Because of a scheduling error (I wrote the wrong day down for the season premiere) I’m beginning my coverage of 24 almost a fourth of the way into Season 8. Alas, it’s given me a chance to watch, react and formulate some thoughts on a show I claimed should have probably been cancelled years ago. This season of 24 has Jackie B trolling around the Big Apple with his band of merry men and women downloading things to his PDA, working up undercover dossiers, and cutting dudes fingers off in order to infiltrate nefarious groups of bad guys.
So far, the season has been evenly paced and, if not too terribly compelling, at least watchable. They’ve avoided the crazy ethical melodrama that haunted Season 7 in D.C. and managed to throw in a few twists and turns in the first five hours. The writers have also been able to ditch, for the time being at least, the need to move every episode in 20 minute segments (“We’re twenty minutes out,” etc.)
The characters have even managed, against all odds, to be entertaining despite the “hanger’s still in my shirt which explains my stiffness” roles of CTU Director Bubba Gump Hastings, Agent Cole Ortiz (Freddie “Just Happy to Still Be Around” Prinze Jr.), and Analyst Dana Walsh (more on her later). I’ve enjoyed President Hassan’s role (played admirably by Anil Kapoor with best supporting cast nod going to his hairdo) and am looking forward to his brother (and his ridiculous hair) getting his comeuppance.
Last week’s episode ended with the edgy and recently turned emo ex-agent Renee Walker slicing off the big piggy of a Russian mob toadie. She’s learned a thing or two from Jack. Tonight’s 8:00-9:00 segment was a continuation of opposite day. Now Renee, instead of Jack, is the loose cannon with a death wish. As much as I couldn’t stand her last year, Annie Wersching has done a bang up job of playing a character with nothing to lose, right down to the hollow look in her eye. Inevitably she will come back to Earth and vow to turn her life around (or die some tragic death) but until then I’m enjoying her role reversal. She was the highlight of tonight’s episode with Keifer Sutherland now playing the whiny baby. (I can’t believe I just typed that.)
Meanwhile, my main man President Omar Hassan is having an FML kind of day. His fruity-haired brother tried to have him killed, his girl on the side outed their relationship to the government, and his country of Kamistan (or R.A.N-Random Arab Nation as I will call them) is in a state of upheaval. Even when Hassan does the sensible thing and orders his forces to cut down his country’s turncoats, that wet blanket Lady President Taylor doesn’t like it. Why would she? She’s like a mother who’s always complaining the kids going to shoot his eye out.
Overall it was a strong episode and decent first part of the season. One thing the writers have embraced is the positives in restraint. I said this season has been well paced. Tonight’s episode was a perfect example. Very little happened and that is okay. Instead of nonstop action and just misses, the highlights were Renee’s spiral into hell and Walsh’s beef with her ex-con ex boyfriend. This kind of caution has led to a very watchable show that doesn’t leave me hemming and hawing (too much) about the idiocy prevalent in recent seasons. It has also helped to avoid continually over-escalating the threat. Now that I said this next week will probably include a nuke going off on the top of the Statue of Liberty. We’ll just say it was good while it lasted.
Some thoughts, ramblings and predictions:
- After so many years fending off double agents working within their midst you’d think CTU could establish a rigidly intense vetting process for its agents, operatives and analysts. Nope. Somehow Dana Walsh (aka Jenny Scott) has a past life where she is an ex-con and an accessory to murder. I had a friend who wanted to be a Delaware State Police Officer. Those guys interviewed literally every single person he knew: girlfriends, ex-girlfriends, roommates, neighbors, everybody just to make sure there was no stone unturned. And that was just for crappy Delaware. How are we to believe Dana Walsh slipped through the CTU cracks? And then even though CTU couldn’t figure any of this out, seeing as how she had hidden so well, her freaking ex-boyfriend tracks her down with his cell phone and a van. Nice and tidy side storyline.
- This season has been chock full of random cameos by side actors from other shows: Herc from The Wire, Acevedo from The Shield, Kara Thrace from BSG, Sark from Alias, just to name a few. It’s a tour-de-force of “oh hey, there’s that guy (or girl).”
- In the 24 world there is no traffic, ever. Jack Bauer doesn’t allow it. No other way to explain how they get around the city so easily.
- These are the people I am almost positive will die in this season: Hassan’s brother (gunshot), Agent Ortiz (stabbing), dorky under-sexed CTU analyst John Boyd (Chloe goes on a shooting spree), Hassan’s wife (some kind of hostage situation), Hassan’s hair (bedhead)
