RIP Renee Walker
Day 7 – Day 8

I gotta be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand I feel like 24 is capable of anything once again after coasting for the last couple of seasons (come on, Larry doesn’t count as a shocking death). I’m definitely engaged again. However, I feel a lot like I did after they “killed” Tony – like maybe they’ve pushed it a little too far. They’ve killed off the two most interesting characters this season in back-to-back episodes. On the other hand, I like the idea of Jack flying off the handle and finally shedding the political correctness that’s plagued the show since season 6 and I LOVE the idea of Chloe now being in the position of trying to stop Jack from doing something harmful to the investigation. I’m definitely getting the this-is-the-last-season-so-anything-can-happen vibe now (although this pretty much means they wouldn’t dare kill Kim, right?)

One last request: now that Logan’s back, can he stay for the rest of the season and maybe have CTU recruit Aaron Pierce and Mike Novick to try and stop whatever he’s scheming? Some redemption for Tony would be nice too. Also resurrect Michelle and Palmer, please. That is all.

-MPAW

  

Wow, it’s really getting hard to write new stuff for this one every year since it’s basically the same list rearranged. Of course, it’s a real possibility that five of these programs won’t be on the air next year so I guess I need to find some new shows to like:

7. Scrubs
“For the record, he was the best that ever came through this dump. John Dorian was the first and only doctor I ever met who cared as much as I do. And you can forget about him being a just and exceptional physician, because the fact of the matter is, he’s a damn exceptional person. It’s why people gravitated to him. It’s why I did.”

Die, Scrubs, DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE! As far as I’m concerned Scrubs did die after season 8…finally. And thankfully, it died with dignity…before it was resurrected for a ninth season which I am ignoring. I am ignoring it because this show, which was so great in its earlier seasons, and was running on fumes in its later seasons, beat the odds and returned to respectability for what was supposed to be one last run. The final minutes of the series finale though were perfect and worthy of some of the best material that preceded it.

Best Episode: 8.19 – My Finale: Part 2

6. Prison Break
“Men in my employ anticipate, they cover their bases. They refuse to fail, which you seem to be doing with unyielding consistency.”

I didn’t watch a single episode of this show live on the air and that’s probably for the best because this show works best when it’s moving too fast for you to notice how implausible everything is. I always viewed this as 24-light and while not up to the quality of the Jack Bauer Power Hour, this show was just flat out entertaining. The constant set backs our protagonists faced occasionally frustrated me, but I guess that means I cared about the characters. I always recognized this show’s ability to create some highly hateable bad guys, but I didn’t realize how much I cared about the good guys until the finale of the show, which was surprisingly touching.

Best Episode: 4.22 – Killing Your Number

5. The Office
“Well, well, well. How the turntables.”

I’m not sure there’s anyone who would consider season four of The Office a highlight of the series, but like many TV shows it seemed like it got messed up because of the writer’s strike. Some of the momentum of the first couple of seasons was regained in season five, but the “magic” truly was gone the second Jim and Pam got together. They tried to get us to care about Dwight/Andy and Angela or Michael and Holly, but those relationships will never be as successful as the original, which I think is the real lacking factor here because the show is still pretty funny taking into account how long it’s been on the air. The Michael Scott Paper Company story line was a good one, so I was surprised they axed it as quickly as they did. Pam’s character also got shaken up and taken in a direction I’m not sure I like. I still watch the show regularly, but it is no longer a guaranteed good time like it was in it’s heyday.

Best Episode: 5.23 – Broke

4. 24
“So help me God I will kill you, and you will stay dead this time!”

After a, ahem, lackluster season six and an entire year off due to the writer’s strike 24 finally came back with some vengeance, but I think at this point that the show will never really be “back.” Saying season 7 was better than season 6 is akin to saying Mike Doyle was a better character than Erin Driscoll’s crazy daughter. It’s faint praise. That’s not to say that this season was not full of great moments. Tony’s return as a good guy turned bad guy turned good guy turned bad guy again was welcomed as was the change of settings to DC. The take over of the White House (which apparently was built on top of the Potomac) was exciting, although probably the most implausible thing they’ve ever done, and new characters Renee Walker and President Taylor were great additions. The promos seem to be implying that season 8 will be 24’s swan song. I’m on board with this idea and I’m hoping it reaches the heights of it’s glory days, but if it merely is up to the standards of season 7, I will not be disappointed.

Best Episode: 7.3 – 10 AM - 11 AM

3. Lost
Don’t worry, dude. Everything will be fine when Jack changes the future. Or the past. One of those.

Year-to-year this is always the hardest show for me to write about. After almost giving up on Lost during season three, the past two seasons have been ridiculously entertaining, but after being off the air for six months I’m always thinking, “What the hell happened this year?” Of course, I’m often thinking that right as an episode is ending too. From what I remembered, Jack and the rest of the people who got off the island successfully go back while all the folks who remained on the island are jumping around time like a skipping record. In the end a bomb goes off and presumably the plan being hatched is successful because failure means every single one of our main characters was incinerated with one full season left to go. Next season sees the conclusion of the Lost saga and we’ll finally see if all this nonsense was worth the time invested.

Best Episode: 5.17 – The Incident

2. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
“Tabitha: So, he does have a drinking problem?
Charlie: Oh, big time, big time. But if I’m being honest, my problem’s less with the fact that he’s drinking more that he’s doing it without me. And then I start thinking, “What’s wrong with me? Am I not fun to drink with?”
Dennis: Oh, no, don’t do that to yourself. No, you’re plenty of fun to drink with, trust me, Charlie. You get really, really drunk, and then you get reckless, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Even the best of comedies are well into their decline by their fifth season (see: The Office), but It’s Always Sunny seems to keep getting better somehow when you would think they would start running out of ridiculous scenarios for The Gang. (In fairness to The Office, they have like 30 episodes per season while IASIP only has 12). This year The Gang “exploits the mortgage crisis,” performs an intervention on Frank, goes on a road trip to the Grand Canyon (but ends up never leaving Philly), celebrated the 2008 World Series victory in a basement, enacted the D.E.N.N.I.S. system for taking advantage of women, and of course tried to deal with their cousin “Gail the Snail” played by none other than Chloe O’Brien.

Favorite Episode: 5.4 – The Gang Gives Frank An Intervention

1. Flight of the Conchords
“You guys are dorking up my vibe with all the dicks. You need to spread the dicks out a little, create some lady space.”

After being hastled for probably more than a year to watch this show, I finally gave in to find out that I deserved all that hastling. As is tradition, I just got hooked on the show right as it was ending it’s run on HBO (after only two 10 episode seasons). The greatness of FOTC slaps you in the face during season one and this second season has many great moments, but it was starting to wane towards the end so it may have not been a terrible thing that creators Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie decided to call it quits even though I was a little disappointed where the characters ended up. I’ll always have the DVDs and albums I guess.

Favorite Episode: 2.5 – Unnatural Love

  

RIP Bill Buchanan
Day 4 – Day 7

• I may write a little more later, but for right now, let’s pay our respects to Bill “Double-B” Buchanan. I think we all saw the writing on the wall after last week’s episode, and he went out in a heroic way that he deserved, but it does little to sooth the agony of losing the man who was, by far, the longest serving head of CTU ever. Let’s hope his dying wish was that his wife Karen never set foot on the set of 24 ever again.

  

Life is more demanding than it used to be and thus one of the little things I had to cut out of my life because of a time shortage (ie “RUNNING OUT OF TIME!”) is my 24 random thoughts. However, I’d still like to throw in some quickies on this season thus far and especially for this weeks double episode:

• First of all, I guess we should all give a belated, but hearty, welcome back to 24! After two years on hiatus due to a writer’s strike and possibly a collective writer’s stroke during season six, it’s nice to have Jack Bauer back firing on all cylinders even if the events are even more far fetched than before.
• When I say, “far fetched” I really mean it. The events of this past week are by far the most ridiculous things to have ever happened on this show, and that’s saying a lot.
• Most vexing development of the new season: we have two characters with legitimate claims to the title “Big Red.” All was fine and well until our boy Aaron Pierce showed up for no legitimate reason (which is reason enough for me by the way). For the purposes of seniority, Aaron will remain Big Red. Let’s hope he’s alive long enough to maintain the title through next week.
• With Aaron back in Washington, is it safe to assume he’s no longer eating kiwis with Martha Logan? Incidentally, Aaron is the only character other than Jack to be in all seven seasons, so here’s hoping he survives the White House siege.
• One of my favorite parts of the early season was Jack’s interrogation scene in the Senate. How many times have you wanted someone to respond the way Jack did to these pompous windbags?
• Tony’s resurrection? I’m sorry, I don’t buy the story. Of course, Tony’s been very shady this whole season so maybe there’s more to what’s going on, but I’m guessing this is the best explanation we’re going to get. Robocop intentionally missed his heart and Emerson just happened to pick him up from CTU, huh? I don’t buy it, but I’m willing to go along with it. For the record, I’m going to say that Tony’s still a bad guy trying to infiltrate rogue-CTU on behalf of Emerson.
• I like how Bill just took being held up by Jack at gunpoint in stride. Almost like he figured it had to happen at some point, right? Also, you would think if anyone would know to “not fight it,” it would be Bill at this point.
• Favorite New Character: Agent Freckles Walker, Michelle Replacement (although no one really can)
• Overall they’ve done an amazing job making it seem like everything is being filmed in DC, but seriously, how many meetings are we going to have on the steps of the Capitol Building?
• How do you manage to lose both your gun AND your cell phone making a simple jump onto a boat? I was half expecting a shark to quick rip off her pants. Then I realized I wasn’t that lucky. Walker is truly the Lois Lane of this season.
• Also, Walker was freaking Aquaman the way she swam across the Potomac in about 30 seconds.
• Sometimes it bothers me that Janeanne Garofalo is on 24, but then I imagine her having to read a script for a show she’s on that includes Jack tasering Red Foreman’s boy toy in the nipples and it all seems worth it.
• Why does the White House have a holding cell?
• I don’t know if 24 has been consulting with Vince Flynn again, but a terrorist takeover of the White House was the basis for his book Transfer of Power. It’s been a while since I’ve read it so I don’t really remember how the terrorists got in, but I’m almost positive it wasn’t a freaking sea-based invasion. I remember when I was reading it thinking it would be great for 24. As much as I like President Taylor, how much cooler would this scenario be if they did this while Palmer was still president (the real one, not Wayne).
• I like how General Juma’s attack plans included an actual picture of the White House. Apparently he just scanned a 20 dollar bill.
• Soooooooo, think the 24 writers might have been watching The Rock recently? I know LA is far away, but they couldn’t pull up a map of DC to see that the White House is a mile away from even the Tidal Basin? That was one nice thing about the LA location. I have no idea where one landmark is in relation to another out there. Unfortunately, I’m pretty familiar with Washington and these details bug me.
• That was a pretty solid drill Juma had. Over the time of the commercial break and the previouslies they went from just starting the hole to making it wide enough to fit 3 men.
• Some people say the character of President Palmer on 24 is a mirror image of our current Dear Leader. I say they are absolutely correct.
• I loved how Jack and Bill had the whole debate on Bill torturing the Senator’s chief of staff while there’s a guard standing right next to them. That leads me to…
• Huge pet peeve this season: NO ONE LISTENS TO WHAT’S GOING ON AROUND THEM THIS SEASON People are getting shot left and right in the White House. No one responds. Smarmy guy and mistress openly talk about reformatting the FBI’s servers (don’t get me started) while walking down the hall and no one overhears them.
• Anyone up for a game of darts with Jon Voigt? Yeah, he’s a biter, but I hear he’s ordering Chinese!
• Good thing Juma decided to collect captives starting with Bill right after killing scores of anonymous WH staffers.
• Now we know that when this season was written in the days of yore before the writer’s strike, Hillary was anticipated to be the next president and apparently they assumed John Edwards was the next Vice-President Evil.
• What’s the only thing cooler than Jack using a tazer on a terrorist in the White House? Jack tazering a phone. . .with the President on the line!
• I was pretty convinced that either Double-B or Pierce were going to die this week. Needless to say I was relieved, but I have a feeling that will be short lived.
• Line of the Week: “You sir are weak! You are unwilling and unable to look evil in the eye and deal with it!” The whole torture debate as a whole has been handled much better this year than in season six.
• My overall opinion on the first half of this season is that it’s a solid rebound and certainly worthy of inclusion in the 24 canon after the lackluster mishmash of season six. However, I can’t help but feel that some of the magic is gone. This whole affair has a very season four feel to me, however, so maybe what is missing is the familiarity. Of course that all lead to the greatness of season five, so maybe what we’re dealing with is a “rebuilding” season if you will.

  

Fox released a new season 7 trailer that includes bits from Redemption as well as the rest of the season. Looking pretty sweet:

Also, it doesn’t look like Michelle Dessler will rise to be Tony Almeida’s zombie bride. She’s joining the cast of Lost for this season. Still, it’s nice to see her get some work (and on something that’s a little better than AVP2).

-MPAW

  

So now that the Writer’s Strike is far away in our rear mirror and The Office has wrapped up, it’s time to start focusing on what’s really important in life: 24. Never before have we had such a long wait for a new season (discounting, of course, the period between birth and 2001 or “pre-life” as I call it). With all this time to prepare season seven, it has to deliver, right? Well, at least someone thinks so:

“The time allowed us to do something that has never been done before — create a map of the entire season before we started shooting. So I can tell you without hesitation, I know for a fact, that Season 7 is going to be the best season yet.”

-Kiefer Sutherland

A cynical mind would chalk this up to the usual pre-season hype all actors are required to do. I am, of course, as cynical as they come so that was the immediate conclusion that I came to. I will say this though: last year when the actors spoke about the upcoming season you could tell it was going to be sub-par. The typical quote was something along the lines of, “Umm. Yeah! I think it’s good.” I also don’t see Kiefer was the typical horse hockey-er. I don’t think he’s one for hyperbole that he doesn’t really believe in (this is pretty much based solely on the 3 interviews I’ve seen of him and the voice of the NHL is a voice you can trust). I also think the fact that they have (for once) mapped out the entire season sounds very promising. Will Kiefer’s opinions manifest itself in reality? We (still!) have a long wait to find out:

Preparing for the return of 24 next January after a 20-month break, the network in November will air a two-hour, stand-alone 24 movie. Shot partly in South Africa, it takes place on Inauguration Day for the next U.S. president (Cherry Jones), setting up the show’s seventh season.

I like that it takes place on Inauguration Day. I like that it takes place in Africa. But November?? When they said “movie in the fall” I thought September or October, not November 23. Thanksgiving’s a loooooong way off.

Links:

TV Guide: Kiefer: You Can Count On 24’s ‘Best Season Yet’
USA Today: Fox’s fall schedule sets up for ‘24’ and ‘Idol’

-MPAW

  

I don’t have much time to write about this (I actually haven’t even had time to process it), but 24 will be coming back this fall in the form of a 2 hour movie (two episodes I guess?) that will be a prequel for season seven. I’m up for any new material at this point so I’m in.

The Hollywood Reporter: 24 Prequel Set

-MPAW

  

I like having my lists have an even number of entries, but I can only include what I watched, so here are my favorite nine shows of 2007!

9. The Sopranos
“Historically, Carmine always said the Sopranos are nothing more than a glorified crew. Plain and simple—we decapitate and we do business with whatever’s left.”

Well. . .got that done. I was never a Sopranos addict, but I certainly understood why the show was as popular as it was. Here’s the thing about good stories – they should all have good endings. At the very least they should have an ending. The craptacular finale doesn’t completely negate all the good stuff that transpired in “Part II” of season 6, but it did leave a sour taste in most people’s mouths. Frankly, I think anyone who claims to like the “ending” of the finale is only trying to justify it in their minds because of all the time that they wasted expecting a culmination that never came. Because in the end, The Sopranos was just a fantastic journey that had no destination. The untied ends really shows nothing but contempt for the audience, which would be OK if it were a poorly made show. It wasn’t and the great buildup that occurred throughout the bulk of the season deserved a much better payoff.

Favorite Episode: 6.20 – The Blue Comet

8. Lost
“I’m going to lead my people up to the radio tower and I’m going to make a call. I’m going to get them rescued. Every one of them … And then I’m going to come find you, and I’m going to kill you.”

I came dangerously close to quitting on this show all together early on. If I hadn’t invested two whole seasons worth of time already I probably would not have pressed on after the miserably bad first half of season three. Thankfully, I did and Lost recovered to give us some of the best stuff they’ve made since season one. There’s still no protagonist on the air today that rubs me the wrong way more than Jack (say what you want, but this show is really good at making hateable characters), and in the back of my mind I keep thinking we’re headed towards an ultimate disappointment that will dwarf that of The Sopranos, but for the second half of this season at least I enjoyed the ride.

Favorite Episode: 3.22 – Through The Looking Glass

7. It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia
“’Peaked,’ Dee? Let me tell you something. I haven’t even begun to peak. And when I do peak, you’ll know. Because I’m going to peak so hard, that everybody in Philadelphia will feel it.”

I just started watching this show this year, which is surprising because the fact that this show centers around a group of guys that own an Irish pub in Philadelphia places me in the exact center of their target demographic. I didn’t care for the first season that much, but I’m glad I plowed on through because once Danny Devito joined this cast, things really took off. The show is a little hit or miss sometimes (OK, a lot), but I definitely detect shades of Arrested Development here – and that’s a hell of a compliment. Unfortunately, IASIP is way more uneven than AD ever was and sometimes those moment where they just seem to be trying too hard makes me miss the genius of Arrested Development even more. That being said, how do you not laugh at Danny Devito dropping acid at a tailgate during an Eagles tryout?

Favorite Episode: 3.14 – Bums: Making A Mess All Over The City

6. 24
“I’m feeling ambivalent. I’m gonna go.”

This is painful for me to do, and it’s strange not to see 24 in the top slot but I have to be honest here. I’ve already spoken at length on the problems 24 had this year and I take no joy in trashing my favorite show of all time so I’m going to focus on some of the positives that kept me tuning in every week despite the lowered quality of the product. Season six was well short of being a classic, but did feature some great 24 moments: Jack having to kill Curtis, the terrorists finally succeeding in detonating a nuke, the Graem torture scene, the return of the Logans, Fayed’s brutal death (“Damn, Jack!”), Tom Lennox’s awesomness in general, and the final silent scene finding Jack saying goodbye to Audrey facing an uncertain future. 24 is in new territory with it’s first “bad” season, but guess where I’ll be every Monday at 9 whenever it returns? Hopefully next year I’ll be back to laughing with, not at, the show in my random thoughts.

Favorite Episode: 6.17 – 10PM-11PM

5. Heroes
“Every hero must learn his purpose. Then he’ll be tested and called to greatness.”

And David takes out Goliath. Yes, I have newcomer Heroes ranked over 24. Although this show has plenty of problems of its own, it was just flat out more entertaining than 24 this year (so were a lot of shows, really). The basis of the show (if I may borrow an observation from Mike Nelson) is a completely un-X-Men-like premise of normal people suddenly discovering they have amazing powers. I wish the show was a bit more even (there are moments of astounding stupidity), it has more of a TV feel than the more cinematic production values of 24 or The Shield, and I want to punch Mohinder in the head, but this is one of those shows where you’ll want to watch the next episode immediately after you finish one.

Favorite Episode: 1.9 – Homecoming

4. Scrubs
“So what rhymes with baptism? Raptism? Schmaptism? Naptism? I’m so tired I could use a naptism…and there’s my opening joke! I should write ‘pause for laughter’ so I don’t forget!”

It’s taken me forever, but I’ve finally caught up with Scrubs in its entirety via DVD. It’s been great finally filling in the back story (I only started watching this show regularly a couple years ago), but it also is apparent to me that unfortunately, its best days are behind it. That being said, it’s still one of my favorite shows on the air. Season six was the pregnancy season where Dr. Cox, the Turks, and JD were all dealing with their new arrivals. In the meantime, Elliot becomes engaged to become Mrs. Keith Dudemeister and Sacred Heart loses a long time cast member when Laverne dies. This season also featured a classic musical episode. As previously stated, season six was not the best, however it was a step up from the previous couple of seasons.

Favorite Episode: 6.7: My Musical

3. South Park
“Mrs. Clinton, it appears that the terrorists have snuck a snuke up your snizz.”

I’m starting to think that this show will never lose it’s mojo. Season 11 finds Randy Marsh on Wheel of Fortune trying to solve “People who annoy you” with the board showing N_GGERS (the correct letter is ‘A’), Cartman “stumbling” into a compromising photo with Butters, Kyle having to kill Jesus to save Easter, and Mrs. Garrison discovering she/he is into chicks (and apparently the movie 300). The highlights of this season, however, was the 24 spoof, “The Snuke,” and the Imaginationland Trilogy where we finally see Al Gore’s worst nightmares regarding Manbearpig coming true. I think last season was more solid overall, but this was still a great year for Matt and Trey.

Favorite Episode: 11.4 – The Snuke

2. The Office
“Love that Andy right? Solid fellow. Seems smart enough, likes me a lot. A lot. Too much, like a crazy person, a little. Not super crazy, just…there’s something about him that creeps me out, I can’t really explain it. He’s always up in my bidness, which is Ebonics for “being in my face and annoying the bejesus out of me”. I don’t understand how someone can have so little self-awareness.“

How does anybody not love this show? The Office is now clearly the best comedy on television and season three was maybe the best yet. After Pam’s rejection, Jim leaves the Scranton branch until Scranton absorbs Jim’s new home branch. This leads to a whole slew of new cast members, with only Andy and Karen remaining in the end. Highlights of this season include Dwight hatching a coup against Michael, the celebration of Diwali, the gang making nog-a-sakes in “A Benihana Christmas” (which also shows Michael “marking” an asian girl with a Sharpie so he can tell her apart from her co-worker), Phyllis’ wedding, Michael speaking in Ryan’s class, and several employees compete for Jan’s job. The grand finale, of course, was Jim dumping Karen to finally, finally go on a date with Pam. What is amazing about this show in it’s third season is that it simply delivered week after week after week. I never recalled ever being disappointed and this show, along with Scrubs, made Thursday nights one of my favorite times of the week.

Favorite Episode: 3.10 – A Benihana Christmas

1. The Shield
Vic: You think I’m a cop killer. Maybe I am. You’re a cop, right?
Kavanaugh: That sounds like a direct threat on my life, Detective. You know what that means?
Vic: It means you just stepped onto an entirely new playing field. And for your sake, I hope you know the rules of the game.

Following the fall of 24 this year, it makes me appreciate all the more what The Shield is accomplishing in it’s sixth season. This show is still getting better! This year saw Vic Mackey consumed ever more by rage and vengeance to try and find the one who killed his team member Lem – only to finally realize that it was another member of his Strike Team. Meanwhile, the Kavanaugh investigation into Vic’s past sins reaches a dramatic conclusion and Claudette enacts a plan to purge the Barn of the Strike Team’s corruption once and for all now that she is finally in charge. In a parallel story, Shane is borderline suicidal as he tries to deal with his guilt over Lem’s death. Season six was oppressively dark as the walls closed in on our “heroes” paying the price for their past mistakes. It’s hard to impress someone who has seen all of Jack Bauer’s torture techniques, but seeing what Vic did to who he thought murdered Lem literally gave me chills. This season of The Shield was the best yet, and I can’t wait to see how this series concludes with the last season next year.

Favorite Episode: 6.3 – Back To One

  

Ha!  I’m sure I’m the first person ever to make that second-hand joke.  This season of 24 just can’t seem to catch a break:

Washington Post:  Fox Hears ‘Strike’ and Makes The Call: ‘24’ You’re Out!

Frankly, this is the right decision even though I would like some new 24 ASAP.  This is a good opportunity for all of us to break out the ol’ DVDs I guess.  More disconcerting for me right now is that half the cast of The Office are also writers, which means that they can’t even shoot episodes that they’ve already written.  I don’t know how I’m going to get through Thursdays now.  Pam Beasley is the closest thing to Michelle Dessler on the air these days.  I’m also curious how this is going to affect the last season of Scrubs.
-MPAW

  

Because season 7 of 24 looks oddly familiar, no?

24: Season 7 Trailer

I gotta say though. . .I think this looks really good. Glad to see CTU gone, but it sure looks like the same old formula is going to be in place only with the FBI. Chloe’s still a brunette unfortunately, and all of a sudden Double-B looks like TV’s Frank. I also liked all the fake busy people behind Kiefer during the intro. Probably wasn’t necessary. Finally, what’s Red Forman doing in the Senate? At first I recognized him but couldn’t place him. I thought maybe it was Earl Milford. Jack would have a new name – hero.

The worst part about this, is that even if this season ends up as good as it looks, it’ll probably be cut short by the writer’s strike. I don’t know if they have any contingency plans in place for when that happens, but it is going to be really frustrating if we get cut off around episode 12. For now though, that trailer got my blood flowing more than any of the promos for season 6 did.

-MPAW

  

Yeah, that’s the best headline I could come up with for this news. Ordinarily, I would consider this a huge spoiler, but it’s in the freakin’ USA Today so I guess they’re not even trying to keep it under wraps. Guess who’s not dead? So looks like everybody’s favorite side-kick is back. Hooray? As with all information I’ve heard thus far with the next season of 24, this doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. I’m really trying to reserve judgment until I actually see this development on screen. It’s not like I haven’t suggested the possibility of Tony not really being dead before, but a lot of time has passed since his “demise.”

What this really reminds me of is an episode of MST3K called Space Mutiny where the editing/continuity was so bad that a character was killed off and was then seen on screen, alive, literally in the next scene. Seeing as this next season seems to be headed towards the pooper anyway, they should just make it a comedy and have Jack nonchalantly say “Hey Tony,” and walk by him first thing in the morning and never explain anything. On the upside, I’m looking forward to stealing a lot of lines from that MST3K episode in my random thoughts next year. “Look alive, Tony!” Ha! I’m laughing already. Also, if he’s still alive, Tony owes me a 40. Does this mean there may be hope for getting a Zombie-Michelle in the future as well?

USA Today: Sayonara to CTU on Season 7 of 24

  

After a lackluster season 6, I was willing to place some faith in the producers to reinvigorate 24 for next season. However, there is a steady stream of oily discharge coming from the direction of 24 this summer. First comes the news of a production delay:

Season 7 of 24 promises to be its tensest yet — at least on the set.

Execs at the Fox hit have scrapped virtually their entire story line for the season, delaying the start of production by roughly three weeks. According to sources, the 11th-hour time-out was called after the network put the kibosh on a costly plan to shoot a number of episodes in Africa. Producers briefly toyed with the idea of finding a location in Los Angeles that could sub for the continent, but they ultimately decided to ditch the whole concept and start over from scratch.

-TV Guide

From what I understand, the show struggles to finish up on time, even when they’re “on schedule” and now they have to delay production for almost a month? Not good, but this news alone is certainly not a guarantee of suction. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there:

Cherry Jones has been appointed president on the upcoming season of “24,” sources said.

The network wouldn’t confirm, but sources said Jones has come on board the real-time thriller, the first major casting addition to the show’s upcoming seventh season.

“24” producers had been contemplating having a female president next season for some time.

-The Hollywood Reporter

Remember last year when the first sign that something was off was the news that Wayne Palmer was president? I’m getting that sinking feeling again. First off, it just seems too gimmicky. David Palmer as the nation’s first black president worked because we spent time with him before he was in the Oval Office and that struggle was examined. Presumably, this is not the case and we are just thrust into a world where we have a chick president. Ignoring the fact that another four years will have passed in 24 time (what is Jack by now, like 65?), it’s a little too obvious that they’re mirroring Hillary here. Of course, I thought maybe the show had learned it’s lesson from last season and it won’t preach about politics anymore. Wrong:

24’s executive producer Howard Gordon has announced that the show is making a commitment to fighting climate change.

Producers are implementing a number of carbon emission reduction techniques for the production of season seven, including purchasing all of the show’s energy from renewable power sources, and using biodiesel fuels to power generators and production vehicles. . .

Lead actor Kiefer Sutherland will also star in a number of Public Service Announcements to raise awareness of climate change – and the issue may even be incorporated into storylines when appropriate.

-Digital Spy

Because we all know the coolest superhero ever was Captain Planet, right? If it seriously comes down to Jack Bauer vs global warming I’m through with this show. For all I know, this will end up being the show’s finest season, but nothing indicates that. Further, if the show starts insisting on preaching from the liberal podium then I don’t know how interested I can remain in 24. Sandra Palmer screeching about the Patriot Act last year was about as much as I could stand. I just don’t know, folks. Next year’s weekly random thoughts post may very well be about Heroes.

TV Guide: 24 Plot Tossed; Production Delayed
The Hollywood Reporter:  Jones Moves Into 24 Oval Office
Digital Spy:  New 24 Season Will Fight Climate Change

-MPAW

  

• Now that was a finale, my friends. You know, I spent almost all of this season kind of waiting for it to be over, and now I already miss it. This is the most I’ve been anxious for more 24 since the bomb went off, and yet it’s the furthest away we can be from a new episode.


• The fade out ending was a little shocking in it’s unshockingness. Frankly, the ending was exactly what I wanted. All I wanted was some closure, and the acting by Kiefer and William Devane was phenomenal. What’s more was that the writing (gasp!) was quite good as well. Both men had very legitimate points to be made and both crossed the line while discussing their otherwise valid arguments.


• It was a little weird seeing a silent clock when no one died, but it seemed appropriate. Plus, Palmer got a silent clock as well and he ended up not dying.


• The whole oil rig scene was spectacular. I mean almost Bruckheimerian spectacular. Great work by the special effects team considering 24’s budget. Definitely kicked the crap out of the submarine scene last year.


• Line of the Night: “This is a nice moment. Let’s not ruin it by saying anything stupid.” Nice to have a classic Chloe line, even if her character was all but wasted this year.


• Can you imagine what a pregnant, hormonal Chloe is going to be like? Yikes. Here’s hoping season 7 is 9 months later. That should be a good time. Good thing she got all that practice with Chase’s baby. Actually, on second thought I’d bet any amount of money that Chloe keeps working and Morris stays home with the baby.


• Heller should stop wearing a ski mask in the tanning booth. Am I the only one bothered by his ridiculous raccoon eyes?


• I guess I’m the only one who thinks it’s reasonable to sacrifice one kid to stop World War III. Incidentally, how stupid are the Russians anyway? They’d basically be fighting the war against the US and China. I think we know how that would play out.


• OK, who called that Josh’s Bauer Powers would start kicking in?! Me, that’s who. How ‘bout ol’ Jack Jr owning Daddy Bauer. Also, how come everyone on the show knows exactly how to hold a gun, even if they shouldn’t.


• “The package was a fake. It blew.” Yah, so did your line delivery in the finale, Ricky. (Zoom zoom zoom!) I actually laughed when he said, “Get the boy, Jack. Get the boooooy.”


• On the other hand, even though I should have seen it coming, the exploding package caught me off guard.


• Also, just who does Mike Doyle think he is going around saying “Dammit” and giving people his word? Don’t be stepping on JB’s lines, punk! Seriously though, Doyle’s one of the few characters I wouldn’t mind returning next year. He’s already a more fleshed out character than Curtis ever was. Maybe the one-eyed Doyle can team up with the one-handed Chase and form an invincible team of former Bauer side kicks. Handi-capable to kick your ass!


• What was the deal with Milo’s brother? Weird. After everything that has happened to CTU, they’re still just letting civilians wander around unescorted, and when spotted, CTU employees simply shrug and say, “Hmm, I wonder who that guy is.”


• When Double-B returned, I was sure he was a goner. It was great to finally see him in the field, even if he did need Tank to download helicopter flying ability into his brain.


• I totally don’t see the B’s as Vermont type people. How exactly did both of them end up in California?


• When Jack commandeered the helicopter you can almost see the pilot rolling his eyes and thinking, “Geez, I can’t believe I fell for this again.”


• Hey, who’s got two thumbs and is already sick of hearding about the `08 candidates? This guy! However, there is one potential candidate that excites me.


• Via Blogs4Bauer comes this sweet video. Impressive.


• 24 has been renewed for two more seasons. This really surprises me. Not so much on Fox’s part (they’ll take whatever hit they can get), but on the production side. I just hope they have enough in the tank and that next year’s “reinvention” (in quotation marks because this will be the 4th year in a row they’ve promised us such) will adequately reinvigorate the show. I really just don’t want 24 to be one of those shows that go on and on and on forever until it dies an undignified death [cough]ER[cough]. It deserves better than that. On the upside, it seems like they have definitely decided on at least one new location and a purging of the cast.


• The 24 Simpson’s episode was really lame. Like lamer than most newer Simpson’s episodes. Maybe it’s just because South Park did it first and did it better, but I was really disappointed. The “Ahmed Adudi” scene was pretty funny though. “Jack, it’s a fake name. You’re being set up.” “DAMMIT!”


• We now know who Dwight Shrute’s ideal choice for his number two is: Jack Bauer. Unfortunately, he is “unavailable, fictional, and overqualified.”


• Ranking the season finales: 1 > 5 > 6 > 4 > 2 > 3


• Ranking the seasons: 2 > 1 > 5 > 3 > 4 > 6


• Looking at those rankings, it’s really disappointing to see how this season turned out. Had the writers remained focused on what worked, as they did in the premiere and finale (Jack and his emotional journey), and actually gave screen time to characters we like (Jack, Chloe, Buchanan) then this had the potential to be one of the best seasons yet. Instead, what we got was a seemingly neverending series of cobbled together ideas. It’s not fair to judge in hindsight (and God knows that even at their worst the 24 writers are far more creative than I could ever be), but if I were to rewrite this season, I would have stuck with a redemption storyline for Logan as a parallel to Jack’s quest for meaning in life. It probably would have been better to focus more on Fayed’s personal vendetta against Jack, and maybe use that as a way to endanger those closest to him. It probably would have been wise to include Daddy Bauer more as well. Maybe these ideas would have actually made the season worse. I don’t know. I do know that this season was well below par for 24, but that after this finale both the show and the character of Jack Bauer still have some juice left.


• Of course, no one knows what the next season is about yet, but we’ve been promised a reinvention (for real this time!) and the way this season ended allows them to wipe the slate clean and go in whatever direction they want.  There was certainly enough closure to put everything that happened in season 6 in our distant memories.  I think they would do well to take the show back to it’s season one roots and feature a much smaller, personal threat. I think the WMD thing has gone as far as it can. I truly do believe that the show is capable of reclaiming it’s old glory if they do this right (and let’s face it, even if they don’t I’ll still be watching). Even though this was by far the worst 24 season ever, it was still entertaining to me so I will continue to have high hopes for next year. See you again in January.

  

• Holy freaking crap, that was amazing! I can’t believe Pam just unloaded like that! I’m glad she’s finally . . . oh wait. I confused this post with a show that still features believable human relationships. Nevermind.


• I kid, I kid. You know I’ll always love 24. This episode was pretty solid with a couple of big action sequences to start us off. It all set up what should be a pretty solid finale with Jack going up against his father.


• Does anyone on 24 not have the President’s number on their speed dial? (“I said I will only speak to the President! [Sticks fingers in ears] LALALALALALA!”)


• Woo! Slide kill! Neat!


• I can’t believe the Russian President is throwing such a fit over this Game Genie thing. Logan should have blown that prick up in the motorcade when he had the chance.


• Anybody else half expecting Suvarov to finish this sentence like this: “You have two more hours to retrieve the Game Genie. . .until the end of the season.”


• You know what the proper response is from VP Emo to President Suck-arov? (See what I did there?) “Hey buddy, you freaking lost track of 5 snukes, one of which blew up one of our Six Flags, the Chinese stole the Game Genie (the one party who is apparently not being held responsible in any way), AND I JUST CAUGHT YOU SPYING ON ME!” This is misplaced anger and not really worth starting WWIII over.


• You know that crappy Kevin Costner movie they advertised last night where the most credible actor involved is Dane freakin’ Cook? My dear, sweet Michelle is in it. Come back to 24, Michelle! We can say that it was actually you who planted the bomb to fake your death using a body double as a decoy!


• So I take it Morris finally overpowered his guy in the big brawl? We never really got any resolution on that.


• Totally didn’t buy Nadia overpowering anybody larger than Kerri Strug. What is she, like 5’4”? No shorter than Kiefer Sutherland I suppose, but she doesn’t have that voice as a defense mechanism to scare off predators.


• I keep on waiting for Josh to have a Buster Bluth moment where he finally “gets” who his father is. “You lied to me, you said my father was my father, but my uncle is my father. MY FATHER IS MY UNCLE!”


• Jack Jr “doesn’t understand what the hell [Daddy Bauer’s] talking about.” None of us do, Josh. None of us do.


• Gotta love Jack Jr’s kick to Cheng’s face. Not even Jack got off that good a shot at him. Maybe this is his Superman Returns falling-through-the-barn-roof moment and now his Bauer super powers will start kicking in.


• Line of the Night: “Aaaaaand finally, we’re done.” So happy Tom made it safely back to the White House. They can ditch every new character from this year as far as I’m concerned, but please bring back Tom! Novick/Lennox ‘08!


• So I saw a job opening on monster.com for Division. This is what it read: “Wanted: Jackass. Necessary Experience: Jackassery. Description: Needing jackass to replace jackass who was killed by nerve gas, who replaced jackass who was shot in the head, who was the boss of jackass who died in a nuclear explosion. Competitive benefits.”


• I gotta admit, I had this on my mind during the “JOOOOOOOOOOSH/UNCLE JAAAAAAAAAACK!” scene.


• Gah! Is Karen ever right? Give Daddy Bauer Jack Jr and then hunt them down. Even President Wayne could figure this one out.  This is like the 4th country we’ve almost went to war with today.  I really don’t care anymore.


• Is it worth it to complain about Jack only needing 10 minutes to get to where they found Josh, while needing 45 minutes (and counting) along with a helicopter to get him back to CTU? Naaah.


• You can see what Chloe, Nadia, and Marilyn would look like if 24 were set in the 80’s in these pics from the wrap party.


• Well after a reference to Arrested Development and Superman, along with two references to both Star Wars and Kevin Costner and of course my obligatory weekly Office reference it seems my regurgitative “work” is done for the week. Enjoy the finale and we’ll meet back here to discuss next week, ok? Tootles.

  

• I really liked this episode. It certainly had me on the edge of my seat even though I pretty much knew exactly what was going to happen and none of it makes any sense. The only thing that I didn’t see coming was the Chinese coming after Josh instead of Chloe.


• Hooray! No more bad Milo/Nadia (“Nilo” to their fans) dialogue! I guess I felt a little sad, but my primary reaction was, “Hmm.” I hope they have pistachios in bad facial hair heaven.


• My roommate told me last night that he liked this season better than last year. I know opinions are opinions not fact, but I really do find this one incomprehensible. I’m thinking of bolting in the middle of the night, taking the kids, and leaving a note on the night stand saying, “I’m sorry but I can’t share an apartment with someone who likes season 6 better than season 5. I can’t have this in my life anymore. It’s not me; it’s you. If you love me, you won’t try to find me. Regards, -M (Mike)”


• I know this has been discussed before, but CTU should seriously rethink it’s security plan. I have a feeling they have a screen door on the side of the building propped open with a rock for Nadia’s smoke breaks (not to mention Morris’s flask hits – which he then “spats” out, love).


• Was it just me or were the previouslies really long last night? It seemed like they were recapping the story for every character on the show.


• I think Jack was officially upset over what SecDef Heller said longer than he was over Tony’s death.


• I wonder what William Devane got paid for his 45 seconds of screen time. Couldn’t they have found a way to keep him here so he can inevitably take charge of CTU in lieu of Nadia’s bottomless incompetance?


• Any guesses as to who division is sending over to replace Nadia?


• Was I the only one who laughed when Marilyn and Jack Jr tried to use a couch to block men with machine guns from entering a glass door? I always knew those open work environments were a menace.


• I’m still struggling to grasp what Morris’s logic is behind the Chloe breakup. He’s breaking up with her because he knows she knows he knows he’s a coward, not because she said he knows she knows he knows he’s a coward? Huh?


• Hey, we finally have a name – Lisa Miller! And on top of that (so to speak) we finally have a dude in 24 that lasts longer than 2 minutes. Way to go, naked Russian informant guy!


• Didn’t Cheng just spend the last 3 years hunting down and torturing Jack because he marched onto Chinese territory and someone was killed? Ummm, Cheng just sent men into a “secure” government building and killed quite a few white red shirts. WHY ISN’T VP NUKES-A-LOT THREATENING CHINA???


• I can’t help but think how much more affecting the Milo death would have been if it ended up being Double-B instead of Milo. Also, Nadia is as useless as Richard Heller’s organic shampoo.


• I’m a little nervous about Tom being in the field. It seems a bit of a stretch for him to be there if they’re not going to endanger him in some way.


• Tom is the new Chloe. His “At any rate. . .” comment after the spat between VP Evil and Lisa the Whore was hilarious.


• So Daddy Bauer wants Jack Jr back because he loves him so much that he forgot he was trying to kill him earlier today? Makes about as much sense as anything else that’s going on I suppose. Also, I gotta stop reading the credits at the beginning of the show because it totally ruined that surprise.


• Two more weeks before season 6 mercifully ends! A year ago right now we were watching Jack fly planes from the cargo hold with his belt. Sigh. I miss the times. . .

  

• Heller’s back! Any chance he can take over CTU from Nadia? We don’t have time for your mistakes, you woman! Ohhhhh, buuuuurn! On the downside, who am I going to nag the writers about returning now? I think I’m going to go with Mike Novick. . .or Kim. . .or Logan. . .or Daddy Bauer. . .or Behrooz. . .or the dozens of other forgotten characters this season.


• As welcome as Heller’s return was, his “cursed” statement was a bit harsh to Jack, albeit pretty much right on the mark. Talk about your emotional throat chop. As previously stated, SecDef Heller is pretty much the only person who can hurt Jack without consequence. However, in Jack’s defense, the fact that Kim presumably was not incinerated in Valencia is evidence that not everything Jack touches dies.


• I’m going to go out on a limb and say that Kim comes back before this season is over. Especially if Audrey is now out of the picture.


• Of course Jack is the only one that can get through to Audrey. LISTEN TO JACK! LISTEN TO JACK, DAMMIT! ARRRRRRRRRRRGH!!


• I take it that the writers of 24 do not have a favorable view of psychiatrists.


• The bad guys are looking for someone in LA that’s capable of reprogramming the Game Genie, huh? Are you telling me they actually ran out of ideas to recycle from the good seasons? One has to assume that they’re setting it up for Chloe. It’s going to be so cute when they get remarried and they have matching drill wounds.


• So is this guy that the whore of the year is sleeping with supposed to be like the Man-Mandy? If so are we going to have to deal with him walking around naked while making out with his boyfriend? Blech.


• Why am I suddenly thirsty for some Cisco? Cisco. Ending Terrorism one acting-Presidential teleconference at a time.


• There’s no way that Karen finishes this season without reinstating Bill. How long can she go without her Double-BJ’s? Yeah, I know that doesn’t make any sense. . .unless Karen is a dude. Ladies and gentlemen, we have our big season ending reveal. Tell me now that it doesn’t make sense and that I was just trying to shoehorn in a lame play on words.


• I have a feeling that if VP Noah was running for president in real life in 2008, I’d be leaning towards voting for him right now. “Nuke Mexico” is a border control policy I can get behind.


• Could Morris be more of a drama queen? He should stick with Chloe if only because she’s a woman who actually admits that she’s wrong. Possibly the most far-fetched plot point yet. We all know that most women fit the Sherry Palmer mold, right? Sorry, I’m feeling really misogynistic today.


• I was/am a little concerned about Chloe after the breakup with Morris. A suicide would certainly be a shock, wouldn’t it?


• How is it possible that it takes CTU 5 seconds to track someone via satellite, but it takes them 10 minutes to find Jack wandering around CTU? It doesn’t look like that big of a building to me.


• Here is an interesting read on the plans for season 7. The good news is that the writers are very much aware of the criticisms that this season has had (and probably more importantly, the drop in ratings). The possible bad news is that they’re discussing “reinventing” the show next year. Who knows what that means (and, frankly, it’s something we’ve heard before). For certain though, next year will be the turning point for the show for better or for worse. I don’t count them out, but they have a big task ahead of them.


• Looking over at the side bar, I suddenly realized that if I keep doing this that at some point next year I will actually have written more 24 posts than 2004 Election posts. Frankly, I find that pretty incredible. I also realized that I should read more books.

  

• Damn Mongorians! They cut up her brain, those bloody baboons! It’s a madhouse! And now they want to BLOW IT UP! YOU MANIACS! Yeah, I like to get Charlton Heston-y from time-to-time. Don’t worry, there was a point and the point is this.


• Seriously though, what the hell did they do to Audrey that made her even more skittish than usual? I actually noticed in one of the split screens that she had a little twitch going on, but I didn’t see that coming at all.


• If I were Double-B, I’d be getting tired of getting fired by my wife too. This is the second time she’s done this. In her heart, she’s still an absorption fanatic. Also, maybe it’s the cell phones, but those two have noticeably less chemistry than they did last year. Now that was some hot stuff.


• While I seriously doubt that this is the last we’ve seen of Double-B (no character is done until they at least die – in the case of Jack and Heller it takes even more than that), I think the real question is who will be the interim CTU director sent from Division. My guess? Tony. It’s always Tony.


• Soooo, Nadia’s the head of CTU, huh? How awesome would it be to see Chloe in this position?


• If Doyle was really Jack’s equal then he would have been able to commandeer the first car he encountered. . .with mind bullets.


• Nadia so wants the Doyle Man.


• This season has had more disgusting kisses than a Rosie O’Donnell/Helen Thomas porno. I threw up in my mouth during that scene. Then I imagined the same thing happening with Bill Clinton and I threw up in my mouth again. Then I realized what I just typed and threw up again.


• If only Jack had his trusty bright silver Rav4 he might have been able to chase down those Chinese Hummers.


• Line of the Night: “My ex-wife has suddenly started behaving irrationally.”


• I’m totally not buying the whole Morris transferring to another section because of one fight with Chloe thing. Seems a bit rash. Also, that dig about arming the nukes? Cold.


• Morris sure was perky running up those steps to Buchanan’s office.


• What was up with Jack getting Double-B’s voicemail? At least he doesn’t have one of those annoying “Please enjoy the music while your party is reached” messages.


• I know you’re probably angry at Doyle for ruining Jack’s plan, but he also saved Jack’s life, which I frankly care more about than the Russian Game Genie thingy, which I suppose is going to be the focal point for the rest of the season. How will it all end? I don’t know, and even though I’m more into this than the snuke storyline, I’m more interested in what the set up for season 7 will be than how this will resolve itself.

  

• Viewer discretion is advised. . .with club sauce.


• Well, this episode was definitely a set up for next week, but I really liked it. It was good to finally see Chloe get in on the action. I know I’ve complained about repeated storylines in the show, but something I’ll never tire of is Jack going rogue and Chloe helping under the radar.


• You know what would drive Cheng crazy? If Jack enlisted the help of some Mongorians. They’re Chinese kryptonite.


• So this component is basically a Game Genie for the entire Russian military, right? Shouldn’t they be more concerned about this situation? At the very least they could have taken it out before handing it over to the evil Bauers for disarmament.


• If they were to Behrooz Double-B, I seriously think it would take me 3 episodes to notice this year. Such a waste of a great character. Plus he’s held the CTU office longer than any of his predecessors.


• I almost didn’t notice this, but the Jack Sack is back!


• Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t Cheng like the Vice-Consul in season 4? Shouldn’t he have handlers for this whole Audrey thing?


• Seems weird to see the traditional post-crisis celebration this early in the season. Apparently 24 hour shifts are normal at CTU, even when a crisis is over.


• Good to see Jack finally calling in some favors with President Wayne. How many times over would everyone in this country be dead if not for Jack?


• The show in general has had some awesome cinematography the past couple of episodes. I don’t know what it is, but they’ve had a very cool color scheme.


• It was great seeing a photo of David, but it seems strange that Wayne would have the same picture of him that I have on the inside cover of my DVDs.


• I’m glad they’re finally out of the Holiday Inn lobby bunker and back in the Oval Office. Everything seems more real in that setting. It’s just a shame we never saw the real President Palmer there.


• I think everybody had that sense of doom during Wayne’s press conference. In the back of my mind I was thinking that crazy broad that Noah is apparently doing was going to do something crazy. By the way, that was fall number 37 for Wayne this season. I’ve been counting.


• Chloe and Morris are so going to be over by the end of this season. Oh boy, do I hope this leads to a whole slew of new alcoholism angles they can explore!


• I’m sorry, but I can’t help but laugh whenever Karen complains about VP Noah Evil going against the wishes of the President, especially since she has no problems going to extremes when elected officials make decisions that go against her opinions.


• I removed the Audrey death photo from an earlier post. It just seems silly now.


• Mike Doyle seriously needs to work on his fake phone conversation skills. He should have told Double-B he was in a flank 2 position or he was meeting Sameer.


• The folks at 24 have sent the folks at South Park a snuke! (Quote: “Let me tell you from personal experience, there is nothing in the world like running through the office with a nuclear device! NOTHING!!”) You can see pictures here. Glad to see two of my favorite shows getting together so well. Incidentally, this season of South Park has been quite good, particularly their 24 parody (Apologies for linking to that idiotic CNN report. It’s the only one I could find on YouTube).


• Finally, I present to you a new adventure in the Guys Watching 24 Saga.
  

  

• Ahhh, good to have you back, 24. We missed you. This was probably the best episode of the season for me. Certainly since the Graham torture scene (remember that plotline?) This is the first episode in forever that had me at the edge of my seat.


• The final shoot out and especially the Fayed/Jack brawl was an instant classic. Most of all, it means this season has an opportunity to reboot and hopefully in these final 7 episodes of the season redeem itself and find a place in the 24 canon.


• Sure, Jack could have ridden on the top of Fayed’s truck, but that just wouldn’t have been very cool, now would it?


• Why doesn’t Karen just run for president? She’s constantly trying to undermine the decisions made by those that were elected to do so.


• Let’s get my one gripe about the episode out of the way. Milo. Nadia. Shut the hell up. I’d rather watch Chloe play spider solitaire for 5 minute than watch these two bicker anymore. Milo sure is possessive of the women he accosts.


• Way to grow a pair, finally, Mr. President. I guess that plotline went the way I anticipated from the beginning – that he was supposed to start as a terrible president but grow into himself. It’s just been shoddily handled. I wish they’d show him feeling a little more guilty about making a decision that directly led to the nuke going off, but I’ll take what I’m getting at this point. I’m finally starting to buy him as president. Of course, given his overall performance I think Tom was way over the top with his praise. Nice little, “Can’t we all get along,” speech for the conservatives and liberals too. Cute.


• Prediction based on nothing: Wayne is still going to end this season incapacitated in some way. My money is on a heart attack because of the adrenaline shots.


• I totally fell for the trap they set for Fayed. It was a nice twist on the usual head-terrorist-escaping-CTU thing. Marwan must have done that 17 times. Flipping the truck over seemed a little over the top, but let no man say that Jack doesn’t sell his fake outs.


• Hey! Nadia actually did something this episode! Wish I could say the same about Chloe.


• If Jack is good at anything, it’s faking his death.


• Good to see some old school non-action tension going on in this episode.


• Is this enough to go on to find out what “your country” actually is? My initial guess was Saudi Arabia since we’re apparently fake friendly with them, but based on that map I guess it would have to be Iran.


• Great split screen usage this week.


• This may be the first time that anyone has accused the Chinese of this, but they sure are wasting a lot of space. They could probably save a lot on rent on an efficiency if they’re just using it to hold Audrey.


• Lines of the Night:
  “Now we’re gonna have some fun.”
  “I work for God.” “No you don’t. If you don’t believe me, ask Him when you meet Him.”
  “Say hello to your brother.”
  “Damn, Jack!”


• I don’t think anyone was surprised to see that Audrey was alive or even that she popped up after the nukes were secured (the surprise to me was that they ended that plotline this early). For the first time in a while I’m excited about next week. It feels like a second season premiere! Here’s hoping for the best.


• Bring back Heller, please. Thanks.
  

• I think I speak for everyone when I say, “Wait? Whaaa?” Seriously, Mr. President, you wanna discuss this nuclear war thing a little bit with your advisors? You’ve only been out of your coma for an hour. Worst. President. Ever. At least VP Noah Evil wanted to do it for the right reasons. Wayne just doesn’t want his advisors giving him wedgies and swirlies in the bathroom anymore.


• I gotta say that this episode started a little slow, but certainly redeemed itself in the second half. There were a handful (ha!) of little twists that I didn’t see coming.


• The 25th Amendment again??? Ugh. (By the way, were we supposed to be rooting for Wayne?) It just didn’t feel right having Tom run the show instead of Novick.


• Gredenko’s death on the beach was beautifully shot. I guess that’s why they don’t call him Boris the Hatchet Dodger.


• Wayne sure is burning through the adrenaline isn’t he? Daddy needs his feel good juice.


• Well, now I’m certain Milo is the mole after Mike “O’Doyle Rules” Doyle’s little cover up routine. He needs Jesus.


• Speaking of which, I’m not sure it would even be possible for me to care less about the Milo/Nadia thing. I think I’d rather have another 6 episodes of the Morris alcohol saga than another episode dealing with these two sucking face.


• The 24 writers want us to forget that Sandra is the worst character in 24 history, but I never will. You hear me? Never! However, they did an admirable job making her somewhat more tolerable in this second go around. I swear though if she gives one more lecture on the Constitution I’m going to throw a shoe at my TV.


• Wait, Bill and Karen are married? When did this happen??? Seriously, are they going to do anything with these two or just occasionally mention it like they have thus far? I mean, how could Bill resist this.


• Was I the only one who thought it was totally legitimate to ask the doctor how he would vote in the 25th amendment? Who let Ruth Bader Ginsberg into the cabinet meeting anyway?


• Line of the Night: “Show me your head.”


• I think we can all agree on one thing: abandoned carnivals are really creepy.


• So I’m hoping that this season has gone the way it has because of the planning for the 24 movie, which has been indefinitely postponed. In the preceding link, Kiefer is quoted as saying that planning both the movie and the show at the same time puts too much pressure on the writers, so they are probably not doing the movie until the show is over. Personally, I don’t care if they do a movie at all, but I do care when the show’s quality goes downhill. Hopefully the powers that be realize they made a huge mess this year and have isolated the problem in a way that season 7 will be a return to glory.


• You know what’s sad?  I am looking forward to 3 shows this week more than 24 (The Shield, The Office, and The Sopranos).  That’s unheard of.


• Finally, on a more personal note, I have a new wallpaper for my computer. Woo woo!