24- Season Six

[consigliere]

One week from tomorrow. Can't wait.

The reviews so far for the opening episodes have been great:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20006667,00.html

http://www.tvguide.com/News-Views/Colum ... x?posting={EB8357B6-D1F4-424B-A9FA-62372EE49175}

[British_Pharaoh]

never watched it in my life

[consigliere]

You English blokes wouldn't understand it.

[Dozen]

I cannot wait for this season!

[Guest]

I'll be writing recaps each week for this year's "24", just like I did for The Sopranos.

Looking forward to a great season.

[swerb]

As if I wasn't already fired up for the new season of "24", those reviews definitely do the trick. New season sounds awesome.

The one review doesn't give away the terrorist threat, but references a book that they said had a similar plot. I googled it, and it's about the American government taking out an American city with a high muslim population.

Next Sunday and Monday. 2 hours each night. Finally.

[Guest]

Finally it's back on

[swerb]

15 minutes till season six.

This link is hysterical.

http://www.notrly.com/jackbauer/index.php?topthirty

[swerb]

That was sweet. Jack goes Mike Tyson on his captors neck. Good start to the season. Chloe is even hotter this year. And kudos on the hottie new middle eastern CTU chick.

[swerb]

Great start to the season. Very realistic portrayal of everyones worst nightmare of the turn the war on terror could potentially take one day.

Every season on 24, there is one government official thats just a prick. The Presidents Chief of Staff is that guy this season.

Buchanan and Karen married? Chloe working with her ex-husband? My bank won't hire married couples, but the highest levels of government has no problem letting em work hand in hand?

And it's time to start thinking ... who is the mole this year?

Jack is back. Great start, can't wait for tomorrow night. Man that two hours flies by.

[Guest]

Awesome start
You know a show is awesome when you get pissed when the episode is over.

[swerb]

http://www.tvsquad.com/2006/12/14/not-c ... n-stiller/

Interesting. Both Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston wanted to appear on the current season of 24, and both were turned down.

Also ... Powers Boothe (Cy Tolliver from Deadwood) apparently has a role coming up this season.

[wmurphyhh]

I wonder what the twist will be in the 2nd episode tonight. All the reviews stated the 4th hour will be the shocker this year.

I thought the Tyson impression was pretty good.

Powers Boothe will be the VP this season.

The detention center idea reminds me of a movie with Bruce Willis and Denzel - The Seige.

Can't wait for tonight's episodes.

[pup]

24 Newbie here!

Wow. Now I see why everyone watches this thing so religiously. I am so fired up for tonight's episode.

One question though.

Do people always leave cars sitting around with GPS enabled cell phones when Jack is looking for an escape?

[wmurphyhh]

Pup - start watching the first 5 seasons on DVD. You'll appreciate the current season more when you understand some of the past characters. Like the current president, his brother (who also does the AllState commercials) was the president in the past. Seems like Wayne Palmer will be compared to his brother all season.

Do people always leave cars sitting around with GPS enabled cell phones when Jack is looking for an escape?

You'll need to suspend your belief in reality at times. The producers have become a little more liberal with time and some other items. No one could ever get anywhere in LA in 15 minutes like Jack did.

[swerb]

Yeah, if there's anything to gripe about with 24, maybe the most suspenseful hour netowrk drama in TV history, it's that it's gotten a little more unrealistic as each season has gone by.

The first season, while nowhere near as exciting as the last couple, was simply about an assassination attempt on the President (brother of the guy now President), and was very realistic.

Second season, nuclear bomb threat in America.

Third season, Jack has to overcome a heroin addiction (Jack Bauer wasn't addicted to heroin, heroin was addicted toJack Bauer) after a year overseas in a covert op, all while terrorists are trying to release a deadly virus in America.

Fourth season, Jack is now working for the Sec of Defense and starts banging his daughter, all while dealing with a series of terror attacks by a Turkins terrorist named Marwan.

Fifth season, Jack now living under an alias with a new life, he is set up for the murder of former Pres Palmer and several CTU members as a diversion to a larger terroist threat centered around nerve gas.

Well worth Netflixing the old seasons. The series has clearly been helped by the geopolitical turmoil of the last 5-6 years, and while things that happen in the show are sometimes hard to fathom (Jack navigating through LA traffic like that, and GPS being in the first car he stole) ... the threats themself have been VERY realistically presented, which has been the key to the show.

[consigliere]

Best start yet. Incredible show.

Not as electrifying and fast-paced as last year....but deeper and darker this year, that's for sure. The portrayal of the terrorist bombings is VERY REAL and believable....which is what will make this show good this year.

I thought it was beautiful how they brought back Jack....showing him down and out, and to the point where he pretty much had given up on his life....accepted his fate as a sacrifice for the good of the country....then when Fayed told him the plans how Jack "woke up" and is now "back." Loved the scene where he tore a chunk out of the guys neck and killed him with his teeth.

As to guessing who the mole is......I have no idea. Something tells me though that the guy dating Sondra Palmer (Henry Lennix's character) may turn up bad. The President's COS Tom seems an obvious one, but in the past the obvious ones don't always turn up to be really bad. We'll see. My feeling, is the mole has yet to be shown or identified.

Saw the full 3 page spread in the Sunday PD about the show. 3 fucking pages! Tells you how huge this show is. They also showed Powers Boothe and Rick Shroder as upcoming characters. Awesome. All that is missing is Al Swaeregen to show up as the bad guy or to be Jack's sidekick.

[consigliere]

I have the feeling that tonight's shocker is the terrorists really do hit a big target. Looks like a big bomb goes off based on Jack's reaction and the reflection in his face of something blowing up. Could the kid Ahmed have done it with that "package" Fayed talked about?

Also, anyone want to guess who the first show regular is who bites it? The show doesn't go more than 4 hours without a "holy shit" kill of a recurring cast member? Buchanan? Curtis? Chloe?

If I had to guess, Curtis is going down first. He is in the field tracked Assad and Jack.

As for some of the unrealistic things like the GPS locator in the car Jack stole, I've come to just pass over those things. I mean, this is Hollywood, so there has to be a suspension of belief with a lot of action/thriller type movies/TV shows. Or, how Jacks gets from place to place in 15 minutes. Those are just minor details, so I pass over it. Now, when they are serious things that affect the plot (like the whole Terry Bauer amnseia thing from Season 1) it pisses me off.

[docstank]

I definitely think Curtis is going to be the first casualty. The reaction has to be a result of a nuke with the look on their faces. Hey pup I have the first 3 seasons on disk if you are interested. My brother bought them in China for a dollar each. I think Chloe's ex is the mole. That show absolutely rocks, cant wait for tonight's episode.
stank

[swerb]

I think Curtis as the first main casualty is a safe bet.

What about Chloe as the mole? Last season, I went on the record early as saying Audrey was sure to be the mole. I was almost proven right, as the plot took that turn, but she was eventually exonerated.

Chloe flips due to her anger over the way the Jack situation was handled? Her ex-hubby is shady as shit, he could be involved as well.

24 is famous for having the unthinkable happen, thats why I thought they were going that route with Audrey. In hindsight, maybe they were just setting us up for the Chloe betrayal in season six.

They've spent 3 seasons building her character up, it wouldn't surprise me to see her go bad guy.

[pup]

Thanks Stank, but a guy I work with has them all and is bringing them in tomorrow. I guess I will be watching 24 a lot for the next couple weeks!!!

[wmurphyhh]

Best way to watch them is on DVD. No commercials and no waiting until next week.

[swerb]

Best way to watch them is on DVD. No commercials and no waiting until next week.

I usually wait until about 20 minutes into the episode to start watching. I rewind it on my DVR, then can fast forward through all the commercials.

[docstank]

DVR rocks, I do the same thing.

[docstank]

By the way Pup, if that dude gives you all those 24 episodes you better expect to get absolutely nothing done for a couple of weeks. The only good thing is once you get started you will not be able to stop so you get through them pretty quickly but you will accomplish little else. I remember I picked up watching in season 2. Two weeks into it I decided I had to rent season 1. I watched it in 5 days.

[docstank]

About Chloe, I do not think she will switch to the dark side unless jack died, yeah right.
I do think there will be a loving relationship developing between those two. This will set up a triangle b/t her jack and that creepy f'in ex of hers.
The ex will eventually hose CTU. You can tell they are trying to make her look hotter and less geaky.
stank

[wmurphyhh]

Stank - You are making quite the assumption that Pup does things now...it might interfere with a hold em game or six.

I wouldn't be able to watch a single TV show if it wasn't for the DVR.

[pup]

Stank - You are making quite the assumption that Pup does things now

[swerb]

Holy shit.

[Guest]

Just keeps getting better and better

[consigliere]

Wow. We called that one with Curtis. Nice of Jack to put him out of commission though with a shot through the neck.....instead of merely wounding him.

I'm on record as saying this is the best season yet....and definitely the most believable. The early previews were right when Cassar and company said you'll believe this shit could happen. Holy fuck.

And, I have a sneaking suspicion the new middle eastern hot chick at CTU is a mole. No evidence now, but the whole middle east thing with her plus with her being a new character make me wonder. My 2nd choice is one of Milo or the ex-husband of Chloe (his name escapes me).

God I can't wait to see how Rick Schroder and Powers Boothe get brought into this.

EDIT: Oh, and tell me I am not the only who believes this Assad alignment will end up fucking the US. He'll show his true colors at some point, and maybe he ends up the real bad guy. We all know in past story arcs there are two main villains every season....the one for the first half of the show, and then the real threat is revealed in the 2nd half.

[swerb]

Those are all good calls T.

[swerb]

Mitch, absolutely hysterical recap of the first two hours. I love the features, especially The Bauer Death Count.

Recap of hours 3 & 4 posts tonight ... thanks again for doing these Mitch. They are excellent.

[consigliere]

Yeah, great job Mitch. Hysterical stuff. If I didn't know any better, you werent too impressed with the first two episodes, unless you were just picking on and making fun of the "convenience" of certain things (the GPS loaded 92 Ford, hilarious).

[Guest]

Oh no...don't get me wrong, I love the show, and I do think that through the first four hours this is the best show yet.

I'm just not one for dry recaps of the whole episode, and following what I did last year with the Sopranos, I'm adding my own snide comments to just about everything. And yeah, I'll call out the gaps in logic, but that's more out of amusement than a complaint. I personally think that they KNOW we know that there has to be a big suspension of logic or else the show would be nothing but watching cars drive in bumper to bumper traffic. I have no real problem with it...let's do what it takes to get back to the action.

In future episode recaps, starting with the one tonight for the second half, I'll also be adding speculations and commentary like you had a few posts ago. I just found that hard to do when writing the first one fully knowing what happened on the second night. I had originally thought of making just one write up about the first four hours, but there was just too much going on, and I would have either skipped over important stuff, or the article would have been too long.

[swerb]

Great stuff Mitch. Love the format.

[consigliere]

Great 2nd recap Mitch. I too am wondering who the mole is....could be someone not shown yet. I don't think Walid is a mole, as he seemed genuinely concerned about the comments the other middle eastern men made in Arabic, and he told Sandra what they said....of which turned out to be something important. Of course, anything is possible on this show.

I still believe that Nadia is the baddie. She is middle-eastern (how convenient!) and liek you said is the new girl in charge. Newbies wouldn't pick it up, but long time watchers would....so maybe she is portrayed that way to throw the longtimers off. Who knows.

Maybe the slimeball of the season turns out to be the VP, whever he appears.....Boothe plays slimeballs well.

Anyway, I'm curious to see how this Graham thing shakes out as well. I could have sworn I read somewhere that he was Jack's brother (thereby opening the door for his dad to enter the picture later this season). I could be completely wrong.

[swerb]

Nadia is too obvious, IMO.

So is the theory of eventual love between Chloe and Jack.

Remember how surprised you were (I was) when Nina Myers turned out to be the mole in season one?

Chloe and Walid top my mole list. And clearly Assad will go bad at some point as well.

[Guest]

Unreal how this show gets better every episode

[wmurphyhh]

Interesting how they used Dr. Romano last season but never made the link that he was Jack's brother. I wonder if that was always the plan.

Based on his last role in TV, it would be fitting for Jack to throw him out of a helicopter.

[swerb]

Couple new plot twists enter the fray.

Jacks dad (played by the crazy old man from Six Feet Unders final season) and slimeball brother, who was actually a bad guy last season .... though his name or relation to Jack were never revealed.

Also, the previews for next weeks show tell us Lennox is moving to get Karen neutralized, which will set up an interesting dynamic when you consider shes Bangin Buchanan now.

Morris's compassion and general good behavior for an episode moves him up the potential mole list.

I still got a bad feeling about Walid too.

And I fucking hate Palmer's sister. I haven't hated a character this bad since Omarosa on the first Apprentice.

[consigliere]

A downer for me this week, but moreso because of how awesome the 4-hour premiere was and getting all those hours at once vs. only one hour this past Monday. Anyway, Jack's brother and father enter the mix, and I am curious as hell to see what is behind Graham turning on his brother.....and also what Jack's father has to do with all this.

Graham will most likely be the connection that gets Logan back into the mix as well later on.

Also, I still believe that this season was originally meant to be Season 5, but they held off on it to use Season 5 to sort of help setup some of this season and to also go a different route. I still remember the "coming soon" preview just after Season 4 ended with Jack walking into the sunset in "hiding" and it was the same sort of tagline and idea as what we are seeing now.

[docstank]

If you remember throughout last season there was some underground group strongly controlling the last president. Could this be some group strongly controlling government with strategically placed agents throughout our government. If so this could be headed up by Jack's father. The question is what would be there ultimate goal? To perminently alter the way our government is run? A hostile takeover of some sort?
I am jumping the shark a bit, but you know in the end all good shows do.
stank

[consigliere]

Assad. “24” always has characters who appear in the early episodes, and then fade into the back ground never to be seen again. I think Assad’s part in this may be done with his information about Gredenko and his final handshake with Buchanan. I reserve the right to change my mind again next week.

Great write-up Mitch. And, good catch on Graem's son possibly being Jack's. I would not be surprised to see this come true, especially considering Jack's involvement with Marilyn.

I have made it a point to avoid any spoilers since the season started, so have no clue what is about to happen.....but wanted to make mention of your last line above. I actually think Assad still has more work to do....whether it be as a baddie or being more helpful. I still would put him in my top 3 for a turncoat. They are setting him up as one, showing how gracious he has been to help....shaking hands with Bill finally....roasting smores and singing Kum Baya with the CTU personnel. How wonderful! Assad is such a great person........which, of course, in 24-land is usually when so-and-so turns....

Just sayin.

[Guest]

You could be right.

If you learned anything from my Sopranos write ups, it should be to always take my predictions with a lump of salt that would choke a horse.

[consigliere]

Yeah. Heck, Assad may indeed turn out good. But either way, I don't think we have seen the last of him. Isn't he supposedly on his way to Washington DC for more debriefing and info? Could he figure into things with the President good/bad somehow?

Whether good or bad, characters like Assad don't come out of the season alive......he's going to bite it somehow. Remember Bierko last year how he was gone (detained) for like 10 episodes, then they escaped in like episode 22 and then he was killed? I see something along the same lines this year with Assad. I'm just not sure if he is really good or bad (leaning still toward bad).

I'm curious to see how Powers Boothe figures into all this.....I just hope it isn't another one of those "the President is sick, in a coma, or can't make decisions" angle from the past 3 seasons. Speaking of the Prez, I'd vote for Wayne as the 2nd most annoying person on the show next to his sister.

[swerb]

Mitch, I literally wet myself a little bit when reading this sequence from your latest recap ...

Be that as it may, Jack is soon up on the roof, passing by a satellite dish that is still in perfectly good working order, picking up a broken antenna, and prying the door open in time to rescue the co-pilot and getting them all to safety right before it crashes the last horrible 15 feet, going up in a huge fireball. I guess there was still a few pounds of C4 left over from last week and the chopper was carrying it. I personally loved the subliminal message shown here that satellite TV can withstand anything, and that antennas suck.

During this same time, Fayed is making his escape with the four remaining nukes, and makes a call to the obligatory English accented, morally bankrupt “Mr. Fix-It” to try to scrounge up more triggers, and someone that can make them work. Fayed offers McCarthy “double his usual rate”, and the slimy Brit replies that he may have someone he can get, and would know within an hour. McCarthy then picks up his totally trashy-slut girlfriend and starts working the phones.

Back at CTU, Assad meets up with Bill Buchanan...and Bill totally plays Bill Belichick to Assad’s Peyton Manning by refusing to shake his hand when he states that he is truly working towards peace. Not quite the “double loogey to the face” Claudia gave Sevilia on “Rome” the other night, but man, that was still cold.

[swerb]

And regarding this ...

At Casa de Scumbucket, Graem greats his teenaged son Josh, who is not short, pudgy, and balding, but tall, athletic, and blonde...sorta like Uncle Jack, eh? Graem also informs his wife Marilyn that Jack might be trying to contact them...and after seeing a look in her eyes that he doesn’t like, accuses her of still having feelings for him. I guess we’re supposed to assume that they dated before Jack married Terri...but you never know.

Ding-Dong...Oh, Hi, Jack! We were just talking about you.

Good call on that being Jacks son. One of those things I can't believe I didn't pick up on it, as it seems obvious after reading your recap.

Also, classic Bauer line this week.

Graem: "I swear Jack!!! On my families life!!!"

Bauer: "Thats not good enough."

[consigliere]

Another great writeup this week Mitch.

Some comments:

Sandra Palmer is soon to earn her “Kim Bauer Pain In The Ass Award”. She is going to be so pissed at Walid’s fate that she’ll end up screwing something up big time...probably in the form of blabbing about something or another that’s supposed to be secret, with the terrorists benefiting from the information. Second guess? She forces the Feds to close the FDR Memorial Detention Center...and then we’ll find out that one or more of the gang that tap danced on Walid’s face really IS a terrorist.

I think you are completely right that Sandra Palmer will definitely have a hand in fucking something big up. I like your second guess....but I come to a different conclusion. I'm still not putting Walid in the clear, as his exit for medical care may now provide him an escape opportunity to meet up with his brethren.

Who’s the Traitor?: Current “Favorites” in order of probability:

1. Nadia. Milo is going to regret signing in for her....4. Milo. Could he be setting Nadia up?

You know, at first I thought Milo signing in was bonehead move of the year as it makes it VERY easy for Nadia to now do as she pleases.....but, I think this is yet another red herring. It is TOO OBVIOUS for Nadia to be a baddie at this point, but your listing of Milo as the baddie sounds about right to me. I think it is Milo, and that he indeed is setting up Nadia.

Anyway, looks like the action will pick up next week. The previous two episodes were still good, even without the non-stop action we have grown accustomed to. This is the point in every season where they start developing the plot once the first threat is known......then in weeks 8-12 we'll have complete havoc....then in week 13-15 the real threat comes to the forefront and then in weeks 16-19 they once again take a step back and develop that plot before the final 4-5 weeks end with more craziness.

[consigliere]

Interesting show this week. I think everyone saw the whole Morris bit coming, but as Mitch mentioned, I was caught by surprise with Daddy Bauer turning out to be even more scum that Brother Bauer. Wow, that was definitely a twist I never saw coming.....although once that scene started just after Morris was captured, it was obvious what was about to happen.

I still wonder how all these characters fit into this, and how some of the recurring characters will come back. Like Prez Logan and Audrey. Also, as hiko mentioned with Assad, I think he still plays into this somehow. I'm thinking he either tries to kill the Prez or tries to blow up the White House in an act or terrorism, or, maybe he in fact turns out good and helps more in the search for Fayed or saves the Prez or another character from being killed somehow.

Anyway, next week's episode should resolve a lot of questions and open up several more. We are getting close to the time when the major plot twist of the season occurs and the real threat is exposed.