*What happened with Sydney's mother?

I'll try to explain this as best I can. Syd thought her mother died in a car accident when she was 6(?). Turns out her mom didn't die; that was just a cover so she could get out of the US. Turns out that her mom, whose real name is Irina Derevko, worked for the KGB and came to the US to get secrets out of Jack Bristow about Project Christmas. She's also responsible for the killing of something like 13 CIA agents, one of whom is Vaughn's dad. Derevko was 'The Man', and was Sark's boss. She turned herself into CIA custody at the beginning of the season, and we don't know her true motives yet.

*Why does her dad hate her so much?
Jack hates this woman because...well, wouldn't you hate a person whom you loved and thought was this nice mild mannered English prof, and then you find out she's this KGB agent who's using you and is responsible for killing 13 of your colleagues? He feels incredibly betrayed.

*Who's the guy that slipped Vaughn that magazine?
That is Will, a friend of Syd's. Last season, he was looking into the death of Syd's fiancee, Danny (who was killed before I got into the show). In the process, he got himself into deep, deep pucky and found out stuff he shouldn't know, and to keep SD-6 from killing him, Jack set it up so it looked like Will wrote all that stuff about SD-6 while on heroin. So Will is now out of a job, because he got fired when it was found out that he was (supposedly) on heroin. Until Will, Syd had no one to talk to about her secret life, but now she does, which opens up all kinds of doors.

*What the hell about what test scores?
In the 1980's, the KGB had certain questions put into IQ tests given to gradeschoolers so they could see which kids would make good spies, and they planned to recruit them. Will was looking into that for Vaughn.

*What was with the guy who leads SD-6 (Is that right?) and his wife's finger?
That guy is Arvin Sloane. At the end of last season, it came out that his wife, Emily (who was dying of lymphoma) knew about SD-6. The Alliance (a group of 12 guys who oversees the whole worldwide SD organization) told Sloane to have her whacked; they whack all outsiders who know about the SD units. But Sloane convinced them she was dying, and to just let her expire. But she was recovering! So they told him that if he whacked her, he'd be put into The Alliance. So, as of the end of last season, we thought she was dead, poisoned by Sloane, who is now a member of The Alliance. But now we're getting the idea that she's not dead. Her coffin is empty, someone called him from the B&B he and his wife used to always go to, her name is on the guest register there from the night he got the call, and a few other things I don't have time to go into.

You'll get up to speed in time. You are to Alias what I am to Roswell.

Okay found the background site on ABC here is the link that might (comlicate I'd like to say ) enlighten you a little more..

And just click the next key at the bottom to keep reading all the FAQ on Alias.

abc.abcnews.go.com/primet...q_bg1.html

Yeah, I was trying to find something like that for you and Laura-- but had no luck, just the ABC site. And I *know* it's in one of the transcripts cause I was watching the reruns and it showed the whole basic storyline once and what stuff was-- but couldn't find that either.

Any luck, Smartie?

There's a bunch of cool sites I've linked to up in the Links Section. You should check them out.

Did you look in the links?

www.allalias.com/guide/intotoalias1.htm

This?

Nope, not your fault. I'm just being anal. Sorry...I do that from time to time.

Ok..you have to go to the Michael Vartan Stuff Thread...the fourth post from the bottom there should be a link I posted for bthere...check that out! Let me know if you catch any of his accent! please!

I think... Rigth in the beginning?