| Intro
Comments One (10.3.01)
Episode Two
Strike Three
Deja Vu All Over Again
Links
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Welcome to the Alias Comments page.
If you are a fan of the show, I sincerely warn that you might want to hit the 'back' button because this site has harsh critiques and comments that will in all likelyhood, upset you. A piece of advice before you leave however. Enjoy your show for as long as you have it.
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Introduction
When I first saw the promo for "Alias" I, among other LFN fans, decided to give it a try. The hostility and fury towards "Alias" is how it's insulted the "La Femme Nikita" series (and the original movie of which it was based) by its blatant rip-off of the show.
TPTB at Alias sure didn't waste any time after LFN's finale to rip-off the show's premise and style, limb by limb, and sure as hell weren't subtle about it either. What's worse is that they do a pathetic and poor job of stealing well written and put-together material.
Even people who remotely knew about LFN like many tv critics, immediatly recognized how and what paved the road to "Alias". Had LFN been on a network and gotten as much publicity as "Alias" did, people would know where credit was due. After LFN's finale..
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"Alias"
Sydney, the "dull and flat" character which in itself, describes how poor this 'show' is. "The only thing of interest is her pretty face and figure--not enough to base a series on."
... this comes skipping along and gets credit and publicity for its 'uniqueness'. Based on the first episode of "Alias", the LFN overtones are extremely obvious and even *if* it does go on to be 'better' and develop its own rythm, the fact still remains that it stole and jumpstarted from LFN. It also remains that it will never reach the level of acting, class, style, structure, etc. from its origin.
"..it simultaneously channels "La Femme Nikita" and "Run Lola Run." But there was this nagging problem: "Alias" is ludicrously unbelievable. Embarrassing, even. But then J.J. Abrams, the man behind the show, basically said that yes, it makes no sense and is stupid. Whew, as long as he knew that going in." -SF Chronicle
"Jennifer Garner is the latest TV La Femme Nikita in ABC's ALIAS..ALIAS owes a clear debt to Luc Besson's 1991 film LA FEMME NIKITA and the well-regarded USA Network TV series it spawned...Abrams' workmanlike direction can't compare to the stylish intensity Besson brought to his international breakthrough.." -La Femme Sydney
"That, in a nutshell, is the essence of Alias, a student-by-day, spy-by-night series on ABC this fall. Think of it as La Femme Felicity. -E!Online Review
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Articles
Take a look at these articles from some TV critics:
SF Chronicle
La Femme Sydney
"Nikita"
La Femme Nikita surpasses any boundary a show wouldn't dare cross without completely humiliating itself miserably. Done with ingenuity and complex structuring, LFN audiences are caught, tangled, and submerged in the world of Section One. Unlike any other program, La Femme Nikita is a psychologically complicated, thrilling, and multi-layered show that requires intense observation and thinking. A breathing entity in itself, LFN has unfolded, evolved, and demanded the attention and respect from millions of viewers around the world in its 5 Season run and will continue to set a standard for all other programs.
"La Femme Nikita is distinctly different from other hit shows. It isn't about teenagers who live by a creek and talk like social workers. It isn't just another twenty- or thirtysomething nighttime soap. It doesn't take place in a hospital, with frenzied doctors spitting out medical jargon. Nor is it about hysterical young female lawyers.
What it is, is a sophisticated, multi-layered series, its story line a web of nuance. There's also plenty of action, violence, intrigue, beautiful people, and sex--implied and otherwise. Add to that stories and characters inhabiting a compelling, darkly psychological world. Events take place in the present, but nothing is specific; it's a somehow "dateless" present. The setting is somewhere in the western world where English is spoken, though some people have foreign accents. This environment is known as Section One, and the people who occupy this most secretive of off-the-budget military organizations are fighting terrorism, in all its forms, around the world. The catch is that everyone who is a member of Section One is not there by his or her own volition, and cannot leave, go home at 5 o'clock, or quit his job. If they try to leave, or escape, they will be sought out and "canceled." |
La Femme Nikita
This is style and originality. "Alias" is no drama. It's an embarrassing Disney comedy attempting to ripoff a show that's really worth people's time, energy, and attention.
Each member of Section One has a story of how he got there; these stories are revealed subtly and gradually throughout the series. A common denominator for most operatives is some sort of terrible crime in their pasts, murder mostly, but nothing in this underground fortress is as it seems. Having been brought to Section from prison, or somewhere else, the soldiers of Section One ostensibly work on the side of good, but there is no absolution. Section One is a sort of Purgatory.
In their midst is a recent "recruit" to this world of intrigue, danger, and mystery--Nikita, code name Josephine. Nikita, as in the original film La Femme Nikita, did not commit the crime she was accused of--the murder of a police officer. The charges were false, yet Nikita was given a life sentence. Nikita was a young street person, into drugs, but not into murder. While in prison, Nikita is spotted by Michael, a Section One ranking operative. Once at Section, Nikita is trained to be a consummate killer, though not a willing one. She is tutored by Michael, who will become her sometimes sadistic, sometimes loving mentor (Nikita's and Michael's evolving story is an interesting evocation of the myth of Pygmalion). As Nikita has learned "the game," she has become very good at it. She knows the culture of the place, its politics, its danger, and she has learned to manipulate it.
But Nikita does not abuse her knowledge. It doesn't own her. No one does. Although she plays by Section rules, she won't adapt to the system. Her soul cannot be sold. She alone has been able to maintain her greatest resources: humanity and heart. And that is what makes Nikita such a great character. She is complex. Forget the Spice Girls, this is real Girl Power."
--Fashion Finds |
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