ABC's Alias will get back to basics when it returns for its fourth season in January, TV Guide Online reported. "We got so deep in the Rambaldi and Covenant [mysteries] that we lost sight of some of the stuff we fell in love with [in the beginning]," ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson told the site. Series creator J.J. Abrams "is talking about getting back to some of the joy that [Sydney Bristow, played by Jennifer Garner,] used to have in her personal life early on ... while still living in this crazy world." The show will reportedly have Sydney balancing her spy work with her personal life, as in the first season.

For his part, Abrams told the site that he had an epiphany about Alias' disappointing third season while he was working on the pilot for his upcoming ABC thriller, Lost. "Going away to do Lost allowed me to look at Alias in a way that I could not have done otherwise: from the outside," he said. "And it was like an incredibly enlightening thing. I suddenly knew in my heart what I wanted and what I didn't want, and I saw what was happening. Not that I wasn't proud of what was there, but I saw some mistakes that I made and I thought, 'Oh, my God.'"

McPherson insisted that there's "not a chance" season four could be Alias' last. "It will be an asset for years," he said. How many, exactly? Cracks Abrams: "Exactly 100."

Thank God for that. Prob some of the best news Ive heard all day :D Thanks for posting that Rob.

Thanks that's interesting. Btw - I really like season 3, I don't know what he's on about :rolleyes: