TV Guide talked to Alias creator J.J. Abrams, who recently launched ABC's Lost and will helm Mission: Impossible 3, and asked him what we can expect in the Jennifer Garner spy series next season. Here's several highlights from the interview:
TV Guide Online: Many fans were thrilled when Vaughn (Michael Vartan) shot his wicked wife Lauren (Melissa George) in last May's finale. Is she really dead?
J.J. Abrams: Melissa is not coming back at the moment. I know some fans were frustrated, but I'm ultimately proud of last year. I'm being optimistic here, but I think Season 3 will actually improve, in retrospect, because we'll see where it went. The stories we're telling now use the best of last year to build the foundation of what happens now.
TVGO: So where does the show go next?
Abrams: I think one of the biggest mistakes I made last year was to let story and plot dictate episodes rather than have our characters run the show. There was no more Sydney as a real, normal person. [This season] we'll get a sense of her as a person, not just a suit. Part of it will be through her relationship with Vaughn, part of it will be seeing her at home, part of it will be through her relationship with her sister, played by Mia Maestro. She will be a regular this season.
TVGO: The mysterious info Sydney found in that Wittenberg bank will undoubtedly strain her relationship with Dad.
Abrams: That cliff-hanger figures prominently in the two-hour premiere. By the end of it, you will know what Jack did and what the ramifications are.
TV Guide Online: Many fans were thrilled when Vaughn (Michael Vartan) shot his wicked wife Lauren (Melissa George) in last May's finale. Is she really dead?
J.J. Abrams: Melissa is not coming back at the moment. I know some fans were frustrated, but I'm ultimately proud of last year. I'm being optimistic here, but I think Season 3 will actually improve, in retrospect, because we'll see where it went. The stories we're telling now use the best of last year to build the foundation of what happens now.
TVGO: So where does the show go next?
Abrams: I think one of the biggest mistakes I made last year was to let story and plot dictate episodes rather than have our characters run the show. There was no more Sydney as a real, normal person. [This season] we'll get a sense of her as a person, not just a suit. Part of it will be through her relationship with Vaughn, part of it will be seeing her at home, part of it will be through her relationship with her sister, played by Mia Maestro. She will be a regular this season.
TVGO: The mysterious info Sydney found in that Wittenberg bank will undoubtedly strain her relationship with Dad.
Abrams: That cliff-hanger figures prominently in the two-hour premiere. By the end of it, you will know what Jack did and what the ramifications are.
