# 24: Season 4: Episode 17 (11:00pm - 12:00am) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 11, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859 "2005-04-11T22:26:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/1 "2005-04-11T22:26:54Z")
This week’s 24 thread is USDA choice thread, inspected for quality and freshness by Number 38. * * * _24_, Season 4, Episode 17 11:00 PM - 12:00 AM SPOILERS AHEAD! Season 4 threads [1-2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=296090) [3-4](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=296231) [5](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=297399) [6](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=298733) [7](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=299932) [8](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=301189) [9](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=302470) [10](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=303632)[11](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=304737) [12](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=305851) [13](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=306966) [14](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=308104) [15](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=309170) [16](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=310254) Season 3 threads [1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=220002) [2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=221380) [3](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=222709) [4](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=224017) [5](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=225274) [6](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=226621) [7](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=228098) [8](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=229589) [9](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=233364) [10](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=234768) [11](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=236885) [12](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=237968) [13](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=239159) [14](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=240183) [15](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=241649) [16](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=248269) [17](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=249575) [18](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=251669) [19](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=252057) [20](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=253222) [21](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=254435) [22](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=255627) [23](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=256792) [24](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=258060) Season 2 threads [1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=141661) [2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=142720) [3](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=143761) [4](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=144882) [5](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=146280) [6](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=147635) [7](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=149356) [8](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=150854) [9](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=154843) [10](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=156343) [11](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=160583) [12](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=162262) [13](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=163850) [14](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=165404) [15](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=167046) [16](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=172344) [17](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=174079) [18](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=175707) [19](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=177496) [20](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=178804) [21](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=180544) [22](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=182018) [23](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=183597) [24](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=185081) Season 1 threads [1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=97572) 2 [3](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=100175) [4](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=101350) 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 [15](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=103851) [16](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=104854) [17](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=106093) [18](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=107360) 19 [20](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=109991) [21](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=111266) 22 [23](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=115233) [24](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=116289) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/2 "2005-04-12T01:18:04Z")
Why don’t I like the VP? He doesn’t strike me as the take-charge kinda guy we need in charge. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/3 "2005-04-12T01:27:58Z")
I’m more worried about the Cheney-Look-Alike minion. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/4 "2005-04-12T01:30:29Z")
I’m really nervous about Jason and his girlfriend/wife. Hurry up, Jack! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/5 "2005-04-12T01:38:07Z")
Why give the case to the Wife? It’s obvious if she’s seen. Why not burn the “playbook”? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/6 "2005-04-12T01:40:17Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why give the case to the Wife? It’s obvious if she’s seen. > Why not burn the “playbook”? Yeah. I find it extremely hard to believe there’s not a backup copy somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/7 "2005-04-12T01:44:22Z")
Oh, and Jack? Put the cell on vibrate or turn the ringer down. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/8 "2005-04-12T01:52:24Z")
Okay, who thought the case was going to be empty? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/9 "2005-04-12T01:52:31Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > Oh, and Jack? Put the cell on vibrate or turn the ringer down. I was thinking the same thing. I mean after the first time it rang and he got shot at you’d think he’d have thunk of that. Oh, and it looks like I should have been more worried about Jack’s partner than Jason and his wife. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/10 "2005-04-12T01:53:45Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > Oh, and it looks like I should have been more worried about Jack’s partner than Jason and his wife. Oh, you mean Agent Redshirt? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/11 "2005-04-12T01:57:12Z")
[Nelson]Ha-ha![/Nelson] You’re president for 30 seconds and you get that kind of news. ---
**Author:** ![PigBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/97f17d/32.png) [@PigBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigBoy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/12 "2005-04-12T02:06:03Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I’m more worried about the Cheney-Look-Alike minion. For those who missed seasons 1 and 2, that is Mike Novick, who was the chief of staff to President Palmer. He was fired in season 2 for plotting with the VP and cabinet members to invoke the 25th amendment simply because they did not have confidence in the president’s judgment. As things turned out, of course, the president was right. (I forget what exactly the dispute was actually about.) So he enjoys this 25th amendment stuff. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/13 "2005-04-12T02:07:12Z")
OK, here’s something that’s been bugging me this season: Who the Hell is that Cheney-look alike who is advising the VP? He was in Palmer’s staff in season 2 (maybe season 3, I don’t remember,) and now he’s on the new Prez’s staff? Why is that? I can’t imagine that anyone who is that close to the prez/VP would hold some kind of position that doesn’t change with the new administration. Also: it takes an HOUR to wipe out all the current nuke codes? I would think it would take less than ten minutes. And even if it WAS an hour, well…it’s been an hour. I would like to think that as soon as it was known the prez’s plane (and the football) were shot, the codes would be canceled. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/14 "2005-04-12T02:08:14Z")
Those darn terrorists, they always seem to be one step ahead. Well, except for the slow guy they leave behind to kill the witnesses, you know Terrorist Redshirt. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/15 "2005-04-12T02:08:35Z")
We did have some footage for the CTU blooper reel, didn’t we? Jack sneaks up on the terrorists… and he doesn’t even have the presence of mind to put his phone on vibrate. Ensign Ricky is killed. Oops! Smooth move- try to have a firefight while you’re on a cell phone. They could have let the terrorists have the football and tracked them down with the device, they could have had Jason Giambi take out the playbook when he started running instead of 40 minutes later… there were a lot of things they could have done that would have made more sense. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/16 "2005-04-12T02:14:32Z")
You know, if I worked for CTU, I’d rather shoot myself in the foot than get paired up with Jack Bauer for ANYTHING. Hell, if the man asked me to go grab lunch at Sonics with him, I’d run away screaming. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/17 "2005-04-12T02:16:57Z")
I just don’t think the writing, this year, is up to snuff. Too many, “Oh come on!” moments. The highest priority for CTU was to retrieve the “football”. So why only send Jack and one other agent? Oh come on. And is CTU in charge of everything? Literally everything that happens or needs attention? Aren’t there other agencies in the “24” world that would help out if, say, Air Force One were shot down? I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on the time issues. People move from place to place, boot up computers, download data, ect. in a matter of seconds. But it is a television drama, that has to keep people’s attention between commercials. But too much stuff, this season takes me out of the suspension of disbelief and reminds me that it’s not real. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/18 "2005-04-12T02:19:45Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > You know, if I worked for CTU, I’d rather shoot myself in the foot than get paired up with Jack Bauer for ANYTHING. Hell, if the man asked me to go grab lunch at Sonics with him, I’d run away screaming. Yeah. The woman had some line that made me say “Yeah, you’ll be fine… it’s not like everyone this man knows gets killed.” So apparently Marwan, our terrorists genius, is a big one-trick pony. His MO is “Make something crash, steal a valuable thing that was inside it which was unharmed, and use it on some nuclear stuff.” Shouldn’t they have seen this coming? ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/19 "2005-04-12T02:37:59Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Yeah. The woman had some line that made me say “Yeah, you’ll be fine… it’s not like everyone this man knows gets killed.” > > So apparently Marwan, our terrorists genius, is a big one-trick pony. His MO is “Make something crash, steal a valuable thing that was inside it which was unharmed, and use it on some nuclear stuff.” Shouldn’t they have seen this coming? Yeah, the whole ever-unfolding terrorist plot thing is starting to make my eyes roll clear out of their sockets. The best, most successful plans are SIMPLE plans. The 9-11 plot is about as complicated as a plan can be and still have ANY chance of success. I can accept a few twists, but the plot this season sounds like something I dreamed up as a 14 year old. (I wrote my first action novel at 14. It sucked, and only Kiefer Sutherland and some good gunfights are keeping this season of 24 from sucking.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859/20 "2005-04-12T02:38:37Z")
1. Discover that you need to pee really, really, badly. 2. Tell Jack you left your wallet on the helicopter. 3. Get Opal to call your cell phone and pretend to be your Mother being ill. 4. Eat a bar of soap. He won’t want you throwing up in the helicopter. 5. Follow the Secretary of Defense around with a bottle of Lysol. Spray everything he touches. You will be safely locked up. 6. Pass gas in the helicopter. Jack will kick you out before you get there. 7. Keep asking “Are we there yet?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24-season-4-episode-17-11-00pm-12-00am/298859.md?page=2)