelling capabilities, not so
this series which has some of the better production values on TV (most notably the cinematography) which help gives every episode a quite glossy feel. Like Bond, it benefits location wise by sending its heroine out to cities all around the world on elaborate missions at least twice an episode. Ok sure many such places are somewhere in LA redressed, but as someone whose watched a lot of TV & film and been there many times myself they are at least quite cleverly disguised enough that it maintains the illusion.
The concept and the stories are complicated and admittedly get stretched a little too far and too thin at times (most
notably subplots about the inventions left behind by a Nostradamus-like 15th century Italian named Rambaldi), but aside from the quality feel to the series what really sells it is the cast. Jennifer Garner works perfectly for the role of Sidney - a college student turned super spy with quite a few parental issues and the complication of leading not a double but a 'triple life'. Garner is one of those rarest of things in Hollywood - a natural beauty, not some gorgeous model or bombshell but rather an athletically built 'girl next door' which combined with a surprisingly natural acting talent makes her both believable as a character and someone that's easy to root for as she's impossible not to like.
Backing her up are two of the best supporting actors in the business - Victor Garber (from "Titanic") and Ron Rifkin as her ally dad and the evil SD-6 head respectively. Both actors give a hell of a lot of weight to roles which could've otherwise been written off as rather flat, Rifkin making Sloane into a man whose evil but also tortured whilst Garber delivers his lines with total conviction. Michael Vartan makes a likable albeit slighty bland young hunk advisor/future love interest for Sidney and there's no denying the two have a good chemistry. Shout-outs also to Carl Lumbly for some excellent understated work as Sidney's partner Dixon, Kevin Wiseman as the self-amused geek tech head Marshall who adds some moments of nice humour (watch Jen's facial expressions in these scenes to see how natural she can be), and Amy Irving as Sloane's wife.
One of the most surprising things about this show is the pace - with most shows in their debut season there's a lot of slow episodes marked only by the occasional big one every now and then. With this season there is quite simply no lull - from the post pilot episodes to the sweeps and post-sweeps periods there seriously is no drop in quality. Subplots come and go and each is played out enough to explore an element but not enough that it becomes overused or tired which keeps things surprisingly fresh. That's one of its endearing qualities, it takes chances and is not afraid to shake things up when things become too familiar - this happens both halfway through and at the end of next season where two episodes completely change the entire series layout. Admittedly one of the more annoying traits of this season was most episodes ended on a cliffhanger with Sidney trapped in mortal danger - it works at first but becomes repetitive and is thankfully abandoned for the most part in the second half of the season. In fact there's some stuff here that'll surprise you that they show it on TV (such as an execution style kiling in the season finale).
Within the individual episodes too its shocking how briskly everything moves - more happens in one season than in most
shows during their entire run with characters overcoming hurdles both physically and emotionally. Even during the
quieter scenes, Abrams gives things a raw emotional power which has an impact, case in point the dialogue-less
scene in the season finale where Sloane sits down to tell his wife the truth - good acting & directing make it
utterly devastating to watch and then a few minutes later a storyline involving a mole comes to an end in one of the
most brutal & yet off-screen slayings you'll see in a TV show. It shocks me to this day how one can just sit through several episodes of this in a sitting and never notice the time past.
Honestly this is some of the most entertaining TV out there right now - every bit as polished and complex as "24", "Six Feet Under", "The Sopranos", etc. but in fact has a somewhat broader and more immediate appeal. Its not the most intellectually stimulating of them, but it is the most fun on a purely escapist level (even more so than "C.S.I.") and arguably the most inventive of them - for all its formula, you can never predict where it'll head and its smart. With the second season coming to disc in only a few months, and the third season just about to begin airing get in now while its fresh - you won't be disappointed. - Garth Franklin
"Alias: The Complete First Season"
DVD Details In Brief (Region 1)
Rating: 15
Runtime: 1041mins
Aspect Ratio: 1.78: 1
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
Language & Sub-Titles: English
Commentaries: Episode-by-episode tracks by Kiefer Sutherland, Dennis Haysbert, Sarah Wynter, Sarah Clarke, Xander Berkeley, Penny Johnson Jerald, Michelle Forbes, Joel Surnow, Bob Cochran, Jon Casser and Howard Gordon.
Documentaries: ""24 Exposed" two-part documentary,
"On the Button -The Destruction of CTU" featurette
Clips: 45 Deleted Scenes (w/ commentary & branching)
R2 vs. R4: Standard NTSC/PAL Differences. |
 |
DVD Review: The first season of 24 comes in one of the best looking sets I've ever seen. The discs themselves contain four episodes on each, accessible through very hi-tech looking menus suited to the series. Video quality is excellent with realistic use of colour, smooth edges, excellent contrast and only the occasional bit of grain or desaturation (mostly during night exterior 'fly over' shots which is more about the film quality than the transfer itself). For what is only a stereo track, the audio is surprisingly encompassing with an excellent mix of sound FX and music whilst dialogue is nice and clear throughout. Each episode is in wide screen and the constant split screen boxes trick used looks spectacular.
Extras wise there's only two things sadly, though not surprising considering the series only just ended before this set went into production. The first is a 2.5 minute alternate ending which shows the other most logical way the final devastating twist in the story could have gone. Its presented in the same quality anamorphic widescreen as the rest of the show and honestly I think it should've been used as the real ending remains a somewhat muddled affair (though this isnt' much more relevatory). The 90-second "Season 2 Preview" has Kiefer standing in front of a black curtain and recounting what happened in the first series before promising only "more conflict and more intrigue" - that's it, no story details. Its a pity more time wasn't spent on developing this last disc on the set as this is a show whose behind-the-scenes production elements would be quite intriguing. Still the series itself and the menus look great on disc and are VERY well suited to the format, definitely worth checking out and watching in a few back-to-back marathon style sessions. - Garth Franklin
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
