*Warning, spoilers for the latest 24 episode ahead*
(S06E16) Okay. This episode was a bit better than hour 15. Not substantially better, but somewhat better. Although I must say, about halfway through this episode, I was complaining bitterly that Jack Bauer seemed like, as some critics have complained, a guest star on his own show. He barely appeared in the first 30 minutes to do anything more than chat on his cell phone.
The episode's conclusion -- not including the bit with the renegade former Russian general Gredenko, who had given the suitcase nukes to the "bad" terrorist Abu Fayed -- did wake me from my bored stupor. Sick of seeing new story lines or potential conflicts abruptly introduced and then, just as abruptly resolved in a simplistic fashion, this unexpected turn at the end of the show was at least entertaining.
Let me make sure I've got this right: Wayne Palmer was roused from his medically-induced coma after an assassination attempt. He hobbled out of the presidential bunker's sick bay in a suit, with a nice injection of adrenaline to give him some kick. He argued with his power-mad vice president who wanted Palmer declared incompetent, beat back a potential Supreme Court challenge (thanks to the quick thinking of his chief of staff), and then went back into the situation room and ordered a nuclear strike on the Country Whose Name We Shall Not Mention? Wait a second, he ordered the nuclear strike to go forward, the one he called off an hour ago that had the vice president salivating with excitement? I must agree with Tom Lennox who said, "This makes no sense sir." Palmer, who was noticeably wincing with his eyelids at half-mast, said he didn't want to seem weak any more, so he decided to attack a nation that was not behind the terror attacks that had been plaguing the United States for weeks before this current day, nor was it behind the nuclear detonation in Valencia?
Maybe it was the two shots of adrenaline Palmer forced his doctor to give him. (He got a second booster of the stuff before going to the situation room.) As much as it pains me to suggest, maybe Vice President Noah Daniels was right, not about launching the attack, but about the fact that Palmer II's mental faculties might not be altogether there, given that, well, I hate to be the fly in the ointment but . . . he was just in a COMA an hour ago! Previews for next week (*flee this post quickly if you don't want to read about previews*) show Palmer collapsing. After all this, are they just going to kill him off any way?
And while I had a *yawn* deja vu feeling while watching yet another cabinet vote on the competency of yet another Palmer president, I found the twist with Vice President Daniels' aide, Lisa Miller, to be mildly intriguing. The mom from Invasion (who sometimes acts like she's still got an alien trapped inside her) was willing to lie to the Supreme Court in order to help Daniels force Palmer out of office. When the cabinet vote on whether to send Palmer back to the medical bay turned out to be a draw, Daniels challenged National Security Advisor Karen Hayes' vote, saying she was never officially re-instated after she resigned a few hours ago. That would've nullified her vote and Daniels would've won. Miller later told Daniels that she thought his case was weak and offered to lie by saying that Daniels had asked her to tell Hayes her re-instatement had not been approved, but Palmer woke up before she had the chance to pass along that message.
This story could have been expanded upon, yet the writers, as they've been doing throughout the season, jettisoned the tale, tidily tying up the loose ends with a bow within an hour. The bow tier, in this case, was Lennox, who likely violated many federal laws when he bugged a presidential room in the bunker and then confronted Daniels with a recording of his perjury discussion with Miller. After the discussion, Daniels withdrew his challenge of Hayes' vote.
Meanwhile, 24 special guest star Jack Bauer spent most of the episode with Gredenko. Gredenko's story ended with a whimper in the waters under the Santa Monica pier after he not only escaped from Jack (Gredenko cut off the arm which had been injected with a CTU tracker and could have spawned a Fugitive-like hunt for a one-armed man), but set up Fayed in a bar by telling the patrons that Fayed was the terrorist they were looking for on TV. Putting aside the question of why people would be hanging around a bar after a nuclear bomb went off in the Los Angeles metropolitan area . . . Fayed was quickly surrounded by angry mob. As Gredenko slipped away unnoticed, Fayed shot random people only to be knocked down and set upon by the crowd. My one cheer from this episode (the first one since the Logans) was the scene when Fayed told someone in the crowd that he hoped the friend he shot would die, prompting Jack to fiercely yell, "Shut up!" as he kicked Fayed in the face.
I can only hope *crossing fingers* that next week's show is as good as the previews make it seem. I could really use a good 24 episode, because right now, aside from a few moments here and there, these episodes are starting to lose my interest. I'm hoping for more Jack, more Jack-tion, fewer simplistic resolutions and fewer meaningless plot turns. Come on 24 writers. I know you can do it. Channel the magic of season five in the writers' room. Watch some of those episodes on DVD as they were 24 at its best.
The Cheers episode Ken Levine's still writing in his head
Giveaway Tuesday: Fastlane - The Complete Series
Giveaway Monday: The X-Files: Revelations on DVD
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
4-03-2007 @ 12:59AM
ethmardotcom said...
Yeah, I was yelling "are we done with C-SPAN yet?" I'd say a great many people owe Lost a huge apology. Slow enough for ya?
Loved it when President Mercury Tracer complained that he couldn't afford to "look weak." You mean right now, this minute? Will someone play back the previous 16 hours?
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4-03-2007 @ 1:08AM
sedated said...
I have pretty much stopped watching 24. It is getting to be so annoying. After watching shows that are better written and acted (what's up with everyone always talking in a loud coarse whisper???), my tolerance of the show has gone out of the window. It's kinda sad...I was a huge 24 fan until about 1/4 way through the season and it has been downhill from there.
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4-03-2007 @ 1:19AM
AJ MacReady said...
I thought this episode worked - even if Jack had less screen time than we'd all want. 24 has ALWAYS had side stories concerning other characters and their own subplots, but I feel that helps to drive the narrative; it fleshes things out to add some more tension or another angle for the writers to play later on. It all depends on when they choose to have those story beats pay off (like Nadia getting info off Milo's PC for Doyle, etc.), and even though it's not as action-packed as the main plot, it adds to the variety of the storyline. Having said that, I gotta say that I too cheered at the moment where Jack booted Fayed in the face - totally kickass.
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4-03-2007 @ 1:24AM
J said...
My wife and I have lost all sense of commitment to this season. A real shame - we've been huge fans since season 1. Even with annoying Kim, the first 5 seasons were MILES better than this insipid storyline that seems to be going nowhere. My only hope is that the writers get their act together next season. I'm no longer going to continue watching this season.
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4-03-2007 @ 2:09AM
C C said...
Notes from "The Scam":
Tom's bugging and audiotaping of the Veep was the writers' subtle way of telling us that EVERYONE in 24 land is under surveillance, and THAT'S WHY ALL THE MAIN CHARACTERS THIS SEASON ARE PLAY ACTING.
Did anyone catch Karen's soap-operaish gasp at the news that something was wrong with Wayne, along with the accompanying soap-operaish music? For some reason, no one is picking up the 24 writers' offbeat ode to daytime serials, one in particular:
GUIDING LIGHT.
What is the last name of the main clan on Guiding Light?
BAUER.
Although it may not appear that way now, the 24 Bauers are going to turn out to far more functional that their daytime cousins. But someone on the 24 writing staff has to be an old-school Guiding Light fan, cause there are parallels between the two shows.
For instance, I think Mike Doyle's last name isn't really Doyle. It's Bauer. Mike Bauer. Jack's brother or cousin. And what a coinkydink! There was a Mike Bauer on GL.
The four main members of the GL Bauers were Bill, Bert(tha), and their sons, Mike and Ed. Mike was an attorney, Ed was a doctor. And they were both involved with a woman named Leslie (this was back in the late 60's and early 70's). Although Leslie was the father of Ed's son, she loved Mike. Similar to the Graem-is-married-to-Marilyn-but-loves-Jack charade that's going on.
There's also a family named RAINES on GL. Coincidence?
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4-03-2007 @ 4:12AM
Delmarc said...
Damn, you guys are so hard to please. You guys are so intent on saying that this season sux, you WONT and CANT see it the other way. Now I do agree this season has been very weak compared to the other seasons, especially since most of the show has focused on useless and boring points such as the morris/drinking drama, milo/nadia romance, and doyle's slow start, but this episode was almost flawless. The buildup and intensity inside the presidential bunker during the 25th amendment hearings were terrific, especially the confrontations between Palmer and Daniels, and it really doesnt matter if it was done in season 2. Although the scenes with Bauer was cut short yet once again, those scenes with Bauer/Gredenko/Fayed were absolutlely amazing, capped off with the chopped arm and with the guns ablazing. And the ending, wow, that was indeed a twist. Overall, this episode had the right music, great acting, terrific scenes, and just everything workin. And let me say again how I also think that this season is weak, but this episode ranks as one of the best this season along with the 4 episode premiere, the episode where Jack tortures his brother,the 2 back to back episodes, and the episode where Logan first came in. Every other episode was jus indeed filler, but this episode had substance, and was significantly better than last week's or the previous 2-3 weeks.
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4-03-2007 @ 5:47AM
Clint said...
I was very disappointed with the episode.
http://www.tvdeuce.com
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4-03-2007 @ 9:10AM
Kyle Beasley said...
This episode was weird. I didn't enjoy it very much, mostly because I was scratching my head the whole time. Why were we having competency hearings on a person who was awake and sounded sane? Oh, it turns out he was crazy and is going to launch nukes as a sign of pride? (Why can the president launch nukes all by himself? Seems a little over powerful and war starting-ish.) It's all so very crazy. Anarchy. Anarchy.
Also I don't see why Nadia doesn't slap Milo. If a lady came up to me and started hitting on me every hour after a nuclear bomb had just gone off I'd find it a little creepy. And then she got the weird test of faith from Silver Spoons.
The only thing that made me not give up on the show is Bauer. But he's seemed dumber lately. He closed in on Gredenko and Fayed too slowly and alone. Giving them enough time to cut off Grendenko's arm. Fayed screamed "It wasn't me, it was the one-armed man" in the bar, but got beaten by a bunch of bar flys anyway.
Then unfortunately when we get to Bauer later in the season, I'm sure he'll have more family drama. Which is dull as dirt. The 7th season better be nothing like this season if they expect me to keep watching.
http://kylebeabo.blogspot.com/
http://beaboamateurhour.blogspot.com/
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4-03-2007 @ 10:03AM
Frangible said...
Epinephrine (adrenaline) has a half-life of two minutes and wouldn't be used as a wakefulness aid (methylphenidate, dextroamphetamine, or modafinil would be, the latter of which barely touches blood pressure. Studies actually show MPH being given to people after traumatic brain injury to increase their healing rate...); my guess is the original writing was something akin to JFK's use of IV methamphetamine during the Cuban missile crisis, but they changed what he was injected with to be less controversial. I'm going to guess the plot shows how the injections are altering Palmer's behavior for the worse, and leads things into a downward spiral. Which would probably be based more on Hitler's use of methamphetamine than JFK's.
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4-03-2007 @ 10:16AM
Steve (The 24 guy) said...
I did like the twist where Wayne didn't want to stop the bombing, he just wanted to keep in power.
As far as everything else goes, it's a lot easier (and more fun) to watch the show with a different perspective. I participate in Dave Barry's live blog of "24" ( http://blogs.herald.com/ ), where I write the summary every week in the same spirit as everyone else comments (look for a long posting near the end of the comments). Meaning... we don't take the show seriously at all. Don't get me wrong, I like the show a lot. It's just a lot of fun pointing out all the crazy things that happen in that show.
http://www.magiclamp.org/
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4-03-2007 @ 10:35AM
Danny said...
Why would Gredenko turn in Fayed AFTER he allowed them to cut off his arm? If he really wanted him to get caught he wouldn't have shown him the bug. This must be part of his plan somehow.
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4-03-2007 @ 11:06AM
khamel said...
this season (except for the nuke bits) seems like a jumble of the first 5 seasons with no new plot points. president challenged by the vice president? check. main character possibly addicted to something he knows he should be taking (jack - heroin, baby palmer - addrenaline) check. the only changes have been to have the mole not actually be the mole (not new, just different) but im a bit bored by their lack of creativity. is nina myers actually fully dead? can we bring her back? and everyone KNOW audrey ain't dead, she'll come back with a bomb strapped to her chest like jack's season 2 blond girlfriend.
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4-03-2007 @ 11:21AM
Adam said...
Yeah, this season is all over the board. These last 2 or 3 episodes have been a little dry.
But c'mon, you can't not enjoy seeing Fayed get the crap kicked out of him by the stereotypical angry rednecks in the bar.
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4-03-2007 @ 11:48AM
Vasechka said...
It is boring. This season worst season ever. If I watch Prison Break without doing anything else - 24 is so boring, that I start doing some other stuff.
I really hope, this is last season. Otherwise, will not watch anything new... or.. if in episodes 17-24 there will be something that will make me watch it.
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4-03-2007 @ 12:20PM
Benjy said...
The Wayne Palmer storyline left me puzzled. If they chalk it off to the adrenaline (and don't find some way to call off the nuke), I'll be pissed. Poor writing, and completely out of character for Wayne Palmer.
Yeah, Jack felt like an afterthought throughout this episode.
So, is Gradenko going to turn into another "unresolved death" for this season (we've already had one with President Logan)?
Fayed getting the crap kicked out of him by normal Americans was priceless!
Remember, Fayed's second wanted to just use the bombs immediately. I wonder if he's going to stick with Fayed's plan or go ahead with his own?
Not that 24 is not prone to repeating itself, but doesn't the capture of Fayed remind anyone of the capture of Marwan during Day 4? The main man is in custody, but his followers are still out there. I'm interested to see if it plays out in a similar way.
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4-03-2007 @ 12:29PM
Jennifer said...
God, this show is boring. Booooooooooring. I don't know why I keep watching it any more, other than to keep up social currency when people are talking about 24.
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4-03-2007 @ 2:29PM
DREW said...
Yeah this show needs new blood - not new actors but NEW WRITERS. Smells of burnout - akin to the last couple seasons of X-FILES.
You'd think Joel Surnow would take some lessons from his old show LA FEMME NIKITA.
Speaking of which, I wish they'd take on more of a COVERT angle like LFN or even Alias - now that there currently isn't another worthwhile espionage/spy show on...
All of this buildup to find the remaining suitcase nukes and CTU sends Jack in by himself??? Doesn't make any sense.
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4-03-2007 @ 2:40PM
ac said...
After spending last season hoping that Logan would just die already, I think we need him and his fruit throwing wife back. That or start the hunt for Audrey's killer just something besides this crap.
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4-03-2007 @ 2:55PM
Roberto said...
What I say here is a PREDICTION based on the episode and preview of next week. Okay? NOT A SPOILER!
I think Wsyne's nuclear strike is a fake. I think, off-camera, Wayne told his commander to launch some sort of fake or underpowered missle. He will used the impending blast as leverage to get the Middle Eastern leaders to give them information about something or other.
If it works, Wayne looks clever and competent (and smarter than Daniels.) If it doesn't work, Wayne folds his tent.
It's a plot twist is all. Just the kind of over-the-top goofiness we've come to expect.
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4-03-2007 @ 3:02PM
Gordy said...
Jack was by himself because he left the pilot's location with a small team to get Gredenko. Ricky Schroder's group stayed back, then went to CTU where he eventually cleared the hot chick. His team was dispatched as soon as they knew where Gredenko would be, but they were 30 minutes away.
Did I miss something?
Anyway, I enjoyed the episode, but, it was a downer after an awesome Prison Break.
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