First of all, yes, this show has a re-hashed premise (tons of comics, as well as the X-Men and Heroes Movie and TV franchises, not to mention No Ordinary Family and Mutant X), but really, what's the big deal about copying a high concept about a team of super-humans fighting another team of super-humans? It's what the show adds to the genre that matters.
What Alphas adds is relative realism. Each power has a steep genetic price: seeing and accessing radio waves is accompanied by autism, and recognition of all languages is accompanied with the inability to communicate. Adding to this, Gary's visualizing signals is actually one of the only truly "unbelievable" abilities. Most of the others could be drawn from youtube videos (lifting a car off a baby or throwing a quarter into a Coke machine from across the room). This "down-to-earth" mindset for its creation allows the viewer to more readily suspend disbelief when required.
The acting is only okay, but Sci-Fi Network is not really known for phenomenal acting. I'll admit that certain characters were grating early on, but what makes up for that is the writing. Not the dialog per se, but the in-episode concept and plot development are certainly to be admired. Between the visual representation of a DDoS attack in the episode "Rosetta" and the bottle episode "Blind Spot" (which brilliantly hid its lack of computer graphics), the writing (as well as direction) is captivating and original. The show take the best elements of a supernatural thriller and grounds it the plausibility that comes from a scientific explanation (many times using real phenomena unknown to most of the audience), and the realism of a procedural cop drama. Detractors may decry its repeated high concept, but Alphas is a notable positive addition to the genre.
What Alphas adds is relative realism. Each power has a steep genetic price: seeing and accessing radio waves is accompanied by autism, and recognition of all languages is accompanied with the inability to communicate. Adding to this, Gary's visualizing signals is actually one of the only truly "unbelievable" abilities. Most of the others could be drawn from youtube videos (lifting a car off a baby or throwing a quarter into a Coke machine from across the room). This "down-to-earth" mindset for its creation allows the viewer to more readily suspend disbelief when required.
The acting is only okay, but Sci-Fi Network is not really known for phenomenal acting. I'll admit that certain characters were grating early on, but what makes up for that is the writing. Not the dialog per se, but the in-episode concept and plot development are certainly to be admired. Between the visual representation of a DDoS attack in the episode "Rosetta" and the bottle episode "Blind Spot" (which brilliantly hid its lack of computer graphics), the writing (as well as direction) is captivating and original. The show take the best elements of a supernatural thriller and grounds it the plausibility that comes from a scientific explanation (many times using real phenomena unknown to most of the audience), and the realism of a procedural cop drama. Detractors may decry its repeated high concept, but Alphas is a notable positive addition to the genre.