Tuesday, April 28, 2009

24 Season 7: 3AM-4AM Quick Review

Evil Tony Watch 2009: Yeah, Tony is still evil.

As for the rest of the episode, it was actually pretty bad. I've defended this show consistently this season. So, for me to be left unimpressed as I was means that something is definitely amiss in the writer's room of "24."

I think my biggest gripe from tonight was that the big reveal of the conspiracy at work bored me. So, these defense contractors all buddied up and decided "You know what would be good for business? Terror! War! Now, let's get to manufacturing some of that stuff so we can become rich!" This is like soda companies getting together with snack manufacturers and saying "Let's up the salt content on those chips! That'll show those asshole Americans!" People, we're getting a 5th grade-level lesson in economics (supply and demand-- damn that gets complicated, I know!).

And then there's Jack Bauer's rapid descent into madness. Seeing our fearless hero go apeshit on Janis Gold was fun, but then it morphed into unintentional comedy when Jack kept saying "President Palmer." Sadly, I was excited for a half a second, thinking "David Palmer is alive! He's coming back! YAY!" And then the moment passed...

Chloe O'Brian makes her unexciting return this episode as well. It was good to see our favorite snark-beast in action, but she had little to do except remind us that 1) Bill Buchanan died and 2) President Palmer is dead. Thanks, doll- pick up your sizable paycheck on the way out, you're doing a heckuva job!

Even Tony Almeida bored me. His plan to take advantage of Hodges' ridiculously dumb plot made me lose a lot of respect for Tony- not because he's evil but rather he's acting like a cartoon villain. "We have them right where we want them!" is not a sophisticated master-plan of evil, is it?

The bright spot of tonight's episode was probably the most minuscule moment- where the CTU servers were fired up once again. Hooray bureaucratic reinstatement! If you work for the government, you must have been pleased to see a federal agency lumber back from the dead tonight. I tell you now, once a government entity is created it never, ever dies. So, take that moment as a not-so-subtle hint that CTU will be back online for next season.

If you think I'm being unduly harsh on tonight's episode, please chime in. And if you agree, consider the bitch-session open for business.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

{{So, these defense contractors all buddied up and decided "You know what would be good for business? Terror! War! Now, let's get to manufacturing some of that stuff so we can become rich!"}}

Is it me, or did we already see this in season two, when Roger Stanton and his buddies brought a WMD into the country with the intention of framing middle-easterners and getting a war going, for profit? I mean, they're kidding with this, right?

TheJackSack said...

Yeah, as of now the big conspiracy is a recycled plot just as you've mentioned. I would sure appreciate an additional element to this plot- please let there be something more to reveal!

And before "24" this sort of thing was ginned-up for old James Bond movies too. What's next season going to consist of- a media baron making war so he can sell more newspapers?

3 more episodes to go and I'm becoming concerned that we're heading off a cliff. Say it ain't so, Howard Gordon.

Brian Pelts said...

I'm willing to give the writers the benefit of the doubt and trust that the final episodes will rock out with their proverbial cock out. But yeah, tonight's episode was a lot of nacho breaks.

Still, when the old CTU desktop popped up on all the monitors, I got a little happy. You take joy where you can get it, sometimes.

Anonymous said...

{{3 more episodes to go and I'm becoming concerned that we're heading off a cliff. Say it ain't so, Howard Gordon.}}

HoGo stopped production for this. And that's while having a year and half to make this "greatest season ever." Can somebody explain to me why this man still has a job?

TheJackSack said...

I think HoGo is running YouTube tonight too! Piece of garbage operation still won't let me upload a video- it's been 2 hrs!

Somebody- get those poor people a bailout... or a clue- ANYTHING!

Justin said...

It was a set-up episode. Chill and see how it plays out.

TheJackSack said...

Yeah it was definitely a setup episode. I'll rewatch it this week and probably post another set of thoughts (less cranky).

Almeidaists are bringing up the theory that Tony may still be fighting the good fight, but with a completely "ends justify the means" mentality. I must meditate on this further.

Sally Jo said...

Great song, Adam. Made me wistful for old Tony. Heck, I got a little misty. And it made me want to rewatch earlier seasons of 24.

But I am keepin' hope alive that more twists are on their way. I haven't written off season 7 yet...

TheJackSack said...

Thank you, Sally Jo.

And I'm "all-in" with this season too- I just had a cranky reaction to last night's episode. I'll rewatch it tonight and probably feel better about it.

Madjackdisease said...

The script was so bad it actually distracted me from the more important things, like when Tony beat the living shite out of an ex-special forces guy and proceeded to take a shower with the corpse still in the bathroom.

I didn't even notice that stuff until well after the episode was over. I could tell the actors were giving the script the best they could, but damn! I had no idea the dialogue could be so bad!

Peter said...

David Palmer may be dead, but we're not really sure about Wayne.

J. Todd Hatcher said...

I think you were grumpy when you watched this one. People have been clamoring for a Chloe reaction to Bill's death, and we finally got it. Plus that hug - is it just me, or is that one of the few "moments" Jack and Chloe have had together? Jack is always needing her to do stuff and she always helps, and they have the obligatory "Hi, how have you been" conversation once a season, but that re-intro was one of the first times the show has really acknowledged the connection between the two.

And I'm kind of digging the conspiracy stuff. We've had conspiracies on this show, but this is so grand, and I love the way the scene with all of them was shot. I can see why people wouldn't like it, but I do.

Also, I didn't think Jack saying David Palmer's name was funny, I thought it was actually kind of heartbreaking.

Brian Pelts said...

I agree with Hatch. Jack saying "David Palmer" instead of "Alison Taylor" was an 'oh man' gutpunch on a couple of levels. It reinforces the decay of Jack's faculties and reminds us of the bond he had with David Palmer, just like the one he had with Bill Buchanan. It's like, Jack has always suffered losses in his support system, but his strength and determination always got him through. Now he's suffering those losses AND the loss of his mind and body.

Gregg said...

what are the odds the good doctor slipped some Kim Bauer stem cell cocktail into jacks syringes and he's going to be miraculously better in the next few episodes?

TheJackSack said...

Very interesting theory, Gregg! Where Jack's cure is coming from is a big question. I'm no scientist, so I don't know how stem cell therapy works, but I would imagine the procedure is a little more complicated than a simple injection. And informed disclosure is another matter to consider. In a TV universe, I could see Dr. Macer doing something like that, but I suspect that Jack will get his cure from someone else- someone who's name rhymes with "Delilah."

Dr. Alice said...

I rather liked this ep. It was very short on plot but long on character. I thought Chloe's understated reaction to Bill's death was great, as was her goodbye scene with her family. And Tony was HOT. He may be evil, but damn he's good at what he does.

Olivia... well, I think that it's impossible to simultaneously portray someone as ruthless and well-meaning, which is how the character was written, but I loved the scene with her and Prez Taylor. Some genuine emotion there. And her scene with Aaron, where he delivers that "you did NOT just say that" look, was pretty good (he was the best part of it).

But I have to agree that I've had it with the faceless cabals and mysterious conspirators. It's bad writing to bring in a bunch of people we don't know so close to the end of the season.

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