The one-of-a-kind show turns 20

This week marks the 20th anniversary that Jennifer Garner (and her bright red wig) first graced our screens in ABC’s alias. In addition to being a must see, the spy show has sparked some major careers as well. And it has fully exhausted the emerging desire to drive series with complex, ongoing storylines. To celebrate this one-of-a-kind show, you can get Alias ​​on Amazon Prime Video or stream it in some regions outside of the US on Disney Plus’s star service.

Here are a few reasons why you should go back and check it out!

In Alias, Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is a double agent. For years she thought she worked for a covert division of the CIA. When she learns that her employer SD-6 is the enemy she thought she was fighting, she joins the real CIA. The series combines espionage and science fiction, with Sydney often being sent on assignments involving a mysterious 15th-century philosopher and prophet.

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The series had elements of The Man From UNCLE and Mission: Impossible while doing its own thing. Sydney’s over-the-top disguise became a hallmark of the show. But the outrageous twists and turns of the show were really what made it special.

Premiered right after 9/11 and aired amid the evolving war on terror, Alias ​​had to walk a fine line. It had the impossible task of existing in the moment, addressing American imperialism and anti-American terrorism, and avoiding jokerist patriotism. It somehow did it, showing hard-working officials wanting a better America amid a complex web of corrupt power brokers. The CIA was rotten to the core and just kept in check by a few cunning.

It was messy and it didn’t always work, but it always came with huge risks that it was incredible to see every Sunday night.

Felicity, do it for espionage

Interspersed in all the spy games and intrigues, Alias ​​also presented a human story about a graduate student with all the pertinent problems of a woman in the early twenties who lived her life. As important as Milo Rambaldi, SD-6, the CIA and Sydney’s spy family were the moments when she was at home, supporting her friends, and trying to strike a normal work-life balance.

It felt like a natural extension of JJ Abrams’ previous ABC show Felicity, about a young woman moving to New York to go to college and find herself. Alias ​​was Felicity, at least in his early seasons, but with spies. And there’s a good reason for that – that’s exactly how Abrams came up with the idea. When the writers’ room was trying to keep the show fresh, Abrams had an idea. “What if she’s been a secret agent all along? She was with the CIA, ”said Felicity co-creator Matt Reeves IndieWire in 2018.

That balance was one of the show’s greatest perks, making Sydney a well-rounded character while also increasing the use of her secret identity. How do you hide the fact that you are a spy when you have a roommate and friends who are always around and have known you for years?

Constant reinvention

Not only did Alias ​​cover different genres, but they were never afraid to throw away the rulebook.

Television has increased the use of twists over the years. Game of Thrones, killing the main characters in the blink of an eye, has almost become a cliché. You have to be on your guard and never assume anything when you watch a lot of genre television.

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Alias ​​by no means invented cliffhangers and shocking twists, but it definitely stood out for its use of both. The seasons ended with massive reveals that made waiting for the next season (that was before streaming) almost unbearable. The season two finale remains one of the best cliffhangers in television history. If you haven’t seen it before, I certainly won’t spoil it here, but suffice it to say it was as groundbreaking as any finale this side of The Good Place.

And the show didn’t always wait for a season finale to throw a stick into its own spokes. A mid-season episode in season two, “Phase One,” basically turns the whole premise of the show upside down, giving Sydney a whole new purpose, with new bad guys and all. And there have been several such resets over the years. What is now becoming the norm on prestige TV was once quite radical.

Bing before bing was cool

Alias’ twists and turns were also noteworthy, not to mention the complexity of its ongoing storylines. Alias ​​definitely tested the limits of what new viewers can achieve with just a short “before on” segment.

In a recap of the first season, Sydney was investigated by the NSA. In it, her interrogators guide her through what she’s doing with the CIA and SD-6. We’re revisiting parts of the series we’ve seen so far, organized to give someone who just joins in the chance to get caught up. Abrams would perfect this strategy with his next show, Lost, with narrated clip episodes to keep people informed of what was happening.

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DVD box sets were still a relatively new phenomenon at the time (Alias ​​ran from 2001 to 2006), although they undoubtedly also helped viewers catch up between seasons.

Netflix shows like Stranger Things, The Witcher, Lupine and Bridgerton were huge hits on Netflix. Other shows like Breaking Bad, Hannibal, The Sopranos, and more have found a second life on streaming sites. Viewers can now run as fast as they want in a way that was more limited at the time.

Alias ​​came at a strange time. I still believe it could have destroyed the internet as a streaming show available all at once. On the other hand, it had time to slowly build up over the long television season. And it probably helped pave the way for television production today. And in any case, you can always enjoy it on streaming services.

Huge names in front of and behind the camera

Twenty years later, the creative voices behind Alias ​​are working on huge projects.

Creator JJ Abrams created Lost, directed Mission: Impossible 3, and is now the producer of the Mission: Impossible franchise. He also became the face of both the Star Trek and Star Wars universes for a time.

Producer and director Ken Olin was one of the main characters behind NBC’s hit drama This Is Us. Writer, director and producer Alex Kurtzman was the driving force behind the new generation of Star Trek series: Discovery, Picard and Strange New Worlds. Producer and writer Drew Goddard later directed Cloverfield and Cabin in the Woods and directed the Netflix MCU series Daredevil. Writer and producer Monica Owusu-Breen worked on Fringe and Agents of SHIELD and was selected as the showrunner for an upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot. In the meantime, the author and producer Roberto Orci has worked on various major projects with Abrams, Michale Bay and Jon Favreau, among others.

Bradley Cooper starred in front of the camera as Will Tippin, Sydney’s best friend of the journalist, who has an unrequited love for the super spy. That was before he became an eight-time Oscar-nominated actor and director on the A-list.

The main guest stars included James Bond and Shaft actors Roger Moore and Richard Roundtree, respectively. Well-known Hollywood faces like Rutger Hauer, Faye Dunaway, Isabella Rossellini, David Carradine, Peggy Lipton, Vivica A Fox, Michael K. Williams, Ethan Hawke, Christian Slater, Djimon Hounsou, Angela Bassett and Griffin Dunne also appeared. And Alias ​​has guest roles for cult filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and David Cronenberg, and comedians Jason Segel and Ricky Gervais (back when the UK version of The Office was gaining traction in the States).

The verdict: View alias on Amazon Prime

There are many reasons to try Alias ​​on Amazon Prime Video. These are just a few.

Twenty years after its premiere, it still feels as fresh as ever. And you can see his fingerprints anywhere in the streaming landscape below.

So give it a try! You will not be disappointed.