Argggggh, I have so much to talk about but little time to type it all down. I've been running back and forth the last few days, checking out all of NBC's new fall shows. I wish I could fill you in on all of that but in the name of professionalism I will keep what I've seen on the down-low for now. But I've already seen a few gems that I will no doubt be spreading the word about in a short time. But anyways, since I'm short on time I'll start with ...
24! 24! 24!
Okay, last night every fiber of my being was telling me I should watch HEROES instead of 24. But I am one of those obsessive-compulsive TV watchers who feels a great deal of loyalty to a show like 24, which though it's having an off season, has consistently been among my absolute favorite shows of the last several years. There's just no way I can tune out at this point. Not to mention, I fear the wrath of Jack Bauer if ever I were to abandon his Power Hour in favor of some young punks with superpowers.
But man, I gave last week's 24 high marks in large part because it seemed to contain some great set-up for this week. With that anticipation going in, this week's installment was nothing if not an Edgar-sized letdown. Okay, there were some good bits, which I'll start off with:
- WILLIAM f'n DEVANE -- thanks the lords of 24 he returned for a much-needed infusion of GRAVITAS. But, geez, could he have arrived on the scene any more unceremoniously? I mean, at least go to commercial with some dramatic shot of Heller entering CTU. Instead, all of a sudden, bam - he's there. Slightly anticlimactic. But seeing such a cool character again was great, even if he mostly showed up, cursed out Jack, and left.
- Powers Boothe still kinda rules. Sure, he's been given uber-lame material these last, um, several weeks, but tonight, cast in a less villainous light, he began to somewhat kick ass again.
Annnnnnnnd ... that's about all that was good this week. We had babbling Audrey, ridiculous Morris-Chloe stuff that has essentially ruined both characters this season, lame CTU power plays between Doyle and Nadia ... and, barely any Jack Bauer. I mean, what is going on here? Not only is Jack barely featured anymore amidst a sea of boring and lame side characters, but when he is around, he seems to be a walking plot device of sucktitude. I mean come on, Jack may be a loose cannon, but I'm supposed to buy that he is going to start a Code-Red incident at CTU just so he can TALK to Crazy-Audrey? Laaaaaaame. So lame.
Once again, I was left with some glimmers of hope for next week. The preview indicates that Rena Sofer returns next week, and that means that, maybe, we'll finally get some satisfying closure to the Bauer-family storyline. But even if business really picks up for these last few episodes, we're at the point now where nothing less than the spectacular return of an undead Tony Almeda to wreak unholy vengeance will be, simply, too little and too late to save this letdown of a season. Look -- 24 is still in television's top-tier, but Seasons 1 through 5 are some of the greatest TV EVER made. This season is just not living up to that, and it's not hard to see why -- the show, mired in plot retreads, uninteresting supporting players, and lack of followup on key storyarcs -- is simply running out of steam.
My Grade: B -
Alright -- I've got a lot more. I need to talk Simpsons, Spiderman, and i have reviews of two great movies - Hot Fuzz and The TV Set - in the pipeline, so check back soon for more. Until then, 24 faithful, there's always Season 7.
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