The SD-6 Report
Written by: James Hatton
Alias
Episode 1: “The Truth Be Told”
Jennifer Garner………Sydney Bristow
Ron Rifkin…………..Arvin Sloane
Michael Vartan……….Michael Vaughn
Bradley Cooper……….Will Tippin
Merrin Dungey………..Francie Calfo
Carl Lumbly………….Marcus Dixon
Kevin Weisman………..Marshall Flinkman
Victor Garber………..Jack Bristow
Edward Atterton………Danny Hecht
Jay Gerber…………..Professor Mizzy
Angus Scrimm…………Agent McCullough
William Wellman Jr……Priest
Ric Young……………Suit and Glasses
Executive Producers…..J.J. Abrams
Produced By………….Sarah Caplan
Written By…………..J.J. Abrams
Hello all.
Welcome to the first SD-6 Report, the new column/review of the hit show Alias. For those who don’t know me, I’m James Hatton, a comic book reviewer and columnist here at IP/CN, as well as (no matter how much Iain Burnside will argue against it) the future Mister Jennifer Garner.
Alias is a high action, sometimes poetic, sometimes hysterical, almost always intense show on the Disney owned ABC.
Each week Sydney Bristow goes on wacky adventures in foreign lands and we each learn a valuable lesson – “Spy chicks are hot.” As time goes on, and we move into Season 2, we learn our second lesson – “Russian Milfs are hot.” Finally, as we round out into Season 3 we learn our most important lesson of all – “British spy chicks are occasionally hotter than their American counterpart, but when in doubt see the lesson Season 1, but this time evil equals hotter.”
See, Alias is a show about learning. Sharing. Trying to figure out why, no matter what evil thing he does, you still have a soft spot in your heart for Arvin Sloane. Why do you always root for Jack? Does Marshall ever stop being the perfect tension reliever? And finally, how long do we have to wait before Rembaldi himself shows up?
I do believe I’m getting ahead of myself though, as Season 4 of Alias won’t be starting until January. From there it’s non-stop Alias until it’s thrilling conclusion where Jack announces that he and Vaughn truly do love each other. Until then, I will be doing my very best to hit some of the best key plot point episodes with some fun lists as to what to expect from the episode itself.
Let’s start off with the pilot episode – “Truth Be Told”
Sydney Bristow isn’t like other girls. Most female grad students might go for leisurely runs through the quad. They might even have a boyfriend and a job. The life of a grad student is tough to juggle all of these things, but
when necessity strikes, you do what you feel is necessary. For most people this would be tough. Now let’s add to it that Sydney is an agent working for SD-6 which is some deep undercover CIA hoohah.
At least that’s what she’s lead to believe.
See Syd is one of the lucky ones. She found Danny. Danny is just the cat’s meow and everything Syd’s ever wanted in a boy. He’s smart and charming and witty and just makes her go all goosefleshy. She is a super-secret spy
though, and any information pertaining to her job and allegiance to the CIA is a big ‘no-no’. So Syd’s torn, as any growing young lass with a fiancee wouldbe. Telling him = bad, but she loves him and doesn’t want to keep secrets from him.
Well, she tells him and he’s killed. Sucks to be him eh? Especially because he is such a wonderful plot point to keep Sydney focused on all things. For the rest of the season, the name Danny is used more in motivation moments than any other plot point. It’s very well done, trust me.
Now let’s talk about Syd’s job. In an attempt to save his life, Jack, Sydney’s cold and aloof father, sends Danny a ticket to get outta town. When Sydney goes and confronts her boss, Arvin Sloane, about this whole ‘killing my fiancee’ business, he sadly attempts to have her killed. Father Jack saves the day, revealing not only is Sydney working for the bad guys, but Jack knows more about this than he’s letting on. So Syd covers her tracks, and walks right into the CIA’s main office, blabbing it all to the world.
So between this and Episode 2, our plot is set where Sydney is a double agent (oh, so is Jack), working for the CIA and telling them all of SD-6’s nasty little secrets. Everyone in her office, from their tech guy Marshall to her partner Dixon, must be kept in the dark to make sure nobody ever knows. It’s a trying life, but somebody’s got to do it. Now, there are even important characters I’m missing, like her CIA Handler, Agent Michael Vaughn who obviously thinks Sydney is an amazing piece of… intelligence to help bring down the nefarious SD-6. Sydney, though, seems to think Vaughn’s a little too green to be handling her pastures, if you know what I mean.
There’s also her roommate Francie, and her best friend Will. All of these people are somehow linked into this web of intrigue as the show continues on. How? Well, we’ll see… we shall see…
So we have my super-secret-spy-girlfriend in Sydney as a double agent betweent the CIA and a terrorist organization cell called SD-6 with strange and amazing relationships with every single member of the cast. We have amazing fight choreography. Amazing costuming. Not to mention the fact that each show ends up going to some weird and amazing locale where they use, you guessed it, amazing technologies to thwart the baddies. It’s a pretty amazing show, really. And for the record.. amazing.. amazing.. amazing.
If I was to give it a rating, which I haven’t been told whether I should or not, the first episode ranks at a 6.0, as it’s more set-up than anything and it hasn’t found it’s pace.
There are other things to talk about in the show like character profiles, the infamous ‘FLIPPED LETTERS’, the number 47, and tons of other secrets that this show has built into itself. We will slowly, but surely dissolve them before our infamous January date of launch.
Until next week. SD-6 Out.
