The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the season premiere of "Alias."

The premise of "Alias" always was very clear - - the world of Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) as she conceals the truth of her duel life as a double agent for the CIA. It was a story of mixed motivations and hidden agendas for all the characters of the show, including those who had no affiliation with intelligence agencies.

That premise worked, and with constant re-imaginations to that formula it was kept fresh and alive, "Alias" has become compulsive viewing.

Season 3 saw a re-tooling of the series through a two-year missing arc, which allowed the characters to grow like never before. The entire dynamic changed - - Vaughn (Michael Vartan) was married, Derevko (Lena Olin) was on the run, Will (Bradley Cooper) and Francie (Merrin Dungey) were gone, Sloane (Ron Rifkin) is now a legitimate CIA consultant and Jack was in prison. Now that is a shocker if you are just waking up from a two-year absence. Add to the mix that Vaughns wife, Lauren Reed (Melissa George), works for the National Security Council and is investigating the murder of a Russian diplomat, Andrian Lazary, whom Sydney killed during her missing time.

Everyone had their own agenda, and those agendas did not mix well. So for the first seven episodes, the premise of the show was maintained, but soon climaxed in Prelude as Lauren discovered the truth behind the murder of Lazary, and everything came out into the open. What came next was a mish-mash of Rambaldi stories, unbelievable terrorism and adultery between the main characters themselves.

The show lost its way.

So for the premiere of the fourth season, series creator J.J Abrams promised to fix what was wrong with the third season. He promised a return to the old dynamic. He promised Syd would have a personal life. And he promised that the tone would become a little more upbeat.

Looks like he kept his promise.

The season premiere Authorized Personnel Only and the series premiere Truth Be Told have a lot in common - - they both have three words in the title, they are both extended length episodes, and they were both pilots.

Thats right, Authorized acted as a pilot. Nicely setting up the season, the episode takes place after the events of Resurrection -- the third season finale -- and re-introduces the characters all over again. Most likely as a way of enticing new viewers to the show, and also giving existing fans the opportunity to become reacquainted with everyone after a nine-month period without the show.

Opening with a mission, the episode mimics Phase One, the first major re-tooling of the show back in the second season (which brought the show its highest ratings ever) with Syd wearing some rather revealing lingerie and ending with a cliffhanger forcing viewers to watch in order to find out what happens. No doubt another trick to keep new viewers tuned in, but for existing fans it was a let down ... what happened with the events of Resurrection? What was really in those documents Jack had signed? And what happened to Sloane and Nadia (Mia Maestro)?

Dont expect the answers too soon, as viewers are forced to wait for nearly 20 minutes before those events are touched upon. But when those events finally do surface, its done in awe-inspiring significance. This is not some minor lets get onto the next bitcliffhanger thats easily resolved, this cliffhanger surely will resonate through much of the fourth season, and into the very hearts of the characters themselves.

Without going into too much detail of the contents of the documents, a beloved character of the show is written out ... most likely for good. I know what you are thinking - - this is "Alias," how can anyone truly be written out? Although the write out is mostly handled off screen, there is an element of finality to it confirming that Irina Derevko is gone.

In most shows, trying to write out a character is a difficult job. Trying to do it whilst also setting up something new is an even trickier thing to accomplish with any degree of success. There needs to exist a balance which is just right for it to work. And given just how much Lena Olin brought to the show in the second season, writing her out was perhaps the hardest job any writer could take on. Carrying it out without her presence makes the success which J.J Abrams achieved even greater. The write out worked, and worked well.

Not only did it work out to the credit of the show's writing team, but it spurred off some new agendas for several key characters, each now with their own motivations. And in true "Alias" style, those motivations clash. No doubt more compelling viewing in the future.

Including Angela Bassett as a CIA director was an excellent decision, as she brings a refreshing forcefulness to the role which is seldom seen on the series, and her continuation of the role will do the series credit. When Dixon (Carl Lumbly) was in charge, rogue operations seemed to go unnoticed. But with Bassetts character, it looks as if the core characters will have to start going by the book.

So thats the characters. But what about this new direction? Or old direction, as the case may be. The CIA has set up a black ops division which they cannot announce exists, and so the agents working within it must not announce their affiliation with the CIA to anyone. Sound familiar? It should ... it was the original premise of SD-6 in the first season.

The CIA has set up a legitimate SD-6 called APO -- Authorized Personnel Only - - which will do all the things SD-6 claimed it was doing. But can there really be an SD-6 without Sloane at the helm? No. So the shock that Sloane is the boss of this new department is rather unnerving. One of the planet's biggest terrorists leading the most secret branch of the CIA. You would think that the intelligence agencies of America would have learned by their mistakes in Season 3 ... but the reasoning for having Sloane there is quickly dealt with, and dealt with logically.

So all in all, Authorized Personnel Only is an astounding comeback for the series. Stepping back from the brink of ridiculousness, and with no sign of The Covenant, or Rambaldi, the show is given the chance to flex is creativity with shocks, thrills and a few surprises which you will never see coming.

Alias is back!

Alan Stanley Blair is a writer for Airlock Alpha, contributing from his home country of Scotland. He can be reached at ablair@airlockalpha.com. He owns the "Alias" fan site A Free Agent, where this review originally was published.

Authorized Personnel Only
Alias

Grade: B+

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