The Safe House - Expositions

The folks behind the slick spy serial Alias, which airs tomorrow on channel 3 at 8 p.m. and channel 5 at 10 p.m., have been plotting, formulating -- yes, scheming -- to ensure their much-buzzed-about show becomes a genuine ratings blockbuster.

For all involved, this is the make-or-break season for Alias, which stars Emmy nominee Jennifer Garner as a college student and secret agent.

It's the year to put up or shut up -- when the action-adventure becomes a true hit (despite all the attention, it came in second to time-slot kingpin Law & Order: Criminal Intent last season) or when it simply implodes.

"There is that discrepancy (between the show's high visibility and good-but-not-great ratings)," says Canadian Victor Garber, who stars as Garner's aloof, CIA operative father.

"I think we're all hoping that will happen, that we make that leap. We need that push."

PRESSURE COOKING

So does ABC -- the network was demolished last season with Alias emerging as one of its few bright spots. Understandably, it's pulling out all the stops to propel their kick-boxing uber-babe to the top of the ratings heap.

First, the merchandising, in the form of video games and even comic books.

Second, a special episode of the espionage thriller to air after the Super Bowl.

There's even a 60-second theatrical trailer -- specifically to promote the show -- playing in movie theatres across North America.

Lastly, Garner is poised to become a movie star opposite Ben Affleck in the adaptation of the Marvel Comics hero Daredevil -- which is something the network is more thankful than responsible for. If Daredevil's a hit, ABC hopes movie-goers who haven't watched Alias will tune in to see its lean, mean heroine.

No pressure or anything, right?

"It's really not in my radar," Garber says. "The book is about to come out and we're all going to be at a book signing (this month). That will be my first encounter with an audience. Basically, I'm taking one thing at a time."

As for whether Alias' Sunday timeslot is the culprit for its underperformance in the ratings, Garber shies away from speculating.

"That's what people say to me. But it's all news to me. They tell me the numbers and I just say, 'Is that good or bad?' But there is a lot of competition (including, in the U.S., The Sopranos) and the lead in (The Wonderful World of Disney) is probably not the best for Alias."

The problematic timeslot aside, last week's season premiere showed signs the media saturation -- not to mention the dual Emmy nominations for Garner and Garber -- is starting to attract more viewers, especially in the coveted 18-to-49-year-old demographic.

The sophomore season marks the addition of Lena Olin (The Unbearable Lightness of Being) to the cast as the treacherous double-agent, long-thought-dead mother of Garner's Sydney Bristow. "It's pretty exciting," Garber says of Olin's arrival. "You look into her eyes, and she's so magnetic."

The surprise of Alias and what elevates it above its genre conventions is the family melodrama that provides the actors something more to chew on than just the scenery and special effects. "It's still Alias. It's still the thriller," Garber says.

"But the personal interaction is what makes it unique. It just happens to be about killers, but they're a family and she is trying to sort out her place between her parents."

While wielding many cool spy gadgets and pouring herself into blue rubber dresses, it should be added.

SUDDEN FAME

Garner's balancing act -- playing a secret agent as cool as Emmy Peel, but with unexpected dramatic urgency and emotional gravity -- has made her an instant star. Post-Daredevil, she's already signed for future film projects with paydays of several million dollars apiece. And that's after the Golden Globe win and numerous magazine covers. That kind of sudden, jarring fame is notoriously double-edged. (On the top of the world one week, checking-in at your neighborhood rehab the next.)

"Jennifer is kind of remarkable," Garber says. "I've never been so close to someone who made that leap the way she has. She's handling it with such grace. She really does know what's important and I think that has to do with her upbringing and her marriage and her sense of herself. She's incredibly centred."

As for the drama's snubbing at the Emmys -- both actors lost, as did Abrams for his pilot script -- Garber says he wasn't surprised.

"When you watch the Emmys, the established shows tend to keep coming up. That's why the win by (Shield star) Michael Chiklis was such a wonderful surprise ... But for me, it's happened so many times, I'm used (to losing).

"But if one more person had come up to me and said, 'Really, I think it's your year' I would have just batted them."

As for losing the Emmy to The West Wing's John Spencer, Garber says there was only one downside.

"I was over it pretty quick, but there were three more hours to go. Once you lose, it's like, 'OK, you don't need me anymore.' "

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