Terror-filled eyes. Lungs choked with water. A pounding heartbeat. For Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner, "Pearl Harbor," "Dude, Where's My Car?"), a vivacious, athletic grad student, it's a typical day in her life at her not-so-typical after-school job: She's an agent for SD-6, a top-secret division of the CIA -- and she's being tortured.
Recruited freshman year, the then shy and lonely Sydney jumped at the chance to add some meaning and excitement to her life. Little did she know how great she'd be at espionage or how much she'd love it. Today Sydney is no longer shy or alone. Boyfriend Danny has just proposed, and her best friend, Francie (Merrin Dungey), couldn't be happier. Her friend Will, (Bradley Cooper), however, has to feign happiness, keeping his unrequited love for her to himself. Sydney now finds herself facing a moral dilemma: What does she want from the rest of her life, and what does she tell her friends and would-be fiancé?
Her SD-6 partner, Dixon (Carl Lumbly, "Cagney & Lacey," "Buffalo Soldiers"), a devoted family man, warns her not to reveal her secret, and Sydney knows that SD-6 leader Sloane (Ron Rifkin, "L.A. Confidential") would not look kindly on any breach of security. Even Marshall (Kevin Weisman), SD-6's highly inventive weapons and gadget maker - a super intelligent man with noticeably lacking social skills -- knows that divulging their identities is strictly verboten. If there's one rule you don't break, this is the one.
But Sydney breaks it, and suddenly her world is spun terrifyingly sideways: Danny is killed, and Sydney's in a fight for her own life. She discovers that her long-estranged father, Jack (Victor Garber, "Titanic," "Annie"), is also SD-6 and that the organization is covering up a nefarious plan - they are not a branch of the CIA and are actually an enemy of the United States.
With nowhere else to turn, Sydney seeks the aid of the real CIA in the hope of putting SD-6 out of business. She is put under the command of operations officer Vaughn (Michael Vartan, "Never Been Kissed") who enlists Sydney to become a double agent. Her mission is to complete her cases at SD-6 while reporting her findings back to the CIA. But when Sydney finds out that her father is also affiliated with the CIA, she begins to question where his true allegiances really lie.
While attempting to flush out the evils of SD-6, Sydney's dangerous double life as a spy continues. Meanwhile, a terrorist is still holding her head under water, but coercing info from Sydney is like pulling teeth -- so he's about to try that, too...
"Alias" stars Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow, Michael Vartan as Vaughn, Bradley Cooper as Will, Merrin Dungey as Francie, Carl Lumbly as Dixon, Ron Rifkin as Sloane, Kevin Weisman as Marshall and Victor Garber as Jack Bristow.
"Alias"
was created by J.J. Abrams, who executive-produces the series along with
John Eisendrath ("Felicity"). Ken Olin ("thirtysomething") is co-executive
producer. The series, which is filmed in Los Angeles, is from Touchstone
Television.
2001-02/
ABC TELEVISION NETWORK
PRESS
RELEASE