24, 8.15 - "6:00AM - 7:00AM"
WRITERS: Chip Johannessen & Patrick Harbinson[SPOILERS] Another solid and entertaining hour, forgiving the usual stretching of plausibility at the seams. But you don't watch 24 for tight realism -- you watch for the high stakes, drama, action and brow-sweating tension. And in those terms, the show's started to deliver more consistently since mid-season. I'm feeling a lot better about Day 8 now, although it's infuriating to think they wasted half the year with a string of dull episodes.
DIRECTOR: Brad Turner
GUEST CAST: Bob Gunton, Michael Gaston, Chris Diamantopoulos, Nazneen Contractor, T.J Ramini, Mido Hamada & Frank John Hughes
To briefly recap: President Hassan (Anil Kapoor) decided it would be best to hand himself over to the terrorists, so overpowered Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) and left with the injured Bishop to prevent the bomb being detonated; Tarin (T.J Ramini) deactivated the bomb once Hassan was in their custody, prompting confusion from CTU about why the bomb failed to go off; Jack briefed President Taylor (Cherry Jones) on the situation, leading her to arrest General Bruckner (Michael Gaston) and Rob Weiss (Chris Diamantopoulos) for their treachery, although Weiss is satisfied he saved lives; CTU try to ambush Tarin and Hassan in their car, unaware they're receiving help from mole Dana (Katee Sackhoff) in evading capture, so Hassan's transferred to another vehicle shortly before Tarin crashes his vehicle.
This was a much better episode for Cherry Jones, who hasn't been very central to events this year and disappeared completely for a few episodes recently. She was actually given something to do, and while Taylor's still a rather colourless character (even more so this year without her family to lean on), I do like the clear compassion she has for people. Her quiet moment with Ethan (Bob Gunton) before he was taken away in a stretcher, and her congratulating of Renee (Annie Wersching) for her heroics were both nicely played. You need a President to feel pride in, and Jones manages that despite the often ropey or thin material she's given.
In some ways it was a shame the dirty bomb didn't go off in Manhattan early in this hour -- although Day 6 proved that 24 doesn't have the budget or patience to deal with the aftermath of a nuclear strike in a city, so I understand why they didn't risk making the same mistake twice. The fact this episode formed the first part of a double-bill in the US nearly tricked me into believing they were still going to go through with that, then do a better job dramatizing the repercussions, but it wasn't to be. Still, the idea of Hassan turning himself over to the terrorists is a good development, as it means we've left the bomb storyline behind and now it's simply about getting a foreign dignitary back alive. The stakes are now a sole politician's life, although "world peace" is starting to be mentioned around Hassan's name, perhaps to combat any feeling that the stakes have actually fallen now. Anyway, making things more human like this is vastly more interesting than chasing terrorists around, and slightly less predictable.
Asides
- I miss those chirping CTU ringtones, don't you? Can't they come back?
- I enjoyed the pure silliness of Dana about to garrot Arlo with computer cable. It would have been fun to see her go through with it, if only because CTU will soon be full of dead bodies hidden behind wall panels!
