On last night's 24 ...
Well, last night, 24 gave us kind of a microcosm of the entire season thus far in one episode. We had a long stretch of lame subplots and inter-CTU drama, followed by a second act filled with some intense action and vintage-24 Jack Bauer vs. the World mayhem. But in the end, even though the show's final moments succeeded in keeping me on the edge of my seat, I was left wondering: Was it too little, too late?
As cool as the final act of this episode was, it would have been even cooler if we arrived at this point seven or eight episodes ago. But hey, I give the show credit for shattering the glass when it did and switching gears just when the tank seemed to be running on empty. I mean, who knows - we may actually be in position for these last two episodes to be amazing. We're FINALLY headed for the long-awated endgame between Jack and his father. It's just, it feels like there's been so little build-up. We already knew that Papa Bauer as evil long ago, there was no real reason to keep him in the shadows for this long.
Still, you have to like the way the stars alligned themselves in this ep. I mean, not to be a sadist or anything, but who among us 24 fans wasn't kind of smugly satisfied to see uber-annoying Milo unceremoniously sent to the great CTU hq in the sky? Milo has long been dead weight (along with other lame-o side characters like Nadia, Karen Hayes, Doyle, etc), and I don't think many are going to mourn the passing of this particular fictional character. If only the producers could also put a bullet to the unbearably annoying relationship of Chloe and Morris - two potentially fun characters who are just being dragged down by the terrible subplot of their on again off again romance.
Meanwhile, we had the displeasure of seeing the acting President of the US listening in as his former paramour tries to setup her other boy toy so he reveals his cards as a spy for the Chinese! This subplot had SOME promise, but officially delved into questionable territory when the Chinese spy proved SO intent on gettin' some elicit lovin' that our morally-shaky leading lady was unable to get away from him for even a second! Instead, with national security on the line, the two end up consumamting their relationship as the President listens in! Ummmm ... okay.
So yeah, there was a lot of lameness going on. Suddenly however, some Chinese dude who looked straight out of Street Fighter II busts into CTU with his battalion, Jack Bauer goes on a one-man rescue mission Solid Snake style, and heads up ladies and gentleman, 24 begins to kick ass again like only it can! We've got all of CTU (all 5 people who work there!) held hostage, Milo taking a bullet to the head, and Jack captive and forced to watch helplessly as his nephew (son?!?!) is taken away by Darth Bauer and his goons. Alright, business has just picked up!
Again, this was like the tale of two 24's. One the 24 of old. The kickass, take no prisoners, action-packed, GRAVITAS-fueled 24. The other, the 24 we've gotten a lot of so far this season, filled with endless interoffice romantic entanglements, not enough Jack Bauer, little sense of urgency, and too many annoying side characters who most would rather see as cannon fodder than have to endure any more of their constant infighting. So, was this ep's sweet final act enough to redeem it? I'll give th benefit of the doubt, and say, for the most part, yes.
But was the end of this ep and the potential for a pretty intense final two episodes enough to save the relative disappointment that was 24: Season 6? That, fellow Disciples of Jack, remains to be seen. Because soon, very soon, as Jack himself might say, "WE'RE OUT OF TIME!"
My Grade: B+
- Okay, listen up and listen up good. WATCH VERONICA MARS TONIGHT, IF YOU HAVE ANY VESTED INTEREST IN PRESERVING ALL THAT IS GOOD AND DECENT IN POP-CULTURE.
Tonight's VM should be a good one. Not only were we left last week with some killerp lot development courtesy of Piz and Veronica's surprise hook-up, but also, this week sees Paul Rudd do a guest appearance. Rudd is pretty much always great in anything he's in, and his talent for offbeat comedy as well as great character work should be a perfect fit for VM.
This show is really, really on the bubble. Don't tape, TIVO, or download this one, people. WATCH IT TONIGHT, 9 pm, on the CW.
- Alright, I'm out. There's a fire in Griffith Park down the street from me. Crazy. Suns tonight -- go Suns! And finally - keep reading.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment