Buy This DVD Box Set Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!
Title: ALIAS: The Complete Second Season: Six-Disc Set
Region: One
Episodes
Disc One: “The Enemy Walks In”,
“Trust Me”, “Cipher”, “Deep Drop”
Episodes Disc Two: “The Indicator”, “Salvation”, “The Counteragent”,
“Passage, Part I”
Episodes Disc Three: “Passage, Part II”, “The Abduction”, “A Higher
Echelon”, “The Getaway”
Episodes Disc Four: “Phase One”, “Double Agent”, “A Free Agent”,
“Firebomb”
Episodes Disc Five: “A Dark Turn”, “Truth Takes Time”, “Endgame”,
“Countdown”
Episodes Disc Six: “Second Double, “The Telling”
Stars:
Jennifer Garner, Victor Garber, Ron Rifkin, Michael Vartan, Carl Lumbly, Greg
Grunberg, Bradley Cooper, Merrin Dungey, and Kevin Weissman
Guest
Stars: Lena Olin, Angus Scrimm, Terry O’Quinn, Rutger Hauer, Richard Lewis,
Kane Hodder, and David Carradine
Writers:
J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman-Counter, Christina Nix Hines, Roberto Orci, J.R.
Orci, Sean Gerace, Breen Frazier, R.P. Gaborno, Jesse Alexander, Jeff Pinkner,
Deborah J. Fisher, and John Eisendrath
Directors:
J. J. Abrams, Ken Olin, Mikael Salomon, Daniel Attias, Jack Bender, Perry Lang,
Craig Zisk, Norman Bee, Nelson McCormick, Lawrence Trilling, and Alex Kurtzman-Counter
Created
By: J.J. Abrams
Executive
Producer: J.J. Abrams
Feature
length: 16 hours
Extras:
Select Episode Commentaries, The Making
Of The Telling”, “The Look Of ALIAS”, Deleted Scenes With An Introduction
From Series Creator J.J. Abrams, Season 2 Blooper Reel, KROQ’s Kevin &
Bean Radio Show Interviews, ALIAS TV Spots, The Making Of The ALIAS Video Game,
ALIAS ScriptScanner: “Phase One” & “The Telling” (DVD-ROM)
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Three Single Size Double Disc Keep Cases Within A Cardboard Slipcase
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of Television Broadcast: 2002-2003/DVD Release: 2003
Home
Video Distributor: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
TV
Rating: TV-14-DVSL
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
In the few short months since I reviewed Buena Vista Home
Entertainment’s “ALIAS: The Complete
First Season: Six-Disc Set” and began watching season three episodes on
ABC, “ALIAS” has grown to become my favorite TV show running on broadcast
network television this season. Sure “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” can be
very involving with the whole manner the way the forensics teams determine cause
of death and who was the culprit and yes, “24” can be riveting, but I am not
a big fan of cop shows in general and I have found that once one has seen an
entire adventure of “24” there is little reason to revisit it again because
the same level of suspense just isn’t there the second time around. In fact I
actually sold my season one DVD set of “24” because I honestly can’t
imagine myself watching it again. That doesn’t mean that “CSI” and
“24” are bad shows. They are far from it, but I enjoy “ALIAS” more
because it is more fantastical in nature than the scientific “CSI” dramas or
the fly on the wall voyeuristic use of the multiple camera shots that give
“24” that sense of urgency.
There really isn’t anything in “ALIAS” that is new. That
whole “Rambaldi Artifact” stuff seems like nothing more than a device used
to draw the viewer into the storyline and redirect their attention so that they
don’t realize that at the heart of “ALIAS” is nothing more than a soap
opera with spies and espionage. However the execution and characters are
entertaining enough that it is easy to forget the fact that essentially much of
the events seem ridiculous because the viewer is having so much fun. The cast is
the heart of the show and while Jennifer Garner is truly the star of the series,
I really enjoy the side characters like the stoic Carl Lumbly as “Agent
Dixon” or Kevin Weissman as the humorous “Agent Marshall Flinkman.” Victor
Garber is amazing because he plays such a straight-jawed poker face guy as
Sydney Bristow’s father I can’t help but remember how different he was in
James Cameron’s “Titanic.” If you remember his role in that feature film
and compare it to his role on “ALIAS” I think you will agree that they are
both practically polar opposites. I think if I were to see “Titanic” now for
the first time after watching “ALIAS” I would be shocked that Garber could
play such a completely different and humane and tragic character as he did in
“Titanic.”
Perhaps the best part of “ALIAS” lies within the writing
because it appears that just about every six months or so the show reinvents
itself so that the paradigm changes and as a result the characters are forced
into new situations with new surprises along the way. Just look at the episodes
“Phase One” on disc four and the second season finale “The Telling” on
disc six and I think viewers will agree that the series has changed a lot since
it first got started. Even now as I write this review I can’t help but wonder
whether or not things are about to get shaken up again especially when you
consider the events of the last new episode aired before the holidays and the
fact that February ratings sweeps are just around the corner. After watching
both seasons of “ALIAS” on DVD and the episodes that have aired on ABC
during the show’s third season so far I can honestly say that I think anything
is possible on this show and can see potential for multiple character shifts
that could keep viewers guessing for seasons to come.
The second season also has had its share of guest stars that have
included Terry O’Quinn, Richard Lewis, Rutger Hauer, and horror film icons
Kane Hodder (Jason X), and “The Tall Man” himself, Angus Scrimm (Phantasm).
Lena Olin added a lot of presence to the series’ second season playing the
estranged mother of Sydney Bristow, who is also a spy with her own agenda.
Though he seems far removed from it now, Terry O’Quinn has appeared in the
“The Stepfather” horror film series as well as had recurring roles on
“Millennium” and “The X-Files” and I think American genre film fans will
always associate Rutger Hauer from his signature feature film roles in “Blade
Runner” and “The Hitcher.” Yet despite the many genre film and television
guest stars that appear on “ALIAS” and the whole “Rambaldi” device
“MacGuffin” I do not consider “ALIAS” to be a sci-fi show anymore than I
would consider a “James Bond” film to be sci-fi. I realize that I am in the
minority here when I note this, but as fantastic as the storylines in
“ALIAS” are, I don’t really see it as a series that uses the conventions
of sci-fi or science for that matter as integral part of the storytelling. The
“Rambaldi” device could be the “Ark of the Covenant” in terms of story
in “ALIAS” and I don’t think it would change the focus of the show.
However I certainly will not argue the point for those who would disagree with
me because in the end one can argue that if the majority says its sci-fi then
its sci-fi, but personally I’ve never been one to follow the majority on these
sort of things.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment presents “ALIAS: The Complete
Second Season: Six-Disc Set” in an anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) aspect
ratio, which is how the show is broadcast for high definition viewers. The
picture quality is a bit gritty at times, but I think the grain in certain
scenes may be more a result of the way the scene in a particular episode was
intended to be viewed. So overall the quality is about equal to the first DVD
set and definitely better than standard analogue broadcast and cable
transmissions shown on standard definition ABC television. The English Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack is quite well mixed and takes advantage of the
six channels discretely to create a good three-dimensional listening experience
particularly for a TV series. English Captions and Closed Captions for the
hearing impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles are also encoded for all 22
episodes as options.
Episode length audio commentary tracks are provided for “Phase
One” on disc four, which includes a 22-second video introduction with cast and
crewmembers as well as an alternate scene. This commentary features
Creator/Executive Producer J.J. Abrams, Director Jack Bender, and Actors
Jennifer Garner, Greg Grunberg, Michael Vartan, and Victor Garber remotely from
New York. Disc five features an episode length audio commentary for “A Dark
Turn” with Producer/Director Ken Olin, Executive Producer John Eisendrath, and
Supervising Producers Jesse Alexander and Jeff Pinkner while on disc six there
are episode length audio commentary tracks for “Second Double” and “The
Telling” featuring Producer/Director Ken Olin and Actors Bradley Cooper, Carl
Lumbly, and Terry O’Quinn while Writer/Creator/Executive Producer JJ. Abrams,
Executive Producer Ken Olin, and Actors Merrin Dungey, Kevin Weisman, and from
New York Ron Rifkin participate in the season finale commentary track. An
alternate take on the season finale-closing scene with Jennifer Garner appears
at the end of the audio commentary for “The Telling.” As a whole the episode
commentaries are very conversational and somewhat screen specific. There is a
nice chemistry between the speakers so their enthusiasm and humor makes
listening to all four-episode commentary tracks quite entertaining.
DVD-ROM users will have access to a script scanner that allows
users to access the teleplays for the key season two episodes “Phase One”
and “The Telling” on discs four and six respectively. The balance of the
extra value features directly related to “ALIAS” season two are found on the
sixth disc and include a documentary of the making of the second season finale
episode “The Telling” (45:16) as well as a featurette on the state of the
art costume designs for the series like the amazing wigs custom made for
Jennifer Garner that cost in excess of five thousand dollars each (12:00). There
are also seven deleted scenes that can be viewed individually or as one reel
(6:49) and are labeled with the episode name preceding a log line scene
description. These scenes are noted as “The
Indicator – The One Constant” (: 53), “Double Agent – Growing Old
Together” (1:18), “Double Agent – Jack’s Warning” (1:22), “A Free
Agent” (: 53), “A Dark Turn – A New Identity” (: 50), “The Telling –
Sloan’s Advice” (: 52), and “The Telling – Irina Is Gone” (: 38).
These deleted scenes are presented in a (1.78:1) aspect ratio with stereo sound
and feature a videotaped introduction by J.J Abrams (: 37).
A season 2 blooper reel (4:21), a featurette on the making of the
video game by Acclaim (4:26), and audio comments that are mostly phone-in
interviews to the Los Angeles based KROQ radio show featuring “Kevin &
Bean” and include Producer/Writer/Creator J.J Abrams and Actors Victor Garber,
Kevin Weissman, and Jennifer Garner, whose interview actually was recorded with
her present at the station instead of talking over the telephone. A reel of 7
ABC TV spots is also included and they can be watched individually or as a whole
(2:45). Promotional clips for the upcoming theatrical release of “Hidago”
(2:35) as well as advertisements for “Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of
The Black Pearl” (2:30), “ALIAS Season 3 On ABC” (1:03), and the
“ALIAS” video game (1:17) are presented with 5.1 Surround Sound and appear
before the opening main menu on disc one.
The interactive menus on all six discs feature animated transitions
and are all easy to navigate. “ALIAS: The Complete Second Season: Six-Disc
Set” is available on DVD-Video now at retailers on and offline from Buena
Vista Home Entertainment and along with the first season of “ALIAS” DVD box
set are my pick for the best
TV on DVD sets of 2003 as reviewed here at GENRE ONLINE.NET.
© Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Buy This DVD Box Set Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!