Alias is unusual for an American drama series in that the opening credits do not run until the end of the first long act, sometimes as late as 15 minutes into the episode. In some respects, this mimics the James Bond films, which likewise feature sometimes-lengthy pre-credits sequences. Depending on the demands of a particular episode, the credit sequence is occasionally dropped as the actor credits play over a scene; on those occasions, the series title does not appear on screen until the final fade out.

As the opening credits appear, the letters in the ALIAS reference flash in negative form one by one. The "S" is the last letter to appear, this time in permanent negative. In virtually every episode, the title of a city or town location will slowly zoom in, with one letter being shown in negative and a specific scene appearing within that negative. As it usually does with the "S" in the show title at the very start, this letter eventually takes up the entire screen and gives way to the scene itself.

The first three seasons used a minimalist credit sequence consisting only of the actors names appearing as the title Alias gradually forms in one corner of an otherwise black screen. For one frame in Seasons 1 and 3 during Victor Garber's credit, the Rambaldi "eye" symbol ( <o> ) flashes over the Alias title; In Season 2, it flashes during Lena Olin's credit. In season 5 it flashes during Balthazar Getty's credit.

For the fourth season, a shorter, flashier credit sequence was introduced that used a new, remixed version of the theme. As the cast names appeared, 52 images of Sydney in 47 various disguises appear in rapid succession, ending with a shot from the third season premiere of her shooting a miniature grenade launcher.

For the fifth season, another credit sequence was designed, as the previous version was criticized for making it difficult to read the actors' names (since the eye was drawn to the many images of Jennifer Garner) and for focusing exclusively on Garner. Now for the first time, the actors are shown on screen as their names appear. The same remix of the theme music from the previous year is utilized. Also, the flashing of the letters when ALIAS is spelled out is actually in morse code. The flashing translates to AGENT KANE (who was a character in the 2nd season played by Faye Dunaway). During the first half of the season, Elodie Bouchez appeared in the opening credits, but beginning with the episode "S.O.S." her credit was changed to a "special guest star" credit outside the opening sequence and Amy Acker was added to the opening credits in place of Bouchez.

Most episodes in the first season included a prologue narrated by Sydney Bristow, setting up the premise of the series. In the first half of season two this was replaced by a voiceover by Greg Grunberg (who plays Agent Weiss).

The events of the first season of Alias begin in 2001, the same year the series first aired. A reference to Homeland security midway through the first season suggests the series begins not long before, or not long after September 11. (The series, in fact, premiered 19 days following the attacks.) Though there was reference to such a part of government, the federal Homeland Security department was not established until 2003. (Aside from the Homeland Security reference, there is no explicit reference to 9/11 in the first season; however, there is a reference to Osama bin Laden and a reference to the War on Terror in two episodes in season 2). In season 1, each episode covers roughly the events of one week in Sydney's life, thus each episode is said to take place a week apart, although this pattern was not maintained throughout the series. In several episodes, references were made to actual real world events. For example, in one episode, Sydney suggested to Vaughn that they should catch a L.A. Kings game, and that they'd be taking on the Islanders. This actual game took place roughly around the same time the episode was broadcast on January 20th, 2002.

The season 2 finale, which sees Sydney lose two years of her life, would suggest that the series as of the start of season 3 takes place two years ahead of "real world" time, however the series was not always consistent in maintaining this. For example, in season 3 episode 17 (airdate 3/28/04), the date 3/26/04 was shown on Lauren's event calendar. For most of the episodes in Season 3-4, the writers avoided mentioning any current calendar dates in any episode. The one fact that did contradict this was the date on the tombstone of the supposedly dead Irina Derevko, which, when calculated, would suggest that the show was still running on "real world" time rather than 2 years in the future. However, a statement made by Sydney in the fifth season premiere "Prophet 5" regarding the length of time since she first went undercover at SD-6, is in keeping with the established timeline. And finally, the timeline seems to jump back one more time. In the season 5 episode "Out of the Box", character Renee tells Dr. Desantis, the genetic double of her father from the cryogenic box that it is currently 2006. This appears to be the first direct reference to the actual date of events. In another episode of the same season, a hockey magazine received by Sydney indicates the year to be November 2005. This is contradicted, however, by a visual of Nadia Santos' hospital admission bracelet following her recovery in the episode "30 Seconds." The date of admission reads "04-23-06".

No time elapses between the end of season 1 and the beginning of season 2, and there are two years, one month, and several hours between seasons 2 and 3, 3 and 4, and 4 and 5 respectively (in addition, the events of the season 5 premiere episode take place over the course of 4 months). Given that there were roughly three to four months between the airing of the first few seasons, an 8-month interval between the broadcast of seasons 3 and 4, and a 4-month hiatus in the midst of season 5, by the final season Alias would only be a matter of months ahead of real-world time, making the 2006 statement plausible in the timeline. The series finale makes a further jump forward of several years (circa 2014 based upon the age of Sydney's daughter).

The Alias production team has participated in at least two spoofs based upon the series and featuring cast members.

• The first was produced in 2002 for a segment of ABC's Monday Night Football in which Sydney (played as always by Jennifer Garner) is ordered by Sloane (Ron Rifkin) to infiltrate the locker room of the Washington Redskins NFL team in order to steal the coach's playbook. Syd disguises herself as a cheerleader and distracts the "Hogettes," a group of Redskins fans, with a jug of beer before stealing the book. Upon returning to SD-6 headquarters, she is horrified to find Sloane wearing a pig mask and oinking. This skit was advertised as being included in the season 2 DVD box set, but it was dropped from the set at the last minute without explanation. Another specially filmed MNF segment featuring Garner was included in the season 3 DVD set, but this was not, strictly speaking, a spoof.
• Another faux Alias "episode" was produced for a 2003 TV special celebrating the 50th anniversary of ABC. Featuring most of the regular cast of the series, the skit began with Jack Bristow preparing Sydney and Vaughn for a mission, and informing them that they will have a new partner - Detective Columbo (Peter Falk). Columbo proceeds to wreak havoc at CIA headquarters, accidentally shooting Vaughn with an anesthetic dart and volunteering to wear a skimpy bikini intended for Sydney during the mission. Columbo reveals that his mission is not to aid the CIA but rather to help Walt Disney Company/ABC head Michael Eisner better understand the show. His work completed, Columbo departs, leaving Jack to utter a confused, "Dear God, that was strange."

Other spoofs and humorous references include:

• "Alias: The Lost Episode" was created as a tribute to the show by Efram Potelle and Kyle Rankin's Newborn Pictures, an independent film company. A tribute to the series's beginnings, it is a parody of a typical Season 1 episode, from Sydney's relationship with Francie and Will, to Sydney's sexual tension with her CIA handler Vaughn, to the episode's cliffhanger. The co-writers and directors, who also act in the film (Rankin plays the part of Sydney Bristow), sent the short to J.J. Abrams, who in turn wrote letters of thanks to the cast and crew of the film. Potelle and Rankin later won the second Project Greenlight Competition. Their 15-minute short can be viewed online: ALIAS: The Lost Episode.
• In an episode of Bradley Cooper's sitcom Kitchen Confidential, Michael Vartan guests as a rival French chef. Cooper's character makes a quip along the lines of, "it's almost like we used to work together".
• MADtv created a season 1 spoof.
• In episode 23 of Robot Chicken, the series is re-imagined with the part of Sydney being played by a killer whale ("Whalias"), complete with red hair and lipstick. The sketch features Sydney undercover in a glamorous party at Sea World, pretending to be a prize-winning cellist. A fight scene occurs in typical Alias style.
• In the roosterteeth production, the mini series named "strangerhood" had a five minute episode based on alias

The program was renowned for the vast array of hair styles adopted by the characters. Head Hair Designer Michael Reitz was nominated for Outstanding Hairstyling for a Series at the Emmys 5 years in a row (2002-2006); as well as 3 nominations and 1 win at the Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards.

Notable contributions to the hair stylist team include:

• Karen Bartek (3 Emmy Award nominations)
• Julie Woods (1 Emmy Award nomination)
• Grace Hernandez (1Emmy Award nomination)
• Kathrine Rees (1 Emmy Award nomination)
• Yesmin Osman (1 Emmy Award nomination)

Alias released a season one soundtrack containing 26 tracks. These tracks were tracks used in the show, including the opening theme. All of them are composed by Micheal Giacchino, except for the opening theme which was composed by J.J. Abrams. The tracks share a similar dance genre, however a few tracks, such as 'In the Garden' share more of a slowed down tempo. A second Soundtrack was also released containing music from the second season, but didn't receive as much praise as the first soundtrack. A soundtrack for Alias: The Video Game was also released, but can only be downloaded online, and is composed by Chris Tilton.

The video game Alias, based on the series, is a 3D third-person stealth action title developed and released by Acclaim Entertainment for the PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The plot was written by the creators of the show and the game features the voices of the cast principals. It was released on April 6, 2004, and has a rating of T for Teen. The game is set between episodes 19 and 20 of season 2. The game allows the player to be Sydney (and briefly on one mission Vaughn), and sends her on various missions her many different locations. The missions become more difficult as you come closer to finishing the game. The game includes using many spy-skills that Sydney uses in the show.

Prior to the Acclaim release, ABC Television produced an episodic downloadable videogame entitled Alias: Underground which is available through ABC's website. The game was a 3D third-person stealth action game much like the Acclaim production, with missions released monthly during the original broadcast of the TV show's second season.

A number of original novels based upon the series have been published, primarily for a teenage reading audience. Due to the intricate and story arc-based nature of the series, most novels published to date have been prequels to the series, some focusing on Sydney in her early missions for SD-6, and others focusing on Vaughn's missions before meeting her. Their canon status with regards to the televised series has yet to be determined. Although aimed at young readers, the books tackle serious subject matter, such as one volume which details the first time Sydney kills someone.

1. Recruited - Lynn Mason (2002) ISBN 0-553-49398-1 2. A Secret Life - Laura Peyton Roberts (2003) ISBN 0-553-49399-X 3. Disappeared - Lynn Mason (2003) ISBN 0-553-49400-7 4. Sister Spy - Laura Peyton Roberts (2003) ISBN 0-553-49401-5 5. The Pursuit - Elizabeth Skurnick (2003) ISBN 0-553-49402-3 6. Close Quarters - Emma Harrison (2003) ISBN 0-553-49403-1 7. Father Figure - Laura Peyton Roberts (2003) ISBN 0-553-49404-X 8. Free Fall - Christa Roberts (2004) ISBN 0-553-49405-8 9. Infiltration - Breen Frazier (2004) ISBN 0-553-49437-6 10. Vanishing Act - Sean Gerace (2004) ISBN 0-553-49438-4 11. Skin Deep - Cathy Hapka (2004) ISBN 0-553-49439-2 12. Shadowed - Elizabeth Skurnick (2004) ISBN 0-553-49440-6

A new series of novels are in publication. Entitled "The APO Series", they fit into the season four timeframe and are published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment.

1. Two of a Kind? - Greg Cox (April 26, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0213-9 2. Faina - Rudy Gaborno, Chris Hollier (April 26, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0245-7 3. Collateral Damage - Pierce Askegren (June 28, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0247-3 4. Replaced - Emma Harrison (July 26, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0246-5 5. The Road Not Taken - Greg Cox (October 4, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0248-1 6. Vigilance - Paul Ruditis (December 6, 2005) ISBN 1-4169-0928-1 7. Strategic Reserve - Christina F. York (March 7, 2006) ISBN 1-4169-0946-X 8. Once Lost - Kirsten Beyer (April 25, 2006) ISBN 1-4169-0947-8 9. Namesakes - Greg Cox (July 11, 2006) ISBN 1-4169-2442-6 10. Old Friends - Steven Hanna (September, 2006) ISBN 1-4169-2443-4 11. The Ghost - Brian Studlet (November, 2006) ISBN 1-4169-2444-2 12. A Touch of Death - Christina York (December 2006) ISBN 1-4169-2446-9 13. Mind Games - Paul Ruditis (December 2006) ISBN 1-4169-2445-0