Monday, March 02, 2009

24 Season 7: 6PM-7PM, 7PM-8PM Quick Review


I take it there's no Slomin's Shield installed at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

I was so-so on this two-parter for it's utterly ridiculous plot (come on, why would General Juma put himself in this situation, personally invading the White House? Not even Idi Amin would try that!) but then the very last scene with Allison Taylor giving herself up happened, and I thought "Well, that's a cool development."

There were legitimate thrills tonight- starting with Jack using a TASER on a White House phone and ending with the good guys being completely screwed. So, yeah, I still think the writers got their hands on too many tubes of glue when they put this two-parter together, but it's obvious that they were trying to reach the moment described above-- by any means necessary. Here were my favorite moments:

1) Jack having a professional chit-chat with Buchanan while tying him up. Jack drops the armed guard with a Judo-chop and restrains Bill in ten seconds-flat, and all Bill asks is "how good is your intel on this new threat?" These guys have had their arguments already, now it's all about getting the job done. Excellent character work, guys.

2) Agent Pierce being a badass, despite coming out of retirement. You know, I imagine Aaron Pierce sitting at the dog track, watching his days slip away, and deep down he's wondering "when the heck am I gonna get to shoot somebody?" And then that magical call came from Buchanan a few hours earlier, making the old veteran's life worthwhile again. I will never be as good at anything as Agent Pierce is at being a badass. And neither will you. We belong on the sidelines at the dog track. Pierce belongs in the game. Tonight proved it yet again.

3) Agent Walker is amphibious. Renee Walker is getting better with each episode. I expect her to become a reliable badass in her own right as this season develops. She just needs to learn how to not drop all of her shit in the water. That would have saved a lot of lives if she just kept her cell phone dry. Oh well!

4) Jonas Hodges (Jon Voight) makes his first appearance! And Hodges eats with chopsticks and plays darts alone. Who is this guy? He's full of strange wisdom too ("Stress is the fertilizer of creativity!"). Hodges has some major potential as a villain. And, come on- it's Jon Voight!

Sure, tonight's 2-parter wasn't as tightly written as last week's masterpiece. But let's see where this leads next week (which looks to be extremely violent). And don't forget- Tony is still out there, lurking, learning and ready to strike at any moment.

7 comments:

Brian Pelts said...

I'm legitimately nervous about next week's episode. They've stockpiled the White House with some of my favorite characters and given us a clear indication that someone very beloved by both Jack and the fans is about to earn their silent clock. I fear for Bill and/or Aaron; also, the First Daughter is way too hot to die.

Oh, which reminds me...wet Agent Freckles FTW!

Anonymous said...

Agent Freckles wet AND running!

mmm mmm mmm

Brian Pelts said...

Also, Chloe's detainment after Janis spied on her and ratted her out should make the ignorant douchebag who reviews the show for 411mania all sorts of happy. How anyone can claim to be a "huge" fan of 24 yet call Chloe worthless and openly hope for her death every episode while praising the purple lump that is Janis Gold is beyond me. *facepalm*

Renata said...

Last night's first episode was the best in the season so far. And I also fear for the lives of our beloved ones (Bill and Aaron). But if someone must earn the silent clock, I REALLY hope it's not Aaron >.<

Rickey said...

Yeah it was an overstuffed episode, but still pretty decent. The exchange between Jack and Bill in the White House detainment center was the best part of the ep. Bill... just... cant... do... it...

It was a great moment--it proved that it's possible to be a good guy on 24 without torturing people senselessly. Jack comes out looking like the scumbag in all this. In the first hour he was tying up Bill so he could avoid involving him in the nonsense and then in the second hour he's asking him to torture the suspect again? Screw that.

Bill's a mensch. It's going to be terrible if they kill him off next week.

Anonymous said...

"I take it there's no Slomin's Shield installed at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave."

Okay, already I'm crying.

That picture... pqm8;h98956rsu8fkn;da

Soccer Dad said...

Did we miss something? Is Ethan among the hostages?

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