The weekly, hour-long TV adventure series
Alias wasted no time in establishing a high level of suspense. Its first episode, "
Truth Be Told," ran a full 65 minutes, with no commercial interruptions -- and be assured that few viewers were willing to leave their seats for the duration.
Jennifer Garner starred as college student Sydney Bristow, who during her senior year was recruited into SD-6, the shadowy "special operations" division of the CIA of which her father, Jack (
Victor Garber), was a top functionary. Given a crash course in martial arts and high technology, Sydney still did not quite appreciate the gravity of her mission in life until she inadvertently caused the murder of her fiancé. Thereafter, she kept her profession a secret from everyone she knew -- and did her best to stay at least one step ahead of whatever enemy happened to be after her during a given episode. Created by
Felicity's J.J. Abrams,
Alias made its ABC network debut on September 30, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide