24- Season 4

[TheLuckyOne]

Hiya, kids! In honor of the fourth season of TV's most ass-kickingest show beginning last night, this thread will be devoted to two things:

1) discussion of recent episodes, and

2) talking about all the things Jack does that are really, really cool.

I'll start. It's really, really cool when Jack (a minimum of once an episode) gets all "You just have to TRUST ME!" instead of taking time to explain himself like a girly-man... and then people do. Or he kills them. Either way, it kicks ass!

So... thoughts? (And if it turns out nobody else watches the show, this'll just be a thread for Kyle to piss off Nerf enthusiasts. Fun either way!)

-D

[Head Mutant]

AIRSOFT enthusiasts. Please.

[duckie]

This almost became my sig line, courtest of Falcon...

"I would like you all to know, that many Nerfers in Fact do have girlfriends. "

[Al]

Probably not the best way to kick off the thread, but we're four episodes in and I'm thus far unimpressed. I like the sense deprivation bit with Heller's son and the story that follows Behrooz and his girlfriend, but the rest seems hokey. Jack's standoff in the convenience store (ep 4) and his fight with his partner (ep 2) seemed over the top and too much of a stretch for me to take seriously. I've not yet given up hope, but when the main character's storyline is the most uninteresting one in the bunch, you have to wonder. And Chloe annoys me; nothing specific, she just generally gets on my nerves.

They have twenty more hours to blow me away. Come on, Jack!

Al

[CrankyMonkey]

I absolutely agree that Chloe is annoying in a way that is hard to pinpoint. Perhaps it's the look on her face of constant irritation and annoyance. Perhaps it's the way she snaps at every single person she speaks to. Or, maybe, it's the way that she was COMPLETELY ungrateful when Jack went out of his way to help her friend. Come to think of it, maybe it's not so hard to pinpoint why she irks me. I'm also irritated by Driscoll... I just can't empathize with her yet.

[TheLuckyOne]

Yeah, Driscoll's annoying, and the schizophrenic daughter angle felt a little forced (not as bad as Kim's infamous cougar attack, but...). Though given the standard length of service of non-Jack Directors of CTU, can't see us having to put up with her for long.

Al said:

And Chloe annoys me; nothing specific, she just generally gets on my nerves.

Nothing specific? Oh man, I've got a list about a mile long. I give a LOT of credit to the actress who plays her, because I have absolutely hated that character for every single second of last season, and most of this one. Literally, I don't think I've ever disliked a fictional character more, and that's including the ones who eat babies and stuff. I bummed out immediately when I found out Chloe would be back (all those great characters, they only bring one back... and it's Chloe?!), and even more when, to my horror, I found myself liking her for a split second when she got a good line in. Damn them for bringing in Sherry 2.0 to CTU, to take away from my undiluted Chloe hatred!

I actually liked the convenience store angle; can see how it would come across as filler, but I saw it more as a really cool example of Jack's ability to improvise under pressure. You gotta figure that the terrorist realized he was way more efficient than your average convenience store robber, though. On the other hand, Jack's removal of his ski mask has to factor in there somewhere... he wouldn't have done it if he didn't have some reason for wanting the terrorist to see his face. But what...?

-D

[Al]

Ooh, unimpressedness withdrawn -- tonight's episode rocked hard. I still agree with Drew about Driscoll's schizcophrenic daughter feeling forced, but everything else shot up several notches on my charts. Heller & his daughter were great, and I really liked how they manuevered Behrooz's mother away from the Lady MacBeth angle and gave her a little more depth. And I hate Marianne. Cannot stand her. I mean, I guess that's the point, but she is a sneaky, conniving little so-and-so. I hope she goes down and I hope it hurts.

Al

[Magill]

For any of you who saw The House of Sand and Fog, the actors playing Behrooz and his mother played son and mother in that movie, too.

I love Shohreh Aghdashloo's voice.

[TheLuckyOne]

Man, I love this show. Whoever cast the Secretary of Defense is a genius, he's just great in that role. You have to love that scene between he and his son:

"Dad, I'm so glad you're safe! I love you!"
"I love you too, son, and I'm sorry CTU tortured you to get information. Say, did you give it to them?
"...no..."
"Okay, give him another 30 minutes."

So from next week's previews, it appears that the fate of the free world now rests in the hands of the pudgy guy who let both Chloe and Sherry 2.0 make him their personal servant? Oh, son of a-...

-D

[Magill]

I thought 24 was on at 9, but it was really on at 8 (I could've sworn it was on at 9 last week). What did I miss last night?

[TheLuckyOne]

SPOILERS:

Jack storms the compound, shoots about a thousand guys (in a stealthy manner, though), and rescues the SoD just as he's been found guilty and is about to be executed. As soon as this happens, the President calls off the air strike and sends in the Marines that were en route, who ace the remaining terrorists and save Jack and the others. They're taken back to CTU, where Driscoll reinstates Jack -- just for the rest of this crisis -- in the position of that guy who got shot 2 episodes ago, field chief or whatever. The estranged husband of the SoD's daughter is there and tries to reconcile with her, but she tells him she's seeing "someone else" and it's over. He hangs around and seems to notice how close she and Jack are. Meanwhile, the SoD figures out (on his own) that his daughter and Jack are an item.

*takes a drink of water*

The SoD finds out that CTU was torturing his son for information and gets pissed, going into the holding room and turning off the sensory thing. They say they love each other and all, but when the SoD finds out that his son really did tell someone about his whereabouts, even though it was someone he trusted, he orders CTU to continue the torture. Damn, that's hardcore. Meanwhile, the daughter looks at photos of all the guys killed in the raid but can't find the person she recognized (from a high-society dinner several weeks ago) among them. Uh-oh. At the same time, Behrooz and his father are visited by another terrorist, who goes to help Behrooz bury his girlfriend's body; but as we discover when the mother returns, he's also going to kill Behrooz when they're done. The father is slightly bummed but accepting, but Mom seems more indignant and upset. Behrooz, meanwhile, sees the guy's gun and manages to knock it out of his hand with a shovel, then beats the guy to death. Whoa.

The big reveal is that we find out the whole trial was (of course) merely a diversion. The briefcase stolen in the first episode contains a device that the terrorists can use to take control of every nuclear plant in the country. Ordinarily there are internet failsafes that would prevent it, but the trial has tied up the internet to such an extent that they've managed to slip past without being stopped. And in the last scene, Sherry 2.0 calls someone on her cell phone and warns them that "They've figured it out about the failsafes."

So that's that. And since we're less than 1/3 of the way through the season, I'm guessing there's a few more twists to come. Sweeeeeeeeet.

-D

[Magill]

Thanks. I was going to wait until Television Without Pity's recap was posted, but they throw so many nicknames in that I can't figure out who's who.

Does 24 still repeat the week's episode on FX? If so, when?

[Al]

TheLuckyOne said:

SPOILERS:

Jack storms the compound, shoots about a thousand guys (in a stealthy manner, though), and rescues the SoD just as he's been found guilty and is about to be executed. As soon as this happens, the President calls off the air strike and sends in the Marines that were en route, who ace the remaining terrorists and save Jack and the others. They're taken back to CTU, where Driscoll reinstates Jack -- just for the rest of this crisis -- in the position of that guy who got shot 2 episodes ago, field chief or whatever. The estranged husband of the SoD's daughter is there and tries to reconcile with her, but she tells him she's seeing "someone else" and it's over. He hangs around and seems to notice how close she and Jack are. Meanwhile, the SoD figures out (on his own) that his daughter and Jack are an item.

*takes a drink of water*

The SoD finds out that CTU was torturing his son for information and gets pissed, going into the holding room and turning off the sensory thing. They say they love each other and all, but when the SoD finds out that his son really did tell someone about his whereabouts, even though it was someone he trusted, he orders CTU to continue the torture. Damn, that's hardcore. Meanwhile, the daughter looks at photos of all the guys killed in the raid but can't find the person she recognized (from a high-society dinner several weeks ago) among them. Uh-oh. At the same time, Behrooz and his father are visited by another terrorist, who goes to help Behrooz bury his girlfriend's body; but as we discover when the mother returns, he's also going to kill Behrooz when they're done. The father is slightly bummed but accepting, but Mom seems more indignant and upset. Behrooz, meanwhile, sees the guy's gun and manages to knock it out of his hand with a shovel, then beats the guy to death. Whoa.

The big reveal is that we find out the whole trial was (of course) merely a diversion. The briefcase stolen in the first episode contains a device that the terrorists can use to take control of every nuclear plant in the country. Ordinarily there are internet failsafes that would prevent it, but the trial has tied up the internet to such an extent that they've managed to slip past without being stopped. And in the last scene, Sherry 2.0 calls someone on her cell phone and warns them that "They've figured it out about the failsafes."

So that's that. And since we're less than 1/3 of the way through the season, I'm guessing there's a few more twists to come. Sweeeeeeeeet.

-D

Yeah, that was cool.

Al
-posting pointlessly

[Magill]

Okay, what happened this week on 24? I was out at dinner, it being Valentine's Day and all. Thanks in advance.

[TheLuckyOne]

See, this is why we had our Valentine's Day celebration on Sunday night. Beat the crowds AND get to watch Jack!


Okay, Jack and Tony traced the cell phone calls that guy (the one who was sniped last episode) was making, most of which were to Behrooz's family. They got on their trail, while Behrooz and the mom were holed up at a safehouse. She needed painkilling medicine, so Bahrooz went to the hospital where her brother worked and asked him for it off the record. Unfortunately, the brother got suspicious and called the father, who told him Behrooz was using drugs and asked him to keep Behrooz there. Jerk.

Jack and Tony caught up with Behrooz's mother and captured her. She wasn't going to talk, but Jack's assurances that he would get her son fully pardoned with no criminal record bought her begrudging assistance. (However, the new President told his aide to draw up the document but to "make sure it's non-binding." Creep... David would've kept his word.) They went to get Behrooz at the hospital, but the father got there first, killed his brother-in-law, and put a gun to Behrooz's head. The episode ended with the building surrounded, the father on the way down to the basement, and the mother's warnings that if her son dies, she won't help Jack with anything. The previews for next week show him mounting a stealth, Mission: Impossible type rescue, but the father hearing him. D'oh.

Meanwhile, back at CTU, Marian is out cold from the car bomb. Realizing that people are going to ask questions about why she was hired, Driscoll and that 2nd-in-command dude agree to fudge the computer records about why they allowed her in. Yeah, that won't come back to bite them in the ass. Meanwhile, one of the nuclear plants is spewing radioactive gas freely, while people are being evacuated. Unfortunately for Edgar, his mother lives near there and is in a wheelchair, and no soldiers can be spared to go get her. (Dude, the mother of the guy trying to contain all the other potential disasters? I'd MAKE time.) He calls her and tells her he's going to come get her anyway, but she says no, tells him to keep trying to save other people, and that she's going to kill herself to prevent dying slowly from radiation sickness. Don't fear the reaper, Edgar's mom!

Think that's about it. Tony was trying to leave early on because Jack had backup now, but Jack laid the whole "I NEED you with me on this one!" line on him and he melted like candy. Because he's Jack Bauer, dammit!

Hope that helped. Great week for TV, between this and one of the best Scrubs episodes I've ever seen.


-D