Goodbye, Alias

Goodbye, Alias. You left by tying up the Rambaldi arch once and for all. The greatest mystery was eternal life, but it kind of stinks if you live forever while entombed - and paralyzed! You killed off the most boring agent, Tom Grace, which was okay, because he was never really on the show to begin with. You killed off Victor Garber's character, as penance for his wooden acting for most episodes. You brought back Lena Olin, because (you could finally afford her?), where we discovered she was dressing up for a Dynasty remake. (Seriously, I thought power suits were dead?) We said goodbye(?) to new villain Peyton, and simultaneously negating the need for Amy Acker to appear on Fear Factor.

Does it have to be so filthy? If Rambaldi can prophesize the future he might advise me not to wear $500 shoes." - Julian Sark (Alias, ABC)

Julien Sark, you wonderful villain-for-hire, we'll miss you. Please, show up in a Alias movie in the near future to make these terrific one-liners? Thanks.

We said goodbye to SpySister, Nadia Santos. (Because when a Sloane and a Derevko have a baby, the only logical last name is Santos!) Except we said goodbye to you a few episodes ago, because you're DEAD. But that's Nadia for 'ya: being extremely annoying and judgmental, even from beyond. In the land of the living, we saw Marcus Dixon off, who, apparently, is now the Deputy Director of the CIA. Or some part of the CIA. We just know that he's Deputy Director, of something. Congratulations!

We also said goodbye to spy Michael Vaughn, who, as you all know by now, is not dead. Because nobody on that show dies, EVER. (Lauren Reed and extras excluded.) We also said goodbye to Jennifer Garner's character, Sydney Bristow. Before we left, we found out how she and Danny met, remembered waaay back to when there was only one true Francie, and filled in a bunch of tenny-tiny plotholes through Lost-style flashbacks.

Yes, the series is done. It's been a thrilling five years. Not necessarily a terrific five years, but it's been entertaining. Through all of the character revelations, and tie-ups, and all the terrific (and not so terrific) action scenes, there is undoubtedly one aspect of the series finale that stands heads and shoulders above everything else: the music. Michael Giacchino's score for the 2-part finale was one of the most entertaining soundtrack that he's put out since The Incredibles. (It's second, IMHO, only to his score for Mission: Impossible III.)

To hear some good, classic spy music, go to ABC's Full Episode Streaming player by clicking this link here. Navigate to Alias, and watch the most current episode, "Reprisal/All the Time In The World". The opening segment is all one big spy mission, and it's simply terrific. Giacchino really stepped it up a notch here, to deliver a knock-out performance. Simply put, his score gives the finale a movie-like quality, and more than makes up for the finale's shortcomings. (Exterminate DC and London? Because you're evil? Wha....?)

Goodbye, Alias. We'll see each other in sydnication, but it won't be like it once was. We'll miss your impossible story threads, the odd character dynamics, and the complete and utter disregard for people staying dead. I'll see 'ya playing around sometime, okay?