Catchin' up here after driving cross country. You'll have a day or so before I get to this week's hour, but maybe I can get some thoughts out on last week's hour tonight. I watched it on a laptop in 2 sessions today--1/2 before a swim, 1/2 after. Let's see how good my continuity is. I was a little continuity-shocked as the first 30 min ended with Russian assassin setting up to shoot a meet Jack set up, that the Logan-plant at CTU thought he was clever enough to figure out. Seems everybody underestimates Jack. When I came back to watch the 2nd 30 min, it starts with President Taylor meeting with new Islamic President (wife of recently assassinated president) trying to iron out the peace details. The juxtaposition of those two made me do a "bugita-bugita-wha???" But I got over it.
Here's what I'm seeing here--how hard it is to hold secrets in the 24-verse (I wonder how hard it is in the multiverse). For example, Chloe's trying to track down Jack gone rogue. Logan-plant, virtually running CTU right under Chloe's nose, captures Freddy after Freddy helped Jack. Logan-plant interrogates Freddy and doesn't believe Freddy when Freddy says he doesn't know where Jack is, so it's detention for Freddy. Chloe sneaks in to see him for 90s (I'm still amazed at how much writers can do with so little time--stay tuned for more from this time slot), and Freddy reiterates that he knows nothing , but as the 90s are nearing the end (we see Arlo's timer in split screen), Freddy says somebody local is helping Jack. That's it, and Chloe is off to the races. First, she could have already thought that one up and followed that idea, but second, that's all she gets and she's gonna find Jack???
The only way to keep a secret is to never tell it! Jack, a couple weeks ago, convinced Freddy to help him--remember, Jack used the old give-him-the-gun-and-he'll-trust you trick? Jack said he couldn't do it alone, and he was right--he needed Freddy to go to the safety deposit box with Dana, but he didn't know it when he started on that sleigh ride. So, sharing that one little bit, and now we can just bet Chloe's gonna find him.
Now, I know next to nothing about entropy and information theory, but it looks like entropy there differs from the entropy I'm thinking about with respect to secrets, although I just bet someone could or even has applied the same mathematical formalism. What I'm thinking as a low entropy state is a secret known by one person. In the 24-verse, entropy increases like lightning. OK, it took forever for Dana to show us her true colors let alone for Logan to raise his head. But so much of plot development in this show revolves around uncovering secrets (where's this person? what do they know? what's the next target? who's behind the conspiracy?). And that's CTU's job and what Jack's the best in the world at doing, so we shouldn't be surprised at how quickly they find the answers to these questions.
Oh, and speaking of questions, that's just what Chloe uses to convince Arlo (nice to see him getting more important and unfortunately, less sleazy, now that Dana's dead) that the Logan-plant is involved in a coverup. She tells Arlo that Logan-plant isn't even asking the right questions! How's that for minimal information leading down the path to higher entropy (more widely known secrets)?
Chloe uses that observation to bring Arlo on board with her, but her wiles--OK, she really doesn't have any wiles, so it's her powers of persuasion, which we already know are pretty bad--are almost not good enough to work on Freddy in detention. Freddy finds that everyone (OK, just Chloe and Logan-plant) wants him on their side (you figure out how the grammar is supposed to work in that construction!). And he comes to realize, like we did years, days, hours ago, that there are no good guys in the 24-verse. Finally, Chloe says basically, "you can sit here feeling sorry for yourself; I'm gonna go help Jack," and that does it for Freddy--he looses the tidbit I mentioned above. At least she didn't tell Freddy, "You did the right thing."
All the while Jack is connecting up with Sidewinder. Nice to see Madsen back, but I already figured he wouldn't be one and done. He actually tells Jack, "No," when Jack asks for help. Then he qualifies it with, "Until you tell me what's really going on." And here I'm thinking, "Jack's motivation here is really pretty stupid," and I'm thinking Jack's about to realize that he's gone over the top and will return to being a retired grandfather.
No such luck. Jack sits down, sighs, and says the Russians are gonna pay for taking Renee from him. First, that seems a bit personal for Jack, the good soldier, but OK, he's had a bunch of bad days. Though he should know from lots and lots of experience that successful vengeance doesn't keep you warm at night. Second, a few weeks ago he said he wanted justice. Now, it's looking like pure vengeance. And it makes me think on the difference between justice and vengeance. I'm thinking vengeance is personal, justice is societal. Justice depends on the culpability and actions of the perpetrator. Society defines what the punishment is depending on those qualities (making me wonder whether victim statements have any purpose in a trial--at least any purpose in promoting justice). Purposes for punishment include incapacitation (to prevent repetition), rehabilitation, retribution (I'm fuzzy on what this one's about), deterrence, and these measure the proportionality between the deed and the punishment. Vengeance is driven by the victims, not society, and the victim's loss and emotion measure the level of payment. I'll leave it to you to figure out which would be better, more fair, or whatever metric you want to use to compare justice and vengeance. I'm still working on it.
Jack sets up his own ambush with a call to the reporter who flung with the assassinated Islamic president. Jack and Sidewinder ambush the ambush and play "capture the assassin" (they win). Jack heads off into torture-land for the first real time this season, but assassin isn't talking. I'm not going into detail on what we saw (no water-boarding because Jack really is a good guy), but I'm glad I was on a computer screen and I could escape from the maximized view. After trying more than a couple different means to cause pain, Jack concludes, "This isn't working." Wow. Now there's a revelation about torture. I'll also mention that there was a good bit of vengeance-seeking in the torture scene, too. (Maybe that's another reason torture of terrorists has so much popular support.) Confirming that Jack's after vengeance against anyone he thinks is culpable, Jack had started the torture before even exploring the electronic options at hand--assassin's cell phone! In this high-tech show, electronics are the first place he always looks! But once he figured the torture path wasn't getting anywhere, he found the cell phone, then figured out assassin swallowed the sim-chip. No need to go into detail, but ipecac (I'm not gonna link to Family Guy here--you can find that link on your own) didn't play a role in Jack retrieving it. And what did he find on that phone? Logan's phone number. Convenient that just this episode Logan asked for how to contact the assassin.
Jack didn't look happy at finding such a big name "connected" (but even a tenuous connection like this in the 24-verse leads to higher entropy). Seems like he should have felt pretty good.
Logan is doing a good job continuing to look slimy as his plans fall apart. His plant is still very toady and loyal talking with him, even when he's about to take the fall for everything falling apart. And I'm left wondering when will the writers throw us the true curveball of the mole being a nice guy, not an overbearing meany? Wait, is anybody nice in the 24-verse?
Sphere: Related Content
Showing posts with label CTU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CTU. Show all posts
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Season 8, 11-12 noon: When it rains, it pours
Yup, it just keeps getting better and better. Jack is getting into a tougher and tougher pickle, we keep losing one key character in every episode (but I'm thinking hoping for Logan to finally eat it is a fool's errand), irony pokes up its sardonic head, NYC weather serves up a metaphor, moral dilemmas resolutely resist resolution, women rule CTU and 2 countries.
I'm thinking Mark Twain's comment about the weather applies anywhere, just ask the internet. Watching 24, I'm sure that's the case in NYC. I'm pretty sure we saw the sunset yesterday. I don't remember the sun today, seemed like it was a bit overcast, though the helicopter scene last hour and in tonight's Previously scenes showed some blue sky.
But after blowing up Chloe's ambush and escaping with Freddy, Jack and Freddy head to the raindropped CTU SUV. Hmmm, not 15 min ago it was pretty sunny.
Why did we go to the trouble of rain? Only guess I have is that contemporaneously we were seeing Dana undergoing water boarding. Rain there didn't seem to serve another purpose--later Jack is driving through town on dry pavement, running around on dry pavement. Writers were going for art there, I guess.
Poor Dana. Yeah, I got some of my wish. She came into her own a bit. Holding out gamely under water boarding, sticking to her story that she was bluffing about having evidence. Though I don't know what her angle is there. Holding out as long as she can hoping for rescue? Once they believe that she doesn't know anything, she's no use to them. Seems like a dead end no matter how you look at it. When we find out her backup plan was a safety deposit box, I'm still at a loss as to how she could make that work--if she's the only one who can get to it, then just what leverage is it? But all my knowledge of these things comes from TV shows, so what do I know.
Jack and Freddy spring her. Jack kills a lot of private security baddies, including torturer. Torturer has Dana at gunpoint, hiding behind her, Jack has him in his sights--stand-off right? Torturer tells Jack the shot's too tough, Jack won't take it, and thinks he's OK. We all know Jack's hit tougher shots, and Jack's not in the mood for subtlety. Another baddie bites the dust. Freddy can only gape. And us, too--Dana alive is the only reason Jack is there: off her, and Jack goes away, right? And the evidence vanishes with her, no? Well, this is 24, and national security is involved, and we know all those secrets eventually come out, right?
But why is Freddy stunned, too? Jack's only option was to try the shot because the foolishly deployed back up "units" (meaning gunsels--wow, that scene and how it's acted in The Maltese Falcon take on a whole new meaning when you look up the word!) had to have figured out the diversion on the roof and headed back down by now. I'm thinking Freddy being stunned is to clue us in to Jack losing it. Chloe harped on it last hour and this hour, and Freddy is thinking it, and even Dana is trying to play that card. But we all know Jack better than that, right? We're not gonna believe Jack's lost it, right? We've seen him play us in seasons of yore, never better than in his prison escape.
Well, we find out that Dana really does have the evidence, and boy, can she act, too. But we had to know that already with that huge range she's shown us. Just this episode she looks lost, forlorn, hopeless then cursingly defiant during torture, then pleading, conniving, manipulating, clever with Freddy trying to get him to turn on Jack. Then heartfelt, caring when she bares her heart to Freddy. Then cold, resourceful when she turns the tables on him and then blows away the bank VP. Then hysterical as she places a false 911 call. Which is the real Dana? We're probably to think that she really cared about Freddy and wanted to turn her life around because she doesn't kill him when he's unconscious, rather she caresses his face (Lord John Whorfin knows when you show true character).
Dana also tries her best with Jack, and maybe this is where we're to find out Jack's one deck shy a full load. She doesn't believe Jack's as good as his word even though we all do. So he puts the gun to her chest and counts down from 3 (torturer gave her all of a 10 count). Freddy tries to intervene at 2, but Dana caves at 1. Jack later tells Freddy he had to make her believe he'd have shot her. Freddy tells Dana that later, and Dana says, "You believed that??!?" I guess she should know how gullible Freddy is.
And after escaping the bank, and "letting" Jack see her escape (while the police are trying to nab him) she has alas, one last scene. Jack shoots a cop in the foot after saying, "Sorry" in order to escape (lotta good that sorry's gonna do--is it for our benefit or is it character development, Jack feeling tortured?). Dana didn't skedaddle fast enough, though, and the cops didn't slow Jack down enough, so he catches up with her, even after she ruthlessly guns down someone getting into a cab and pats a guy on the shoulder (so many subtleties in this show--like why did Jack swap guns in the shoot out when both still had bullets? This show gives you more for fodder than Lost!). She runs into a building under construction, and Jack follows. She discards her shoes, even though we haven't yet heard her clicking heels. Barefeet have jumped up a few times this season. She gets to the high ground (though running upstairs seems to take away escape routes), Jack flips his jacket her way, and she plugs it with her remaining bullets. Jack seems to have at least one left when he finally catches up with her. She gives up her evidence, and asks Jack what she can do. "Nothing." And he finally plugs her in the chest. Then again after she's fallen on the ground.
Was she right when she said he wanted vengeance, not justice? Was she right when she said he was going to take the evidence and kill all whom it implicated? And seeings how it's just an audio, don't we already know what kind of luck Jack has when he tries to use audio evidence against a president?
Scenes from next week suggest Jack takes up torture again, this time on the guy who murdered Renee. Seemingly confirming Dana's points. The writers gotta be hating themselves for writing Dana so well. Oh, we all couldn't stand her for the 1st 1/2 of the season, but when her depth started coming out, whoa, I for one am sorry she had to go. But at least this is the last season for everybody. And Dana was entirely self driven. No higher purpose, not even money. Just doing whatever she could to save her skin. Though she had the flash of hope that true love can provide.
Even with all that, we still had the new Islamic president saying in her speech how much integrity Taylor has, Logan continuing to pull strings, Taylor continuing to trust Logan ("one last time"), Logan continuing to try to keep up appearances (continuing to talk for the benefit of his aide after Taylor hung up on him), and a new plant arriving at CTU. Chloe doesn't like it, but he came under Taylor's order. She also feels betrayed by Jack ("He threatened me!"). I'm tempted to guess where this is headed, but I know better than that. OK, I'm guessing terrible endings for most involved--but where does that leave us for the movie? Wow, can you have a series ending cliff-hanger to set up a movie?
Oh, and Freddy told Chloe that she did the right thing. I guess we're not tired of that yet. Sphere: Related Content
I'm thinking Mark Twain's comment about the weather applies anywhere, just ask the internet. Watching 24, I'm sure that's the case in NYC. I'm pretty sure we saw the sunset yesterday. I don't remember the sun today, seemed like it was a bit overcast, though the helicopter scene last hour and in tonight's Previously scenes showed some blue sky.
But after blowing up Chloe's ambush and escaping with Freddy, Jack and Freddy head to the raindropped CTU SUV. Hmmm, not 15 min ago it was pretty sunny.
Why did we go to the trouble of rain? Only guess I have is that contemporaneously we were seeing Dana undergoing water boarding. Rain there didn't seem to serve another purpose--later Jack is driving through town on dry pavement, running around on dry pavement. Writers were going for art there, I guess.
Poor Dana. Yeah, I got some of my wish. She came into her own a bit. Holding out gamely under water boarding, sticking to her story that she was bluffing about having evidence. Though I don't know what her angle is there. Holding out as long as she can hoping for rescue? Once they believe that she doesn't know anything, she's no use to them. Seems like a dead end no matter how you look at it. When we find out her backup plan was a safety deposit box, I'm still at a loss as to how she could make that work--if she's the only one who can get to it, then just what leverage is it? But all my knowledge of these things comes from TV shows, so what do I know.
Jack and Freddy spring her. Jack kills a lot of private security baddies, including torturer. Torturer has Dana at gunpoint, hiding behind her, Jack has him in his sights--stand-off right? Torturer tells Jack the shot's too tough, Jack won't take it, and thinks he's OK. We all know Jack's hit tougher shots, and Jack's not in the mood for subtlety. Another baddie bites the dust. Freddy can only gape. And us, too--Dana alive is the only reason Jack is there: off her, and Jack goes away, right? And the evidence vanishes with her, no? Well, this is 24, and national security is involved, and we know all those secrets eventually come out, right?
But why is Freddy stunned, too? Jack's only option was to try the shot because the foolishly deployed back up "units" (meaning gunsels--wow, that scene and how it's acted in The Maltese Falcon take on a whole new meaning when you look up the word!) had to have figured out the diversion on the roof and headed back down by now. I'm thinking Freddy being stunned is to clue us in to Jack losing it. Chloe harped on it last hour and this hour, and Freddy is thinking it, and even Dana is trying to play that card. But we all know Jack better than that, right? We're not gonna believe Jack's lost it, right? We've seen him play us in seasons of yore, never better than in his prison escape.
Well, we find out that Dana really does have the evidence, and boy, can she act, too. But we had to know that already with that huge range she's shown us. Just this episode she looks lost, forlorn, hopeless then cursingly defiant during torture, then pleading, conniving, manipulating, clever with Freddy trying to get him to turn on Jack. Then heartfelt, caring when she bares her heart to Freddy. Then cold, resourceful when she turns the tables on him and then blows away the bank VP. Then hysterical as she places a false 911 call. Which is the real Dana? We're probably to think that she really cared about Freddy and wanted to turn her life around because she doesn't kill him when he's unconscious, rather she caresses his face (Lord John Whorfin knows when you show true character).
Dana also tries her best with Jack, and maybe this is where we're to find out Jack's one deck shy a full load. She doesn't believe Jack's as good as his word even though we all do. So he puts the gun to her chest and counts down from 3 (torturer gave her all of a 10 count). Freddy tries to intervene at 2, but Dana caves at 1. Jack later tells Freddy he had to make her believe he'd have shot her. Freddy tells Dana that later, and Dana says, "You believed that??!?" I guess she should know how gullible Freddy is.
And after escaping the bank, and "letting" Jack see her escape (while the police are trying to nab him) she has alas, one last scene. Jack shoots a cop in the foot after saying, "Sorry" in order to escape (lotta good that sorry's gonna do--is it for our benefit or is it character development, Jack feeling tortured?). Dana didn't skedaddle fast enough, though, and the cops didn't slow Jack down enough, so he catches up with her, even after she ruthlessly guns down someone getting into a cab and pats a guy on the shoulder (so many subtleties in this show--like why did Jack swap guns in the shoot out when both still had bullets? This show gives you more for fodder than Lost!). She runs into a building under construction, and Jack follows. She discards her shoes, even though we haven't yet heard her clicking heels. Barefeet have jumped up a few times this season. She gets to the high ground (though running upstairs seems to take away escape routes), Jack flips his jacket her way, and she plugs it with her remaining bullets. Jack seems to have at least one left when he finally catches up with her. She gives up her evidence, and asks Jack what she can do. "Nothing." And he finally plugs her in the chest. Then again after she's fallen on the ground.
Was she right when she said he wanted vengeance, not justice? Was she right when she said he was going to take the evidence and kill all whom it implicated? And seeings how it's just an audio, don't we already know what kind of luck Jack has when he tries to use audio evidence against a president?
Scenes from next week suggest Jack takes up torture again, this time on the guy who murdered Renee. Seemingly confirming Dana's points. The writers gotta be hating themselves for writing Dana so well. Oh, we all couldn't stand her for the 1st 1/2 of the season, but when her depth started coming out, whoa, I for one am sorry she had to go. But at least this is the last season for everybody. And Dana was entirely self driven. No higher purpose, not even money. Just doing whatever she could to save her skin. Though she had the flash of hope that true love can provide.
Even with all that, we still had the new Islamic president saying in her speech how much integrity Taylor has, Logan continuing to pull strings, Taylor continuing to trust Logan ("one last time"), Logan continuing to try to keep up appearances (continuing to talk for the benefit of his aide after Taylor hung up on him), and a new plant arriving at CTU. Chloe doesn't like it, but he came under Taylor's order. She also feels betrayed by Jack ("He threatened me!"). I'm tempted to guess where this is headed, but I know better than that. OK, I'm guessing terrible endings for most involved--but where does that leave us for the movie? Wow, can you have a series ending cliff-hanger to set up a movie?
Oh, and Freddy told Chloe that she did the right thing. I guess we're not tired of that yet. Sphere: Related Content
Monday, March 22, 2010
Season 8, 4-5AM: Women Rule!
Oh boy, I haven't cheered often at 24 this season. But when Cloe called Renee to get her to track down Jack, I heaved a heavy, "YEAH!" almost dislodging the fat, round cat from my lap (no small cat, that one!). OK, it was only 20 seconds of Renee, but seeing her possibly back in action got my hopes up.
Why is Chloe calling for backup for Jack? Why can't Director Dopey do it? Why's Jack need back-up anyway (he is, after all, very capable of taking care of himself, as Dopey mentioned). Wow, you sure ask a lot of questions for someone who missed the best episode of the bunch this season!
Chloe called Renee because she's worried about Jack--strange, that, as she should know better than anyone else alive (or dead) that Jack can take care of himself. But maybe she thinks he's lost his edge now that he's a grandpa. CTU is down hard because of the EMP, and Dopey doesn't have agents to spare, especially because where he presumes Jack is is 3 square miles! Too big to cover without CTU having its eyes and ears back. Ah, here we learn another difference between traffic cameras and drones--with CTU down, the drones might crash into populated areas when they run outta gas--no such worries with traffic cams.
And, alas, Chloe calling Renee means that Tony probably really is permanently dead, otherwise Chloe would have surprised us even more by calling him.
Jack needs help because he called NSA to shut down all bridges and tunnels once CTU went down (here I am worried about all those commuters at 415am, but no one mentioned them--or the panic that shutting down the city like this would cause--isn't that always the reason for not doing things like this? The writers must have tired of the trick we discovered earlier this season of having characters notice the absurdities of the plot and thereby defuse our disbelief), then went to the only place left for them to cross the U235 into the city--the East River! Duh! When he gets there, with Freddy and two red-shirts (I'm still hoping they make it!), both he and Freddy find their phones don't work when they call for back-up. Are you surprised to learn that from this observation it takes Jack all of 15s to figure out they've found the terrorists? He slams it into reverse, taking immense fire, and slams it between to shipping crates. Good thing those CTU SUVs are fully armored. So now we have a fire fight between 4 cornered CTU agents and uncounted terrorists. With Jack one of the agents, this fight should be over in about 20 s, right? Oh, here's where those clever writers surprise us again--Jack misses every time he shoots! I've never seen him miss so many times. Just to show you how much he misses, he runs out of ammo, announces it to the world, then reloads to miss some more! The only reason he has to reload is for the writers to show us that this show is not so unrealistic. The reload was otherwise insignificant to the plot.
Jack gets a chance to do more than miss, though, when he spots a land-line across the road. If only there weren't so many baddie snipers (they're not shooting any better than Jack, by the way). This gives Jack the chance to go all McGyver again, and to show off his classical learning. I'm not sure where he found the armored plates (removed from the SUV? Without a blowtorch?), but he fashioned them into something of a phalanx (sans spears) so the 4 of them could move (slowly so as to not break the formation) to the land-line (fully confident the baddies won't figure that out and cut the line, if they haven't already). Naturally the most experienced of the red-shirts gets scared and impatient and breaks ranks and gets shot. The rest make it, but the shot agent writhes in pain, taking occasional fire (somebody's seen Full Metal Jacket), drawing the heartstrings of the younger red-shirt who disobeys Jack to retrieve him. Almost back to shelter with impatient agent, young red-shirt takes fire, and Jack and Freddy drag them to cover. Youngster asks if oldster is OK. Freddy shakes his head no, but Jack (no fan of Immanuel Kant) lies to youngster as he tries to tend to his wounds (looks more like he's choking him, but we know he's not as he keeps imploring him to live even though we're all better off with him dead, what with the baddies repositioning, and Freddy having lost one or 2 of them). Youngster finally dies, too. Oh, well, so much for hoping to be surprised. This show is so predictable....
Jack decides he has to draw the fire to give Freddy a chance to reach the land-line (not much hope for Freddy either, though, as the land-line is a call box with no cover, but nobody notices this inconvenient truth). Jack maybe gets one baddie, one baddie has a bead on Jack and somehow misses. Jack keeps missing all the baddies he shoots at, finally takes a few rounds to the vest and goes down. Freddy gets to the phone and dials the operator. Baddies take a bead through the 'scope on Jack's head, about to go all melon in The Day of the Jackal (at about 1:23) on him, and then you see why I've given all this detail of the plot--I'm cheering like I did when the Millennium Falcon pulled Luke's fat out of the fire in Star Wars!
Renee!!!! Now we have real talent at work. Not only does she find Jack in that 3 square miles of waterfront (probably not all that hard with all that automatic weapons fire), she sees there's only a couple snipers (all on the ground now, after some were a couple stories up earlier), and she takes them both (where are the others? Jack couldn't take these 2 out himself? Well, not when he's shooting like this. Musta been a long day already) out with a couple shots just as they're about to finish off Jack. Freddy yells, "Clear!" (I thought that a bit premature, but we had only 4 minutes left, by the clock). Then she runs to Jack, tells him he's OK (just a few to the vest), he wakes up and believes her, and everything is right with the world.
Except CTU is down hard--or is it? Jack sent NSA over to help (before his cell line was jammed), and wouldn't you know it, an egotistical engineer (anybody know any of that type?) shows up to save the day. Chloe has her own ideas about how to get CTU operational, but engineer doesn't believe her idea will work and insults her even more than not believing her does--he actually has the nerve to insult her! She gets to screw up her face a lot this episode. Renee tells her to do whatever she has to, she then takes a gun to the engineer telling him--"you're probably a good guy when you're outside of work, and I see you wear a wedding ring, but leave now and let me have my way with the computers or I'll shoot you." Wow, Chloe using her people skills--musta learned those from Jack. He leaves, Chloe nearly saves the day in time, but Dopey breaks down the door with engineer in tow. And here we learn the season must be winding down (only about 12 hours to go, I think)--Dopey does something right! He gives Chloe her requested 10 more minutes! Chloe doesn't electrocute herself or burn down CTU as engineer predicted (with that prediction, why wasn't there fire suppression folks nearby?), but she gets CTU back up and limping.
That leaves one woman of note unaccounted for--Dana. She thinks the EMP has her outta the woods with parole officer Root, but even with this national security crisis, he won't go away. Even with the EMP erasing all the systems and the backups (what the heck are the backups doing onsite????), he won't go away. Even with him knowing how slimy Kev is, he won't go away. He just asks for a meet with Dopey, and Dopey agrees (in 15 min)!!! Dana is all flustered as always. She tells Dopey that Chloe's plan to get CTU back up won't work (he ignores her advice). She finally tracks down parole officer Root (I've been wondering where this plot line is headed, kinda wondering what parole officer is doing still there) while he's waiting for Dopey. And parole officer finally makes a fatal mistake--he tells Dana he knows she's lying, and unless she comes clean he's gonna make sure she takes the full fall. Never threaten someone when you don't know all the facts (like how desperate Dana is). Dana strangles him right there and hides the body behind a panel in the room.
Now, we're all thinking how can she possibly think she'll get away with this??? Won't it start stinking? Won't there be just too much physical evidence for her to escape? What'll happen in a couple minutes when Dopey (who's starting to make the right calls finally) comes looking for him? And here's where 24 finally pulls the trump card we've been waiting for. Dana makes a call, and says CTU is back up, and she's taking care of things. What's so weird is that she no longer sounds unsure. Yep, the moment we've been waiting for is good acting! And on top of that, all the writers are laughing about all the complaints about Dana--she was just talking to the terrorists, not Freddy! (Makes you think back to all the Kev parts of the plot, why she had to look so sad when psycho stabbed him, why she looked so unsure while tracking down Kev, but I'm not going there). How quickly we forget there's always a mole in CTU!
And the highlight of next week's scenes? We see terrorist say, "give me your answer in 1 hour." That means most anything that happens will be meaningless because it won't be resolved till the following episode! So, I already know I don't really have to pay attention next week! Sphere: Related Content
Why is Chloe calling for backup for Jack? Why can't Director Dopey do it? Why's Jack need back-up anyway (he is, after all, very capable of taking care of himself, as Dopey mentioned). Wow, you sure ask a lot of questions for someone who missed the best episode of the bunch this season!
Chloe called Renee because she's worried about Jack--strange, that, as she should know better than anyone else alive (or dead) that Jack can take care of himself. But maybe she thinks he's lost his edge now that he's a grandpa. CTU is down hard because of the EMP, and Dopey doesn't have agents to spare, especially because where he presumes Jack is is 3 square miles! Too big to cover without CTU having its eyes and ears back. Ah, here we learn another difference between traffic cameras and drones--with CTU down, the drones might crash into populated areas when they run outta gas--no such worries with traffic cams.
And, alas, Chloe calling Renee means that Tony probably really is permanently dead, otherwise Chloe would have surprised us even more by calling him.
Jack needs help because he called NSA to shut down all bridges and tunnels once CTU went down (here I am worried about all those commuters at 415am, but no one mentioned them--or the panic that shutting down the city like this would cause--isn't that always the reason for not doing things like this? The writers must have tired of the trick we discovered earlier this season of having characters notice the absurdities of the plot and thereby defuse our disbelief), then went to the only place left for them to cross the U235 into the city--the East River! Duh! When he gets there, with Freddy and two red-shirts (I'm still hoping they make it!), both he and Freddy find their phones don't work when they call for back-up. Are you surprised to learn that from this observation it takes Jack all of 15s to figure out they've found the terrorists? He slams it into reverse, taking immense fire, and slams it between to shipping crates. Good thing those CTU SUVs are fully armored. So now we have a fire fight between 4 cornered CTU agents and uncounted terrorists. With Jack one of the agents, this fight should be over in about 20 s, right? Oh, here's where those clever writers surprise us again--Jack misses every time he shoots! I've never seen him miss so many times. Just to show you how much he misses, he runs out of ammo, announces it to the world, then reloads to miss some more! The only reason he has to reload is for the writers to show us that this show is not so unrealistic. The reload was otherwise insignificant to the plot.
Jack gets a chance to do more than miss, though, when he spots a land-line across the road. If only there weren't so many baddie snipers (they're not shooting any better than Jack, by the way). This gives Jack the chance to go all McGyver again, and to show off his classical learning. I'm not sure where he found the armored plates (removed from the SUV? Without a blowtorch?), but he fashioned them into something of a phalanx (sans spears) so the 4 of them could move (slowly so as to not break the formation) to the land-line (fully confident the baddies won't figure that out and cut the line, if they haven't already). Naturally the most experienced of the red-shirts gets scared and impatient and breaks ranks and gets shot. The rest make it, but the shot agent writhes in pain, taking occasional fire (somebody's seen Full Metal Jacket), drawing the heartstrings of the younger red-shirt who disobeys Jack to retrieve him. Almost back to shelter with impatient agent, young red-shirt takes fire, and Jack and Freddy drag them to cover. Youngster asks if oldster is OK. Freddy shakes his head no, but Jack (no fan of Immanuel Kant) lies to youngster as he tries to tend to his wounds (looks more like he's choking him, but we know he's not as he keeps imploring him to live even though we're all better off with him dead, what with the baddies repositioning, and Freddy having lost one or 2 of them). Youngster finally dies, too. Oh, well, so much for hoping to be surprised. This show is so predictable....
Jack decides he has to draw the fire to give Freddy a chance to reach the land-line (not much hope for Freddy either, though, as the land-line is a call box with no cover, but nobody notices this inconvenient truth). Jack maybe gets one baddie, one baddie has a bead on Jack and somehow misses. Jack keeps missing all the baddies he shoots at, finally takes a few rounds to the vest and goes down. Freddy gets to the phone and dials the operator. Baddies take a bead through the 'scope on Jack's head, about to go all melon in The Day of the Jackal (at about 1:23) on him, and then you see why I've given all this detail of the plot--I'm cheering like I did when the Millennium Falcon pulled Luke's fat out of the fire in Star Wars!
Renee!!!! Now we have real talent at work. Not only does she find Jack in that 3 square miles of waterfront (probably not all that hard with all that automatic weapons fire), she sees there's only a couple snipers (all on the ground now, after some were a couple stories up earlier), and she takes them both (where are the others? Jack couldn't take these 2 out himself? Well, not when he's shooting like this. Musta been a long day already) out with a couple shots just as they're about to finish off Jack. Freddy yells, "Clear!" (I thought that a bit premature, but we had only 4 minutes left, by the clock). Then she runs to Jack, tells him he's OK (just a few to the vest), he wakes up and believes her, and everything is right with the world.
Except CTU is down hard--or is it? Jack sent NSA over to help (before his cell line was jammed), and wouldn't you know it, an egotistical engineer (anybody know any of that type?) shows up to save the day. Chloe has her own ideas about how to get CTU operational, but engineer doesn't believe her idea will work and insults her even more than not believing her does--he actually has the nerve to insult her! She gets to screw up her face a lot this episode. Renee tells her to do whatever she has to, she then takes a gun to the engineer telling him--"you're probably a good guy when you're outside of work, and I see you wear a wedding ring, but leave now and let me have my way with the computers or I'll shoot you." Wow, Chloe using her people skills--musta learned those from Jack. He leaves, Chloe nearly saves the day in time, but Dopey breaks down the door with engineer in tow. And here we learn the season must be winding down (only about 12 hours to go, I think)--Dopey does something right! He gives Chloe her requested 10 more minutes! Chloe doesn't electrocute herself or burn down CTU as engineer predicted (with that prediction, why wasn't there fire suppression folks nearby?), but she gets CTU back up and limping.
That leaves one woman of note unaccounted for--Dana. She thinks the EMP has her outta the woods with parole officer Root, but even with this national security crisis, he won't go away. Even with the EMP erasing all the systems and the backups (what the heck are the backups doing onsite????), he won't go away. Even with him knowing how slimy Kev is, he won't go away. He just asks for a meet with Dopey, and Dopey agrees (in 15 min)!!! Dana is all flustered as always. She tells Dopey that Chloe's plan to get CTU back up won't work (he ignores her advice). She finally tracks down parole officer Root (I've been wondering where this plot line is headed, kinda wondering what parole officer is doing still there) while he's waiting for Dopey. And parole officer finally makes a fatal mistake--he tells Dana he knows she's lying, and unless she comes clean he's gonna make sure she takes the full fall. Never threaten someone when you don't know all the facts (like how desperate Dana is). Dana strangles him right there and hides the body behind a panel in the room.
Now, we're all thinking how can she possibly think she'll get away with this??? Won't it start stinking? Won't there be just too much physical evidence for her to escape? What'll happen in a couple minutes when Dopey (who's starting to make the right calls finally) comes looking for him? And here's where 24 finally pulls the trump card we've been waiting for. Dana makes a call, and says CTU is back up, and she's taking care of things. What's so weird is that she no longer sounds unsure. Yep, the moment we've been waiting for is good acting! And on top of that, all the writers are laughing about all the complaints about Dana--she was just talking to the terrorists, not Freddy! (Makes you think back to all the Kev parts of the plot, why she had to look so sad when psycho stabbed him, why she looked so unsure while tracking down Kev, but I'm not going there). How quickly we forget there's always a mole in CTU!
And the highlight of next week's scenes? We see terrorist say, "give me your answer in 1 hour." That means most anything that happens will be meaningless because it won't be resolved till the following episode! So, I already know I don't really have to pay attention next week! Sphere: Related Content
Friday, March 19, 2010
Season 8, 3-4AM: Back in the Saddle
For those old fogeys:
Or maybe those older fogeys:
24 might have finally found his legs again. We got a kidnapping, a ransom, a feint (how come the terrorists are smarter than all of CTU, including Jack this time? More on that later, I hope), a head of state and a daughter, a bank vault, an internet feed, aerial drone coverage of the baddies that's almost good enough (I love the drones idea this season, but it looks like the writers aren't using it much different from how they've used traffic light cameras in LA--giving just enough info to tease us, but not enough to help Jack get to the baddies in time. This newfangled technology doesn't look like it's much of an improvement over the older stuff--kinda like the address book on a cell phone compared to pencil and paper--but maybe if you combine the drones and the traffic cameras you could get the best of both!), Energizer bunny subplots (Dana and Freddy), and CTU compromised by the baddies. Now we're cooking!
Except the only "ends justifying the means" that Jack gets to do is (arguably) stomp over a corner of the 4th Amendment--which gives him his only chance to do more with his gun that brandish it, even if it's when only his friends are around--he blows away a defenseless plate glass door to a bank so he can get in and look around. And he is such a bad influence--he gets Freddy to help him, without all that hand-wringing Renee did last season (4 years ago show time--a lot can change in 4 years). Too bad Janice isn't around anymore to give him a chance to patronizingly justify his actions. Too bad Jack doesn't get to interact directly with baddies anymore. I guess they've wised up to what happens when he gets near them.
Jack spends most of this hour driving a big gas-guzzling SUV while talking on the hands-free (he's become sensitized to his over-use of torture and cell phones while driving this season but not his contributing to global warming, yet). Oh yeah, and being right most of the time (but either too late or "Casandrized")--telling New York's finest to set up a perimeter rather than trying to catch Tarin themselves (ooops, they try, Tarin escapes, and otherwise innocent cops are red-shirted), realizing Tarin was playing them because he wouldn't be using THAT staircase (oops, Jack wasn't sharp enough to realize Tarin had help coming--if only the cops had set up that perimeter), telling the Islamic president the pres to sacrifice his daughter because he is responsible for the threat to Jack's country (yeah, self-righteously arguing with a henpecked Islamic president who's daughter is held by terrorists is gonna work), realizing (only after Chloe's facial recognition picked up Tarin after Kayla said he was dead) that the terrorists let Kayla escape so she could get a bomb into CTU that would disable the city's nuclear defenses (oops, too late, it goes off, after Jack asked Cloe to stay in there to help him--she did some good facial shrivels after that request. I guess it's only fair after he wouldn't help her out in the first hour that she should risk her life for him. Good thing the bomb was only an EMP, which wiped out CTU's technical capability but not its personnel). Was it a nice touch that as the EMP ticked to under 10 a no-name CTU guard says, "I can drive it out in time," but doesn't make it? Nice in that finally a timer goes off doing damage rather than counting down to 1 before everyone is saved. 24 getting back to its roots again in that--no way they'll (the writers) will go there--but they do!
But here's a theme that though it wouldn't have helped this storyline, I was thinking about. Pres is supposed to give up a file in 15 min for the safety of his daughter. One thing I'm wondering is why give him 15 min? If you think he has it, why give him that much time to produce it? It only serves to provide an opportunity for drama! Oh, wait, I get it--the writers needed to inject some suspense and drama into this episode! And to tell us how much time is gonna pass while they do it. (But on to the theme I had in mind.) OK, Pres OKs it. Jack's smart enough to say CTU will prepare a dummy file. Pres says terrorists will figure that out pretty fast. Jack says it'll at least buy some time. But from past seasons we already know Jack is smart enough to have a back-up idea, isn't he (didn't we learn that's SOP for CTU)? Prepare 2 dummy files, so that when the baddies think they've seen through your 1st ruse, they'll be less suspicious when you send the second one! But that leads me to wonder when Jack will need 3 or 4 or more dummy files. More turtles all the way down?
But that wouldn't have helped, as we learn at the end that the whole idea was to get the EMP bomb into CTU. Now, how many of you out there thought CTU would direct Kayla right to them? Another barrel-fish, sorry. And now I'm wondering, how are the baddies gonna confirm that CTU is down before they try to get the dirty bomb into Manhattan? And if the bomb is already in Brooklyn, why do they have to get it into Manhattan? Didn't we already learn from TV that Brooklyn might make a worthy target?
Ah, but here's where that EMP has helped out. Parole officer Root is hounding Dana for video of Kev's robbery of the evidence locker. OK, there's the why is this Louisiana nobody allowed to roam CTU during a national emergency, but let's chalk that up to his downhominess and dissembling nature, though he does get under Dana's skin, like any good detective closing in. But now that the EMP took out CTU, Dana doesn't have to--can't possibly--come clean and give him the video. Looks like Dana and Freddy will get to ride off happily into the honeymoon sunset. Those terrorists finally help out the good guys.
Sorry, it took me all week to get to this this time 'round. Thank goodness for the internet. But watching episodes on the computer prevents me from seeing my favorite part of each week--scenes from next week! Now, I can hardly wait till Monday so I can see what I would have seen already at the end of this week! Sphere: Related Content
Or maybe those older fogeys:
24 might have finally found his legs again. We got a kidnapping, a ransom, a feint (how come the terrorists are smarter than all of CTU, including Jack this time? More on that later, I hope), a head of state and a daughter, a bank vault, an internet feed, aerial drone coverage of the baddies that's almost good enough (I love the drones idea this season, but it looks like the writers aren't using it much different from how they've used traffic light cameras in LA--giving just enough info to tease us, but not enough to help Jack get to the baddies in time. This newfangled technology doesn't look like it's much of an improvement over the older stuff--kinda like the address book on a cell phone compared to pencil and paper--but maybe if you combine the drones and the traffic cameras you could get the best of both!), Energizer bunny subplots (Dana and Freddy), and CTU compromised by the baddies. Now we're cooking!
Except the only "ends justifying the means" that Jack gets to do is (arguably) stomp over a corner of the 4th Amendment--which gives him his only chance to do more with his gun that brandish it, even if it's when only his friends are around--he blows away a defenseless plate glass door to a bank so he can get in and look around. And he is such a bad influence--he gets Freddy to help him, without all that hand-wringing Renee did last season (4 years ago show time--a lot can change in 4 years). Too bad Janice isn't around anymore to give him a chance to patronizingly justify his actions. Too bad Jack doesn't get to interact directly with baddies anymore. I guess they've wised up to what happens when he gets near them.
Jack spends most of this hour driving a big gas-guzzling SUV while talking on the hands-free (he's become sensitized to his over-use of torture and cell phones while driving this season but not his contributing to global warming, yet). Oh yeah, and being right most of the time (but either too late or "Casandrized")--telling New York's finest to set up a perimeter rather than trying to catch Tarin themselves (ooops, they try, Tarin escapes, and otherwise innocent cops are red-shirted), realizing Tarin was playing them because he wouldn't be using THAT staircase (oops, Jack wasn't sharp enough to realize Tarin had help coming--if only the cops had set up that perimeter), telling the Islamic president the pres to sacrifice his daughter because he is responsible for the threat to Jack's country (yeah, self-righteously arguing with a henpecked Islamic president who's daughter is held by terrorists is gonna work), realizing (only after Chloe's facial recognition picked up Tarin after Kayla said he was dead) that the terrorists let Kayla escape so she could get a bomb into CTU that would disable the city's nuclear defenses (oops, too late, it goes off, after Jack asked Cloe to stay in there to help him--she did some good facial shrivels after that request. I guess it's only fair after he wouldn't help her out in the first hour that she should risk her life for him. Good thing the bomb was only an EMP, which wiped out CTU's technical capability but not its personnel). Was it a nice touch that as the EMP ticked to under 10 a no-name CTU guard says, "I can drive it out in time," but doesn't make it? Nice in that finally a timer goes off doing damage rather than counting down to 1 before everyone is saved. 24 getting back to its roots again in that--no way they'll (the writers) will go there--but they do!
But here's a theme that though it wouldn't have helped this storyline, I was thinking about. Pres is supposed to give up a file in 15 min for the safety of his daughter. One thing I'm wondering is why give him 15 min? If you think he has it, why give him that much time to produce it? It only serves to provide an opportunity for drama! Oh, wait, I get it--the writers needed to inject some suspense and drama into this episode! And to tell us how much time is gonna pass while they do it. (But on to the theme I had in mind.) OK, Pres OKs it. Jack's smart enough to say CTU will prepare a dummy file. Pres says terrorists will figure that out pretty fast. Jack says it'll at least buy some time. But from past seasons we already know Jack is smart enough to have a back-up idea, isn't he (didn't we learn that's SOP for CTU)? Prepare 2 dummy files, so that when the baddies think they've seen through your 1st ruse, they'll be less suspicious when you send the second one! But that leads me to wonder when Jack will need 3 or 4 or more dummy files. More turtles all the way down?
But that wouldn't have helped, as we learn at the end that the whole idea was to get the EMP bomb into CTU. Now, how many of you out there thought CTU would direct Kayla right to them? Another barrel-fish, sorry. And now I'm wondering, how are the baddies gonna confirm that CTU is down before they try to get the dirty bomb into Manhattan? And if the bomb is already in Brooklyn, why do they have to get it into Manhattan? Didn't we already learn from TV that Brooklyn might make a worthy target?
Ah, but here's where that EMP has helped out. Parole officer Root is hounding Dana for video of Kev's robbery of the evidence locker. OK, there's the why is this Louisiana nobody allowed to roam CTU during a national emergency, but let's chalk that up to his downhominess and dissembling nature, though he does get under Dana's skin, like any good detective closing in. But now that the EMP took out CTU, Dana doesn't have to--can't possibly--come clean and give him the video. Looks like Dana and Freddy will get to ride off happily into the honeymoon sunset. Those terrorists finally help out the good guys.
Sorry, it took me all week to get to this this time 'round. Thank goodness for the internet. But watching episodes on the computer prevents me from seeing my favorite part of each week--scenes from next week! Now, I can hardly wait till Monday so I can see what I would have seen already at the end of this week! Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Season 8, 2-3AM: Crankin' it up while cleaning it up?
LBD and Freddy cleaned up quickly and nicely after their cleaning up of their scene last week/hour in the swamp. We didn't get to see how sensible her shoes and dress were after their muck-raking, but we did see them return to CTU, and leave it to the writers to make sure we notice the obvious--that's why every story needs a Director Dopey. Then again, maybe that's why he's director (there has to be something he's good at). They get out of the elevator into CTU and about the first thing he greets them with is, "I see you had time to change clothes." I guess it does take some powers of observation and memory to notice that Freddy changed (I'm still not sure he did--black shirt to black shirt, maybe?) but not Dana (can't call her LBD anymore, now that she has her comfy clothes on). Now, before you or I or Dana or Freddy needs to try to explain away the change of clothes (I know what I was thinking those soon-to-be-weds snuck away to do), Dopey gives them the answer: "You know you have to stay in comm when you're following up on a lead." That just shows one thing he's not real good at--interviewing a suspect. You ask open ended questions, trying to get more info than you already have!
So, OK, they cleaned up and that plot is over right? Well, maybe not. Just ask Stephen Root (I think)! By golly it's so good to see him playing a probation officer from Louisiana! Oh that fits him so well. It really is the casting that makes this show great. Can you say Powers Boothe? (Wow, can you imagine them getting Darren McGavin a part??? Oh, calloo callay, wouldn't that be a frabjous day!!!) So, here's this LA hick tracking his parolee Kev to NYC 'cause he cares so much about Kev and wants to make sure he's still on the straight and narrow. (Kev really plays the con well, doesn't he?) At 230AM. When his plane back to Baton Rouge is coming up later this morning. And he doesn't think twice about calling while driving (law-abiding with a hands free) some number he tracked down from a hotel room where Kev made a few calls. Let alone calling that number at 230 in the morning. Didn't I say I wished this show would pay more attention to the actual time of day? Am I supposed to think this is just his ploy to try to catch whoever's on the other end? And Dana gets this call from someone she doesn't know and almost immediately gives out her name? Then after he tells her how he got her number she claims it must have been a wrong number, which gives him the opportunity to catch her in a lie: "He called this number a few times."? Maybe it has been a long day for her, and she's not right on her game. No wonder Dopey now put Chloe (whom he threatened to fire about 6 hours ago) in charge of Dana. But enough barrel-fish here. I'm just happy to see Jimmy James back. And I hope in this kinder, gentler, grandfatherly 24 he doesn't end up dead. Unless he's really a baddie.
Like Tarin. We'd all been thinking Islamic pres had lost it, suspecting everybody with or without crossed eyes ("just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean everyone's not out to get me and I'm going to alienate my daughter who loves one of my enemies"). Especially when he detained his most trusted head of security (Tarin) for questioning ("If I can't trust my own brother, who can I trust."--good point!). We all cheered when Tarin escaped. We all cheered when pres's daughter hooked up with Tarin, and we all started to think the two of them could get papa to getta clue. But something wasn't right. All Tarin wanted was to get political asylum in the US. That's not how these sub-plots are supposed to play out. That ends the plot too easily. Didn't we just see how Dana and Freddy couldn't quite clean up all their loose ends? So now we know, just because a suicide bomber gives Jack Tarin's name just before blowing up (good thing there was a oxygen chamber right there Jack could push him into--although didn't we learn already tonight that the oxygen in the chamber made the threat of explosion so high that they had to drill slowly--to give the bomber time to manually arm the bomb?). How come Tarin was the only name bomber could come up with?
Tidy little cleanup of that plot there, blowing up the bomber. Left Jack with no loose ends to tie up. Didn't need no physical torture to get the name out of him. No, this kinder, gentler, grandfatherly Jack used psychological torture and blackmail--if you blow yourself up, I'll take your mom to the dirty bomb blast site and make sure she gets radiation sickness! I guess psychological torture is better than physical torture--physical torture leaves the victim physically and psychologically scarred, but psychological torture leaves only psychological scars. That must be better, right? 'Cause everyone knows the physical scars are the worst.
But the kid doesn't have to deal with those scars because the terrorists blew him up remotely. I sorta see why they couldn't do that earlier, but I also don't see why. Just one more aspect I'm gonna suspend disbelief about. That's what makes these shows stupid to think too much about, ironic as that is in this blog--you can never know all the rules of that universe.
And we're still not sure Tarin is a baddie (boy, I miss the ambiguity of Tony last year, and even Jack in some seasons). Unless we saw the scenes for next week. And he's really starting to look bad in those. But we had another throw-away suspense moment--Tarin in the shower, hottie finally answering Mom's call, Mom convincing her Tarin's bad, Tarin coming out of the shower, hottie wanting to change but not in his presence, and him asking, "Why?" Oh, no, he's caught her. Oh no, what's she gonna say to remove his suspicion. Oh no, why didn't we notice his suspicion ever before? Phew, she says she wants to clean up (couldn't she just say she wanted to take a shower, just like he just did???), and he buys it. Nazneen acts pretty good here, smiling and kissing just as she ever did when she faces Tarin, looking scared and uncertain as soon as she turns away. Then she goes in the bathroom and LOCKS THE DOOR! And we're all thinking how stupid that is.
Ah well, the scenes suggest she gets the 24 treatment next week--no one leaves unscathed. With Tarin now exposed as a baddie, it looks like the season will now start crankin' again. Now it's starting to feel like the real 24 with a nefarious deep conspiracy that you just can't believe how far it goes. And threats and blackmail.
And plots that you just can't believe they went that far. Like suicide bomber blowing up this week after fumble fingers Jack couldn't disarm the vest. Nice little count-down on the vest. I'm sure all suicide vests give a count-down. But it gave Jack time to get the name with just enough time left (he knew because he could see the timer!) to push bomber back into the oxygen chamber and sorta close the door (we already learned this week that the chamber could contain the explosion). Except the door didn't quite close, so the explosion blew Jack across the room--he sure pays the price, time and time again. But at least they were wrong that all the O2 in chamber would amplify the blast. But with the door blown out by the blown up bomber, the director was careful to film the now red inside of the door a couple times. Not a pretty site.
But at least Jack got bomber's mom out in time so she didn't see it. And I liked Mom accusing bomber of breaking his promise to her to see her at Aunt Shelly's in PA. It didn't help convince bomber not to blow himself up, but it was a touch I liked.
No Renee this week/hour. I guess now she's relegated to fondly, warmly greeting Jack back at his place at the end of the long day. I sure miss her already, almost as much as Jack does, I bet. But we saw Chloe mother-henning again, telling Dana she's glad to have her back, almost having people skills (there's an opportunity for suspension disbelief). Four years of living in the real world (AKA not CTU) does wonders. And we got Islamic pres's wife back in the picture, telling him how stupid he's been, then eating a little (OK a lot of) crow when it turns out he was right about Tarin. Boy, she turned a dime there! But their interaction was definitely worth the screen time this week. Sphere: Related Content
So, OK, they cleaned up and that plot is over right? Well, maybe not. Just ask Stephen Root (I think)! By golly it's so good to see him playing a probation officer from Louisiana! Oh that fits him so well. It really is the casting that makes this show great. Can you say Powers Boothe? (Wow, can you imagine them getting Darren McGavin a part??? Oh, calloo callay, wouldn't that be a frabjous day!!!) So, here's this LA hick tracking his parolee Kev to NYC 'cause he cares so much about Kev and wants to make sure he's still on the straight and narrow. (Kev really plays the con well, doesn't he?) At 230AM. When his plane back to Baton Rouge is coming up later this morning. And he doesn't think twice about calling while driving (law-abiding with a hands free) some number he tracked down from a hotel room where Kev made a few calls. Let alone calling that number at 230 in the morning. Didn't I say I wished this show would pay more attention to the actual time of day? Am I supposed to think this is just his ploy to try to catch whoever's on the other end? And Dana gets this call from someone she doesn't know and almost immediately gives out her name? Then after he tells her how he got her number she claims it must have been a wrong number, which gives him the opportunity to catch her in a lie: "He called this number a few times."? Maybe it has been a long day for her, and she's not right on her game. No wonder Dopey now put Chloe (whom he threatened to fire about 6 hours ago) in charge of Dana. But enough barrel-fish here. I'm just happy to see Jimmy James back. And I hope in this kinder, gentler, grandfatherly 24 he doesn't end up dead. Unless he's really a baddie.
Like Tarin. We'd all been thinking Islamic pres had lost it, suspecting everybody with or without crossed eyes ("just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean everyone's not out to get me and I'm going to alienate my daughter who loves one of my enemies"). Especially when he detained his most trusted head of security (Tarin) for questioning ("If I can't trust my own brother, who can I trust."--good point!). We all cheered when Tarin escaped. We all cheered when pres's daughter hooked up with Tarin, and we all started to think the two of them could get papa to getta clue. But something wasn't right. All Tarin wanted was to get political asylum in the US. That's not how these sub-plots are supposed to play out. That ends the plot too easily. Didn't we just see how Dana and Freddy couldn't quite clean up all their loose ends? So now we know, just because a suicide bomber gives Jack Tarin's name just before blowing up (good thing there was a oxygen chamber right there Jack could push him into--although didn't we learn already tonight that the oxygen in the chamber made the threat of explosion so high that they had to drill slowly--to give the bomber time to manually arm the bomb?). How come Tarin was the only name bomber could come up with?
Tidy little cleanup of that plot there, blowing up the bomber. Left Jack with no loose ends to tie up. Didn't need no physical torture to get the name out of him. No, this kinder, gentler, grandfatherly Jack used psychological torture and blackmail--if you blow yourself up, I'll take your mom to the dirty bomb blast site and make sure she gets radiation sickness! I guess psychological torture is better than physical torture--physical torture leaves the victim physically and psychologically scarred, but psychological torture leaves only psychological scars. That must be better, right? 'Cause everyone knows the physical scars are the worst.
But the kid doesn't have to deal with those scars because the terrorists blew him up remotely. I sorta see why they couldn't do that earlier, but I also don't see why. Just one more aspect I'm gonna suspend disbelief about. That's what makes these shows stupid to think too much about, ironic as that is in this blog--you can never know all the rules of that universe.
And we're still not sure Tarin is a baddie (boy, I miss the ambiguity of Tony last year, and even Jack in some seasons). Unless we saw the scenes for next week. And he's really starting to look bad in those. But we had another throw-away suspense moment--Tarin in the shower, hottie finally answering Mom's call, Mom convincing her Tarin's bad, Tarin coming out of the shower, hottie wanting to change but not in his presence, and him asking, "Why?" Oh, no, he's caught her. Oh no, what's she gonna say to remove his suspicion. Oh no, why didn't we notice his suspicion ever before? Phew, she says she wants to clean up (couldn't she just say she wanted to take a shower, just like he just did???), and he buys it. Nazneen acts pretty good here, smiling and kissing just as she ever did when she faces Tarin, looking scared and uncertain as soon as she turns away. Then she goes in the bathroom and LOCKS THE DOOR! And we're all thinking how stupid that is.
Ah well, the scenes suggest she gets the 24 treatment next week--no one leaves unscathed. With Tarin now exposed as a baddie, it looks like the season will now start crankin' again. Now it's starting to feel like the real 24 with a nefarious deep conspiracy that you just can't believe how far it goes. And threats and blackmail.
And plots that you just can't believe they went that far. Like suicide bomber blowing up this week after fumble fingers Jack couldn't disarm the vest. Nice little count-down on the vest. I'm sure all suicide vests give a count-down. But it gave Jack time to get the name with just enough time left (he knew because he could see the timer!) to push bomber back into the oxygen chamber and sorta close the door (we already learned this week that the chamber could contain the explosion). Except the door didn't quite close, so the explosion blew Jack across the room--he sure pays the price, time and time again. But at least they were wrong that all the O2 in chamber would amplify the blast. But with the door blown out by the blown up bomber, the director was careful to film the now red inside of the door a couple times. Not a pretty site.
But at least Jack got bomber's mom out in time so she didn't see it. And I liked Mom accusing bomber of breaking his promise to her to see her at Aunt Shelly's in PA. It didn't help convince bomber not to blow himself up, but it was a touch I liked.
No Renee this week/hour. I guess now she's relegated to fondly, warmly greeting Jack back at his place at the end of the long day. I sure miss her already, almost as much as Jack does, I bet. But we saw Chloe mother-henning again, telling Dana she's glad to have her back, almost having people skills (there's an opportunity for suspension disbelief). Four years of living in the real world (AKA not CTU) does wonders. And we got Islamic pres's wife back in the picture, telling him how stupid he's been, then eating a little (OK a lot of) crow when it turns out he was right about Tarin. Boy, she turned a dime there! But their interaction was definitely worth the screen time this week. Sphere: Related Content
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Season 8, 1-2AM: Owen????
What with agent Freddy (Cole) chasing down and cleaning up after LBD ("Dana") last week/hour and this, Director Dopey had to send Owen out to do Cole's field work (with LBD AWOL and a virtual basketcase, good thing Chloe stopped being a goof-off and got her mojo back once Dopey threatened to fire her sorry you know what), if you remember last week (more than a week ago, sorry, Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, and some already forgotten composer from 2009 took my attention away from the tube to Avery Fisher Hall on Monday night--Fox let's you view episodes later on-line, but Lincoln Center doesn't). If you remember, too, Dopey expressed complete confidence in Owen after which Chloe rolled her eyes, Jack saw that and later "bargained" with Dopey using Owen's competence to lead a field op.
I give Owen mixed reviews after tonight. On the good side, he didn't end up "red-shirted" as so often happens to bit players on 24 and bit-ensigns on Star Trek. He successfully negotiated the terrorist to "put up" not "blow up." He was good at dropping to the floor when he needed to. It's not easy to execute the obvious when being threatened with explosion. On the other hand, he had serious flop sweat from the moment Jack first started talking to him. And it didn't get any better as the crisis progressed. Even when Jack kept telling him over the comm-link, "you can do this, we have you covered every inch of the way." He musta seen other seasons of 24, seen what happens to someone who hears Jack say those words.
But mother hen Chloe had him covered. She remotely disarmed the suicide bomber's bomb. What will technology think of next. I don't think Chloe knew how to do that last season, and she's been on sabbatical for the 4 years since, admittedly behind the curve at the start of this season. Good thing she's a quick learner (Jack knew the latest, too, even after being a grandpa for the last 4 years).
Now, terrorist bomber, I just don't understand. He calls Mom in NYC at 130am to tell her to get the ... outta Dodge, but she won't go, he says go to Aunt Shelly's, she agrees after he says he'll see her in a couple days and explain. But now he's about to break his promise to his mom by blowing himself up! If he's gonna call Mom to warn her while he's guarding nuclear material, is he really gonna break his promise to his mom? Luckily, Chloe saves him so he can jump from the second story out of the hospital, hurt something not bad enough to keep him from running and lock himself in a pressure chamber so Jack can find him but not get to him. At least he has his cell phone so head terrorist can walk him through manually detonating his vest. Wow, the dramatic possibilities here have my mouth watering for next week's episode!
Best line tonight? Jack yelling at the medic to keep the bad guy alive (for "interrogation," but I'm guessing this kinder, gentler, grandfatherly Jack won't be using torture), medic yelling back, "Let me do my job!" Taking lessons from Chloe? Or just the writers getting upset with Jack always yelling at people and getting his way; their little effort to stand up to the big bully.
Second best line? Former Islamic security chief now in custody (by Islamic pres's order) to pres's daughter, his lover, "my accomplice has placed a gun for me to find;" she: "you won't hurt anyone, will you?" he: "the gun is so I won't have to." Taking lessons from the NRA (we're safest if everyone has a gun)? But here's the best part--it works!!!! He finds the gun, threatens to use it, the guards (who have guns, too) back down, let him escape and handcuff themselves! This show just keeps throwing me curveballs!!!
And some other nice lines--all the junior league field ops calling Jack, "Mr. Bauer." Jack's almost shaking his head thinking, "Where's Tony when I need him?"
Did we have a Walker siting this week? Yes, indeed. Jack must have threatened or at least yelled at the writers after she was turning into the headliner for the 1st 1/3 of the season. For 2 weeks she's been on for no more than 5 min total. This week, Jack invites her to his apartment! Things are getting serious. He really meant it when he said "I want to be there for you, with you." (whatever that means, but Renee must get it because she "would like that.") Of course he said he'd have a CTU agent take her to his apartment. He's no longer taking chances in life or in love.
We also had some more stilted president (Taylor) to president (Islamic pres) private face-to-face posturing. It makes me wonder just what the interactions between heads of state are like. Taylor to pres: "if the bomb goes off, I'll have to retaliate. So give me the files of all your covert agents in my country." All he can do is say, "OK"???? Imagine if the shoe were on the other foot! Would an American president hand over the covert ops so easily? There was a nice touch, though as Islamic pres mentioned his problems with his daughter to President Taylor. She's gotta have a sympathetic ear to that situation. Except Kayla loves her daddy and hasn't shown a conniving, law-breaking bone in her body! How come the president who has a fabulous, trustworthy daughter doesn't trust her, but the president who doesn't does? Dramatic tension? Dramatic irony? Dramatic coincidence?
And what about that little hottie of a daughter? She really gets it on for her beau when they finally reunite behind closed doors. I guess Daddy didn't check her out on imdb. Mommy knew about her and security chief so she must be internet savvy.
I'll mention that LBD and agent Freddy spent the hour cleaning up the guys Freddy killed last week--dragging them into the marsh (LBD's little black dress has to be even more clingy after that exercise, so avert your eyes--and those shoes just didn't look very practical for that job. I can't imagine what they'll have to do to "get cleaned up before heading back to CTU."). LBD had a tough moment as she saw Kev's face sinking into the waters. (What good's a body bag that doesn't cover the face?) And OK, she had to ask, but really then, as they just completed "disposing" of the bodies--"what about us, Cole?"? Cole doesn't know, and neither do I. Just what's to become of this subplot? It feels like it has so much more potential. I'll be very disappointed if they just clean up nicely and head back to work at CTU. I sure want to see Freddy try this acting stuff out some more. Sphere: Related Content
I give Owen mixed reviews after tonight. On the good side, he didn't end up "red-shirted" as so often happens to bit players on 24 and bit-ensigns on Star Trek. He successfully negotiated the terrorist to "put up" not "blow up." He was good at dropping to the floor when he needed to. It's not easy to execute the obvious when being threatened with explosion. On the other hand, he had serious flop sweat from the moment Jack first started talking to him. And it didn't get any better as the crisis progressed. Even when Jack kept telling him over the comm-link, "you can do this, we have you covered every inch of the way." He musta seen other seasons of 24, seen what happens to someone who hears Jack say those words.
But mother hen Chloe had him covered. She remotely disarmed the suicide bomber's bomb. What will technology think of next. I don't think Chloe knew how to do that last season, and she's been on sabbatical for the 4 years since, admittedly behind the curve at the start of this season. Good thing she's a quick learner (Jack knew the latest, too, even after being a grandpa for the last 4 years).
Now, terrorist bomber, I just don't understand. He calls Mom in NYC at 130am to tell her to get the ... outta Dodge, but she won't go, he says go to Aunt Shelly's, she agrees after he says he'll see her in a couple days and explain. But now he's about to break his promise to his mom by blowing himself up! If he's gonna call Mom to warn her while he's guarding nuclear material, is he really gonna break his promise to his mom? Luckily, Chloe saves him so he can jump from the second story out of the hospital, hurt something not bad enough to keep him from running and lock himself in a pressure chamber so Jack can find him but not get to him. At least he has his cell phone so head terrorist can walk him through manually detonating his vest. Wow, the dramatic possibilities here have my mouth watering for next week's episode!
Best line tonight? Jack yelling at the medic to keep the bad guy alive (for "interrogation," but I'm guessing this kinder, gentler, grandfatherly Jack won't be using torture), medic yelling back, "Let me do my job!" Taking lessons from Chloe? Or just the writers getting upset with Jack always yelling at people and getting his way; their little effort to stand up to the big bully.
Second best line? Former Islamic security chief now in custody (by Islamic pres's order) to pres's daughter, his lover, "my accomplice has placed a gun for me to find;" she: "you won't hurt anyone, will you?" he: "the gun is so I won't have to." Taking lessons from the NRA (we're safest if everyone has a gun)? But here's the best part--it works!!!! He finds the gun, threatens to use it, the guards (who have guns, too) back down, let him escape and handcuff themselves! This show just keeps throwing me curveballs!!!
And some other nice lines--all the junior league field ops calling Jack, "Mr. Bauer." Jack's almost shaking his head thinking, "Where's Tony when I need him?"
Did we have a Walker siting this week? Yes, indeed. Jack must have threatened or at least yelled at the writers after she was turning into the headliner for the 1st 1/3 of the season. For 2 weeks she's been on for no more than 5 min total. This week, Jack invites her to his apartment! Things are getting serious. He really meant it when he said "I want to be there for you, with you." (whatever that means, but Renee must get it because she "would like that.") Of course he said he'd have a CTU agent take her to his apartment. He's no longer taking chances in life or in love.
We also had some more stilted president (Taylor) to president (Islamic pres) private face-to-face posturing. It makes me wonder just what the interactions between heads of state are like. Taylor to pres: "if the bomb goes off, I'll have to retaliate. So give me the files of all your covert agents in my country." All he can do is say, "OK"???? Imagine if the shoe were on the other foot! Would an American president hand over the covert ops so easily? There was a nice touch, though as Islamic pres mentioned his problems with his daughter to President Taylor. She's gotta have a sympathetic ear to that situation. Except Kayla loves her daddy and hasn't shown a conniving, law-breaking bone in her body! How come the president who has a fabulous, trustworthy daughter doesn't trust her, but the president who doesn't does? Dramatic tension? Dramatic irony? Dramatic coincidence?
And what about that little hottie of a daughter? She really gets it on for her beau when they finally reunite behind closed doors. I guess Daddy didn't check her out on imdb. Mommy knew about her and security chief so she must be internet savvy.
I'll mention that LBD and agent Freddy spent the hour cleaning up the guys Freddy killed last week--dragging them into the marsh (LBD's little black dress has to be even more clingy after that exercise, so avert your eyes--and those shoes just didn't look very practical for that job. I can't imagine what they'll have to do to "get cleaned up before heading back to CTU."). LBD had a tough moment as she saw Kev's face sinking into the waters. (What good's a body bag that doesn't cover the face?) And OK, she had to ask, but really then, as they just completed "disposing" of the bodies--"what about us, Cole?"? Cole doesn't know, and neither do I. Just what's to become of this subplot? It feels like it has so much more potential. I'll be very disappointed if they just clean up nicely and head back to work at CTU. I sure want to see Freddy try this acting stuff out some more. Sphere: Related Content
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Season 8, 8-9PM: Mirror, mirror
Renee just finished proving her cover's legit by cutting off the Russian's hand [later: looks like it was just the thumb; note to FOX: you gotta be able to shoot that better, shoot, you had 2 chances, end of last week and start of this week!] so he could escape the tracking bracelet, and Jack comes busting in (fortunately, probationer is unconscious from the operation) threatening to shut down the undercover op. Jack just doesn't get it. He worked so hard to get her to cross over to the dark side last season. She struggled, with Jiminy Cricket (Larry) trying so hard to keep her on the straight and narrow, but the power of the dark side (the ends justify the means) was too powerful. I guess she didn't see anything after Revenge of the Sith (then again, maybe she did and knows that like in Return of the Jedi, she'll find redemption--didn't Jack find that last year?). Come to think of it, Anakin (and Luke) lost a hand, too. These parallels are just too spooky. I had never thought of the writers of 24 as quite this nerdy.
At least probationer won't have to suffer as long as some of those others who lost limbs (except for the other Russian mobster a couple years ago). Whereas Jack will have to suffer for a whole day watching someone other than him use his own tricks and tactics and confidence to do the job her way. "Go ahead, Jack, call it in. But I had to do this to get in." She's just playing you, Jack. Can't you see it??? How'd you get so gullible, so unsophisticated? Guess you've been hanging around the granddaughter too long.
Whereas Renee has been plumbing the dregs. Man, Wersching's acting is spot on there. Her eyes really are dark and hopeless. We don't even need all the characters saying that all the time. Jack stared into those lipid (ooops, limpid) pools seeing straight to the abyss, and he didn't seem to recognize it as him anymore as a reflection. He even said so. You know what? Keifer is playing the caring partner pretty well so far. Though it's not very believable after all the other days we've been through with him. This is the guy who pulled the trigger with the gun at the head of his partner, his son-in-law, I think, without flinching (the gun wasn't loaded, which only meant that the partner lived to ultimately lose his arm in the last episode). And he goes all wackadoodle when Renee whacks off the arm of a minor mobster???? (I'm still wondering about why and how she taped it back on, but the episode end shows me that I'll never learn why as probationer winds up in the drink. [previous brackets clears this one up])
Jack gets worried about Renee's past with these Russians just as all she wants to do is get her newly crafted cover story solid. He's all, "What's your history with them?" She's all, " That's over and done with. Shut up and tell me what my cover story is." And he hardly presses her about that back story. Has he really become as stupid as everybody he's ever dealt with?
And there's more--once she's in with the Russian she used probationer to get to, they stuff her in the trunk and drive off. And Jack falls for the oldest trick in the book--the old decoy car drives off first! We all saw that one coming. And here's the worst of it--the only smart one left is in the trunk! Chloe falls for it, too (but maybe that's not so surprising as she's remote sensing, although that's what she's done so successfully her whole career--and strangely enough, after having so much trouble with all this new technology at CTU for the 1st hour, all it took was Director Dopey to tell her to get better at it or he'll fire her, she's not having any trouble anymore---hmmm, maybe I should try that motivation technique.). And Dopey--oh, man is he useless. Well, count on him to pull a Kirk--make all the wrong decisions for the first half of the show (but I'm not sure he'll know when 1/2 the show is over and it's time to start making the right calls). So Jack is following the wrong car, telling Dopey to intervene with the interdiction team he just sent (sorry, I already forgot their word for the team, but it wasn't the Away Team, or even the A-Team), and Dopey's still thinking about whether to intervene, but not telling us why he's pausing, and finally he gives the word, and then we get contact from Renee again! She's outta the trunk. That must mean they fell for the old decoy car trick! Boy, don't they feel dumb (lucky that Jack doesn't recognize that strange feeling and become confused).
Russian blows away probationer right next to Renee, and still not a freckle has flinched. This is great stuff. Then Russian turns to Renee and with the gun to her head asks for the truth (Jack would demand the truth--I guess he really has a lot to learn about how to handle Renee, and I hope when this day is done she gets a chance to teach him some more). She tells him to shoot, her life is meaningless without this big deal she's offering. (Didn't I say this is good stuff?) Wow, Jack has to understand that! How many times has he pulled the same one? Or seen it done (Tony last season, maybe?)? Russian buys it, to everyone's relief (writer's included).
The biggest suspense left? When is Grandpa gonna snap out of it?!?!?!?!?!?
Pretty nice primary story. Of the back stories I gotta like the Islamic Republic's president the most. It takes learning that his brother was in on the plot to kill him for him to realize he still loves his wife and that he probably wasn't in love with the reporter he flung with. "It was nice to know I could still have feelings." Wife: "Great, that's my fault, too." Pres: "No, it was our fault." Simple dialog, showing a complex situation. Wife walks out anyway. And before that, with President Taylor who wants him to abide by human rights as he cracks down on the coup plotters (amazing how much cracking down he was able to do back home in the 15 min since he avoided assassination!). She's all, "You can't give up on human rights." He's all, "You don't understand my country, I'm dead if I show weakness." (I tried to remember his line; it was so great, but I lost it.) And the best she can come up with is, "There has to be some middle ground." Well, it's tough to wade through the thicket of the middle ground when all the writers have time for is one sentence. I truly marvel at how much TV (and even movie) writers can do with so little. With only a handful of lines here, they have conveyed how complex real life is.
Unlike what's going on with LBD--too many lines for how simply they're treating a very complex interaction (abusive man, emotionally crippled woman). Now we find out this felon is holding her conviction for accessory to homicide over her head (if he was the killer, how'd he get out so soon? Must be one of those soft on crime states--I didn't think those existed anymore.). And that she was a minor at the time. Oh, puh-leeez. He is so manipulative, and she's so falling for all of it all over again. I just don't get how someone as dumb as her (with a record, but I guess even CTU background checks don't get past a judge's sealing of the record of a minor) is working on as important stuff as she is at CTU. Oh, wait a minute, maybe it was Dopey that hired her! But how did she snag that dreamy Freddy Prinz? And she has slimy analyst chasing her tail--I guess that's to lend credence to how she's letting ex-con manipulate her--she attracts more losers than winners. Are the writers doing this just to teach us that giving into blackmailers' demands only encourages them? I will be so disappointed if this story-line plays out so simply that ex-con goes down with nothing more. 24 is normally so shades a grey. Or rather, as I said last year, shades of grey and black. But this one looks so black and white. It just has to work itself out in a more complicated way.
And I can't even speculate on how plot line of Russian son disobeys father to get dieing brother medical help will tie in.
So far, I'm still disappointed not to see a bigger conspiracy afoot, but the day is yet young.
And I'm disappointed that it took 4.5 hours before Jack broke the law--driving while on cell phone! Now, I'm getting pissed at how this show glorifies and justifies illegal behavior. Sphere: Related Content
At least probationer won't have to suffer as long as some of those others who lost limbs (except for the other Russian mobster a couple years ago). Whereas Jack will have to suffer for a whole day watching someone other than him use his own tricks and tactics and confidence to do the job her way. "Go ahead, Jack, call it in. But I had to do this to get in." She's just playing you, Jack. Can't you see it??? How'd you get so gullible, so unsophisticated? Guess you've been hanging around the granddaughter too long.
Whereas Renee has been plumbing the dregs. Man, Wersching's acting is spot on there. Her eyes really are dark and hopeless. We don't even need all the characters saying that all the time. Jack stared into those lipid (ooops, limpid) pools seeing straight to the abyss, and he didn't seem to recognize it as him anymore as a reflection. He even said so. You know what? Keifer is playing the caring partner pretty well so far. Though it's not very believable after all the other days we've been through with him. This is the guy who pulled the trigger with the gun at the head of his partner, his son-in-law, I think, without flinching (the gun wasn't loaded, which only meant that the partner lived to ultimately lose his arm in the last episode). And he goes all wackadoodle when Renee whacks off the arm of a minor mobster???? (I'm still wondering about why and how she taped it back on, but the episode end shows me that I'll never learn why as probationer winds up in the drink. [previous brackets clears this one up])
Jack gets worried about Renee's past with these Russians just as all she wants to do is get her newly crafted cover story solid. He's all, "What's your history with them?" She's all, " That's over and done with. Shut up and tell me what my cover story is." And he hardly presses her about that back story. Has he really become as stupid as everybody he's ever dealt with?
And there's more--once she's in with the Russian she used probationer to get to, they stuff her in the trunk and drive off. And Jack falls for the oldest trick in the book--the old decoy car drives off first! We all saw that one coming. And here's the worst of it--the only smart one left is in the trunk! Chloe falls for it, too (but maybe that's not so surprising as she's remote sensing, although that's what she's done so successfully her whole career--and strangely enough, after having so much trouble with all this new technology at CTU for the 1st hour, all it took was Director Dopey to tell her to get better at it or he'll fire her, she's not having any trouble anymore---hmmm, maybe I should try that motivation technique.). And Dopey--oh, man is he useless. Well, count on him to pull a Kirk--make all the wrong decisions for the first half of the show (but I'm not sure he'll know when 1/2 the show is over and it's time to start making the right calls). So Jack is following the wrong car, telling Dopey to intervene with the interdiction team he just sent (sorry, I already forgot their word for the team, but it wasn't the Away Team, or even the A-Team), and Dopey's still thinking about whether to intervene, but not telling us why he's pausing, and finally he gives the word, and then we get contact from Renee again! She's outta the trunk. That must mean they fell for the old decoy car trick! Boy, don't they feel dumb (lucky that Jack doesn't recognize that strange feeling and become confused).
Russian blows away probationer right next to Renee, and still not a freckle has flinched. This is great stuff. Then Russian turns to Renee and with the gun to her head asks for the truth (Jack would demand the truth--I guess he really has a lot to learn about how to handle Renee, and I hope when this day is done she gets a chance to teach him some more). She tells him to shoot, her life is meaningless without this big deal she's offering. (Didn't I say this is good stuff?) Wow, Jack has to understand that! How many times has he pulled the same one? Or seen it done (Tony last season, maybe?)? Russian buys it, to everyone's relief (writer's included).
The biggest suspense left? When is Grandpa gonna snap out of it?!?!?!?!?!?
Pretty nice primary story. Of the back stories I gotta like the Islamic Republic's president the most. It takes learning that his brother was in on the plot to kill him for him to realize he still loves his wife and that he probably wasn't in love with the reporter he flung with. "It was nice to know I could still have feelings." Wife: "Great, that's my fault, too." Pres: "No, it was our fault." Simple dialog, showing a complex situation. Wife walks out anyway. And before that, with President Taylor who wants him to abide by human rights as he cracks down on the coup plotters (amazing how much cracking down he was able to do back home in the 15 min since he avoided assassination!). She's all, "You can't give up on human rights." He's all, "You don't understand my country, I'm dead if I show weakness." (I tried to remember his line; it was so great, but I lost it.) And the best she can come up with is, "There has to be some middle ground." Well, it's tough to wade through the thicket of the middle ground when all the writers have time for is one sentence. I truly marvel at how much TV (and even movie) writers can do with so little. With only a handful of lines here, they have conveyed how complex real life is.
Unlike what's going on with LBD--too many lines for how simply they're treating a very complex interaction (abusive man, emotionally crippled woman). Now we find out this felon is holding her conviction for accessory to homicide over her head (if he was the killer, how'd he get out so soon? Must be one of those soft on crime states--I didn't think those existed anymore.). And that she was a minor at the time. Oh, puh-leeez. He is so manipulative, and she's so falling for all of it all over again. I just don't get how someone as dumb as her (with a record, but I guess even CTU background checks don't get past a judge's sealing of the record of a minor) is working on as important stuff as she is at CTU. Oh, wait a minute, maybe it was Dopey that hired her! But how did she snag that dreamy Freddy Prinz? And she has slimy analyst chasing her tail--I guess that's to lend credence to how she's letting ex-con manipulate her--she attracts more losers than winners. Are the writers doing this just to teach us that giving into blackmailers' demands only encourages them? I will be so disappointed if this story-line plays out so simply that ex-con goes down with nothing more. 24 is normally so shades a grey. Or rather, as I said last year, shades of grey and black. But this one looks so black and white. It just has to work itself out in a more complicated way.
And I can't even speculate on how plot line of Russian son disobeys father to get dieing brother medical help will tie in.
So far, I'm still disappointed not to see a bigger conspiracy afoot, but the day is yet young.
And I'm disappointed that it took 4.5 hours before Jack broke the law--driving while on cell phone! Now, I'm getting pissed at how this show glorifies and justifies illegal behavior. Sphere: Related Content
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