Season 8, 11-12PM: fine craftmanship

Thank goodness for figure skating.  I have become slightly less patient with commercials as I mature, but they give me a chance to keep abreast of popular culture during the times I choose to partake in it.  It's about the only way I get to follow Heroes, which has teased me enough during commercials during 24 that I start to consider watching it.  But after it's winter finale (whatever that means; those marketing whizzes sure are clever in how they find new ways of saying LAM!!--look-at-me, for those who've never programmed a CAMAC crate), what can I try to fill commercial spots with?

NBC figured that out for me--figure skating!!!  But even better, as I'm not interested in that ice work so much, NBC filled most of the 24 time slot with figure skating, saving the parts I like watching more for the House spot and at least one commercial--I watched the men's downhill, then I watched a bit of House, then the quarterfinals of board cross, then 24, then during one commercial the semifinals of board cross.  Just about perfect.  Now if only I can time this note right, I'll get to the board cross finals.  Man, those network execs are geniuses!

House ended tonight with Chase brooding, what's her name wanting in on the brooding, saying, "I'll love you no matter what."  Somehow, I got the feeling Chase knew better.  But you didn't come here to hear me get distracted by all that.

Tonight, I'm thinking about classic story-telling.  Stories that are fleshed out, with full characters and intertwined plots.  Stories that are more than just action and suspense.  Stories that take a while to develop, that build to a climax, then patiently resolve, leaving the reader with a sense of completion.  Now, that's what you come to 24 for, right?

Well, whether or not you do, that's what you got here.  Maybe these writers this year are trying to show the TV watching minions a new--err, old--way to tell a story.  And boy, if they can pull it off, just think of where TV will go.  Aww, jeeze, what'll happen to the sit-com?

'Cause here we all (well, the few other blogs and reviews that I've tracked down--if you're interested, I'll find some links later) are complaining about how great Walker is and how little Jack's had to do and how slow and boring the subplots are.  You're missing the point!  You're missing what's going on here!  This is the return of great story-telling!  You gotta believe me!  I'm telling the truth! (Aren't those last 2 telltale signs of lying?  Didn't Jack say those same things under his "interrogation" tonight?).

But whether that's true or not, last week we had Jack do the knife trick.  This week it's starting to get really good.  He got himself captured by the baddies without CTU knowing where he was headed.  He was tied up, weaponless, being tortured (after taking a knife to the belly), in one of those "how's he gonna get outta it" situations, and he had them right where he wanted them!!  He even got his twitches back!  We've been waiting soooo looong for 24 to get back to this stuff, and ooh, it feels so good.  Wouldn't have been 1/10th as good without this year's long build-up.  24 does this better than anybody else on TV.

So, Jack goes all Lethal Weapon on his Russian "interrogator" (without even needing the head butt).  With a little Houdini mixed in (why do you think they took his shoes and socks off?  You think Russian restaurateurs care about cleanliness?  I think I'm glad the writers had the decency to refrain from stealing from Die Hard.).  He uses his feet to grab the jumper cables from the Russian, then electrocute him.  If it weren't Jack Bauer doing this, if it weren't Jack Bauer after he was twitchy, I wouldn't have believed it possible.  And then Russian wakes up just as Jack breaks the water pipe he's strapped to (hmm, I don't remember water spraying all over the place when he broke the pipe, even though he found the weak spot because it was leaking), and Jack breaks his neck with his feet.  Oh, that's good stuff.

And the subplots are getting going.  Daughter of Islamic pres tries to talk sense into him, but he's way off the deep end (hmmm, could he be off the deep end like a fox?  Like at least a couple US presidents before him?  Like James T. Kirk?).  Now, I have to go back to last episode when daughter's squeeze meekly handed over his side arm when his second in command came to take him into custody.  In the world of 24, he's gotta know what's gonna happen next.  He's gotta be smart enough to do something better with his gun.  Only Jack can get away with giving his gun to a baddie.

And only-still-living son of Russian boss is taking things into his own hands, again, defying poppa, again.  Hokey smokes, Bullwinkle, this kid's a real loose cannon.  And he looks like Sting!  I can't wait to see him try to sing when Jack trains his steely stare on him!  Maybe we're finally learning this season how over-rated actual physical torture is.

But best of all, LBD is getting serious.  She's finally gave her locks their head--they no longer stay mysteriously only on the left side of her head.  She started telling fiancee Freddy why she's been acting strange for the last couple days.  He said, no worries, I'll love you no matter what.  Wow, that could be the first time I've experienced deja vu.  Or foreshadowing from one show to the next--the immediately preceding show!  Do you think this is gonna turn out A-OK?  Come On.  This is 24!  What does LBD do?  Instead of  telling Freddy, letting the truth set her free, She goes after her ex (Kevin, somehow that name works so well for him) ALONE!  And instead of using her strong suit, her smarts, her talents, what she's good at, she goes after her ex with a gun!  It'd be one thing for her to threaten him with intel--"I'm a data analyst, I have data, and I'm not afraid to use it!"  What's she gonna pull here--"I've got a gun and I know how to use it"??  No matter the look in her eyes, the hair no longer perfectly on the shoulder away from the camera, I'm not sure I'm gonna buy that one.  And if Kevin's not bright enough to figure it out, I bet his bat-happy partner will.

What's been missing here??  That's the beauty of what these writers have been building.  All this other stuff finally gets its chance to start showing that our patience will return its reward (I can hardly wait to see how LBD at a strip, err, underwear--this is Fox--club and renegade Russian son facilitate a plot resolution), and we're so happy, that we forget the best part of the season so far [just saw Westscott's gold medal run--almost, yes, almost as thrilling as watching 24, and what with the qualifiers and the quarter and semi finals leading up, almost as slow as this season of 24.  Great story-telling there, too!].

Renee!  Forgot about her, didn't you?  Everybody at CTU thinks she's the reason they lost Jack.  Everybody back there thinks she's lost it.  Everybody, even her.  Wersching uses the empty eyes trick again--can she make them even emptier?  Wow, she's a master of her craft.  Did I say "everybody"?  Everybody but Chloe.  She's looking out for Renee, even if it's only because Jack's in trouble.  But Renee could use any friend by her side right now, 'cause Jack's indisposed.  Chloe's also looking out for LBD, covering for her in front of director Dopey.  Chloe sure is turning into a mother hen.  When Jack's in trouble, it brings out the best in all his friends.

He's caught Russian boss.  Any other season, he'd be trying to get boss alone to torture him to find out where the U235 was.  He even told the cops, "I want to talk to him alone".  But with NYPD getting there faster than the tac-team (hmmm, that seems a bit suspicious, but I'll suspend disbelief again), torture wasn't an option.  Too many cops around for a distraction to work, I guess (I'm not sure that would have discouraged him before he became a grandpa).  So he called his bud President Taylor, and got the boss full immunity.  She caved way too fast on that one.  I'm kinda missing Jack saying in his insistent whisper, "It's your only option, Madam President."  I guess many things change once you're a grandpa. 

And to finish on Renee, did you forget about her again?  I have always loved previews.  I love them at the movies.  I love scenes from next week's show.  I love teaser commercials.  Last week the previews had me seeing that LBD would start to take charge of her problem, though I was looking forward to the truth setting her free.  This week I find out the truth doesn't matter when you have a gun.  Looks like next week we have a silencer on the gun--so much the better.  And next week Renee's presence seems to amp up the suspense at CTU--and it looks like Jack finally comes to her rescue.  And the teaser commercial for this week told me something about the world's most dangerous man, initially trying to suggest it was Russian boss, but then telling me it was Jack.  Wow, even their commercial teasers have twists.  And knowing it was Jack heightened my anticipation for watching this episode.  These 24 folks, writers, actors, marketing folks, ad-men, this is quality stuff, top to bottom!  I just can't wait.... Sphere: Related Content