Critic Reviews

The joy of this series really comes down to two things: lots of action and some babelicious butt-kicking. Not something to be proud of for enjoying it, but true. Pass the chips and ale -- and down in front!

One of the best pilots from a new show this season -- a wild, stylish ride through Sydney Bristow's unraveling life. You have to suspend disbelief, but this series promises to be one nifty piece of entertainment. [28 Sept 2001, p.5E]

Alias is one of the most non-linear and illogical pilots I have ever seen. It's also one of the most exciting television rides I've had in years. I love its energy. The breathless, roller-coaster montage of movement, color, action and emotion never quits. [29 Sept 2001, p.1D]

Sunday's premiere delivers spectacular fun with great style edged in melancholy, its balance of breathless action and tenderness providing still more evidence of this fall's crop of new shows being the best in years. [29 Sept 2001, p.16]

The whole show is complicated in a fun, brain-teasing way, and having seen the second episode, I can say it only gets funner. I know that's not a word, but I'm saying it anyway.

Sunday's Alias premiere plays out as a high-energy adventure wrapped in a mystery -- and it's better than a lot of theatrical films of the genre. Whether the series holds up is open to question. But the premiere is a gas. And the show could well turn out to be a good one. [28 Sept 2001, p.C08]

Can Alias work on a weekly basis? While the Alias pilot plunges forward effortlessly, it also leads to some fairly complicated twists involving Sydney's father (Victor Garber) and the nature of her agency. These twists could make future episodes overly layered, or too dependent on backstory. Also, any CIA suspense series, with or without a flashy pilot, faces the challenge of coming up with 20 or so fresh espionage plots each season - no easy task.

The stylish, fast-moving series premiere is filled with surprising twists, witty repartee and some revved-up, well-choreographed action sequences. But the real star of Alias is, well, the star: athletic Jennifer Garner, who portrays Sydney with intelligence and graceful, hard-bodied charisma. [29 Sept 2001]

Great fun. Leave your brain in neutral and enjoy the zany ride. When the twisting and turning are over, the briskly paced and visually intriguing Alias glides home as solid escapist fare. Don't ask questions. If logic gets in the way, this material will start unraveling like the proverbial cheap suit. Yet, while comic-bookish and derivative, Alias emerges as a winner because it shrewdly assembles bits and pieces of "La Femme Nikita" and other espionage thrillers. There's even a little "X-Files" trust-no-one paranoia thrown in for good measure. [29 Sept 2001, p.6]

Alias is one of those rare action dramas where all the elements - plot, characters, production design, costumes, soundtrack and performances - come together to form one perfect hour of television. [30 Sept 2001, p.56]