Season 8, 9-10PM: Why pick NYC?

Years ago an electronics store in New York experienced a meteoric rise and fall, in a story replete with intrigue and conspiracy and hype and bad guys and badder guys and guys you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley without a similar guy by your side and not so bad guys who weren't all that good either and family member turning against family member and greedy characters who are after as much money as they can get and greedy characters who are also after sex and well, you get the picture, pretty much the plot of 24.  Now, how did I realize that 24 moved to NYC this year to mine this mother load?  Because these characters this season, nobody beats them, they're IN-SAAAAAANNE!

I saw it first in Renee.  She's just barreling headlong down the pit of self-destruction.  That one was easy to see.  Wersching plays her so well.  I completely bought into the character.  And she walks the line spot on.  Just as those eyes are going dark, vapid, uncaring what happens, resigned to the path she's chosen (do anything to nail the bad guy--learned that well from Jack, didn't she), she still puts that flash in them, that wrinkling of the brow, that keeps me hanging on, thinking, "Wait, Renee!!!  That way lies madness (OK, too late for that, I guess).  I can see there's still hope for you.  I can help you.  I've been there.  I know what you're going through.  You don't have to go there alone.  It's not worth it."  Oh, wait.  Now I sound like Jack from last season.  And I don't think he's changed his tune.  As Snoopy once said, "You gotta admire the consistency."

But I didn't realize there's an epidemic of insanity till I saw Islamic President losing it.  Sure, he was nearly blown up by a manhole cover.  That would probably make me lose it, too.  I mean, sure, I could get used to living my life the target of suicide bombers, but now having to be on alert for every manhole cover???  Jeez, I can barely avoid the potholes around here.  But Pres, he was solid.  Sure he cracked down on dissidents back home like any prudent president in his shoes would, but he didn't go gaga (no offense to the Grammies) over it.  He was restrained, and he even listened politely to President Taylor's naive (not her fault--just the nature of the American president on 24: gotta be more vapid that Jack, but just as self confident) suggestion to "find the middle ground."  But that was only a facade ready to come crashing down.  All it took was his brother betraying him and his wife leaving him.  Now he's cracking down on his security chief's cousin--right there in the UN!!  Wow, this guy has lost it.  And we all believed peace was within reach!!!

Add to these two, Little Black Dress (LBD), the CTU analyst who is "Miss Perfect" according to Chloe, but who can't be anything but pawn to her manipulating ex.  She's conned CTU into hiring her by hiding her past, she's engaged to a top CTU field op already who must turn off his professional instincts whenever he sees her, she's got Chloe believing she's at the top of the game, she can rig up a 6 figure score for her ex while she's in the middle of a day of 24, and yet she can't out think her ex?  Sheesh.  It sounds like I'm carping on how unbelievable this show is.  But I'm not--I'm simply pointing out another insane character.  That's the beauty of this show--it's not black and white, only shades of grey--and black.  LBD is one more shade of the insane theme.  Hers is the insanity of a competent, powerful woman being manipulated by a nefarious man.  And, I truly mean it, pulling my tongue out of my check, so far this is the saddest, most disturbing thing I've ever seen on 24.  [Wow, contrast this scenario with Russian Vlad playing Renee playing Vlad.  Boy, this show is exquisite at exploring issues from multiple sides, showing the complexity of life.  Wow, I wonder what Kant--"act so as the rule governing your action were immediately a rule for all mankind"--would think about these situations.)

Who else is insane?  Well, Jack, of course.  Duh.  Who in his right mind would go alone to meet with 3 Russian mobsters on the word of Renee (he knows she's lost it--how do we know?  He keeps calling Director Dopey to tell him so!) just to make a $5M downpayment?  How can he not know he's not likely to get out of there with his life?  As soon as he transfers the money, one shot, and that's the easiest $5M they ever made.  But wait a minute, is he really insane?  Or insane like a fox.  Is is the Russians who are insane for thinking an experienced arms buyer, preparing to make the buy of a lifetime (U235, doesn't get any better than that) would go to the downpayment unprepared for shenanigans?  Or how about us viewers buying into that deception (just like we "bought" into "the old decoy car trick" last week?)?  Or the writers for thinking we'd fall for that this week if we didn't fall for it last week?  Anyhow, with Freddy Prinz as backup, sniping from a rooftop, Jack turned the tables pretty quick.  He even asked the surviving Russian, "Did you think I was that dumb?"  Oh, man, Vlad back with Renee was feeling pretty stupid, stammering into the phone to Jack, "Yeah, yeah, uh, sorry, uh, yeah, come meet me now, I really do want to do the deal [even though I don't know where the U235 is, and I'll probably be killed for making the calls I'd have to make to find it]."  But, man, when Jack goes all Clark Kent by putting those glasses on, boy is he easy to underestimate!  I guess somebody's been reading Action Comics!  I can't wait to see the look on Vlad's face when he sees ol' Foureyes has him over a barrel.  And if Vlad finds out Jack's a grandpa???  Just imagine what's gonna happen to his pants!

OK, going through the list of insane characters, oh, and the insanity of the whole day, would take me the rest of my day.  And I have a day job (maybe I'll have time to add another post while I'm there--we can always hope).  I hope you get my drift.  Maybe 24 has found a new home setting for a while.  Cause we know that good prevailed over bad Crazy Eddy.

I'd been a bit troubled by the timeline that got us here.  Something about Renee being undercover with the Russians BEFORE she met Jack.  The Russian work seemed to teach her about the ends justifying the means and the power of Jack's approach, the dark side.  But she seemed still uncertain of where she would come down, light or dark, during her previous day with Jack.  That dynamic (err, dramatic) tension was a driving force last season.  The writers seem to have ignored the inconsistency here, figuring it more important to give Renee undercover ties to the Russian mob so they could tell this story than be true to the development of the Renee character.  Just browsing other blogs, I found a similar observation (TV Squad Review).  I'm not so troubled as that reviewer.  I find it more an intellectual curiosity than a detractor from my enjoyment of the show.  Heck, this show's story barely makes sense, barely stays coherent, barely consistent, barely believable for one season (OK, not even for one show--what's LBD's commute, 5 minutes?  I don't think that's possible in NYC.).  It's fun enough that I don't have to buy in and think through even the major parts of the plot.  So, I'll give them plenty of leeway for consistency season to season. 

But I'm not completely mindless, completely uncritical.  I'm getting impatient.  Last week I said they have time to get this plot showing me the good stuff.  But I've had a week to think about it, and they're waaaay behind.  We're 6 hours into this day, 1/4 done, and the best conspiracy we have is to sell weapons grade uranium??  OK, that worries me on a, "boy I hope the bad guys don't get that stuff" level, but why are we sending Jack Bauer after them?  You send him in when large amounts of imminent death are imminent!  I got none of that yet this season.  Last season we already had planes falling outta the sky by now and a chemical plant on the way up.  Two years ago we had a shopping mall held hostage already.  3 years ago we had a prison break.  24 has been great about putting Jack in these "I can't believe they've put him there, how's he gonna get out of there" situations.  This year, he averted the manhole assassination via a phone call, and that's it!  Other than that, he's been in the car.  Wow, unless a manhole cover is about to get you (or you're talking on a the cell phone while driving), I'm yawning.  And that's not the only thing missing.  Where's all the torture?  (OK, nifty that Jack avoided torturing someone by saying, "Be glad I''m retired," and he almost begged Director Dopey to let him get his hands on Vlad to make him talk.)  Not that I'm wanting to see more torture--I truly hate it and am glad it's not playing other than a "comedic"/referential role this year.  But it's been a core value of 24.  As has blackmail--and we have only one blackmail plot going on now (and they're being way too Energizer bunny about it--most of their blackmail/do this or else plots are over in less than an episode).  And we don't have any real hidden conspiracy going yet.  Don't get me wrong, I love Renee even waay more than I did last season.  And Jack's still solid (though he's not even driven a car off a parking structure yet!).  So you still have my attention, and I'm still rapt for this plot line.  But to take this season to the next level, to where 24 can really go, these subsidiary plots and themes need some more depth.  So, come writers, my entertainment dollar is counting on you! Sphere: Related Content