24 recap: “6 p.m.-7 p.m./7 p.m.-8 p.m.”

I know it may be a bold statement, but I have to say I think the second hour of Monday’s “24” might have been the best of the series. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I could go on forever about how much I liked the show, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll just hit on the highlights. There are several, so before I get to them, I want to talk about only thing that bothered me.

 

I have to give Fox’s promo department a big thumbs down for giving away Juma’s target during the scenes for next week at the end of last Monday’s show. How much more fun and suspenseful would last night’s episode been if we didn’t know what the target was until Renee flipped to that last blueprint? The sad thing is, Fox has been doing that with “24” for years. Maybe I’ll have to take a page out of other fans’ playbook and turn off the TV once the episode is over and skip the previews. They’ve dropped the ball before, but not like this. The whole episode was based around finding the target; part of being in the know was fine, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if we were in dark along with the FBI.

 

So, that was my lone gripe about the episode. Otherwise, it was excellent as this whole season has been. Here are some of the things I liked in particular:

 

*Seeing Tony again. I know he’d only been gone for a few episodes (save the last couple minutes of last week), but it felt like he’d been out of play longer than that. If I could change one thing, it would be that Tony was in the White House helping Jack. It’s fun watching those two kick butt and take names. Unfortunately, Tony is a “wanted felon” as Jack put it, so he had to wait in the car.

 

*Speaking of Jack kicking butt, it was a hoot watching him do it in the White House of all places. The man has no boundaries, I tell you. I just hated to see him have to take down his buddy Bill in the process. I do give Jack credit for doing it so Bill didn’t have to get involved in any illegal doings.

 

*How about the “Special Appearance” by Mr. Jon Voight? He was great last night! I enjoyed watching him casually eat Chinese food as the White House was being taken over, then calmly tell Juma how to get President Taylor to come out of her panic room (hold her daughter hostage) and then proceed to play darts. It was all in a day’s work for this season’s resident bad guy. Although, what is Juma shipping him that’s so valuable he’d betray his country?

 

*I also enjoyed watching Agent Pierce do everything he could to protect Allison’s daughter. I’m so happy that he was brought back this season. If I were ever in a position where I needed a bodyguard, I’d want Agent Pierce protecting me.

 

The more I think about it, there were a couple more I didn’t like about the episode. For example…

 

*Isn’t it about time everyone started trusting Jack and his methods? They’re unconventional yes, but he gets results. If he hadn’t been interrupted during his interrogation of Senator Mayer’s aide, he probably would have found out the target, and the Secret Service would have been better prepared. Instead he was locked up while an invasion of the White House was about to take place. Speaking of Senator Mayer…

 

*What a killjoy this guy is, huh? Even after Jack saved thousands of lives, the guy still won’t give him a break. Then he has the gall to yell at him for letting President Taylor out of the lockdown despite the fact that Juma was ready to cut out the President’s daughter’s eyeballs. I think it would be great if Jack ends up saving Senator Mayer down the line using his “questionable” methods. Then I’d like to see what he has to say.

 

*I also hated to see Chloe get into trouble for helping Jack. It probably wasn’t in her best interest to wipe a name off of that list, but Jack can be very convincing when he needs something. And Chloe always has his back, so it was no surprise she went through with it. I was liking Janis until she went out of her way to rat out Chloe. It wasn’t like she just overheard Chloe and Jack’s phone call, she had the call descrambled. Doesn’t she have better things to do than figuring out what Chloe is up to? I guess after finding out her co-worker Sean was a traitor, she figured she can’t be too careful. And finally…

 

*I thought Dubaku’s death would have been a little more ceremonious. He wrecked havoc on the U.S. for a better part of the day, and he dies of a heart attack via a lethal injection? Seriously, that’s the best the writers could come up with? I would have much rather seen him brought to justice, or if he had to die, it would have been better if he had gone down guns a blazing; not in a hospital bed at the hands of one of Juma’s men. I just felt that was a letdown.

 

So, those were just a few of my thoughts about this solid two-hour episode of “24.” Despite my disappointment in knowing what the target was going to be going in, I do have to say bravo to Fox for doing a two-hour showing. I don’t think I would have been able to wait all week for the 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. hour.

 

What did you think of the episode? How do you think Jack and Co. will get out of this jam? According to next week’s promos, it looks like goody two shoes Larry Moss may go against orders and lead a rescue mission into the White House. Will he actually go through with it? Comment below!

 

Have a comment, question or criticism for Joe? Contact him at thedytonian@yahoo.com.

24 recap: “2 p.m.-3 p.m.”

I have enjoyed this seventh season of “24,” but I really felt the train left the station last night. Wow, what a good, exciting episode. There was a good amount of suspense with the near miss at the Ohio power plant. And, there was plenty of action during the mission to secure the CIP device, rescue the Motobo’s and capture Dabaku. Even the side storyline involving President Taylor’s husband was interesting, as it was last week too.

 

To me, last night was about as perfect of a “24” episode as we can expect. The stuff at the FBI office was a little dry (except for Janice helping the head of the power plant over the phone), but the rest of the time, I was on the edge of my seat.

 

To me, the rescue mission was the highlight of the evening. It was an amazing sequence. Just a great, shoot-em-up action packed classic “24” moment. There’s nothing more fun than watching Jack kicking butt and taking names. Add Tony and Bill to the mix and Chloe leading the way with her computer skills, and it’s all the better. It’s just too bad that it wasn’t a 100% successful mission. They were able to rescue the Motobo’s and secure (destroy) the CIP device, but Dubaku got away, courtesy of using poor Latham, the CIP device engineer as a human bomb. I know they say two out of three ain’t bad, but I’m sure Team Jack would have loved to have gotten Dabaku in custody.

 

I guess the other downer is Jack and Co. have more or less blown their cover and will have to work with the government. That’s obviously a problem, because they don’t know who they can trust, but like Jack mentioned, they don’t have much of a choice due to their lack of resources. I am curious what bad things Tony did before he started working with Bill that would make him not want to make the trip to deliver the Motobo’s to the White House. Something is not right there.

 

I was really impressed with Janis’ work with the plant manager. She always seems kind of skittish to me, but she held her own and walked the manager through everything. It’s just a shame he wasn’t able to make it out of there alive. That would have made Janis’ moment in the sun all that much brighter. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Janeane Garafolo’s being on the show, but so far, she’s delivered.

 

And, it looks like the First Gentleman, Henry Taylor is finally going to be linked to everything else that’s been going on. It was too bad that he wasn’t able to escape Samantha’s apartment before Agent Vossler got there. Now he’s going to be held hostage by Dubaku, which will really thicken the plot. President Taylor wasn’t willing to cave to Dabaku’s demands to save the lives of innocent civilians, but will her tune change in order to save her husband’s life? I’m looking forward to next Monday already!

 

One last thing, how strange was the one scene when Dabuku’s, I mean “Samuel’s” girlfriend, showed up at his place to remind him of their dinner plans? With everything that has been going on, it was weird to see a relatively “normal” exchange between two characters. My guess is there’s something more going on there than him dating a diner waitress and using a fake name. He’s using her to get to someone else. I have no proof or reasoning whatsoever to back that up, but I just feel it.

 

So, what did you all think of the show? What’s going to happen when the team delivers the Matobo’s? Will President Taylor call of the U.S. troops in Sangala to save her husband’s life? Is everything alright with Tony? Comment below!

 

Have a comment, question or criticism for Joe? Contact him at thedytonian@yahoo.com.

 

 

 

 

24 Recap: “1 p.m.-2 p.m”

On Monday, we were treated to the sixth hour of “24,” and it didn’t disappoint. It wasn’t overly action packed, but it moved along well and there a few good twists to it. What surprised me the most was the storyline that had interested me the least, the first gentleman trying to figure out what really happened to his son, had me the most intrigued last night.

 

I think that is because none of the other stories left us hanging. I guess the closest would be Jack and Tony burying Agent Walker alive and wondering how she was going to make it. But I don’t think any of us thought that she was going to die before Jack had a chance to explain what he was doing. If they really wanted to sell it to us that Jack shot her, the camera should have given the audience the same view that Tony and Jack’s cronies had from the van, where all they saw was Jack pull the trigger and Renee fall face first into the ground.

 

The stuff with the Henry Taylor, Gedge and his late son’s fiancée, Samantha, however had me intrigued. After Gedge service agent poisoned him, I couldn’t help but wonder he would be able to get out of the situation without anyone getting hurt. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case as Samantha and Gedge were both killed in the struggles. It’s amazing, that story went from being a snooze fest to having some of the best action of this young season. And, things will continue to get interesting as now Mr. Taylor has to explain why there are two dead bodies in that apartment. I wonder if he’ll be able to make it out of there alive.

 

As for the rest of the episode, I thought it was alright. I think things will really pick up once Tony and Jack deliver the Matobo’s to Dabuko. Speaking of which, I did love when Mrs. Matobo asked Chloe if she was with the F.B.I. and she replied, “No, I’m a stay-at-home mom.” Classic Chloe. As for Chloe and Bill, I’m not sure why, but I was totally caught off-guard when they pulled up and rescued Renee. I’m not sure why, or who I was expecting to get her out of there, but it wasn’t Bill and Chloe. Maybe I was surprised because I never saw Tony make the call telling them where she was. I might have missed, but I don’t think so.

 

And President Taylor is still unwilling to budge. I give her credit for not wanting to cower to Sangala’s demands. However, at some point, she has to reconsider, right? I was really shocked that those the two planes actually collided. I was for sure that either she’d cave, or the device would be recovered before any real damage was done. Then again, that’s the beauty of “24,” you never know what’s going to happen.

 

The only thing I didn’t like about Monday’s episode was how President Taylor’s advisors kept badgering her to change her mind. It’s one thing to make suggestions, but in the end, it’s her call. It got annoying when they kept questioning her. I didn’t blame her one bit for calling for Tim Woods’ resignation. Other than that, I thought this was a solid episode. I’m looking for even better things to come.

 

So, what did you all think of this episode? Do you feel “24” has improved greatly since the nightmare that was last season? Next week, Dubako has another two planes ready to collide, this time at a chemical plant in Ohio. Will Jack and Tony be able to stop him in time? Feel free to comment below!

 

Got a comment, question or criticism for Joe? Contact him at thedytonian@yahoo.com.

24 Recap: “8 a.m.-10 a.m.”/10 a.m.-12 p.m.

It’s almost hard to believe that until last Sunday, there hadn’t been a new episode of “24” on the air since May 2007. With that long of a break, I was anxiously awaiting the new season. My main concern was I’d be let down by a dud of a season premiere. Fortunately, the four-hour two-day event didn’t disappoint.

 

There wasn’t much that I disliked about these first four hours. I could go through a laundry list of what I loved about the premiere, but instead I’m going ramble for a bit about what I liked best. That was of course the triumphant return of Tony Almeida.

 

Like most “24” fans, I was shocked when I first learned that Tony was going to be on the show this season. I thought he was dead! It’s too bad they couldn’t have kept Carlos Bernard’s return a secret, but with so much time in between seasons, that would have been impossible. But, even more shocking than Tony’s return was the news that he was going to return as this season’s antagonist. Say what?? Then sure enough he’s in the van filled with kidnappers. I cheered when I heard him talk thought that clichéd black ski mask. Our man Tony is back.

 

I felt the same way that Jack did when he found out Tony was working for a terrorist organization. There’s no way, he has to be undercover or something. But when FBI Agent Walker said they checked with every organization and no one could vouch for him, I assumed he was officially on the wrong side of the law. Not to mention how convincing he was when dealing with the computer expert and talking to the FTA officials. I was sold with him as Season 7’s bad guy. And, if I was on the fence about whether or not Tony was good or bad, I wasn’t anymore after his interrogation scene with Jack. Holy cow, that was intense. He said some pretty awful things, like Jack working with the FBI was like spitting on Teri’s grave. Ouch! I couldn’t blame Jack for wanting to break Tony’s neck.

 

And then at that very moment, my faith was restored when mid-strangle, Tony whispered, “Deep Sky” into Jack’s ear. “Deep Sky” of course was code for an old CTU phone number. When Jack called, who’s on the line? None other than former CTU head Bill Buchanan! Things just kept getting better and better. And, they got even better when we saw that Chloe is working along side of Bill. So, it turns out Tony isn’t a terrorist, he’s working undercover with Bill and Chloe as they try to prove that there are U.S. Government officials doing dirty deals with the Sangala army.

 

I can’t express how floored I was by the “Tony’s not a bad guy twist.” During the entire off season, all I heard was Tony was going to be this year’s bad guy. I am amazed that twist was able to stay hidden so well. I was hoping Tony wasn’t really on the bad side, but I prepared myself to watch Tony and Jack match wits and go at one another for 24 hours (honestly, that would have been pretty cool). But, I think it’ll be fun to watch these two working together again like they did during Season 5. With Bill and Chloe manning the command post, I think we’ve got a really fun season on our hands.

 

Wow, I just spent six paragraphs gushing over what I liked about one storyline. I’ll try to keep the rest of my analysis a little shorter.

Here is what else I liked about the “24” premiere:

 

*The fact that there is no more CTU. As the series wore on, I began to like the characters there less and less. In fact, two of the only characters I liked (Bill and Chloe) are still around, so it works out perfectly. I am sure that some people will feel that the FBI has just replaced CTU as the pain in the rear office. Part of me felt that way too, but let’s give it time. Speaking of the FBI…

 

*I really like Janeane Garofalo and Rhys Coiro in their roles. I’m really impressed with Garafolo; when I heard she was going to be on this show, I wasn’t sure how that was going to work. She’s a great comic, and I didn’t know how she was going to adapt to a dramatic setting, but so far so good. As far as Coiro goes, how can you not love Billy Walsh? He’s solid in his role here too, although it’s strange to see him clean cut and wearing a shirt and tie.

 

*The subtle moments that have to be extremely subtle because every second counts on this show. For example I got a kick out of Tony apologizing to Jack for the things he said about Teri and Jack in turn apologized to Tony for almost crushing his windpipe and Tony just said, “I’m glad you didn’t.” There aren’t a lot of exchanges like that on this show, so when they pop up it’s always fun. I also liked Chloe and Jack’s exchange when they saw each other again. It was so awkward but touching all at the same time.

 

The only thing I didn’t really like was all the stuff with the First Gentleman trying to prove his son was killed. It didn’t fit in with everything else and slowed down the rest of the episode. I have a feeling it will eventually connect itself to the rest of the storylines.

 

So, I think it’s fair to say the seventh season of ‘24” is off to a fantastic start. I can’t wait to see if President Taylor decides to call off the troops in Sangala to save all the Americans in the air, or to proceed with the plan at hand. Something tells me we already know how it’s going to turn out, but this “24,” so you never know.

 

So, are you happy to have “24” back? Are you satisfied with how the season started and with Tony’s rise from the dead? Feel free to comment below!

 

Joe Dyton can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com.