A couple of computer geek comments:
What is up with Paul knowing all the secrets to the code his company wrote. Our executive officer’s wouldn’t have a clue about how to use or software, let alone know all the back doors.
And when Paul asked Jack for an IP address, and Jack gave him either a MAC address or the serial number off the monitor (“15E7E32EIEIO”).
Tony: A/S/L?
Jack: Wanna cyber?
Actually, it was: 6EFF3239
Which is the right length for an IP address – it’s quite common to express 4 bytes as 8 hex digits. MAC addresses are longer. The above hex translates to the IP address: 110.255.50.57
That plant already melted down – it was the first one. The ones they stopped from meltdown were the remaining 5 under control of the Universal Nuke Remote. There was a scene in an earlier episode where they were on a video call with the reactor workers – their skin was already bubbling, and they said, “We’re already infected”. The radiation was already spreading towards Edgar’s mom.
Not science fiction. The Air Force had an EMP simulator called TRESTLE, and the Navy had one called EMPRESS I.
Didn’t Paul say he designed the db format and used to be a hands on techie?
Since this is the first season that I have watched, is having the EMP go off the first thing that Jack has failed at?
Well, apparently it was only disrupting phone lines at the time that they were trying to communicate with Jack. Edgar said, “Yeah, so far the computers haven’t been affected” (when Tony asked if they could message him). Maybe not realistic to expect that would be the case, but they did at least give that as the reason.
I didn’t get the impression that they were actually inside MF’s systems. Just checking the status of phone taps (which I presume would not be the same as being on their internal computer system), as well as sending the IM to Jack. And you can certainly send somebody an IM without having access to their files.
Yep – that’s the part I’m having trouble buying – the whole cover-up attempt in the first place, when CTU obviously knows that Marwan was one of their employees and therefore anything on his system would be considered evidence. In fact, I’m surprised CTU’s not sending over a bigger team and taking over their whole system on a confiscatory basis as evidence, until they find what they need. National Security and all. i.e. “Get all your employees out of the building. You will not interfere with our agents or touch your systems except for under our direction until we have completed our search”.
Nope…
Season 1 MAJOR spoiler:
In the final moments of the final episode, Jack captures Nina, his wife’s kidnapper (a rogue CTU agent he and Tony had both had affairs with), but returns to find his wife dead, shot by the agent.
Season 3 MAJOR spoiler:
The terrorists, forcing Jack to do whatever they say, made him execute his own boss, CTU Division Head Ryan Chappelle (who was an annoying bureaucrat, but still not a “bad guy”). Even Jack couldn’t figure out a way to save him, and ended up pulling the trigger.
How could Audrey have killed Driscoll’s daughter? She was at the hotel watching Jack torture her husband.
And would she have let herself get kidnapped and almost executed?
Well, then again, Nina almost got killed in Season 1 too.
Still, that requires a person to install and have running the IM program, and an active connection to the internet. I somehow doubt MF would have their secure network, with classified information on it, connected to the internet. I somehow doubt the first thing Jack does is log into the IM system to chat with his buddies.
Is MF a publicly traded company? Perhaps Marwan’s big plan was to just make millions on options that he bought.
In retrospect, it’s very unfortunate that Driscoll had her emotion chip installed today, isn’t it?
But then again, who would believe that every nuclear reactor is connected to the net as well. I guess I’m being to realistic, I need to stop or else I won’t enjoy the rest of the season…
Here’s my immitation of Edgar:
Edgar: Control-Alt-Delete! Control-Alt-Delete! (Should I tell Chloe how I really feel?) Control-Alt-Delete!
WHen Mrs. Tortured-for-being-a spy-when-she-really-wasn’t snapped at Edgar, I wish he had said, “Just thinking out loud, …(muttering) stupid whore bitch, last time I ever try to save your tortured ass.”
This show has gone into comic book territory. As long as I think of it that way I can handle all the stupid plot lines/holes etc.
Exactly. I don’t know what the writers were thinking. They made her such an unsympathetic character that I can’t help being glad her daughter off’ed herself if that’s what it took to get Driscoll out of the show.
And of course, Jack is clearly the only field agent CTU has, and must send him ricocheting around L.A. to accomplish whatever needs to be done.
My thinking, along these same lines, makes me wish dearly that some nerd, somewhere will create a LOLCITY version of a season of 24.
Quite true – it would require a messaging service to be running, or at least some open port (besides web, for instance).
And I agree, it’s not likely that the classified info is going to be on a machine that has open web services running, even just IM or web. Perhaps MF didn’t hire very good security consultants! 
I thought that same thing, too!
Now, here’s my WAG regarding Maya’s “suicide.” Remember when Edgar was upset that his mother was going to do herself in, rather than live through radiation sickness, and Ms. Driscoll wouldn’t let him go home? This is Edgar’s revenge! He offed Driscoll’s daughter just to see how she’d like it to have a family member die and have to work! Bwaa haa haa!
Okay, nevermind.
Hehehe…I just read the spoilers for next week’s episode.
Hope none of you have gotten fond of having Paul or Sarah around…