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I was as upset as anyone when the series ended, and by the way it ended. Too many loose ends, unanswered questions, plot holes, etc. Having said that, there has never been a series as intriguing, exciting, and enthralling as Alias. I bought seasons 1-4 as they became available and watched them at least 5 times each. I was not the least bit hesitant to buy the boxed set when it first went on pre-order. I would have liked more extras, but what it has are great.
If you didn't really follow the series when is was broadcast, do yourself a favor and watch it on DVD. If you already are a fan you probably already have other DVD sets. Do YOURSELF a favor and buy the boxed set.
Another word for the true fans. Okay, I became an Alias addict as soon as the first episode aired. I am such an addict that I am writing an Alias novel as therapy after the series ended leaving so many plot holes and unanswered questions. So, I was shocked when I recently watched season one DVD's of The Pretender, which aired from 1996-2000 (ending 1 year before Alias aired). I was totally blown away by the following similarities between the two shows. And since The Pretender came first, it was Alias which copied ideas from The Pretender.
Here is my list of similarities between The Pretender and Alias- just from the first few episodes of The Pretender:
1- A young boy is at a center where he's being studied and his special abilities are being groomed for use by some secret group (Alias tie- Project Christmas), 2-he builds a tall building out of an erector set(Project Christmas wooden block puzzle)demonstrating his abilities. 3-The man who is directing this use of the boy is a Dr. named Sydney (Alias main character name), 4-who is played by the actor who played Dr. DeSantis in Alias. 5-The boy grows up in the center and eventually escapes. He goes into hiding from this powerful organization, taking on a new alias each week and using his abilities to right wrongs (like Sydney in Alias- see #24). 6-He is a combination of the Sydney Bristow and Marshall Flinkman Character on Alias. 7-The main character is trying to find out who he really is and what happened to his real parents(Alias-Sydney and her mother,Irina). 8-Familiar Alias type phrases, one of which is "decide whether you are going to be a scientist (spy) or a mommy- you can't be both," the female lead says to Dr. Sydney"(very similar to what Irina told Sydney about being a spy and a mother in the last season of Alias). 9-Jerrod speaks many languages (Sydney does too). 10-He flies airplanes(Sydney does too). 11-Jennifer Garner (Sydney in Alias) once guest starred in The Pretender(2 years before Alias aired), playing a character named Billie VAUGHN(her boyfriend in Alias was named Michael VAUGHN). 12-The actor playing Jerrod is MICHAEL WEISS(as in Alias characters MICHAEL Vaughn and another main character, ERIC WEISS), while the name of the actor who plays the creepy bad guy at the Centre trying to hunt down Jerrod is named Richard MARCUS (as in Alias character MARCUS Dixon).13-The female lead, Miss Parker, who is teamed up with Dr. Sydney is a hard, driven, ruthless Alias character Irina Derevko. 14-Some of the graphics in The Pretender are Rambaldi(mysterious 15th century Alias character)-esc. 15-There is a black female director at the Centre(Alias tie- Director Chase at CIA). 16-Sydney Bristow's mother, Irina, was unquestionably the power behind much of the evil in Alias- Miss Parker's father is the head of the Centre. 17-When Miss Parker was young her mother supposedly killed herself, but as the show progresses Parker discovers that her father may have killed her, or that she may actually still be alive (Alias- very like Irina). 18-In one episode the bad guy boss of a law firm is named Mr. Sloane(name of main Alias bad guy for 5 seasons). 19-In the same episode a guy wrongly accused of a murder has the first name Marcus (again, Alias- Marcus Dixon). 20-Sloane goes to jail (also in Alias). 21- Last line spoken to Mr. Sloane in that episode at the end of that episode of The Pretender-"Now you have all the time in the world." (Same last line said to Mr.Sloane in Alias).22- A recurring number holds the key to a mystery behind the Centre- SL-27 (Alias- #47). 23- Dr. Sydney, who feels responsible for his brother's death, speaks to his brother, who appears to him from beyond the grave(Alias- Nadia, Sloane's daughter whose death he is responsible for, appears to him from beyond the grave). 24- They start each episode of The Pretender explaining that the main character is a Pretender- a genius with the ability to become anyone he wishes. That is the essence of creating an effective alias- something Sydney Bristow did every week. In fact, she explained to another Alias character that to pull off an alias you have to become that person. So, the essence of being a Pretender is the same as creating an Alias.
Alias was a GREAT series, but I have never heard anyone address how heavily it was influenced by The Pretender.
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Reviews with images
Not as advertised.
Bought this as it was listed as new. Turned out it wasn't. Which okay it wasn't that big of a deal seeing how old this show was. What pissed me off was that season four was in a homemade cover and discs where made from recording of the show and subtitile in Japanese. Will not do business with this person again.
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En mi opinión la serie logra atraparte desde el capítulo uno, pero a partir de la cuarta temporada la trama decae bastante...
En conjunto la serie vale la pena y el pack, pese a ser sencillo en su formato, incluye en cada temporada muchos audio-comentarios explicativos de muchas anécdotas surgidas durante el rodaje de la misma.
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