January 31, 2003

Cult favorite 'Alias' close to saying adios

Behind Alias' shocking Super Bowl Sunday revamp -- Needing a ratings kick, ABC's underdog starts virtually from scratch, fueled on sexy new twists

by Mike Duffy

Maybe it's just the fickle channel-surfing fates.

Or maybe "Alias" was born under a bad sign.

ABC's killer thriller -- a giddily stylish spy game starring charismatic Jennifer Garner and her cosmic cheekbones as fabulous action babe Sydney Bristow -- has won rave reviews and a rapturously devoted cult following in the last two seasons.

Alas, that cult has stalled out at about 9 million or 10 million viewers each week, leaving "Alias" stuck in the perilous zone of ratings disappointment.

"It's a show we love and a show the people who watch love. It's a really loyal audience," says Jeff Bader, executive vice president of ABC Entertainment. "But we need to grow that audience and get it to the next level."

Translation: If "Alias" doesn't soon start to inch upward in the ratings, Sydney could be wearing a pink slip to the Cancellation Prom in May when the networks announce their fall schedules.

This is where the TV critic and hopelessly smitten "Alias" fan needs to employ a little anger management. Excuse, please, while I vent my frustration: Aaaaaaargh!?

"Alias," airing at 9 p.m. Sundays on ABC, deserves better.

It's an outstanding show -- a smart, stylish roller-coaster ride. And for pure entertainment value, it ranks alongside the best shows on network television: "24," "CSI," "The West Wing" and a few others.

But even ABC's decision to air a "very special episode" after Sunday's Super Bowl didn't do much for Sydney & Co. While 137 million viewers watched all or part of the Buccaneers' demolition of the Raiders, only 17.4 million of them stuck around to check out "Alias" at its belated 11 p.m. start.

That's the fewest viewers to watch a post-Super Bowl show since at least 1988. Just two years ago, "Survivor: The Australian Outback" drew 45 million viewers when it debuted following the Super Bowl. And in 1996, 52 million hung around to enjoy a post-Super Bowl edition of "Friends."

So what's the problem? Easy. "Alias" is just too darn complicated for a casual viewer to figure out.

With its flamboyantly convoluted, globe-trotting espionage plots, conspiracies and cliff-hangers, the travails of Sydney Bristow and her fellow double agent, father Jack Bristow (Victor Garber), "Alias" can confuse even the most ardent admirer.

My solution? Don't even bother trying to absorb the humorously bizarre twists and turns on a cerebral level. Just wallow in the escapist, hellzapoppin' magic of the whirling entertainment confection series creator J. J. Abrams ("Felicity") has concocted.

"It's smart, it's not predictable, it doesn't talk down to the audience at all," Bader says. "And there's no actress like Jennifer Garner. She's sexy and tough and all those things that make Sydney Bristow a great agent. But she's also very, very accessible."

OK, Bader is an ABC suit doing the network marketing dance.

But he's on the mark. "Alias" kicks it blissfully.

Tune in this Sunday evening and you'll even bump into guest star Ethan Hawke ("Training Day") playing a mysterious CIA agent who crosses Sydney's radar screen.

Sad to say, time might be running out on "Alias."

So view it or lose it.

© Detroit Free Press 2003

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