Cross and double cross and triple cross, then begin to understand the characters. Superficially, Alias is the story of a college student, Sydney Bristow, whose mother is dead and who is estranged from her father. She is recruited by a secret government agency called SD-6, for whom her father also works. Sydney's friend Will, a journalist, and roommate Francie don't know that Sydney is a spy, travelling around the world on dangerous missions.

But that would be too simple. So Sydney learns that SD-6 is not a government agency as its head, Arvin Sloane, had said, though few people working there, including Sydney's partner, Dixon, know its true purpose. Sydney also learns that Sloane and SD-6 are responsible for the death of her fiance. Sydney vows to take down Sloane and SD-6 and secretly makes a deal to work for the CIA. For whom her father also works. They're both double agents, with similar agendas and very different methods. At the CIA, Sydney's contact is Michael Vaughn, to whom she is incredibly attracted. But can business and pleasure mix?

At the end of the first season, Sydney learns that not only was her mother not killed as she'd been told as a child, but was in fact a Russian agent who'd originally been sent to seduce her father. She's back, but her current agenda is still unknown.

And then there are the mysterious, miraculous Rambaldi artifacts, created by the genius and (literally) Renaissance man, Milo Rambaldi, hundreds of years ago, that both Sloane and Sydney's mother seem to be after. How could someone several hundred years ago have conceived of such technological miracles? And did he really possess the secret to eternal life?


Personal:

Though the WriterGroupie had heard wonderful things about Alias, its first season aired directly against the last season of The X-Files which out of loyalty she chose to watch instead. However, prior to the beginning of the second season, ABC Family Channel did a marathon of the last nine episodes of the first season of Alias in an attempt to get new viewers hooked. It worked for the WriterGroupie. Coupled with what she already knew about the show, the WriterGroupie found she could follow along well enough and fell in love with show after one episode. She spent the rest of the day catching up with all nine episodes aired and couldn't wait for the second season to start.

The second season started off as exciting as the first had ended. Just a few episodes into the season, the WriterGroupie had the chance to attend a behind the scenes panel on the making of the show which hooked her even more.