(S06E19) *Warning, spoilers from the latest episode ahead.*
A dirty old man. A trigger-happy agent. A politically cut-throat spouse. Wildly inappropriate personal bickering in the workplace. Special guest star Jack Bauer.
What do those five things have in common? The 19th hour of 24.
Maybe I'm just growing more cynical, but this episode bummed me out on many fronts. Overall, it felt like filler to just inch the story forward to the final episodes. All I know is that throughout the hour, I wanted to see more Jack, much less of Chloe and Morris "Drill-Bit" O'Brian and felt nauseated by that scene with Acting President Noah Daniels. You know the one.
But, let's focus on the positives first, shall we? Hmm. . . positives . . . well, Audrey Raines is safe. Our hero Jack disobeyed the president and his CTU bosses by successfully securing Audrey's release from the Chinese by bargaining with a piece of Russian technology the Chinese wanted. Oh, and 24 fans who were hoping to see more of Nadia Yassir, the resident CTU hottie, will likely be pleased that she got a job promotion to acting CTU chief, particularly given the fact that, just a few hours ago, she was suspected of treason and was choked by Mike "The Brawler" Doyle.
One moment of pseudo-realism that I liked from this episode was seeing that Audrey was not quite right after her time in Chinese custody. She actually displayed effects of being in captivity, unlike Jack who bounced back from his many months of "brutal" torture super-fast. However I fear that Audrey's current lack of lucidity might be milked in all the wrong ways in the remaining hours of the season. This has the potential to get ugly. Fast. Let's hope it doesn't.
Another plus from the 19th hour: I could appreciate the notion that Washington pols would seek to blame the release of the now-dead terrorist Abu Fayed on a bureaucratic scapegoat. Two years ago, Fayed was detained during a border sweep, but he was later released by CTU chief Bill Buchanan because there wasn't enough evidence to keep him in custody. But because Fayed was behind the weeks of terror attacks on the United States that preceded this particular day, not to mention the nuclear bomb detonation in California that killed thousands of Americans, a Department of Justice interrogator told National Security Advisor Karen Hayes that someone's going to have to pay for setting Fayed free. It would either be Karen or her hubby. I could feasibly buy that pressure would be applied to find someone on which to pin the blame, but Karen turning on Bill so quickly -- given that she resigned just a few hours ago during a crisis in order to avoid embarrassing him -- felt forced, as did Karen firing him. Based on her character this season, I would've thought that Karen would've gone to the mat to defend him.
Now for the negatives. Jack, who had gone rogue in order to rescue Audrey, resumed his role as a guest star in this episode, lurking in the shadows. And, one irritation with Jack, other than his on-screen absence, I know that Jack planned to blow himself, Cheng and the Russian component up as soon as Audrey was safely out of the range of the sniper, so that's why he took a moment to gingerly remove her gag, caress her cheek and stroke her hair. But the display of tenderness was a bit much, particularly in light of that creepy moment in the Oval Office with Daniels and his aide Lisa Miller. I'm going to be having nightmares after that scene when Daniels said, "I have the fate of the western world and the lives of millions of Americans hanging in the balance and I just can't stop thinking about you." He kissed Miller's neck as she coyly told him his behavior was inappropriate. "Well, there's the phone," Daniels said in a throaty voice, "call the media and tell them the president's a dirty old man." After a long kiss, Daniels told her he wanted a booty call that night, so she promised to get a change of clothes.
Was this still 24? For a moment, I thought I'd accidentally changed channels to Lifetime. It reminded me of the similarly distasteful scenes with Jack and his sister-in-law Marilyn Bauer earlier this season. But, in all fairness, if I hadn't had to witness the Daniels-Miller scene, I don't think the Jack-Audrey moment would've bothered me.
Speaking of inappropriate behavior, the sniping between Chloe and Morris was over-the-top. She accused him of being jealous. Again. He retaliated with juvenile responses, telling her to "shove it." She told him not to activate nukes for terrorists. . . oops. . . apparently that was one step too far for Morris who, in the midst of a crisis, asked for an immediate job transfer. Morris can deal with literally being drilled in the shoulder and returning to work hours later, but he can't handle a sharp remark from Chloe?
And, we cannot forget Doyle, the trigger-happy agent who doggedly tracked down rogue Jack and sabotaged his plans. Because Doyle shot the Chinese sniper who had his gun aimed at Audrey while she fled to safety, he inadvertently kicked off a chain reaction. Jack had just handed Cheng the Russian component when Doyle fired his gun and chaos ensued. Three Hummers filled with Cheng's people arrived on scene, just as a CTU chopper got there, only to be shot down as Cheng escaped with the component. "I had this handled," Jack yelled to Doyle, the Bauer-wanna-be. "Why the hell didn't you listen to me?"
On the TV Squad 7-point system, I'm giving this episode a 4. (If 3.5 were available, I think that's closer to my real assessment.)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
4-24-2007 @ 12:32AM
David said...
This can never be said enough...
This rating system being out of 7 is lame.
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4-24-2007 @ 12:34AM
Charles said...
Poor Audrey... She's now like the crazy cat lady on the Simpsons. I'm sure Kim Raver was THRILLED to see what the writer's did with her character...
"24" was the perfect example of fun, over-the-top television last season, capped off with the awesome hour focusing on the Logans. This season is so over-the-top, even the Bristow's on "Alias" would be rolling their eyes in disgust.
I must say, though, I think the O'Brians are the funniest couple to watch bicker. They are so witty! It's great TV. Also, there was hardly any Milo this episode, so, I would probably give it 5 stars, just for that. :)
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4-24-2007 @ 12:53AM
Constance said...
Oh, the tension of it all.
The Chinese have that Russian thingamajig. Audrey's gone all fidgety. Chloe and Morris are on the outs. Buchanan's in the soup. Jack's been arrested, again. And Veep Daniels has turned into the evil spawn of Dick Cheney AND Bill Clinton.
I don't think I'll be able to sleep all week.
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4-24-2007 @ 1:12AM
Mandee said...
Question, everyone: are we supposed to view Doyle as some kind of villain or heavy?
Curtis goes rogue over Fayed, and Jack kills him. Jack goes rogue, and Doyle stops him twice (by arresting him, not killing him). So I ask again, do the writers want us to dislike Doyle for interfering with rogue Jack's plans?
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4-24-2007 @ 1:18AM
Matt said...
If you think the show is ridiculous now, give it time. The next couple weeks get even more ridiculous.
The show has drastically fallen on its face after an amazing opening four hours. I'm all but ready to call this the worst season, without question.
The closing moments of the finale may be the only thing that can save this wreck of a season.
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4-24-2007 @ 1:21AM
Allan said...
If Jack's plan to blow up the building had gone off as planned, the Chinese guys outside would likely have shot Audrey. Looks to me like Jack hadn't factored in that possibility, so Doyle probably saved her life.
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4-24-2007 @ 2:19AM
Maurice said...
Bill Buchanan, the Cary Grant of CTU, tossed out on his well-dressed fanny. This show lost all common sense weeks ago, and now its fashion sense has followed. Did you see the getups on Milo and Morris!
Oh well, at least we'll get to see Bill away from that harsh bunker lighting. it's so uncomplimentary.
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4-24-2007 @ 2:31AM
Allan said...
Rate this one a 3.5. Karen's abandonment of Bill ran counter to everything we'd seen of her fine character over the past two seasons, and to her very actions just a few hours earlier. I really dislike it when the writers behave like arbitrary puppet-masters, pulling a character's strings in a bizarre direction simply to propel the plot -- poorly.
On your question Mandee (4), I can't really figure out what we're supposed to think of Doyle, or of Jack's recent rogue actions. Seems it's okay for Jack to do certain things, but when Doyle does them, it's wrong.
I am a big Jack fan from way back, but this time I think his actions with the chip were out of line, and that the writers are loopy if they think we're supposed to applaud his behaviour.
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4-24-2007 @ 3:03AM
1iPete said...
Is it me or does the Kim Bauer on the lam encountering a mountain lion and Johnny Drama faking a nuclear explosion to seduce her subplots look good compared to how this season is progressing?
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4-24-2007 @ 4:27AM
BigTed said...
I agree with everyone here that this season has completely gone off the rails. I think maybe the writers have simply given up and decided that they'll just wing it for a few weeks and start things fresh next year. (Still, what was the point of all the annoying hoo-ha with Jack's family earlier on if they weren't going to go anywhere with it? Where's Daddy, and Marilyn, and not-Jack's-kid?)
I actually think it's realistic that Bill Buchanan would be fired after having let someone go who ended up nuking L.A. two years later, even if there wasn't "any evidence to hold him." (Yeah? Find some evidence, dummy.) I know we're supposed to feel bad about it, but I don't. Although I can't say I'd feel much feel much safer with 30ish supermodel Nadia running CTU, even though it turned out she (probably) isn't a traitorous mole.
Now are we supposed to care that the fake-president Daniels is having an affair with his assistant? Unless it turns out that she's a Russian spy (and we probably won't find that out till next year anyway), enough with the lovey-dovey stuff. And speaking of inappropriateness at the office, I know that working with your lovers, crushes and exes is one of the perks of being at CTU, but maybe Chloe and Morris shouldn't have been put together in the first place. At least he's smart enough to realize it, which is more than I can say for most of them.
Last, and I've said this many times before (but you TV characters don't listen): Everything that Jack does is right. If you get in his way, you're just going to screw things up... as Doyle did when he foiled his blow-everything-to-smithereens plan.
Anyway, now that the Chinese have ravaged Audrey -- who was supposedly some kind of American official in addition to being Jack's sweetie -- and committed acts of war on U.S. territory, don't we now have a right to kidnap some of their agents and torture them for a couple of years? No, of course not.... Because we're not eeeeevil like they are. Although maybe new-president Daniels is, so at least that could be an interesting twist.
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4-24-2007 @ 4:40AM
Delmarc said...
I also felt very disappointed with this episode. With episodes 16-18 being so good and reminiscent of the old 24 we all love, this episode served as the epitome of how bad season 6 can get. It just felt so rushed and the storylines of previous seasons are being re-used again. Comeon, Buchanan being fired again? In two consecutive seasons? And then Nadia making a speech saying how she took control of CTU? Comeon, that was exactly like Jack's speech in season 3 when Tony went rogue and he had to take full control of CTU. And what kind of music was in the background when Jack took the gag out of audrey? That piece of music just made that scene look awkward instead of romantic. The Daniels/Assistant scene was creepy as hell too. Overall, it felt like things were rushed and problems just came out of nowhere that really shouldnt be there. Though it was a bad episode, I will say it did serve as a perfect setup for a happy conclusion for the couples in 24. I mean Karen/Bill, Morris/Chloe, Milo/Nadia and Jack/Audrey doesnt look good at all so far, so Im guessing their using this as a ploy to have a happy ending in episode 24 for every couple.
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4-24-2007 @ 8:38AM
Steve said...
Definitely crazy, especially at the end. It looked like Audrey got shot by Jack after she walked through the door because of the lighting, and it turned out to be just one of Cheng's thugs.
Over at Dave Barry's funny live blog of the show, we all nearly fell asleep. I wrote my weekly 24 summary of episode 19, in case your interested. You can either read it there or on Dave's blog
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4-24-2007 @ 8:41AM
Hugeliver said...
Come on people!! Firing the head of CTU at zero hour with a rogue agent!?!?!? THAT is ridiculous.
I am in full agreement that this is the worst season ever and say what you want about it. I say that Powers Boothe has been amazing though. NOBODY does a creepy egomaniacal power hungry lech like he has. I think I actually felt a shiver up my spine when he was coming on to his aide!! : )
Kudos to Powers Boothe!! As much as I hate the writing FOR his character I can't wait to see what the pompous ass will do next.
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4-24-2007 @ 9:46AM
Kyle Beasley said...
They needed to set off the "Jack Bauer's gone rogue" alarm again.
This show is getting ridiculous. Another one of Jack's lovers has been traumatized into amnesia. Everyone is dealing with relationship problems when a NUKE JUST WENT OFF. It's just crazy.
I used to tape Heroes while I watched 24. Next will be the first time I tape 24 while I watch Heroes. This season 24 has blown the Nuke (It's version of jumping the shark.)
http://kylebeabo.blogspot.com/
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4-24-2007 @ 10:12AM
Mat Saunders said...
Jack didn't just say "I had this handled!" He said "I had this handled until you initiated a firefight!" Honestly, the dialog on this show makes me want to vomit.
And can someone *please* tell Keifer that when he's telling us what hours the following events take place between, it doesn't make any sense to put the emphasis on the second "pm".
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4-24-2007 @ 10:22AM
Mike Davis said...
Okay, fine.
You're all ready to call it "worst season ever".
"It's not good enough."
"It should be better."
Then don't watch. And don't come back.
It's 24. It still carries the narrative water like no one else.
Oh, and "Jumped the shark" jumped the shark, people. Find a new & clever way to express disappointment over unrealistic, self-imposed standards.
And the 7 rating scale could not be stupider.
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4-24-2007 @ 10:27AM
Steve said...
Bah... The link got filtered.
It's http://www.magiclamp.org/
and
Dave's site is:
http://blogs.herald.com/
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4-24-2007 @ 10:48AM
John Howard said...
"And can someone *please* tell Keifer that when he's telling us what hours the following events take place between, it doesn't make any sense to put the emphasis on the second 'pm'."
I always wondered if anyone else noticed that.
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4-24-2007 @ 11:05AM
McGone said...
I decided to do
a weekly summary of 24 in 24 words this season, and now I am regretting that decision. It IS the Worst Season Ever™.
Let's not even kid ourselves anymore... this last episode was like "Sweet Valley High" with firearms.
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4-24-2007 @ 11:45AM
C C said...
If I'm right (I know, you're getting tired of me using that phrase), this episode is setting up the remainder of the season. Is anyone really buying Audrey's "shell-shocked" routine? One way or another, it will turn out she's faking it. Either she's in cahoots with the Chinese to trick Jack into giving them the chip, or she's the bait to lure her father back into CTU, where they are planning to "catch" him. I'm more inclined to believe the latter than the former.
Doesn't Bill's "firing" seem a little too convienient? And leaving Nadia, who was accused earlier in the day of being a mole, in charge until a "new guy" from division arrives? I'm betting the "new guy" will turn out to be a familiar face. And they want him running CTU for some reason.
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