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Major spoilers below for all of Alias' third season. Incidentally, I didn't realise until recently that there is actually an Alias soundtrack available. The last track, "SD-6 Dance Party", sounds particularly intriguing.

Anyway, on to "Resurrection", the season-three finale. I'd really like to know what was resurrected in this episode, because it certainly wasn't the talent of the writing staff. Before I launch into negatives surrounding this episode, I'd like to say that the three episodes leading up to the finale were quite excellent, especially the superb "Hourglass". That was an episode that truly left me on the edge of my seat, particularly as I thought that they'd actually killed Sloane off for good (well, they've done it to enough of the other characters).

What was disappointing about "Resurrection" was that there wasn't any pay-off to the Rambaldi arc, which had been building to its climax in the previous few episodes. Not to give us some sort of resolution was really a bit of a cop out. Instead we have Sydney finding out (once again), that Shock! Horror! Jack Bristow has somehow been manipulating her life in addition to his work on Project Christmas. The ending felt a bit tacked-on, as if the writers didn't know how to end the episode because they hadn't come up with a credible resolution to the Rambaldi plot-line. Next season's premiere has a lot of explaining to do.

Season three has been the weakest year yet, by a long shot. Season two managed to recover from the stumbling block of "Phase One" and the last 3 episodes were some of the show's best-ever outings. But this year there have been too many poorly-written outings that added nothing to the show's story or character arcs. Emerging from my self-imposed spoiler exile, I have been snooping around for articles on the third season and its problems. JJ Abrams wants to "get back to basics" next season, which has been interpreted in a variety of ways. I don't think the Rambaldi plotline needs to be jettisoned altogether, especially since it's played an integral part in the show from very early on -- it just needs to be better written. A major problem this year has clearly been the fact that J.J. Abrams has been busy working on his new shows and so hasn't been able to devote his full attention to Alias.

Next year I would like to see a return to the format of the first two seasons, with Sydney having a life outside the agency. I really miss Francie and Will and I think the show needs to recapture the fun and playfulness that existed there. Weiss isn't a credible substitute, I'm afraid. I'd like to go on record here as loving the Sydney-as-grad-student plotline...sure it was ludicrous, but it kept Sydney grounded in reality.

We really need to see an end to a Computer Screen playing Lena Olin playing Irina. If Lena Olin doesn't want to come back to the show, the show needs to deal with that situation rather than having more of the ludicrous chat sessions between Jack and Irina. Linked with this, the whole Jack and Katya situation needs to be explained, because at the moment it seems like an afterthought that doesn't quite fit anywhere.

And my final wish for next season. Keep Lauren dead. Her death was the best thing about "Resurrection". Bring in a new nemesis to keep things fresh. Alias has a talented cast, so let's hope next season produces some writing worthy of them.

Trek BBS Today

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- What are the greatest Star Trek mysteries?

- How old was Khan in Star Trek II?

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Trek Two Years Ago

These were some of the major news items in early July, 2002:

• First 'Nemesis' Teaser Poster Revealed
  Advertising company Faction Creative released its first poster for the tenth Star Trek feature film, Nemesis. The poster featured Shinzon, the tagline 'A Generation's Final Journey Begins' and the release date, December 13, 2002.

• Billingsley Runs 'Out Of Time'
  John Billingsley (Doctor Phlox) joined the cast of the feature film, Out of Time, starring Oscar-winner Denzel Washington. Billingsley played Chae, the town coroner, and best friend of Washington's character.

• Braga Teases Season Two
  Enterprise executive producer Brannon Braga told the Star Trek Communicator what fans could expect in the season-two premiere, "Shockwave, Part II". "We're going to hint that someone out there doesn't want to see humans succeed in space, because it's going to eventually result in the formation of an interplanetary alliance. Take that as you will," he said.

More news can be found in the July 2002 archives.

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Will you be buying any complete Trek DVD sets? All of them 19.1% - (208 Votes) The Original Series 17.2% - (188 Votes) Deep Space Nine 16.5% - (180 Votes) Enterprise 16.2% - (177 Votes) I've spent enough money on Trek DVDs already! 15.6% - (170 Votes) Voyager 8.5% - (93 Votes) The Next Generation 6.4% - (70 Votes) Total Votes: 1087

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