24

6:00 A.M. - 7:00 A.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"That's someone you never forget"
I had the big final twist figured out when the camera oddly focused upon Jack taking various items out of President Logan’s pockets, so a good chunk of this episode was spent waiting for the writing to turn over this final card. Still I will confess there was a brief moment where I thought Jack was going to pull the trigger when he reached the end of the three second countdown, and I have to say President Logan had some of his most effective moments as a villain during this back and forth exchange with Jack. However this season manages to turn in a lovely final twist as with ten minutes to go in the hour, a plot thread from the previous season comes back into the picture, and it makes for a lovely cliffhanger moment to carry 24 fans into the next season. Now there is a bit of a question about the time frame which saw Jack taken captive in the final ten minutes, but by episode’s end he’s on a freighter on it’s way to China, but I’m willing to let this one slide due to the simple fact that it does make for a powerful image close out the season. This episode also manages to tie off the various relationships that have been developed over the course of the season as Jack and Audrey have a nice reunion moment, and the scene between the two heads of CTU deftly hints at a possible romance. There’s also a fairly touching scene between Chloe and her newly introduced ex-husband, where he reveals he has some emotional depth when he offers lend an ear to a notably upset Chloe. Still this episode does suffer from the fact that it telegraphed the idea that President Logan was bugged a little too early, and as such it’s efforts to convince viewers that he was going to evade justice were a bit transparent, as were the First Lady’s efforts where she went down the laundry list of all the bad things he did over the past 24 hours. Still the final twist brought the season to a close on a high note and with a starting point like this season six already looks very promising. In the end this was far from being the best season, but it was better than the previous season, and it ended on a high note.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

5:00 A.M. - 6:00 A.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"Here I come to save the day!"
The opening twenty-odd minutes of this episode play like the typical season ender episode of 24 except it all occurs at such an accelerated rate that by the time you get caught up in the intensity of the situation it’s been resolved. Still all the staples are ever present, from the ticking time clock, to the highly charged slugfest with the big baddie who Jack manages to dispatch with a neck snapping leg lock manoeuvre. We also get a nice little moment where Jack finds himself face to face with Henderson, and after pulling the classic Clint Eastwood gag where he armed his untrustworthy ally with an unloaded weapon, Jack is perfectly willing to gun down an unarmed opponent. In fact one could argue that this was a rather cowardly move by Jack, but truth be told it’s perfectly in character given the moral ambiguity that Jack has always displayed. In any event this episode rockets out of the gates, and manages to make the most of the threat of the ever present ticking countdown until the missiles launch. Also in a rather surprising moment for 24 and it’s insanely high body count, we actually have a minor character provide help to Jack who doesn’t end up getting killed for their effort. However we do have the required red shirt agent as Jack enters the submarine with Henderson and a third guy who we know is only their to get shot by the bad guys. As for the second half of the episode we see Jack decides he needs to take President Logan out of office, and to this end he covertly enlists the help of Chloe, as 24 fans should be well aware by now that the only plans that stand any chance of success are the ones that are performed behind the backs of the higher ups at CTU. In any event while Jack pretty much drops off the radar for most of the second half, it does a pretty effective job of getting all the required ducks in a row as a small group of allies are gathered to help Jack get close enough to President Logan to secure a confession. This in turn manages to produce a nicely duplicitous moment where we see the First Lady exploits President Logan’s manly needs in order to give Jack the time he needs.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

4:00 A.M. - 5:00 A.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"And our friends are all aboard"
Plot holes unbound, and silly story contrivances litter this episode, but truth be told when I stand back and think about this episode I have to confess I found it to be a fairly engaging experience. I mean I could get bogged down in all manner of complaints, or point out that the writing often times throws logic completely out the window in favour of a dramatic situation, but in the end the most important question was did I find the experience entertaining and truth be told while I feel a bit guilty about it for the most part I was able to sit back and enjoy the show. Of course it helps that the writing is relying upon such dependable plot devices, such as Jack and Henderson being forced into a very unlikely alliance, which manages to offer up an effective moment where it looks like Henderson has sold Jack’s group up the river. We also get the evil terrorist villain making good on his escape, and like every good villain he has an impressive plan B involving the use of the sole surviving nerve gas canister to grab control of a Russian nuclear submarine. Now with two hours remaining on the clock this master plan does seem a little grandiose, as there’s simply not enough time for the show to deal with the fallout that would occur if our terrorists managed to start firing off missiles into the heart of Los Angeles, but the restrictive confines of the submarine do make for a promising final set-piece, and I fully expect the writing will take full advantage of this environment as Jack and company race through this sub racing the ticking clock, dealing with all manner of baddies and climaxing with a big fist fight between Jack and Bierko. We also get the return of the tiresome debate where Jack and the others discuss offering Henderson a deal to secure his help, as this has to be about the fourth time this season we’ve had this conversation. However, this one does earn itself a free pass as Henderson’s tired reaction to the idea that a potential deal was being offered mirrored my own, and his logic for turn down the offer of immunity was smartly laid out. In the end this episode did an effective job of building momentum toward the final episode and at this point of the season that all I can really ask from this series.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

2.5 out of 5 Stars

24

2:00 A.M. - 3:00 A.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"Don’t you come back no more."
When I watched this episode I was in a particularly good mood as my beloved Edmonton Oilers had just managed to advance to the second round of the playoffs, and as such I found myself rather enjoying this episode. In fact after a string of rather sub-par episodes this week’s hour actually managed to inject some real excitement into the season. I mean how can one not love how Jack managed to get the pilot to open the hatch, and while there will probably be a steady stream of aircraft designers who will point out whether a person could have such a profound impact on a plane, I found it to be a lovely look at just how determined Jack can be to get his way. The episode also manages to avoid the standard cliché action movie moments where a hero is involved in highjacking a plane, as not one round is fired from a gun, and Jack is able to grab control of the plane without becoming involved in a long, protracted slugfest. Now the material playing out with the President is getting a little old, as there’s only so many times the character can behave in a highly suspicious manner before you become incredibly frustrated with the people around him acting like they can’t put the pieces together, with Novik’s inability to put two and two together being the primary source of my frustration. I mean President Logan is telegraphing his guilt with everything but a giant flashing neon sign over his head, and yet it would seem Novik’s entire role in this series is to become progressively more befuddled. Still, the Chloe’s interaction with the drunk in the hotel bar made me smile, and while I realize that I’m supposed to take the guy as a serious potential threat, the performance of the actor playing Hayes’ underling can’t help but make me smile, as all he really needs is a giant moustache he can twirl as he works to impede Jack’s efforts, with the scene where he phones Novik to report Hayes odd behaviour being the highlight. In the end there were moments where the writing got a bit silly, and next week’s episode looks completely over the top, but for the most part I rather enjoyed this episode if only for the sheer forward momentum that has been built up.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

24

1:00 A.M. - 2:00 A.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"Ask the puppet-masters who pull the strings"
As we enter the final turn of this season I have to say I’ve been less than impressed by how the writers cling to the established elements from previous seasons, as we’re jump through the exact same hoops, and Jack’s running into the exact same problems that we’ve seen in previous seasons. Now I realize that Jack Bauer is the star of the show, and that when it comes to the final showdown the writing prefers to have Jack as the only heroic figure who stands in the path of the villains getting away with their dastardly plan. I also recognize that Jack is a well established lone wolf operative, so what better way to reinforce this image than to have him falsely accused of a crime, and have an arrest warrant issued which forces him to work outside the system. However, the simple truth of the matter is that we’re in the fifth season and most of this season’s twists and turns feel like reheated leftovers from previous seasons. It also doesn’t help matters that the writing seems to feel that it needs to offer up a ticking time bomb moment any time the show narrows in on a commercial break, and by the time we’ve reached the third narrow escape of the episode it becomes difficult to get caught up in the suspense. Also I have to say one of the biggest disappointments of this season is that Peter Weller has been playing the role of the ever elusive big baddie but his capture in this episode is so undramatic that one can’t help but feel cheated. We also get our first look at the behind the scene baddies who are a less that impressive collection of men in suits. Now the episode does have it’s moments as James Heller’s method of breaking the stand-off between Jack and Henderson was unexpected, and the final scenes had a nice urgency about them as Jack tries to sneak aboard a departing plane (though I do have to question the effectiveness of the disguise that he employs to actually get on the plane). There’s also a nice bit of tension between Henderson and Audrey as he tries to get her to use her cell-phone which would give away her location, and the scene where she’s hiding in the darken building from Henderson’s men managed to deliver a nice jump scare moment.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

12:00 A.M. - 1:00 A.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"Will you remember my reply, when your high horse dies?"
I’ve never been a big fan of the style of writing where the continuation of a plot is entirely dependant of a character taking path B when logic states that if they had taken path A the entire problem would’ve been resolved. Having James Heller decide to use the recording to blackmail President Logan into resigning from office instead of taking the proper channels was a sign that writers of this series might as well as started waving a big banner telling viewers they have seven more hours to fill. From this point of the episode one could practically hear the gears grinding as the writing manipulated events for maximum dramatic effect. There’s also a couple moments in this episode that are downright painful as the second that Jack left Audrey behind when he went to get a hold of the recording I knew she was going to play the role of the hostage that would pry the recording out of Jack’s possession, and just like clockwork the writing took exactly the path I knew it would. We also get a scene where President Logan states that Peter Weller’s character should call him the instant he gets a hold of the recording, and I knew that this phone call would be coming right when it looked like James Heller efforts were going to succeed. I mean there’s a difference between taking the logical-occasionally predictable path and taking the one that is so devoid of original thought that one can see it come long before it’s arrival, and the writing of this series falls directly in the latter camp. Still, even with the writing bending over backwards to steer events toward a direction that would allow the villains to walk away with their victory there are some strong moments in this episode. I mean the stand-off scene where Jack has to decide whether to give up the recording has a nice dramatic intensity about it, especially when we discover there is a ticking clock element that forces Jack’s hand. I also have to say while the logic behind it is a bit silly I have to confess the big speech where President Logan justifies his action has a lovely sense of self importance about it that the character emerged as a far more credible villain. I also rather enjoyed his smug satisfaction when he managed to turn the tables on James Heller.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

11:00 P.M. - 12:00 A.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride"
There are moments when I do have to openly wonder if the writers of this series even bother to hold a planning session at the start of the season so that the various plot twist that are introduced over the course of the season don’t step all over the developments from previous episode. I mean is all good and dramatic that we’ve discovered that President Logan is one of the key masterminds behind the days events, and I guess one could argue that his seemingly wrongheaded decisions earlier in the season which seemed to be based on sheer stupidity were actually the character steering the events of the day to his advantage. However, the simple fact of the matter is that a great deal of the dramatic suspense from the earlier episodes hinged upon Logan’s indecisive nature, and there are a number of moments where he seemed to be acting at cross purposes with the plan which the current episode clearly suggest was his making all along. Still, I guess as far as big surprise twists go having the President of the United States working hand in hand with the big baddie of the season stands up as one of the more outrageous plot twists this series has ever offered up, and as such I suspect it’s probably for the best if one just simply sits back, enjoy the ride and not put too much thought into how poorly this development meshes with events earlier in the day. Plus, I can’t really complain about a plot twist that brings the attention back in Jack’s direction, as the lion’s share of the action involves Jack’s effort to secure a vital piece of evidence that implicates President Logan. The episode also has Jack become a wanted fugitive, as Logan fabricates a story that Jack was involved with the terrorists, and this effectively cuts Jack off from most of the help that CTU could provide. Plus, given the preview has Chloe being taken into custody for the aid she provides in this episode it would appear Jack will spend the rest of the season operating without technical support, which should force the writing to get a little more inventive. This episode also brings in a surprise player from the previous season that I really wasn’t expecting to see.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

10:00 P.M. - 11:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"The world is changing hands"
You know you’re in trouble when the writing offers up a slimy weasel character whose sole purpose is to kick sand in the face of our brave heroes, and it gets even worse when we see this character offers up the argument that a wealth of mistakes have been made that require a scapegoat to hang them on. Now, I realize with the main weapon of terrorist’s threat taken off the table this show needs to offer up something dramatic for CTU to be doing, but rather than having Homeland Security march into CTU with guns a blazing looking to call the day an unmitigated disaster it makes far more sense that they would simply point out that with the immediate nerve gas threat no longer on the table, it makes perfect sense that CTU operatives would begin to step down as most of them have been on the job for the better part of fifteen hours, and their effectiveness would now be suspect, especially in light of the fact that they would now have the time to register the loss of 40% of their co-workers. Of course having Homeland Security making reasonable arguments would get in the way of the more dramatic take-over bid which once again forces Jack and a couple other members of the main cast to go off and perform their separate little mission. Still I will give this episode credit for coming up with an exciting mission for Jack to take part in as a plot thread involving the assistant of the first lady arrives completely out of the blue, and Jack is forced to take on a small army of armed mercenaries in an effort to rescue the woman’s kidnapped daughter so she’ll offer up the vital piece of information in the puzzle that Jack and the others are putting together. The final cliff-hanger moment also offers up an unexpected development that while very successful at delivering on the surprise factor also seems to fly in the face of every single moment involving this character, and I hope that this was a development that was in place right from the outset, and not simply a late addition, as the writing really needs to address the glaring inconsistencies that have now been introduced into the story.

2.5 out of 5 Stars

24

9:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"I used to live in an innocent world"
I have to say I’m not quite sold on the kinder, gentler approach that Jack used in this episode to establish that Audrey was telling the truth, as while the choke hold move made for a nice dramatic clip that could be used in the previews one only has to look back on Jack’s previous questionings sessions to see that Audrey got off extremely easy. I mean this is a character who makes a habit of putting a bullet in the leg of people who don’t answer his questions, but I guess since the writing knew that Audrey was being set up, they had to have Jack’s feelings for her act to tone down his mad dog questioning style. Still, it’s painfully obvious that Audrey has been set up once Jack declares her innocent, so the series essentially torpedoes the one engaging element that it had brought to the table very early in the episode, and the writing shifts into downright lazy mode when it comes to allowing CTU to discover what the next target is. On a side note I do have to question the terrorist plan for distributing the gas into people’s homes, as wouldn’t the gas simply be burned off by the pilot light once it reached the individual homes, as if your furnace is leaking natural gas into your home than you probably have bigger problems than a terrorist attack. Still, I’m sure this is something the writers would’ve addressed so I’ll simply chalk it up as my general lack of knowledge about how natural gas is used to heat homes. Still, given Jack seems to feel that blowing up the plant would render the terrorist gas harmless it does seem like natural question one should be asking. The episode also doesn’t do itself any favours with some laughable scenes, as the actor who is questioning Audrey is so over the top when he questions her that the scene completely falls apart, and the sexual harassment moment in the closing moments of this episode had me looking for the scene where the woman made it clear she was pulling Chloe’s leg, as there’s no way a woman this sensitive could function in a high stress environment. Still, one has to love how the episode ends, and has to openly wonder if the next nine hours will follow Jack’s recovery in the burn ward of a nearby hospital.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

8:00 P.M. - 9:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"I give you take, I know we're gonna break"
This episode earns serious points for it’s surprise final moment revelation, and while I think the character who was supposed to have provided the plans for the terrorist next target was locked with the rest of the cast inside a sealed room, and no seeming method of transmitting the plans when the woman Jack questioned was receiving these plans, I’m sure the writers would’ve dealt with this seeming problem. Plus, knowing this series this big reveal isn’t the full truth of the matter, and I suspect this character is being set up as a means of lashing out at Jack. Than again if one looks at the stress that this character had to endure at the end of the previous season, I can see how the writers could fashion a motivation for this character’s seeming betrayal, and if the writers followed through on this possible path than I’d have to give them full marks for how effectively they played this little twist. In any event this episode brings the focus back Jack’s way as we see he’s back to playing the rogue operative, who is continually working outside the lines, and I have to say this episode also managed to ease my concerns somewhat when it comes to the new boss, as there was a moment where she has the ability to mess with Jack’s plan, and she steps back and lets it play out, which makes her a vast improvement over the previous by-the-books authority figures that series has offered up in the past. There’s also a pretty exciting secondary plot involving David Palmer’s brother who is trying to get some super secret information to a trusted source close to the President, and this episode pretty much establishes that there’s still an element in the President’s staff that has a dark secret they’re looking to protect, with the evil eyebrow sporting Vice-President looking like the most likely suspect. If nothing else this secondary plot provided us with a pretty impressive car wreck scene, and one has to imagine the writers are going to play up the high intensity of this man’s running man status, as he looks to have a professional hit squad dogging his efforts to get his urgent information into the hands of his trusted ally.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

24

7:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss"
You could almost see the writing all the wall for the characters who buy the farm in this episode, as Sean Astin’s character had pretty much served his role as the bureaucratic obstacle standing in the path of Jack’s heroic actions, and with a new character speeding toward the scene ready to fill this role he became yet another victim that this series can toss onto the ever growing pile in an effort to sell the idea that the kid’s gloves are off this season. However, shocking deaths have always been a regular part of this series, and truth be told this series has gone to this well a little too often, and it’s starting to feel a bit like the series is becoming so creatively bankrupt that when it feel that it’s losing the attention of it’s viewers they simply fall back on the tricks that worked in previous seasons. In fact this season is full of moments where one can’t help but feel like we’ve seen this all before, as swap out the nerve gas for a deadly chemical attack and you have the plot for what I believe was the third season. We also have the return of President "tell me what to do" from the previous season, as well as the classic 24 plot devices like the mole working for the evil villains, the secondary villains that Jack and CTU can unsuccessful torture for information/offer deals to, and best of all the villains who are kind enough to leave a string of clues that’ll allow our heroes to race the clock to prevent the latest attack. Now I guess one could argue that the very format of this series forces the series to play by certain rules, but it’s a little disappointing that the writing doesn’t really bring any original ideas to the table. I mean there’s some effective character moments in this issue, as Chloe gets a nice scene where the character is given a moment to be visibly shaken by the events of the day before she bounces back to normal, and while the writing wrings all the emotion possible out of this scene later in the episode, I have to say I rather enjoyed the scene where Sean Astin’s character reveals his involvement in the attack to an angry security guard. I also have to confess I’m pleased to see Elisha Cuthbert looks to be heading off the series, as her damsel in distress side-plots produced some of this series weakest moments.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

6:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"You take my breath away"
Given the previous episode had our heroes manage to prevent a gas canister from going off in a hospital, you pretty much know that one that is brought into C.T.U. was going to go off, and the big question became how much advance warning would they receive. Now the surprising answer to this question is very little, and while the show managed to find a way to save most members of it’s primary cast, the terrorist managed to cripple the one organization that was working to stop it’s attacks, and one has to wonder how effective C.T.U. can be when a huge chunk of it’s operating staff has been killed off. The episode also manages to live up to the promise to kill off a regular cast member, as while I doubt this character has a huge fan base, I can’t deny the impact of the scene where the character comes wandering into the room. Now one has to wonder why this character would’ve ignored both the evacuation order and Chloe’s warning to get out of the building, but I understand the show needed to offer up a character to show us viewers that this attack did have a lasting impact on the series. Now I’m sure there will be fans who poke fun at the rather porous security that C.T.U. features, as in addition to playing host to a small army of moles secretly working for the terrorists, this episode marks the second time this season an enemy agent has managed to wander into C.T.U. However the problem I have with this development is that the writing has taken great pains to show Sean Astin’s character plays everything by-the-books, and is almost obsessive about covering all the bases before taking any action, but he fails to report the theft of his key card and the huge gap in C.T.U. security that it leaves open to terrorists. Still one could argue that the past few hours have not featured the character at his best, and I’ll let this one slide thanks in large part to his quick reaction once he figured out his sister and her boyfriend had been killed by a professional. Plus, this episode managed to leave our cast perched on a precarious ledge, and next episode looks extremely exciting, so I have a great deal of affection for this episode.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

24

5:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"You always hurt the one you love"
It’s a little difficult to enjoy a big exciting climax when the writing steadfastly avoids addressing the big question of why didn’t they shut down the ventilation system that would disperse the deadly gas throughout the hospital? I mean I know the answer from a story telling standpoint as this solution would be rather dull, and us viewers expect 24 to offer up high intensity scenarios that involve last second dramatics. However, the proper way to deal with this problem isn’t to ignore it as it makes the heroes look stupid for not at taking the steps one would expect them to take. I mean I’m not asking for anything more than a quick conversation where the characters discuss why they can’t shut the ventilation system down, as even an explanation that doesn’t hold water is better than none at all. I did enjoy the idea that the villain took the time to hide the time display, as at least this shows the writing recognized that having the heroes racing a ticking clock display is one of the oldest plot clichés in the books. This episode also offers up a moment of unintentional comedy that I rather enjoyed, as Curtis’ mad race through the hospital with the canister of deadly nerve gas reminded me of that classic scene from the old Batman movie where Adam West found himself racing to get rid of a bomb. We also get a nice jump shock moment from Jack Bauer who decides the best way to pressure Peter Weller’s character into answering his question is to shoot the man’s wife, and while I’m not sure I quite buy into Jack’s logic the scene does earn points for doing something completely unexpected. Still, while this episode does nicely ramp up the excitement level over previous episodes it does run into the simple problem that I never really bought into the premise that the hospital was going to succumb to the gas attack, especially after the scene where we were told that there were a number of infants who could not be removed from the hospital. As such this became a case of seeing how our cast would keep this latest terrorist attack from taking place, and having our heroes avoid the most sensible solution to the problem didn’t exactly help matters.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

4:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"You spin me right round, baby"
If there’s one problem I have with this series it that the writers spend far too much time reminding viewers of the various plot threads, as while I’ll give them the extended sequences devoted to the President reacting to the idea that his wife has put herself in the line of fire as you can’t take a show to task for wanting to milk all the dramatic tension out of this development, it gets a bit silly when the cast of CTU are shown reminding each other of plot developments that they all know about. I mean this show draws a healthy audience so it doesn’t really need to pander to the prospective new viewers, and as such the "previously on 24" recap at the start of each episode should be enough to bring returning viewers back up to speed. In fact I have to say it’s a little insulting that the writing has the characters continually summarized plot developments, as basically the writing is making it quite clear that it’s doesn’t trust us viewers would be able to retain the elements of the plot over the commercial break. Than again this could also be how the writing pads the chapters where very little actually occurs, as over the course of this episode the writing seems to have only three tasks it’s looking to accomplish. The first is to have the President engage in a episode long hand wringing exercise, as he deals with the idea that his wife is in a convey that he set up to be attacked by terrorists. The second job is the make Sean Astin’s character out to be a complete incompetent moron who stands in the way of every effort being made to capture the terrorists because the plot is building toward the painfully obvious scene where the CTU cast decides they’ve had enough of his standing in the way. Finally we get the Jack Bauer plot which has him meet up with an old acquittance and if you didn’t see how this plot was going to play out than you are this show’s ideal viewer, as they assume each and every one of us are so slow on the uptake that they have to hold our hand through every plot twist and turn.

2.5 out of 5 Stars

24

3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"If you don't cooperate, you're gonna suffer from fistophobia."
Sean Astin’s character spends a good chunk of this episode throwing a big hissy fit as he discovers that Jack and several CTU operatives have been running an operation behind his back, and you know the writing is trying a little too hard to build up the level of tension when the character decides that dealing with this insubordination is far more important than actually taking a look at the vital information that this operation has produced. I mean I recognize that Jack is a character who functions best when he has a by-the-books foil continually reminding him and us viewers that he’s working outside the box, but this episode goes a little too far when it comes to making Sean Astin’s character into an obstacle that stands in the way of Jack’s effort to stop the terrorist threat. Plus it gets a little old when it’s so blindingly obvious that Jack’s path is the correct one, and that the by-the-books approach is so far off the mark. One also has to love how this series has made the President into such a weak-willed goof that we actually have other characters making speeches about how a real President is supposed to act. I mean this is the second time this season this President has allowed himself to fall victim to a blackmail scheme, and every time the man is called upon to make a decision we’re treated to an extended scene where we see this man reveal he’s completely incapable of making a choice, and when he does finally make a decision inevitably it’s always the incredibly stupid choice. In fact it’s become too easy to guess what this character’s role in the story is as us viewers are supposed to be sitting at home and equate indecisiveness with outright stupidity, while decisive action is noble and heroic. Now 24 has always been famous for it’s rather black and white view of the world, but I had hoped that the writers had learned their lessons, but this episode makes it pretty clear the show is back in it’s comfort zone. In fact the only real twist this season has going for it is that the terrorists aren’t really gunning for America.

2.5 out of 5 Stars

24

2:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"I don't mind what you did; I mind how you did it."
There are time when I can’t help but get the feeling that this series has grown a little too comfortable with the games that it plays, as once again President Indecisive is called upon to make a key decision and in keeping with this pattern Jack Bauer decides to defy this Presidential order. Now I get that Jack Bauer is a rogue operative who is willing to defy orders to get the job done, but there are times when it would be nice to see the writers have someone other than Jack making the heroic choice, as frankly having his superior screaming that he needs to get back in line begs the question why haven’t these people recognized this pattern in Jack’s behaviour. I mean there’s only so many times Jack Bauer can be called to task for his failure to follow orders before you start to question why his superiors don’t pull back on the reigns and assign another more reliable agent to the mission. Now I recognize that from a writing standpoint we can’t have Jack warming the bench, but the writing really needs to stop with it’s incessant need to continually re-establish Jack Bauer lone wolf status, as it makes CTU look downright foolish that they keep placing such a high degree of trust in an agent with a long track record of doing what he feels is best ill regardless of the orders he’s been given. This episode also doesn’t help it’s case with it’s blindly obvious bids to play up the idea that Jack made the right choice, as we get the long take of the young children who would become the acceptable losses if Jack hadn’t defied orders, and the scene where Jack saves the life of a young girl was so obvious with it’s intent that I was downright annoyed the writing felt it needed to offer up such a moment. Now there are some nice cut to commercial moments in this episode as Jack is rendered unconscious and handcuffed in the next room, while the terrorists are busy unleashing the nerve gas into the mall air-ducts. We also get a nice little moment of tension as we see the First Lady has to decide whether she want to tell a grieving woman the truth about her husband. However, the underlying patterns of predictability from previous seasons are starting to re-emerge.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

1:00 P.M. - 2:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"This maniac should be wearing a number, not a badge."
I can’t help but get the sense that this show is spinning it’s wheels a bit with this episode, as we have the villains forced to stop and perform some busy work on the deadly nerve gas canisters, and this renders them a non-threat to the better part of the episode. In fact the episode has to really work to come up with the dire moments for our heroes to deal with, as Jack’s big action sequence in this episode is the infiltration of an office building where he has to take out a grand total of three security guards. I mean in the history of 24 this has to be one of the more tepid threats that they’ve offered up as we see the writing tries to play up the suspense of whether Jack will make it inside the elevator before the security camera resets itself. We also get a rather pedestrian side-plot involving Sean Astin’s character and his drug addicted sister, and if you didn’t see how this plot was going to play out than I envy your ability to draw some entertainment value from such a predictable piece of writing. I also became a little nervous when the villain requested an immunity deal, as the previous seasons have played this card so frequently that it’s almost like it’s become the standardize response for 24 villains. What makes it worse is that this villain’s terms are so over the top in their evil intent that one could help but want to give the writer(s) a slap upside the head for their belief that us viewers needed such obvious signposts for why accepting the terms of the deal would be the wrong thing to do. Still, while this episode was arguably the weakest outing of the season it did manage to offer up a couple of nice moments, as there’s a well played moment of collective discomfort when one of Jack’s interrogations is played on the speaker phone at CTU, and the scene where the villain’s victimized sex slave decides to make her move actually caught me off guard, and it in turn produced a pretty solid cliff-hanger moment.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"And from this, this desperation, we look for a champion in red, white, and blue."
While the "I’m a patriot" speech was almost laughable in it’s presentation I have to give this season full marks for how quickly it’s consuming it’s plots, as it’s almost like this series has never heard of the concept of a slow burn. I mean this episode gets out of the gates rather slowly as the writing mistakenly assumes that us viewers actually have an emotional investment in Jack’s romantic entanglements, but I understand that this series is trying to play to a wider audience and as such soap opera elements are to be expected. However, in order for the viewer to have an actual interest in whether a relationship will continue one actually has to lay a foundation for why these characters actually care for each other and this series simply hasn’t had the time to do much beyond have Jack making difficult to keep promises and offer up apologies for not having enough time to stop and discuss his true feelings about the future of his relationships with these women. However the second half of the episode does a pretty good job of making up for this slow start out of the gate as in spite of the over the top scene where Cummings responds to the President’s traitor accusation, I have to confess I did not expect this scene to play out like it did. I mean there’s something rather daring about the fact this episode essentially had it’s inside man step forward and explain the sinister plot to the President before Jack could do so, and while it gets a little bit silly I also rather enjoyed the internal logic behind the plan, as we see this conspiracy was designed to presumably advance American interests. Now of course by episode’s end the show has managed to find it’s way back on more comfortable ground as they re-establish the concept of a big, bad terrorist threat that is looking to end American lives, but I did admire the rather circular route that this series has taken to get to this point of the story.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

24

11:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"We follow orders, or people die; it's that simple."
I have to give this episode credit for how it played it’s rather familiar hand as if you’ve watched any previous seasons of 24 than you know that the writers love the idea of a mole inside CTU, and I was fully prepared to make a big fuss about a return to this well as this episode introduces the idea of a person inside CTU who is working to advance the interests of the villains. However, unlike previous seasons which have milked this idea for all it’s worth by having this inside man/woman provide a steady stream of invaluable information to our villains, while the rest of CTU run around completely oblivious to the increasingly suspicious actions of this wolf in the fold, this episode does something completely unexpected as CTU manages to catch wise to their mole in the very same episode that the idea is introduced, and in a fairly clever moment we discover that this seeming traitor was actually a simple pawn who was operating under the assumption that they were working for the good guys. Now this is hardly new terrain as "Alias" has mined this plot premise pretty thoroughly, but still I enjoyed this departure from the predictable path, and I also rather enjoy the fact that this episode also has CTU discovering the identity of the other hidden operative that the villains are making use of. Now this episode does suffer from a couple plot points that are made overly complicated because characters who really should speak up keep their mouths shut (e.g. the First Lady’s helper should mention she saw the missing transcript that was stolen), but for the most part I’m rather impressed by how quickly this series is eating through it’s plot threads, so that one really doesn’t have time to stop and consider the paths that weren’t taken. Plus any episode that offers up a highly charged Jack Bauer fight with a professional assassin earns a check in my good column.

4 out of 5 Stars

24

10:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"What? I should only kill people after I get to know them?"
This episode does end with a scene that leaves me a little concerned as it’s a little hard not to notice that there does seem to be a striking similarity between how this season has gotten out of the gates when one takes a moment to remember that last season started with a hostage crisis where a group of terrorists made high profile splash which served to draw attention away from a more sinister plot involving the theft of what proved to be the true threat. In fact one can’t help but be a little concerned by the familiar patterns that one can’t help but notice coming into focus, as we have the ever popular mole providing inside information to the villains, and this episode also introduces a by-the-book operative who is likely to stand in the way of Jack’s unorthodox methods. However, the episode does make a fairly smart move by having the more methodical efforts of Sean Astin’s character actually prove to be invaluable in keeping the hostage crisis from turning into a bloodbath. On the other hand I have to say the writing manages to offer up such a blindly obvious moment where it was clear that Jack was trying to communicate the idea that he was being held captive that I was a little disappointed that the terrorist leader didn’t take issue with Jack little comment about being in a tier 2 position. It’s also a little curious that Curtis didn’t pick up on Jack’s S.O.S. given he was an active field agent at the same time as Jack and as such he should be familiar with the hidden meaning in the message. Still, I’m not going to begrudge the episode for wanting to play up the tension level even if it has to resort to have to jump through some unlikely hoops to do so. I just hope that they are able to reign it in a bit, as my biggest problem with the previous season was that the story was entirely driven by it’s need to continually build up the level of suspense even if it meant taken the writing to some very stupid places.

3 out of 5 Stars

24

9:00 A.M. - 10:00 A.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. The monkey in the wrench."
This episode has Jack working from the shadows in a bid to resolve a hostage crisis, and his efforts bring him back into contact with CTU who are quick to accept the inside intelligence that Jack is able to provide them with. Now I have to say my personal favourite moment in the episode would have to be Jack’s reaction to the discovery that he has a personal investment in saving the life of one of the hostages, as it’s a wonderfully honest character moment, and it’s hard not to notice that Jack’s approach to dealing with this hostage situation changed completely. Now the episode does earn itself a slap on the wrist for glossing right over the scene where the characters at CTU debate whether they should accept the information that Jack is providing, as if nothing else it would’ve been nice to get at least one character who asked whether Jack was playing them. Now, I understand why the writing didn’t want to get bogged down by having the characters ask these type of questions, but speaking as a fan who was rather enjoying the fact that Jack had been framed, I was a little disappointed that this trust between him and CTU was re-established so quickly. Still, I guess there’s only so much the writing could’ve done with Jack playing the role of a fugitive, and given the lives of the 60+ hostages were hanging in the balance it does make sense that CTU would be willing to give Jack the benefit of the doubt. I also have to give the writing credit for the way Jack manages to save the life of the one person that he has a personal interest in saving, as it’s the perfect Jack Bauer solution. The cliff-hanger development that comes into play in the final moments of this episode also manages to throw a nice monkey wrench into Jack’s efforts to defuse this hostage crisis. I also rather enjoyed the fact that there was actually some doubt about what Jack would do once the terrorist leader began his countdown.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

24

8:00 A.M. - 9:00 A.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"You yell shark, we've got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July."
A very entertaining second hour as we see Jack comes to the conclusion that the best way to uncover why he’s being set up to take the fall for the assassination of former President Palmer is to pay a visit to the crime scene which is crawling with FBI agents, and the episode builds toward a wonderful moment where we see Jack looks over to see a crowd of agents being handed papers with his photo plastered all over them, and he has to make his way out of a building that is jam-packed full of agents. Now I’m a little concerned that this episode makes it fairly obvious that the writing hasn’t dropped some of it’s more irksome storytelling props, as we have Jack saddled with a teenage boy who displays a Kim Bauer-like ability to plunge headlong into dangerous situations, and we also have the resident character suffering from mental illness in the First Lady. I do have to say that I did enjoyed Jean Smart’s performance though, with the scene where she hears the taped phone conversation doing a lovely job of selling why the President would have doubts that the conversation actually played out like she remembered it. The writing also does a fairly creditable job of stacking the deck against Jack, as we see he loses his one ally at about the halfway point of the episode, and it would appear that he’s going to spend most of this season trying to avoid encounters with CTU, as they believe that he’s the big baddie. Plus, one also has to imagine that with his return from the dead the Chinese concerns will resurface. In fact the only quibble that I’d make about this episode is that President Logan comes across a little too much like the Mayor from the film "Jaws" in that he’s more invested in how things will appear to the media rather than the safety of the Russian Premier, and truth be told the writing doesn’t quite manage to sell the President’s arguments as anything other than a device to heighten the dramatic tension.

3.5 out of 5 Stars

24

7:00 A.M. - 8:00 A.M., Day Five

Fox Production

"I know, Rick. I know you did. But let's pretend you didn't!"
While I was considering making a real effort of keeping the big surprises that play out in the opening 15 minutes of this episode under wraps I’ve come to realize that unlike my comic reviews where I have no idea when someone would read a book I’m reviewing, a television episode has a set viewing time and as such there’s little danger of my spoiling a surprise for anyone reading this review. Yes the opening ten minutes that us fans simply can’t miss in my minds really should been extends to the opening 15, as basically right up until the first commercial break the writers have decided that in order to get themselves out of the corner that they had painted themselves into at the end of the previous season they were going to have to offer up a pretty darn good reason for why Jack would emerge out of hiding and risk sparking a huge firestorm of controversy regarding the fact that the reports of his death were greatly exaggerated. To this end the writing decides to clear the decks, so to speak, by making characters that had been established in the previous season as important players into cannon fodder, as former President Palmer is assassinated, while Michelle is killed and Tony is left clinging to life thanks to a car bomb. Now the advantage of using these characters as casualties is that it does provide a pretty solid reason why Jack would be pulled back into the game, and it also has the added advantage of making the scene where Chloe finds herself being chased quite harrowing as the episode had firmly established that they were gunning for characters from previous seasons. The episode earns credit for getting Jack’s adventure off to a very quick start as the minute he makes contact with Chloe he’s doing battle with a group of well armed baddies, and the cliff-hanger to this first episode provides a very powerful reminder that Jack Bauer is a very ruthless character.

3.5 out of 5 Stars