Film School Rejects » 24 Recaps

TV Review: 24 – 6:00-8:00AM (Finale)

Josh Radde — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:53:23 +0000

“24″ Aired Monday Night at 8/7c on Fox (2-hour special)

Synopsis: With the day winding down, Tony finds away to re-constitute the virus using the toxins in Jack’s blood; Olivia Taylor has to fess up to what she’s done; Kim Bauer is still being held captive at the airport.

Review: Those of you who have been keeping up with my re-caps know that my patience has been wearing thin on this season of “24.” The first 2/3 of the season were a lot of fun, with excellent action and a rejuvenation of the excellence this show displayed in seasons 1-5. After that, things started to go downhill. They brought back Kim Bauer, gave Jack a distracting disease, bestowed Olivia Taylor with the worst sub-plots in “24″ history, created too many villains in a short amount of time, and just ran on auto-pilot. The action was lackadaisical and the character interactions were forced.

Basically what I’m saying is there was a lot that “24″ had to do to redeem its season in the last two hours; and redemption was the running theme of this season, so I guess it’s fitting.

Did it live up to it? Sort of.

Here’s what worked: Olivia Taylor getting pwned by Aaron Pierce and Ethan Kanin was good, albeit predictable (who didn’t know that Ethan had a back-up disk?) and Allison Taylor not succumbing to her scheming family the way that David Palmer always seemed to. This almost assured that President Taylor will either be back in office next season or be impeached or something fun. I liked Tony’s motivation. It was a nice way to keep him as the villain, but I also bought his revenge plot. I really liked it when he stuck it to Jack, “I’ve saved more people than you have today!” Jack giving his advice to Renee was a really effective scene, and Renee using Jack’s advice to rough up Will Patton at the end was a great way to end that story arch. It’ll be interesting to see what happens next season with her and if she and Jack are together or not. I also liked Chloe and Janis’ awkward encounter. I wish it was coupled with the most uncomfortable hug in TV history.

Oh, and I loved seeing Jack kneeling in a puddle of gasoline, prepared to torch himself so that they can’t extract the gas. But just like any other attempt to take his own life, someone stopped him from doing it.

Here’s what COULD’VE worked: The whole Kim-Bauer-going-after-the-bad-guy sequence was almost thrilling. What killed it was Kim running in high heals. Why would anybody run in high heals while chasing after someone? 1. They make too much noise, you’d give away your location. 2. It looks ridiculous, totally squeezing all the tension from the moment with each wobbly step. I liked Kim diving in to the fiery car trying to recover the laptop and the look Renee gave her when she was trying to relay instructions to Chloe.

Here’s what failed: Kim telling the doctors to try the operation to save Jack. When you’re putting the last scene of your season in the dreadful acting arms of Elisha Cuthbert, you’re probably doomed for a mediocre ending. I’m sorry, she’s mostly acceptable as Kim Bauer, but to make her carry the last scene of the season is not smart. Also, this was the moment we knew was coming ever since Jack was afflicted with the toxin, so it was a little anti-climactic when it actually happened. I’m pretty sure we all suspected that Will Patton would be the villain for next season, but he tarnished his cred a little bit in the final hour. Why did he come to the site? Couldn’t they have just sent the blood paperwork to him the way they send everything else? And why, after Bauer escaped would he not turn around? That whole sequence did not make much sense.

So, overall, I will say that what “24″ sought to do, they pretty much achieved. It escalated itself back into the top tier of television drama with Season 7 and I’ll definitely be tuning in for Season 8. However, I will say that after 168 hours of television (not including the 2-hour movie event and the DVD-only “prequels” to each season) the producers of “24″ have to think about wrapping it up. I’m not sure whether or not Season 8 will be Jack Bauer’s swan song, but they are definitely running low on material.

Or maybe Jack Bauer was never meant to have a swan song.

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review: 24 – 5:00-6:00AM

Josh Radde — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:24:19 +0000

“24″ Airs Monday Nights at 9/8c on Fox

Synopsis: Tony puts Jibraan on a train with the canister set to blow up; Olivia has to deal with the repercussions of Hodges’ death while Aaron Pierce gets suspicious.

Review: Once again, “24″ goes out of its way to completely derail any momentum they had building this season. On ESPN.com, writer Bill Simmons recently talked about “24″ and related the events of Jack Bauer on-screen to the career of NBA superstar Dwyane Wade (found here, scroll down to #3). Although hilarious, Simmons could not have been more accurate, seeing as “24″ is ending about as miserably as the Miami Heat’s season did.

Question: Why did Jack have to hide telling Kim that he was sending an FBI escort with her to the airport? His f*cking daughter has been kidnapped at least 3 times, so don’t you think she would have every right to be suspicious of a dude watching her at the airport? Jack: “Kim there’s been a series of terrible events that have happened today, I’m sending this FBI agent with you to the airport until everything gets cleared up.” Kim: “Ok, Daddy. Good luck dying in peace. Ciao.”

Question: When Jack put the canister in the hazmat truck it blew up, but the explosion was pretty minimal. Are they saying that Tony detonating a bomb, underground, in an empty train station before 6:00 AM would kill hundreds or thousands of people? I don’t know, perhaps it could’ve, but didn’t that whole sequence seem a bit anti-climactic to you?

Question: Why would a hit man go ahead and complete the job without getting paid? Are you kidding me? “She’s good for it.” Pssh. This is murder, not paying someone back because they bought you Springsteen tickets.

Everything else: I’m glad Aaron Pierce is finally stepping it up and will put an end to the most irritating side plot in “24″ history – Olivia Taylor. Seeing that chick go down will be awesome, but I hate that it’s going to affect the President, because I think overall Cherry Jones’ Allison Taylor has been one of the stronger Presidents in “24″ history. Hopefully, she’ll be back for next season.

As for Jack, it’ll be interesting to see how they bring him back for the eighth season. In the last two hours of the season, Jack has to save his daughter (again), spring Tony from captivity (again!) and get Agent Walker to trust him (AGAIN!). This season has been stuck on loop. But how do we get some closure with Jack’s illness? How is that going to end? In the preview last night, we saw some men hold Jack down while he screams in agony. Will Kim come back and him tell about his granddaughter in a last ditch effort to make him re-think the operation? Plus, how are we going to fit all of that with some explosions, gun fights, and wrapping up other various plotlines? I’m pretty sure we’ll say goodbye to Tony in the last hour and welcome Will Patton as our next “24″ villain.

But we’ll see. Maybe since this season of “24″ has just gone in circles, maybe it’ll all end with Jack being captured by the Chinese (again) or being put on trial for torturing (again) or MAYBE he’ll just wake up with a cold sweat with Audrey Raines by his side because the last 2 seasons have all been a dream (/nightmare).

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review: 24 – 4:00-5:00AM

Josh Radde — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:25:51 +0000

“24″ Airs Monday Night at 9/8c on Fox

Synopsis: Jack has to tell Chloe about his infection; Tony stages a bin Laden-esque message for his captive Muslim; Olivia Taylor gets involved with a shady man, asking him to do an equally shady thing; Henry Taylor gets transferred from the hospital to the White House.

Review: Man, I hate to say it – but that was truly a horrific episode. It almost reached Season 6 levels of Suck.

Here’s 6 Reasons Why: 1. Jack’s chronic pain may make for some good drama, but it’s getting f*cking irritating. At this point Agent Walker is almost criminally incompetent to go into the field with an obviously dying man as her partner. Jack’s sickness is distracting.

2. Olivia Taylor. MAN, I hope she gets her comeuppance soon.

3. Aaron Pierce. Normally, I love this “24″ staple, but all he’s done this entire season is open up doors and give Olivia a shifty look. Where’s the Aaron Pierce we loved from Season 5 and what happened to his ability to say anything else except “yes, ma’am.”

4. The stabbing at the end. Sure, the Muslim kid is upset that they’ve turned his brother into a bad guy. But, the first thing you do when help comes to your aide is break a mirror and stab some bitch in the throat?! Come on! I know this happens occasionally on “24″ so that Jack can’t question “his only lead,” but eventually finds an even better lead within the same hour. Lame. No one would react like that, it’s as if that kid knew the FBI were about to break in to the house.

5. Jack/Muslim relations. Jack almost loses it on a Muslim that gives him lip and later on that very same man forgives Jack and even goes so far as to tell Jack to forgive himself. YES – We’re aware that this season has been about Jack’s redemption, but we don’t need this – especially when it comes from a character whose rights were violated at 4:00 in the morning. I would be pissed.

6. Hodges. Gotta admit I didn’t see the ending coming, but I have lost some respect for Jon Voight over this 12 episode (or so) run he’s had. It’s just been awful. Him dramatically throwing papers at the door was the icing on top.

Other than that, it was just a boring episode. I liked the actor that played Jibraan and his scene telling his brother that he is a terrorist was some pretty powerful stuff. Jack telling Chloe that he’s dying was a pretty well-acted scene as well. Besides that, I wish they’d give Walker some stuff to do. For the last 3-4 episodes all she’s been doing is giving puppy eyes at Jack.

Bottom line, there’s only three episodes left, one next Monday and two the following Monday and I don’t want to see them pull crap like this again: I don’t know if they were trying to go with a calm before the storm type of feel or not but this just felt like an episode that needed to happen earlier in the season. At this point they have too many plotlines to clear up and I’m starting to suspect that they’re just going to sweep Jack’s illness under the rug or at least infer that he’ll get that operation with Kim’s DNA done after the ending of the 24th hour. Then we’ll have a renewed Bauer for Season 8 who has a newfound respect for life.

I’d love it if “24″ could surprise me and end this season in a way that won’t seem cliche or predictable, I just don’t see that happening. Unless of course, Jack really is dying and next season is the very next day: That’s the one thing they haven’t done on “24.”

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review – 24: 3:00-4:00 AM

Josh Radde — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:02:01 +0000

“24″ airs Monday nights at 9/8c on Fox

Synopsis: Tony contacts “The Group,” a collection of people who have to decide what to do with the final gas canister; Jack gets the FBI to reinstate the CTU server and needs Chloe to run it; Hodges having survived the suicide attempt may actually play into President Taylor’s favor.

Review: What a solid episode last night. The tension stayed high, the drama was invigorating, and new villains came into play.

First off, Tony will be a great villain. I had my doubts at first. He’s calm and collected, seemingly rational in his motives, and has made all the right moves so far. He’s not over-the-top and wild-eyed like Jon Voight’s Hodges or as stereotypical a villain as Dubaku. And “The Group” virtual meeting was a really strange, yet effective scene. There we get a glimpse of a seemingly anonymous cadre of people who think they are doing the right thing for the country. You kill a few people so that you send a message to the government that they’re not prepared for attack. Just like in the beginning of the season, it comes back around to being similar to the plot from Die Hard 4. We also got a good look at Will Patton as Alan Wilson. Setting up “The Group” now could be a good move for “24″ moving forward.

The interrogation of Hodges by Jack wasn’t as big a moment as we were hoping, yet it still worked. With the President watching, Jack played it right for once, without taking it too far. So often we see Jack shove pens in people’s orifices or physically harm them that it becomes dull. But watching Jack talk to Hodges, especially when Hodges has no reason not to cooperate with Jack, it was actually relieving to see Jack not take it to the next level. Save the moments when Jack goes berserk for when they’ll have the most impact. Jack calling Walker as a way to trick Hodges was a nice way to see Jack playing “crafty cop” instead of “ruthless enforcer.”

Some things did bother me about the episode. Olivia Taylor needs to go. I’m sorry, she’s gone over the edge – so what, now she wants Aaron Pierce’s sympathy? There’s absolutely nothing to like about Olivia. The actress, Sprague Grayden, that plays her doesn’t give the character anything worth watching. “24″ has had its share of irritating characters who do nothing but antagonize the protagonists, but at least they’re fun to watch. Sherry Palmer – tons of fun; George Mason – always a great thorn in Jack’s side. Olivia is just irritating without the benefit of being worthwhile in any regard. She’s gotta go. Seriously, I’m sick of the screen time they’re devoting to her every episode.

Morris and Chloe’s exchange before she left: awkward. I expected nothing less from Chloe, though.

And, oh my God, that ending! Jack saying “President David Palmer” was jarring. Dude’s losing it. Honestly, I thought he was going to slap the f*ck out of Janeane Garofalo – I was rooting for it. I kept writing off the whole “Jack’s infected” plot line, because I figured he’d be cured by now. The writer’s are going to take this as far as they can, and hopefully it doesn’t get ridiculous like the Teri Bauer amnesia plot from Season 1. Maybe Jack’s going to start deteriorating faster and in doing so will revert back to a time when his life wasn’t absolute crap: his wife was alive, his daughter loved him, he had a stable job, had just saved the future President’s life.

In any event, Keifer Sutherland knows how to keep pushing the limits to how far he’ll take the drama this season, and I applaud him. He hasn’t been this good as Jack since Season 1, and I feel like for the first time since then he’s actually trying to stay alive – fitting because he’s dying rapidly.

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review: 24 – 2:00-3:00 AM

Josh Radde — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:47:16 +0000

24 Airs Monday Nights at 9/8c on Fox

Synopsis: Hearing about Agent Moss, Walker and Jack head up a unit to try and contain the man that stole the gas canister. Tony, still undiscovered as the villain, is helping the man get through the FBI blockade.

Review: I’m glad Kim Bauer hasn’t gone home just yet. Something tells me she won’t board that 6:10 to L.A. and that Jack will learn about his grandchild, “Teri” Bauer. Awww. Plus IMDB has her listed through the end of the season.

“24″ submitted another thrilling hour last night. I really hope Tony can step it up as the bad guy, although I’m sure his motives will be explained in the coming episodes – whether it’s strictly monetarily or because he lost a piece of himself when Michelle was blown up – I’m sure the writers will come up with some way to justify why the character we’ve seen for 6 seasons as a loyal sidekick to Jack is now a villain.

Seeing Walker deal with Agent Moss’ death was interesting*. Say what you will about Jack having to deal with people he cares about dying all the time, at least he takes some time to soak it in before moving on. When Bill Buchanan died earlier this season, Jack took a whole commercial break to be sad about it; Renee just gave a few blank stares and went on her way. Although it seemed awkward to have Jack giving her advice, he was right. She has to feel something or else it will effect her judgment. Or something. Either way, it lead to a tense moment between the two of them, which it seems like all serious moments in this season have been inevitably created to do. They’re definitely setting up Walker as the next “Audrey Raines” or “Kate Warner,” except she seems to have some balls and won’t just be the damsel-in-distress. So that’s nice.

Looks like we’re not done with Hodges yet, either. A “replica” of his lawyer, Trisha, is sent to him and it reminded me of the second episode of “24″ Season One when “Naked Mandy” (as she’s been known on the Internet) gets the security card of someone before blowing up a plane (a scene, you’ll remember, that had to be cut on-air because of 9/11) and then gives it to a dude that looks exactly like him when she lands. Neat throwback. But anyway, Hodges was supposed to give himself a nice, clean death via pill via heart attack but it looks like he’ll survive only to come under the interrogation practices of Jack Bauer next week.

As for Jack, I hope every climactic moment of each episode remaining isn’t squelched because Jack is in too much pain, that will get irritating. It’s already irritating. It’s another throwback, this time to Season Three when Jack was going through withdrawals from heroin, except that’s a plotline many “24″ fans would like to forget.

BTW: Whatever happened to Naked Mandy? She got immunity when she tried to blow up Tony in Season Four, I just don’t remember what happened to her after that. Help me out.

* In hindsight, shouldn’t we have gotten a silent send-off for Moss? I figured that when we heard the “beeps” in last week’s episode, it was either because this was such an “OMG” moment or because Moss may not actually be dead (even though he clearly was). We should’ve at least gotten the silent transition to commercial when Renee found out about it. Or was Moss never a character we were supposed to care about?

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review: 24 – 1:00-2:00 AM

Josh Radde — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:12:26 +0000

“24″ airs 9/8c Monday nights on Fox

Synopsis: Jack and Renee get the go-ahead from President Taylor to run a covert operation utilizing Tony on Starkwood’s headquarters, while Jonas Hodges meets with the President to discuss his requests. And…hello Kim Bauer!

Review: “I am dying. I can handle it. You’ve put in front of me the one thing, the one thing that’s gonna make this unbearable.” That pretty much sums up Jack and Kim’s (Elisha Cuthbert) relationship. But for those of you who are new to “24″ this year let’s do a quick re-cap: Season One began with Kim getting kidnapped and Jack juggling rescuing her with having to save the future President. That season ends with Jack’s wife and Kim’s mother, Teri, being killed by Jack’s arch-enemy Nina Myers; Jack blames himself for everything. Season Two, Kim gets embroiled in a startling number of chaotic events (including a sequence where Jack has to instruct Kim how to kill a man over the phone), and for the first time Jack has to tell his daughter that he’s dying – sacrificing himself to set off a bomb in the desert (only to be saved by George Mason at the last second). Season Three, Kim is working at CTU and is dating Jack’s partner Chase. She has a few more meaningless run-ins, but basically the season ends with Jack having to cut off his daughter’s boyfriend’s hand. Season Four, Elisha Cuthbert is gone but during the course of the season we learn things aren’t terribly good between he and Kim. Jack has to fake his own death and leave the country. He can’t tell his daughter. Season Five, Kim comes back after learning her father is alive and is so shaken she needs the accompaniment of her therapist. In the two hours they’re together, Jack almost gets her killed and she has to watch several people at CTU die from a poisonous gas. Things end badly and by the end of the day Jack is kidnapped by the Chinese so there’s no time to work things out. Season Six saw very little in the way of Jack-Kim development because Jack was too busy killing his father and brother, while flirting with his brother’s wife whose child looks shockingly like Jack. But here we are. The Jack-Kim relationship has always been the heart of the series, and they’ve kept Elisha Cuthbert away for a few reasons: A.) Having Kim around makes Jack behave more rationally (unless she’s in danger, which is often), B.) Cuthbert thought she would have a bigger career away from “24″ (which hasn’t happened), and C.) Because Cuthbert is not the strongest actress, implying how guilty Jack feels is more powerful by her absence. So bringing back Kim now is a great move. Jack and her will get to iron out their differences, she may even save his life, and she won’t be around long enough to be attacked by any wild cougars or tattooed boyfriends. Or maybe they’ll have one scene together and Jack will be stubborn and sad. Whatever.

As for the rest of the episode, it’s ok. I think Hodges plan to try and bully President Taylor was a stupid idea and I think Tony was able to blow up the rockets a little too easily. Of course, as is the case for most seasons of “24″, before the episode is over we see our true villain! Gotta say I didn’t see that one coming.

I do have to give extra props to Keifer Sutherland’s performance. His scene with Kim could’ve devolved into major melodrama, but Sutherland doesn’t let that happen. He gives out some raw emotion. Say what you will about Cuthbert’s performance or Kim as a character, but she’s really always brought the best out of Keifer. Think back to Season One when Nina tells Jack that Kim is dead to set him off. Boy, does it. At the mere mention of her death, even though it’s unproved, Jack ends up killing Dennis Hopper’s entire gang. Kim is the driving force behind Jack: She can make him crumble on moment; make him uber-badass the next.

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review: 24 – 12:00-1:00 AM

Josh Radde — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:01:43 +0000

“24″ airs 9/8c Monday nights on Fox

Synopsis: Agent Moss calls down a stand-off with Hodges’ troops, but creates a diversion so Tony can get inside the compound to find WMDs. Jack is struggling with his infection. Olivia Taylor meets with a newsmaker to get a story covered up.

Review: First off, let me apologize for the absence the last two weeks. I was out of town the first week and incapacitated by a busy workload the second. But let me answer some questions regarding the latest developments on 24.

RE: Jack’s infection - I like it. Now, I’m pretty sure that Kiefer Sutherland is signed on through an 8th season, so I think we all know how this plotline will end, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not interesting. It’s always intriguing to me to see Jack lose the ability to control himself. If you all remember Season 3 when Jack was going through heroin withdrawals, this is just another obstacle for Jack. Plus, if it brings him closer to Renee Walker and brings back Kim Bauer, I’m on board for that. I really hope Renee sticks around for the whole season and next season. Otherwise, if them giving Jack a deadly virus is them saying “Things with Kiefer have been bad ever since his run-ins with the law,” I’d be afraid if Fox tries to “Lost” him. If you watch “Lost,” you know that at least three of those characters were killed off because the real life actors were convicted of DUIs. But since ABC is owned by Disney it became a morality thing that I don’t think is any concern for the network that ran “Temptation Island” and “The Moment of Truth.” So, it’s either Jack will be cleansed of the disease before the 24th hour or the show gets handed over to Annie Werschling. I don’t see the latter happening.

RE: Jon Voight - Whoa. He’s bad. Voight is achieving new heights of over-acting, and for that I give him credit, but he hasn’t been this out-of-the-box since his overly diabolical performance as head coach of a high school football team in Varsity Blues. In this episode, he does some very intimidating things, including killing someone with a blunt instrument, yet I’m just not sold. “24″ has had its share of high-profile actors as villains, going all the way back to Dennis Hopper in Season 1. Voight may be as bad as James Cromwell was last season. I’ll leave that up to you to decide. And also, does Rory Cochrane’s Greg Seaton still have immunity? I’m not sure how that works. He gave the President faulty information, but since the letter of immunity is signed, is he still exempt from future wrong-doings? And how come Hodges didn’t kill him the instant the FBI left?

RE: Olivia Taylor - Sigh. They got rid of Rhys Coiro’s Sean from being a distraction from the main plot, and what do they do but bring in Sprague Grayden’s Olivia as even bigger distraction. She spends 20 minutes having sex (off-screen of course) and then has enough time to blackmail someone with her video-phone* at the end. Oh, by the way – Tony just found a nuclear weapon . . . but you know, let’s devote 15 minutes of screen time to this pointlessness.

Overall, weak episode. I did like how easily Tony was able to maneuver throughout the underground compound, that made me laugh. Also, he’s in an elevator going down to where there are WMDs and someone sticks their hand in there before the elevator door closes . . . and Tony doesn’t at least put his hand on his gun? Really? That could’ve been a dude standing there with an AK-47 trained at Tony’s head and he just would’ve taken it. Jack Bauer never would’ve let that happen.

* I know they have to get some product placement in the episodes, but the whole “I’m sending you live video with my Sprint phone” thing was more than a little ridiculous. In a 42-minute episode, we saw three different shots of video someone had recorded with their cell phones. This show uses all the technology at the disposal of the U.S. government, yet what it comes down to is Hodges and Tony sending video with their phones to make the two biggest decisions of the episode: To start an airstrke; then to call one off.

Sprint: “Don’t start a nuclear civil war without our camera phones.”

Next week: Hodges visits the White House, inexplicably. I’d fear for Tony’s safety in this one, too.

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review: 24 – 9:00-10:00PM

Josh Radde — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:09:07 +0000

“24″ Airs Monday Nights at 9/8c on Fox

Synopsis: Jack is trying to clear his name after being set up for Ryan Burnett’s death with the assistance from Renee, who leads him to Senator Mayer’s estate. At the White House, Ethan and President Taylor’s daughter Olivia have some contrasting opinions.

Review: And the award for most constructive use of a bulldozer goes to: Jack Bauer for trapping a dude inside a trailer by pushing it over on to its side. The award for most constructive use of a knife goes to: Jack Bauer for stabbing a bad guy and then moments later removing it so that he can use it to hijack an SUV. And finally, the award for most poignant quote in an episode of “24″ this year goes to: Jack Bauer for pointing out to Senator Mayer that one of the biggest regrets of his life is that the world needs people like him – people that will do anything to get the job done, including ruining their own families and maybe costing dozens of innocent people their lives to protect the masses. It was a good episode for Jack. For everyone else, not so much.

The recurring theme of this season has been Jack’s humanity (or lack thereof). Several times over the course of the season, Jack has been judged for being a robot, for being the type of unfortunate person “the world needs.” He’s had his wife’s death thrown in his face more often than in season’s past and has shown some real remorse for the way his daughter can’t even look at him. Last week one of my reader’s, Amani, pointed out that Elisha Cuthbert is tentatively scheduled to come back to the show in the closing moments. This could be a great way to close out the season: Jack’s “redemption” which started with the TV movie that aired last year could be complete with Jack re-connecting with a family member. Those who remember Kim Bauer’s last appearance in season five know that things did not end amicably between them – so much so that she needed the accompaniment of her therapist when seeing her father was back from the dead – and frankly I don’t blame her. But if this show can get Elisha Cuthbert back (who, frankly, is not doing much these days anyway) and if next season will be “24″’s last, I can’t think of a better way to go out. This series began as a father going to any length to protect his daughter and would only be fitting if it ended that way as well.

As for the rest of the episode: good fight between Jack and Quinn; I hate that Jack will be blamed for yet another murder (because you know he’ll get out of the charges with one phone call to Moss); and I dislike the tension brewing between Ethan Kanin and Olivia Taylor, it seems so unnecessary at this point of the season. But since it’s mid-season, this is where the writer’s throw in all the pointless crap. This is when character’s get attacked by cougars, where people have “temporary amnesia,” where we debate whether or not the villain’s son is actually Jack’s son instead of his brother’s, where previous characters like Sherry Palmer come back and inevitably get killed to further no plotlines.

To copy the slogan from the NBA – The Mid-season of 24: Where “Amazing” Happens.

Next week: Tony and Jack have to stop a weapon from being used. Never seen that before, eh?

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review: 24 – 8:00-9:00

Josh Radde — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:55:56 +0000

“24″ Airs Monday Nights at 9/8c on Fox

Synopsis: The hostage situation in the White House leads to a daring sacrifice, the dude from Empire Records turns up as Jon Voight’s right-hand man.

Review (contains spoilers): Before we get on to the review for this week’s episode, let’s discuss something that is regarded as a staple in “24″: Unless your character’s name is “Jack Bauer,” you’re never safe. This was established early on in the series when at the conclusion of season one, Jack’s wife Teri was killed and Jack finding her body was the tragic conclusion of the first season. In season’s following we’ve seen several characters get killed off to varying effect: George Mason, dying of radiation poison anyway, sacrificed his life to fly a plan carrying a bomb into the desert; Ryan Chappelle was sacrificed by Jack in season three; President Palmer and Tony’s wife Michelle were offed in the opening moments of season five; Jack finally got to kill Nina Myers in season three; Edgar met his end during a lock-down at CTU when nerve gas was pumped in; Curtis was killed in shocking fashion by Jack in the early part of season six. These have all been riveting moments that have crushed Jack in one way or another. When Tony was killed in season five, a big deal was made of the fact that it seemed to have no impact of what happened during the season–he didn’t even get the traditional “24″ send-off, which is a silent transition to commercial instead of the digital clock “beeps” that have been a signature of the show.

That all being said, it came as a shock to me that Bill Buchanan sacrifices himself to set off a bomb before the first commercial break. He got the “24″ treatment, but something seemed off about it. He went out as a hero, and his death is inspiring Jack to carry on, but Bill’s death only served one purpose over all. When a character has to do something heroic, unless it’s Jack, it generally ends up causing their death. It’s strange writing and makes the show a little too predictable at times. So I’ve come to accept the deaths as a part of “24″–which inevitably keeps me from getting too attached to these newer characters (except for Renee, I can’t help that I already love her). What shocked me about Bill’s death isn’t that it was so abrupt, but more the fact that the writer’s let Bill’s death only represent one thing: to let Renee see Jack being sad. She had questioned his humanity a few episodes ago, and now she was seeing it. And to the writer’s I have to say I think that’s a cheap way to write off a character.

Anywho, on with the review. This season of “24″ is starting to get ridiculous with some of its cycles. Just when Juma comes in, Dubaku is killed; just when Jonas Hodges (Voight) comes in, Juma is killed. And all the while, Jack keeps getting into trouble and easily escaping being detained. Jack going against his superiors has always been one of the recurring themes of “24,” but they’ve taken it to ridiculous new heights with this season. I love Jack Bauer, but come on, the writer’s just aren’t even trying anymore.

I’ve written before about how much I like Sean Callery’s music. His themes have always been a welcome addition to “24″ as they don’t distract from the action. Last night, however, was a bit of a shift there. Did anyone notice how Jack’s theme was even more amped than usual, almost reaching “superhero” proportions. It seemed like Callery’s music didn’t even want to end during the cut to commercial breaks, the soundtrack editing was very suspect in last night’s episode. They’re doing their best to highlight Jack being good and Hodges being bad with the music, but we don’t need swelling scores and loud transitions to denote that. After over 150 episodes of “24″ I’ve never been as disheartened with the music as I was last night.

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review: 24 – 6:00-8:00 PM

Josh Radde — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:26:47 +0000

“24″ Airs at Mondays at 9/8c on Fox

Episode: A 2-hour episode spanning from 6:00 – 8:00 PM.

Synopsis: General Juma takes center stage now that Dubaku is out of the way; Ryan Burnett, one of the masterminds behind the day’s events and Senator Mayer’s (Kurtwood Smith) Chief of Staff, plan to go to the White House; Jack has to ask Chloe to do something questionable (shocking); Walker makes a ballsy decision when seeing that an attack is imminent.

Review: First off, let’s re-cap last week’s highlights since I wasn’t able to get a review up. I thought it had some great moments between Jack and Renee, even better than we had seen before.

“The next time you raise your gun to me, you better be prepared to use it,” says Jack.

“I was,” replies Walker.

Walker also gave Jack a few righteous slaps. Their relationship is amazing, and is developing as a great through-line for this season of “24.” I honestly don’t know if they will end the day making out or killing each other. That being said, the first thing Jack does in the first of tonight’s 2-hour episode is go it alone. But seeing Jack get his hands on a tazer is always a promising proposition. Chloe going head-to-head with Janis is a great nerdy-chick showdown. This show MAY NOT BE big enough for two cyber-babes–a dangerous prospect for those of us who have grown to really like Janeane Garofalo’s Janis.

“You’re reprehensible, Bauer,” says Mayer

“And you sir are weak–unwilling and unable to look evil in the eye and DEAL WITH IT.” Sweet.

The second hour opens with President Taylor removing her eyeglasses dramatically. Now, we’ve all seen this 100 times. Cherry Jones, I’d say scores a 7 on a scale of 10 on “dramatic removal of glasses.” It also opens with a soaking wet Walker. Nice.

But back to the serious aspects of the episode. The editing on Juma’s attack is leading us to believe that they are somehow under the White House. Because APPARENTLY the Potomac River connects with the White House? The action has to commence somehow so we’ll let that ridiculousness slide for now. I will say bringing the action directly to the White House makes the stakes very high. With the action always happening in L.A., there was never a sense that the President or the foundation of the presidency was under a real attack, but within minutes of the second hour, the White House becomes another battleground on “24.” Well done.

Tony Todd as General Juma will be a formidable enemy seeing as within appearing in two episodes he gets to the President with little to no resistance. A villain on “24″ willing to die for his cause is usually one that makes it the furthest. AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: IT’S JON VOIGHT TIME!

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review: 24 – 4:00-5:00 P.M.

Josh Radde — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 00:43:20 +0000

24 Airs Monday nights at 9/8c on Fox

Episode: 4-5:00 P.M.

Synopsis: Bauer rushes Henry Taylor to the hospital after getting shot, while President Taylor asks for her daughter to be picked up and brought to the surgery. Jack and Walker track down Dubaku’s girlfriend and ask her to cooperate. We find out who the leak is inside the FBI’s office.

Review: Sean: “You’re a little bitch, you know that?”
Janis: “You’re a little bitch.”

And with that exchange between Rhys Coiro and Janeane Garofalo, what began as this season’s TV movie “24: Redemption” has become a full redemption for “24″ as an enjoyable TV series. I’ve said it before, but after a lackluster sixth season, “24″ is back in full swing. The characters are as engrossing as ever, Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland) is kicking as much ass, and the new characters introduced have been fun to watch as well. Among the new characters, Cherry Jones’ President Taylor is strong and carries a lot of punch. Annie Wersching’s Renee Walker is everything we’ve been waiting for as a counterpart to Bauer. And Janeane Garofalo has been very endearing as the FBI’s information queen.

This is not the best episode of the season, but because it’s running so smoothly, I don’t really have much to say about it. Jack and Walker put into motion a plan that was sure to fail anyway, while we find out who the mole is in FBI’s office (and by the way, it’s EXACTLY who you probably thought it was). Meanwhile, some old characters return. Carlo Rota returned as Morris O’Brien and we got to see his and Chloe’s little boy. And what made me particularly excited is Glenn Morshower’s Aaron Pierce returned. You’ll remember Pierce as secret service agent to Presidents Palmer and Logan as well as a cuddly partner for Logan’s ex-First Lady wife Martha (Jean Smart). Whether his and Morris’ return is going to be consistent or if these were small cameos, I’m not really sure.

Overall, decent episode. We get to see some fantastic acting from Cherry Jones and Annie Werschling who have such amazingly descriptive eyes. Also, the writing this season is about as good as its been in a long time. Sometimes “24″ doesn’t really stand by its own timeline. In other words, its pretty unrealistic that a guy would leave a shoot out, get on a train in DC, and into his apartment within 8 minutes. But if you keep the plot moving and the relationships keep developing, we can overlook small inconsistencies with the timeline.

Watch “24.” Although it is one of those shows where the plot carries over week-to-week (and by carry over, I mean picks right up), it’s easier to jump in then it is with a show like “Lost.”

TV Review: 24 – 3:00-4:00 PM

Josh Radde — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:32:39 +0000

“24″ Airs Monday Nights at 9/8c on Fox

Episode: 3:00-4:00 PM

Synopsis: Once Matobo arrives at the White House, Jack, Bill, and Walker meet with President Taylor, outlining why they had to deceive her and others in order to regain the CIP device. While there, Taylor receives a phone call from Dubaku saying that they’ve taken her husband Henry captive. Jack and Walker then contact Moss at FBI HQ and let him in on what they’re doing. From there Jack goes to find the secret service agent responsible for handing over Henry, while Walker pays a visit to the agent’s wife and newborn.

Review: This episode features fingers getting chopped off, a gun being pointed at a baby, shoot-outs, car-jackings, hand-to-hand combat, someone laying a guilt trip on Jack, cars being blown up, Jack doing the “Bauer slide” with a gun in hand, and a character getting shot in the end–just another way to say that “24″ is back in high form. This episode features a really great moment when Taylor finds out her husband has been kidnapped. Cherry Jones shows the right mixture of confusion, anger, and desperation as she pleads with Jack to get her First Dude back. The show has often featured strong character actors in the role of The President, and I’m happy to report that Jones ranks up there with the best of them alongside Dennis Haysbert’s David Palmer and the devious Charles Logan played masterfully by Gregory Itzin.

With so much action in one episode, some characters get left out. Chloe and Tony aren’t seen at all during the episode with Jack and Walker going back to the FBI instead of Makeshift CTU for help. Likewise, with the tension so high, it really frustrated me to see some of the episode dedicated to Janeane Garafolo’s Janis telling Rhys Coiro’s Sean that his affair with an FBI employee is pretty obvious. I’m really getting sick of this plot line–it needs to go somewhere or be dropped indefinitely. Another side plot introduced during the episode is Dubaku’s relationship with his girlfriend, and how her mother (sister? I missed the connection) doesn’t approve and is actually willing to blackmail Dubaku. And with “24″ we know any attempt to blackmail the villain usually never turns out well.

Overall, another solid episode in an increasingly interesting episode. There’s some fat that could be trimmed, but “24″ is currently as engaging as it’s always been. I noticed this early on in the series, but this show saves it’s best episodes for multiples of 4 (so that you’ll go out and rent the next DVD, since they come with 4 episodes per disc), and this episode does not disappoint. The ending will get you excited for what happens next.

Next week: I assume we’ll have to see what happens to the character who got shot. I’m not sure, Obama’s address last night cut into my DVR recordings and messed everything up. I had to watch it on Hulu this morning. Barack, you’ve certainly made my Shit List for interrupting “24″–You better pray that stimulus package works, or you will have interrupted the best night on television for nothing.

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review: 24 – 2:00-3:00 PM

Josh Radde — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:47:54 +0000

24 Airs Monday nights at 9/8c on Fox

Episode: 2:00-3:00PM

Synopsis: The new makeshift CTU team (Jack, Tony, Bill, Renee, and Chloe) follow Matobo to the location Dubaku has set up his base of operations. Dubaku, meanwhile, has chosen a plant in Ohio to inflict damage on 30,000 people using the CIP device which disrupts safeguard firewalls. Back in D.C. President Taylor finds out that her husband is missing.

Review: The new season of “24″ continues to be as engaging as ever. Jack and Renee make a kickass team and this episode features one of what will probably be several great shoot-outs. Though, with no back-up (because they can’t trust the leaky government) they end up letting Dubaku get away to set up another phase of the operation, this one more than likely involving holding the president’s husband captive.

One plotline that worked wonderfully in last night’s episode was Janis’ interaction with the plant manager. Sometimes the death toll gets so high on “24″ that we forget about the individual deaths and the dramatic toll they take on the characters. Janeane Garaofalo shows some very nice acting chops here and continues to solidify herself as an interesting character who we’d like to see stick around awhile longer. The FBI is full of some interesting characters, but they need to add more of Larry and Janis and not distract us with sideplots around Sean. Renee Walker is also a great sidekick to Jack and I hope she sticks around awhile as well. They are building some tension between her and Jack and we’ll have to wait and see if anything develops between her Jack or her and Larry. I know it’s kinda lame to talk about a love story on “24″ but that’s often been a storyline for Jack, whether it be with Kate from season 2, Audrey Raines from seasons 4 and 5 or his brother’s wife last season (a plotline which thrilled no one). I just hope they don’t take the easy way out and make Larry the Mole within the FBI.

Next week: President Taylor and Jack Bauer come face-to-face for the first time.

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What did you think of this week’s episode of 24?

TV Review: 24 7.5 “12:00 – 1:00PM”

Josh Radde — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:47:50 +0000

24, FOX, airs Monday nights at 7/8c

Synopsis: The attorney general’s office spares no time coming after Agent Walker’s torture method. Moss has to deal with that at FBI headquarters, along with the fact that Jack and Tony (still presumed to be terrorists) and Emerson have taken Walker captive. The First Dude gets a shock when he learns the secret behind his son’s death.

Review: Best episode of the season, so far. The tension is high as Jack and Agent Walker have their first encounter since she found out Jack was actually a fraud. Jack, having to keep his cover in front of Emerson, is trying to find a way to set Walker free but keeps getting foiled. The ending of the episode is spectacular. Those who are “24″ faithful know that the demise of a character is signified by a silent clock. The silent clock appears at the end of this episode, and I have to believe it’s a trick.

Henry’s plotline finally got interesting as his secret service agent pulled a Michael Clayton on him. So unlike the ending of the four-hour premiere, there’s a lot we can anticipate happening in episode 6. The tension, the pacing, and the writing were in top-form, truly for the first time this season.

I’m not sold on the new Sean character, played by Rhys Coiro (Billy Walsh in “Entourage”). We keep finding out more and more about his character yet I really find his scenes mind-numbing. As someone who has watched “24″ from the beginning, I know when there’s a character pulling some dead weight. They’re generally characters we’re supposed to think are doing horrible things–and more often than not they’re innocent, but their actions are masking who the REAL “mole” is. His character needs to go somewhere, and fast.

Besides that, it’s a good episode. Emerson is proving to be a good enemy and I’ll enjoy watching where things go with him. We’re still waiting for our first Jon Voight sighting, though.

TV Review: 24 Season 7 Premiere Part 2

Josh Radde — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:32:51 +0000

24, FOX, airs Monday Nights at 8/7c

The 2nd part of Fox’s 4-hour 24 premiere was last night (Monday, Jan 12th).

Synopsis: Upon capturing Tony Almeida and bringing him back to FBI headquarters, Jack learns that Tony is actually working with ex-CTU agents Bill Buchanan (James Morrison) and Chloe O’Brien (Mary Lynn Rajskub). We find out that upon being disbanded, Bill and Chloe decided to start up a covert CTU and Tony is working with them. Jack spends the rest of the first hour attempting to break out of the FBI building.

The second episode shows us more about Henry and Allison Taylor’s relationship and Henry also gets word from his late son’s ex that his death was no suicide. We meet Emerson, who Tony is working for, as he initiates Jack into his group. The two then have to get to a Sengal leader, Matobo, with Emerson.

Review: Well, Tony was a villain for two full episodes, that didn’t last long. 24, which usually saves its big surprises for the ending of its 4-hour premieres hit us pretty early in hour 3 with revealing that Tony isn’t the bad guy and that Buchanan and Chloe are assisting Tony. The frist of the two episodes is fantastic. With the help of Chloe and her controlling the surveillance cameras, Jack maneuvers around headquarters to get Tony out. Seeing Jack back in his element (a la being on the run) is nice, although he was developing a nice chemistry with Agent Walker, who’s now hell-bent on finding him. The shoot-out at the end of the first episode is a lot of fun, and watching Jack’s improvisation skills with how to get out of a situation is always a reason to keep watching 24.

The second episode is not as fulfilling. It’s a lot of explaining. Too many new characters are introduced and the plotlines are starting to fly everywhere. Unnecessary Plot Line #2 involves FBI employee Sean Hillinger (Rhys Coiro) trying to get his wife’s plan on the landing priority list.

One bright spot in the episode is Janeane Garofalo’s Janis who is really great at breaking the tension, and her teamed up with Walker makes a nice good cop-bad cop duo for the two FBI ladies, although no one is remotely intimidated by Janis. The episode ends on a bit of a boring note, which is strange considering I was sure that they would want to keep viewers engaged. President Taylor did mention that Dubaku would be killing 100,000 Sengalans within the next hour, so seeing how Jack Bauer interferes with that plan is probably enough incentive to keep watching.

So far the entertainment has been high and the ridiculousness (with the exception of Jack’s awesome elevated-garage escape) has been kept to a minimal. 24 is back, and it’s showing some promise.

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What did you think of the season premiere event of 24?

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