Backwards ass that I am, now that I finished 5, I bought season one, and am gonna get two when I'm done with that. I just HATE when good shows have s**t endings, and now that I know Alias has an awesome ending, I can proceed from square one. Colour me strange that way.
You're not that strange! One of my favorite comic books is XIII. And the very first issue I read was Thirteen against One, in which it is revealed who Number One is...
I won't spend much time describing Alias, since most readers are probably already familiar. The premise is intriguing and fairly original, but the execution is too often calculated. It's obvious that some elements are specifically marketed to draw male viewers, while other are intended to appeal to females. The two basic elements that are meant to appeal to males are the action sequences and Jennifer Garner's sex appeal. Both are too often forced. Even though the action sequences sometimes feel artificial, they're usually creative enough to compensate for this flaw. Almost every episode finds a reason to put Sydney (Garner) into a lingerie, bikini, or some other revealing outfit to show off her admittedly stunning beauty. While her physical beauty is striking, this cheap marketing ploy diminishes the show's emotional substance.
If you look into it, you'll find many many many similarities with the Bourne novels. Last spring NBC aired a two parter adaptation, with Stephen Dorff as XIII and Val Kilmer as the Mongoose. Critics shot down the miniseries (they were more or less right given the leads) but it's kinda tough to top the Bourne movies. But the spirit was there, very faithful.
One of the things I really liked about Alias in the early seasons was how almost every episode ended with a cliffhanger, which made the week-long wait for the next episode a chore. IIRC, that was something they dropped around the middle of the series (perhaps it just got old?), but even rewatching on DVD, if you just plan to watch one episode at a time, and an episode ends on a tantalizing, edge-of-your-seat note, you can't help but watch "just one more". Next thing you know, you're on your 5th episode... They're almost like Ruffles chips -- you can't just [watch] one.
Yeah, last night I was gonna watch just two, but I *had* to see the next one! *YAWN* My sleep suffered for it... Tonight I will watch only two. I WILL WATCH ONLY TWO! Yeah, and maybe I'm a Chinese jet pilot.