Alphas is X-Men if it was a weekly crime procedural show. The TV series aired on the Syfy network so that gives you an idea of the quality level-somewhere above Ed Wood, but no where near movie quality expected, fairly or not, from TV series that air on cable networks. The series only lasted two seasons and ended with a cliffhanger, which normally I would find frustrating, but did not because I could imagine what would happen in two possible scenarios. Still consider yourself forewarned before diving in.
Alphas’ cast is its greatest strength. David Strathairn plays Dr. Rosen, who acts as psychiatrist and boss to five Alphas, six in the second season, who regularly help the federal government investigate crimes committed by people with abilities. The 4400 alum, Mahershala Ali and Summer Glau, appeared frequently. I wanted Battlestar Galactica alum Callum Keith Rennie and Kandyse McClure, Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Brent Spiner, Once Upon A Time’s Rebecca Mader, and The Bionic Woman’s Lindsay Wagner to be featured more. John Pyper-Ferguson is the guy that you call when Billy Campbell is not available, and vice versa. It is unfortunate that every time that I see Garret Dillahunt, I fully expect to distrust him. He is a good actor, and typecasting keeps food on the table, but it leads to no suspense.
Alphas’ main problem was once you realized that Dr. Rosen did not have powers, but plenty of personal issues, which is hella problematic and paternalistic, and how tenuous the relationship was between the government and his team, it kind of did not make sense that any Alpha would keep working there. This dynamic led to an unfortunate repeated storyline that regardless of how many times we saw certain characters together, they would initially be hostile and not trust them until the end of the episode just to reboot again by the next time that they appeared. Also the Alphas on the other side always seemed more powerful than their gainfully employed counterparts. The powers seemed very rooted in gender norms and other societal expectations. One woman is able to manipulate people. The black guy is super strong and has high blood pressure. The first generation American woman’s powers create problems with being intimate in relationships. The white guy is really good at sports like baseball.
There are standalone episodes, the crime of the week, but a general overarching story based in the conflict of Alphas’ role in society. I thought the overarching conflict was very strong and made me like the character, Gary Bell, played by Ryan Cartwright, more than I initially thought that I would because he actually seemed plausibly changed by this conflict whereas Cameron’s character development was based on which woman he was sleeping with that week. I always love a good apocalypse, and Alphas gave me one so despite its many weaknesses, it was still entertaining and improved with every episode.
If you have something better to do, keep Alphas in your queue a little longer, but if you are looking for a show that you can multitask to and still enjoy, then definitely check it out, particularly if you are a fan of anyone in the cast. I’m not sad that it got cancelled, but at least it ended on a high note.