(6:00 A.M. - 7:00 A.M.)
Review/Commentary
Reviewer: D
My memory of some of the early episodes this season is a little shaky (perhaps because I nearly fell asleep during some of them) but I'm thinking that this past Sunday was the best hour of 24 yet during "Day 3." Among the great things:
- The episode worked (more or less) as a self-contained hour - you know, like a regular TV show. Instead of "6am - 7am," they could have called it "Saving Chappelle" and a new viewer could have enjoyed it with hardly any background info at all.
- This episode also had little or no god-awful dialogue. Sure, Saunders purring "you underestimate me, Jack" was another line that could have come from a half-dozen James Bond movies but, hey, it was also true. The underestimation didn't just apply to Saunders' smarts. He showed an impressive (if you call it that) level of nastiness by his willingness to sacrifice a half-dozen of his own minions as part of a decoy.
- Chloe! OK, so I know no one agreed with me when I said Chloe was the best part of the show 8 or 10 episodes ago. But come on, wasn't it priceless to have her chastise Jack on his tone of voice?! Because the show doesn't fish for cheap laughs by using over-the-top villains or silly sidekicks as comic relief - thankfully! - 24 is almost completely humorless. In the midst of this comic desert, only Chloe is always good for a smile or at least a smirk. I consider her the most original character 24 has created and maybe the most original currently on television (disagree? Well, email me a rebuttal tough guy!).
- Michelle and Tony. I'm sorry - I'm turning into a sucker for these guys. They are usually so stone-faced that their increasingly emotional conversations just seem spot-on to me, striking a perfect balance between restraint and pathos. As I mentioned last week, Carlos Bernard and Reiko Aylesworth are doing outstanding work. I demand an Emmy! It's about time someone besides Kiefer got recognized for this show (well, I guess you could include Elisha but that recognition has at least in part had something to do with those largish protuberances in her chest area).
- The scene where Chase starts to get up in Chappelle's face. Ah, the exquisite dilemma for both Jack and Chappelle in that scene. Do you shut down Chase by telling him Jack may be ferrying Chappelle to his death? Of course not. Oh, but you could almost taste the desire for them to do so.
- The return of Baker! As loyal fans know, Chase's sidekick during the raid on Saunders' presumed hide-out is a 24 semi-regular (kind of like the lead Secret Service guy on Palmer's staff - what's his name again?) and part of what lends some sense of continuity to the series. He seems to come on the scene only during the most exciting field-ops. The raid wasn't particularly extraordinary as such ops go but it had a good bit of extra tension thanks to the running in parallel with Chappelle's fevered last moments.
- The test of Michelle's compassion. Didn't you think she was going to cave in to Mr. Security Guy's plea to call his wife? I did. I mean, come on. Some loyal soldier looking all pathetic with blood streaming down his face asks you for a simple favor and you shut him down? Cold as ice, brother.
- To paraphrase Janis Joplin, take a…take another piece of Jack's soul, now baby. Even my wife (who has reluctantly been sucked back into the 24 experience because I promised her it was getting good again) was convinced that they were going to find some way to save Chappelle at the end. But instead Jack takes another step toward hell by killing a colleague execution style. I picture Jack's soul as a diseased little mouse trapped at the bottom of the well and each incident like this is like pulling another limb off the poor little rodent.
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