Alias May Be Over, but for Fans, the Story Never Ends

Sure, we may have seen the last of Jennifer Garner’s super spy Sydney Bristow on television with the final episode of Alias, but that doesn’t mean fans of the show still won’t be able to get a fix. While the shows will live on with DVD, there are still other ways to relive the experience. Thanks to merchandising and fan groups, Alias lives on.

There’s always Alias Magazine, which enjoys a strong subscriber base. Each issue features interviews with the stars and the crew, and goes back through the seasons to focus on certain episode favorites to get feedback from the fans and cast. With as many guest stars that came through the Alias set over the years, there will be plenty of sources for interviews and feature stories for years to come.

Inkworks Cards produces a line of Alias trading cards, which have proven to be very popular. Randomly inserted into packs of cards are autographs from cast members and cards with a swatch from actor’s costumes. Inkworks continues to make cards of canceled shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, so as long as fans buy the cards, Inkworks will produce them.

Stories of the adventures of Sydney Bristow continue in the line of Alias novels from Bantam books. Stories come from across the series’ timeline, from prequels set before the series premiere (when Sydney was a young recruit for SD-6) to stories during the APO era. There are even Michael Vaughn novels. Unlike other books created quickly to capitalize on a show’s popularity, these novels are very well done, and some were even written by the show’s writers. We may very well see novels set after the finale: there are still some loose ends out there.

Cubicles and offices around the country are decorated by Alias fans with the line of action figures that have been offered over the years. Fans will be happy to know that just because the show is over, the action figures will go on. SEG Toys is planning a four pack of 5 inch figures in small dioramas. Included in the set are Sydney Bristow in her Shanghai schoolgirl outfit, and another in military fatigues. Jack Bristow is finally immortalized in plastic in a classic stoic pose, and Marshall Flinkman will be right at home on top of your computer in his own computer lab.

Writer Pierluigi Cothran has penned an Alias graphic novel (or comic book) that has already been published overseas by the Italian arm of Disney, but has yet to get a street date here in the states. Sooner or later, someone will realize how lucrative this franchise can be as a comic book and will get this published.

Alias fan groups abound on the internet, and will often hold episode watching meetings or charity events like the Alias Marathon. It’s easy to find a local group of fans by just searching the internet.

Whether you are a casual fan or a serious fanatic, the Alias universe lives on through the merchandising and the fandom of followers worldwide.