I’m wondering if FOX is going to do some long form AMERICAN IDOL shows to eat up time to save episodes of 24 for the May sweep. That’s gotta be it. If 24 comes back on March 25 and there are 9 remaining episodes, that takes us right to the end of the May book.
About tonight’s episode: As soon as I saw Mason show up at the airport, I knew he was going to fly that plane. And as soon as I saw the extra seats on the plane, I was sure I was right. It’s a good way for him to go out. With a bang, as it were.
Well, that’s a given. It was obvious that her brief moment of rational thought (not getting in Scuzball’s car, then accepting the ride from Nice Lady) couldn’t last. But of course, it’s Jack’s fault! Remember, he did tell Kim that he loved her exactly the way she was, and that he didn’t want her to change. (At that moment, I was thinking that he should have said – “Don’t change, honey. Well, except… try to get smarter, okay sweetheart?”
Here is what happened in the preview for next week - if I missed anything, anyone here can feel free to add or amend:
They showed someone breaking a window at what appeared to be a convenience store and they said something along the lines of “It’s starting”, which I’m assuming is the rioting that will come with the panic of a nuclear bomb going off. Ummm…some guy we couldn’t see talked to Jack on the phone and said “I’m the only one who can prove to you that the recording was faked” … someone was interrogating Syed Ali and he said he wouldn’t talk. There was more. Can somebody help me out?
Despite the predictable ending of Mason going down in a blaze of glory, I thought this one was well done. Great stuff.
I think the phone call Jack is getting is from the fired assistant to the Prez- the one that got removed for withholding Jack’s phone call. I wonder how long it’s going to take Jack and Palmer both to get to LA? Probably an incredibly short time. Also, could the broken window be the result of the ground or air shock wave?
In case it’s not obvious, this is my Jack Bauer Power Hour* Train Of Thought.
(Upon Mason’s arrival at the airport:)
Sweet, Mason’s gonna fly the bomb out!
Yay! Kim’s coming to visit! I can take CalTrain down to San Jose! (Why the hell is she going to San Jose? Wasn’t she going to her aunt’s house elsewhere in SoCal or something?
Man, love the oh-so-subtle foreshadowing of Mason’s demise. They needed “The Voice” from the movie previews- “One man must do the unthinkable… to save us all.”
Um… Jack’s not gonna take off, is he?
Damn, Jack took off. This should be good.
Dammit, Jack and Kim are gonna make me cry.
Bwa ha ha ha… Rock on, Mason! Definitely not taking any drinks for him acting like a dick.
Crap, my tape ran out halfway through the episode! Right when I’m faced with two weeks of no 24. Just frickin’ great.
I think what should’ve happened is that when Jack jumped out of the plane, the bomb should’ve accidentally caught on Jack’s shoelace, forcing him to disarm the bomb with a wristwatch and his teeth.
Very nicely done effects with the detonation. Plenty eerie. If only Dodger Stadium was located in a remote spot in the Mojave…
*-Thanks to my non-Doper friend Marty for that one.
By my calculations, Jack was 14 miles from the bomb detonation. That would be more than enough for a 10 kt bomb, which would have an area of total destruction of maybe a mile or less. Remember, the Hiroshima bomb was twice that size, and only a portion of the city was destroyed. And people continued to live in the city afterwards. So, 14 miles, behind rock… He’d maybe feel the blast a little bit, but that’s about it. Hopefully, he’s upwind.
That said, the bomb plot was a little unbelievable, because they could have stopped the bomb from detonating by just blowing it up. Jack should have landed in the desert with a bunch of explosives, and just blasted the thing. It’s very hard to get a nuclear detonation - blasting it with explosives would have just scattered radioactive material around on the desert floor - no boom.
And Kim sure is stupid. But not just that, she’s erratic. What was there about that phone call that would make her want to get out of a vehicle and run into the desert? The ‘logical’ reaction would have been to just close her eyes, lay back in the seat, and cry. And let the nice lady drop her off someplace safe and warm so she could catch a bus home. Her reaction wasn’t just stupid - it made no sense.
Steelerphan – right, you are thinking about Eric Rayburn (don’t read his spoiler, Max – it’s about the preview! and don’t worry, Rayburn isn’t mentioned in the preview, so I’m not giving anything away – Steelerphan is just speculating on something…)
Actually, since the Prez gave him his walking papers, I’ve been wondering whether we are going to see Rayburn again. Still wondering. I think it’s possible that he was in league with Stanton and Friends.
And when the hell are we going to see Nina back in the mix?
Yep, your post had the primary gist of it – the main important things. Other details…
There was a quick clip of a CTU chopper picking Jack up.
The thing with “It’s starting” and somebody smashing something through a window (I agree on the rioting and looting theory).
Mike talking to the Prez, saying something about the three countries involved “and we have proof” and the Prez saying, “what if the proof is a lie?”
Michelle was the one interrogating Ali. She says, “I want the truth.” Ali says, “What does the truth matter?”
And the bit with Jack getting the mysterious phone call (which you already mentioned).
I don’t know, the whole time Kim was in the car with Nice Lady, I was thinking she’d have been better off taking her chances with El Camino Rapist Dude. Nice Lady scared the hell out of me. She practically screamed Disarming Fifth Columnist Attempting to Kidnap CTU-guy’s Clueless Daughter. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s the next one to intervene before Kim becomes cougar-food.
Jack is plenty far enough away from ground zero-- We’ve all seen that footage of American GI’s marching away from the mushroom cloud during testing in Nevada-- Those guys didn’t get head-cancer until much later, and besides, Jack was way further away than they were.
As for the “three middle-eastern countries”, I’m okay with leaving it to the viewers’ imagination. It would be unreasonably inflammatory to use specific countries as “the bad guys”, (or “the fall guys”, as the case may be,) and I prefer leaving it open to making up a fictionalized country-- Although I guess “Phlogistan,” “Pyria,” and “Caustica” would do in a pinch. (Hey, my straw man’s on fire!)
Yeah, I got all weepy when Jack was talking to his idiot child. Hell, I got all weepy when George was talking to his idiot child. They got me twice with what was practically the same scene. Eh, I’m in my thirties and parental mortality is pretty close to home. Curse you, Fox focus-group, with your manipulative demographic surveys!
I’m a big fan of President Palmer. The way he inspires confidence… the way he sweats integrity… the way you can’t tell which party he belongs even though you’ve known him for almost two years… Why can’t real heads-of-state be so damned reassuring?
But isn’t it just incredibly stupid for him to fly to Los Angeles of all places? Riots, terrorists running around, a fallout cloud that could head their way if the wind shifts… It makes no sense.
