Watching 24

Last week we found out that Phillip Bauer has actually been behind everything that was happening. I know some people thought that Papa Bauer was just helping Cheng because they had his grand kid, but just by the way he was acting on the phone with Cheng they seemed like buddies…not enemies (also, when you watch the preview for next week you’ll figure out that this is really the case).

Jack got quite a few kills last week, but got caught stupidly I thought. Completely out of Jack’s character. But, I guess it’s setting the stage for some great “Jack-tion” (like that? I just made it up). I think Jack’s going to take back CTU, interrogate one of the guys, find out that his Dad is behind the whole thing and then we’ll really have a great season finale.

I still don’t see where the whole Lisa subplot with the Russian spy is going. Hopefully it turns up something that can tie back into what is going on with Cheng and help out CTU in some way.

But, from this week’s preview it looks like tonight’s episode is really going to be something. Check out the preview then we’ll talk…

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Hey everyone welcome to another week of the Jolt Energy Gum comment contest. First I want to apologize to Willy, I haven’t sent him his gum yet, but rest assured it’ll be sent on Friday.

As for last week’s winner, again it was tough. But, in the end I picked the one that made me chuckle right when I read it. Here was the picture for last week’s contest.

Right now I don’t have time to list a 2nd and 3rd place, I’m rushing out the door. But, for 1st place and a pack of awesome Jolt Energy Gum is….

Jose Alvear: “Can you skootch over? I hate sitting on the middle seat. ”

I love the word skootch and thought how funny it would be to hear Jack saying that. And everyone hates the middle seat, but Jack is the only one that would use a gun to get his way. Good job Jose, I’ll email you later to get your information.

Now for this week’s photo. This comes from the current season. That crazy Mrs. Logan. Have fun!

I’d like to begin by apologizing for the lateness of this Countdown. Since school is out, the need for a 9 to 5 job has become apparent. So, I no longer have time in the after noon to do the Countdown. So the last few will be around this time.

Tom Lennox (83)
-Told Lisa she should be scared she’s going to be charged with treason. Be afraid be very afraid (+3)
-Gave pointless bit of dialogue #1 by saying: “Let’s button things up here” (-2)
-Gave pointless bit of dialogue #2 by saying: “Just get outta the room. Leave him alone with the PDA.” (-2)

Net Gain/Loss: -1
Current Total: 82

Nadia Yassir (133)
-Wouldn’t let Jack out to “clean up his mess” (-5)
-Gave some little lovey-dovey eyes to Doyle…Bow-chica-wow-wow (+1)

Net Gain/Loss: -4
Current Total: 129

Jack Bauer (585)
-Spent half the episode confined to a CTU holding cell (-5)
-Wants to clean up his mess (+3)
-Wants revenge on Cheng. Here’s hoping he gets a great death like Fayed (+4)
-Totally thought about taking down the two CTU guards and escaping (+3)
-If Audrey doesn’t ever come out of her catatonic coma, then Jack always has a rebound girl with Marylin, Ahhhhh Yeah! (+2)
-Killed 5 Cheng terrorists (+10)
-Acquired a fully automatic Cheng terrorist rifle (+3)
-Didn’t acquire a second one. Which really hurt him a few minutes later. But, most of all we were hurt. Because who wouldn’t want to see Jack running around with two blazing automatic rifles? I thought so (-8)
-Got his only automatic weapon stuck in a ventilation fan (-2)
-Got caught, again (-5)

Net Gain/Loss: +5
Current Total: 590
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There are a few certainties in life…Death, taxes, and the fact that CTU is quite possibly the biggest workers compensation nightmare ever.

I must admit I was afraid that we’d be relegated to another episode of Jack sitting in a CTU holding cell, which we were for the first half hour. Good thing the second half hour of Jack taking out half the Chinese strike team was completely worth it.

I totally didn’t see Milo biting the dust like he did. That was so sudden, I just stared at the TV not believing what I was seeing. But, it happened. Milo gave his life for Nadia, the woman he loves right after finding out that she may indeed like Mikey Doyle (quite possibly because he reads the Koran).

I did have a problem with how easy Cheng’s Strike Force was able to get into CTU. A sewer grate right into the building? I find it hard to believe a government building would have such an accessible entry into the building.

But I was right, Phillip Bauer is calling the shots. That guy is completely insane. It would seem that before this season is over Jack will kill both Cheng and his own Father.

Overall this was a lot better episode than last. I still don’t really see how the whole Season 1 plot of a Presidential aide being used for information is going anywhere that really matters. It seems kind of like a little time filler so we’re not at CTU the entire time. But, maybe it will pan out to something with more substance, but I doubt it.

Didn’t you just love the quote from Tom Lennox as he’s sitting in his incognito van down the street as he’s watching Lisa and the Russian spy? “Come on, just get him alone with that PDA.”

Well, rest in peace Milo. We all have fond memories of Jack spilling your nuts in the first season. But, there is a ray of light at this long dark tunnel of Milo’s death. We don’t have to listen and watch him be jealous every time Nadia talks to Doyle.

We’re already at episode 21? It seems like just yesterday we were watching Jack Bauer bite the life out of a random terrorist in the first episode.

But here we are, episode 21 tonight. This season has just flown by.

Ok, before we watch the preview lets go over what happened last week.

Cheng is still on the loose, Audrey is as helpful as a bag full of beans, Doyle may actually be a good guy (it’s all that Koran reading he’s been doing during commercial breaks, I’m sure of it) and VP Powers Boothe finally found out what we expected all along, which was that Lisa girl is just no good for him.

There wasn’t a lot of Jack last week. He was in and out of CTU custody, nothing new there. He actually got Audrey to say “Bloomfield,” which was a big help because it was getting really hard to look at her in that catatonic state.

Also, something to point out is that the Russian army is moving in on an American base in Asia because of the mishap with the nuke computer chip. World War III? Maybe. We’ll see, as once again we turn to Jack Bauer tonight to save us from the Russians, the Chinese, and insane Audrey.

Check out the preview, and then we’ll talk after the jump as usual…

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Well, school and finales are finally over for me, which is a huge relief.

Alright, let’s get down to business. This week’s special TV Guide is focuses on “Finale Fever.” It’s getting to that time where all the shows are about to end, and TV Guide has some great insight into what is going to happen in 24’s season finale and also what we might be able to expect for next year’s season.

In the article it talks about how fans have been “groaning” this year about how this season has completely derailed the exciting show. When Kiefer hears this he just laughs and says

“Just wait. There’s a huge transition that’s happening between this season and next year, and a lot of what’s happening is about putting old story lines to rest so that new ones can emerge.”

That sounds very interesting and most likely has to do with the secret someone that is going to show up at the end of the season and pick Jack up. The article confirms that we are going to see someone that we have thought was long dead, but they are coming back with a “vengeance.” (My guess is still Tony).

Sutherland continues saying, regarding next season:

“I’d like to see a huge departure. We go back and forth from the White House and CTU to the field, but I’d like to see that change up.”

(I’m in perfect agreement there).

“The idea of moving out of L.A. is definitely interesting. If it’s feasible production-wise, we’d love to set the show elsewhere and see Jack do something completely new.”

Here’s hoping that it is “feasible production-wise.” How cool would it be to see Jack in D.C. or even in another country on an actual field operation to hunt down terrorists? I still stand by my suggestion of an African Warlord taking on Jack Bauer. Especially if the Warlord was played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Here’s hoping the writers read this site.

What are some things you’d like to see changed for next season?

Tom Lennox (72)
-Found out the leak was Lisa (+5)
-Knew that they could use the Lisa situation to their advantage (+6)

Net Gain/Loss: +11
Current Total: 83

President Wayne “Gary Payton” Palmer (77)
-Got swept by the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs (-5)

Net Gain/Loss: -5
Current Total: 72

Bill Buchanan (165)
-Is still fired (-4)

Net Gain/Loss: -4
Current Total: 161

Nadia Yassir (136)
-First act of business as acting head of CTU, set up perimeters…ahh yeah! (-2)
-Rejected Morris’ transfer from COM. Which will indeed lead to more and more Chloe and Morris interaction which is getting quite tedious (-2)
-Blamed Jack for the Cheng mishap (-5)
-When Karen told her to ask for any resources she wanted, she failed to ask for 17 more choppers, fighter planes, and people that can set up perimeters that actually work (-7)
-Knows Bill would be doing a better job than she’s doing (+4)
-Finally stood up to the doctor (+5)
-Knew Doyle was right about her having to stand up to the chain of command (+4)

Net Gain/Loss: -3
Current Total: 133

Jack Bauer (574)
-Gave Doyle the friendly sleeper move (+4)
-Escaped CTU custody for the 127th time (+2)
-Threw the District shrink to the ground, sit down boy (+5)
-Disabled the CTU door (+1)
-Got Audrey to utter one word “Bloomfield” which will turn out to be the most crucial evidence we’ve had this entire season (+7)
-Got taken back into CTU custody for the 128th time (-5)
-Got told off by Secretary Heller, the most ungrateful character in all of 24 (-3)

Net Gain/Loss: +11
Current Total: 585
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Understatement of the decade:

“You’re cursed Jack. Everything you touch winds up dead.” –Secretary Heller

Well, besides Jack trying to talk to Audrey, this episode didn’t have any Jack in it at all. I can’t believe with now just 3 episodes left that they are still going with these essentially Jack-less episodes. In my opinion we need the last 3 episodes to be so chalk full of Jack Bauer that we hardly ever see anyone else.

We spent a whole lot of time in Washington watching the less than attractive Lisa, get her freak on with that dude from Stargate. What disturbs me about this is that this is a plot device taken straight out of the very first season. Remember David Palmer’s aide was having that torrid love affair with one of the Drezen? It’s getting a bit scary how many times they’re using plots over and over.

I did like Doyle in this one though. He played a great part, but he should’ve had enough guts to get Jack a gun and go with him to the room. Two of them would’ve been a lot better than Jack just running into a room with no escape.

Nadia has hopefully learned her lesson. There’s nothing I can’t stand more than when we have to waste our time in 24 listen to bureaucratic nonsense “Chain of Command” ect. Whenever that happens, I’m just hoping that we can get back to the real stories and characters we care about.

I know there were a lot of things I didn’t like about this episode. It was rather slow. I did however like that VP Powers Boothe didn’t hold back in telling Tom that he’d also been sleeping with Lisa. That was a nice change from the norm of people trying to hide whatever they can.

I just have a few questions after this episode.

1) Why in the world did CTU have 2 helicopters on the ground ready to take Audrey and Jack back to CTU? Why weren’t those choppers scouring the land for Cheng?

2) Why do we care about Chloe and Morris’ personal lives? Too much time has been wasted on this subplot.

3) Where in the world did Secretary Heller come from? Didn’t he drive his care off a huge cliff in season 4? Or was it 5? Anyway, I can’t remember, but did we ever see him after he plunged off that cliff? I’ll tell you what if that guy’s still alive, then Tony definitely can still be alive.

4) Will the next 3 episodes be off the hook? I sure hope so. It’s May sweeps time and these 24 writers better get it in gear to set off these last 3 episodes. Tonight’s episode just won’t cut it for a season finale. Here’s hoping we get some better episodes coming up.

We’re definitely on the home stretch now. Hour 20 is upon us, and that means that most likely we’ll have next week as a one hour show and then a 2 hour season finale two weeks from now.

Last week Cheng got away with the nuke computer chip in 3 stealth hummers. Audrey has been brainwashed, the VP is back in control, and Bill Buchanan has left the building (who’s going to do our recapping now?).

With Bill leaving Nadia has assumed control of CTU because apparently she’s done more in this season than we’ve actually seen.

The episode for this week looks great from the previews and confirms many things I’ve already been thinking are going to happen. First check out the preview and then voice your opinions in the comments…

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Man, sorry for the lack of getting this post up for the Gum contest this week. College finals are wreaking havoc with my ability to remember what I need to be doing with this site.

I’ve just been reading over all the entries from last week. They’re hilarious! It’s hard to pick a clear cut winner. So, here’s what I’m going to do. The READERS get to choose! I’m going to put up a few that made me laugh out loud, and everyone can vote for them. The person with the most votes by Monday will win.

Here’s how to vote. After you’ve entered your clever caption for this week’s picture, just put “Vote: (name of person)”

Here’s the picture from last week:

Here are the ones that I thought were the best:

The first one to go for the Kool-Aid man reference, Mark: “Oooooooh yeahhhh”

Mike B:“Chloe!! Where the hell did the Kool-aid man go!!…Dammit I’m Thirsty!”

Willy: “He’s been dead three times, a fugitive from the U.S. Government, and tortured by the Chinese for 18 months. His wife was killed, and he’s estranged from his daughter. His name is Jack Bauer. Let’s see if we can help him out. Next week, on Extreme Makeover, Home Edition!”

Eric: “Damn it! Why did none of you think to cover the big hole in the wall for Fayed’s escape route?!”

m00n3r: Shrug off gunshot wounds and tear through walls for 24 hours straight with the “Bauer 209″ crime fighting exoskeleton!

Okay now that you know the ones that I loved, you can vote for them.

Here’s the picture for this week from season 1:

Alright, get your caption on, and don’t forget to vote for your week 3 favorite!

Doyle got himself a terrorist, good job:

The CTU team took care of these two:

Jack added to his kill count with these two stragglers that didn’t get to ride in the stealth hummers:

And finally we will say goodbye to the CTU “Air One” helicopter. I don’t know if the people died that were on board, but I think it’s safe to say that the helicopter is out of commission:

Tom Lennox (77)
-Has decided to drink the VP’s Kool-Aid once again (-7)
-Thinks Karen is “smart” and brings “balance” (to the force) (+2)

Net Gain/Loss: -5
Current Total: 72

President Wayne Palmer (72)
-Is living it up in his coma (+5)

Net Gain/Loss: +5
Current Total: 77

Bill Buchanan (150)
-Pulled the recapping of his life when he recapped the entire past 5 seasons of 24 by saying “Jack Bauer’s gone rogue” (+10)
-Asked Chloe to rejoin the team (+2)
-Gave Doyle a pointless recap of the ramifications if the chip were to fall into Cheng’s hands (-5)
-Is one of Jack’s “good friends.” Which is funny because besides Chloe all of Jack’s other “good friends” are “dead friends” (+6)
-Hung up on his wife after hearing the news that he was being fired (+7)
-Put Nadia in charge of CTU. Yes, Nadia. What’s that you say? She hasn’t done a single thing this whole season? Hmmm….interesting (-5)

Net Gain/Loss: +15
Current Total: 165

Nadia Yassir (140)
-Got the promotion of a lifetime. From CTU secretary to CTU head cheese in 2 seconds flat (+5)
-The first chance she got she reminded us all how much we hate it when a new woman takes over at CTU. Remember Erin Driscoll and Alberta Green? They drove me absolutely nuts. It’s a good thing Sherry Palmer never ran CTU or I would’ve stopped watching a long time ago (-9)

Net Gain/Loss: -4
Current Total: 136

Jack Bauer (567)
-Used power lines to hide the signal of the transmitter on the chip (+3)
-Plucked the transmitter out with a knife (+2)
-Got Cheng to do what he wanted (+3)
-In a spectacular turn of events Jack brought back the man purse that he made famous last season, Hooray! (+8)
-Used a “double linked key” to slow down CTU’s tracking. Who would’ve thought, seriously, a “double linked key” it’s so simple yet genius (+3)
-Didn’t see Doyle drive right past the rundown building he was standing in. He didn’t even hear his car. Maybe he was too busy thinking about how smart he was when he used that “double linked key” (-8)
-Confronted the very man that tortured him for the past two years (+5)
-Didn’t notice that while a limo drove up to the motel, 3 other “stealth hummers” drove in the back way. Jack stop thinking about the “double linked key” and get your act together man (-10)
-Got shot, but just in his vest (-5)
-Added two more people to his kill count (+6)

Net Gain/Loss: +7
Current Total: 574
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Sorry I didn’t have this post up right after the episode aired. I was too busy watching my Utah Jazz lose game 2.

Okay, let’s get down to business…

Overall this was a strange episode, but I did like it.

But what in the world is up with Audrey? She’s been all sorts of brainwashed. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

It looks like Tom is aligning himself with the VP for the time being, but that tape recording isn’t in the closet just yet that’s for sure. Especially with the VP’s aide, Lisa, playing him like a fiddle, there’s going to be some point where something’s going to have to happen to get the VP out of office.

Karen is deciding to not stand side by side with her husband Bill. That’s just a shame. Bill has now stepped down and Nadia is in charge…let me repeat Nadia is IN CHARGE. Who in the world knew she actually knew enough to take control of CTU. And once she stepped into the head of CTU role it seemed like she is going to turn into one of those annoying female CTU supervisors that drives me up the wall like Alberta Green and Erin Driscoll. I sure hope she doesn’t go the way of those two ladies or we’re all in for a very long last few episodes.

Well, Doyle managed to screw things up royally didn’t he? Jack had that whole place wired to blow and Doyle messed up the entire thing.

Here’s one thing I didn’t understand at all. Cheng came with his buddies in one limo right? (Sorry I was watching this on my computer and the screen was pretty dark) But, then they are able to get away in 3 black hummers? Where did those things come from? If anyone has an answer to that I’d love to know. I’ll re-watch the episode tomorrow to find out.

Now we can talk about Audrey. What the heck did those crazy Chinese do to her? She’s completely insane. Maybe it’s not actually Audrey, but just a very life-like Audrey-bot. But, in all seriousness that was pretty freaky seeing her like that. How come she wasn’t like that when Jack talked to her on the phone? She seemed fine on the phone.

There’s a lot of questions that need answering, and mark my words Jack’s Dad is the one with all the answers!

I know a lot of people don’t like spoilers and for those people this post isn’t for you.

With that said, this is the kind of spoiler that doesn’t give anything huge away, but it gives us just enough to wonder what in the world is going on.

So, if you want to remain spoiler free, then don’t click on the jump…(But you should know that this isn’t a specific spoiler):

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Welcome back everybody to another week of 24.

Sorry for the lateness of this post, I had to go to the doctor’s office this morning. Seems like that’s where I’ve been spending all my time lately. If only I were Jack Bauer, then I’d never get sick.

Ok, let’s get down to business. Last week’s episode was a lead-up episode to the last few weeks of this season. Jack tried stealing the nuke computer chip for the Chinese, only to get caught by Doyle. Then, moments later, Jack got permission from President Wayne to go ahead with the mission, but then wouldn’t you know it Wayne suffered a hemorrhage during his press conference, and then that evil VP Powers Boothe changed the President’s orders and has now forced Jack to go rouge.

That’s right, Jack is on his own. He held Doyle at gunpoint and made him get out of the car.

Jack’s at his best when he goes dark/rogue/black/alone/hermit-like because he can do whatever he wants, and his kill count usually ends up going through the roof.

Well, let’s check out the preview for tonight’s episode and then talk about it after the jump:

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