Alias question, LotR-connected recs, and a DS9 review

[selenak]

Okay, a question to all Alias fans, of which there seem to be quite a lot: I've been reading intriguing comments on this show in the lj world for more than a year now. Here are the somewhat conflicting impressions I got: Buffy with spies instead of vampires; La Femme Nikita, only better/worse; owes something to Run Lola Run; the most intriguing characters are people nicknamed Spy Mommy and Spy Daddy, a KGB agent and CIA agent respectively who somehow spawned the heroine of the show. Correct or misled?

Also: since I'm now curious enough, is it possible to get a season or two of this show on DVD in Europe?


Here is a cool discussion of the scene in RotK (the film) where Frodo sends Sam away, how this scene was interpreted by fandom; of the characters (Frodo, Sam and Gollum) in general, and how a slash-only reading (i.e. a reading that does not see slash as an interpretation but as the only interpretation) can be detrimental to the overall impression of the story. Choice excerpt:

So I guess I'm beginning to feel like F/S can be too focused on, elevated in ways it shouldn't be. It's sad, but the story states pretty clearly that their friendship is not any ultimate solution. Maybe this is another reason Sam seems like the more accessible character. Not only are his deeds easier to understand, but his needs are too. Why can't Frodo just return Sam's adoration? But the thing is he can't and he shouldn't. He loves Sam but he's focused in the other direction. (...) Here I'm not talking about elevating one character over another, but I think this quote is related to the elevation of F/S above the real quest. Sam is the easier character for slash and fanfic purposes, but he's not the ideal to which all characters in the story should aspire. His devotion to Frodo is a very special role that's essential to the quest, but it isn't the quest in itself.

Two terrific interviews of the actors, one with Sean Astin, and a corresponding interview with Elijah Wood. butterfly, Sean Astin is as irritated with the "true hero" thing as we are.

I've learned the Gone With The Wind story I've recced some days ago was written by bonibaru, she who creates beautiful vids. She also started a most amazing thing, a Gone With The Wind/Harry Potter crossover that actually works!

Lastly, one of my christmas presents was the DS9 anthology Prophecy and Change, which is basically printed fanfiction. I reviewed it here.

Comments

[buffyannotater.livejournal.com]

Buffy with spies instead of vampires;

More or less...Like Buffy, it uses outlandish, sci/fi-ish extremes to deal with real-life problems, here mostly family-related. Like Buffy, no matter how much disbelief you have to suspend throughout the run of the series, the characters themselves are always completely believable, which helps you accept the other stuff.

La Femme Nikita, only better/worse;

Haven't seen it, although I've heard there are some parallels, but most places I've seen concede that Alias is the better show, including some people who liked Nikita better, meaning that their favorite show is still LFN, but they admit that the writing and acting is better on Alias.

owes something to Run Lola Run;

Not really. The closest I could think is the pilot episode where one of Sydney's covers is as a girl with orange hair. Other than that, um, no, not really.

the most intriguing characters are people nicknamed Spy Mommy and Spy Daddy, a KGB agent and CIA agent respectively who somehow spawned the heroine of the show.

Yes, to a certain degree. They're never called Spy Mommy and Spy Daddy in the series. They are Irina Derevko (cover name Laura Bristow) and Jack Bristow, and they are among the most intriguing characters on the show, but IMO the most intriguing are Sloane and Sark, but I won't spoil for you who they are.

I definitely recommend you watch it. It's one of my favorite shows...but I strongly recommend you watch every episode in order, because it's even more complicated than X-Files--there are no episodes that break away from the main arc completely and the mythology is incredibly complex, to the point that now in year 3 we don't understand all of it fully--and even harder to join mid-story than Buffy. It's well-worth seeing all of them though, because it's immensely fun: the actiony stuff, the character-driven stuff and the absolutely jaw-dropping plot twists, some of which forever change the show. And when this show drops a bombshell that "forever changes it," it really does, unlike some shows that promote something like that and then go back on it.

Anyway, the first season is available in Europe. Here's (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000AVB6Y/qid=1073150181/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_11_1/026-5202678-8985255) a link. The second isn't yet, but it came out in the U.S. only months after the first, so I assume you guys will be getting the second, which is even better than the first, pretty soon.

[soundingsea.livejournal.com]

Ah, I must concur with this statement:

I strongly recommend you watch every episode in order, because it's even more complicated than X-Files--there are no episodes that break away from the main arc completely and the mythology is incredibly complex, to the point that now in year 3 we don't understand all of it fully--and even harder to join mid-story than Buffy.

Very important to watch all the eps in the correct order and not miss any.