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Sydney Bristow

Jack Bristow

Irina Derevko

Danny Hecht

Michael Vaughn

Lauren Reed

Arvin Sloane

Marcus Dixon

Marshall Flinkman

Nadia Santos

Eric Weiss

Noah Hicks

Will Tippin

Francie Calfo

Anna Espinosa

Julian Sark

Rachel Gibson

Kelly Peyton



Sydney Bristow
Sydney Bristow thought she was being recruited into the CIA during her first year of college. It turns out that she was actually recruited into a mirror universe - SD-6 - where she's been working for the bad guys. When she confides in her fiance, Dr. Danny Hecht, that she's a CIA field agent, she brings down the wrath of SD-6 onto him, and ends up learning just who it is for whom she really works.

The revenge she settles on is to become a double agent for the real CIA, and devote herself to destroying SD-6. Only then does she learn that her father is, himself, a double agent. Her handler at the CIA is Michael Vaughn, someone who eventually fills the empty hole in her life left by the death of Danny.

Spying, it turns out, is a family tradition. Rather than having been killed in a traffic accident, as she'd been taught, Sydney discovers that her mother was, in fact, a Russian agent who betrayed Sydney's father, Jack. Not Laura Bristow, but Irina Derevko. And Irina is very much alive, Sydney discovers, when her mother shows up during an op and shoots Sydney. When Irina walks into the CIA and gives herself up, Sydney gets a chance to put together her own, very complicated version of a family - a family later enlarged to include a half sister who is the daughter of Irina and Sydney's sworn enemy, Arvin Sloane, the head of SD-6.

As Sydney's operations bring the organizations into contact with more and more Rambaldi artifacts, one manuscript page finds is found containing a drawing of Sydney done in the 15th century. If you believe the ancient manuscripts, Sydney is most likely the Chosen One.

Jennifer Garner has won the 2006 People's Choice Awards for Best Female TV Star for her portrayal of Sydney Bristow, as well as winning a Golden Globe award and Screen Actors Guild Award. She also won the Best Female Action Star (2005) for her role as Elektra.


Jack Bristow
Sydney's father, Jack Bristow, had hoped that Sydney would eventually join the CIA. What he didn't expect was that the head of SD-6, Arvin Sloane, would recruit Sydney into their own mirror world. Avoiding being caught by SD-6 as a double agent is hard enough for Jack, but his world is made even more difficult by his need to also protect his daughter. And when his ex-wife shows up in their lives again, Jack must also deal with his sense of betrayal by Irina, and his growing jealousy of the developing relationship between Irina and Sydney.

A Broadway stage actor, Victor Garber has appeared in Kung Fu (TLC), Sleepless in Seattle, The First Wives Club, Titanic and Legally Blonde.


Irina Derevko
Irina Derevko was sent to the US to marry an up and coming CIA officer. That turned out to be Jack Bristow. She claims to have only had a child because her handler insisted it would bind Jack tighter, but her love for Sydney seems deeper than that. The only thing deeper is Irina's ultimate goal - power. She often appears as a counterforce to Arvin Sloane in his search for the power promised by Rambaldi. Irina's name in Greek for Peace, and appears carved onto a 15th century Rambaldi box.

As the result of an affair with Jack's friend, Sloane, Irina has a second daughter, Nadia, who is taken away from her at birth. The child, recognized as The Passenger, is experimented on - a form of torture, and Michael Vaughn's father Bill rescues the child, leaving her in an Orphanage where he thinks she'll be safe. While you think this would endear him to Irina, in fact she is ordered to kill him, not endearing herself to Bill's son, and Sydney's handler and love.

Irina Derevko was played by Lena Olin, a second generation Swedish actress who has appeared at the Royal Theatre in Stockholm, and was directed by Ingmar Bergman. She appeared in Sydney Pollack's Havana, and in Chocolat.


Danny Hecht
Danny was a doctor living with Sydney when he proposed to her in the middle of the college campus. But when Sydney confesses to him that she's a field agent, he has trouble accepting this upside downing of his world. He leaves a message on her answering machine, and that small act is what leads to his death by SD-6 brainwashed assassin Martin Shephard, since Sydney was warned by SD-6 that anyone who knew of her real work would be killed.

It's Danny's death that rips Sydney out of her comfortable life as a spy, and into her dangerous role as a double agent for the CIA.

Danny Hecht was played by Edward Atterton,


Michael Vaughn
Michael Vaughn becomes Sydney's handler when she walks into CIA to revenge herself on SD-6 for its murder of Danny. But soon he becomes the only person Sydney can go to when the pressures of her secret world become too great for her. Through Danny's death she's learned not to share her feelings with anyone else. Eventually their relationship grows until they both recognize that they want it to be more than just a friendship.

Not wanting Sydney to lose someone else she loves, her father grudgingly accepts Vaughn, though he lets Vaughn know that he's not impressed with the man. Sydney's increasing closeness to Irina lays heavily on Vaughn, since Vaughn confesses to Sydney that it was her mother who killed his father. When you take two people who have enough issues with parents to keep Freud in luxury for life, how could they not be destined to be together. Well, long enough for Sydney to get pregnant, at least.

Whoever wrote Vaughn's character must really be a student of hurt/comfort literature. When he's not being tortured by his wife, the fact of his having a wife is torture enough for Sydney. And Vaughn can usually be found lying around on some experimental table or other, waiting for Sydney to save him in the nick of time. Though, true, he'll be there for her, too. But how it's possible for someone who can kill bad guys with single shots to take an incredible number of bullets to the chest from a machine gun, and still survive, must amaze Sydney as much as every Alias fan.

But there's little comfort available for either Vaughn or Sydney when he's whisked from the hospital, out of her life, and Sydney isn't even allowed to send him Beargrams with cute slogans encouraging him to get well soon. But better the comfort of knowing that the one you love is still alive (somehow!) and living somewhere obscure, than getting to comfort them in person and get them killed as a result.

Michael Vartan, who plays Michael Vaughn, appeared as Lancelot in Marion Zimmer Bradley's 'Mists of Avalon', as well as appearing in Friends, Ally McBeal, and Sand.


Lauren Reed
Lauren is the daughter of an influential senator and, herself, a member of the National Security Council. And when Sydney is believed by everyone to be dead for two years, Lauren also becomes Vaughn's wife. But she turns out to be on the opposite side from the angels, and a major villain in her own right. Though she must have a soft side since she can't bring herself to let Vaughn die after torturing him, and it must have been her Electra complex that prevents her from shooting her father on orders of the criminal organization for which they both work. Not to worry though, her mother doubted her daughter's resolve and takes the gun and finishes off her husband herself. Lauren does look lovely in black at daddy's funeral.

As though Vaughn wouldn't have enough anger at his wife himself, there's always Sydney's father Jack around to remind Vaughn that even thirty years isn't enough to take away a husband's feelings of betrayal. He reminds Vaughn that Jack's storage locker is always available for Vaughn's use, and it has facilities for taking care of inconvenient bodies!

Lauren has been standing between Vaughn and Sydney ever since Sydney returns, and it's only poetic justice that Vaughn gets to kill his wife while finally kissing Sydney again. In case there's some worry that Lauren wasn't really loved enough (or why would she have had so much trouble killing her father), the sweet villain Sark, with whom Lauren was having an affair, can't bring himself to change sides back to the good guys until he has a chance to see his beloved for one last time. So Lauren appears, beautiful as ever, in a drawer somewhere in spy headquarters. A guest shot is a guest shot, after all. And maybe Vaughn really did have a soft spot for her.

Or maybe Jack's disposal equipment was all used up.

Melissa George has appeared in Charmed, Friends, Monk, LA Confidentialand Monk.


Arvin Sloane
Arvin Sloane and Jack Bristow were both at the startup of SD-6 when they left the CIA. One only hopes that they had a chance to execute any stock options before the criminal organization was closed down. It's Sloane who orders the killing of Sydney's fiance, Danny, though Jack doesn't endear himself to his daughter by admitting that he knew about the order before it was carried out.

From being an old family friend who took care of Sydney after her mother's supposed death and her father's imprisonment as a potential mole, Sloane has become someone Sydney secretly despises. One of the joys of her life, after SD-6 is brought down, is having her emotions front and center so that she can ream Sloane out every time he gets too fatherly affectionate to her. Jack isn't very fond of Sloane's affection for Sydney either. Which might have something to do with Irina's affair with Sloane and Jack's secret paternity test.

Indeed, Sloane did get Irina pregnant, but his daughter by Irina was Nadia, not Sydney. It would have had to have been a very long affair for Sloane to have ever thought he might have been Sydney's father! And clearly he loves Sydney. After all, why else would he kiss her so tenderly before allowing her torturer to continue?

Ron Rifkin, who plays Arvin Sloane, has an incredibly extensive film and TV history, going back to 1966 Gidgit movies!


Marcus Dixon
Marcus Dixon is Sydney's partner in field operations for SD-6. As partners, their bond is very close and is one of the great sources of angst for Sydney, in that she can't let him know that the danger and pain to which he exposes himself is in service of the bad guys Dixon thinks he's fighting. It's Dixon who takes the ultimate exposure of SD-6 hardest because he believes Sydney should never have lied to him once she discovered the truth. And the only reason she finally does tell him is because SD-6 is torturing, and possibly killing, her father and Sydney needs Dixon to believe her and betray SD-6.

Dixon's emotional reaction is so deep that he doesn't choose to join the real CIA, as many of the former SD-6 agents do, and he comes back into the spy business only because he's needed to save Sydney in a gone-bad op.

Dixon also takes part in an operation to capture Sloane that ends with Dixon being the one to accidentally kill Sloane's beloved wife. (That's after it turns out that Sloane didn't really kill his wife after being ordered to do so by the Alliance.) Which leads to Sloane taking his revenge on Dixon's own wife - not a good basis for the relationship Dixon will have to have with Sloane when Dixon finds himself once again working for his old spy master.

Carl Lumbly's, film and TV credits date back to 1978 and include roles in Buckaroo Banzai, Cagney and Lacey, and LA Law.


Marshall Flinkman
Marshall is the computer and gadget guru for SD-6, and is frequently the comic relief. An absolutely engaging character, Marshall throws himself into his work with joy, continually wandering into side excursions of thought that the others are always cutting short. Sent on a field mission with Sydney, he explains his panic to her as being caused by this being his first plane ride. But not to worry. Marshall read the operating manual for the airliner the night before, and can explain every noise and vibration. And does!

It's this passion for knowledge that lets Marshall keep his emotional balance when he discovers that he'd been working for the bad guys. Being treated as a rock star by the computer and gadget gurus at the real CIA doesn't hurt either. And it's Marshall who eventually has the most normal family life, falling in love with another computer geek and becoming the father of four boys.

Kevin Weisman, who plays Marshall Flinkman, receivef a BA from UCLA's School of Theatre/Film/Television. He's also appeared in a recurring role in Buffy, and a guest role in Charmed and the X-files.


Nadia Santos
Taken away from Irina at birth, Nadia had already been used for Rambaldi experiments when she's stolen away by Vaughn's father Bill, who dumps her in an orphanage. When they discover a DNA code hidden in Rambaldi manuscripts, a worldwide search turns up Nadia in an asylum. Having always wanted a sister, Sydney is off to join the asylum and rescue her sister. Who turns out to have a pretty good kickboxing style of her own and had already joined the family business as a spy.

Swearing that the only thing he cared about was his daughter's welfare, Sloane sneaks her away immediately but, rather than enjoying the pleasures of father/daughter day at work, Sloane has made a deal with the bad guys (well, the other bad guys) to split half the profits if he can use their Rambaldi fluid on his daughter to get her to be the magic pen writing out the Rambaldi secrets. But unlike his partners, Sloane would prefer to keep his daughter alive.

Nadia easily slips into Sydney's spy world, dating Vaughn's friend Weiss, and deepening her relationship with her father - something which makes Sydney very uncomfortable as, by now, Sydney's hatred for Sloane is out in the open.

And there's another piece of the Rambaldi puzzle hanging over Nadia's head. The prediction says that when the Chosen One and the Passenger fight, only one will return alive. That's not Sydney's only worry. When Sydney took Nadia to the grave of their mother, Nadia swore to kill the person who killed their mother. Unfortunately for Sydney, that person is Sydney's father.

One would recommend counseling for this whole dysfunctional family if Arvin Sloane wasn't already sleeping with the counseler.

Mía Maestro is an Argentinian actress who won the Imagen Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role in Alias.


Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss is the loyal CIA buddy who puts his job on the line for Vaughn, while Vaughn is busy putting his own on the line for Sydney. One of the really decent souls in the world, Weiss's reward comes when he and Sydney's sister Nadia begin to seriously date. Though having a relationship with someone who spends a lot of episodes in a coma must be hell on Friday nights.

Greg Grunberg's film career is extensive, appearing in Melrose Place, Baywatch, Murphy Brown, Mike Hammer, Silk Stalkings, NYPD Blue, Dead Zone, Lost, House MD, Monk and Heroes. He's also appeared in the Austin Powers movie, Goldmembers.


Noah Hicks
SD-6 Agent Noah Hicks is part of Sydney's past and would like to be part of her future, too. When Noah left Los Angeles, he sent a message to Sydney and waited for a response that never came. Sydney, too, waited for some word from him, but found none. When these two ex-lovers come together in an op, Noah explains that his message was in a piece of email spam with a subject that should have been recognizable to Sydney. Subtle. Sydney explains that they were having computer problems in that timeframe. One only hopes that doesn't mean she will be forced to read all spam in the future.

Reunited, Noah and Sydney restart their affair. And when Noah is about to leave yet again, he makes it very clear to Sydney that he wants her to come with him. But she can't. Her passion to take down SD-6 is just too strong to let go.

These email-crossed lovers shouldn't meet again, but they do when Sydney finds herself fighting a masked competitor in an op. The only thing that mitigates the tragedy of Noah's death is the fact that he fell on his own knife, so that Sydney didn't directly cause his death.

Peter Berg has taken on almost every hat in the film industry, as crew, actor, director and producer. He's appeared in 21 Jump Street, Miracle Mile, and Chicago Hope.


Will Tippin
Will Tippin has been in love with Sydney for years, though she sees him only as a friend. After Danny's death, Will and Francie become Sydney's roommates. A reporter, Will can't help becoming intrigued by small inconsistencies he discovers in the story of Danny's death, and in Sydney's obsessive work for her cover, the Bank Dauphine. Once Sydney becomes aware of this, she is terrified that Will's sleuthing will turn up some fact that will lead to his death, too.

And she's right to be worried. When Will is seen as a danger to SD-6, the only thing that saves him is Jack and Vaughn's setting him up as a drug addict who is disgraced, but who will now not be believed. His life ruined, at least Will is now someone to whom Sydney need no longer lie.

As Sydney becomes more and more involved with Vaughn, Will recognizes that he has no chance with her and falls in love with Francie. Unfortunately for Will (not to mention Francie!), Francie is killed by Sydney's nemesis, Anna, an assassin who has been modified to become Francie's double and takes Francie's place. One can only assume Will is not a particularly observant lover. Publicly disgraced, Will has been earning money by doing CIA research for Vaughn, and Will's drugged pillow talk provides Anna with information about the CIA's progress tracking down and understanding Rambaldi artifacts.

Bradley Cooper's acting resume includes roles in Sex in the City, Jack and Bobby, Law and Order, and Wedding Crashers.


Francie Calfo
Francie is Sydney's roommate, almost catching Sydney out in a lie when Francie and her fiance meet Sydney in Las Vegas. Sydney's cover story had sent her somewhere else. When Will's reputation is destroyed, Francie gives him a job as a waiter in her new restaurant. Eventually Will and Francie become lovers.

Unknown to anyone, Francie has been killed by as assassin modified to have Francie's appearance. The fake Francie uses her pillow talk with Will to gain CIA information. But realizing that he's just become suspicious of her, Francie attacks and almost kills Will. Obviously, she's not as good at her job as her reputation would lead one to assume. It's only because of a phone message Will was able to leave for Sydney that Sydney discovers the substitution in time to force her to shoot what her mind tells her is an assassin, and what her emotions tell her is her best friend.

Moral? Always check the references of potential roommates for associations with bloodthirsty villains.

Merrin Dungey has appeared in Babylon 5, ER, Murphy brown, Seinfeld, West Wing, Friends, Malcolm in the Middle, Boston Legal, and Grey's Anatomy.


Anna Espinosa
Anna Espinosa is a top assassin, and she so often seems to be one step ahead of Sydney that their competition takes on the occasional humorous aspect. But there's nothing humorous about Anna when she kills Sydney's best friend, Francie, and takes on her identity.

Discovered, Anna thinks she's disposed of Will, but he had time to leave a quick message to warn Sydney. Sydney's test for Anna is beautifully clean and simple. Sydney holds out a spoon of strawberry ice cream to share with Anna/Francie, knowing Francie hates strawberry. Not wanting to be out of character as best girlfriend, Anna takes the bite and seals her fate. (Moral? Stick with chocolate.)

Although Sydney keeps trying to kill Anna, Sydney never seems to be able to quite manage the job, and Anna returns periodically to bedevil Syd's ops.

Gina Torres won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Syndicated Drama Series award (ALMA) for her role in Cleopatra 2525. Her extensive film and TV career includes roles in Law and Order, NYPD Blue, Dark Angel, Zena, La Femme Nikita, Hercules, Angel, The Matrix Reloaded, Firefly, CSI, 24, and The Shield.


Julian Sark
Julian Sark is one of the most appealing villains one could imagine. He's remarkably good natured, preferring not to kill when it's not really necessary, though he follows orders when required. Even when the result would be the destruction of two major cities! By nature he's a follower rather than a leader, and he shifts allegiances to the next perceived winner with the fluidity of a ballet dancer. He works for and against Alvin Sloane, and for and against Irina Derevko, and is one of the only villains left standing in the end.

Life seems to be a series of hard breaks for Sark, though. His massive inheritance is taken from him by the bad guys, who won't even admit him to their inner circle. He has an affairs with Anna, but his relationship with Vaughn's wife Lauren is his most intense. Following her being shot by Vaughn, Sark once again changes side, but requires that he be allowed to see his love again. For some strange reason, they keep her body in a lower drawer somewhere in headquarters. The contrast of Vaughn's reaction to her body and Sark's is a wonderfully unusual plot twist.

David Anders's career includes appearing in CSI (LV and Miami), Charmed, Deadwood and Grey's Anatomy.


Rachel Gibson
Rachel Gibson appears in the series at just the time when Sydney's pregnancy by Vaughn is making her unable to do the more strenuous maneuvers required of a field agent. Initially traumatized by the bombing of her office and the loss of her friends, Rachel is slowly increasing her skills and confidence under Sydney's tutelage.

Her one romantic interlude is with a man she meets in a hotel while waiting for her op to start. Clearly her employers should have provided her with pictures of their main opponents, since her affair turns out to be with Sark. When he catches and has to torture her later, he really does seem to be sorry about it. But torturing lovers is just part of your job requirement when you're a villain.

Rachel Nichols has appeared in movies and TV, including Sex and the City, Line of Fire, and the Amityville Horror.


Kelly Peyton
Kelly Peyton has no such emotional problems. Kelly is the sort of villain who gives the profession its Webster definition. She's also the coworker who bombed Rachel's office, and she emerges as a major player on the other side, usually teamed with Sark.

Amy Acker appeared as Fred in Angel, as well as in various movies and TV.


CIA
The CIA is the legitimate spy agency at which both Arvin Sloane and Jack Bristow worked before spinning off SD-6. After SD-6 is taken down, many of the SD-6 agents were taken into the CIA.

After seeing the luxurious headquarters in which the CIA works, one can understand Congress wanting to oversee their budget. Even Marshall was impressed when he was recruited from SD-6 after its takedown.

SD-6
SD-6 is portrayed to its employees as a clandestine branch of the CIA, a black ops group so secret that the CIA won't acknowledge their existence. Actually, it's run by the bad guys, under the control of The Alliance of Twelve. Sydney works for SD-6 for many years before she learns the truth about it not being affiliated with the CIA.

What finally brings SD-6 down is their bad decision to have Rutger Hauer torture Jack. Bad move when your victim has a daughter like Sydney.

Alliance of Twelve
A crime and intelligence gathering group begun by Alain Christophe, an ex-CIA agent, the Alliance was interested in profit and power, and was based all around the world. SD-6 was a cell of The Alliance.
The Covenant
Devoted to the creation of the world described by Milo Rambaldi, the Covenant was a Russian-based group, loosely connected together, and started by former KGB and Central Committee members. It's the Covenant that is responsible for Sydney's kidnapping at the end of the 2nd season. They hold her for two years (compressed into the summer, of course) before Asst Director Kendall, FBI, is able to help her escape and erase her memories. Given her personality, Sydney should have known that she wouldn't be able to rest until she recovered those memories, but the torture and brainwashing she was subjected to by the Covenant's attempts to turn her into a Covenant agent were part of the reason she was willing to give up those two years.

Though the Covenant seems to be destroyed by Sark and Lauren, it remains in existence, hidden away and led by Irina's sister, and Sydney's aunt, Elena Derevko. Their terrifying goal seems to be to bring about the end of the world predictions of Rambaldi, and Irina reappears with the goal of stopping her sister. Though endless and limitless power does seem to be something that makes Irina's heart beat a little faster, too.

Prophet 5
Prophet 5 is a criminal organization which has been in existence since the 1970's. It began with the collection of a large number of scientists and mathematicians brought together to tranlate ancient documents that referenced present day advanced genetic concepts. It was through Prophet 5 that the science of doubling a person was developed. When the Alliance and SD-6 fell, the action returned to Prophet 5.
APO - Authorized Personnel Only
Sydney is invited to join with a small number of agents in a special black ops CIA unit. She arrives by way of the walkways beneath the grungy Los Angeles subway, entering yet another scrumptiously appointed headquarters. The spy business must be really booming to afford their architects and interior decorators. While appreciating the invitation, Sydney is horrified to realize that what has formed is that same small group from her SD-6 days with, horrors, Alvin Sloane as director. Talk about deja vu!

One of the stranger aspects of this unit is that even their old friends from the CIA aren't allowed to know who they're working for, so now, once again, Sydney has to convince people she's been on ops with that she really does work for a bank now. Even Marshall, who met his computer geek wife at the CIA, has to tell her that he's become a video game designer.

Rambaldi
Milo Rambaldi was born in 1444 in Parma, Italy. An artist, he became the protege of Pope Alexander, but his ideas conflicted with those of Archdeacon Vespertini, and Rambaldi's ideas were washed from recorded history. His ideas and prophecies were maintained only through the efforts of a group of supporters.

The majority of Sydney's missions will have some eventual connection with everyone's search for pieces of the Rambaldi puzzle. Though not caught by the bug herself, Sydney must be curious how someone in the 15th century was able to give a DNA description of Sydney's sister Nadia, put their mother Irina's name in the top of a carved box, and draw a picture of Sydney, herself. Besides that, Rambaldi gives glimpses of his discovery of concepts that would result later in technology like the cell phone.

Chosen One
Sydney is The Chosen One.
The Passenger
Nadia is The Passenger.





LINKS
Alias  Wikipedia
Episode Guide  imbd.com
Episode Guide  alias-tv.com
Episode Guide  epguides.com
Episode Guide  tv.com
Detailed Episode Summaries

Rambaldi  Wikipedia
Rambaldi  alias-tv.com

Jennifer Garner  (Sydney)
Victor Garber     (Jack)
Michael Vartan   (Vaughn)

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Brown-eyed Girl Van Morrison Syd&Dixon
Doesn't Matter Anymore Linda Rondstadt Jack&Irina
First Night Alone Jane Oliver Syd&Vaughn
Here She Comes Bonnie Tyler Syd
If a Daughter The Duenna Jack&Syd
Kodachrome Paul Simon Syd
One More Ride Jane Oliver Syd
Patterns Simon&Garfunkel Syd
Shelter from the Storm Bob Dylan Gen
Song for the Asking Simon&Garfunkel Syd&Danny
Trouble Cat Stevens Syd
Turn Away Jane Oliver Syd&Vaughn
Who's Gonna Know Kathy Mattea Syd&parents
Wichita Lineman Glen Campbell? Marshall



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