Phase One (26 Jan. 2003)

In this episode, the entire world of 'ALIAS' is turned upside down, beginning with the mysterious disappearance of Sloane that brings Anthony Geiger, the new head of SD-6 into Jack and ... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Bender

Writers:

J.J. Abrams (creator), J.J. Abrams

Stars:

Jennifer Garner, Ron Rifkin, Michael Vartan

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Garner	...	Sydney Bristow
Ron Rifkin	...	Arvin Sloane
Michael Vartan	...	Michael Vaughn
Bradley Cooper	...	Will Tippin
Merrin Dungey	...	Francie Calfo
Carl Lumbly	...	Marcus Dixon
Kevin Weisman	...	Marshall Flinkman
David Anders	...	Julian Sark
Lena Olin	...	Irina Derevko (credit only)
Victor Garber	...	Jack Bristow
Terry O'Quinn	...	F.B.I. Assistant Director Kendall
Jean Pierre Bergeron	...	Gils Nacor
Angus Scrimm	...	Calvin McCullough
Greg Grunberg	...	Eric Weiss
Rutger Hauer	...	Anthony Geiger

Storyline

In this episode, the entire world of 'ALIAS' is turned upside down, beginning with the mysterious disappearance of Sloane that brings Anthony Geiger, the new head of SD-6 into Jack and Sydney's life. As the Bristows struggle to stay one step ahead of having their secret blown wide open by Geiger, Will and Francie make a startling discovery of their own as she prepares to open her new restaurant. After an airborne mission to recover something called a Server 47 dive, Sydney uncovers a crucial weakness, one that could bring down the entire Alliance. But to put her plan into action, she must tell Dixon the truth about everything when Jack is captured, and Dixon has to make the decision to reveal the security code... enabling the CIA to launch a world-wide offensive against all SD cells to bring down the Alliance for good.

---

Plot Keywords:

heroine | lingerie | stockings | dominatrix

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 January 2003 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 4, Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, US

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bad Robot, Touchstone Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A real champagne bucket was used in the fight on the airplane. Jennifer Garner accidentally hit the stuntman and gave him a black eye.

---

Quotes

Michael Vaughn: I'm going to say something, and it will either be obvious to you or seem presumptuous, either way I'm going to say it. This isn't working. I've been thinking about this for a while, I don't know what the hell to do.
Sydney Bristow: What?
Michael Vaughn: I think you know what.
Sydney Bristow: I need you to tell me.
Michael Vaughn: You need me to tell you what, that when you're on operations I can't sleep at night, that when we're in debrief I have to force myself to remember what the hell we're supposed to be reviewing when all I want to do is kiss you.
Sydney Bristow: ...
[...]

---

Soundtracks

"American Woman"
Written by The Guess Who
Performed by Lenny Kravitz

User Reviews

Surprise after surprise!

This episode opens in an unforgettable manner with Sydney walking into a room wearing nothing but some rather sexy black underwear... the man in the room then says she should change into the red ones so we have to watch her entering the room again; this time in sexy red underwear! It soon becomes apparent that they are aboard an aircraft; once she is alone with the woman she forces him to reveal the location of 'Server Forty Seven'. Things appear to go well till she is caught and has to fight off an assailant; by the time he incapacitated the first guy is back with a gun... he fires and the action jumps back twenty four hours. It is now that we learn that Sloane has been missing for some time and has been replaced by new director Anthony Geiger. He mentions Server Forty Seven and Sydney surmises that it must be the secret computer linking all of the Alliance cells. After time catches up and we learn how she escaped from the plane it becomes clear that the computer contains information that could be used to bring down the Alliance once and for all; but only if they act within a week. Jack returns to SD-6 to get the necessary access codes but things don't go according to plan.

This was a great episode which started in a way that will have grabbed the attention of most viewers as Jennifer Garner in a costume was her skimpiest yet! If that wasn't enough she put in one of her best fight scenes before appearing to be shot. While I took it for granted that she would survive I didn't expect it to get to that point so soon; in fact most of the action took place afterwards and that featured surprise upon surprise as first Jack is captured, Sydney finally tells Dixon about the true nature of SD-6 and other surprised too good to reveal occur. It is however safe to say that things will be very different from now on... for better or for worse it is too soon to say. Most of the action looked great although the CGI used for the plane was a little too obvious. The acting was of the usual high standard; Carl Lumbly did particularly well as Dixon; the way he portrayed a man learning everything he devoted his life to was a lie was great. It was also great to have a guest appearance from Rutger Hauer as Geiger; it is just a shame we won't be seeing him again. One person we will certainly be seeing again is Sloane and I for one can't wait to learn what he is going to do next!