(1:00 A.M. - 2:00 A.M.)
Review/Commentary
I haven't said that in a while regarding 24, but last night got me saying "wow" several times. I know I get critical of the show sometimes, but remember the context - I think this is one of the best and for sure most unique shows on television. Thus, I expect a lot. Especially after the first season, and especially after this season got off to a promising start. However, as you may have noticed in recent reviews, I thought that after the halfway point, the quality and originality of the show suffered somewhat. Hey, everyone has a lull - I write for a living so I can understand as well as anybody that sometimes the creative juices just aren't flowing. In fact, you're probably thinking, "yeah, I've read your reviews and clearly the juices aren't even dripping, let alone flowing." But hey, who asked you?
To reiterate something I've said before - on the uniqueness scale, there's just nothing like 24. The "Previously on 24" is the most informative "previously" of any show I've ever seen, and the creative measure of showing us who the characters are is an absolutely fantastic touch. From the sound effects (I think the opening sound as the "24" shows on the screen sounds like a seal being broken - perhaps the seal on a new hour of very cool television?) to the freeze-frame intros, 24 sucks you in immediately. It reminds you of what happened last time so you don't spend the first 15 minutes trying to remember why he's shooting at that guy over there and why so-and-so is still alive or dead or on crutches. By the time the actual show starts, you're already tilted forward on the edge of your seat. Can you tell I love this show?
Anyway, on to the episode at hand. For the second episode in a row, the hour picked up in precisely the second it left off last time. Now, I know theoretically it always does, but you and I both know it doesn't. Instead, it will be a different scene. Like if this one had started out at district HQ in L.A. with the Prez or something like that. But no, it picked up with Jack, Yousaf and Wallace returning fire and under serious attack. Of course, we can skip the Hollyweird issues, such as the fact that they were completely surrounded from an elevated position and were surprise-attacked, yet no one was hit until they were driving away. And even then, due to good (?) fortune, it was only Wallace who got shot. Okay, so I mentioned it a little. I don't know - it's just kind of silly to see them being deadly accurate with pistols while US Special Ops commandos have sniper rifles, are elevated, and are under cover of darkness and can't hit anything but the car windows. Oh, and did you notice they did fire into the trunklid of the car? I hate to be the pooh-pooher, but those rifle bullets would have kept right on going and hit Kate as she was climbing out of the car. But hey, we're digressing.
That opening scene was awesome - seeing Jack and Wallace work together, along with Yousaf was terrific directing and acting. Shootout scenes are rarely memorable, but I thought this was a good one. When they needed to, they bonded together and worked as a highly trained team. They're all indeed highly trained by their respective governments, so, anyway, I thought it was played out well. I'm babbling now.
I have to admit I was afraid Yousaf was going to be killed off, especially when Wallace shut the door and left him outside. However, it eventually looked like that was somewhat smart, because it allowed them to have a "friendly" (as Jack called him) on the outside. If they were all pinned in, their escape would have been impossible. I also imagine I'm not the only one who didn't like the way Yousaf was mouthing off to Tony back at CTU, yet who loves him now. Yousaf has proven his reliability and loyalty to Jack. Now, it's certainly possible that we're being led to believe this and feel this way only to have it all turn around on us - but I don't think so. Sadly, I think Yousaf will be killed before long - yet another casualty of knowing Jack. But we shall see.
Let's talk about Tony. Yet another strong performance by Tony, making us want to like him, but still harboring a little bit of skepticism. I was happy to see him still trying to do his job correctly, even though it means spying on his crush, Michelle. Also, his call to Jack was more controlled than I could probably have been to the person who beat my ass 90 minutes earlier. Jack did try to explain to him why he had to leave the way he did (as I had lamented about in earlier reviews) and Tony is smart enough to understand that Jack doesn't do things without a damn good reason. The only thing that made me worry a little about the direction Tony's character is going in was the way he eagerly tried to get Jack to bring Wallace in to CTU. Now, that's probably nothing, but if Tony were to turn out to be dirty (which I seriously hope he doesn't), then that would be something I could look back to and understand why he was so adamant about stopping Jack and keeping everything confined to CTU.
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