Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Season 8, 8-9PM: Mirror, mirror

Renee just finished proving her cover's legit by cutting off the Russian's hand [later: looks like it was just the thumb; note to FOX: you gotta be able to shoot that better, shoot, you had 2 chances, end of last week and start of this week!] so he could escape the tracking bracelet, and Jack comes busting in (fortunately, probationer is unconscious from the operation) threatening to shut down the undercover op.  Jack just doesn't get it.  He worked so hard to get her to cross over to the dark side last season.  She struggled, with Jiminy Cricket (Larry) trying so hard to keep her on the straight and narrow, but the power of the dark side (the ends justify the means) was too powerful.  I guess she didn't see anything after Revenge of the Sith (then again, maybe she did and knows that like in Return of the Jedi, she'll find redemption--didn't Jack find that last year?).  Come to think of it, Anakin (and Luke) lost a hand, too.  These parallels are just too spooky.  I had never thought of the writers of 24 as quite this nerdy.

At least probationer won't have to suffer as long as some of those others who lost limbs (except for the other Russian mobster a couple years ago).  Whereas Jack will have to suffer for a whole day watching someone other than him use his own tricks and tactics and confidence to do the job her way.  "Go ahead, Jack, call it in.  But I had to do this to get in."  She's just playing you, Jack.  Can't you see it???  How'd you get so gullible, so unsophisticated?  Guess you've been hanging around the granddaughter too long.

Whereas Renee has been plumbing the dregs.  Man, Wersching's acting is spot on there.  Her eyes really are dark and hopeless.  We don't even need all the characters saying that all the time.  Jack stared into those lipid (ooops, limpid) pools seeing straight to the abyss, and he didn't seem to recognize it as him anymore as a reflection.  He even said so.  You know what?  Keifer is playing the caring partner pretty well so far.  Though it's not very believable after all the other days we've been through with him.  This is the guy who pulled the trigger with the gun at the head of his partner, his son-in-law, I think, without flinching (the gun wasn't loaded, which only meant that the partner lived to ultimately lose his arm in the last episode).  And he goes all wackadoodle when Renee whacks off the arm of a minor mobster????  (I'm still wondering about why and how she taped it back on, but the episode end shows me that I'll never learn why as probationer winds up in the drink. [previous brackets clears this one up]) 

Jack gets worried about Renee's past with these Russians just as all she wants to do is get her newly crafted cover story solid.  He's all, "What's your history with them?"  She's all, " That's over and done with.  Shut up and tell me what my cover story is."  And he hardly presses her about that back story.  Has he really become as stupid as everybody he's ever dealt with?

And there's more--once she's in with the Russian she used probationer to get to, they stuff her in the trunk and drive off.  And Jack falls for the oldest trick in the book--the old decoy car drives off first!  We all saw that one coming.  And here's the worst of it--the only smart one left is in the trunk!  Chloe falls for it, too (but maybe that's not so surprising as she's remote sensing, although that's what she's done so successfully her whole career--and strangely enough, after having so much trouble with all this new technology at CTU for the 1st hour, all it took was Director Dopey to tell her to get better at it or he'll fire her, she's not having any trouble anymore---hmmm, maybe I should try that motivation technique.).  And Dopey--oh, man is he useless.  Well, count on him to pull a Kirk--make all the wrong decisions for the first half of the show (but I'm not sure he'll know when 1/2 the show is over and it's time to start making the right calls).  So Jack is following the wrong car, telling Dopey to intervene with the interdiction team he just sent (sorry, I already forgot their word for the team, but it wasn't the Away Team, or even the A-Team), and Dopey's still thinking about whether to intervene, but not telling us why he's pausing, and finally he gives the word, and then we get contact from Renee again!  She's outta the trunk.  That must mean they fell for the old decoy car trick!  Boy, don't they feel dumb (lucky that Jack doesn't recognize that strange feeling and become confused).

Russian blows away probationer right next to Renee, and still not a freckle has flinched.  This is great stuff.  Then Russian turns to Renee and with the gun to her head asks for the truth (Jack would demand the truth--I guess he really has a lot to learn about how to handle Renee, and I hope when this day is done she gets a chance to teach him some more). She tells him to shoot, her life is meaningless without this big deal she's offering.  (Didn't I say this is good stuff?)  Wow, Jack has to understand that!  How many times has he pulled the same one?  Or seen it done (Tony last season, maybe?)?  Russian buys it, to everyone's relief (writer's included). 

The biggest suspense left?  When is Grandpa gonna snap out of it?!?!?!?!?!?

Pretty nice primary story.  Of the back stories I gotta like the Islamic Republic's president the most.  It takes learning that his brother was in on the plot to kill him for him to realize he still loves his wife and that he probably wasn't in love with the reporter he flung with.  "It was nice to know I could still have feelings."  Wife: "Great, that's my fault, too."  Pres: "No, it was our fault."  Simple dialog, showing a complex situation.  Wife walks out anyway.  And before that, with President Taylor who wants him to abide by human rights as he cracks down on the coup plotters (amazing how much cracking down he was able to do back home in the 15 min since he avoided assassination!).  She's all, "You can't give up on human rights."  He's all, "You don't understand my country, I'm dead if I show weakness."  (I tried to remember his line; it was so great, but I lost it.)  And the best she can come up with is, "There has to be some middle ground."  Well, it's tough to wade through the thicket of the middle ground when all the writers have time for is one sentence.  I truly marvel at how much TV (and even movie) writers can do with so little.  With only a handful of lines here, they have conveyed how complex real life is.

Unlike what's going on with LBD--too many lines for how simply they're treating a very complex interaction (abusive man, emotionally crippled woman).  Now we find out this felon is holding her conviction for accessory to homicide over her head (if he was the killer, how'd he get out so soon?  Must be one of those soft on crime states--I didn't think those existed anymore.).  And that she was a minor at the time.  Oh, puh-leeez.  He is so manipulative, and she's so falling for all of it all over again.  I just don't get how someone as dumb as her (with a record, but I guess even CTU background checks don't get past a judge's sealing of the record of a minor) is working on as important stuff as she is at CTU.  Oh, wait a minute, maybe it was Dopey that hired her!  But how did she snag that dreamy Freddy Prinz?  And she has slimy analyst chasing her tail--I guess that's to lend credence to how she's letting ex-con manipulate her--she attracts more losers than winners.  Are the writers doing this just to teach us that giving into blackmailers' demands only encourages them?  I will be so disappointed if this story-line plays out so simply that ex-con goes down with nothing more.  24 is normally so shades a grey.  Or rather, as I said last year, shades of grey and black.  But this one looks so black and white.  It just has to work itself out in a more complicated way.

And I can't even speculate on how plot line of Russian son disobeys father to get dieing brother medical help will tie in. 

So far, I'm still disappointed not to see a bigger conspiracy afoot, but the day is yet young.

And I'm disappointed that it took 4.5 hours before Jack broke the law--driving while on cell phone!  Now, I'm getting pissed at how this show glorifies and justifies illegal behavior. Sphere: Related Content

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Season 8, 6-8PM: Everything's right with the world

Renee is BACK!!!! And hoooo, she's better and badder than ever. Gone is the whimpering, simpering, I can't get unshackled from the bounds of the Bureau even when that manly, "I'm always sure I'm right 'cause I am" Jack (no need for a last name) Bauer is near. No, none of that anymore. Jack's soft. Jack wants to quit the biz and be an out-to-pasture grandpa in LA. Nope, not for her. She might be all messed up in the head, sour on the government, sour on the Bureau, but give her a shot at going back undercover on a moment's notice into perhaps the toughest environment in the world to do it (the Russian mob), and she doesn't flinch a freckle. And just to show how the tables are turned, there's Jack all "Don't let her do it, Director. I'm worried about her," because he really cares about her (even after she didn't return his couple of phone calls, which she apologized for). And here I was worried 'cause I hate undercover plots--I get so caught up with caring about the characters, so nervous that they'll slip up. Why else write a plot like that--they've gotta slip up. But nooo, this Renee is all over it, and she proves it at the end of tonight's continuation of the season premier (if a premier can last for 2 nights, I wonder if every episode will be a continuation of the season premier). She goes so far that Jack is shocked and flamboozled. Then again, we've seen this scene at least 2 times already--season finale three or four years ago, and mid season two years ago. I guess that's part of everything being right with the world, we're finally getting back to familiar ground.

Like intrigue up and down the chain in CTU (nice that there's a real CTU nowadays; the proxy CTU last year didn't really work for me). The LBD intrigue just makes me mad. I kinda like the blond. She started out all curvy and short-skirted and sure of herself and better than Chloe at her job and at the Director's right hand on top of everything in a nice way. But now we see she's really all whimpering and simpering when the abusive felon she used to have a fling for tracks her down after getting out of the pokey. Him making the maneuvering moves on her again? And her being so shaken up by his phone calls that she bolts from CTU in the middle of the start of this day? Doesn't she know it's gonna be a long day? And how could CTU have hired someone with this kind of baggage? That's blatantly unbelievable! Just one more way everything's right with the world.

Like Jack shooting the would-be assassin just as LBD's fiance doesn't fall for assassin's threat (call and say everything's OK or I'll kill you) but calls and says he's with the assassin. But it was nice that was the biggest role for Jack's gun tonight. Actually, not a lot of guns this time 'round. Assassin tried to blow up the president with a man-hole cover. Nice and creative, but seems a bit chancy to me--gotta make sure the car goes over the cover at just the right time.

And Jack got tasered, twice for good measure, then beat up by a police officer, when he was caught red-handed at a cop-killing (don't worry, the assassin did it, and Jack was just there at the wrong time). Come to think of it, assassin probably wouldn't have left cop and wife dead there the way he did, but maybe he counted on the cops not figuring it out as fast as Jack did (more of what's right with the world--Jack figures it out immediately). So, old-time cop who tasered Jack did it twice so he'd be out long enough for him to take him downstairs and beat him silly (good thing Jack was out cold for that!). Old-timer is gonna feed Jack good old fashioned NYPD justice for being a cop killer. Young cop is not so sure, and after Jack comes to his senses and beats up old cop, young cop tells both of them to stop it or he'll tell Mom--they do, and he tells Mom anyway, and somehow decides Jack's the good guy here, so he gets his gun back and they drive off into the now sunset NY night to save the president at the UN. You got that? I guess that catches you up for the 1st hour.

The rest of what's going on? So far just a run-of-the-mill selling nucular (oops, I think Jack said it that way, and I hear you cringe, even if you weren't watching) warhead U235 to the highest bidder. Now we know the plot that's supposed to take us 1/3 to 1/2 through the season, but that seems pretty thin to hang my hat on. Which worries me--now we're down to a bunch of short 60 min (minus the 23 min of commercials) each week. That's not much time to develop the deeper conspiracies. This one just might not hold my attention to mid-season! Now, there's some suspense!!

With Renee back, does that mean we get Tony back, too? Or at least find out what happened to him? The writers are so fabulous at cleaning up these loose ends with just one simple question and a one sentence answer--Chloe is back at CTU because hubby lost his job and they need the money. That's the way to write! Have the characters admit the unbelievable plot twist needed to get you there and move on! If they're OK with, I guess I should be, too. Sphere: Related Content