Spies (and a request)

[eye_of_a_cat]

I've picked up a nasty variety of Victorian Heroine Flu (you look very pale, have no appetite and sit around coughing weakly and worryingly all day), and one of my friends lent me the first series of Alias to watch while I was recovering. I've been watching episodes back-to-back, and it's all very exciting if a bit confusing in the who-works-for-what-and-who? way. Up to about episode 8, I think.

Amazon(.co.uk) is selling an Alias box set, seasons 1-4 (I gather there's a fifth?), at about a third of its usual price. Special offer, limited time and so on and so on. That works out very much worth it if it's a good series, but not if it goes downhill, and I know quite a few people on my f-list are Alias fans, so... worth it? Yes? No? It's great so far, but I've been burned before.

(Okay, on a more useful level: I like the characters, the suspense, and the idea of whatever Big Underlying Intrigue Drama Thing is behind the existence of the various, um, competing factions. The techno-gadget stuff is fun (okay, Marshall's fun) but isn't really my thing if it starts taking over plotlines. I'm worried about either a 24-style downhill slide into ever more implausible gadgets, shouting, and kidnapping of people you don't care about, or a Lost-style annoying narrative progression in which everything's very mysterious but nothing ever seems to actually happen. It's fun so far - does it keep that up? I'd browse around and read fan stuff about it, but I'm scared of spoilers.)

Comments

[vampireelf.livejournal.com]

I'll endorse what's said above about S2 being strong and S3 being weak. I'd add, though, that S4 doesn't always grab everyone. The plotting is weak, but the cast of characters is pretty strong--meaning that if the character dynamic doesn't happen to click for you (as it didn't for me personally) the season is disappointing. The trouble with the plot in S4 is that there have been so many twists and new elements added over the course of the series to what is essentially the same set of mysteries and character alignments. The farther along you go, the more confusing, contraditory, and unsuprising everything gets as the Mystery's Answer isn't the whole Answer after all, and someone double-triple-quadruple-agents for the same people.

That said, I watched consistenly enough until the beginning of S5 when I stopped from boredom, so the DVD set might be worth it.