Spoilage.
24 Official Site
The Time: Mondays, 8:00 PM, Fox
The Show:
Jack
Bauer is a former government agent, most recently assigned to the
now-defunct Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), which was tasked with
investigating and preventing threats to American national
security. Doing whatever it takes to get the job done, Jack
is a dedicated and deadly instrument of justice who has saved the
country on numerous occasions, though frequently paying a high price
for his service. Following Jack’s exploits over a full 24
hours of one day in real time, 24 is an award-winning political and action thriller that created a new format – and standard – in TV drama.
The Stars:
• Kiefer Sutherland – Jack Bauer
• Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O’Brian
• Cherry Jones as President Allison Taylor
• James Morrison as Bill Buchanan
• Annie Wersching as FBI Special Agent Renee Walker
• Colm Feore as First Gentleman Henry Taylor
• Bob Gunton as White House Chief of Staff Ethan Kanin
• Jeffrey Nordling as FBI Special Agent in Charge Larry Moss
• Rhys Coiro as FBI Special Agent Sean Hillinger
• Janeane Garofalo as FBI Special Agent Janis Gold
• Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida
• Peter Wingfield as Emerson
The Episode: “1:00 PM – 2:00 PM”
Agent Walker has been buried alive by Jack and Tony after Jack “killed” her. Henry Taylor is still helpless after his Secret Service agent that he discovered is corrupt and who murdered his and President Taylor’s son injected him with a paralytic. The deadline has come and gone for the president to withdraw American forces from Sangala and there will be consequences from Dubaku.
The Lowdown:
This is a better episode than last week, definitely, although still quite a bit light in the action department. Bill and Chloe arrive just in time to save Renee, who is nevertheless not happy about what Jack did to her, although she somewhat understands. Henry Taylor is still in his predicament that a dead guy could have seen was coming. And President Taylor is showing that even though she doesn’t have balls, she does in fact have balls, while several of the people around her don’t.
There was a nice pause when Samantha Roth (Carly Pope) arrived back at her apartment after being manipulated by Secret Service Agent Gedge (Warren Kole) and Taylor is paralyzed on the couch. As Gedge is waiting behind her with a knife, Taylor is showing signs of being able to move, and you think there’s a chance that Samantha might be saved. But she’s Jack the Rippered in cold fashion by the agent. There’s another quick moment when Chloe is getting ready to put a bug into one of Matobo’s teeth and he asks her if she’s with the FBI and she says matter-of-factly, “No, I’m a stay-at-home mom.” Very Chloe-esque.
We also learn the circumstances about how Tony was recruited by Emerson after being snuck out of CTU after his “death.” It goes back to Season 5 when Christopher Henderson (Peter Weller) stuck Tony with the needle that supposedly killed him. Emerson explains it away that Anderson had no intention of killing Tony, was working with Emerson and deliberately missed Tony’s artery. From what I remember, it was a split-second thing where Henderson got the drop on Tony. Not sure if I buy it but…actually, I don’t buy it. But what the hell. Not the first time a retcon was pulled out of the rear section.
Some things also not quite playing are the infighting and insubordination of President Taylor’s staff, including White House Chief of Staff Ethan Kanin and Secretary of State Joe Stevens (Mark Derwin). It’s not the insubordination, but the fact that, yet again, it seems like it’s going to lead to the President’s staff conspiring against him, or in this case, her. Also, Dubaku is planning to use the CIP device to hit an American chemical installation that’ll cause the deaths of tens of thousands of people, much like Marwan (Arnold Vosloo) did with the nuclear device and the the nuclear plant in Season 4.
What this means is that it looks like 24 is starting to exhaust the terror options here if you can believe it. I realize a show like this is a plotting and logistical nightmare, but when you can start pulling major plot threads and comparing them to stuff done in previous seasons, especially the plotting behind the president’s back, which is a staple of the show practically, then it’s played. Be that as it may, this was generally a pretty solid episode. But Jack only got to kill one guy and that just ain’t gonna cut it.