Alias Should Take a '24' Approach on Things

Although I don't watch it, apparently FOX drama "24" has made an INCREDIBLE rebound in the second half of its third season.

Around December, articles started to be written about the similar drop in quality and creativity in both "Alias" and "24." Both shows were having trouble gaining an audience, and they both came up with the exact same solution: dumb down the show so that everyone can understand what is going on.

Both shows took a dive in, as I said before, quality and creativity. There were however, a few subtle differences:

-"Alias" blew up its plotline and entire reason to exist by destroying SD-6. They often reiterated people's names, their jobs, and their emotional struggles so that if someone is tuning in for the first time, they could be clued in. Faithful viewers, however, became very annoyed with the show's ultimate redundancy. In addition, in an attempt to add emotion that everyone could pick up, the show introduced a ridiculous, horribly-portrayed "love" triangle that was certainly unpopular among faithful viewers.

-"24" was often criticized for not having enough of emotion in their plots and characters. In Season 3, they apparently gave many characters qualities and problems to try to add the emotion. Faithful viewers often found these things uninteresting and annoying.

Both shows tried to re-fix what they had broken, however their successes were much different...

-"Alias" improved as they brought back certain aspects of the show that had left: the missions, the suspense, and the Rambaldi plot-line. On the other hand, many things that had made seasons 1 and 2 so fabulous remained MIA (disguises, SpyMommy, Sydney's life outside the CIA, etc.) On a scale from 1-10, "Alias" has improved by "5" since the first episodes this season.

-"24" has improved so much that fans have been saying that it now delivers EXACTLY the excellence that it did in its first two seasons. They apparently dropped the added emotions and problems and focused more on the action and peril the characters were put in. On a scale from 1-10, I am told that "24" has improved by "10" since the first episodes this season.

I think that "Alias" should bring back EVERYTHING that was in Seasons 1 and 2. The format should return to the way it once was, even if Sydney has to work as a double agent in a new organization. They need to stop focusing so much on silly things like "love triangles" and on boring things like debriefings and meetings. One of the things that made Sydney such an interesting person was her ability to juggle her out-of-this-world job and still have a social life outside of work.

For more on my thoughts, please visit my original post RIGHT HERE!

Thanks so much and please respond on both posts with your thoughts/feelings/opinions! :D
 
i understand what youre saying...they have dumb downed things to try and get viewers, and yah i miss a lot of the stuff froms the first seasons...but i also think that the beginning of season three was not bad. it was really the middle eps that annoyed me.
 
As a fan of both shows, I think 24 has improved drastically over the course of the 2nd half of the season. I still think Alias is the better show but the gap between the two has closed immensely. I have liked season 3 of Alias but it has been by far the weakest of the 3. I do hope the writers and producers can find a way to get the greatness of season's 1 & 2 back into season 4 come September.
 
I wouldn't say that "bringing back what the viewers enjoyed about the series" = "taking a 24 approach"; I'd equate that more with trying to turn Alias into the same sort of thriller that 24 is, and I believe that is not the correct approach, but I think you'd agree with me.

That said, it looks like Alias can't bring back everything that made season 2 so strong (and, note, the ratings were lower in season 2 than season 1, if I remember correctly) simply because they cannot bring Lena Olin back (perhaps, if a miracle occurs, they can bring her back to tie up loose ends). You yourself cite her as one of the "things that had made seasons 1 and 2 so fabulous."

What also made the show fabulous, and was significantly MIA, was many of the talented writers that made Alias what it is--gone to do Playmakers and other projects. Meanwhile, the leader of the team was developing two new series! Now is it any surprise that the scripts turned out a LOT weaker?! I think that's where they need to put their greatest effort. I can see it now . . . rolling out the carpet to the new writers, and presenting them with the worst kind of writing puzzle: Sydney has no past and no one to confide in except her emotionally-distant father . . . make this entertaining. Yeah. Thanks, boss, it's a snap. :lol: (Of course, I'm painting it a little grim, but it's not an easy task they were given.)
;) ✌️
 
24 is an awesome show, it's one of my husband's and my favorites...I don't know, though, if it could really be made more like Alias...24 is one show with 24 episodes, each representing one hour of time in one day, and it always revolves around some massive national crisis...

It's not entirely accurate to say that 24 let go of the emotions and focused on the action...the past few weeks have been based almost solely around the emotions of a father/daughter bond and a husband/wife bond and the lengths people would go to protect that bond...all the while having America face ultimate destruction...

But I do agree that we need to get Alias back to what it was originally shown to be...a spy drama, not a fantasy soap opera...
 
And Tenderbear has improved by 0 since the other message you posted.

Just kidding ;)

Hey listen, I don't care about 24. I don't watch that show. I HAVE watched it (like 3 or 4 times) and I didn't think it was nearly as good as Alias.

I don't know what kind of rating system you have going on there. Alias improved by 5??? 24 improved by 10??

What?

Just so you know, the week when Bush had his State of Affairs conference on a Tuesday from 8:30 to 9:30, Fox moved 24 over to Sunday at 9 - And Alias destroyed 24 in the ratings. Now of course, we'd have to see how Alias would do against 24 if Alias was moved for a week to a Tuesday night at 9. But the numbers do not lie. However I'm not gonna look it up, you should have known about those ratings since you obviously like both shows.

Alias killed 24 that day. Just killed them.
 
LOL, Ivan! For a second, I thought you really didn't like me!!

I have NO idea what I meant about that scale thing. I think I had just finished posting my Best/Worst of Alias thread, and I'm very sick right now (some kind of resperatory problem, but hey: NO SCHOOL!) and delerious, and therefore I mixed the two up. I think I was gonna put percents. *sigh* Oh well. Ah! 8:00! Time for my next batch of medicine! ;)
 
yah the points thing was kinda random...but i think its hard to compare the two shows, or any two shows really. theres too many different factors!
 
I love 24 but I think Alias would just get worse if it tried to act like 24. I hope they take a "Season 1" approach.
 
I watch both 24 and Alias and write on both of them and I don't think that 24 has out shined ALIAS but agreed that both picked up in story and plots and got better by mid-season but to me ALIAS is 10 out of 10 now for past several episodes where 24 has been about 8 or 9 out of 10! Suspense is there on both but ALIAS is better in quality, plots, storyline, relationships, and suspense! 24 is more of a reality thriller and is scary in the sense that it could happen in real life with terrorists where ALIAS is a fantasy thriller Spy Show! ;) :D

I caution that constructive critism be followed up with good points we don't want ABC to get the idea we don't care about ALIAS anymore and cancel the show -- do we? I don't anyway for I am still a fan and have enjoyed Season III since Lauren became a bad gal about Mid-season! :confused: :thinking:

24 is entertaining too in its own way but it is entirely different structure than ALIAS and shouldn't be seen as being the same yet there are some similarities in plots from time to time! :rolleyes:

Enjoy your weekend! :D

Lynne
 
I watch both 24 and Alias and write on both of them and I don't think that 24 has out shined ALIAS

If you really watch both of them then this couldn't be farther from the truth.24 has far surpassed Alias in S3(and i like Alias better)because they HAVE to stay true to form.Since every ep occurs in real time the writers can't stray from the storylines/plot.

Alias took a similar approach in S1 because every ep was an extension of the previous one,which is why most ended with cliffhangers.The only difference was they didn't handcuff themselves with time so some eps could appear days,weeks or months after the previous one.

I caution that constructive critism be followed up with good points we don't want ABC to get the idea we don't care about ALIAS anymore and cancel the show

This is true but you also don't want blind loyalty to the show because then we will get what we have this year,a subpar season.Everyone is entitled to their opinion but i have hard time believing how anyone who watched this show from day 1 could "settle" for this season when measured along side the first two.
 
I feel that taking a "24 approach" would be a bad idea because ALIAS shouldn't try to imitate another show to boast ratings but instead should try to pick up things from previous season that this one is lacking. If the writers do that then I think Alias will be right on track, not that I personally have ever felt that it has been off track.
 
I often wonder why when some people hear Alias compared to other shows like "24" or "Angel" they jump to the conclusion that the idea is to make Alias a clone of those shows. The idea is to use what is appealing about those shows to improve Alias. That usually means the fundamentals... good writing, smart ideas, relatable emotion...

I've felt that Alias has swung the pendulum from one extreme to the other. Season 1 had Sydney as "struggling college student and spy 101 wiz kid who might get home to help Francie get ready for the party". Season 2 explored the origins of Sydney's connection to the spy world and the dark elements that sucked her into it against her will... and who's the hunky handler? Season 3 erased all semblance of her normal life and made her existence one personal disaster after another with no control, no hope, and no strength to break free.

Locking Sydney's entire family and basically all the people she knows into a tight little brew of spies, spies, and more spies, all spying on each other was simply, astonishingly stupid. It's a dog chasing its tail. It's a one-dimensional house of cards. It's a cheap soap opera ploy... and I like Alias, but I'm furious at the wasted potential.

I say blow the plot out of the water. Keep Ron Rifkin if you need his acting talent but kill Sark, kill Lauren, and basically kill everything that reminds us that Sydney has no capacity to save herself. I admire the Jack Bauer character of "24" only because he'll do anything to defeat someone who threatens him... anything... and I suppose he's still a reasonable guy.

Resolve Rambaldi as soon as possible and put Sydney back on an international stage rather than the Bristow Dysfunctional Family Album of Relatives You'd Rather Not Meet and Their Kooky Friends. Boil it back down to SpyDaddy (running interference I suppose) and let Sydney make a few new friends... who aren't obsessed with her.
 
anver said:
I admire the Jack Bauer character of "24" only because he'll do anything to defeat someone who threatens him... anything... and I suppose he's still a reasonable guy.
Really? I admire him because he'll do anything to defeat someone who threatens his country--even though he is basically a good guy. That's the unusual thing about this hero--unlike most, he's allowed to face the really hard decisions, the decisions usually left to supporting characters, like our Jack on Alias, who's willing to do anything to do anything to defeat someone (anyone, even his beloved Irina) who threatens his daughter--even though he somehow retains an essential nobility.

But saying that Alias should "be like" 24 is pointless to me because to do that in any meaningful way, Alias would have to change its premise completely. So they both have twists and include elements of espionage--oh, yes, they have continuing arcs? Alias has strong character and relationship dependencies, which 24 does not; Alias has a mythos, 24 does not; 24 is a thriller, Alias (although having thrilling moments) is not. 24 must be and is meant to be much more grounded in reality--it has to be to work. Alias is meant to be a type of fantasy--you must give in to its universe to enjoy it! You might as well through away Alias and start anew--unless you're speaking only in the broadest of terms, like "Bring in fresh ideas," "Go back to what made you successful in the first place," etc.
:confused:
 
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