24 Debrief: Day 7 | 8am-10am

Finally, a new season of 24.  I hope it lived up to everyone’s expectations.  It’s been a long time coming.  Missed the episode?  Want to break it down with other 24 fans?  Well you’ve come to the right place.  Agent Philboy will be providing a weekly debriefing of the activities of Jack Bauer and his associates, his assessment on the events that transpired and other pertinent information you’ll need to stay on top of the actions.

Check out Agent Philboy’s first weekly 24 report.

Debriefing…
Chronicling the latest activities of the good guys and the bad ones too.

• Our favorite former CTU agent Jack Bauer is on trial for war crimes. He is close to being indicted.

• Tony Almeida is still alive and is leading a group of domestic terrorists who are stealing in technology that gives them the capability to control airliners, as well as the power and water supplies for the entire country. Whatever group Tony is a part of is selling the module that does this to Gen. Juma, the genocidal dictator of Sangala.

• President Allison Taylor is well on her way to invading Sangala.

• The First Gentleman, Henry Taylor, isn’t accepting the idea that his son killed himself. Plus, he might be a little bit crazy, at least his seemingly pre-pubescent Secret Service Agent seems to think so.

• Jack has been enlisted to help find Tony by FBI Agent Renee Walker, who has immediately become his subordinate, as soon as Jack figured out that there is a leak within the FBI.

Agent Philboy’s Assessment…
What an awesome way to open a new season of “24.” It didn’t have a lot of the flash that previous seasons have started out with. No jugular veins were bitten. No nuclear bombs went off. But maybe that’s just what the show needed to get back on track. Perhaps, in year’s past, they kind of went too far and too big too soon, leaving the rest of the season just as time for disappointment.

I like all of our new characters. Janeane Garofalo as Janis Gold is Chloe but intentionally funnier. I am already awaiting the following two moments: 1) When Janis becomes a huge supporter/asset to Jack and Renee (Can we call them Jackee? Like Brangelina?) and 2) When Jack needs Chloe and Chloe and Janis go head-to-head. Garofalo kind of got the shaft on “The West Wing” and was really underutilized, so I’m glad she’s getting a chance here.

I’m very intrigued by Agent Walker. Not only is she incredibly attractive, but she seems to be a complex character who, I believe, will never become a total disciple of Bauerism, but will agree with him most of the time, meaning that I think they’ll but heads and explore the ethics of some of Jack’s actions, which has been a main theme, even in these first two episodes.

This cast is just fantastic. It’s such an awesome ensemble of people that you’ve seen for years in various things, but never really have seen in a solid, meaty role. I can’t wait to see how the cast we know is coming into the fold is added, like Jon Voight, and the returns of Kim, Chloe and Bill Buchanan.

Speaking of Bill, if he had found out that Jack had gone off orders and was someplace he shouldn’t be, he DEFINITELY would not have taken a helicopter and found him. That moment gets my vote for most random, borderline creepy event of the evening.

My only concern is the storyline with Harry Turner. Not only is him getting the story on the Sangala invasion pushed back going to bite them in the end, but I don’t want this to be the crazy sick daughter (Season 3) or the office relationship (every season, it seems) that takes us away from the true mission at hand. I’m confident, though, that the writers have come up with a way to fold this in to everything else.

Everything I Need to Know in Life I Learned from Jack Bauer…
Each week we learn valuable lessons from Jack Bauer.  I will share with all of you what the great man taught me this week.

• Going into a trial without a lawyer isn’t poor legal strategy. It’s BADASS!

• If you didn’t see something happen with your own two eyes, it didn’t happen.

• A pen can be a weapon.

• Khaki London Fog jacket = BADASS!

• Always pay attention to your shoes.

The Weekly Kill Count = 5
In the sniper scene, where Gabe Schector was taken out, I could have sworn two men died. And yet, when Moss was talking to Janis, he said three people died. Confusing. Anyway, acting under accordance of one of Jack’s lessons, I must count it as two kills.

I can’t tell you how excited I am for this season AND about writing about it for GMMR. I’ll have a question for all of you after tomorrow!

Philboy is GMMR’s resident Dexter and 24 analyst. He spends his days studying Communications at Purdue University and his nights failing at keeping up with all of the TV shows he loves. His can’t miss shows are “24”, “Chuck”, and “Life on Mars”. The thoughts running through his head for this week are, “Did I say ‘badass’ too much?” and “I REALLY need to watch Damages from last week!”