SPOILERS BELOW!

From: www.abcmedianet.com/

Press Release about Episode 2.9..The Passage, Part 2

WHILE CONTINUING ON THEIR FIRST FAMILY MISSION TOGETHER, SYDNEY AND JACK LEARN WHERE IRINA'S LOYALTIES LIE, ON ABC'S "ALIAS"

Derek de Lint, Lena Olin's Co-Star in the Film "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," Guest Stars

"Passage Part II" - While continuing on a mission to take control of six nuclear warheads, Sydney and Jack discover where Irina's loyalties lie when she meets up with Gerard Cuvee (Derek de Lint). Meanwhile, Sloane informs the Alliance that Emily may still be alive, on "Alias," SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

"Alias" stars Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, Victor Garber as Jack Bristow, Ron Rifkin as Arvin Sloane, Michael Vartan as Michael Vaughn, Lena Olin as Irina Derevko, Bradley Cooper as Will Tippin, Merrin Dungey as Francie Calfo, Carl Lumbly as Marcus Dixon, Kevin Weisman as Marshall Flinkman and David Anders as Mr. Sark.

Guest starring are Terry O'Quinn as Kendall, James Lesure as CIA Agent Craig Blair, Ira Heiden as techie, Joseph Ruskin as Alain Christophe, Wolf Muser as Ramon Veloso, Andy Gatjen as aide, Marshall Manesh as Hari Singh, Derek de Lint as Gerard Cuvee, Iqbal Theba as General Arshad and P.D. Mani as PRF guard.

"Passage Part II" was written by Crystal Nix Hines and directed by Ken Olin.

"Alias" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1-channel surround sound.

A TV parental guideline will be posted closer to airdate.

Just wanted to let everyone know that this coming Wednesday, November 27th, is Michael Vartan's 34th Birthday!

Oooo.. Thanks Cory!

So, Francie knows that Syd is starting to have feelings for Vaughn. Yay! I feel the heat coming!

Sounds like we have a lot in store coming up- storyline wise.

This was posted on one of my Alias Lists:

Here is a little Alias write up from Matt Roush for TV Guide On-line.
December 16, 2002
It's going to be a long three weeks waiting for the return of ABC's
Alias after the thrilling cliffhanger delivered Sunday night (Dec. 15).
Fans had been clamoring for some time (in e-mails to me, anyway) for the
show to return to its riveting first-season format that left us gasping
at the end of each episode, as a character (usually Sydney) found
herself in a dire situation of peril worthy of those old-time silent movie
serials.

This time, the person in danger was SD-6's endearingly bumbling
comic-relief computer nerd Marshall (Kevin Weisman), sent on his first field
mission to London alongside Syd (Jennifer Garner ). Watching him try to
contain his enthusiasm, and fear, was great fun: "This is so cool," he
said as he strutted in his undercover tux. And big laughs when he
blurted out gibberish in Ewok language to baffle the guards who shot him
with a tranquilizer gun, nearly imperiling the mission — until Sydney
revived (or is that aroused) him with a kiss.

But the caper, as is so often the case with this emotionally charged
series, was undercut with sadness. When Marshall crowed, "I've never been
prouder to be one of the good guys," Syd knew better. She knew his life
was about to change forever. She was about to deliver him into the
hands of the CIA — who would tell him the truth about SD-6 before putting
him (and his doting mother) into protective custody.

But the real bad guys got to him first. And we were left with the
terrifying image of a petrified Marshall in the clutches of that evil master
of torture who has bedeviled Syd since the show's very first episode.
"Please don't hurt me!" Marshall begged. We second that.

The only thing scarier was trying to glimpse a single human expression
in guest star Faye Dunaway's almost unrecognizable face.

But we digress. With The Sopranos no longer siphoning so much of Alias
's target audience, let's hope the winter months bring higher
viewership and better fortunes to this wonderful piece of escapism.

And a big thumbs-up to ABC for finally deciding to give Alias the
post-Super Bowl time period for what is being promised as a standout
episode. It couldn't happen to a more entertaining and deserving show.

FYI...today is Kevin Weisman's birthday. The great guy that gives us Marshall! Happy Birthday, Kevin!

Hercules' Top 20!

Reruns, reruns, reruns. On Sunday night, they switch TV back on again, with
new episodes of ³Oz,² ³Alias,² ³Boomtown² and ³The Dead Zone.² ³American
Dreams² covers the arrival of the Beatles. The WB kicks off its new reality
series ³High School Reunion.² You¹d think sweeps arrived a month early.

But now ­ now is still the winter of our discontent. The good news is we are
afforded time to pause, reflect, and name the best shows on television this
past year.
6. Alias. ³Now, hold on a second, Marshall. We need our kidneys." Remember
how, in the first-season finale, Will Tippen screamed like a little girl when he discovered the oddly tressed young woman saving his life was actually grad student Sydney Bristow? The show may never hit that kind of high again, but it does still continue to confront Syd a with barrage of mind-bending dilemmas. And like all great dramas, the show keeps asking questions the audience grows anxious to see answered. Which is why we can¹t wait to see what becomes of twitchy SD-6 techie Marshall Flinkman. Let¹s just hope the Rambaldi element turns out to be more than just an excuse to
keep Syd in the field.

From Alias Media:

THE PITCH: ABC's Latest Mission? Hyping 'Alias' To Crowds
Posted on Friday, January 10 @ 12:11:34 CST by Kiss

By Brian Steinberg

A Dow Jones Newswires Column

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Terrorists, torturers and a troubled family background aren't enough to stop super spy Sydney Bristow. Her greatest escapade is about to take place right after this year's Super Bowl.

Whether she succeeds or fails in her mission that night is less important than how many people watch her do so - and decide to watch again

Agent Bristow is the lead character on "Alias," an adventure drama airing on Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) turnaround-mode ABC network, and her ultimate victory or demise hinges on executives at the Alphabet Network transforming the show from a cult fave to a massive hit.

Putting "Alias" on after the Super Bowl - perhaps the best-watched TV event of the year and often a temporary rating booster - is part of a "big push" to ensure the program becomes "a big, long-running hit drama," says Steve Sohmer, the network's executive vice-president of marketing.

Will "Alias" thrive or die? Ultimately, says Tim Spengler, an executive vice president and director of national broadcast at Interpubic Group of Cos.' (IPG) Initiative Media, "the unwashed masses across the whole country will decide."

Gripping Episode

Meanwhile, viewers can expect to be dazzled as "Alias" vies for their attention. The episode airing after the big football game "starts with a spectacular opening," says J.J. Abrams, the program's creator and executive producer, and ends with "the single most shocking thing you'll see on TV this year."

Already, however, ABC has expressed concern over the drama's sophomore-year performance. "As well as the show does for us, it should be doing better, given the quality," said Lloyd Braun, chairman of ABC's entertainment group, during a conference call after the November sweeps. "If anything, we've got to make the show more receptive to non-viewers."

"Alias" stars Jennifer Garner as a twentysomething CIA operative who realizes she knows less and less about her family, friends and enemies the more and more she deals with them. Like the title, nothing on the program is what it seems. Bristow works for the CIA but spends her days spying on a rogue operation known as SD-6, which bills itself as a CIA offshoot in order to play on its employees' patriotic leanings. By many accounts, "Alias' is everything ABC needs - a clever fusion of espionage, family drama, gadgets, disguises, exotic travel, humor, a breakout starlet and spiraling subplots that keep loyal fans coming back week after week.

The last element may give ABC pause. Like "24," an action series that takes place in real time on News Corp.'s (NWS) rival Fox, "Alias" can be tough to follow if a viewer skips an episode or two. "It's not a show you can watch passively or you can watch hit-or-miss," says Jack Sander, executive vice president of media operations for Belo Corp. (BLC), which owns four ABC affiliates. "You almost have to stay with it all the time. You couldn't have said that about 'ER' five years ago or so."

Of course, complex storytelling isn't the only challenge. On TV, Sunday nights have become as competitive as Thursday nights. For most of this season, "Alias" has had to contend not only with "The Sopranos" on AOL Time Warner Inc.'s (AOL) HBO, but also "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" on General Electric Co.'s (GE) NBC and teen favorite "Angel" on WB, owned by AOL and Tribune Co. (TRB).

"With 'The Sopranos' out of the mix, and 'Angel' moved to Wednesday, I think ABC will have a better chance of seeing what 'Alias' can do," says Pattie Glod, vice president of marketing and media for Limited Brands Inc. (LTD), which advertises for Victoria's Secret during "Alias."

The network may need to know soon, suggests Kathryn Thomas, an associate director at Publicis Groupe SA's (PUB) Starcom Entertainment. Simply put, "Alias" isn't cheap, she says, costing between $1.5 million and $1.7 million an episode, according to one estimate. Because it is produced by Disney's Touchstone Television, ABC and Disney likely bear full financial responsibility.

Show-Biz Economics

"It's an expensive show to produce. Jennifer Garner has been made a star because of this, and will only get more expensive," says Thomas. "If they can't find a viable financial model this season," she adds, "Alias" could very well "go away."

ABC disputes that notion. "The shows that are really expensive are shows that have gone through one cycle, and then have a chance to renegotiate their whole talent structure," says ABC's Sohmer. "I don't know whether it's expensive or not, but it's not expensive compared to 'The West Wing' and some of those others."

Nevertheless, ABC might want to look into ways to make "Alias" pay off a little faster, suggests Thomas. A DVD of the first season could give the show a promotional boost - and a financial one. And repurposing "Alias" on cable's ABC Family channel may not be the best use of the program, she says; at times, "Alias" can be sexy and violent.

For his part, Abrams is aware of some of the challenges. "There is some truth to the confusion factor, but I love the show so much that the last thing I would do is dumb it down," he says. "There is a difference between dumbing it down and eliminating unnecessary confusion." Viewers can expect subtle shifts in the storytelling, he says, that bring Sydney and her CIA handler, Vaughn, together romantically. What's more, the show will demonstrate more clearly who Sydney's enemies are, never an easy task.

"Ultimately, the show is a mystery, and that's kind of the fun of it," says Abrams, "but in a mystery, if you don't know who you are, it goes from being a mystery to being a mess. That, to me, is something we're going to be able to deal with."

Expect lots of "Alias" promotion over the next few months, says Sohmer, on ABC as well as in print and on radio. Promotions for the show focus on "the foreground adventure, the caper," he says. "The adventure of the week is a real potboiler, with a beginning, middle and an end." Ongoing subplots take a back seat. After the Super Bowl, ABC hopes to attract new viewers, and then keep them. "You can look for us to be hammering away," he says, through February and March.

Meanwhile, ABC might enjoy an added boost when the 20th Century Fox super-hero movie "Daredevil" comes out on Feb. 14 - "Alias" star Garner has a featured role as the knife-throwing assassin Elektra. "Getting her out on the talk-show circuit, getting her into promotional places could help a lot," says Belo's Sander. If so, then "Alias" may well be armed for its most harrowing assignment - staying on the air.

Source: DowJones/Biz.Yahoo!.com

I know! Notice...it's the single most shocking thing on TV...not just Alias. Hmmm...

From Zap2It.com:

TV Gal Spells Out the Best Kisses
Mon, Feb 10, 2003 04:29 PM PDT

by Amy Amatangelo
Zap2it

Pucker up. Because their kiss, their kiss is on my list.

Deep down, we know that a television couple is entirely fictional (really, we do). They're two actors paid to read their lines and emote (I'm serious, we know that). But sometimes we forget. Sometimes a television kiss is the butterflies-in-your-stomach, toes-curled, heart-go-pitter-patter kind of lip lock that we actually stand up and cheer.

Here are my 10 favorite television kisses of all time (I instituted a one kiss per show rule).

Sydney and Vaughn on "Alias" in "Phase One" : The kiss that inspired this particular column. After SD-6 had been destroyed and their reason for remaining apart obliterated, Sydney and Vaughn, in full S.W.A.T. team regalia, rushed toward each other, kissed, and the world around them disappeared. Jennifer Garner and Michael Vartan share a rare and palpable on-screen chemistry. They just look at each other and generate heat. So, when their lips finally met, it was the pay off fans have been patiently waiting for. Their little seduction in Sydney's kitchen in "Double Agent," was also fantastic, but there's nothing like the first kiss.

The rest of the list can be found here: tv.zap2it.com/shows/featu...html?30094