Watching 24

Good morning and a Happy New Year to you all! Given the day, I thought I’d use this post to talk about some of the things I hope will happen in 2009 on 24. The ones that involve a spoiler, I will put behind a cut. Before I get to all that, I thought I’d get us into the New Year’s spirit. Here’s a video from one of my favorite shows when I was a kid, courtesy of dotjuh. Enjoy!

One of my hopes is that the extra time they have had to get the season in order leads to a great year full of exciting story telling. I admit, I found myself wandering here and there last season.

I’m looking forward to the move to Washington and hope that Jack does face a few consequences and doesn’t just magically win over the Congressional committee he’s going to testify to. He has pretty much been getting a free pass all along and it’d be interesting to see at least some people this year not get won over by him.

I’m looking forward to seeing this new President in action. I just hope she’ll be a better (and more successful) character then the ones who have come before her. It’d be nice to see at least one President not get taken out of commission and/or resign/be removed from office due to a scandal as almost all of them have.
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Good morning, everyone. This post discusses a returning character who will be a major part of Season 7. If you don’t want to know any details, read no further. Instead, why don’t you head over here and I’ll see you next time. If you don’t mind reading more, continue on… (more…)

Hello again, everyone! How are y’all today? I’m doing alright, just bracing for the week to come (but aren’t we all?). Anyway… I thought today I would take time to introduce you to someone you have already seen if you saw the TV movie. If not, check it out on DVD. You won’t have to see it to follow the new season really, but it helps introduce a few people and sets up the plot for the new day. We already talked about Cherry, who plays the president, so let’s meet the man playing her husband: Colm Feore.

If you’re a real theater buff, you probably already know him. Especially if you’re into Shakespere, since he’s been in several of the playwright’s works. In this interview, he talks about some of those roles and how he got himself ready for them. He also admits in the interview that acting was something he pretty much gambled on because he didn’t feel he’d be able to do anything else. It’s too bad he’s playing someone who is most likely one of the good guys. From reading that interview, it seems he’s real good at playing the bad ones (and getting you to root for them, too).

If you don’t recognize him from any of those, you might recognize him from his movie roles. He’s been in Face/Off, City of Angels, Titus (the Shakespere play), Pearl Harbor and Changeling, just to name a few. He’s also done some guest parts on TV. Oddly enough, one of those was playing the President on Battlestar Galactica.

Here’s a couple personal facts for ya. Colm is Irish and spent his childhood and college years in Canada, although he was born in Boston and lived in Ireland for a bit when he was very young. He’s a french speaker and married a choreographer named Donna. That’s her with him at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Well, that’s all for now! Take care and I’ll see you again tomorrow!

Good morning, everyone I hope everyone who celebrates Christmas out there had a great one and everyone has been having a great Holiday season so far. I thought I’d spend some time before the season starts introducing you all to the new cast members. I’ll start with the lady who has been described as the female lead: Annie Wersching.

Annie is mostly known for her guest appearances on shows like Charmed, Boston Legal, Supernatural and Cold Case but she’s done plenty more. Until 2007, she had a recurring role on the soap General Hosptial. She played a character named Amelia Joffe. On 24, she’ll be playing Renee Walker, a Special Agent in the FBI. It’s rumored she’ll have a lot of screen time with Jack in the upcoming season.

She’s got much more to her than acting abilities. According to her bio, she has a degree in musical theatre and used to compete as an Irish dancer when she was younger. Looks like she’s got plenty to fall back on if her character doesn’t make it through the day. Good luck to her in her new role If you want to hear her talk about the show and other stuff, check out this youtube video posted by FoxSource. I haven’t been able to sit and watch it yet, so I can’t promise there will be no spoilers. As soon as I get to watch it, I’ll edit this post with a little run down of what she had to say.

Well, that’s it for now. Take care and I’ll see you all again on Monday with much more.

Good morning and Merry Christmas to all of you out there who celebrate it! For everyone else, I hope you’re enjoying the holiday season. I know this isn’t in a box with a neat bow on top, but there’s a website out there looking to give a couple of lucky 24 fans a great gift. They’re actually giving away two pairs of tickets to a season 7 premiere party. The event will be held in the Garmin Chicago store on January 8th from 6-8 in the evening. While it doesn’t say exactly what will be going on, they have a few more details and info on how to win the tickets here. Pretty cool, huh?

That leads me to a question. I’m curious as to how many of you out there are going to, or ever have, held a premiere party for this or any other show. If you have, how did it work out for you? Was a fun time had by all or have you had to suppress the memory? Does it take away from enjoying the story at all? Share your thoughts and any funny stories in the comments below. I’ve personally never had a premiere party for a show. This is partially because I don’t really know anyone who likes the same shows as me enough to actually go to one. Plus, I kinda like a smaller crowd when watching a favorite show.

Well, I guess that’s about it for now. If someone out there happens to enter the contest and wins, I hope you’ll report back and let us know all the details. Pictures would be good, too! For now, take care and I’ll see ya next time.

Good morning, everyone I hope you’re all doing great Today, I wanna post something a little fun. I hope you like. It’s Things That Will Never Be Said on 24 .

10- Frank: It’s ok, Jack. You don’t have to answer that supena. No really. I’ll even tear it up for you.
9- President Taylor: This is the most boring job I’ve ever had. Nothing ever happens around here…
8- Chloe: Are you kidding? We don’t have the technology to do that.
7- Jack: I’m really tired. Screw the investigation, I’m taking a nap.
6- Chloe: Does anyone notice that terror threats always come at the same time every year? It’s like someone’s got it scheduled…
5- The Vice-President: There’s no reason to invoke the 25th amendment.
4- Kim: I’m too hard on my dad. I should really apologize and spend more time with him. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen?
3- CTU Agent: You don’t have to bother with securing the area… it never works, anyway.
2- Chloe: I’m sorry for being so blunt and rude at times. I hope I haven’t offended you.
1- Jack: I can’t do that. It violates protocol

So, there you have it: some unlikely lines for 24. Do you have anything to add to the list? Would you do away with any of the ones on my list? Be sure to tell me all about it in the comments section… I love the feedback and discussions Take care and I’ll see you all again tomorrow

Since we’re about to have a new administration in real life and on the show, I thought I’d take the time to introduce you to the lady who played the President-Elect on 24: Redemption. Her name’s Cherry Jones and she’s, of course, going to be a regular in the new season. I personally didn’t know about her before she got the role and I’m sure some of the rest of you don’t either so here’s a little run down.

She’s a well-respected Broadway star and Theater Actress. One of her best known roles was as the lead in The Heiress. That one actually won her a Tony Award in 1995. She made waves that year by thanking her domestic partner in her acceptance speech and has since worked in support of gay rights. If you’re wondering where you may have seen her before, she’s been in Signs, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Ocean’s Twelve. The picture you see, by the way, is of Cherry at the New York Premiere of the movie version of Doubt. She’s pictured with Meryl Streep, who’s playing the same part Cherry played on Broadway.

Cherry recently did an interview with nymag.com where she talks about her new character, Proposition 8 and being in New York during the 9/11 attacks. You can read the entire thing here. One of my favorite parts of the interview is when the interviewer tries hard to get her to spill the dirt on Taylor’s husband and other plots and she plays coy, refusing to give away much of anything. Keep reading to get a little tidbit I read elsewhere. If you don’t want to be spoiled, I suggest skipping the rest of this. (more…)

Hello again, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend and you’re ready to get back to talking 24! This time, I want to focus on one of the guest stars on the show, Steven Culp. I mainly know him as Rex Van De Kamp on Desperate Housewives, but he’s been a very busy guy!

If you saw season 2 of 24, you’ll probably remember him as Secret Service agent Ted Simmons. He was the one who interrogates Roger Stanton about a nuclear weapon, leading Vice-President Jim Prescott to ask for the 25th amendment to be invoked (they sure get a lot of milage out of that one on this show…). He’s also had roles in Jason Goes to Hell (Robert Campbell), How to Make a Monster (Peter Drummond) and played Robert F. Kennedy in two separate projects.

He’s been so busy, in fact, he actually made some TV history. In 2004 (just before he started Housewives) he become the first actor to have recurring roles on four different series at once. The shows were The West Wing, Star Trek: Enterprise, JAG and ER. He also been a bit unlucky with some of these parts. His characters on JAG and Star Trek: Enterprise were both killed off the same season. He joked about this bad luck after a third character (Rex Van De Kamp) was killed off about a year later.

He really needs to be back on TV… I can’t remember seeing him do much since his time on Wysteria Lane ended. He’s one of those actors that can do it all and is really good at delivering a one-liner. I’ll leave you now with a clip of him from back in 1984 when he was on One Life to Live courtesy of HamiltonBernique on Youtube. Enjoy and see ya next time!

Good morning! Yesterday, I mentioned a series of posts about 24’s most shocking moments. My second one is from the show’s second season and involved one infamous phrase: “I’m gonna need a hacksaw”. If you saw that year, you know what I’m talking about!

For those who don’t, let me fill you in. So, Jack Bauer had been part of an undercover operation that led to a few people going to jail. During this season, he has to find a way to get himself back in good with people who know now he isn’t to be trusted. If he doesn’t, they won’t be able to stop the nuclear bomb attack that is supposed to take place that day. You know Jack… where there’s a will, there’s a way and the way he found was eye-opening.

He had Marshall Goren, one of the main witnesses against the leader of the group (who is really only testifying to get out of a big list of charges himself) he needs to trust him, brought into CTU. Everyone in the room is shocked when Jack shoots the guy and then asks for a saw so he can bring the bad guys some… evidence of his new evil ways.

I have never looked at Jack Bauer the same way again. There seems to be nothing he won’t do to get the job done. So what do you all think? Did this shock you? Were you “meh” about it? Post your comments below and let’s talk about it. Take care and I’ll see y’all again on Monday. I leave you with a tribute video made by leew72 on youtube. It’s about Jack and features him during the second season. Enjoy!!

Hello, again! I thought that while we’re waiting for the new season to start, we ought to look back on some of the better (and most shocking) moments on the show. What better place to start than in the season one finale? If you saw that season, you know what I am talking about: the death of Teri Bauer.

After spending close to 24 hours as a hostage, getting into several fights, a car accident, being raped and having to kill a guy, she was finally safe at CTU. Unfortunately for her, she walked in on Nina making some final plans before escaping. Knowing Teri can seriously mess up her escape plans, Nina decides there is no other option but to kill her. Jack walks in and is devestated to find Teri dead.

For me, this was a moment where the show sent a clear message: things are going to get messy. Not every situation will have a happy ending, and that’s what I like most about the show. It does show that there is a dark side out there and even the good guy’s hands have to get dirty once in a while. It’s something they’ve played with many times since then and it usually works for me. That’s why this is actually one of my favorite moments on the show and I’m glad they didn’t go for the happy-alternate ending that’s included on the Season 1 DVD. So, what do you all think? Was that a good move? What was your reaction the first time you saw that scene? Be sure to share in the comments section below.

Good morning! As promised, I am here to share some more of my favorites who have turned up on 24 over the years. Do you remember the show Roseanne? In case you missed it, Sara Gilbert (Darlene) appeared on a few episodes of Season 2 as a computer analyst named Paula. Her character had a hard time with the CTU life, getting stressed out a few times during her stay.

Geoff Pierson is another great actor who turned up on the show. He was in seasons 3 and 4 playing John Keeler, the man who became president and ended up unable to perform his duties after his plane is shot down. I remember him from a show called Unhappily Ever After. Anyone but me remember it? It was a sitcom on what would become the CW that was basically a Married with Children type show. It was even produced by one of Married’s producers. Geoff played a used car salesman who has just gotten seperated and talks to a stuffed rabbit. You had to be there…

Bart Simpson herself, Nancy Cartwright, was also on the show. How’s that for casting? She played Morris O’Brian’s old AA sponsor during day 6. The show has also featured two talk show hosts, a NASCAR driver and former presidential candidate John McCain. He was in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it part in season 5. So much talent on this show, so little time to talk about it all! So, who did you recognize from something else? Was it a good thing or a bad thing? Comment and let me know! I leave you with a little clip of Eric Balfour from his days on the children’s show Kids, Incorperated. Enjoy!!

Good morning everyone! Ya know, I have heard it said that Hollywood is a very incestuous town. I’m believing it after looking up some information on 24 and seeing just how many people from other tv shows I used to love have turned up oat CTU n the series. Let’s start with the connection to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

In season 1, we were introduced to Miles, a computer genius brought in to help stop the plot against David Palmer. Coincidently, Eric Balfour also appeared in season 1 of Buffy. He played the best friend of Xander and Willow, who was turned into a vampire and then killed in the first couple episodes.

Here’s another Buffy connection for you. Harris Yulin appeared in season 2 of 24 as Roger Stanton, head of the National Security Agency. It wasn’t his first time in a role where he had such power. He was also head of the Watcher’s Council on Buffy, making occasional appearances starting in the show’s third season.

Finally, there is D.B. Woodside. I’m sure you all remember him as Wayne Palmer, brother of President David Palmer who later becomes President himself. He was last seen in Season 6 comatose after an explosion. He had much happier ending to his time as Principal Wood on Buffy. The last episode of the series had him riding off into the Sunset with Faith after the gang defeated the First Evil.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow. There are still several more connections to my favorite shows to share with y’all. Have any of your favorites ended up appearing on 24? Be sure to comment and let me know! Take care!

Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend and you’re ready more for 24 talk. I know I am! So, let’s talk ratings. I was reading that 24: Redemption did pretty well in that department. They scored 12.04 million viewers and got pretty good rankings with adults 18-34, an advertisers dream viewers. Things are definitely looking up for the show’s up coming season. The show’s ratings beat the Simpsons and Family Guy (who was in that time slot a year ago) by over 3 million viewers.

Found some scoop that was apparently posted on the FOX board. The one interview I discussed gave the impression that the series was done filming for the year. That’s not the case. According to that post, as of December 12, there are six days left of filming on the show. They’ll still be done completely before a single episode even airs and this season will not in any way be affected should the actors decide to strike. I love that, because I felt Housewives was getting really good last year before the writer’s strike happened and led to a shortened season.

Here’s some more good news for the show. While it looks like they didn’t get any other nods, 24 wasn’t totally shut out of the Golden Globes. Kiefer has received a best actor nomination for his work in Redemption. Congratulations to him! He’s up against Ralph Fiennes (Bernard and Doris), Paul Giamatti (John Adams), Kevin Spacey (Recount) and Tom Wilkinson (Recount). I’ll keep you updated as an airing date and all is announced so you can see for yourself if Kiefer wins. Well, that’s it for now. I leave you with a picture of Mary Lynn Rajskub at the Milkshop.com Winter Wonderland on December 6th. Take care and I’ll see you all tomorrow with more!

There are many lessons you can take away from watching 24. Here are just some of them….

10: Being the loved one of a CTU agent is a curse. You’re pretty much guarenteed to get kidnaped, tortured or killed.

9: You can get anywhere in LA in less than 20 minutes and there is never any traffic to worry about.

8: All terrorists have unusual names and come from faraway lands. They are never Jack Smith from Utah or Frank Jones from Texas.

7: People can easily stay up for 24 hours or more straight and never suffer from sleep depravation.

6: There is not a gadget CTU hasn’t managed to invent.

5: Always ignore protocol, especially if you’re good friends with the President. He’ll get you out of any trouble.

4: Teenagers will always complicate whatever threat you’re facing. Don’t bother grounding them to get them out of the way, either. They’ll just sneak out and walk right into the middle of your case.

3: If you’re an evil person plotting to destroy the country, get a job at CTU. They’re really bad at weeding people like you out in the interview process. Seriously! They have a minimum of one mole a year- sometimes more.

2: Never trust anyone. Ever. Even the President of the country could be working for the bad guys.

1: Jack Baur is always right in every situation. Never argue with him.

So, what have you learned from the series? Post your lessons in the comments. I’d love to read them! For now, have a great weekend and I’ll see you all again on Monday!

So, as you might remember, I also write the Desperate Housewives blog. Before I got the 24 blog, I also started watching season 1 of 24 on DVD and it seems they have had a few common elements.

I’m sure you all remember that in Season 1, Teri ended up getting kidnapped by a guy pretending to be Alan York, the father of one of Kimberly’s friends. Well, it wasn’t until I re-watched some of the episodes on DVD that I realized that he was played by Richard Burgi. For anyone who doesn’t know, Burgi plays Karl Mayer, Susan’s first ex-husband, on Housewives. It was pretty strange looking back on that season and seeing him as an outright evil guy. I got so used to watching him play someone who, while a bit of a creep at times, is a good guy when it comes down to it. He made me completely forget Karl Mayer while watching him on 24. The guy needs to be on my TV more.

That’s not the only link between the shows, either. Surprisingly, Stephen Spinella, who played Miles in season 5, recently showed up on Housewives as the psychiatrist treating Edie’s husband. If you don’t remember, Miles was the guy brought in to help transition control of CTU after a nerve gas attack hits the office. The powers that be think it’s best if the remaining staff is replaced. Last we saw, he was offered a position with the White House. Who knows if he ever took the job, though, because President Logan was arrested not long after offering it. The picture, by the way is of Stephan and castmate Lea Michele. They were part of the original cast of Spring Awakening and attended a revival in October. Well, that’s all for now. Take care and see ya tomorrow!