Hey, we're an hour into this thing and I don't see anyone posting on this. Anyone else watching?
Starting off pretty solid. I don't want to get into anything I can't finish in the commercials, but I did have one observation. I'm impressed that they're back to using middle-eastern terrorists. I thought they were too PC for that. It reminds me of when Star Trek: Voyager came out. You could tell they were getting more comfortable with the "new series" idea when they could put a Vulcan back on the staff without worrying about appearing derivative.
Oh, and I'm glad Kim's not back.
Here it comes. I'm off.
[ January 10, 2005, 08:26 AM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Oooh, that's good cliffhanger.
One thing I noticed in the first hour that bugged me a little, although I realize it's nothing more than me being anal. Remember when the hacker found the people setting up code, and he said that it was in "some middle-eastern language, like Turkish or Arabic?" Turkish and Arabic are in completely different language families... about as similar as English and Arabic. So unless he knows one of those languages, how was he able to narrow it down to those two?
[/anality] I'll suspend my disbelief and continue watching.
[ January 09, 2005, 10:02 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
Oh, melon farmer! I remember why I hate this show so much.
edit: Allow me just to make clear... I don't hate the show because it's not good. I hate it because it's too good. Those cliffhangers are torturous. I'm beginning to remember why I skipped last year. Every week there's just one more thing guaranteed to utterly piss me off. I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of an emotional investment.
Yeah, who am I kidding. Those b***ards have me again.
[ January 09, 2005, 11:38 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Da_Goat (Member # 5529) on :
Well, I liked it...but...between you, me, and the rest of Hatrack, that was actually the first full episode (or two episodes, I guess) I've ever seen of this show.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Fourth year??? Egads. I watched the first year, and I missed last year, and thought this was the third year. What happened to a year?
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Um, I can assume that people know this thread is going to be full of spoilers, right? Well, if you didn't know it already, lots of spoilers follow!
Well, this season certainly started with a bang (quite a few of them!). CTU certainly looks different, and I'm a little sad to see that only Chloe is still there (I haven't seen the end of 24 season 3, so please don't tell me what happens to people). And obviously David Palmer didn't get re-elected, which knocks out one of Jack's most important supports.
Right now the relationship between Jack and Audrey seems forced. Jack and Kate developed over the course of a season, which made it seem more natural. The relationship between Teri and Jack also seemed realistic, perhaps because it had a lot of flaws but also a lot of love. We'll see how this turns out. God forbid Jack lose another woman that he loves--he'll be a basket case if that happens.
The internet video of Heller was interesting because it so closely mimics the photos I've seen of the terrorist victims in Iraq. I'm somewhat surprised they'd do something like that, but it certainly makes it seem more real.
The theme of Jack going against his superiors, usually in a violent manner, is getting a little old. It's exciting, but Jack should have been sent to prison for life by now for all the things he has done. He routinely does things that get innocents killed (the jail riots in season 3, for instance), tortures suspects for information, gets other CTU agents in trouble for illegally helping him, and lets his emotions get in the way to a pretty extreme degree. The only reason he gets away with it is because he is always right, which is improbable even if he is the best agent ever.
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
I am going to predict it now.
The daughter of the Sec. Def. is involved with the kidnapping.
Mark my words.
msquared
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
I'm sure anything he did during the first three seasons received a pardon from Palmer and working for SecDef probably doesn't leave him out of the Presidential loop.
Posted by sarahdipity (Member # 3254) on :
I believe they cleared a lot of the stuff about where people are up in the first 15 min of the show. This episode is taking place at least a few years after the last one. So David Palmer is not president because, well, he can only be president for 8 years. On the phone it's mentioned that Tony is working for a private security company.
I believe that old cast members will be waltzing in and out of future episodes.
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
Sara
It was Chase who was working for a private securtiy company. I do not think that they mention Tony or his wife in these two episodes.
msquared
Posted by sarahdipity (Member # 3254) on :
Oh yeah that's right. I thought I had the name wrong when I wrote it.
Posted by Coccinelle (Member # 5832) on :
I'm excited about this season. I'm very glad that Kim's not back, she has been tolerable at most every other season. I think that the pace is good.. I'm looking forward to another good year!
Posted by Puppy (Member # 6721) on :
Tony is probably in jail, and his wife probably took that job at Division ...
I'm also tempted to think that Audrey is involved in the kidnapping. Though it sure would give Jack a terrible track record with the ladies. "Who is the mole?" "I don't know, who is Jack dating? That's the mole."
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
Overall, I was not very impressed with the first two episodes. The dialogue was not very well written (even for 24). There was a lot of inane technobabble about the internet attack, and quite a few things seemed forced, like Secretary Heller's meeting with his son, Driscoll's entire character, and Chole's constant personal attacks. Granted, Chloe has some social issues, but she was usually more defensive than offensive last season.
Also, why was that sleeper-cell family speaking English amongst themselves? It would make more sense if they spoke Arabic, with subtitles. Plus, none of the three of them can act their way out of a paper bag.
If this were the series premire, I would not have given the show a third chance.
Also, Sarah, did you see the end of season 3?
Posted by JaneX (Member # 2026) on :
*agrees with Narr*
I was actually bored watching these two episodes. I'm hoping it will get better as the season progresses, but I'm not very optimistic...
~Jane~
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
I didn't watch much of season three till the last five or so episodes, it seems the show generally drags along until the end of each season. The dialogue was pretty forced and I didn't like Driscoll's character at all. Why would they put someone basically incompetent in charge of CTU?
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
Make it stop! You're hurting me!
*writhes in pain*
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
quote:Why would they put someone basically incompetent in charge of CTU?
As a foil for Jack of course. He can't be insubordinate if his superior does a good job.
Posted by Coccinelle (Member # 5832) on :
I have watched all other seasons on DVD after the season. I don't think I like this wait-a-week thing.
That is a very evil mommy.
Posted by sarahdipity (Member # 3254) on :
I think I've blocked the end of season 3. I think it's more accurate to say I've sorta blurred season 2 and 3 together. Maybe I should do a recap. I mean I think I remember who didn't die and is just missing at this point.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Cocinelle, yeah. I've never seen an episode on TV before. Fortunately, I don't actually care about any of the characters besides Jack yet and he's not in danger.
I bet there will be some interesting twists with the terrorist family, like the mother being a good guy--er, gal. Or maybe the son will all turn them in. Or something. I thought that maybe they just looked guilty like Raiza, but when the father started talking about the kidnapping, I had to discard that hypothesis.
Posted by Coccinelle (Member # 5832) on :
It's also possible that she just paralyzed the girl and she's not really dead. Wait.. this isn't Alias, they haven't resurrected the dead in this series yet.
Posted by Destineer (Member # 821) on :
Just to echo what a couple others have said, this season sucks so far.
quote:As a foil for Jack of course. He can't be insubordinate if his superior does a good job.
Yes, he can (cf. Season 1). They just need to do actual good scripting and think up interesting ways for things to go awry.
The CTU office politics is retarded. In previous seasons the environment there was tense because there were traitors and suspected traitors hanging around. Now everyone is just pissy for no reason.
Another bad sign: there are no characters that I like (or are acted well) except Jack.
The only reason to have much hope is that I questioned the worth of season 2 for the first 4 or 5 hours, and that turned out to be amazing.
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
--> Major Spoiler for Season 3 <--
Sarah, Palmer decided not to run for a second term at the end of season 3. That's why he's no longer president.
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
Spoilers:
Why doesn't Jack just tell the cops he's with CTU? Haven't they already mentioned on multiple occassions that CTU has overriding authority over the LAPD? I know he wouldn't have a badge on him, although maybe he could still use ID to prove that he's a member of the DoD, but a quick call to CTU could prove that he is who he says he is and even if Driscoll wanted him detained that would be better than county lockup. Also, why hasn't he even tried making a direct appeal to the president as the man who's already saved the country and currently works for the DoD?
Posted by JaneX (Member # 2026) on :
Give me back kick-ass Michelle and Tony, or George Mason after he became cool. Give me Palmer the Good President who doesn't spout stupid rhetoric like Keeler gave us in this episode. Give me the cool villains like Gaines and Salazar and Nina.
Whatever happened to the great characters this show used to have? They've been replaced with annoying idiots and flat, stereotypical bad guys.
*SPOILER*
Though I have to say I laughed at Jack holding up the convenience store. That was classic Jack.
~Jane~
Posted by HonoreDB (Member # 1214) on :
Jack should be able to get out of this newest wacky scrape pretty easily. But he doesn't know that. He doesn't know Driscoll's essentially on his side now, after everyone in CTU found out Jack was right. Very glad he didn't go for the gun.
Incidentally, in addition to Chloe's brief stint as mole, there's strong evidence for two seperate terrorist moles: the only people who Chloe told about Alexander Paige were Driscoll and the FBI, and the only people who knew where Heller was going to be were his daughter, Jack, his son, and his security. Two non-overlapping groups.
I find it funny that the actor playing Alex Paige is in approximately the same boat as he was in in Witness oh those many years ago. Insight credit to Television Without Pity.
In addition to his daughter, off-beat theories on the Heller mole are Jack and Heller. I like the thought that Jack-wearing-a-suit is just as much a false front as Jack-doing-heroin.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGG
The Horror. The Horror.
Monday night FOX tv station did not work in my town--not on cable or on the locoal translator station.
I missed two episodes!
Some one please catch me up!!!!!!!!!
The best way for this show to be more interesting for me then the first three is if the moral ambiguity of Jack gets so fuzzy in his mind that he becomes a terrorist.
Using torture has become so second nature to him that I can see him sliding away from the good guys list. Think about everything he has had to do, had to loose, and has been addicted to to get to where he is today.
He has always had the support of the government and a very faithful staff.
Now he is alone--except for Chloe. He has no history with anyone who is above him. He is driven by emotion for his new love and not reason.
Jack normally could put his emotions on hold to do the job, now his emotions are driving him. I hope he acts so irrationally he crosses the line.
Jack would make a dangerous monster. Maybe they could release Tony to hunt him down.
Every season they break Jack more. How much more can he take before he is broken?
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
Narr yeah that seems more like what I remember happening. I think my old roommate told me the already served thing. Oh well
Everyone I was watching with started chanting "shoot the mom shoot the mom". We *were* disappointed in him.
My group has more fun hoping members of the cast die rather than really liking any of them.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
When I watched the scene where the kid had the gun and the mother took it away from him, I was hoping he'd shoot her. But at the same time, I realized that if he did, I'd have to call B.S. on the entire situation. There's no way a teenager is going to shoot his mother, especially when she's so adept at controlling him. So I'd have found it emotionally satisfying but totally unbelievable if that's what had happened.
Also, I don't know about the rest of you, but I like the terrorist family. I think they're all good actors... the mother is an academy award nominee. And I know a few foreign families who speak English at home because they want to learn it as quickly as possible. One family in particular I know... they moved to America from The Netherlands, and the father knew how important it would be to learn English in a short amount of time, so he made a rule that his family was only allowed to speak Dutch, even to each other, one day a week. Within a year they were completely fluent, and within two years you couldn't even hear an accent in his teenage kids. If this family is on a covert mission of terror, I can see how they would find an advantage in following a similar rule.
Anyway, I think I'm liking this season a lot more than the rest of you seem to be. I loved the gas station holdup. I can't wait to see what happens tonight.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
I must admit one thing... even though I bought the English speaking at home, I would have found it infinitely more amusing if the terrorists wandered around saying, "durka durka mohammed jihad". Posted by Destineer (Member # 821) on :
The thing about the gas station holdup and the torture and all that is, in this season these extreme measures of Jack's are much less justified. He's out to save 2 measly people this time -- no presidential candidate, no USA threatened by nuclear or biological attack. There's really no justification for him messing around with innocents civilians.
Posted by Ron Lambert (Member # 2872) on :
But Destineer, one of those two people was the Secretary of Defense, and the other was the SecDef's daughter, with whom Jack is in love.
But this is the intriguing point for me--Jack's over-the-top extremism, like where he bursts into the room where the terrorist is being questioned, and he shoots him in the leg, and promises to shoot him again if he doesn't tell them who the primary target is (bombing the train and killing dozens of people was just a secondary diversion). In the context of the modern debate about what constitutes torture and mistreatment of prisoners, and whether anything goes when interrogating terrorists, this is an electrifying thing for the writers to include in this story. Then after that, of course, Jack held up a service station convenience store to delay the terrorist he was tracking until a satellite could be diverted to track the terrorist in rugged terrain and hopefully be led to where the Secretary of Defense and his daughter are being held.
What really makes the plot incendiary is the clear fact of Driscoll's incompetence, and even illegally using her agency's resources to stop police officers who have already been dispatched to pick up her bipolar daughter who's off her meds and has been terrorizing the neighbors. Driscoll's got to go down for all of this. But how is Jack going to be treated in the end? If he succeeds in rescuing the SecDef and his daughter, he should get a Congressional Medal of Honor; but for all the over-the-line things he has done, he should also be thrown in prison. Do the ends justify the means, even when dealing with terrorists?
The resolution of this is what I am really looking forward to.
[ January 17, 2005, 11:49 AM: Message edited by: Ron Lambert ]
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I think Mrs Araz is the creepiest mom ever. And it's not just what she's willing to do to hurt Americans... it's those eyes... creeeeeepy... I feel bad for Beruz... he's going along with it becuase he's brainwashed and pressured by his evil parents.
I don't think the terrorists are done. The Train, Heller.. I think something bigger is coming. Mrs Araz said that when the day is over the police will have more to worry about than a runaway girl. Whatever is in that box that Beruz dropped off at the warehouse is going to be something awful.
But they've already done nuke and they've already done plague... Is it going to be some chemical weapon?
Driscall will probably be out in a few weeks. CTU has a history of "yo-yo bosses." Remember season 1 when like 5 people ran CTU in the course of a day? Then again. Obstructionist beurocrats tend to run CTU in this show until they die in some horrible fashion.
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
Like Pixiest sort of said, its not just two people. We've already gotten multiple warnings that whatever happens to SecDef is not the end all of the series. I think that he'll be dead or rescued half way through the series and then Jack will have to deal with the big threat.
Posted by Lady Jane (Member # 7249) on :
I know, wrong season, but right thread.
Coccinelle lent me Season One of this show last week. I started watching it Thursday night, was home sick from work on Friday, and despite going to a party on Sat, church on Sun, and hanging out with C on Friday night, I finished it this morning. I have since spoilered myself as much as I possibly can for the rest of the seasons so I never watch an entire 24 episode season of any show in three days again. I have to say, the cop/thriller show is not my favorite genre, but this was very, very well done.
[ January 17, 2005, 02:54 PM: Message edited by: Lady Jane ]
Posted by Destineer (Member # 821) on :
Man, the President and his staff are really afraid of the country's getting "embarrassed" by these terrorists, to the point where they're willing to kill Heller to stop the trial.
My guess: the guy actually is some sort of war criminal. This would be a fun twist for them to pull.
But perhaps not... after all, as Pix correctly pointed out, indications are that they'll soon move beyond the Heller plotline. Who knows? All I know is, I liked tonight's episode better than anything this season has put forth so far.
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
If Heller was really guilty, why would they force him to sign confessions? Wouldn't it look a lot better if they got him to admit the things he did under his own free will? For example, if he ordered the bombing of an Arab town shouldn't he be defending why while admitting that he did? From the terrorists perspective the possible justification doesn't matter so they get everything.
I'm going to guess that the broadcast will be a message to sleeper cells to strike.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
why bomb Heller? COuldn't they just cut the power, scramble the wireless internet, or call the internet provider in that area and have them shut down? I think it would be as easy to cut their power as it would be to drop- a bomb.
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
This episode had better be good.
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
And we're back to predictable cookie-cutter writing. Who else knew Marianne was the mole from the moment she walked in?
I had hope for this season, for a few minutes.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
I kind of liked the double bluff. She was the last person that I thought might be a mole, just because they were making it so obvious. It's never the person you think it is, so this season it will be. I like how they're screwing with our expectations.
Of course, there's still the chance they might make her a double agent like they did last season. Or, alternately, I don't remember her making it clear who she was talking to. She could be a plant from the FBI or something like that as well.
The only thing I find implausable is the fact that every time the terrorists do anything, they're always able to get a mole into CTU first. These people really need to work on their background checks.
[ January 27, 2005, 09:52 AM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
The only question I have is this:
**SPOILERS**
Would the trial really have increased internet traffic that much? I mean, it's pretty heavy to begin with. And something like that, all the TV stations probably would have picked it up and broadcasted it. Not to mention the fact that the average American doesn't even know who the Secretary of Defense is, so why would they be concerned about this? Wouldn't there have been a less risky way to do it? Gees, if they could have got a video of some naked celebrity, they probably could have got just as much traffic without getting the Feds all up in their grill.
Just a thought.
[ January 27, 2005, 05:43 PM: Message edited by: Speed ]
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I'm sure CTU is hurting for personell because everyone they hire dies or goes to prison. Turn-over there is unreal.
And how many people are qualified for a CTU position anyway?
What would a CTU interview go like?
Applicant: "Do you have 401K or some other pension plan?"
Interviewer: "ho ho, you won't live long enough to use it! By the way, are you a mole?"
Applicant: "No sir... " ::whispers into lapel "I think he bought it."
::Jack enters room::
Interviewer: "Jack, this is our new applicant."
Jack: "Hi there, are you a mole?"
Applicant: "No sir."
Jack: ::shoots applicant in the knee:: "I SAID ARE YOU A MOLE!!"
Applicant: ::screaming:: "NO!"
Jack: "Ok, he's hired. Put a bandaid on that knee I need him in the field right now."
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
I'm going to have to save that one. Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
*gigglesnarf*
You should be a guest writer ThePixiest!
Did anyone else think the SoD got out of the Orange jumpsuite, shaved, put on a suit, and got to CTU a little too quickly?
I LOVE the show and give them the benefit of the doubt all the time, but I don't think I can stretch my brain enough to accept he could change, freshen up, shave, look rested, and make it back to CTU all durring the time it took for the advertizers to try and sell me a car.
The commercials were just not that long.
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
Speed, I think you missed that the trial was just a sham, a distraction to keep CTU too busy to figure out what's really going on. The servers are for the mass DOS attack, not just for broadcasting the trial.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
That's what I'm saying. The trial may have distracted them from what was really going on, but it was a dead giveaway that something was going on. And the only reason for it was to put a lot of net traffic around them so that they could hide the bandwidth they were using to hack into the system. It wasn't to fool CTU, it was to keep the people in charge of security at the nuclear power plants from noticing the spike in usage that would tip them off about the hack. And they could have created excess internet traffic from anything else without giving themselves away as terrorists so quickly.
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
** It should be assumed, at this point, that any post on this thread will contain spoilers **
Ok, how the hell did Tony get there in less than 10 minutes?
Posted by Destineer (Member # 821) on :
Yeah, he was pretty quick.
I was so angry that Palmer didn't pardon him at the end of the last season. I assume that happened off screen later. Awesome. He's hands down my favorite 24 character.
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
Tony must live right next door...My only request is they NOT bring back Jack's daughter...
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
It will be interesting to see what happens next week. It is good to see Tony back...I wonder what he has been up to since last season.
Wow, I can't believe the nutjob is now going to try and kill both his wife and his son.
Posted by Destineer (Member # 821) on :
The other nutjob is Heller. "You're torturing my son??? Carry on, carry on." That was just unbelievable, especially after all the sacrifices we've seen Jack and Tony make for their families.
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
When I saw Tony come out of nowhere I felt a mixture of and at the same time.
Shouldn't Jack know by now that he should be carrying an extra gun and as many extra clips as he can carry on his person?
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
If you were a field agent would you ever want to go on a mission with Jack? Everytime he goes on a mission his whole team is wiped out.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
I started this thread with a warning of Spoilers. I tried to be nice. I really did.
BUT>....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rant rant rant rant
I forgot to watch 24 on Monday! That is right. I forgot! What is worse, I forgot that I forgot, and so I begin the day with checking up on Hatrack and I read all the spoilers about Tony...
My own thread got me !!!!
I am a big fan...how could I forget?
EDIT:
Wait a tick!
No I didn't. That was Speed..I just checked it so much I felt like it was mine.
Now I know..I am loosing my mind
[ February 01, 2005, 11:47 AM: Message edited by: lem ]
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I can't believe heller let his son go. I still think his son is in on his abduction or worse.
Posted by Puppy (Member # 6721) on :
I'm surprised they let the son go without a tail or an escort or taps on all his phones or bugs in his backpack ...
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
How do you know they aren't tracking him, Geoff?
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
I was really expecting Heller to turn around and say, "Put a tail on him." I find it hard to believe they wouldn't on their own anyways. I also thought Heller was convinced by the lie detector test and his own talk with his son that he was hiding something. I think he just released him because Heller wanted his son to think he believed him.
Posted by Destineer (Member # 821) on :
quote:I can't believe heller let his son go. I still think his son is in on his abduction or worse.
What about the lie detector test? If he can fool polygraphs, why did he expose himself at all?
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
So here's what I've been wondering, as a resident of Oregon. Exactly which city is threatened? Oregon no longer has a nuclear power plant (the Trojan reactor was shut down, and it's not in the right place on the map anyway). Oregon State University has a breeder reactor for research, and Corvalllis is much closer to the spot shown on the big map at CTU. But it isn't a power plant. The only large city right near the spot indicated is Bend, and I doubt they even have a power plant there. Anyhow, I'll be interested to see where exactly the threat in Oregon is. I'll be very weirded out if it's my hometown that gets evacuated.
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
How many people can they wrongly torture this year?
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
I still think only one.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
Tony is my new favorite character. Poor guy. WHy did he have to drive off Michelle? His character seems to be the only character with real development. Go Tony GO!!
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
quote: How many people can they wrongly torture this year?
Who have they wrongly tortured before? I like this new direction. To date 24 has always benefited from torturing. Now Jack has set a precedent that proved to be a bad precedent. I like how this show is developing.
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
You might consider the SecDef son as having been wrongly tortured.
I can't believe I am saying this. Bring back Chloe.
msquared
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
I had really thought that Jack was going to call Chloe when he said, "The only person I can trust." Of course I was also thinking that it would be unrealistic for someone to appear out of nowhere and save the day.
I also don't believe Tony's about face about helping Jack was realistic.
Do you really believe that SecDef's son is actually going to turn out completely innocent?
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
Jack clearly didn't set the precedent. He shot a guy in the knee while CTU used sensory deprevation and elctro-shock both of which obviously existed only because torture was considered a viable option before Jack.
Posted by Kayla (Member # 2403) on :
Tony showing up within three minutes annoyed me. And being able to shoot the bad guys, get back to Tony's, load software, find the right frame, send said frame, get an identification, get Secret Service to bring you a car, then get to the heliport, get bad guy, get bad guy killed and do it all in an hour is just beyond incredible. Especially in LA. Heck, it takes more than three minutes for me to get to the store and I live in a town of less than 6 thousand.
The whole "real time" thing was the reason I only watched one episode the first year. The first scenes were of Jack at home with his wife talking about a missing daughter. He had to go in to work and his wife was going to call around and try to find her. Three minutes later, as Jack is pulling in to work, he calls his wife and asks if she's found the daughter. Apparently, Tony and Jack three minutes from everywhere. But I couldn't watch anymore of it after that. Yes, I watched the entire season in 24 hours right before the start of season 2, which, in my opinion, is the only way to watch this show. It's totally unrealistic. But fun, if your sleep-deprived.
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
The big difference is that Jack knows that they guys he is torturing are guilty and know something. The lady in charge only thought she did.
Also, it is just karma. Jack got tortured a year or two ago, right. Didn't his heart stop or something?
msquared
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
Now Jack just tortured his girlfriends ex. That leaves um...well about two people who haven't been tortured this season.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Are we including the viewers in that tally?
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
I really don't think the Driscoll's daughter plotline was necessary.
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
Did you see the previews for next week? It is setting up Erin Driscoll leaving CTU and Tony being put back in charge. Now he just has to get Chloe back. Then his ex-wife can show up and the dream team will have been assembled.
msquared
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
The Dream Team for what? I don't think they're going to use the rest of this season to set up next season.
Posted by Little_Doctor (Member # 6635) on :
Bring back Palmer! He was the best President ever! He'd solve all of this nonsense with he terrorists running rampant in LA. The show was better when the president played a bigger role in the story.
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
With Palmer gone, Jack is the only character with any substance left. Tony switching from showing up out of nowhere, to claiming that he wants nothing to do with what's going on, to claiming he has to protect Jack because if he didn't then he would have saved him for nothing, to wanting to quit again, to agreeing to bossing around Driscoll was a bit unrealistic.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
I agree that the plot with Driscoll's daughter was largely an annoyance and then a blatant attempt at emotional manipulation. I guess they needed a good way to get rid of Driscoll in order to make room for Tony.
Also, is 24 trying to make the point that torture is a stupid thing to do? Why doesn't anyone ever get in trouble? I'd expect that Sarah, for instance, would be in the position to make a lot more demands than expunging the arrest and higher pay.
Did anyone watch the previews? What was that big apparently dangerous thing?
Oh, and there is no functioning nuclear power plant in Oregon. So what was melting down?? Are they ever going to tell us?
[ February 28, 2005, 11:12 PM: Message edited by: Shigosei ]
Posted by newfoundlogic (Member # 3907) on :
I don't think they cared about whether there was actually a nuclear plant there. Its like making up ficticious towns, soft drinks, or fast food places.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
The head terrorist guy (the one that escaped by impersonating a CTU agent)... Omar? was that his name?
Anyway, he mentioned something about the important thing was that one had melted down... implying that there was a bigger plan they could do with a reactor melted. That and there's still like 12 hours left.
Pix
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
You know the head terrorist also played the Mummy.
msquared
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I was trying to figure out where I had seen him before! Imhotep =)
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
This is the first time I've ever watched the show weekly. Usually I buy the series on DVD. This makes watching the show harder. I have to know what's going to happen next. Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
The only thing that bugged me about the torture scene this time was how needless it was. I mean, the guy turned out to be innocent, right? So if you were innocent and you knew that some information in your laptop might help thwart a group of terrorists while not implicating you, wouldn't you be eager to give up that information? But this guy not only resisted doing the obvious thing, he took torture before he'd let it out. It really doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe there's something that I missed, but it just seemed like an excuse for the writers to throw in another gratuitous torture scene.
Pretty cheap, eh?
Posted by Little_Doctor (Member # 6635) on :
I don't think he's innocent. I think he still has something to hide and that will come into play.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I think jack's girlfriend watching him work will scare her away. That seems to be what's developing...
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
I am a huge fan of the show, but I think the writing has really deteriorated this season.
Time is no longer suspenseful. I thought when the terrorists in the second season got a flat tire was brilliant writing. If the whole concept of 24 is fitting everything in a day, then the writers should throw in more tension related to time constraints. Let it take an hour to get someplace, have congestion, and make reality a tension builder while you work on a subplot. The whole time thing has gotten past the "I can let this slip" phase.
How incompetent is everyone? Driscol, in middle of a nuclear melt-down, invite her out of control daughter into CTU? She visits her, doesn't restrain her or give her medicine? Driscol is a horribly incompetent boss.
I think I am loosing interest in this season. At least in the first season people got tired, hungry, and unshaved. The SoD looks like he just stepped out of a 40 minute shower.
Anyway...I am not expressing how disappointing the season appears to be.
ON a side note: I wonder how the president not granting full pardon to the son will affect the plot development.
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
lem
IIRC, the SoD did just step out of a shower. When they got him back to CTU he took some time to clean up and change clothes. Probably shave as well.
Also we are only about 10 hours into the day and it started at what, 7AM? Jack was just getting dressed, so one can assume that he had just showered and shaved while getting ready for work. I know that I have very little stubble after only 10 hours.
msquared
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
What a selfish company, using a EMP bomb, destroying everything electronic for miles around. Poor Tony, now he has to work for his ex wife.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
I know I'm almost a week late, but I just wanted to mention that last week's torturing of Behruz was the most disturbing of the many torture sequences they've had this season. It's bad enough torturing ordinary innocent people. This kid was not only innocent, he actually left his family and put his very life in peril in order to stand up for the American government. Then as soon as the people he was protecting got their hands on him, the kid without whom they may not have been able to avert these attacks, they kill his mother, torture him, and use him as a pawn in a trade with the very people he just betrayed.
I realize that from the point of view of the protagonists it was a sensible course of action, that they were doing what they felt was necessary, but it still managed to turn my stomach in ways that I hadn't seen up until now this season.
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
OMG, they're gonna shoot down Air Force 1.
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
Not that I'm anal or anything, but Stealth fighters do not have air to air missiles.
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
Well, then, maybe I'm wrong. Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
Now if it blew Air Force one on the Runway....that would be a different story.
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
Which appears to be the plan...possibly?
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
I hate being from the air force. It makes it hard to watch stuff like this. Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
OMG! They shot down Air Force 1!!! And now they want the nuclear football!!!
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
can't all the codes be reset? I seem to remember reading somewhere they they have plans for what to do if the football is lost.
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
It's a TV show. If an Stealth fighter can shootdown Air Force 1 then a little thing like being able to reset the codes in the nuclear football can be glossed over.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
lol, I guess thats true. I actually figured that he was going to crash his fighter into air force one...but after he started talking about escaping I figured they decided not to go that route. It would have made a little bit more sense though
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
If a fighter does not have air to air missles, what good is it? Does it have a cannon only? Was it not designed for air to air combat? I could understand the stealth bomber not having that type of missle, but why not the fighter?
msquared
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
When the stealth fighter the reasoning was it wouldn't need an air to air capability, because you can't shoot down what you can't see. Also for you would need radar, think of radar like a beam of light in total darkness, the enemy would instantly know where the plane is.
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
So what is it fighting? I guess they never fly during the day then?
If you used heat seaking missles how would that light up the fighter?
mquared
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
All this does not matter. All that matters is that I was right, biaches!
[ April 05, 2005, 11:06 AM: Message edited by: narrativium ]
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
It is designed in such a way to reduce it's heat signature. The upshot is it's really hard to shoot down with a heatseeking missile. The stealth fighter only flies at night.
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
Ok I understand that.
How is it a fighter then? What does it fight with?
msquared
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Well I didn't think they would actually do it. The bad guys this season are pure EVIL Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
Ok some one above said that stealth fighters do not use air to air missles. What do they use? They are a fighter. Fighters fight other planes and shoot them down. What does the stealth fighter use to shoot down other planes.
When someone makes a comment that it was not realistic for the stealth fighter to use air to air missles to shoot down Air Force one, I wish they would say how it would have done it.
msquared
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
It's not a fighter really, but we tried to trick the russians into believing it had air-to-air abilities.
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
OK, the Air Force now has a new Stealthy fighter plane. It's call the F-22. It's actually a fighter plane with real missiles. did I mention it is stealthy?
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
And now we see the real reason Palmer left office last year. They wanted to kill the president and they didn't want to kill Palmer.
Personally, I'm happy to see Jack and CTU fail occasionally. It makes their victories so much more important. Air Force 1 being shot down is almost as important to the series as Terri's death in season 1.
Predicted season 5 dialog: "You can't protect her. Just like you couldn't protect the President... Or your wife!"
Pix
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
My question is what field agent would ever go on a mission with Jack? None of them ever return alive.
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
Tony: "Ok Agent Camisaroja, You have a choice. You can go on a field op with Jack or you can Drive Kim to the safe house..."
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
If you don't want spoilers, don't read the IMDb guest appearances list.
C'mon. You know you want to. Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
quote: OK, the Air Force now has a new Stealthy fighter plane. It's call the F-22. It's actually a fighter plane with real missiles. did I mention it is stealthy?
Though, wouldn't it still have problems with radar? As soon as it targeted Air Force 1, they should have been able to track it...and shoot it down.
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
That's the cool thing about the F-22. It also has a passive radar detection system. Meaning since Air Force 1 is such a large plan it wouldn't take much to track the returns from ground radar staions. Add in full intergration with AIM-120. Pretty much all you have to do is tell the missile to go the general area, and halfway during its flight it will turn on it's own radar package, making it impossible to dodge. Any further info and I'd have to kill you... Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Oh yeah. I forgot. The F-22 also has a Helmet Cueing system. All you have to do is look at the target and a heat seeking missile will fire. No Radar used at all.
Posted by Destineer (Member # 821) on :
OK, this season has devolved into PATRIOT Act apologism. Before the torture stuff was entertaining fantasy, now they've turned it into a stupid polemic.
This season seems to be the story of US democracy collapsing into anarchy. Looks like pretty soon they'll have some sort of coup to install Palmer as the new President.
Also, this guy Marwan is insanely powerful. They've killed at least 100 of his flunkies and he always has an endless supply waiting in the wings. And his plan has like 60 phases. wtf?
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
man, that VP is getting ready to have a melt down. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to Palmer in the next episode.
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
Goodness...could the Prez be any dumber. Let's arrest the person who's saved the country only like 3 times. Great idea.
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
Worst kept spoiler....
Palmer is back!
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
I am so happy that they did not wait till the last 5 seconds to bring palmer back!
24 pleasently surprised me! oops, commercial almost over!
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
GO CHLOE!!!!!
these commercial hangers are as good as any end of the show hangers!
I like Chloe...didn't she look so happy when she got Edgars computer. I am rooting for her! Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
Chloe is awesome!
[ April 25, 2005, 10:56 PM: Message edited by: urbanX ]
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
oh ya, Palmer is back. I can't wait until next week to really see him in action.
I can't believe that the pres had Jack arrested in the middle of an operation to arrest a guy with a NUKE. Man, can you get any more stupid.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
OK,
Chloe with the gun is the single best 24 moment to date! The blood is still racing through me. I was sure they were going to knock her off and I was screaming at the TV.
My love for the show is BACK!!
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
I'm glad I didn't spoil the ending for you you....It was hard though....
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
I was thinking Chloe was toast. I mean she was sent on a mission with CTU field agents (in other words dead mean walking.)
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
So there weren't any LAPD that could make it there in less than 10 minutes? Geez, they should have sent Jack; he'd have made it in 5.
I dig Chloe, though. Always have. That was quite bad-a$$ at the end there. This season is all about the contrived situations that don't make a bit of sense but are still wicked cool if you can keep yourself from thinking too much about them.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
One other thing: Did anyone notice that at 12:59:59 Jack had just hit that guy over the head with his gun and left him handcuffed to his SUV in the parking lot, and then at 1:00:01 he was inside CTU with his hand already bandaged up? If I ever get hurt, I want those doctors working on me.
Posted by urbanX (Member # 1450) on :
Yes, I noticed that....oh well. I guess time is hard to keep track of. Just ask OSC.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
quote: This season is all about the contrived situations that don't make a bit of sense but are still wicked cool if you can keep yourself from thinking too much about them.
Posted by narrativium (Member # 3230) on :
Well, I would've handed that ending differently.
CU on Paul, then a silent count.
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
Spoiler alert for West coast people . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .
Goodness, Jack just killed his girlfriends husband. Wow, that's not a good way to keep a relationship.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
(another spoiler for west cost people) * * * * * * Not only that, but committed at act of war against china. Even for Jack, that is quite an hour.
Posted by Little_Doctor (Member # 6635) on :
Gotta love Palmer though. He's the man.
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
I'm so happy he's back. The show wasn't the same without him.
Posted by A Rat Named Dog (Member # 699) on :
So, who else is convinced that Jack Bauer will spend the time between seasons 4 and 5 getting tortured in a Chinese prison?
And who else is pretty sure that nuke is aimed at LA?
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
actually I'm pretty sure the bad guys said the bomb would be set off at dawn...east coast time (in the video they made). Well for all the torture Baurer has done in his life it would be fitting.
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
Actually from the rumor I hear that Sutherland may not be back for a 5th season I am thinking that they Chinesse will order a hit on Jack and that the the last scene will be Jack being shot, possibly dying.
I also loved Chloe trying to offer Jack a shoulder to cry on. Those two have got to get together.
msquared
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
I'm just waiting to see how Houdi..er Marwan escapes.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
Finally, Jack became a fugitive. I was waiting for this. He is now officially an enemy of America!!! He sacrificed everything and has lost everything.
I bet the next plot will involve the president, or some branch of government, doing something to compromise the ideal/freedom of America, and Jack comes back to clean-up the government.
Wouldn't it be something if season 5 was about Jack trying to assassinate the president?
I wonder if Jack will try to contact his daughter or if she will be allowed to think he is dead.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
who else wanted to smack that moron when he told Palmer "You played a role, you played a role."
Posted by Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged (Member # 7476) on :
I want Jack, or what ever his name will be, to assassinate the prez. I mean what a great thanx for saving millions of lives by having him killed.
Posted by Speed (Member # 5162) on :
I loved the Romeo & Juliet plot device they used at the end. Not only did they have the deus ex machina miracle drug that will make you look dead until you inject epi into your heart, but Jack and Tony were able to put together that entire plan, involving the drugging, the fake blood, the shutting down of the security cameras, and everything else involved, within the 15 seconds between the time Jack found out the plot and the arrival of the Secret Service agent.
I hope the next season involves Tony taking over for Jack. Or maybe they could make that chunky computer guy into a field agent and he can be the hero. That dude is cool.
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