24 vs. Alias

Alright, so you may have guessed from the name of my blog and my profile, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm obsessed with spy shows. I've been a hardcore Alias fan for 5 years and in the last year I've become a fan of 24.

But the question is which is better? I honestly don't know if the two are entirely comparable or if I can come to a fair conclusion but I'm going to try and see where I end up. Please feel free to chime in with your thoughts.

The obvious place to start is to compare Jack Bauer and Sydney Bristow. Now, since I'm a girl I have to put a vote in for Sydney here (girl power!). She managed to balance her education and life as a secret agent and has done her best to maintain a personal life. This is where a major part of the show's appeal comes in. Over the years the viewers have developed an emotional connection with Sydney as she endured challenges in her relationships, the largest of which was the up and down with Vaughn. The rest of the appeal is the action packed spy drama - not to mention the cliffhangers.

On the other hand, the action is the main appeal of 24. Jack Bauer is a freakin' awesome, kick butt counter terrorist agent...but he lacks the emotional connection. Plus we all know Jack's never been good at balancing his work and his personal life. Maybe the show doesn't need the emotional connection because it has enough action. I also think Jack Bauer's character is a little more predictable...can you really argue with me on this one?

Now, let's look at Sidney's and Jack's wardrobes. You have to admit Alias definitely wins on this point. Since 24 takes place all in one day there are no wardrobe changes- don't those clothes get dirty after all the months of shooting? However, Alias has an endless number of wardrobe changes and fun costumes.

Moving on for now. What do the two shows have in common? They both love bringing people back from the dead. Both shows have staged deaths in order to protect agents from the enemy. Also, neither show shies away from killing people off, although the body count is definitely higher on 24.

Okay, let's examine the believability aspect...well, neither score very high in this area but is that really why we watch TV? One strong point for 24, though, is that they don't get into weird, supernatural issues like Rimbaldi.

I have such a history with Alias that I have a hard time saying 24 is better. That being said, Alias has some serious ground to cover to maintain their status this season. They've definitely gotten away from their roots and have let me down. They killed off many of the long time characters and since they drive the emotional/personal connection, that element has suffered. Their main point of differentiation may end up being their demise if they can't recover. Since 24 doesn't rely on the emotional connection they have nothing to lose on that point. But the previews for the last episodes of the Alias have given me high hopes that they will tie up a lot of loose ends. If they can pull that off they will walk away with my vote. If not, I'm afraid 24 will have surpassed them.