FAQ Bauer (aka Thread Rules) 1) What can be discussed in plain text, unboxed?
A: Any events in episodes, once aired on the east coast – as well as any speculation based on these already-aired events.
2) What should I confine to spoiler boxes?
A: Any discussion of upcoming shows that contains information from sources outside the aired material, or any speculation based on such things. This includes the “Next week on 24” previews, which some people choose not to watch.
3) What, no third question?
A: THIS SPACE FOR RENT
Previously on 24…
Janis whines. Jack yells at her. It feels good.
Hodges gets a witness protection deal for the valuable information he might tell, which turns out to be… nothing. “I don’t know who they are – my contact is just some chick whose name I don’t know”. Whoop-de-doo. Probably doesn’t matter – Olivia’s making secret plans to have him whacked anyways.
The anonymous Evil Cabal Who Thinks They Are Good takes an American Idol style online vote, and they unanimously vote to kill people today, rather than wait 6 months.
Tony’s gang grabs an uninvolved foreigner to use as a fall guy for their pending attack.
I don’t know what’s going on this season (with my attitude towards th show). I chose sleep over the show for the third time tonight. It’s sooo boooring! Apparently, something did explode tonight. Eh, maybe they’ll show it in next week’s previouslies.
As absurd as the storyline is this year, I’m really enjoying the season. It’s FAR better than last year. Sure, there’s absolutely no way Jack would be allowed in the field right now, when the guy he brought in to help was actually behind a lot of the stuff of the day, and Chloe would be recaptured and detained for questioning related to Tony, not brought into FBI headquarters for help. But still…it’s fun! I’m having a blast.
“OK, gang, lets look at our checklist. This season has been very difficult as we have been tasked with maintaining tough guy Jack and his sketchy interoggation techniques with an understanding that in America we don’t do this. Ok item one, Every episode someone mentioning is ILLEGAL”
“Check”
“Item two, Jack saying he will do whatever it takes, every other episode.”
“Check.”
“Item three, Jack showing remorse and understanding of how he has lost his moral center.”
“Check”
“Item four, Muslims shown in a positive light.”
“Check, after this weeks episode.”
“Item five, torture opposers learning that there are cirtcumstances where torture is necessary.”
“Check, twice. The President and the female FBI agent, with appropriate moral qualms.”
"A couple of items still to check off then. Item six, worngly accused Muslim instrumental in helping foil terror plot. In progress. And item seven, in the end a wrapping up somehow that shows a) that Jack did what was necessary and right; and 2) Ameican is firmly against torture and “enhanced interrogation.”
I’m also really enjoying this season, and for an episode with very little killing or exploding, this one was quite good.
One thing I don’t think the show gets enough credit for is that, despite the frequently implausibility of the plot, the acting is generally quite good. Even the fairly minor parts like the brother of the framed guy are usually well done, and have nice little moments like him spitting on his brother and throwing his works back in his face, etc.
The commercials for 24 are really reaching now. “Tonight, the stakes have never been higher!” Well, actually, a couple of hours ago, they were launching bioweapon-tipped missiles at a dozen cities. Six hours ago, the White House was under siege. Earlier in the day, airliners were dropping out of the sky. In this hour … they blew up a car. And yeah, there’s a canister of Bad Stuff out there, but relative to the rest of the day, things are going OK
Every week I seem to complain about the time compression due to the real-time conceit, but this episode they really pushed it. In what universe would the witness relocation people be able to whip up a new identity for Hodges and be ready to move him (1 hour after a suicide attempt) forty minutes after the papers are signed? At 4:00 in the morning? Without even waiting to see if his information pans out?
Not to mention that the division of Murder Incorporated that the first bimbo is dealing with is even more efficient at whipping up instant assassination schemes than the current Bad Guys. I’m actually guessing that Hodges was blown up by some unrelated insider and that this is a red herring, but nonetheless, FB was expecting some assassin to hop out of bed and ice Hodges outside the FBI headquarters with less than 20 minutes warning. Which would only be possible if they had a franchised ninja living right down the street.
Other improbables. Muslim dudes up and having breakfast at 4:00 in the morning. One seems to be a college age guy. Realistically, he’d be sleeping until noon. And his brother, for a guy who’s under duress, is an amazingly good and consistent liar.
Speaking of Muslim dudes – what’s the point of the conspiracy trying to implicate a hidden terrorist cell? Jack and the FBI already know for a fact that Tony has the bioweapon. So it’s not like they’re going to be fooling anyone.
I’m going to give the writers a pass on the “break the mirror and stab the guy” scene because, improbable as it was, it looked pretty cool. And you have to figure that if you’re ever being held at gunpoint by a bad guy, you’d probably be generating grandiose escape scenarios in your mind. Even if, in real life, smashing the mirror and trying to stab the guy would result in your dying with a bullet in your head AND a badly slashed hand.
I’ll never understand it when shows have someone threaten someone else for information (location of bad guy, etc.), and then the person who’s being threatened responds with: “I don’t know. But even if I did, I would not tell you.”
Does that EVER seem like something anyone should say? Whenever I see it in movies/TV shows, it always translates in my mind like some slapsticky comedy routine:
*Good guy: “We know you know the location of the VX gas, now tell us where it is!”
Bad guy: “I do not know. But even if I did I will not tell you.”
Good guy: “You don’t know? Hmmm…well. Okay then. Works for me. Hey! Wait a minute! I see what you did there!” *
So the First Gentleman was shot, in the stomach and almost dead approximately 12 hours ago, just prior to that he was given a drug that paralyzed him. Yet, ther he was bright and chipper as if it had been months since he had been shot.
So when will Jack get saved from the bio-ookies? Will Kim sneak up on him and stab him with a syringe of stem cells?
Yes – this show could definitely do with having her come back. But no more poison-handshake crap. She needs to go back to her glory days of taking down airliners from aboard them.
I’m pretty sure the first daughter is getting blackmailed. Never order an assassination attempt from people you don’t really trust. These guys are apparently capable of setting up an assassination of a top secret national security prisoner in about five minutes. Normal people would not want to get involved with such people.
Maybe the writers should rethink letting Jack live at the end of this season. Kiefer might no be able to stay out of prison long enough to film season eight.
