Favorite MIA 'Alias' Characters May Return
(Thursday, March 04 04:24 PM)
By Daniel Fienberg
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - For "Alias" fans looking for favorite characters like Lena Olin's Irina Derevko or Bradley Cooper's Will Tippin, this has been a somewhat disappointing season.
Derevko has been reduced to an entirely off-screen presence, a deus ex machina character still invariably capable of providing answers and support. Communicating only via e-mail and instant messages, she has just become another name on Jack Bristow's (Victor Garber) AIM Buddy List.
After nearly dying at the end of last season, Tippin disappeared into the witness protection program. He returned for a single episode as a Village People-style construction worker and then went undercover as a Village People-style cowboy, but despite fleeting stint as Sydney Bristow's (Jennifer Garner) love slave, he hasn't had much of an impact.
While there are no immediate plans for either Olin or Cooper to return, "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams is hopeful that both actors, and their popular characters, will return.
The show's unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with Olin this fall were well publicized, but Abrams has worked hard to get the actress onto the show in the past. He first decided that Olin the ideal choice to play Sydney's mother halfway through the first season and tried to get her to sign on for an appearance in the first season finale. Instead, the show's casting director had to stand in.
Olin's work on the second season earned her an Emmy nomination.
"I feel it's inevitable she comes back," Abrams says. "How and when, I don't know yet."
Things are more complicated with Cooper, who has become increasingly busy this year with appearances on shows like NBC's "Miss Match" and USA's upcoming "Touching Evil." Abrams insists that he doesn't want to bring Cooper back just to have him around. He knows that the fans can turn on Will when he's just spinning his wheels.
Back in the first season, when Tippin was in the middle of his protracted investigation into the death of Sydney's fiance, the show got bags of complaints.
"Ultimately we were getting so much hate mail," Abrams recalls. "'Please Kill Bradley Cooper.' We assume they meant Will."
Abrams still says that he can't wait to have Cooper back in the future.
Meanwhile, one person "Alias" fans shouldn't expect to see on the show is Abrams' "Felicity" star Keri Russell. While "Alias" has welcomed many "Felicity" alums in the past -- their ranks include Garner, Greg Grunberg, Kevin Weisman and Amanda Foreman -- Russell remains a hold-out.
"I've asked Keri if she'd ever do it and I get this giggle and she hangs up," Abrams says.
(Thursday, March 04 04:24 PM)
By Daniel Fienberg
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - For "Alias" fans looking for favorite characters like Lena Olin's Irina Derevko or Bradley Cooper's Will Tippin, this has been a somewhat disappointing season.
Derevko has been reduced to an entirely off-screen presence, a deus ex machina character still invariably capable of providing answers and support. Communicating only via e-mail and instant messages, she has just become another name on Jack Bristow's (Victor Garber) AIM Buddy List.
After nearly dying at the end of last season, Tippin disappeared into the witness protection program. He returned for a single episode as a Village People-style construction worker and then went undercover as a Village People-style cowboy, but despite fleeting stint as Sydney Bristow's (Jennifer Garner) love slave, he hasn't had much of an impact.
While there are no immediate plans for either Olin or Cooper to return, "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams is hopeful that both actors, and their popular characters, will return.
The show's unsuccessful attempts to negotiate with Olin this fall were well publicized, but Abrams has worked hard to get the actress onto the show in the past. He first decided that Olin the ideal choice to play Sydney's mother halfway through the first season and tried to get her to sign on for an appearance in the first season finale. Instead, the show's casting director had to stand in.
Olin's work on the second season earned her an Emmy nomination.
"I feel it's inevitable she comes back," Abrams says. "How and when, I don't know yet."
Things are more complicated with Cooper, who has become increasingly busy this year with appearances on shows like NBC's "Miss Match" and USA's upcoming "Touching Evil." Abrams insists that he doesn't want to bring Cooper back just to have him around. He knows that the fans can turn on Will when he's just spinning his wheels.
Back in the first season, when Tippin was in the middle of his protracted investigation into the death of Sydney's fiance, the show got bags of complaints.
"Ultimately we were getting so much hate mail," Abrams recalls. "'Please Kill Bradley Cooper.' We assume they meant Will."
Abrams still says that he can't wait to have Cooper back in the future.
Meanwhile, one person "Alias" fans shouldn't expect to see on the show is Abrams' "Felicity" star Keri Russell. While "Alias" has welcomed many "Felicity" alums in the past -- their ranks include Garner, Greg Grunberg, Kevin Weisman and Amanda Foreman -- Russell remains a hold-out.
"I've asked Keri if she'd ever do it and I get this giggle and she hangs up," Abrams says.
