(8:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M.)
Review/Commentary
Reviewer: D
Well, after a couple months of lolly-gagging around, "24" is now truly kicking butt and taking names. Last week's show started things percolating and, with Hour 8, my adrenaline gauge reached that peak pumping level it used to reach on a regular basis last season - even without a scene of Kim in her underwear!
I think the best indicator that a season of "24" is moving into high gear is the number of characters per episode who get killed after actually getting a chance to deliver dialogue. Oh, we've had a few isolated cases so far - from the lawyer in Hour 1 to the guard on the plane in Hour 7 - but in this episode we had both Ted Packer and the Mexican federale. Both of these guys seemed like they could be interesting characters and yet both of them had "expendable" etched on their forehead from the first scene they were in.
This was a landmark hour for numerous reasons:
- It was the only episode this year - and maybe in "24" history - where Kim hasn't made a dumb decision.
- It was perhaps the only scene ever in the history of prime-time television where someone broke up with the President of the United States (anyone have any other examples? Please forward them!)
- For the first time, "24" pulled a "Dallas" and basically said that everything up until now this season has been a ruse. (Which begs the question, will we really never see Kyle "Ebola-boy" Singer and his trashy-but-hot girlfriend ever again? Furthermore, does anyone really care?)
- And possibly best of all, it was the first inkling we've been given that our old pal Nina may be back, in the form of the "other bidder" for the virus alluded to in the coming attractions.
It was also the episode where all sorts of secrets were revealed. Oh sure, there's that BIG secret - that Jack, Tony and Gael were apparently subverting the entire US government in implementing their fool-proof, air-tight plan to double-deal the Salazars. I'll get back to that in a minute. But there were several other equally interesting revelations to talk about as well:
- We discover the real reason the writers had Tony shot in the neck. Silly me, I thought it was because it would be a viable possibility that someone aiming at someone's head would miss and hit them in the neck. It also wouldn't necessarily be as debilitating as a shot to the liver or the kidney, making it possible (though improbable - except in "24" land!) that Tony would be back in action before the day was over. But the REAL reason, it appears, for popping Tony in the larynx was to give him an excuse to talk in that raspy, sexy voice that drives women wild! Well, all women with the exception of Michelle, apparently.
- We discover that even federal agents have geeky ID photos. Did you catch that shot of Chase as they sent his picture down to the Mexican federale? The chat boards are calling Chase "Charlie Brown" and with that ID photo, you can see why. Just give him the shirt with a zig-zag stripe and a beagle sidekick and the effect would be complete.
- We find out that Jack's taste in women has suffered a tremendous blow. Can anyone tell me why Jack would fall for Cl-oww-dia the collagen queen? Could this lack of judgment be due to the heroin? Or is it just part of his infiltration of the Salazars? If so, it seems like the worst possible choice, and not just because Cl-oww-dia barely registers as a Poor Man's Angelina Jolie. If Hector finds out where Jack has been holstering his pistol, Jack will be as long gone as Paris Hilton's virginity.
Go On to Page 2
Back to the Unofficial 24 Page
Go Back to Television
Go Back Home!