It's been over seven months since I could last pester people to watch Alias, so I'm sure everyone is happy to know that the fourth season starts tomorrow night with a two hour premiere at 9 PM on ABC. If you enjoy smart, well-written television at all, you should be soaking up both Alias and Lost (which airs immediately before it at 8). The shows have the same sensibilities, being produced by J.J. Abrams, the man who plans to make Mission Impossible 3 a character story, but are incredibly different in their execution.

Lost is halfway through its season already, but has the benefit of being ridiculously popular with all viewers. Maybe Alias will do better, now that it has a compatible lead-in, and not ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney. It's really not as complex a show as everyone makes out to be -- it's just a show that rewards habitual watching and having an emotional investment in the characters.