It’s been a rough couple of years for Sydney Bristow.

Things start out happy enough when Syd’s boyfriend, Danny, proposes to her. With a ring now on her finger, Syd decides that it’s time to “come out” to Danny and tell him that she is a spy for a super-secret division of the CIA known as SD6. The catch is that Syd doesn’t know that SD6 isn’t really a division of the CIA, but is part of an international terrorist organization. And revealing that you’re working for a super-secret terror organization is not such a good thing, so SD6 had Danny killed.

Yeah, and that’s just in the first episode of the first season.

Syd ends up going to work for the real CIA as a double agent to take down the mysterious SD6. She also learns that the spy game runs in the family, and that her father, Jack, is also a double agent for the CIA working within SD6. Then there is her mom, who died in a car crash when Syd was just a little girl. The thing is – yep, you guessed it – Syd’s mom is also a spy, who was sent by the KGB to keep an eye on Jack. Oh yeah, and dear old mom isn’t dead.

Syd eventually has a reunion with her mother, and gets acquainted with a bullet from mommy’s gun before the reconciliation begins.

And if that wasn’t enough, she falls in love with her CIA handler and manages to take down evil spy organization SD6 – even though their leader escapes, as is often the case with evil spies. Then, to top it all off, her best friend is murdered and replaced with a clone. Everything comes to a head when Syd realizes that the bad guys have sent in the clones, and she has a knock-down-drag-out fight with the faux roommate. Syd wins, of course, but passes out and wakes up in an alley only to learn that two years have passed since the night of the fight and not only that… her boyfriend has gone out and gotten married!

Talk about a rough couple of years, and in season 3 of “Alias”, Syd must discover what happened during those lost years while facing a new foe – the Covenant – and dealing with the love or her life’s new wife, Lauren.

When it debuted three years ago, “Alias” quickly became a cult hit, telling the story of modern-day superhero Sydney Bristow, who lived an unassuming life as a graduate school student when she wasn’t off saving the world from the machinations of terrorists. Of course, fabulous disguises and all sorts of high-tech gadgetry didn’t hurt the show either, which will head into its fourth season this January.

The all-star cast includes current Hollywood “it” girl Jennifer Garner (13 Going On 30 and the upcoming Electra) as Sydney Bristow, with co-stars Victor Garber (TV’s The Music Man and the mega-hit Titanic), Ron Rifkin (The Sum Of All Fears) and Michael Vartan (One-Hour Photo and Never Been Kissed).

The release of seasons 1 and 2 of the hit series only served to increase the popularity and hype surrounding the show, as sales exceeded expectations and the powers-that-be at ABC realized that the audience for the show was growing immensely. Wisely enough, the premiere of season 4 was pushed back from the traditional September launch to a January premiere, giving fans who are still catching up on all of the twists and turns of season 3 a chance to get up to speed on the latest developments for Syd and the rest of the cast.

As with past seasons, the six-disc DVD box set includes plenty of extras, but the biggest treat for fans may be in the packaging itself, which once again features a transparent plastic slipcover that, upon its removal, reveals a clear picture of what fans really want to see by the time the season is over.

Extras also include an animated short that chronicles one of Sydney’s adventures from the missing two years and a documentary piece entitled “Burbank to Barcelona”, which details how the show’s producers are able to create cities from around the world for the globetrotting adventurers without ever leaving the comforts of the greater Los Angeles area. There are also deleted scenes, blooper reels and plenty of audio commentary from the cast and creators, bringing new insight into the production of the show. In total, there is over 100 minutes of new material for longtime fans of the show to sink their teeth into.

Whether you are a new fan of the series catching up, or a tried-and-true “Alias” fan who has sat on the edge of your seat watching week in and week out, the “Alias” season 3 box set has something for everyone.