Watching 24

Good morning again! Ah, Friday…. don’t ya just love em? A weekend ahead, a new episode in a few days… Speaking of, I thought maybe we ought to take some time to reflect on the many lessons we can learn from 24 each week. This is what I learned from the latest one:

1) The President and Ethan can’t agree on anything. They *must* argue about any and all issues that come across the Preisdent’s desk.

2) Ex-CTU people are the only the only trust-worthy characters. Anyone else can be revealed as a mole at any moment.

3) Never interrupt Olivia Taylor when she’s conducting business.

4) Warrants are issued at the speed of light.

5) Blackmail always works.

6) It’s ok to potentially expose yourself as a traitor to your country, but being a cheater is something that must be hidden at all costs.

7) Dubaku is smarter than all the other people in this conspiracy put together.

Even evil, genocidal terrorists can be charming and sweet.

9) Putting yourself at risk for capture is fine, so long as you get revenge on your traitor girlfriend first.

10) Never ever insult Jack in front of Chloe.

11) Larry has no idea how to set up a computer network.

So, that’s what I’ve learned this week from the show. What about you? Are there any lessons I may have left out? Comment and let me know about it. Take care and I’ll see you next time. I leave you with a promo for next time, once again thanks to Jonas Hodges.

Good morning, everyone. Is it just me or is 24 (and the stars) all over the place now? There has been no shortage of interviews and articles about the cast lately. Today, I found a really cool editorial about Jack and the grief he gets for being a ‘posterboy for torture’. It’s by Stephen King (yes, the horror writer) for Entertainment Weekly. It was scanned and posted onto a blog. I totally agree with him on the idea that it’s silly to put so much focus on one character when many others out there are doing worse. And when, exactly, did we all forget that TV is make believe and we shouldn’t take it that seriously? You can check out the whole thing here.

Here’s another article with Cherry Jones. In this one, she goes a little bit more into detail about her portrayal of the president and what she uses as models while acting a scene. She also talks about working with Kiefer, a recent surgery and what she’s going to do next (It’s on the stage, but she ain’t saying much else there). She also talks about the becoming a fan of the show and the bond presidents share.

On another note, here’s a page from Entertainment Weekly posted on a blog with a special feature. It’s called ‘When Bad Plots Happen to Good Shows’. It talks about some of the most infamous moments on the show (cougar, anyone?) You can read the whole thing here. What do you think? Do you all agree with these? Are there any that were left out? Comment and let me know.

Morning, everyone!! Did y’all have a great weekend and Valentine’s Day? I hope so. So, if you have been reading my Desperate Housewives blog, you know I have been giving occasional updates on the contract talks between SAG and the Producer’s union. Last time I updated, the President and VP of SAG were trying to get a court to reverse a move by some members that fired the current negotiator so new talks to start soon and maybe get this thing resolved.

Well, it didn’t work out too well for them. An appeals judge decided that the talks should resume as scheduled on Tuesday. Good for the judge! This has been going on a long time and needs to be stopped. I’m also wondering why this guy is so determined to strike instead of just taking the deal all the other unions okayed. Ah, well. While the SAG president isn’t too happy, this is good news for us 24 fans. Maybe we’ll get season 8 before 2011…

I have one more thing for y’all today. It’s another story about Mary Lynn and Jeanane. A lot of it covers the same ground, but this one even gives away some tidbits about a future episode. Read it here to learn more and then come back and chat with me about it. For the spoiler-free, I’m putting my own thoughts behind a cut. (more…)

Good morning, everyone!! How are y’all doing? I wanna take a minute to let y’all know that I had some car issues and stuff to deal with that kept me from watching 24 last night. I do, however, have it on tape and will watch it sometime this afternoon and have some episode-related stuff up ASAP. In the meantime, though, I wanna talk about an interview Kiefer Sutherland recently did with a British website (I think it’s also a publication).

After reading it, I had a couple reactions. One was to say ‘AMEN’ to almost everything Kiefer had to say. Another was to wonder what’s up with the writer, as the article (to me, anyway) has a bit of a mean tone to it. As with a lot of 24-related articles this year, much of it talks about the terrorism/torture debate and the fact that some people in the military were getting ideas after watching the show as well as the current debate the characters are having over whether or not torture is actually effective and right.

Kiefer, for his part, is against the use of torture, as you’ll see in the final line of the article. He does, however, defend the show and I love him for what he says. I personally have always been against the idea that TV can ‘make’ people do anything- especially violent acts. When Kiefer implies that there are obviously more serious problems to address than the show itself if military people are actually taking the show that seriously, I almost cheered out loud. Good for him for saying so. The article also contains some hardly new background info on Kiefer and some pretty good quotes as well. Check it out. So what do you all think of it and the debate of TV vs. Reality? Comment and let me know.

So, I was all ready to start writing a post about the kill count when I realized something: I think this is one of the few episodes where someone wasn’t killed (at least on screen). Sure, the first husband and his son’s ex have one foot in the death pool, but they’re not there yet and anything can happen on this show. The Mutobo’s guard seemed like he was about to hop in the pool as well until the FBI called and they moved one to more important matters.

So, why not go on a mole hunt instead? I never really bothered with Brian and any other agents in the SS on this show. I figure if the kid’s agent was dirty, there’s every chance other ones are too. (What’s up with all the moles in there and in the FBI/CTU anyway? Haven’t they heard of little things called background checks?) So, let’s look at people not in the SS….

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say someone in the AG’s office is dirty. Otherwise, it seems a bit odd for them to be so wrapped up in Renee’s breech of protocol at a time like this. Seems like that case would go on the backburner. Especially when the agent in question having been captured.

Sean is still not winning any points with me and seems to be kinda half-assing his job right now. Although, I will say I think his mistress may be involved in the conspiracy as well.

I still wonder about the President’s CoS and SoS. They seem to be looking for any excuse possible to stop the whole Sangala invasion.

Renee is either dirty or the most hard-core chick out there. She showed not one bit of fear and was practically daring Jack. If she’s not dirty, I kinda adore her.

And now… my (other) totally out there, crazy pick:President Taylor. Yes, I’m calling her out too! Ms. President seems a bit too into her Sangala invasion. It wouldn’t kill em to postpone the mission for a bit, would it? At least until the CIP device is found and/or the thing is made useless in about 6 days. See, Taylor? It’s not that hard. Why all the whining and speechifying?

So, what do you all think? Am I off? Am I right? Post your own guesses below.

Hello again! I wanna thank everyone for their comments and apologize to those who asked questions awhile back that I didn’t answer until yesterday. I didn’t see them until the new wordpress look came into effect. That said- let’s get down to business, huh?

So, I’m used to watching shows from people like Joss Whedon who tend to pretend everything is great and refuse to acknowledge when they do stupid things with their plots. In fact, when a particular season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was widely mocked, he claimed people just ‘didn’t get it’. That’s why I was so happy to read a story shared on some forums yesterday. Apparently, Carlos Bernard did a radio interview and talked about visiting the writer’s room occasionally. One day, he walked in and saw them all wearing t-shirts that said the words ‘season 6′ on them. When he asked what was up with that, he was told they were wearing them to remind themselves of all the problems last season and shame themselves into never letting such bad writing happen again.

Now, from what I remember of Season 6, it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Was it great? No. I remember being pretty bored at some points by what they were doing. Still, I think it’s awesome that they are taking that criticism so seriously and they aren’t just pretending it’s not their fault at all for fans and others not really enjoying that season. Here’s hoping other writers follow their example. So what does everyone else think. Was season 6 bad? Are you wondering what all the complaining was about? Be sure to comment and let me know. Take care and I’ll see you later on today with another post. For now, I leave you with a couple of clips of Kiefer on the Jimmy Kimmel show, thanks to the show’s official youtube channel. Enjoy em!

As promised, I’m here to fill you in on what happened on the second half of the premiere. During the last episode, Air Traffic Control noticed an irregularity in their signals. Now, they’ve lost all communication with a commercial flight and Tony’s group now has control of the plane. They’re directing the plane as though they are ATC.

The FBI is busy with an interrogation gone wrong last episode. A man named Shekter had been shot by snipers whiled being interviewed by Renee and Jack regarding Tony’s whereabouts. This episode, the FBI has sealed off the building to catch the shooter. Jack is getting suspicious about the whole situation and is convinced that the fact this shooter was able to take the guy out when he did is proof there’s a traitor in the FBI (I guess they’re taking the new CTU thing pretty seriously). Renee doesn’t believe it, though.

Meanwhile, ATC is trying to get in touch with passengers on the plane to try and get word about the hijacking. Before they can, Tony calls ATC and has them check a video feed that shows two planes about the collide, one of them being the one he and his group is controlling. At the very last second, he yells to the pilot to pull up on the controls and the crash is avoided. Tony then tells ATC that was just a demonstration and they’ll see the real thing if they don’t get what they want. Later, the President is informed of what’s going on and starts demanding the FBI get some answers and take care of the situation. She has also met with the Prime Minister of Sangola to discuss taking care of the General and how to move ahead from there. They have the press secretary give a news conference about it.

Jack, meanwhile, is sitting in an FBI car waiting for the sniper to be captured. While sitting there, an agent turns to him and starts telling him that he supports Jack and thinks the Senate hearings are wrong. Jack’s grateful for the support, but he says it is fair… the people can hear the truth and decide how far they’re willing to go. Jack asks to get some air and the agent lets him. While Jack is standing outside, he notices someone in FBI clothes walking away that sets off his spidey sense(tony sent someone to help the sniper get out) and tips off Renee. She checks into it and finds out the man is not, in fact, one of them and wants to report it. Jack convinces her to follow him instead. She agrees and they leave, arousing the FBI’s suspicions. Her boss questions her and Renee lies about where they’re going. He doesn’t believe her and spys on them, coming in time to catch the end up a big fight involving Tony.

Towards the end of the episode we find out that the surviving Dubaku is plotting against the US because he considers them responsible for his brother’s death. Also, Henry (the president’s husband) confronts his son’s ex, accusing her of knowing more than she says because he found money in an offshore account she received only three days after his son’s death. Stay tuned tomorrow to read how the rest of it all turns out. See ya next time!

I leave you with some commentary and a peak at what’s to come in hours 3 and 4 courtesy of bigedude44 on youtube. Enjoy!!

Good morning, everyone and happy Friday! Now that things have slowed down after the Holiday season, I got a chance to peek at the official 24 site and thought I would point out a couple of things to those who haven’t been to the site yet. This was actually my first time checking out the site and I like what they’ve done.

They have a section where you can actually watch old episodes online, which I’m sure will be very helpful to everyone out there who’s new to the show or just wants to see some favorite episodes again. I know there are some things I would love to see again- like Michelle’s adventures in the contaminated hotel a few seasons back. Talk about a strong character!

Another great feature is the Dossiers they’re releasing. They’re fake documents from the government’s files on Jack Bauer detailing all the things he’s done over the years that wasn’t quite kosher. You get a few tidbits via text before a button comes up to play a video giving more detail into the investigation. It’s pretty cool and a unique idea.

Finally, it looks like the creators of the show and the cast really took that Africa plot to heart. There’s a link on the site to a documentary on child soldiers. Several cast members participated in the video by doing voice overs. Congrats to all involved for trying to bring this kind of thing out in the open more… that’s always the first step towards making a change.

To see it all for yourself, follow the link here. Or, if you’d rather, why not visit one of my fellow bloggers? Take care and I’ll see you all again on Monday.

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…)

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.

So, as I was searching around for 24 news today I came across this rather bitter article about 24, and how it has apparently run out of time.

The author of the article pretty much says that after 6 years 24 has become a mudane, lifeless experience full of cardboard characters and weak plot twists.

24 does have a formula there’s no doubt about that, and a lot of the times we make fun of it in the Character Countdown. However, that formula is better than most shows on TV right now.

I think that 24 still holds as much weight as it always has. You just have to look at the uproar that happened after the first 4 episodes of this season. The author of the article mentions Curtis being killed, and because main characters have been killed over and over, no one cared. But, he failed to mention the impact a nuclear explosion on TV had on the American public. (On a sidenote according to the article people “mourned” Teri Bauer’s death, but “didn’t shed a tear” for Curtis. Who out there actually “mourned” the loss of Teri Bauer? She was the most annoying character of the show.)

The article also sites “poor character development” as a downfall of 24. It’s true that 24 doesn’t give us as much character development as other TV shows, but isn’t that the point? I mean in reality we’ve only seen 5 1/2 days of Jack Bauer’s life. We don’t know what he actually does those other days. How much can you actually learn about someone in a few days? It’s pretty much impossible to know anything about them. There are no flashbacks, no backstories, just the ongoing action of the show.

I for one think all shows have their ups and downs. A few weeks ago 24 had some fairly slow episodes, but they’ve been picking up. And 24 has never been one to dissappoint. I for one will stick with it until the end. I have faith in the show, the actors and the writers.

How about you? What do you think?

If you haven’t yet make sure to sign up for my RSS feed (www.watching24.com/feed) so you can be notified of all new posts, so you can come and comment for your chance to win 24 Season 5 on DVD

24, TV, entertainment, FOX, Jack Bauer

In this article I’m going to be as unbiased as possible. I’m just trying to present something which people can comment on.

Today “Jumped the Shark” has become quite a popular phrase around the TV folk. According to Wikipedia the phrase originated when the Fonz, in Happy Days, jumped over a shark on water skis (I always thought it had something to do with Lost and Sawyer actually jumping over a shark). Or in other words “Jumped the Shark” means at what point does a show lose all believability, or when has a good thing gone bad?

After finding out last night that Graham, the ‘bluetooth’ man that was behind the terrorist attacks in season 5, is now Jack’s brother have people begun to think that 24 has now jumped the shark? Is it too unbelievable that Jack’s brother could be Graham, or in other words is it just a ridiculous plot twist that was cultivated to woo the audience?
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Since this was a 2 hour premiere I think I’ll still split up the reviews according to the actual episode. So, I’ll just put up both my reviews for both episodes, today and tomorrow. Then we’ll start having one review a week.

Also, after each episode I will also be posting the 24 Character Countdown, where I will award and deduct points based on character performances throughout the show.

6:00 a.m.-7:00 a.m.
(S06 E01)

Well, where do I start, it was an intense first hour to say the least. America is suffering from suicide bomb attacks, Peter MacNicols wants to intern all the people who pray towards Mecca, President Wayne Palmer seems a bit spineless, and Jack has grown a sweet Charles Manson-esque beard while on his vacation (imprisonment) in China.

We’re informed that Pres. Palmer has brokered a deal with the Chinese to get Jack back. The specifics of how they got Jack back were left out although the term “high price� was used a great deal. I think it was better that way, we know it took a lot to get Jack back, and we weren’t bothered with the details.

Well, the inter-office politics, backstabbing, and whining are back in full swing as Milo and Morris duke it out. Morris has that wonderful, and by wonderful I mean absolutely annoying, stinging British sarcasm a la Simon Cowell. Already after the first episode I’m a bit tired of hearing those two bicker like little school girls.

Chloe managed to pull off her first scowl of the season in about 3 seconds after she was shown on screen. Her and Morris also managed to almost completely botch the ongoing operation of getting Assad by using Morris’s personal satellite (I wish I had something like that).

I loved the first episode though. I thought it was well done, and everything we expect from 24. Seeing Jack again was like a breath of fresh air, even though he seems like he’s gone through quite a lot with all the scars on his back. Jack’s been brought back to the U.S. for one purpose, to die. A man inside Assad’s crew has offered to give up Assad in exchange that he gets to kill Bauer. Jack knows what is expected of him and he gives a stirring speech to Bill about how he can “die for something,� instead of “dying for nothing.�

Then the tables turned are once Fayed (the man who wants to kill Jack because Jack killed his brother) confesses to Jack that he is actually the one that’s behind the bombings, that Assad has come to the U.S. to stop him, and that CTU is actually going to end up killing the wrong man.

That’s the wrong thing to tell Jack right? Yup. Because when everyone leaves the room Jack makes his move, initiating his first kill of the season by biting a man’s neck (yes exactly like a vampire) and ripping out a huge chunk of flesh (it seems that Kiefer hasn’t forgotten his Lost Boy roots). Now Jack has escaped. Terrorists beware, Jack DOES bite!

Episode 2 after the jump…
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