Alias
Truth Be Told
TV Flash files “Truth Be Told” as a desk essential hour — Alias (2001–2006) on ABC, season 1, episode 1, aired 2001-09-30, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S01E01: listed hour 1 of 105 in the Alias guide, first listed hour of season 1. It aired 2001-09-30 (60 min). No earlier hour is listed in this guide. Next is “So It Begins” (S01E02).
Essential hour: “Truth Be Told”. Truth Be Told is the double-agent drop: grad student Sydney, evil agency, Jennifer Garner as a physical star vehicle in Abrams mystery-box clothes.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Sydney Bristow is a college student who leads a double life: she works for shadowy government agency called SD-6 which is supposed to be a covert branch of the CIA and reports to Arvin Sloane. Recently engaged, she tells her boyfriend, Danny Hecht, the truth. The next day, he is murdered. Later, Sydney's father, Jack Bristow, tells the truth: he is a double agent for the real CIA, as SD-6 is a renegade agency who allegedly killed Sydney's fiancé. Sydney must make a decision which will haunt her for the rest of her life. Sydney's partner in the field, Marcus Dixon, is also unaware about his true alliances as is SD-6's tech expert, the socially awkward Marshall Flinkman. Sydney's friends, the headstrong Francine, and the ambitious journalist Will Tippin are also unaware about Sydney's double life, until Will becomes inquisitive about Sydney's well-being following her fiancé's murder.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Truth Be Told sit in the Alias guide?
S01E01 is listed hour 1 of 105 — first listed hour of season 1, season 1 episode 1.
When did Alias S01E01 air?
Truth Be Told aired 2001-09-30 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start Alias?
The ABC premiere: Sydney learns the agency is not what it claims and goes double. Wigs and missions are the weekly candy; family is the real intel network.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Grad student Sydney Bristow learns her spy agency is evil and becomes a double agent — wigs, missions, daddy issues. J.J. Abrams mystery-box action with Jennifer Garner as a star-making physical vehicle. Stylish network espionage that trained audiences for Lost-level mythology.
September 30, 2001, ABC puts a grad student in a red wig and calls it Tuesday: Sydney Bristow learns her spy agency is evil and becomes a double agent — weekly missions, disguises, daddy issues as J.J. Abrams mystery-box action. Five seasons through 2006, 105 episodes. Jennifer Garner made spy TV a star vehicle with martial arts, tearful phone calls, and city-title cards beside Victor Garber's Jack, Ron Rifkin's Sloane, Michael Vartan's Vaughn, Bradley Cooper's Will, and Carl Lumbly's Dixon. Serialized mythology…
Filed against
- Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow
Jennifer Garner’s Sydney Bristow made Alias a wig-and-mission star vehicle — grad student learns her spy agency is evil, becomes a double agent, daddy issues as mythology. J.J. Abrams mystery-box action that trained audiences for…
- Victor Garber as Jack Bristow
Victor Garber’s Jack Bristow turned Alias into daddy issues with tradecraft — grad student Sydney learns her spy agency is evil, wigs and missions, J.J. Abrams mystery-box action with Jennifer Garner as a star-making physical vehicle.…
- Ron Rifkin as Arvin Sloane
Ron Rifkin's Arvin Sloane coiled through Alias as mystery-box menace — grad student Sydney Bristow learning her spy agency is evil, J.J. Abrams wigs and daddy issues, Jennifer Garner as a star-making physical vehicle. Stylish network…
- Michael Vartan as Michael Vaughn
Michael Vartan’s Michael Vaughn was the CIA weather on Alias — J.J. Abrams mystery-box action, Jennifer Garner as a star-making physical vehicle, wigs, missions, daddy issues. 2000s network espionage that trained audiences for later…
- Bradley Cooper as Will Tippin
Bradley Cooper played Will Tippin on Alias — the civilian best friend who kept J.J. Abrams's wig-and-mission hour from becoming a pure spy catalog. Jennifer Garner's Sydney got the star-making stunts; Cooper got the longing that made the…
- Carl Lumbly as Marcus Dixon
Carl Lumbly played Marcus Dixon on Alias — the handler steel inside J.J. Abrams's wig-and-mission mythology, Jennifer Garner as a star-making physical vehicle, daddy issues as plot. Stylish network espionage that trained audiences for…