Bauer’s just this guy, you know?
I like that CTU is a lot more pragmatic this season. Under Driscoll, Chloe would’ve been tortured for three hours before they admitted they needed her help, and CTU agents would’ve been storming the airport to get to Jack instead of letting him stop the terrorists. Of course, things are bound to go haywire now that Jack is supposed to go into custody…
I don’t know. I was almost glad to see someone actually refuse to cave until he managed to make that a shallow, self-centered gesture.
So the President is wimpy, egotistical, looks like Nixon… is he funny or something?
He’s probably from a swing state. Didn’t he tell Sane Wifey something like “You’re the prettiest First Lady Pennsylvania ever had?”
I thought that was pretty faint praise at the time, and now that I look it up, I see it’s even worse. The only President to hail from Pennsylvania was James Buchanan. And Buchanan was the only bachelor President we’ve ever had. So…
Does anyone ever run the L.A. CTU office without being overruled or replaced in very short order? Maybe Erin Driscoll will come back and wonder why a hobbit is in charge.
I’m pretty sure that was “The most beautiful First Lady Pennsylvania Avenue’s ever had.” Maybe he didn’t want to diss Martha Washington.
I hope he said that, even though it undoes my analysis. It’s a better compliment for sure.
If it makes you feel better, you weren’t alone in thinking that.
So, what’s with people not knowing the secret codes? I mean, it seems like they should all recognize whatever codes are in use, and even if they get changed often, shouldn’t someone have remembered, “Oh, yeah, I remember that from way back in the day, eighteen months ago!”
Sure - he’s telling her she’s hotter than such noted First Hotties Nancy Reagan, Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton . . .
I mean, even Jackie O. was not exactly gorgeous. She had style, though.
Hmm. I guess she wasn’t, when you think about it. So perhaps Little Nixon was telling the truth, too.
“Bauerized” is going to be my word of the month.
it wasn’t 18 months ago. 18 months ago, Jack was working with the Department of Defense - he’d left CTU a year (or so) before that at the end of Day 3. Jack & Curtis have only worked together once, and they didn’t trust each other for half the time, and Curtis was injured for half of the rest. But their official CTU tenures don’t overlap at all. It’s not surprising he wouldn’t know Jack’s code. That said, someone should have.
It’s nice to know that rank stupidity doesn’t start and end with President Wussyface, it extends all the way through the staff. (My gosh, could FLOTUS’s aid be any less clued or competent? How can someone in that position possibly not know how to stall? Sherry would have used her for bait.)
The hobbit doesn’t make sense? Was he planned or was he an emergency deployment once they figured out Jack was alive? Because his speech seemed to imply both.
So… the head airport bad guy seemed to ACTUALLY care about the keycard/biohazard business. The hostages were just a diversion for him. In fact, we know he could NOT kill the hostages, because he gave the keycard to the mole hostage. Presumably, the bad-guy-on-phone was not aware of this part of the plan? So bad-guy-on-phone and presidential-mole think the plan is one thing, but airport-bad-guy is playing them? Or is it more complicated than that? And how does it benefit his plan for yellow-tie guy to be a hostagemole? Couldn’t he just give the card to yellow-tie guy while the crisis is going on? Or is he trying to keep what’s going on secret from all the other bad guys?
Jack shooting his gun out of his hand, then him blowing himself up anyhow, was classic 24 awesomeness.
I still cant figure out how the entire remote control detonation really worked. And then on top of that… how the guy happened to walk away from hostages.
How could Chloe get all that information from one snap shot, and how could it transmit? I want Jack’s Cell provider. 
I’m not liking Pres Logan. We all comment about Gore being not being life like, but this guy is unreal. He is the Type A personality that (other people with) Type A personalities want to be when they grow up. Gotta wonder if his Ego doesnt compensate elsewhere.
I thought that Mrs.Logan would have it together to put another copy of the phone transcript somewhere. But Alas, the days of Lady Mcbeth (Sherry) are long gone.
I would like to think that the real CTU ((Which I know is strictly Fictional)) would not make so many last second (or 2 second) aborts and ‘changes to the plan’. However, when I look at the history of the US, we probably have a similar track record. I would Assume, on average, that CTU is slightly better than the real guys, all in all.
Then again, as I alluded to, and was the case, since when is the first plot the one Jack faces at the end of the day? Even with Season 1, A plane crashed, but that was to avoid looking at the great and powerful Oz.
Season 5 is the first Season I am posting my comments to Straight Dope. Can we start a sister thread on how to post spoilers and what not? We all have different Viewing habits, and what we do and don’t do with Speculations, and the Preview of next week. ((I know some people dont watch it, which, more power to them!!))
I just love how everyone takes Jack’s being alive in stride. Curtis gets to the airport and there’s not a single second of “Jack….I can’t believe it’s really you….” As if CTU agents faking their deaths is commonplace.
Second, while I understand why they need to take Jack into custody to clear up the assassination business, when do the Chinese pop back in to demand that Jack be given up? Or is this more unresolved nonsense like Pres. Keeler’s present condition?
[QUOTE=amarinthIt’s not surprising he wouldn’t know Jack’s code. That said, someone should have.[/QUOTE]
I bet Tony would have. Or Michelle.
Maybe even Chloe, if she had been in the loop on this particular communique from Jack.
BTW, I don’t think the hostage situation was just a diversion. Stopping the treaty was probably one of their goals, but not their only one.
Mike Novick is an exhausted babysitter, just waiting for the parents to get home and knock some sense into the kids so he can get some sleep. It must be so soul-crushing for him to work for a dink like Logan.
Walt is one sexy manipulator, to bring it down a level or three.
People are wondering why they gave the card to Yellow Tie Guy, and what purpose he served. Remember, the security guard (Chevensky) was the one who had the card initially, and presumeably, he would have been the one to bring it to the dude in the back room. But he killed himself when Jack showed up, so a plan B was made Perhaps Yellow Tie Guy’s original purpose was to keep the other hostages in line. If they all decided to attack the terrorists on the grounds that they will die anyway, might as well die fighting, he could try and talk them down.
Meeko, here is a rundown of the spoiler rules (someone correct me if I’m wrong)
Once the episode has aired on the east coast, you can talk (write?) about it all you want spoiler free. However, any information you gain from the preview for next week, or imdb (it lists cast and plot info that are spoilers), an on screen guide for TiVo, or some spoiler site on the internet MUST go in a spoiler box (code is {spoiler}spoiler in here{/spoiler} but with brackets instead of {}), and maybe even indicate where you go it from (odds are, an imdb spoiler will be less of a spoiler than a website that already has an hour by hour breakdown of the plot.)
Any speculation does not have to be spoilered assuming it is speculated only from already non-spoiler information.
I think the hostage thing was a diversion. While cleaning up hostage parts (president signs treaty) or negotiating release of hostages (president caves and does what they want) they have time to get those canisters out of the basement. I’m with others who don’t understand why that stuff is at the airport.
Apparently, Samwise is the “Jack Bauer” of CTU management. He loses 20% of his staff when he takes over 
Anyone else scream at the First Lady “JUST GIVE HIM THE DAMN PAPER!!!”? I mean if she wants to get his attention that would probably do it. Although, I’m betting at some point we’ll see Walt talking to the Prez saying “Yes, I got the hard copy from her”.
Either CTU’s convoy will be attacked transporting Jack, or CTU itself will be attacked once Jack gets there (also a convenient way to put Derek and his mom back in danger). Remember the bad guy on the phone saying they’d wait until CTU found Jack and then get him from them? I think they need Jack for part of their plan.
You reminded me of a question I have (abnd has last season.)
What job does Mike Novak have that lets him be so close to two different presidents, from two different political parties? 
At first I thought he was jsut chief of staff for Palmer (season 2,) though he was also part of the alliance to oust him in favor of Palmer’s VP. I think Palmer fired him (i don’t remember him being in season 3) and then was was back in season 4 working with the VP, who then became the Pres. Why would they ahve hired him? Sure, he may ahve been good, but he also did something that was tantamount to treason. And just because your opponent fired him, doesn’t mean you should hire him.