Product Description

Sydney Bristow is a young athletic college graduate who was recruited her freshman year as a secret agent for SD-6 a top-secret branch of the CIA. After a few years -- after Sydney confides her lifestyle to her boyfriend the evil head of SD-6 -- Arvin Sloan has him killed. Sydney learns that SD-6 is part of a rogue international agency called the Alliance of 12 out to rule the world. She becomes a double agent working with the real CIA to bring down SD-6 with the assistance of her handler Michael Vaughn and her estranged father Jack Bristow -- also a double agent. Along the way Sydney fights various rival agents rival terrorist groups and traitors all the while keeping her cloak-and-dagger lifestyle a secret from her friends. (Season 1)DVD Features:Available Subtitles: English SpanishAvailable Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)29 discs with every episode of all five seasons plus bonus disc of never-before-seen extras including:Jennifer Garner's never-before-seen first interview as Sydney BristowExclusive J.J. Abrams interviewIdentity theft Alias' sexiest AliasesCase Closed: Emotional cast reunion from the series finaleDossier 47 The Secret of the Infamous NumberFan montage bloopers and more!Packaged in replica of Rambaldi artifact box with secret compartment holding the bonus discHardbound book revealing answers to the show's deepest secrets including introductory letter from JJ AbramsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 786936721201 Manufacturer No: 5313003

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3984 in DVD
• Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
• Released on: 2006-11-21
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English, German
• Number of discs: 29
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 4512 minutes

Amazon.com
From the moment Jennifer Garner appeared on screen, tied to a chair in a fluorescent red wig, Alias burst onto the scene as an intriguing "spy-fi" series that sucked viewers into a weekly action movie. Like its successor, Lost, creator J.J. Abrams spun a cult favorite show that held interweaving conspiracies, mysteries, and even some of the same actors. Unlike the island drama, however, Lost was really only about one central character: Student-turned-agent Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner, who was catapulted from obscurity to the A-list) learns the government agency she was working for isn't CIA at all, but a rogue baddie outfit called SD-6. Sydney, along with her father (Victor Garber, robbed of an Emmy) work as double agents to bring down SD-6 and its top gun, the ever-shifty Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin). Once that happened, of course, there were more bad guys and villainous networks to be brought down, and the rest of the series followed Sydney's adventures--always in various disguises--as she roundhouse-kicked her way through each one.

While season one was about the threat of SD-6 discovering her identity, season two dealt with her personal relations: her romance with CIA handler Vaughn (Michael Vartan), her reunion with her duplicitous mother (Lena Olin, The Unbearable Lightness of Being) and hiding her agenda from outsider friends while revealing it to her former SD-6 comrades. Season three catapulted Sydney two years into the future (with amnesia!) facing a suspicious new agent (and Vaughn's new wife) and more prophecies of Rambaldi, a cross between Da Vinci and Nostradamus whose writings and artifacts became a deadly obsession for Sloane. Seasons four and five went all over the map, introducing a new black-ops unit, a half-sister for Sydney (Mia Maestro), two new agents (Balthazar Getty and Rachel Nichols), and more bad guys before its final showdown between Sydney and Sloane. Due to the show's cancellation and hurriedness to finish season five in a shortened amount of time, some plot points and questions were never answered.

On the DVD
The entire Alias series comes housed in a replica of the Rambaldi box, an intricately designed gold case with red velvet lining, embossed with "IRINA" on the lid just as it was on the show. Inside, each season's discs are housed in its own storybook case, and a small hardcover companion book features the show's cast and crew answering fans' burning questions, particularly the unanswered storylines such as "Who was Deep Throat?" (the anonymous tipster who kept calling Will in season one, whose identity was never revealed). Hidden in the Rambaldi case's false bottom(!) is a bonus disc of material not found in any previous DVD release. The featurette "Case Closed" interviews cast members at the close of the show, with footage of their very last set takes (It's touching to see veteran stars Garber and Kevin Weisman, who plays lovable techie geek Marshall, struggle not to cry while season five newbie Nichols weeps openly). The included fan tributes are amusing to watch; one inventive obsessor hangs a red Japanese lantern above his bed and calls it his own personal "Mueller sphere." Other featurettes explore interviews with the cast after the pilot was filmed; the significance of the number 47 throughout the series; the numerous networks of villains (The Covenant, K. Director, Prophet 5, etc.) But the best quote from the bonus disc comes from an interview with Rifkin, who assesses Sloane's complex motives with: "He's bad. Sloane is bad. Sloan is baaaaad. Sloane. Is. Bad." If you're a die-hard Alias fan and don't own any of the previous seasons on DVD, this one is for you. -- Ellen A. Kim

Customer Reviews

Buy at your own RISK!!
This review pertains to the product itself rather than the show. I have read a handful of reviews stating the packaging of this particular item is horrible. As a manager of a Barnes & Noble, I took these comments to heart and I personally checked all the box sets in our store. And like betting on a sure-thing, EVERY SINGLE disc of EVERY box set were scratched! I couldn't believe my eyes. Each disc looked like it had been dragged across a concrete floor, along with smudging and other strange markings. Keep in mind, these discs were stored in "sleeves". They aren't resting in "cradles" like other sets where they can get dislodged and bounced around. I don't know what to make of it, except that quality control was completely ignored on this one and I'm shocked there haven't been more complaints. At the very least, there needs to be a re-call of all remaining sets. This is a real shame, too, because this set has a nice "bonus" disc that contains some pretty good stuff that isn't found anywhere else. BUYER BEWARE!!

Do Not Buy This DVD Set
I read several reviews here that warned me that this boxed set has a known quality control problems. I decided to take a chance, but shouldn't have. The disks come in a hard cardboard folio. Per the warning, I inspected the disks carefully. Every disk had small scratches and smudges. It looked like they had been packed by someone who had just eaten fried chicken. They were new, but looked used. Two of the disks has major scratches. It would take me several months to view all the 29 disks, so I couldn't take a chance and had to return them to Amazon. I immediately ordered the regular 1st season package and recommend you buy in that format too.

Missing disc
I love Alias more than any other show I can remember. So, I was very excited when I was able to purchase the full series. Problem is that it's not the whole series. The first SEASON wasn't even in the box. What kind of "Complete Collection" doesn't have the first season!? I loved the box it came in and the discs were in good shape. BUT, not complete and I paid a pretty penny for this collection. I am not happy about the missing season, at all!!!