Not much to say this week except:
“I’m not Sherry.”
Everyone else is saying it, why not me?
Well, whatever is going to happen to Tony, it will be long and protracted, like George Mason from last year. I think that’s why they had him get shot in the neck, instead of clean through the head. Even if he’s going to die, he’ll linger.
We’ve got three hours until Kyle is contagious, right? So where does that leave the rest of the season? They catch him in time, and find an even bigger threat? Or they don’t catch him, and they try to find a cure?
I vote for “bigger threat”, it seems pretty wild for a drug dealer to try and kill millions of people just to get his brother out of jail. Plus, 24 doesn’t like to reveal the true baddies this early.
Well, they detonated the nuclear bomb in season 2 around what, 9pm? And that wasn’t the end…
Lots of people seem to be not digging this season, but I’m having a ball. Sure, there are some questions, but I have faith. So . . .
It was cool this time, but there better not be any more people guess that Jack is shooting up just by looking at him. Also, if he reaches for the needle again he damn well better get himself a fix. This “something happens just as he is about to pierce the skin” gag has been milked for all it is worth. Don’t do it again. That said, I liked the way that she handled it. She, like many others, realizes that you need someone like Jack to get the job done, and that someone like Jack comes with problems that must be tolerated. So he’s a cold-blooded murderer of guys in protective custody, he does a little bad-guy torturing, he ignores the bill of rights, he shoots up, and he’s out of his fucking mind. He’s still the fastest guy on his feet that we’ve got. When they realized the powder wasn’t the source Jack figured out the real deal pretty damn quick. Nice to see he’s still effective. I did kind of chuckle when he was screaming “No! No!” to the mom dumping the coke. Oh, it’s because of the virus . . .
Boy, they really trust their laptops, those CTU bio-team guys. Well, the machine says negative so let’s just rip off our bio suits right away!!! Jeesh. Also, it seems to me like they shouldn’t be acting like they have 3 hours until he becomes contagious. I mean, their estimates can’t be that exact. They should have sealed the mall and not let anyone out period. And Tony should have been walking up to him in full bio gear after a swat team took him down. Instead he’s all “No, I think I’ll just approach a guy (who may have a deadly contagious virus with no known cure) with no protection and have a nice face to face chat so we can bring him in without beating him down”. Dumb ass. He deserves the bullet in the neck. I told you having a happy romantic life is a bad idea if you work for CTU. I know it, Jack knows it, and unless Chase breaks up with Kim, he’s gonna know it real soon. I love Tony, he’s come a long way, but they should kill him now. They didn’t kill Palmer, but they did kill Mason. They didn’t kill Kim, but they did kill Teri. They didn’t kill Jack (not for long any way), so the way I see it they have to ice Tony now if they want to keep their street cred. Plus, he pointed a gun at Jack last year, so his bullet has been a long time coming. The hobbling he got was just a taste of waht’s supposed to happen when you get in Hacksaw’s way. . .
Man, that CTU bad guy batcave is REALLY souped up. I mean, the other moles were having to use the gear at their desks and watch floor traffic. This guy had a whole room built for him. Someone inside the government must be controlling this thing. They just have to be. There is no way a tech guy could secretly set up a batcave with no one getting the wiser. And not just this year, all 3 seasons. There has always been high level info the bad guys could get that hasn’t been fully explained. My guess? The VP has been behind everything the whole time. Palmer should have demanded his resignation. He just thinks he took everyone involved down. He definitely missed the head vampire in his own camp. Sherri was just a blood sucking minion. No, the VP is the head vampire just like that guy in “The Lost Boys” (Remeber that Kiefer? Seems like so long ago. Shut up. I know he wasn’t the head vampire, it was the mom’s boyfriend . . .)
I know people will be sad to see Palmer take the low road, but part of the whole 24 thing is that everyone involved gets beat up and beat up until their morals can’t help but be eroded. They all become battle hardened and bitter if they don’t end up dead first. Palmer has taken alot of knocks playing the golden boy, and if it weren’t for Jack Bauer it would have cost him his job and his life. And to be honest, if you want to keep him up on a pedastal, you could argue that he is paying the guy off to protect Anne, not himself. Much worse scandals have just rolled off of his back. Even if what the ex-husband says is true, there is no reason to believe Palmer had any knowledge of any of this. No, he’s protecting his woman with some cash. Not exactly lofty, but it lands in the grey area enough to leave him up there as “Boy Scout Hero Boy” until someone else knocks him down a couple pegs and he has to get his hands dirty again. Remember, he did torture (ordered the torturing, anyway) a member of his own staff last year. Palmer is no stranger to the Dark Gray area. . .
This is great cliffhanger stuff. Even if the episodes are kind of timid so far, and the commercials are too long, the last 2 or 3 minutes never fail to kick me in the balls just like I like it. I get all comfortable, start thinking “It’s over already? But . . . but . . .” then BOOM, kicked in the balls and before you have a chance to say “Hey! You just kicked me in the . . .” they’ve turned around and are banging your wife. It makes up for all the implausable, all the Kim garbage (where the hell is the running this year?), all the shots of Jack grimacing, and any other complaints you might have just to get kicked like that and spend the next 7 sets of 24 hours icing your balls while you wait for more. That’s how I feel anyway.
And damn, man, that wannabe rorshac test car commercial was way to long and way to stupid to even exist. Some pseudo-wannabe-egghead sold some sell-out-no-talent-having-hack-advertising exec a terrible idea that some stupid “wannabe other cars” car company paid way too much to see realized and aired to my demographic during my favorite show. Most commercials suck, but these guys really put themselves at the top of the shit pile with that one . . .
DaLovin’ Dj
They’re losing me.
Kim is a whiz? CTU has one field agent? David Palmer approves a payoff? Jack’s in heroin withdrawl but can drive a car and run an investigation?
Salazar, wanting to get his brother out of prison, penetrates CTU and engineers a biological weapon, all in in three months or less? With the intention of killing millions? With a plan that hinges on wayward stoner? Come on.
The timeline is too compressed, the chief of staff is wildly unbelievable, and…and…
Maybe one more week, just to be sure…
Realistically speaking, that’s not likely. He was shot in the neck. Either he’ll bleed to death on the way to the hospital or they get it in time and he recovers. It wasn’t near the spine either, so paralysis is out.
I don’t think Palmer is acting out of character, really, after all , look at how far he was willing to go last season, holding a reporter, torturing one of his staff. Yes, it was practical and necessary, but hardly the actions of the most most noble person. I think he sees this in much the same way, this is one problem he doesn’t need to worry about on this day,with the virus and the debate,etc. Maybe it is a poor decision, but I don’t think it is unlikely.
And what makes people think Kim is a wiz? So she can do some stuff with a computer, it hardly makes her a wiz, in my book. It’s not like they have asked her to hack into and decrypt and triangulate. They’ve asked her, as far as I can tell, to run some protocols, that are probably pretty standard for a CTU computer analyst. The wizziest thing she has done is change permisiions on on someone’s computer, not too difficult I imagine.
Chloe needs to either shut up or get lost. Way to get in a dig at Chase, there. Not that I have anything invested in Chase, but their exchange was just so much expository dialogue to get him all riled up.
Kyle is like a strung-out version of Zachary Ty Bryan from Home Improvement. I found Dad’s drug discovery scene tired and cliche, but loved the chainsaw slicing through the front door. Now that’s an entrance.
The torture deal last year was for the good of the country. The payoff this year was for the good of his political career. Nope. Not the same thing at all.
Another disappointing episode. So far this season, there have just been a couple of moments that I thought were really compelling, in contrast to last season in which there were whole shows that managed to keep me on the edge of my seat and my eyes riveted to the screen. I keep hoping that the writers are going to hit their stride and turn things up a notch, but I’m becoming increasingly skeptical.
I heard an interview by Bob Edwards on NPR a day or two before the airing of the first episode this season with one of the main writers that was pretty revealing. He (I’ve forgotten his name) said that each season they have had fewer episodes planned and written prior to beginning filming and that they had only figured out the first three episodes for this season when they started shooting. If that’s the case, then we’ve already seen the ones that were composed with ample deliberation and forethought and the rest of the season’s shows are being composed ‘under the gun’, which, given the quality (lack thereof) of these first three hours, might end up being a good thing. Or it could mean that we’ve already seen the best hours of the day. Yuck.
I’m aware that I have to be willing to suspend my disbelief a bit, but I had a real problem with the whole set-up of the scene at the mall. If there’s the imminent threat of the release of a virus that will kill 20% of L.A. in a week (which probably means it would wipe out the entire population of the U.S. in less than a month and the world in two), then I think they need a better plan than ‘let’s let Tony walk up to Kyle and talk friendly to him’. Who in his right mind would tip their hand before tackling and handcuffing him? Who would allow just one person to approach him, and with no backup? Who would allow ANY persons or vehicles to leave the mall until the situation is resolved? I was just disappointed that they didn’t approach it with more apparent seriousness and effort.
Based on the power and influence that Salazar has been shown to have so far in this season, I think they would do better to just offer to hire him to run the country and double whatever he is making as a drug lord. I mean, his level of competence is pretty amazing. Let’s see . . . . From prison he has managed to install a high-level mole in CTU, who has his own personal high tech bat cave; he has convinced a prison guard to kill a government employee in front of him in a maximum security area; and he is orchestrating the carefully timed release of a super-high-tech maximum deadly, speedy, and predictable-to-the-minute virus to wipe out virtually the entire population if he’s not released from prison. The only weakness he has shown is that his wife is starting to make googly eyes at his brother.
If Jack doesn’t start cracking some skulls soon, I’m going to have to write off this season. The shots of the needle almost puncturing his skin were pretty powerful, but they can’t replace the scenes in which he gets to carry out vicious, brutal attacks against baddies. His level-headed cool in moments of high tension and danger are what make the show worth watching. It’s also a kind of a cathartic, vicarious fun to watch someone who lives purely by the ‘ends justifies the means’ mentality and who knows what’s best for us and has no qualms about trampling on civil rights. (Aside: of course, the politically conservative and biased FOX network is proud to trumpet such kinds of Republican attitudes.)
I never said it was the same thing, I said it revealed that it wasn’t necessarily out of character for him to go against a principled position.
[nitpick]Also, they said the kid was at the “Los Feliz Mall between Sunset and Vermont.” There is no such mall, hell, there isn’t even “between Sunset and Vermont” as the two streets pretty much run perpindicular to each other.[/nitpick]
G.O.:
But it is out of character for him to do it only for personal gain. That’s what I meant, if it wasn’t clear.
What? She is “with” the brother who is free. Remember: “No, it was you who broke me . . .” and then the big smooch. She is Free Drug Dealer terrorist’s girl, but she was planting the seeds for a power struggle between the 2 brothers, but my guess is that she is just going to get herself iced. Who knows, maybe the brothers will kill each other, but I agree - other than letting Jack infiltrate his organization and getting busted by the guy from Chips: TNG, Salazar has proven to be powerful, effective, and clear-headed, even if he is evil, psychotic, and heartless. Him and Jack really are similar in many ways.
And the Mole must have been at CTU for longer than 3 months. The Salazars work with Terrorist organizations, that’s the only reason Jack has anything to do with them (he’s not DEA after all). It makes sense that they would want to get someone inside the Counter Terrorism Unit if they intend to be information brokers to terrorists. The fact that they didn’t see Jack coming tells us that Jack doesn’t update CTU when he’s under deep cover, or that the Mole hasn’t been there for very long. There is just no way that a 3-month old addition to the staff could secure a couple thousand square foot batcave, a few million dollars worth of surviellance equipment, a top-level position (he was at the big meeting), and a hatred of Chloe in such a short time. Well, maybe that last one. My bet is that he’s been there for about 3 years and the VP facilitated this whole thing in some way. Or maybe Mason didn’t die, and this is his revenge. Or maybe Chapelle is still pissed because he got chloroformed, overruled, and made a fool of by Jack last season. Chapelle or the VP - one or the other is responsible. Maybe they are working together.
I can’t wait until Chapelle or some other prick from Central decides things have gotten out of hand over at CTU and decides to show up with 20 guys and take over. You know it’s going to happen. When they do, they should strip search Kim just to be safe. . .
DaLovin’ Dj
Isn’t Adam the Anal-Systems-Guy? If so, then he’s not the mole – it’s the hispanic looking guy (I haven’t caught his name yet).
Well, the health services lady that was in the car with him did notice the empty vial on the floorboard first – perhaps we can give her credit for knowing what it was (and then recognizing the withdrawal signs after that).
Well, except this is really different from those situations – the extreme actions he took last season were all specifically about trying to prevent the nuclear bomb. This decision (to pay off or not to pay off) will have no bearing on the virus issue – it’s simply a personal issue of protecting his campaign image and perhaps more importantly, protecting his girlfriend. I’d say from the standpoint of protecting his campaign, I’d say this decision was out of character. But from the standpoint of protecting his girlfriend, well…
[Tom Regan]
But then again, there’s always that wild card, when… love… is involved
[/TR]
A-freakin-men!
I was already sick of Chloe after the first episode. Please send her on the next field assignment so that this whiny, professional victim can get shot, too.
Dammit. Now I have a keyboard full of iced tea. 
Heh heh…“realistically speaking” about 24?
By the way, dalovindj, your posts are fun to read when you start babbling! 
Just glad I didn’t have any iced-tea at the time…
[Cartman]
I… I love you guys… except you, Kyle.
[/Cartman]
[Monstre writes to FOX network, strongly urges producers to hire dalovindj as a writer for “24”]
They do that all the time - strange streets that don’t really intersect and mis-naming other LA landmarks/areas…sort of a Twilight Zone geography of the city. I guess that makes it easier for them to supposedly drive from Santa Monica to Los Feliz in 4 minutes.
I thought the mom trying to flush down the drugs was cool…and Jack flung her to the ground like last weeks Sunday roast. And once again, superman Jack; going through heroin withdrawal but driving like a batoutahell, suiting up and then jumping through a virus infected apartment.
Any bets on how long it will be before Dim runs out in search of dad, has sex with infected boy, wakes up drugged in Mexico and becomes the slave-nanny for the Mexican honcho, his mistress and their pet mountain lion?
AFAIK, Adam is the Anal-Systems Guy, and Dale is Mole #62278.
Why does everyone keep referring to Dale’s “Batcave”? It seems to me that he merely picked an emptyish room at CTU with many monitors and set them up to spy on Kyle. If anyone were to walk in, all he’d have to do is either say, “Oh, just random surveillance” or do some giant ALT-Tab to something more believable. Hell, that might even be his office.
I can’t believe they shot Tony. I know, they do that on 24, but I still gasped. Tell me that you didn’t.
Quix