Trivia for
"Alias" (2001)

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• Sydney says to CIA Agent Michael Vaughn, "The L.A Kings are in town next week." She also says that they are playing the New York Islanders, and she suggests that they go. This episode was aired January 20th 2002; the Kings actually played the Islanders one night before this episode aired.
  
  
• Will Tippin's sister, seen briefly in the pilot episode and several other episodes, is played by Jennifer Garner's stand-in, Nancy Wetzel.
  
  
• 'Jennifer Garner' auditioned five times for the part of Sydney Bristow.
  
  

• Jennifer Garner's opening narration which was used throughout Season 1 was literally phoned in. She was working on location and had to read it down the phoneline to J.J. Abrams who was recording it on the other end.
  
  
• Sydney's middle name is Anne, as is Jennifer Garner's.
  
  
• Sidney's CIA code name is Mountaineer. This is an inside joke, as Jennifer Garner is from West Virginia. West Virginia University is known as the Mountaineers.
  
  
• In the first season, Sydney's SD-6 codename was "Bluebird", her CIA codename was "Freelancer". In the second and third season at the CIA, she was known as "Mountaineer".
  
  
• While working at APO, the agents have these following code names:
  • Sydney: Phoenix
  • Vaughn: Shotgun
  • Dixon: Outrigger
  • Marshall: Merlin
  • Nadia: Evergreen
  • Jack: Raptor
  • Rachel: Oracle
  • Thomas: Sidewinder
  
  
  
• According to the audio commentaries on the Season 1 DVDs, when Sydney is called to meet with the CIA, it is Series Creator J.J. Abrams' voice on the phone that says, "Joey's Pizza?"
  
  
• Series creator J.J. Abrams wrote and performed the music for the opening sequence.
  
  
• The pilot episode features multiple references to the film Lola rennt (1998) (aka Run Lola Run).
  
  
• The two-part episode, "The Box" where rogue agents take over SD-6, has a plot similar to Die Hard (1988). The van that the rogue agents pull up in has the name McTiernan written on the side. John McTiernan was the director of Die Hard.
  
  
• The two children who say, "Bad robot!" in the Bad Robot logo are the children of series creator-executive producer J.J. Abrams.
  
  
• Vaughn's mother's maiden name is "Delorme", which is part of the last name of co-producer Tiffany Roquemore-Delorme.
  
  
• Jack's full name is Jonathan Donahue Bristow.
  
  
• During the opening credits, the Rambaldi symbol () is flashed over the "Alias" logo for exactly one frame. During at least the first season, this happens while Victor Garber's name is onscreen. Also, the images moving behind the logo are home movies of creator J.J. Abrams' children during a 4th of July celebration.
  
  
• In Joke: In the pilot episode, when Sydney is caught sneaking around at the party, she lies to the guard, by saying that she will get in trouble with her boss "Ron", if he finds out she'd been drinking. Her boss at SD-6, Arvin Sloane, is played by Ron Rifkin.
  
  
• SD in SD-6 stands for Section Disparue - the section that has "disappeared".
  
  
• Vaughn's dog is named Donovan.
  
  
• The number 47 is used repeatedly throughout the series. Examples: Marshall expresses a desire to improve a camera design so that it has 47 exposures; the keycode Will needs to get into a computer room in order to retrieve data on SD-6 is 4747; the crate at the Vatican which contains the painting with Rambaldi's cipher-key has a 5-digit catalog number ending in 47; page 47 is always significant in a Rambaldi manuscript; and of course, there are 47 parts to Rambaldi's magnum opus. In episodes of season 3, Sydney tries to retrieve memories of when she is abducted, as she is dreaming... Masked men take her in to a room with the number 47 largely printed on its doors. Interestingly, the Star Trek TV shows also feature the number 47 many times (it's usually seen in their monitors). Also server 47 is the number of the server that Sydney needed to get information from to take down sd-6.
  
  
• In-joke: After Will and intern Jenny become lovers in an early episode, Francie chides him for dating a cheerleader. He replies that she isn't a cheerleader ... anymore. Sarah Shahi who plays Jenny was, in fact, a popular Dallas Cowboys cheerleader until not long before the series began.
  
  
• Many outdoor locations - both domestic and international - are actually buildings on the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, California (where all interior scenes are shot).
  
  
• Greg Grunberg's character is named Eric Weiss. Erich Weiss is the birth name of Harry Houdini. Will Tippin even mentions this fact when he and Weiss meet in the second season's finale.
  
  
• During the second season, ABC developed an online videogame, "Alias Underground", which featured the voices of several actors from the series.
  
  
• Creator J.J. Abrams says the idea for the show came from a half-joking story plot for his series "Felicity" (1998). Abrams considered an episode where Felicity spends her summer as a government agent, then returns to school the next fall like nothing ever happened.
  
  
• Although it was never mentioned in the show, Merrin Dungey has said that Francie's restaurant was called "Deep Inside."
  
  
• For her birthday, star Jennifer Garner was given a pink bicycle by series creator J.J. Abrams. Being the first one on set, she would often greet the production crew by ringing the bells on the bike's handlebars.
  
  
• The character 'Jack Bristow' was ranked #29 in TV Guide's list of the "50 Greatest TV Dads of All Time" (20 June 2004 issue).
  
  
• Originally David Anders' character, Sark, was only supposed to be in a few episodes.
  
  
• Marshall's gadget, the small disc that can knock someone out just by touching skin - he describes it "like freebasing Thorazine". Chlorpromazine (Thorazine) is an anti-psychotic drug, used in the treatment of disorganized and psychotic thinking, and the treatment of false perceptions (e.g. hallucinations or delusions.) Drugs of this type are commonly used in mental institutions for patients who do not have a comfortable grasp on reality.
  
  
• In season one Jack informs Sydney he has a "routine psych evaluation" - in fact, CIA employees undergo regular reinvestigations including periodic polygraph examinations
  
  
• The Rambaldi prophecy is: "This woman here depicted will possess unseen marks. Signs that she will be the one to bring forth my works. Bind them with fury, a burning anger unless prevented at vulgar cost this woman will render the greatest power unto utter desolation."
  
  
• Sydney broke her leg when she was five years old while on a camping trip.
  
  
• Sydney took piano lessons when she was six years old.
  
  
• Sark asks Sloane for a glass of "Chateau Pétrus, 82" in return for his cooperation in finding Kazanow. Chateau Pétrus, is in fact, one of the world's rarest and most expensive wines. The Chateau Pétrus Pomerol, a Merlot, is described as one of the greatest wines of the vintage and will set you back between roughly $7,000-$10,000 per bottle
  
  
• Vaughn was stationed in India for two years.
  
  
• Irina was 18 when the KGB recruited her.
  
  
• Irina drinks her coffee black.
  
  
• Marshall collects Pez dispensers.
  
  
• Sydney's fiancé, Danny, was going to be a pediatric cardiologist. His younger brother was born with an irreversible heart condition, which spawned his interest in the field.
  
  
• Marshall plays "Dungeons & Dragons"; his character is a gnome with a battle-axe.
  
  
• Francie dated the high school quarterback.
  
  
• The picture of young Allison Doren is actually a picture of Merrin Dungey's sister.
  
  
• In season three, when Sydney sees her name on the "Agents Killed in Action" plaque, the name directly below hers is "Scott Chambliss". Scott Chambliss is actually an award-winning production designer on the show.
  
  
• In episode ten of the third season it is finally revealed Sark's first name is Julian.
  
  
• Sark is a Romanov descendant.
  
  
• In the pilot episode, several scenes were shot on the set of J.J. Abrams' other series, "Felicity" (1998) (Danny's apartment and the bathroom where Sydney dyes her hair the famous red color).
  
  
• The secret subway tunnel entrance to APO (seen in the season 4 premiere) is in the Los Angeles Metro Rail's North Hollywood station; only a few miles from the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.
  
  
• When JJ Abrams was not happy with the season four premier he re-shot the entire thing in five days.
  
  
• In episode 1x20, Edward Poole is referred to as "a former operative of MI6." Edward Poole is played by Roger Moore, who also played another MI6 operative, James Bond.
  
  
• In season 4, episode 3, at Weiss' birthday party, while Sydney and Jack are talking outside, a song called "You All Everybody" can be heard playing inside the house. This song is the made-up hit single of Drive Shaft, the fictional band of Dominic Monaghan's character Charlie on "Lost" (2004), another series by Alias creator/executive producer J.J. Abrams.
  
  
• Before the fifth season, 'Jennifer Garner' announced she was pregnant so the writers decided to include her pregnancy in the show.
  
  
• After episode #2.13 (Phase One) the show's prominent use of cliffhangers at every episode's end was abandoned for a more traditional (one episode, one story) way of storytelling. This was apparently done due to demands from ABC TV execs who were under the impression that new viewers wouldn't "get" the show and feared the drop of ratings.
  
  
• Jenna Fischer auditioned for the role of Sydney Bristow on Alias, but was never called back. She later said, "They said they liked my acting but I wasn't hot enough."
  
  
• The name "Sidney" is an anagram of the name of the company that produces the show, Disney Studios.
  
  
• Each of Jennifer Garner's wigs cost in the region of $5,000. Generally she required a new wig for each episode although sometimes they were recycled.
  
  
• In season 1 when Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper) is down in the docks snooping around, he passes a freighter ship. The name of the ship is "Alba Varden", that is also the name of the ship from "Lethal Weapon 2" where the final battle takes place.
  
  
• Sydney's APO code name is Phoenix. (Very clever, since the phoenix is said to "rise from the ashes.")
  
  
• Vaughn and Sydney met on October 1st. In this day,the watch that Vaughn's father gave him stopped working. Vaughn's father told him that he could set his heart by that watch.
  
  
• Alias has some references to "Alice in Wonderland". For instance, when Sydney returns from her two year absence, she moves into a new house since the old one burned down. Weiss asks her what is the one thing she wishes she hadn't lost (other than Vaughn), she says the first edition of "Alice in Wonderland" that her mother gave when she was little. So Weiss gives her a third edition (because he says the first edition cost way too much) to make her feel better. This is interesting because Sydney is an Alice herself going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole. In season 1, Sydney dressed up like Alice for Halloween; in season 4, Vaughn is directed to "through the looking glass" when he is searching for something in the library, and in the season 1, Vaughn has a girlfriend named Alice. On Masquerade, Sydney's code name is White Rabbit.
  
  
• The first reference to number 47 happens on the pilot episode, when Marshall express his own desire to make a cam with 47 stills.
  
  
• The Rambaldi Clock cost about 5000 USD to make.
  
  

• SPOILER: Five different actresses have played Laura Bristow/Irina Derevko. Arabella Holzbog played Laura Bristow in a picture Sydney kept. Kate Anthony was the voice of Irina Derevko in the video clip shown in episode 1.19, "Snowman". Natasha Pavlovich is the woman we actually see as Irina Derevko in that video clip. April Webster played Irina when she walks up to Sydney at the end of episode 1.21, "Almost Thirty Years". Finally, Lena Olin played Irina Derevko for the second season and beyond. Additionally, in Season 4, episode 18, Sydney Bristow (Garner) briefly portrays her mother (Laura Bristow) so they can learn information from her father.
  
  
• SPOILER: Lena Olin was never fired from the show, nor was her character written out as a result of a contract dispute. Lena Olin did not want to rejoin the cast because she lives in Manhattan with her family and did not want to commute back and forth to Los Angeles for filming. To "cope" with Lena's departure, her character was killed off at the hands of Jack. Afterwards, Lena was available, and Irina was revealed to be alive.
  
  

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