Anyone care to play the caption game? Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Botox-proof and freckle-full
OK, Renee acted up a storm in her 30s of fame this week. Here's one example:
Anyone care to play the caption game? Sphere: Related Content
Anyone care to play the caption game? Sphere: Related Content
Jack's lighter side
Here's the smile Jack flashed when Dopey said he has full confidence in his back up field OP:
Doesn't even look like there are nuclear materials, White House conspiracies, and missing agents in play, does it?
Looks like he's playing with his 4-yr-old granddaughter.
But trust me, this is serious stuff. I guess Jack has finally learned advanced stress management techniques. Like, no matter what you do, the sun will rise tomorrow. And being on the clock like 24 is must add to Jack's confidence that tomorrow will come.
I would like that clock thing to play a bigger role in each episode. Not that we don't hear too much already how long everything is gonna take (when the U325 will be ready, when Jack will be back at CTU), but I'd like the time of day to play a role in the plot of each episode. For most of this series, the actual time of day the show keeps reminding us about has no impact on the plot. Most episodes could happen equally (un)likely at any time of day. Sphere: Related Content
Doesn't even look like there are nuclear materials, White House conspiracies, and missing agents in play, does it?
Looks like he's playing with his 4-yr-old granddaughter.
But trust me, this is serious stuff. I guess Jack has finally learned advanced stress management techniques. Like, no matter what you do, the sun will rise tomorrow. And being on the clock like 24 is must add to Jack's confidence that tomorrow will come.
I would like that clock thing to play a bigger role in each episode. Not that we don't hear too much already how long everything is gonna take (when the U325 will be ready, when Jack will be back at CTU), but I'd like the time of day to play a role in the plot of each episode. For most of this series, the actual time of day the show keeps reminding us about has no impact on the plot. Most episodes could happen equally (un)likely at any time of day. Sphere: Related Content
Dangers of DWToC
Sting must not be up to speed, like Jack, that driving while talking on a cell phone (that's not hands free) is now a violation in NY.
And it's not good for one's health--Jack talks on a hands free now while driving, and he's still alive. Sting didn't make it to 12:15 tonight. Sphere: Related Content
And it's not good for one's health--Jack talks on a hands free now while driving, and he's still alive. Sting didn't make it to 12:15 tonight. Sphere: Related Content
Civil Defense
Sorry, I messed up a link in the original post. I've updated that one, and here's an embedded version.
Sphere: Related Content
Sphere: Related Content
Season 8, 12-1AM: rising nuclear threat and other memorable moments
The truck is at a weigh station on the Wantagh Parkway?!?!?!? How hard is it for CTU to get locals working for them who know trucks aren't allowed on the Parkway, so that's gotta be another red herring? Must be even harder for the writers to hire a local, or even just ask one if this idea works. (About as hard as it was the first time V came 'round to hire a starving graduate physics student to help them plug some plot holes--IMPOSSIBLE).
So we're at the mid-season, sub-plot cleanup, mini-climax resolution, setup for the next arc of the season part of 24. The biggest suspense for me for the first 6 hours or so of the day is what's the conspiracy that lies beneath. Did we see it tonight? Well, we probably saw it when Jack first said 'nucular' this season (did he pronounce it that way every season?). Yup, the baddies have their hands on the U235 rods, and they know how to use them! They also have a mad-on for the US and think they're smart enough to know they'd get caught no matter how they tried to get the rods out of the country. So, they're gonna try to detonate them in NYC. This is my surprised face. What's that you say? It looks like my normal face? Hmmm, I guess I'm not as surprised as I expected. But then again, how surprised can one be when one is expecting.
What do you do when your best laid nefarious plans go awry? And suddenly your co-conspirators are taking things somewhere you don't want them to go? And now you're starting to feel all alone? And threatened. I tried that one on for size, really trying to imagine the what if. Give it a moment yourself....
I know, you climb on-board and ask to make a phone call to someone who can help your "friends" take things in a new direction. And you say, "But I have to call in private." OK, how deep does this stupidity go? That they're stupid enough to fall for that one? That you're stupid enough to think they'll fall for it? That they're stupid enough to think you're stupid enough to think they're stupid enough? Sounds like it's "turtles all the way down" or it's the path to madness or both.
But the thought process can impede the enjoyment of 24, and I'm all for turning off the thinking and just being entertained. So, I'm totally on-board with president's-brother-who-tried-to-kill-him-and-get-U235-to-take-over-the-country running back (OK, making a phone call) to CTU to save his own hide when his "buds" decide to use the U235 right there, that day!!! Talk about a weasel. Somehow he even looks like one. I tell ya, though, Akbar Kurtha won't get the credit he deserves for his acting in this role, but he brings it. He makes me believe what the writers are doing to him could actually happen!
And in the spirit of mini-conclusions, Chief Data Analyst LBD is still trying to use the gun instead of her smarts. At least fiancee Freddy finally gets to take part in the extracurriculars of this sub-plot and show that he deserves to be field OP #1 in the reformulated CTU. Slimy analyst gets him the 20 on LBD via her cell phone (now they can locate them without even calling them--and track them with an unattended download real time to a PDA? Sorry, I swore off the barrel fish, so just ignore that). Fiancee Freddy finds her and stops her before she hurts someone (herself?) while Kev's psycho buddy is off taking a leak. I have to show my surprised face here--OK, they didn't spot her tailing them because they had their attention on the exotic dancers in the van with them and she had her headlights off (where'd a data analyst learn that trick?), but with all the bright brake lights, the car doors closing, the cars pulling up, the dancers getting fed up and leaving (conveniently), the peaceful silence of a whiz in the woods, the opportunity for LBD to walk up on one and be caught by the other she'd lost track of during the whiz, wow, Fiancee Freddy really is good. Also pretty amazing fiancee Freddy could get the story from LBD in two sentences ("My name is not Dana, it's Jenny." And "I'm a convicted felon, but now I'm just a victim of blackmail."). Is that a testament how good these writers are or how good an agent Freddy is? (The earlier, "Tell me anything, I'll love you no matter what," and LBD's "You'd do the same thing, wouldn't you?" from this episode probably answers that question for you).
Freddy does a pretty good job of scaring the pants off (not literally, but the dancers couldn't do it either) Kev. Scared straight? Not quite, but Kev really seems smart enough to know when he's over his head. Freddy? Well, he got most of the acting down for that scene, but at the very end of the confrontation, he left it a little weak. Psycho partner? He's pretty good at psycho, and he stabs Kev, heads off after LBD and Freddy because "we have a good deal going with LBD" (shows how pyscho he is--how's he gonna keep that deal going after he kills Kev, LBD, and Freddy?). Kev, with his next-to-dying breath screams, "Jenny, look out!" Psycho shoots and misses, LBD musta learned civil defense, Freddy uses the shotgun he took from the van rather than his own gun and that's it for psycho.
But not quite for this sub plot. Kev still has a breath left, and Jenny/Dana/LBD runs to his side. OMG, she still has feelings for him. OK, now this is getting downright awkward (in a Patty Hearst way?). Wow, will LBD be next season's Renee Walker?
Ha, you thought the Renee subplot was done! Nope. Director Dopey continues to live up to his name when President Taylor's flunky (I'd flunk him out of my White House pretty darn fast) wants to make Walker the fall guy, rather than himself. He convinced Director Dopey that it's either Dopey or Renee going down, and Dopey buys it. How'd such a spineless dope ever convince him to restart CTU in the first place? Musta been watching too many seasons of 24 turned his critical reasoning capacity to mush.
But maybe it's winding up. Jack once again (all but) declared his devotion to her. Can't guys ever just come out and say it? (Renee: you said you'd be there for me--I have to know, what did that mean? Jack: just what it sounds like. Yup, that clears it up for me.) And when he had the chance to walk into the sunset again (even though it's now nigh 1 AM), he agrees with Director Dopey to come on full time in exchange for Renee not taking the fall. Oh, and Jack explains to Dopey how he has more power over the White House than he thinks he does. Dopey at least made a good reference to last season and how President Taylor sent her daughter to the big house. One of the best moments for the writers this season.
And another good moment--Jack gets off a line on a par with "be glad I'm retired." Yeah, it was in the teasers all week, but it was still good to see it live. Junior CTU guard pulls a gun on Jack, and Jack tells him to "put it away because you don't want to get hurt." Nice, but Jack isn't as bright as he thinks. JR lets Jack past, only so he could taser Jack in the back--duh! Did Jack really think he could just walk out with Renee???
We had a little bit of Chloe mother-henning some more over Renee. Nice to see her caring side, even though she gets shooed away pretty easily. And we see her business side when she interrupts Dopey in his private negotiations with Jack for an important phone call. Dopey hasn't worked with her long enough to know she means it when she means it, but he catches on to that pretty quickly.
And that gave us a chance to see Chloe wrinkle her face up some more as Dopey learned that Freddy was indisposed, leaving Dopey only a second rate field op to go after the weasel. Jack sees that wrinkled look, too, and he knows what that means--bargaining power for him to spring Renee! Oh, that was the cutest little smile he had when Dopey said that he had full confidence in his backup field op. It's little moments like this one that make us love this show. Seems like this episode was full of these moments. And now we finally see the purpose of the LBD-Kev-fiancee sub plot!!! Finishing a complex, intricate puzzle is so fulfilling. But am I foolish enough to think this is the end of ramifications from that sub-plot? What, am I wearing my foolish face now?
Cleaning up from an earlier post, we saw Jack talking on the cell phone while driving tonight, but this one was a hands free!!! (Maybe it was the other time I complained, too--I might have missed that detail back then.) This guy really is mending his ways, he's not so "ends justify the means" anymore. Don't forget--he's a grandpa now (or maybe the writers have sensed a change in the political climate). Sphere: Related Content
So we're at the mid-season, sub-plot cleanup, mini-climax resolution, setup for the next arc of the season part of 24. The biggest suspense for me for the first 6 hours or so of the day is what's the conspiracy that lies beneath. Did we see it tonight? Well, we probably saw it when Jack first said 'nucular' this season (did he pronounce it that way every season?). Yup, the baddies have their hands on the U235 rods, and they know how to use them! They also have a mad-on for the US and think they're smart enough to know they'd get caught no matter how they tried to get the rods out of the country. So, they're gonna try to detonate them in NYC. This is my surprised face. What's that you say? It looks like my normal face? Hmmm, I guess I'm not as surprised as I expected. But then again, how surprised can one be when one is expecting.
What do you do when your best laid nefarious plans go awry? And suddenly your co-conspirators are taking things somewhere you don't want them to go? And now you're starting to feel all alone? And threatened. I tried that one on for size, really trying to imagine the what if. Give it a moment yourself....
I know, you climb on-board and ask to make a phone call to someone who can help your "friends" take things in a new direction. And you say, "But I have to call in private." OK, how deep does this stupidity go? That they're stupid enough to fall for that one? That you're stupid enough to think they'll fall for it? That they're stupid enough to think you're stupid enough to think they're stupid enough? Sounds like it's "turtles all the way down" or it's the path to madness or both.
But the thought process can impede the enjoyment of 24, and I'm all for turning off the thinking and just being entertained. So, I'm totally on-board with president's-brother-who-tried-to-kill-him-and-get-U235-to-take-over-the-country running back (OK, making a phone call) to CTU to save his own hide when his "buds" decide to use the U235 right there, that day!!! Talk about a weasel. Somehow he even looks like one. I tell ya, though, Akbar Kurtha won't get the credit he deserves for his acting in this role, but he brings it. He makes me believe what the writers are doing to him could actually happen!
And in the spirit of mini-conclusions, Chief Data Analyst LBD is still trying to use the gun instead of her smarts. At least fiancee Freddy finally gets to take part in the extracurriculars of this sub-plot and show that he deserves to be field OP #1 in the reformulated CTU. Slimy analyst gets him the 20 on LBD via her cell phone (now they can locate them without even calling them--and track them with an unattended download real time to a PDA? Sorry, I swore off the barrel fish, so just ignore that). Fiancee Freddy finds her and stops her before she hurts someone (herself?) while Kev's psycho buddy is off taking a leak. I have to show my surprised face here--OK, they didn't spot her tailing them because they had their attention on the exotic dancers in the van with them and she had her headlights off (where'd a data analyst learn that trick?), but with all the bright brake lights, the car doors closing, the cars pulling up, the dancers getting fed up and leaving (conveniently), the peaceful silence of a whiz in the woods, the opportunity for LBD to walk up on one and be caught by the other she'd lost track of during the whiz, wow, Fiancee Freddy really is good. Also pretty amazing fiancee Freddy could get the story from LBD in two sentences ("My name is not Dana, it's Jenny." And "I'm a convicted felon, but now I'm just a victim of blackmail."). Is that a testament how good these writers are or how good an agent Freddy is? (The earlier, "Tell me anything, I'll love you no matter what," and LBD's "You'd do the same thing, wouldn't you?" from this episode probably answers that question for you).
Freddy does a pretty good job of scaring the pants off (not literally, but the dancers couldn't do it either) Kev. Scared straight? Not quite, but Kev really seems smart enough to know when he's over his head. Freddy? Well, he got most of the acting down for that scene, but at the very end of the confrontation, he left it a little weak. Psycho partner? He's pretty good at psycho, and he stabs Kev, heads off after LBD and Freddy because "we have a good deal going with LBD" (shows how pyscho he is--how's he gonna keep that deal going after he kills Kev, LBD, and Freddy?). Kev, with his next-to-dying breath screams, "Jenny, look out!" Psycho shoots and misses, LBD musta learned civil defense, Freddy uses the shotgun he took from the van rather than his own gun and that's it for psycho.
But not quite for this sub plot. Kev still has a breath left, and Jenny/Dana/LBD runs to his side. OMG, she still has feelings for him. OK, now this is getting downright awkward (in a Patty Hearst way?). Wow, will LBD be next season's Renee Walker?
Ha, you thought the Renee subplot was done! Nope. Director Dopey continues to live up to his name when President Taylor's flunky (I'd flunk him out of my White House pretty darn fast) wants to make Walker the fall guy, rather than himself. He convinced Director Dopey that it's either Dopey or Renee going down, and Dopey buys it. How'd such a spineless dope ever convince him to restart CTU in the first place? Musta been watching too many seasons of 24 turned his critical reasoning capacity to mush.
But maybe it's winding up. Jack once again (all but) declared his devotion to her. Can't guys ever just come out and say it? (Renee: you said you'd be there for me--I have to know, what did that mean? Jack: just what it sounds like. Yup, that clears it up for me.) And when he had the chance to walk into the sunset again (even though it's now nigh 1 AM), he agrees with Director Dopey to come on full time in exchange for Renee not taking the fall. Oh, and Jack explains to Dopey how he has more power over the White House than he thinks he does. Dopey at least made a good reference to last season and how President Taylor sent her daughter to the big house. One of the best moments for the writers this season.
And another good moment--Jack gets off a line on a par with "be glad I'm retired." Yeah, it was in the teasers all week, but it was still good to see it live. Junior CTU guard pulls a gun on Jack, and Jack tells him to "put it away because you don't want to get hurt." Nice, but Jack isn't as bright as he thinks. JR lets Jack past, only so he could taser Jack in the back--duh! Did Jack really think he could just walk out with Renee???
We had a little bit of Chloe mother-henning some more over Renee. Nice to see her caring side, even though she gets shooed away pretty easily. And we see her business side when she interrupts Dopey in his private negotiations with Jack for an important phone call. Dopey hasn't worked with her long enough to know she means it when she means it, but he catches on to that pretty quickly.
And that gave us a chance to see Chloe wrinkle her face up some more as Dopey learned that Freddy was indisposed, leaving Dopey only a second rate field op to go after the weasel. Jack sees that wrinkled look, too, and he knows what that means--bargaining power for him to spring Renee! Oh, that was the cutest little smile he had when Dopey said that he had full confidence in his backup field op. It's little moments like this one that make us love this show. Seems like this episode was full of these moments. And now we finally see the purpose of the LBD-Kev-fiancee sub plot!!! Finishing a complex, intricate puzzle is so fulfilling. But am I foolish enough to think this is the end of ramifications from that sub-plot? What, am I wearing my foolish face now?
Cleaning up from an earlier post, we saw Jack talking on the cell phone while driving tonight, but this one was a hands free!!! (Maybe it was the other time I complained, too--I might have missed that detail back then.) This guy really is mending his ways, he's not so "ends justify the means" anymore. Don't forget--he's a grandpa now (or maybe the writers have sensed a change in the political climate). Sphere: Related Content
Monday, February 15, 2010
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
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
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Acting is more powerful than Botox!
Just for those who didn't believe me that Renee's brow could wrinkle.
Heck, those are practically furrows! She's way more than just another freckly face!
See how great Wersching is playing her, (fighting through the Botox for her art)? How could Jack not try to protect her?
[OK, and it also gives me a chance to figure out how to add another piece of multi-media to the blog.] Sphere: Related Content
Heck, those are practically furrows! She's way more than just another freckly face!
See how great Wersching is playing her, (fighting through the Botox for her art)? How could Jack not try to protect her?
[OK, and it also gives me a chance to figure out how to add another piece of multi-media to the blog.] Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
We few (practicing embedding YouTube)
We happy few
Branagh's Henry V from YouTube, with a bit more than the Crispian speech.
Brief summary of what's going on and the text of the speech here. Sphere: Related Content
Branagh's Henry V from YouTube, with a bit more than the Crispian speech.
Brief summary of what's going on and the text of the speech here. Sphere: Related Content
Season 8, 9-10 and 10-11: On further reflection
In an off-line conversation, I discussed whether Kant would busy himself with watching 24. Notwithstanding my standing distrust of anyone who claims to know what another person would think based on published papers and reports (e.g., "Kant's response to Plantinga would be ..."), I think (those 2 simple words ameliorates my mistrust of myself; I'm not claiming I know what Kant would do; I'm clearly stating it's merely my opinion!) Kant would have a blast watching 24. First, its exploration of the subtleties of blackmail, threats, lying, and torture--trying for all its worth to find a way that can justify their use would give him fabulous test cases for his Categorical Imperative. I bet Kant's imagination, as brilliant as he was, never dreamed up the variations we see in just one episode!
Then there's the show's fascination with time. It goes way deeper than "the events of the show happen in real time." Or Keifer's voiceover "the following events occur between 10 pm and 11 pm." We have the digital clock counting to the second before and after every commercial. And throughout the show, in every episode, we're told how long at least on thing will take. I'm not sure why the writers do that. It adds very little to my viewing experience. Maybe it's another example of throw-away suspense. Maybe it's supposed to highlight that the show happens in real time. All I think it does for me is remind me I'm watching 24. Like seeing Jack's nervous twitches (come to think of it, he's not so twitchy this year. Is it really him??? Now there's a plot-switcheroo that I'd never see coming! Doppelganger-Jack! He is posing as a German afterall. But maybe it's just that he's been outta the biz for 4 years, learning to be a grandpa, and he's calmed down). So Kant, such an incredible thinker, thinking such incredibly intricate, complex, interconnected thoughts, so time conscious (apocryphally, townsfolk set their clocks by his daily walks, which he missed only once after he got so excited by the ideas in Rousseau's Emile), probably would have eaten this stuff up (like a monkey on a cupcake?--words with "k"s in them--always funny, Sunshine)!
Now, on to what I didn't think to do last night. Here's Branaugh's Crispin's speech in Henry V. Cliffs says Branagh's version of Henry V is anti-war, or at least maybe as anti-war as you can do Henry V. I'm not sure I see much of the anti-war, but I applaud him if he at least tried to approach it that way. Still a rousing speech, applicable in fields far afield from war.
Then there's Chekov's gun, rather knife last night. Let's play follow the knife. Where did knife in the late Russian's neck come from? Jack's belly. Where did the knife in Jack's belly come from? Renee's hand. Where did the knife in Renee's hand come from? Vlad's torso (I'll let "..." cover the over and over and over part here) ... Where did the knife in Renee's hand come from? The floor. Where did the knife on the floor come from? The bread. "What bread?" you ask. The bread that Vlad asked Renee to cut for him and Jack. At the time, it seemed simply Vlad showing his power over Renee and perhaps using the display to gauge Meier's (Jack's) reaction: "I see the way you look at her." In hindsight, a pretty good use of Chekov (don't think the resemblance of the blog is anything more than superficial), maybe even the conflict becoming the solution, but of course with the 24 twist (that no one escapes the day unscathed, all are scarred for life at the end). Sphere: Related Content
Then there's the show's fascination with time. It goes way deeper than "the events of the show happen in real time." Or Keifer's voiceover "the following events occur between 10 pm and 11 pm." We have the digital clock counting to the second before and after every commercial. And throughout the show, in every episode, we're told how long at least on thing will take. I'm not sure why the writers do that. It adds very little to my viewing experience. Maybe it's another example of throw-away suspense. Maybe it's supposed to highlight that the show happens in real time. All I think it does for me is remind me I'm watching 24. Like seeing Jack's nervous twitches (come to think of it, he's not so twitchy this year. Is it really him??? Now there's a plot-switcheroo that I'd never see coming! Doppelganger-Jack! He is posing as a German afterall. But maybe it's just that he's been outta the biz for 4 years, learning to be a grandpa, and he's calmed down). So Kant, such an incredible thinker, thinking such incredibly intricate, complex, interconnected thoughts, so time conscious (apocryphally, townsfolk set their clocks by his daily walks, which he missed only once after he got so excited by the ideas in Rousseau's Emile), probably would have eaten this stuff up (like a monkey on a cupcake?--words with "k"s in them--always funny, Sunshine)!
Now, on to what I didn't think to do last night. Here's Branaugh's Crispin's speech in Henry V. Cliffs says Branagh's version of Henry V is anti-war, or at least maybe as anti-war as you can do Henry V. I'm not sure I see much of the anti-war, but I applaud him if he at least tried to approach it that way. Still a rousing speech, applicable in fields far afield from war.
Then there's Chekov's gun, rather knife last night. Let's play follow the knife. Where did knife in the late Russian's neck come from? Jack's belly. Where did the knife in Jack's belly come from? Renee's hand. Where did the knife in Renee's hand come from? Vlad's torso (I'll let "..." cover the over and over and over part here) ... Where did the knife in Renee's hand come from? The floor. Where did the knife on the floor come from? The bread. "What bread?" you ask. The bread that Vlad asked Renee to cut for him and Jack. At the time, it seemed simply Vlad showing his power over Renee and perhaps using the display to gauge Meier's (Jack's) reaction: "I see the way you look at her." In hindsight, a pretty good use of Chekov (don't think the resemblance of the blog is anything more than superficial), maybe even the conflict becoming the solution, but of course with the 24 twist (that no one escapes the day unscathed, all are scarred for life at the end). Sphere: Related Content
Monday, February 8, 2010
Season 8, 10-11PM: Fish in a barrel for someone else
I'm not gonna do it. Not even be disingenuous about not doing it. Maybe doing it is standard for watching and following this show. Maybe you can't avoid it. But I'm gonna leave that to others. Not gonna comment on the standard 24 story elements that seem missing. Not gonna comment on the plot turns that seem to come in slow motion because you know they're coming. Not gonna bemoan the sub plots that aren't doing anything. Not gonna comment on the details that strain any half-brain's willing suspension of disbelief. Come on, if you're gonna follow a story that happens in real time, you gotta forgive a lot. Now, I wonder, what's that leave me to think about across an hour of 24 time?
Daredevil.
Frank Miller's first run on Daredevil. 20+ years ago. Back when you could actually watch Miller develop into a comic book story telling master. One of the best series of comic book story arcs ever. Creating characters that still influence the Daredevil comic, still influence the Marvel Universe, and still resonate and tear your heart out when you read the stories. Miller's first run on Daredevil made me realize for the first time the power of the sub-plot and minor recurring characters. Watching how the same minor characters pop up for a frame or two now and again and contribute to moving the story or adding depth to the story, and 8 or 10 issues later finally they flower into a critical part of the story, adding a complexity, adding a fullness, that rounds out the story, makes it more satisfying, more complete. Go get the Electra Saga to start to see what I mean, though that's not all of Miller's first riff on Daredevil.
And I only just this last month learned of how Falstaff and Pistol served that role in the plays culminating in Henry V. I shoulda been reading those Cliffs Notes long ago. Or maybe taken a Shakespeare course. If you haven't seen Henry V, read the Cliffs Notes then watch Branagh's version, especially his St. Crispen's Day speech. Wow. But let's get back to the modern art form.
24 takes the sub-plot to another level. All of its sub-plots serve a larger purpose in the intrigue. So we complain about this sub-plot or that one. And the writers are laughing at us. And that's another reason I'm not shooting the fish anymore. The writers know more than I do!!! (Read Miller's Electra: Assassin--that last, 8th issue is worth all the frustration you build up in the first 7).
These 24 sub-plots are never throw-aways, never there simply to add a human side or a bit of levity. How this season all fits together? I have no clue. I've agreed to ride this roller coaster, and not till it's over, not till I have the full picture (if I do even then!) is my opinion of the stories and story worth a hill of beans. So, what about the characters? They're fair game even now.
Renee is still way up there. OK, so she finally cracked this episode. It was foolish to hope she wouldn't. Logistically, she couldn't continue to outshine Jack. And Jack had been cooped up in the car for too long. He had to be feeling perquacky, a bit third-wheelish, what with all the Vlad-Renee tete-a-tetes. What better way to fix this problem than for Vlad to run out of his usefulness, at least in Renee's eyes, Renee to push him too far, Vlad to push back, Renee to snap, Vlad to smack, and Renee to brutally stab and kill Vlad and in the heat of the moment turn and stab Jack in the belly? Leave it to 24--when it has a breakout moment, it pushes the limits. For a moment there I thought Jack was a goner, and Renee would be carrying the show the rest of the way! Now that would be a plot twist to write home about. But as I'm writing this blog, not my mom, you can tell that isn't what happened. Or they could have, in classic comic book and 24 form, raised Jack from the dead. But I'm not writing my old pastor or comic book store guy, so that can't be what happened.
No, Jack pulled the knife from his belly and threw it into the neck of the Russian coming (too late, so why'd he bother?) to save his boss, Vlad. Pretty standard fare. And after Jack grabbed a gun and shot (through the wall--he never uses the easy solution) the rest of the Russians as they ran around we seemed to be heading to a boring mop up operation of sifting through cell phone calls, without needing even Chloe to help.
Fortunately, more even Russians show up (it's a pretty big realm, by the way), and Jack sees his chance to get in with them by getting captured (I guess it didn't take much creativity to come up with that idea). Never being one to ask for help (looking surprisingly chipper after getting beat up a few hours ago and just pulling the knife out), he all but tells Renee he loves her, then hides her in a closet telling her to shoot if anybody opens the door (was she really that out of it to need that piece of advice? maybe we viewers were, or maybe the writers just thought, "why waste an opportunity to add some gratuitous suspense," kinda like a throw-away line.). So he gets captured and whisked away differently from what he expected, and CTU loses him. On the good side, Renee is back among the living, looking like she's ready to keep fighting the fight, and I'm happy thinking she's gonna stay a big part of this season, even as Jack now goes undercover (and boy, from the scene for next week, it doesn't look pretty). Right now, I'm in it for you, Renee.
And those other plots are finally moving along. Islamic pres is looking more and more unstable, arresting and torturing anybody who crosses his eyes. I shouldn't be guessing here, but is his daughter next? Will that be the nudge that pushes him away from the brink (now that he's already jumped off with both feet?).
OK, that plot really hasn't moved very far, but LBD finally started getting to the good stuff--she gave her ex the keys to a great score, he followed her directions pretty good, though he started looking a lot less capable than he has all season, making stupid, nervous mistakes. Then his henchman started playing stupid games (again, writers using a throw-away suspense moment with a water pistol--what was that doing in an evidence locker? Oops, and I wasn't gonna shoot fish anymore!!!), and finally they overstayed their welcome and had to "beat" a hasty and messy escape. In her last scene, LBD got that look in her eyes that we--OK, maybe only I--have been waiting for. Finally seeing that her ex really isn't bright enough to pull one over on her, finally getting fed up with his manipulations, finally seeing his incompetence next to her competence, finally showing resolve to take charge of her life, finally showing some range in her acting! And next week's scenes give me hope that "the truth shall set you free!" Would that more blackmail victims knew that. (By the way, just why is blackmail illegal?) Sphere: Related Content
Daredevil.
Frank Miller's first run on Daredevil. 20+ years ago. Back when you could actually watch Miller develop into a comic book story telling master. One of the best series of comic book story arcs ever. Creating characters that still influence the Daredevil comic, still influence the Marvel Universe, and still resonate and tear your heart out when you read the stories. Miller's first run on Daredevil made me realize for the first time the power of the sub-plot and minor recurring characters. Watching how the same minor characters pop up for a frame or two now and again and contribute to moving the story or adding depth to the story, and 8 or 10 issues later finally they flower into a critical part of the story, adding a complexity, adding a fullness, that rounds out the story, makes it more satisfying, more complete. Go get the Electra Saga to start to see what I mean, though that's not all of Miller's first riff on Daredevil.
And I only just this last month learned of how Falstaff and Pistol served that role in the plays culminating in Henry V. I shoulda been reading those Cliffs Notes long ago. Or maybe taken a Shakespeare course. If you haven't seen Henry V, read the Cliffs Notes then watch Branagh's version, especially his St. Crispen's Day speech. Wow. But let's get back to the modern art form.
24 takes the sub-plot to another level. All of its sub-plots serve a larger purpose in the intrigue. So we complain about this sub-plot or that one. And the writers are laughing at us. And that's another reason I'm not shooting the fish anymore. The writers know more than I do!!! (Read Miller's Electra: Assassin--that last, 8th issue is worth all the frustration you build up in the first 7).
These 24 sub-plots are never throw-aways, never there simply to add a human side or a bit of levity. How this season all fits together? I have no clue. I've agreed to ride this roller coaster, and not till it's over, not till I have the full picture (if I do even then!) is my opinion of the stories and story worth a hill of beans. So, what about the characters? They're fair game even now.
Renee is still way up there. OK, so she finally cracked this episode. It was foolish to hope she wouldn't. Logistically, she couldn't continue to outshine Jack. And Jack had been cooped up in the car for too long. He had to be feeling perquacky, a bit third-wheelish, what with all the Vlad-Renee tete-a-tetes. What better way to fix this problem than for Vlad to run out of his usefulness, at least in Renee's eyes, Renee to push him too far, Vlad to push back, Renee to snap, Vlad to smack, and Renee to brutally stab and kill Vlad and in the heat of the moment turn and stab Jack in the belly? Leave it to 24--when it has a breakout moment, it pushes the limits. For a moment there I thought Jack was a goner, and Renee would be carrying the show the rest of the way! Now that would be a plot twist to write home about. But as I'm writing this blog, not my mom, you can tell that isn't what happened. Or they could have, in classic comic book and 24 form, raised Jack from the dead. But I'm not writing my old pastor or comic book store guy, so that can't be what happened.
No, Jack pulled the knife from his belly and threw it into the neck of the Russian coming (too late, so why'd he bother?) to save his boss, Vlad. Pretty standard fare. And after Jack grabbed a gun and shot (through the wall--he never uses the easy solution) the rest of the Russians as they ran around we seemed to be heading to a boring mop up operation of sifting through cell phone calls, without needing even Chloe to help.
Fortunately, more even Russians show up (it's a pretty big realm, by the way), and Jack sees his chance to get in with them by getting captured (I guess it didn't take much creativity to come up with that idea). Never being one to ask for help (looking surprisingly chipper after getting beat up a few hours ago and just pulling the knife out), he all but tells Renee he loves her, then hides her in a closet telling her to shoot if anybody opens the door (was she really that out of it to need that piece of advice? maybe we viewers were, or maybe the writers just thought, "why waste an opportunity to add some gratuitous suspense," kinda like a throw-away line.). So he gets captured and whisked away differently from what he expected, and CTU loses him. On the good side, Renee is back among the living, looking like she's ready to keep fighting the fight, and I'm happy thinking she's gonna stay a big part of this season, even as Jack now goes undercover (and boy, from the scene for next week, it doesn't look pretty). Right now, I'm in it for you, Renee.
And those other plots are finally moving along. Islamic pres is looking more and more unstable, arresting and torturing anybody who crosses his eyes. I shouldn't be guessing here, but is his daughter next? Will that be the nudge that pushes him away from the brink (now that he's already jumped off with both feet?).
OK, that plot really hasn't moved very far, but LBD finally started getting to the good stuff--she gave her ex the keys to a great score, he followed her directions pretty good, though he started looking a lot less capable than he has all season, making stupid, nervous mistakes. Then his henchman started playing stupid games (again, writers using a throw-away suspense moment with a water pistol--what was that doing in an evidence locker? Oops, and I wasn't gonna shoot fish anymore!!!), and finally they overstayed their welcome and had to "beat" a hasty and messy escape. In her last scene, LBD got that look in her eyes that we--OK, maybe only I--have been waiting for. Finally seeing that her ex really isn't bright enough to pull one over on her, finally getting fed up with his manipulations, finally seeing his incompetence next to her competence, finally showing resolve to take charge of her life, finally showing some range in her acting! And next week's scenes give me hope that "the truth shall set you free!" Would that more blackmail victims knew that. (By the way, just why is blackmail illegal?) Sphere: Related Content
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Season 8, 4-6PM: Plot twists right from Day, errr, Hour 1!
[Catchin' up here. Here're my thoughts about the season 8 premier. I started this blog after I sent these out to a friend. You can thank her foresight in saving them for posterity/your enjoyment. I was gonna save this to tide you over in case I'm away from the TV for a week or so later this season, but by then the 1st 2 hours will be little more than a dull memory, so I figured this post would be more interesting now.]
This season just looks just waaayy too good. You're not gonna believe this. The twists and turns are happening all ready! Jack is alive (OK, that's not surprising). And he's given up the spy game (that's not surprising). But get this--he's a great grandfather (I don't mean it THAT way--I said twists and turns, I didn't say flat out unbelievable, impossible, hopelessly contrived plots). And he LIKES it. OK, he's still having a bit of a tough time communicating with his daughter, but he patches that up pretty fast--all before the end of the first hour--Unbelievable (not in a contrived plot line way, though). Then there's Chloe. First off, she's the least competent analyst at CTU. Then, when SHE connects the dots (rather than just providing the dots), no one (except maybe Jack) believes her, she turns the tables on Jack when he wants to walk away and fly into the sunset (they've shown us the nearly setting sun already, and they've told us this happens in real time) to LA. Oh that was really classic--"Jack, you've asked me to do stupid things and I've always come through for you, can't you do this for me?" Wow. Followed by a tender meeting with his daughter making every argument she can find to tell him to stay and help Chloe, almost saying (did she say?) you can fly out tomorrow (somehow knowing that these adventures last only 24 hours). Who could imagine that she would ever try to convince Jack to save the world? Only a really and truly sick writer--sick like a fox! And even with all those plot twists and probably others I've forgotten or missed, here's the biggest one: just as I was thinking Jack's gotta be outta bullets, he actually says, "I'm outta bullets"! I never saw that one coming in a million years! Just after the Human Target preview premier in which Christopher Chance and the bad guy run out of bullets at the same time (Human Target looks like fun, alas--another hour a week lost--hmmm, it better not be up against Lost!).
And the characters--wow, there's the blond with the hair always on the shoulder away from the camera, and the way too many curves (nice that her voyeur coworker notices her curves and she notices him noticing and she tells him to stop, she's getting married soon) and the too thin waist line in the LBD, who is really too good to be truly that nice and competent. And yes, she's not as we start seeing she's hiding something before the end of the first evening (I don't get this 2 night 4 hour premier--wasn't tonight the premier?). And the CTU boss who has too much tunnel vision for me to believe he can be in charge. But he has some potential, even though he's already starting some intrigue trying to get an agent to cover something up. Same agent as who nearly got blown up already (Jack saved him, after agent already thanked Jack for all he's done), same agent as about to marry LBD.
And we have pouty Chloe (no Janie, or whoever Garafalo played last year; Renee comes back Monday night), who really does have to come up to speed quickly on systems new to her (been outta the biz for 4 years). But she hasn't lost her nose for how the 24 world works. They do some pretty good hacking and find a smoking gun in the second hour, and Chloe knows that's not how things work in that world (or in the world of TV drama generally)--"that's too easy. She's not the real mole. She's a setup to distract us!" She convinces only Jack, so he's gonna miss his LA flight. Seems like there have been plenty of other discoveries in seasons gone by that came too easily for my liking that wound up being dead on. I just hate that, "that was too easy" shtick. I think that points simply to poor story-telling. Sure, that's the way I do physics all the time--wait that experiment was too easy, it must be wrong!
And here I thought I wouldn't have much to say about this episode, especially because this was a weird Fox show ending at 11pm. Probably some more I forgot, like how the media recording this season looks different from other seasons--I'm not sharp enough to be able to tell what kind of film it's on, but it has a different look. And it seems like it's spring time, maybe--not winter because there's no snow, no heavy coats, no seeing people's breath outside--but with the sun setting before 5, seems like it should be near dead of winter (well they didn't show the sun setting, but there was a scene with the sun maybe 15 min from setting, and the clock said 4:48pm, or right about then. Funny the one outdoor scene I remember from the 5-6 hour was about 545, and it was still daylight outside.
Oh, yeah, then there was the Islamic president's affair that the adviser told Pres to disavow, noting that the president probably wanted to do the honorable thing and tell the truth. I'll have to think about that one a bit. It has the chance to convince me that there might be cases where denying is better, even though my experience (though through the newspapers, not personal experience) says the affair will always see the light of day eventually, and it's stupid to deny it, better to get out in front of it.
Oh, wow, and the biggest plot twist of all, so big I nearly missed it: it took till the very end of the second hour for a baddie to threaten the life of someone and wound a hostage in an effort to try to coerce a specific action. Here I thought those things happened every 15 minutes in the 24 world. Don't they know that they're dead meat whether or not they give the guy what he wants? Sphere: Related Content
This season just looks just waaayy too good. You're not gonna believe this. The twists and turns are happening all ready! Jack is alive (OK, that's not surprising). And he's given up the spy game (that's not surprising). But get this--he's a great grandfather (I don't mean it THAT way--I said twists and turns, I didn't say flat out unbelievable, impossible, hopelessly contrived plots). And he LIKES it. OK, he's still having a bit of a tough time communicating with his daughter, but he patches that up pretty fast--all before the end of the first hour--Unbelievable (not in a contrived plot line way, though). Then there's Chloe. First off, she's the least competent analyst at CTU. Then, when SHE connects the dots (rather than just providing the dots), no one (except maybe Jack) believes her, she turns the tables on Jack when he wants to walk away and fly into the sunset (they've shown us the nearly setting sun already, and they've told us this happens in real time) to LA. Oh that was really classic--"Jack, you've asked me to do stupid things and I've always come through for you, can't you do this for me?" Wow. Followed by a tender meeting with his daughter making every argument she can find to tell him to stay and help Chloe, almost saying (did she say?) you can fly out tomorrow (somehow knowing that these adventures last only 24 hours). Who could imagine that she would ever try to convince Jack to save the world? Only a really and truly sick writer--sick like a fox! And even with all those plot twists and probably others I've forgotten or missed, here's the biggest one: just as I was thinking Jack's gotta be outta bullets, he actually says, "I'm outta bullets"! I never saw that one coming in a million years! Just after the Human Target preview premier in which Christopher Chance and the bad guy run out of bullets at the same time (Human Target looks like fun, alas--another hour a week lost--hmmm, it better not be up against Lost!).
And the characters--wow, there's the blond with the hair always on the shoulder away from the camera, and the way too many curves (nice that her voyeur coworker notices her curves and she notices him noticing and she tells him to stop, she's getting married soon) and the too thin waist line in the LBD, who is really too good to be truly that nice and competent. And yes, she's not as we start seeing she's hiding something before the end of the first evening (I don't get this 2 night 4 hour premier--wasn't tonight the premier?). And the CTU boss who has too much tunnel vision for me to believe he can be in charge. But he has some potential, even though he's already starting some intrigue trying to get an agent to cover something up. Same agent as who nearly got blown up already (Jack saved him, after agent already thanked Jack for all he's done), same agent as about to marry LBD.
And we have pouty Chloe (no Janie, or whoever Garafalo played last year; Renee comes back Monday night), who really does have to come up to speed quickly on systems new to her (been outta the biz for 4 years). But she hasn't lost her nose for how the 24 world works. They do some pretty good hacking and find a smoking gun in the second hour, and Chloe knows that's not how things work in that world (or in the world of TV drama generally)--"that's too easy. She's not the real mole. She's a setup to distract us!" She convinces only Jack, so he's gonna miss his LA flight. Seems like there have been plenty of other discoveries in seasons gone by that came too easily for my liking that wound up being dead on. I just hate that, "that was too easy" shtick. I think that points simply to poor story-telling. Sure, that's the way I do physics all the time--wait that experiment was too easy, it must be wrong!
And here I thought I wouldn't have much to say about this episode, especially because this was a weird Fox show ending at 11pm. Probably some more I forgot, like how the media recording this season looks different from other seasons--I'm not sharp enough to be able to tell what kind of film it's on, but it has a different look. And it seems like it's spring time, maybe--not winter because there's no snow, no heavy coats, no seeing people's breath outside--but with the sun setting before 5, seems like it should be near dead of winter (well they didn't show the sun setting, but there was a scene with the sun maybe 15 min from setting, and the clock said 4:48pm, or right about then. Funny the one outdoor scene I remember from the 5-6 hour was about 545, and it was still daylight outside.
Oh, yeah, then there was the Islamic president's affair that the adviser told Pres to disavow, noting that the president probably wanted to do the honorable thing and tell the truth. I'll have to think about that one a bit. It has the chance to convince me that there might be cases where denying is better, even though my experience (though through the newspapers, not personal experience) says the affair will always see the light of day eventually, and it's stupid to deny it, better to get out in front of it.
Oh, wow, and the biggest plot twist of all, so big I nearly missed it: it took till the very end of the second hour for a baddie to threaten the life of someone and wound a hostage in an effort to try to coerce a specific action. Here I thought those things happened every 15 minutes in the 24 world. Don't they know that they're dead meat whether or not they give the guy what he wants? Sphere: Related Content
Monday, February 1, 2010
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
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
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