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Instead of a full review [of Season 6], here, for the unconverted or fans needing a reminder, are 24 reasons to love "24":
1. The patented Jack Bauer scowl. The man makes Dick Cheney look like Rip Taylor.
2. The fact that after countless moles, spies, assassins, traitors and various other baddies have infiltrated CTU, the agency still employs a system of background checks that makes the Miss USA pageant's look thorough.
3. "Dammit, (George/Ryan/Tony/Bill/Curtis/Chloe), there's no time!" -- Jack
4. The way that no matter how explosive or damning, everyone steadfastly refuses to make a back-up of the key piece of evidence.
5. Jack still never pees.
6. Tony. Michelle. Edgar. George. Nina. Sherry. President Palmer. "24's" killed off a better crop of characters than most other series have assembled.
7. The reset button. Sensing things weren't clicking, producers used the eighth episode of season three to reveal that everything so far that "day" -- a biological weapons threat, a prison break, an agent's double-cross -- was all an elaborate sting operation. President Palmer's why-is-she-here girlfriend was dispatched in the same episode.
8. Torture, torture, torture.
9. Oh my gosh, they killed Teri! Knocking off Jack's pregnant wife established "24's" signature nobody-is-safe vibe.
10. Kim (Elisha Cuthbert), Jack's perpetually endangered daughter. She spends more time getting kidnapped than most girls her age spend on MySpace.
11. "I'm gonna ask you this one last time." -- Jack
12. The scrunched-face social awkwardness of techie Chloe O'Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub).
13. The quiet dignity of Secret Service Agent Aaron Pierce (Glenn Morshower).
14. The ultra-short life expectancy of any key witness. "Star Trek's" red-clad newbies who beamed down with Spock and Kirk stood a better chance.
15. The biggest threat to said witnesses? A random civilian with a grudge getting their hands on a weapon just as the witness is taken into custody.
16. The way bad things never seemed to happen unless the original President Palmer was in L.A.
17. The filler. Jack's holding up a convenience store. Teri's amnesia. Chloe's adventures in babysitting. When you're scripting a 24-hour day, not every subplot can be a winner.
18. How Jack will just shoot an innocent woman in the knee to get her husband to talk.
19. The sheer number of partners and superiors Jack will punch out, choke or otherwise incapacitate without them holding a grudge.
20. The scene(s) each season when Jack is arrested or taken into custody. Will they ever learn?
21. Using a hotel lamp's electrical wiring to shock information out of your girlfriend's husband? Priceless.
22. CTU's open-door policy. Seemingly anyone off the street can be immediately given the provisional authority to command field agents.
23. Mandy (Mia Kirshner). Who knew assassins came that hot?
24. The downfall of President Logan (Gregory Itzin). There's just something so cathartic about seeing a president punished for using a series of lies and cover-ups to royally screw up the country.
5 comments:
ah, I just can't wait for Season 6 to start. :)
Me either!!!!! I'm having a hard time not searching the web for different tidbits about it... :o)
Oh, I know! Did you see Kiefer on Jay Leno show Monday night? He's also going to be on the Regis show this Friday and then on the Conan O'Brien show on Saturday. And of course Sunday can't come fast enough. :)
Great list, thanks!
I missed the first half hour, but much of the cast was on Larry King Live on Tues., broadcasting from CTU. You can go to cnn.com to get the written transcript. Note the point when Larry asks the actress who plays Karen Hayes if she thinks the show could survive without Jack. On the show, she hesitated before answering and had a terribly uncomfortable look on her face. Notice how vehemently Keifer says that it can. Hmmmm...
Aaaaa! What would 24 be without Jack??? (Kiefer's the one who says the story really revolves around him.) Maybe he's just being humble.... We can only hope, right?
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