Alias – The Complete Fifth Season
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B- Episodes: B-
In terms
of Spy series on TV, Alias is one of
the better in recent years. Alias has always exhibited many
attributes of past great series and films such as Mission: Impossible and James
Bond being action packed while shrouded in mystery. With Alias
Season Five we see the end of a great series which had an honorable run,
cutting it off before the writers and actors lost too much of their edge. With this Final Season, we have Sydney Bristow hitting her peak, answering
past questions while creating many, many more.
Sydney continues to struggle with father figures and her love life,
while trying to understand who she is and her purpose in life. Where this season embodies a large amount of
dark drama it is also action packed from the first episode with a shocking
occurrence right after an even more shocking bit of information. The plots are elaborate, the action is
intense, and the actors breathe life into a series that had wavering
ratings. Also we observe the departure
of many established characters, some in shocking twists, and the arrival of new
blood to give the final season a new sense of depth. There are aspects of this season that are
less than favorable, making it obvious that the series was coming to an end
with outlandish happenings and sudden answers to lingering mysteries, but in
the end this season nicely tied a interesting 5 year series together.
Where
there are an array of shocking moments to the Final and Fifth Season of Alias the season overall did not impress
this reviewer. Sydney spends much of the
season ‘passing the torch’ but not doing a very good job, her mind seeming to
be clouded with other ideas and problems.
Where the writers are attempting to emphasize her coming into a new
realization of who she is, they create plot lines that make her look confused
and contradictory of earlier notions. Alias was a great series that always
had potential and five seasons was a good place to stop, though this final
season should have been its swan song merely fizzled to an ‘ok’ ending.
The
technicals on this particular set are ample for this series. The picture is presented in a clear and crisp
Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 X 1 ratio, though occasionally the picture is
noticeably dark and not clear during certain action sequences beyond the
intended nature of the spy series. The
sound is a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound format, which is quite good being a
nice compliment to the loud, boisterous atmosphere of the series but high/low
errors still appear. The extras are also
interesting but lack rewatchability.
There are a plethora of extras for fans to enjoy including “Celebrating 100 Episodes,” “The Legend of Rambaldi” (highlighting a
mystery of a device that has long plagued the series), The Music of Alias, Bloopers, and more. Overall, for being a shorter season this set
nicely offers an adequate amount of extras to cap a long enjoyed series.
Overall,
this season set of Alias is a must
have for fans of the series. For those
who have never observed the action packed, convoluted nature of the series,
here is not a good point to start. There
is a great deal of back story that must be observed from the start for the
series to be fully appreciated. Newcomers
to Alias should purchase Season One and work their way up. The series is excellent and enjoyable, some
aspects resembling the hit series 24,
but the storylines of Alias are not as detailed or as well executed as 24.
In the end, a good premise for a series that will keep viewers on the
edge of their seats.
- Michael P Dougherty II
