All the negative reviews are most likely because the reviewers were expecting or are used to a different show than what they saw. You're not going to find a lot of explosions, sex, or shootouts here, nor complex murder plots. If you want those, go elsewhere. If you're interested in a show with realistic characters, plot threads that raise questions as they answer others, and moral quandaries served up in subtle ways, then Alphas is the show for you.
Unlike flashy superhero shows (X-Men) or ones with powers so far out of the ordinary that they're not remotely believable (Heroes), Alphas sticks with people who are essentially ordinary in many ways. They have jobs where they have to drive or take public transit to get to work, they have families (or broken relationships thereof), they deal with anger management issues, autism, difficulty with assertiveness, etc. (A minor note: Ryan Cartwright's development of Gary is the best portrayal of a character with autism that I've ever seen. For those who find him annoying, try working at understanding people with such neurological differences?) The one difference between these characters and people we see in real life is that they have abilities—some of which you might see on Youtube—just dialed up 1000x (such as Bill and Cameron's abilities). There are people who are hypersensitive to light, sound, etc., and Rachel's ability just takes that to the extreme. Gary and Nina's abilities push the limits of belief a little more, but are such compelling characters that it's easy to accept them.
The downsides each character has make them more realistic - and therefore more likable; these are people we could imagine in our lives. Plus the show develops them well over time. Characters that seem like they have it together turn out to be broken and struggling; characters that first appear vulnerable and weak gain confidence and strength as the episodes progress. Characters fail as well as succeed, suffer as well as rejoice. And because they are so realistic, I found myself crying along with them when they cried. (Alphas is unafraid to shock the viewer with death and threats of harm, and it's very easy to empathize with the characters in those circumstances.) The actors do a fantastic job in pulling off their characters: I never once felt as if I were seeing Azita Ghanizada "play" Rachel—she *became* Rachel. David Strathairn does one of the best jobs with this, particularly in the second season with the arc involving his daughter—but then Laura Mennell does an amazing job with Nina as well! (When Push Comes to Shove is a particularly excellent example of this.) I could single out every individual actor/actress for this because they all really inhabited their character's skins and brought them to life in a way that I don't always see in shows. The dialogue is very natural, complete with characters talking over each other (how many times in real life do you have a conversation with three people where no two people ever say something simultaneously?), teasing of coworkers, humor that arises when you least expect it (which is how life works), and characters who don't always say things perfectly.
All of that aside, what also makes this show so fantastic is the depth to which it goes in dealing with the moral issues. Government actions and paranoia, a blurry line between heroes and villains, lots of wrestling with ends and means A character towards the end of the pilot tells Cameron Hicks "You're on the wrong side", and the show never ceases to toy with that idea. Even as our heroes become more firmly convinced that the show's villains are wrong, they begin to adopt the villains' methods in order to catch them.
Nearly every episode leaves the viewer with something to think about, whether it be a moral issue or some area of personal development. The writers did a great job of letting us see enough of the Alphas' world to recognize it as our own, down to needing change for the parking meter. (For those who hated that scene, I have to say that I loved it because it not only established these people as ordinary folks such as you and I, but also let us see how some aspects of their lives were affected by their powers in ways we might not have thought of—Nina's lack of change is a great character insight.) Then they took us with the characters to a world increasingly turbulent and shadowy, yet still recognizable. The beginning scenes of The Unusual Suspects should send a chilling reminder to all of us how easy it would be for our civil liberties to vanish, and how prevalent this type of force has become.
Was Alphas perfect? No, of course not (what is?). Occasionally their labels for abilities weren't the best choices, and they did have some difficulty keeping Rachel's backstory consistent, but these were minor issues. Overall, though, it was the one show where I liked *all* of the main characters. I never felt that any episode was so bad I didn't want to see it again. The action plots fed into the character plots and vice versa, something you don't always see done well. I watched every episode knowing nothing about it and was always engrossed from the first minute.
The one major problem this show has is the way it ended. The cliffhanger at the end of the second season is the worst I have ever seen, and Syfy should be ashamed of themselves for the way they treated their fans. I would pay good money to see an episode or movie to actually wrap things up, to give us closure. That said, it's still definitely worth watching all 24 episodes, even if you have to make up your own resolution to the story!
Unlike flashy superhero shows (X-Men) or ones with powers so far out of the ordinary that they're not remotely believable (Heroes), Alphas sticks with people who are essentially ordinary in many ways. They have jobs where they have to drive or take public transit to get to work, they have families (or broken relationships thereof), they deal with anger management issues, autism, difficulty with assertiveness, etc. (A minor note: Ryan Cartwright's development of Gary is the best portrayal of a character with autism that I've ever seen. For those who find him annoying, try working at understanding people with such neurological differences?) The one difference between these characters and people we see in real life is that they have abilities—some of which you might see on Youtube—just dialed up 1000x (such as Bill and Cameron's abilities). There are people who are hypersensitive to light, sound, etc., and Rachel's ability just takes that to the extreme. Gary and Nina's abilities push the limits of belief a little more, but are such compelling characters that it's easy to accept them.
The downsides each character has make them more realistic - and therefore more likable; these are people we could imagine in our lives. Plus the show develops them well over time. Characters that seem like they have it together turn out to be broken and struggling; characters that first appear vulnerable and weak gain confidence and strength as the episodes progress. Characters fail as well as succeed, suffer as well as rejoice. And because they are so realistic, I found myself crying along with them when they cried. (Alphas is unafraid to shock the viewer with death and threats of harm, and it's very easy to empathize with the characters in those circumstances.) The actors do a fantastic job in pulling off their characters: I never once felt as if I were seeing Azita Ghanizada "play" Rachel—she *became* Rachel. David Strathairn does one of the best jobs with this, particularly in the second season with the arc involving his daughter—but then Laura Mennell does an amazing job with Nina as well! (When Push Comes to Shove is a particularly excellent example of this.) I could single out every individual actor/actress for this because they all really inhabited their character's skins and brought them to life in a way that I don't always see in shows. The dialogue is very natural, complete with characters talking over each other (how many times in real life do you have a conversation with three people where no two people ever say something simultaneously?), teasing of coworkers, humor that arises when you least expect it (which is how life works), and characters who don't always say things perfectly.
All of that aside, what also makes this show so fantastic is the depth to which it goes in dealing with the moral issues. Government actions and paranoia, a blurry line between heroes and villains, lots of wrestling with ends and means A character towards the end of the pilot tells Cameron Hicks "You're on the wrong side", and the show never ceases to toy with that idea. Even as our heroes become more firmly convinced that the show's villains are wrong, they begin to adopt the villains' methods in order to catch them.
Nearly every episode leaves the viewer with something to think about, whether it be a moral issue or some area of personal development. The writers did a great job of letting us see enough of the Alphas' world to recognize it as our own, down to needing change for the parking meter. (For those who hated that scene, I have to say that I loved it because it not only established these people as ordinary folks such as you and I, but also let us see how some aspects of their lives were affected by their powers in ways we might not have thought of—Nina's lack of change is a great character insight.) Then they took us with the characters to a world increasingly turbulent and shadowy, yet still recognizable. The beginning scenes of The Unusual Suspects should send a chilling reminder to all of us how easy it would be for our civil liberties to vanish, and how prevalent this type of force has become.
Was Alphas perfect? No, of course not (what is?). Occasionally their labels for abilities weren't the best choices, and they did have some difficulty keeping Rachel's backstory consistent, but these were minor issues. Overall, though, it was the one show where I liked *all* of the main characters. I never felt that any episode was so bad I didn't want to see it again. The action plots fed into the character plots and vice versa, something you don't always see done well. I watched every episode knowing nothing about it and was always engrossed from the first minute.
The one major problem this show has is the way it ended. The cliffhanger at the end of the second season is the worst I have ever seen, and Syfy should be ashamed of themselves for the way they treated their fans. I would pay good money to see an episode or movie to actually wrap things up, to give us closure. That said, it's still definitely worth watching all 24 episodes, even if you have to make up your own resolution to the story!