There are many fans of the show who don't visit these forums, know nothing else about the show, but who enjoy it via DVD or whenever they can find it. The interruptions were just killing the momentum of the show. It certainly did for me. Alias was really meant to be shown commercial-free on HBO. I've always said it was on the wrong network and at the wrong hour (it IS a violent show).
And while the wait is killing me (yeah, fan fiction), I am so looking forward to January 2005.
Alias is a cult show. It may never find the ratings numbers, because it is complicated and does require brain power to keep up with the plots and character relationships. If ABC does a really great job of marketing the show between now and the start of the season, and it continues to get good words from critics, then perhaps, more people will watch, because ABC is doing a dramatic turnaround in programming and ratings, with "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" (good gawd, 21 million viewers???).
ABC should put Sydney back up in Times Square!