Alias: 'Truth Be Told' makes Top 10 TV Pilot List

Celestra9
[1]Sep 4, 2008
member since: 12/14/05
level: 16
rank: Church Lady
posts: 193
TV Guide magazine's senior writer Damian Holbrook has listed his top 10 favourite TV pilots.
1. Lost
2. 24
3. The Shield
4. The Sopranos
5. 30 Rock
6. Football Wives (US)
7. Desperate Housewives
8. Saturday Night Live
9. ER
10. ALIAS
What he had to say:
"While there is little in this world cooler than Jennifer Garner in that red wig, what really blew us away was the adrenalised action, the coed-turned-spy's emotional complexity and the arsenal of twists creator J.J. Abrams packed into over an hour of commercial-free mayhem. Like Sydney, this one kicks butt. "

I know it's only one man saying this, but I'm so glad someone has recognised the show for the true masterpiece it is. Personally though I would have put it above a lot of the other shows, particularly 'Football Wives', I mean the show didn't even get picked up so the pilot couldn't have been that good.
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alias004
[2]Sep 5, 2008
member since: 12/10/06
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posts: 67
yeah..definitely above 24 and Lost...and ER
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Celestra9
[3]Sep 6, 2008
member since: 12/14/05
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Yeah it's a pity that Lost always seems to get the limelight these days. Alias was a much more consistent show that Lost ever was or will be. And the Alias pilot kicked its butt!!!
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alias004
[4]Sep 6, 2008
member since: 12/10/06
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Personally(and i think a lot of people are of the same opinion),Alias is much better than a lot of "hit" tv shows(Lost,24).Alias was never considered to be a hit(and i'll explain the reasons later) but it's definetely one of the few shows that have quality.And this is proved by the fact that it has been praised by almost any critic for its excellent,intriguing plot,perfect performances from all the cast members and for the astonishing effects.Seriously,every episode is like a one-hour movie.
Now,the reason for which it was never considered to be a hit and it didn't have a large audience is,i think,its complicated nature(especially in the first 2 seasons with the double agent mess).Based on my personal experience,I can say that a lot of people didn't give it a chance because they couldn't keep track of it.All my friends have seen a couple of episodes and they think it's a really good show..but they couldn't understand what was going on..But if you sit and watch it from the beggining you'll appreciate this great tv show.
Edited on 12/16/2008 10:51am
Edited 2 total times.
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36th_Phantom
[5]Sep 9, 2008
member since: 09/03/08
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this should be a lot higher than 10! IMO lost is deseveringly above it but football wives!!! no way
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Page_47
[6]Sep 10, 2008
member since: 07/08/05
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I absolutely love Lost but I would still have put the Alias premiere head and shoulders above it.
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iamralphiam
[7]Sep 11, 2008
member since: 09/05/07
level: 6
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As far as pilots go, Alias has a better one than lost no doubt about it. But as far as shows go, Alias could never catch up because the show has been toyed with by the network (season 4 anyone?). As a new viewer I went from watching 3-4 episodes a day to occasionally watching 1 because of the stand-alone nature of season 4 (though I'm told that ends soon--can't wait for it to pick back up honostly). Lost has been consistant, theres only 1 real filler episode, and since its popular enough the network hasn't really messed with it. I fear for Finge because its on FOX, dunno why JJ would move to Fox....
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Page_47
[8]Sep 11, 2008
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Which one was the filler eppy? I'm not challenging, just interested. I agree very much that Alias suffered tampering. The changing figures of authority behind it had a lot to do with it to, with JJ offloading it onto others when he wanted to move on. Season 4 ends very well, and season 5 is good and at times brilliant as well!
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iamralphiam
[9]Sep 12, 2008
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Lost's filler episode was the one with the spider and the two extras (Nikki and Paulo) being buried alive--Expose (btw using the special e character causes errors when posting :-\)
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Page_47
[10]Sep 13, 2008
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Oh yeah! I thought that was alright(ish). We didn't learn much but it did serve to kill of two quite annoying characters!
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renthead89
[11]Sep 13, 2008
member since: 03/15/07
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Fab, I'm glad somebody understands Alias's pilot. I think it really is the best pilot I've ever seen, and it was a lot cheaper to shoot than Lost. Alias's was amazing because it created an entire world and just threw the audience into it and allowed them to figure it out. Alias assumed the viewers were smart, which I appreciated. Also, the ending is perfect. "Hello?"
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iamralphiam
[12]Sep 13, 2008
member since: 09/05/07
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As a side note I finally got back into the good Alias I like, just finished watching Another Mister Sloane great episode (Sloane is my favorite baddie for sure).
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Page_47
[13]Sep 15, 2008
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Over on the Fringe boards we're discussing the pilot of that JJ show - it's impressive and a statement about the possibilities of good production in television that Alias was so much cheaper to make and yet arguably so much better in its opening episode! Not to flame Fringe, which I like quite a lot, but $10 million on an Alias episode and the show would have never ended!
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iamralphiam
[14]Sep 15, 2008
member since: 09/05/07
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well if you won't I will :-P The Fringe pilot was extremely dissapointing with all the hype that was put into it. Prooves money doesn't make a show amazing for sure though. The show has an inkling of potential still, but it needs to get a lot better if I'm gonna become a regular watcher past this season.
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Celestra9

[15]Sep 16, 2008

member since: 12/14/05
level: 16
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iamralphiam wrote:

well if you won't I will :-P The Fringe pilot was extremely dissapointing with all the hype that was put into it. Prooves money doesn't make a show amazing for sure though. The show has an inkling of potential still, but it needs to get a lot better if I'm gonna become a regular watcher past this season.

Yeah the pilot was OK, but nothing is going to beat out the Alias pilot for me from JJ's shows. Lost was good but didn't have the "OMG this is so awesome" impact of Alias. I think it will be a long time before I see a pilot THAT good again, if ever.

Edited on 09/16/2008 7:36pm

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Page_47
[16]Sep 19, 2008
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Agree
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