Season 8, 8-9AM: Full Circle

I remember the good old days of watching 24.  As we headed to a commercial break, the pulses of the timer would start up as the split screen started, and I'd flip over to the last channel I'd watched, either catching up on Heroes or hoping to be mildly amused or at least mindlessly entertained by Charlie Sheen, but I'd hurry back to Fox and like Garrison Keillor's July 4th hamburger I'd be too cautious and arrive too early (Garrison was too cautious making the burger always overdone) still in commercial-land with loud volume, so I'd bump the volume down, then as the pulses started again and the split screen of contemporaneous scenes started up making me wonder where the episode would start up, and picking which story line I wanted to see the most, I'd amp the volume back up pulse by pulse.  Somehow that ritual got me more in tune with the show.

But ever since CALM apparently quieted the ads, I've been relieved and yet missing something.  This week I started thinking something was amiss, and on 24 tonight I became convinced the ad volume was louder than the show again.  A little research has suggested to me 2 things: 1 that CALM passed only the House and 2 that even if it becomes a law, the ad volume reduction is only voluntary for the first year.  Yeah, I'm as sure the networks are gonna lower the ad volume as I am that sitting politicians will ever put real limits on campaign spending or that the Russians on 24 really do want world peace.

Yup, tonight we find out that those nasty Russian politicians were really behind the fuel rods all along.  Pretty convenient that Russian mobsters started out with the rods.  Even more convenient that Renee worked with the Russians 6 years ago, well, not really convenient for Renee.

But where's tonight's episode start?  With Jack acting all cute telling President Taylor she can't give up on the peace conference.  Yup, it is cute watching Jack try international politics.  At least President Taylor respects him enough not to flat out tell him he's an idiot.  Jack then grows up enough to take Renee back to his apartment and do what normal adolescents do when he's alone with her--scrounge around to see if he has any coffee left in his bachelor pad, then jump her bones.  She's not complaining, but it all seemed a bit icky to me.  On the other hand, I guess that's what adolescent making out scenes are actually like.  Chalk one up for the writers there.

Like most adolescents in similar circumstances, Jack and Renee are oblivious to the real world.  Well, Jack didn't have much reason to think about the real world--he's happy that the head terrorist was caught, that Jack was a good enough shot to shoot to only wound (through and through to the abdomen, another lodged in the shoulder muscle) so he'll be interrogated at CTU soon enough, so Jack can once again and finally call it a day and a career and go back to being grandpa, er adolescent with Renee. 

But Renee has been sharper this season.  First she should know that any woman Jack loves, let alone makes love to, will suffer a cruel fate, and she should have known what it meant that she nearly recognized an EMT leaving the scene (this the EMT who made sure terrorist doesn't live to talk).

OK, it's been a long day for Renee, so she's not right on her game, I guess.  Jack gets up to get something to drink, chivalrously offering to get Renee something, too, Chloe calls (Renee answers) to say terrorist is suspiciously dead, Renee finally gets 6 (not quite 7 this time) from 2 and 2, wraps herself in a sheet, heads out to see Jack, then Russian EMT ("I never forget a face," who recognized her as they passed in the stairwell) opens fire from across the street (why would Jack rent an apartment subject to such a site line?).  Renee gets the brunt of the attack, but Jack's luck holds as he's not scratched, merely left holding the bag, er, lady--he carries Renee to the hospital (with the help of a cabbie who drives like Jack).  Anybody surprised it wasn't in time to save her, right at the top of the hour?  Keifer and the makeup folks do a great job here--I've never seen him look older as he enters the ER where Renee just died. 

She's been the best part of the show this season.  I guess offing Islamic pres didn't go far enough into "they can't do that" land.  But death of great characters is so common-place on this show that we're all "ho-hum" with it.  But we all knew that this is Jack's show after all.  Renee couldn't stay around and continue to divert attention from Jack.  Our only hope is that Tony comes back.

Except we also get king weasel.  Yeah, I've been looking for a weasel all season--from Arlo using the drones to watch sunbathers to Taylor's assistant turning on her.  But I've known these were all small potatoes.  As promised by the scenes for the last couple weeks, we get exPres Logan.  And he convinces Taylor that he's her best shot at getting the Russians back on board the peace train (whoo-whooo!).  She wants to know more, but all he says is that he won't break any laws and he won't besmirch her presidency.  Raise your hand if you buy that.  Ah, I see President Taylor's hand in the air.  And what does he want in return?  Nothing, can you believe it?  No, wait, it's true.  Their conversation included no bargaining or even a hint of bargaining.  If Logan knows all that he knows and doesn't want anything from Taylor, why does he need to even talk with her?  Why can't he just go and do the dirty work?  Taylor's not asking the right questions, though, and she ultimately sends him off to do what he does best.

Taylor's mealy-mouthed but sharp and on the ball assistant Weiss (named Rob, not Janet) wants to clean house at CTU.  Taylor tells him to do whatever he wants.  I'm thinking putting Dyson (not that Dyson, but also see this) in charge.  He's not as creative/out of the box/punny as I--he's thinking Chloe.  And boy, does she get a bad case of the face contortions when she gets the news!  Weiss says he's read the notes of the last day and seen that Chloe was the sharpest tack in the toolshed.  I say, he must have no clue about her people skills, although perhaps her management style will actually work perfectly--in The Office!  But it seems to make a 24-logic kinda sense.  Though I'll miss that old lug, the hulking Director Dopey, his authoritative delivery (even when wrong), and his hunched shoulders.  He started to make the right calls, especially telling Chloe (after she said it wasn't fair that he was out on his ear) that the buck stops with him, and he should take the fall for the mistakes, starting with hiring Dana.  Won't that make Chloe feel the pressure of her first command!  He also said he should take the praise when CTU does right, but that's not what most coaches say--credit the team when things go well, blame yourself when they don't.

We get to see a bunch of Chloe at the helm, her normal irascible self but also making all the right calls even when Freddy is all, "Whaaaa???" 

In keeping with the empower women theme, as Taylor is about to disband the peace conference because Islamic pres is dead, the guy Islamic pres jailed a few hours ago is back in the delegation, promoting the brilliant idea (brilliant because guess who thought of it weeks ago) that wifey should take over the reins.  She's dutifully all, "no way, Jose" at first, but 30s and a short speech from Taylor, and she's fully on board.  Daughter later goes ballistic, not wanting, I guess, to lose another presidential parent, not remembering, I guess, how much she idolized Dad and his causes, the mantel of which Mom is picking up.

As for next week's scenes, women-power remains ascendant, as Dana apparently has another card or 2 to play.  Now, I'm actually looking forward to seeing more of her (not necessarily in that way!), though she's no Nina.  I wonder if Mrs. Logan is next to come back. Sphere: Related Content