That’s Asch-medd to you.
Also, Graham’s kid (Josh?) had a mouth quite similar to Jack’s.
I now get another chance to plug one of my favorite jokes on the topic of 24.
Sean Astin was Lynn McGill and Michelle Forbes (Ensign Ro) was Lynne Kresge.
Hey, it was enough to confuse me for a bit.
Was her fate known after she went head first down the stairs?
I stand corrected. And Bill and Karen don’t have terribly exotic names. They’ll probably name their kids John, Sue, and Bob.
Better yet, James and Patrick. On days 42 and 46, they can be President. 
Not to worry. Some time around hour 16, someone from Division or Homeland Security will be in to take over command.
Nah, hour ten.
A serious question: I watch it because it’s stoopid fun kitsch on tv. The vibe I get from all Dopers participating is that you guys watch it because it’s stoopid fun. Are there people who watch it earnestly and think it’s good drama? I’m wondering, considering Keifer got some award noms
Have they used John yet? What about Tom, Dick and Harry?
Yes. On me.
It used to be good drama, albeit farfetched, during the first two seasons. Back then the “real time” aspect was more convincing – yeah, they cheated, but not to the extreme that they do now. Plus there was at least a semblance of a coherent story, rather than the current “crisis of the week that comes roaring out of left field because the writers thought of it 2 minutes before filming” technique. That kind of thing used to be relegated to the subplots (“Kim vs. The Cougar”) rather than the main storyline. I still like the show, but it’s way more of a guilty pleasure (and a mindless one) than it used to be.
As far as the acting goes, I do think Sutherland deserves the praise he’s been getting. As absurd as the show gets, he somehow sells it with his deadpan portrayal of Jack – none of your typical action hero snarky comments or “winking to the camera” techniques here. He pretty much carries the entire show, and I can’t imagine anyone else playing the role.
Seconded. It was more convincing earlier on – but in seasons 3 and 4 they kept trying to ramp up the threats to more catastrophic attacks (deadly virus, then nuclear plant meltdowns all over the country). Pretty soon it got to the point that there was not much elsewhere to go, from the country-shattering-threat angle. Unless Jack was called on to stop an asteroid from hitting L.A., but the last I heard, Jerry Bruckheimer was still not producing this show…
But most of the kinds of things this show hinges on, we’ve seen before. The writers are having a harder time surprising us. We’re quite used to:
- CTU directors stifled by a new upstart director from “Division”.
- Chloe or somebody else going behind their boss’ back and against CTU protocol.
- moles out the wazoo in CTU.
- Jack going rogue (often going dark, only secretly communicating with Chloe or somebody else), because CTU is not doing things the way he knows best, and he often operates against their orders.
- CTU quickly forgiving Jack once he comes out of “dark”
- Kim doing something stupid.
- Somebody else trying to pull a stunt that Jack wouldn’t think twice about, and getting in trouble for it or having it backfire.
But it’s still fun, and every once in a while, the writers do manage to find an interesting angle (like Graham from last season being Jack’s brother, or Mandy showing up again, just when you thought she had disappeared forever). And Kiefer Sutherland really does make the show.
Okay, I just want to say… who the hell over at Fox is in charge of writing up the Epsiode Guide??
Because last season, the later episodes referred to “Graham” as the guy on the phone with Logan. But in this week’s episode summary, linked above, they wrote him up as “Graem Bauer”. And it’s not just a typo – they are spelling it “Graem” everywhere on the page.
Graem? GRAEM?!!
Well, maybe among the main characters.
But there was:
Thomas Lennox (this season – Peter MacNichol)
Agent Tom Baker (Daniel Dae Kim’s character – seasons 2, 3)
We also had:
an Omar in Day 4… and
an Omar in Day 2 (I think this was the guy driving around with the bomb in the van, after the other terror lackeys fought and killed each other)… and
apparently another Omar at the start of this season.
Omar is clearly a popular choice for random terror henchman jobs everywhere.
There have also been a couple of Richards (Richard Armus, season 2… and Richard Walsh, beginning of season 1), according to IMDB. And a couple of bit players named Tomas, at different times. And I daresay a few more – although not among the main players.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Jack’s father is going to be played by James Cromwell. The article is here.
Obviously he will be the Bauer of superior height.
Who’s Mandy?
Dude, that’s spoiler material, and it should have been boxed.
She is a terrorist for hire that has been in seasons 1, 2 (albeit briefly,) and 4. She’s also smokin’ hot!
Sorry about that. If I’d made it back here it would have been my first opportunity to edit a post.
(Just for the record, I’m not of the dude persuasion.)
I thought he looked like he was having an allergic reaction to a bee sting on the face or something.
Yes, played by another sexy Jewish brunette, Mia Kirschner!