Alias
Maternal Instinct
TV Flash files “Maternal Instinct” as hour 99 of 105 in the TV Flash guide — Alias (2001–2006) on ABC, season 5, episode 11, aired 2006-04-19, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S05E11: listed hour 99 of 105 in the Alias guide, hour 11 of 17 in season 5. It aired 2006-04-19 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “S.O.S.” (S05E10). Next is “There's Only One Sydney Bristow” (S05E12).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Irina returns and claiming to want to help, convinces Jack and Sydney to take her on a mission to retrieve The Horizon.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Maternal Instinct sit in the Alias guide?
S05E11 is listed hour 99 of 105 — hour 11 of 17 in season 5, season 5 episode 11.
When did Alias S05E11 air?
Maternal Instinct aired 2006-04-19 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…