24: Episode 16
We’ve reached midnight in Washington D.C. and I’m beginning to wonder if the plot went down with the sun. For two weeks in a row I’ve been pretty disappointed in 24 so let’s hope things start to turn around now that morning is coming.
Recap: While Jack waits for his results regarding possible infection, the bioweapon that caused it makes it’s way to Starkwood. They also have Tony as they captured him in the chaos of the last hour. Hodges’ men beat him up, trying to get him to talk about what the FBI knows about the situation, but Tony refuses to say anything. Just as he is about to be shot for not talking, Greg Seaton comes in and saves Tony. He tells Tony that he thinks Jonas Hodges has gone too far and wants to help Tony find the weapon.
At the White House President Taylor has made her daughter Olivia the temporary Chief of Staff. Just then the phone rings and it’s Larry Moss. He tells her about Jack and tries to get the OK to attack Starkwood. The President decides to call a meeting of the Joint Chiefs to decide the best course of action. At the meeting the President is told that the best option for taking down Starkwood isn’t good enough. She demands they come up with a solution, and fast.
While Renee is being released from holding at the FBI, Jack arrives with the CDC unit. They meet as he walks through the door and he tells Renee the news that he has been infected by the bioweapon, but is not contagious. Soon after, a meeting is arranged to get President Taylor to sign a pardon for Seaton in exchange for information on where the bioweapon is. She agrees to sign as it is their best chance of turning the situation around. Seaton and Tony head for the warehouse as Larry assembles a team to recover the weapon. Jack is left behind due to his infection since no one knows when he will start showing symptoms.
As Hodges hurries his men to finish work on the bioweapon, the FBI approach in helicopters. Larry orders the door of the warehouse to be blown open, but when they enter they find nothing but an empty room. Seaton tries to blame Tony saying he threatened to kill him so he just did what was necessary to stay alive, but Larry knows it isn’t true and puts him under arrest.
While the FBI team leaves the warehouse they run into a bigger team of Starkwood soldiers. Starkwood demands that they leave or else they will be forced to defend themselves. That leaves the situation at a stand still as the clock ticks to midnight.
Review: Like I said earlier, I’m wondering if the writers let the plot go down with the sun. These last two weeks have been a bit of a downhill slide for me. I know what 24 is like when it’s just killing time, and that’s exactly what they’ve been doing. Granted there were a few good moments here and there, but overall the show needs to give us something to care about.
The President seems to be in a bubble. She is always the last one to know what’s going on. Her continual bafflement every time she hears a piece of news is getting tires. Also, what is she thinking putting her daughter in the position of Chief of Staff? Just because they are related doesn’t mean she is qualified to advise the President. I feel like the less we see of the White House right now the better.
Tony finally gets some good screen time, something I’ve been saying we needed for a long time. But for some reason I didn’t feel invested in him being held hostage. He seems blank so I’m not sure if I should care one way or another about his well being. I hope he stays at the forefront though because I think the way I feel is just a symptom of his being gone for so long.
Speaking symptoms (see what I did there?) I have to say I wasn’t expecting Jack to be infected. I thought they would just drag it out until we found out he was fine. To me this is one of the most engaging plot lines right now. I want to know what will happen to Jack more than what will happen with the bioweapon. When the threat is in the thousands or even millions, it gets hard to care about the faceless fictional civilians. I feel like I know Jack so I care more about his safety.
I’m hoping for the best for next week. The show needs to turn a corner and focus on a plot line that feels personal. I still don’t care about or feel like I know Jonas Hodges. The best villains in the history of 24 have been those that we got to know. I don’t think the show needs a huge threat with a super-villain in order to be good. It just needs something that builds the tension and makes us care.
- It was interesting to see Jack less than invincible in this hour. I hope they continue down this road. I felt really bad for him when he couldn’t go out on the field with the rest of the FBI team.
- Are we convinced that Olivia isn’t bad or could she still harm the presidency before this is all over?
- I’m glad Renee is back in the game. Her chemistry with Jack is great and it really helps make the show interesting.
- So is Jack going to die from his exposure to the bioweapon? Is this how he finally goes down? My theory is that, upon further testing, they will find out the initial results were wrong and he is fine. He can’t be taken down in anything less than a blaze of glory and gunfire.
The Office: Two Weeks
March 27, 2009 by Brad
Filed under The Office
Up to now 24 has been the only show regularly reviewed on this site. Today it’s time to change that. I watch The Office every week just as I do with 24, but this season has been so rough so far that I just haven’t felt like talking about it. There’s been the odd good episode, a funny moment here and there, but overall I’ve been underwhelmed by it all. That said, I feel like this week’s episode was a nice reboot for the show and it did exactly what I feel has been missing from a lot of the previous weeks.
Last Thursday we saw Charles, the new VP for the area (i.e. the new Jan), come in and take over the Office. He sucked every ounce of enjoyment from people’s work day and made it so bad for Michael that he actually quit. I thought for sure that Michael would be right back in the Regional Manager’s chair, maybe saying he didn’t really want to quit, but it looks like he’s really going for it. That makes me happy. Not because I don’t like Michael, but because it’s something new and fresh that the show needs.
It was hard to watch Michael being escorted out of the office without his things or being able to give one of his famously awkward speeches. He should have been given the chance to say goodbye. Seeing him come crawling (literally) back to the office was hilarious though. I loved the whole bit with him telling them not to look at him, but to look straight up.
The part of the episode that showed what I love about this show was the ending. When Michael leaves for the last time, convinced he will start his own paper company, and Pam goes with him, I almost jumped for joy. That moment where she is walking away with Michael where you could see the happiness, the freedom, and the sheer terror in her face all at the same time was wonderful. That’s “The Office 101″ right there.
This episode was entirely kept within the walls (and I guess the parking lot too) of the office itself, and I think that almost always makes for a good one. They made good use of the fantastic supporting cast that I felt had been neglected a lot this season. Seeing Kelly and Angela fight for the attention of Charles was great. Creed feeding quarters into the copier? How can you go wrong with that?
I really hope this is a new beginning to the season even though it’s kind of late. I think this is the first time since they wrote out Holly that I don’t really care that much that she’s gone. It was one of the few episodes where I didn’t feel the void of the Jim and Pam romance. As my wife would say, this one gets 4 1/2 out of 5 golden puppies.
24: Episode 15
Last night was brutal. Not so much because 24 was bad, but because I had to fight to stay awake all night. So if I’m especially harsh this week, you can blame it on that.
Recap: After speaking with her husband, who is recovering from surgery, President Taylor is hopeful that the day might begin to turn around. Unfortunately for her, Ethan Kanin is about to resign. After speaking with Larry Moss on the phone about the death of Senator Mayer and the search for Jack, he decides he has made too many mistakes and to continue on would only hurt the President. She reluctantly accepts his resignation after hearing his reasoning.
After Jack gets Tony up to speed on Starkwood they finally reunite at the port where Starkwood are believed to be picking up a bioweapon. Tony sees only one security guard, who we find out is Carl Gadsen. Carl just gets off the phone with his pregnant wife when Jack and Tony take him down and demand information on Starkwoods shipment. Thinking they were simply electronics smugglers, Carl had agreed to let them through the port and look the other way in order to pick up some extra money to cover the fertility treatments his wife had undergone. Since their phone communication isn’t working, they convince Carl to go open the gate and that they will rescue him once they can get outside communication. Carl agrees but ends up being taken by the Starkwood men while they pick up the WMD.
Meanwhile Jonas Hodges is at Starkwood holding a board meeting. He tells the board to stop co-operating with the government because he believes the government will need them to bolster the country’s military force. While the American government wants to shut them down, Hodges thinks the killing of innocent civilians will prove that Starkwood is a necessary force.
At the White House, Olivia and Ethan decide to make nice while he packs his things. Just as Ethan leaves, Olivia gets on the phone to the news reporter who wants to run the story about Jack that was mentioned last week. She gives the OK for him to run the story and we see that Ethan was right in his accusations last week.
Jack and Tony catch up with the men who are holding Carl hostage. Jack decides to go against Tony and save Carl which leads to a big gun fight. Jack ends up gaining control of the truck holding the WMD while Tony is apprehended by the Starkwood men. While Jack is driving away he contacts Agent Moss and tells him to send a team to save Tony and to get the bioweapon from the truck. Since Moss found evidence that leads him to believe that Jack may not be responsible for the murder of Senator Mayer, he decides to listen to Jack. Just then Jack finds a problem – the bioweapon was damaged in the escape and is leaking. Since he was headed into a populated area, Jack decides to try to stop the leak himself, exposing him to the contaminants. Starkwood catches up to Jack, and with the help of a helicopter they regain the WMD. Jack calls back Agent Moss to inform him about what happened. They realize the weapon is headed for a close by military facility. Jack tells him to send a team from CDC for proof that the weapon exists so that he can send a team into the facility.
Review: This week’s episode was just okay for me, but you can blame that on my lack of sleep if you like. I thought the set up with Carl at the port was predictable, and the resulting gun fight didn’t do much for me. I had a good feeling that Olivia was the one who leaked the story to the press, so that was no big revelation for me. I feel bad that Ethan left, I kind of liked him. I’m really not looking forward to having Olivia around for the foreseeable future. It was good to see President Taylor’s husband recovering from surgery though, I’m glad they didn’t completely forget about him.
We got some more insight about Jonas Hodges’ motives. I don’t know what to think yet to be honest. I’m not seeing the connection between killing innocent people and convincing the government that they are a good thing. I like that they are this secondary military force that wants recognition, I just don’t buy their methods yet. Hopefully we’ll learn more as the weeks go by.
I’m glad to see Larry finally catching up to the truth. He isn’t turning a blind eye to the evidence showing that Jack might be innocent, and I like that. I hope he continues on this path because he could be a really valuable character once he gets over his need to be right about Jack all the time.
I didn’t even find Jack and Tony’s reunion fulfilling. It seemed like it was lacking something. Did anyone else find Tony’s little speech when Jack was about to save Carl a little odd? Why was he so bent on doing it his way? I wish they’d focus on Tony a bit more just so we could get some closure on what he is up to. Also, do you think Jack will get sick from his exposure to the WMD? Will he go all George Mason on us? It’s not exactly the death I pictured for him.
Hopefully this was a decent recap and review for you. Next week I’ll make sure I’m wide awake so that I don’t miss anything. We still have a decent amount of episodes left. I’m curious to see how this is all going to go down because right now it feels like they have more time than plot to fill it. We’ll see next week if things get any better .
24: Episode 14
Whenever Jack is on the run, you can usually count on a solid episode of 24. Although this was on of those transitional weeks where they set up the story for the following week, it was still exciting and fun.
Recap: As usual we pick up right where we left off last week with Jack running from the police after being framed for the murder of Ryan Burnett. On his way out of the hospital he grabbed the security camera recording and used it to find out who was really behind Burnett’s death. As Renee is finishing the paperwork for being suspended, Jack calls her and sends the picture of the killer. She is able to ID him as John Quinn who works for an organization called Starkwood. This leads to Renee telling Jack that Senator Mayer has been investigating Starkwood so she gives Jack his address so he can get more information.
Back at the White House, President Taylor is preparing to address the nation in regards to the attack that just happened. While she is speaking, a news reporter pulls Ethan aside to ask for a comment on Jack being the prime suspect in Burnett’s death. This is bad news for President Taylor because it would get out that Jack was allowed to torture Burnett, something she has stood against during her presidency. Ethan assumes Olivia leaked the information as it is something she has done in the past.
As Renee tries to leave the FBI she is stopped by Larry. He questions her about her communication with Jack and decides to keep her in holding after she refuses to give up anything. While Janis tries to find the information on Renee’s computer Morris O’Brien shows up wanting to know where Chloe is. Janis hits a roadblock with the encryption and realizes the fastest way to get around it is by getting Morris to help. Morris demands a full pardon for Chloe in exchange for his help. He gets around the encryption and finds out that Jack is headed to Senator Mayer’s residence. Larry rounds up a team to apprehend Jack.
At Mayer’s house, Jack has demanded to see his research on Starkwood. While looking through the information he finds a photo of a car accident that killed a source inside Starkwood. Quinn, the man who killed Burnett, is in the photo. This leads to Jack making a connection between Starkwood and Juma. Juma gave Starkwood a secret location to test bioweapons they had acquired. Suddenly a knock at the door announces the arrival of the authorities. Mayer says he can help Jack with the situation but he must surrender himself to the police. Mayer opens the door to a barrage of bullets as Quinn begins to chase Jack. They run to a near by construction site where Jack tricks Quinn in to a trailer. With a bulldozer, Jack turns over the trailer which leads to the men fighting it out. In the end Jack kills Quinn but finds out the weapons shipment for Starkwood has already arrived. Quinn’s cell phone contains a text message saying where they will arrive.
The episode ends with Jack calling Tony telling him to meet at the Port of Alexandria with a weapons and surveillance package and that he will explain the rest when they meet.
Review: I thought this was a solid episode overall. There were definitely some dull moments but the story moved forward and we saw some action so it all worked out in the end. It’s nice to see Renee confident in Jack instead of questioning him, and herself, every step of the way. I hope she isn’t left in holding for hours with nothing to do because she is a good character.
Jonas Hodges, the bad guy of the season, got some more screen time this week. He is still quite ambiguous, but we were shown a little more of who he is. I liked how they showed that he wasn’t out to kill innocent people just for the sake of it, but there is a higher cause that he believes in. It will be interesting to see how that plays out as we get more information on his motives.
Morris, Morris, Morris, when will you ever learn? Do you not remember aiding terrorists with a nuclear bomb after taking a drill to the arm? I was so hoping he wouldn’t cave in and help the FBI find Jack. I appreciate that he wants the best for Chloe, but we all know Chloe would have wanted him to protect Jack. On the bright side, she is out of custody which means she is back in action for next week.
The situation with Olivia and the White House got stale really quickly. I’m convinced that it is no mistake that she is incredibly irritating. I think the show makes sure there is always one character who grates on us. Maybe they think it keeps the tension high, I don’t know. The story line of her supposed leak of information to the press was predictable and boring and made me wish I could just see more Jack.
Speaking of Jack, I felt a real shift this week when he was in Mayer’s house. Maybe this is something everyone else has felt for a long time, but for the first time I felt like Jack wasn’t the good guy. As he sat there conveying his regrets, it began to feel like Jack doesn’t really have a “side” anymore. He’s not with the bad guys, but he’s not with the good guys. I know he’s been on the run from the supposed good guys before, but something felt different in this episode. I felt conflicted about whether to cheer for his success or his failure. Having said that, the fight scene at the end was pretty cool and fun to watch.
- Larry is starting to look like he is on the verge of cracking. I think not being able to trust Renee is really taking a toll on him. I wonder if he’ll make it through the day.
- It was nice to see Jack talk about his family. Sometimes I wish he still had that feeling of a regular guy who is just doing his job. He feels a lot more untouchable lately and it’s starting to wear a little thin.
- Did anyone else catch Tony trying to say something to Jack on the phone before Jack cut him off? I wonder what it was. Tony knows something that I hope we find out next week. It looks like he might be back in the game which is fantastic since they basically wrote him off over the last several weeks.
24: Episode 13
Things have been rather slow on the site lately. I’m in the process of moving, and redesigning it. Hopefully in the next day or two I’ll be able to pull the switch and you’ll see the new design. There might be a few hiccups along the way with things like RSS feeds so please bear with me.
It’s early. Really early. But I couldn’t sleep and I have a big day ahead of me so I want to write this review so you aren’t left hanging. Last night’s episode of 24 was much better than I had anticipated. Last week ended with the take over of the White House, so I figured they would take this week to drag it out, but things moved along surprisingly well.
Recap: The episode began in the White House as expected. Juma wants President Taylor to read a statement admitting guilt of crimes committed to Juma’s country of Sangala. While she makes her statement over a live internet feed, Jack and Bill create a plan to take out Juma. Jack had opened canisters of CH-4 in the lockdown room before surrendering and plans to run into the room and attract gunfire which will ignite the gas. After Bill tells him that he thinks Juma isn’t working alone, he takes Jack’s place in the plan and runs toward the lockdown room. The resulting gunfire causes an explosion which kills Bill but creates an opportunity for the FBI to rush in and take out Juma’s men.
After the President is safe, Jack tries to convince Agent Moss that Ryan Burnett still has information about who is ultimately behind the day’s attacks and that he can get the intel just by scaring him. Moss objects until Agent Walker speaks with presidential advisor Ethan Kanin. Kanin is convinced that Jack is right and tells Larry to take Jack to Burnett for questioning.
Jonas Hodges gets word of the events in the White House but is not concerned as he is still getting the weapons shipment he needed from the deal. When he hears about Jack going to question Burnett, he sends one of his men to take care of the situation.
Back at the White House, Ethan is asked by the President to bring her daughter into the administration as an advisor after everything that has happened. Ethan protests but follows orders. Olivia accepts, but blames Ethan for the corruption in the government that has come to light in the past few hours.
As Jonas finds 12 targets along the eastern seaboard for whatever attack he has planned next, his man Quinn enters the hospital where Jack is questioning Ryan Burnett. After Jack enters the hospital room and begins interrogation, Quinn cuts the video feed of the surveillance cameras. He then drops nerve gas into the room, temporarily paralyzing Jack. He quickly drops down from the ceiling, kills Burnett, and escapes the same way he came in before Jack comes to. When the video feed comes back up, Larry sees Burnett’s dead body and that Jack is missing. He assumes Jack killed him, until he gets a phone call from Jack saying that he has been framed. Larry wants him to surrender if he is really innocent, but Jack disagrees and is on the run again.
Review: The ending of the hostage situation in the White House was excellent. As much as I am sad to see Bill go, I think they handled his death really well. He died an honorable death, and their is no question about whether or not he is actually dead like some other characters we know (I’m looking at you, Almeida). It was great to see Aaron still in action, and of course, Jack gets to take out Juma which was quite satisfying.
The lead up to Jack questioning Burnett was fairly predictable. I knew Larry would disagree, and that ultimately Jack would get his way. I’m curious to see what will happen with Renee now that she’s been suspended. I wonder if Larry will regret it and reinstate her. I really enjoyed the few minutes Jack had with Burnett. His look of sheer terror was wonderful, and it was nice to see Jack keep his word and not harm him physically. I have my suspicions that he may have done a bit more damage if he hadn’t been taken out though.
The situation with Olivia is just plain annoying. That’s about all I have to say about that. Why does 24 always have to have one plot line at all times that annoys me to no end?
Even though Jonas, the new and probably final villain, got some extra screen time this week I still don’t have a connection to who he is. They haven’t really revealed his motives so I’m having trouble seeing him as a real threat, though I do see the potential for him to become a good character. Thankfully there is still plenty of time left in the season to develop his character since we are just past the halfway point.
Finally, I’m excited to see Jack on the run again. I’m hoping next week he gets back in contact with Chloe for some good old fashion 24. Jack is at his best when he’s not getting detained by the authorities every hour. He needs to be free to do what he wants when he wants.
- Remind me why they bothered to bring Tony back this season? Oh yeah, that’s right, so he could do absolutely nothing!
- This week set up a lot of cool possibilities for what will happen next. I’m really excited to see what Jack, Renee, Chloe, and Aaron will do over the next few hours.
- Aaron made it through the situation in the White House and we even got a little mention of Martha Logan. I wonder if they will explain what happened between them in any more detail.
- I’ll miss Bill’s character, like I said, but I was happy to see him get a proper death. It was kind of obvious his time was up this season anyway, wasn’t it?
That’s it for this week. I’m very pleased with this season. I think the pacing overall is excellent and they are carrying the suspense from week to week quite well. Hopefully it continues in the weeks to come.
p.s. – Check back here in the next few days for the new look of real life sitcom and tell me what you think. Things should pick up a bit once everything settles down and the changes are done. Thanks for reading!
24: Episodes 11 & 12
This Monday marked the half way point in season 7. I can’t believe we’re already half way through, it feels like the season is just getting started. I’m going to do things a bit differently this week. Instead of the detailed recap and review, I’m just going to do an overall review of the two episodes combined. That way you aren’t stuck readying 2,000 words on a show that no human should love that much.
In the first hour there were two main plots. One was Jack finding and interrogating Ryan Burnett, and the second was the FBI’s tracking on General Juma and his men. I thought it was a nice surprise that Juma was in D.C. I assumed the attack would be carried out by some random henchmen, not by the man himself. Renee kept me on the edge of my seat while she spied on Juma. When she jumped on the back of the boat while following Juma and his men, I thought she was done for. Especially after dropping her phone in the water.
Back at the FBI we were treated with another geek off between Chloe and Janis. I wish these two had more scenes together as I love watching them try to out smart each other. Janis figures out that Chloe has been helping Jack, which ends up getting Chloe arrested.
We got a few brief scenes with Tony but he is still rather elusive. Something is up with him. I felt kind of bad for Bill as he was drifting off into La La Land in a Bauer Sleeper Hold™. I think Jack was trying to do the right thing by leaving him out, but it would have been nice to see them work together to bring down Burnett. That brings us to the big scene at the end with Jack, Ryan Burnett, and a taser gun. That’s a recipe for trouble if ever there was one. I was totally convinced that Jack was ready and willing to torture Burnett until he died. Of course, I was almost jumping up and down on the couch like Tom Cruise when the President tried to tell Jack to stop what he was doing once she found out. Did she really think an intercom would stop Jack? Unfortunately they did end up stopping him by blowing in the door, just as Burnett was about to talk. As Jack is being arrested he tells Senator Mayer that whatever happens as a result of not getting the intel from Burnett is on his conscience. Am I the only one who can see the imprint of Jack’s fist on the side of Mayer’s face by the end of the day?
The first of the two episodes was a great hour that set everything up for the second hour of Bauer.
Where the first hour juggled the plot of Jack in the White House and Renee in the field, the second hour focused solely on the White House. Juma and his men, with the help of what looked like some kind of security guard, gain access to the White House. It seemed surprisingly easy for them to waltz right in, but it was done with such suspense that I’m willing to forgive some blurring of reality. As the FBI finally figure out that the White House is the target of attack, Juma makes his way through the halls, picking off secret service like empty pop cans on a fence post. They infiltrate the President’s tracking system and begin their hunt. When the FBI notifies the White House what’s going on, panic erupts as the President is rushed to a lock down room. Juma realizes he can’t simply break through the door so they take hostages, including Bill, as a bargaining chip. Near the end they find out the President’s daughter is still in the White House with Aaron Pierce. Aaron did a wonderful job this week of trying to protect the President’s daughter while trying to contact help from the outside. Unfortunately he takes a bullet. I hope they don’t kill Aaron. He is one of the very few remaining original characters and it would be a shame to see him go down in anything less than a blaze of glory (aka lots of gun fire and explosions and firey goodness).
The tension of the episode continued to climb until we reached the point where Juma captured the President’s daughter and threatened to kill her in a very terrible way while the President watched on the security camera inside the lock down room. The argument between President Taylor and Jack was pretty intense. Would he sacrifice Kim in the same situation? He says he wouldn’t, but we know that he has felt the loss of family to terrorists. In the end he allows the President to give herself up for the sake of saving her daughter. It was an incredibly intense scene, maybe one the best in 24’s history.
Now some quick points about what this all means:
- What is Juma’s end game? Why does he want President Taylor to make a statement to the public? Is it just to call off the invasion of Sangala?
- We finally caught up with Jonas Hodges who we haven’t seen since the Redemption movie. When they first showed him I thought maybe he was the Vice President, but I’m glad he’s not.
- Now that they know Burnett was in on the attack, can they release Chloe? I think she might be key to getting Jack, Bill, Aaron, and the President out of this mess.
- TONY WHERE ARE YOU???
I hope this format worked okay for you for this week. I’ll be back to my regular review + recap format next week so stay tuned. This season is about as close to wiping out the memory of last season as we could possibly get. It just keeps getting better. I love when the show stumps me and I can’t see an obvious way for the characters to get out of trouble, and that’s exactly what it did this week. Next Monday night should be an interesting ride.
