24 – Day 8: 4:00 – 6:00pm

And so it begins. Another day of Jack Bauer’s life. Another day of intrigue, action, and everything else that comes with the territory. I hope that you all enjoy these reviews over the course of the season as much as I enjoy writing them every week. Let’s get started!

Debrief

• Jack Bauer has healed from the events from last season and is ready to go back to LA with Kim, her husband and daughter.

• Victor, a former informant for Jack, shows up and has been shot. He tells Jack that he knows about a plot to assassinate President Hassan, who is brokering a peace treaty with President Taylor. Jack will transport him to CTU NY, then go to California.

• At CTU, Chloe is struggling to fit in to the new way things work. Director Hastings isn’t giving her much slack. Analyst Dana Walsh is a little more forgiving and her fiancée, Cole Ortiz, is heading up the team to pick up Jack and Victor.

• President Hassan’s brother, Farad, is less hospitable to the Americans than he. Also, he is concerned about the President’s relationship with a reporter, Meredith Reed.

• CTU’s helicopter is bombed and Victor dies after he tells Jack that the assassin has someone close to Hassan on the inside. This leads CTU to arresting Meredith Reed. Chloe, in her formidable way, disagrees with this decision. The person working with the assassin is Hassan’s brother, however.

• The assassin was working undercover with the NYPD who police the UN and has taken a fellow officer and his wife hostage so that he can be on duty at the UN today.

• Dana Walsh apparently has a past life as Jenny whatever and her old husband (?) is looking for her. I tried to care, but just didn’t.

Agent Philboy’s Assessment

Did that summary seem as scattered to you as it did to me? I hope that people who didn’t actually see the episode can sort through all of that. A lot of things happened in these two hours, but none of it seemed to flow together. Or, maybe even more than that, it all seemed to be the same old “24” that I’ve watched since 2001.

There are elements to every season of “24” that are always there and, I guess the big takeaway that I have from this season is…WHY? Why, every season, do we have to have people doubting Jack, a mole inside CTU, people doubting Chloe, Jack getting arrested or almost getting arrested, interoffice romances, pointless secondary storylines, blah blah blah? We get it. He doesn’t play by the rules. If he did, it would be a much boring show. Additionally, one of the things I love about “24” is that Jack doesn’t always win and that characters have arguments about what is right and wrong and what is necessary at the time. So, at about hour 13, if Jack wants to interrogate suspect X using non-textbook methods, let’s take some time to discuss. But, in hour two, let’s admit that Jack’s going to be right, since we all know Jack’s going to be right, and take away some of the blustering and outrage and crap that we have to wade through.

All of that aside, I think this season has potential to be very interesting. They’ve put together a heck of a cast, with additions all over the place. Last season was a lot about reuniting with old characters and this season is really about new beginnings, and even more so, how Jack will act and react in the new environment. I think the assassination will be a quick conflict that will give way to one or two bigger conflicts. It’s a great setup to the rest of the season and gets all of the major players involved early. I just hope, as I do with every season of “24” that silly secondary storylines won’t get in the way of the main driving force of the show.

What I Learned This Week

Every week, I chronicle the things that I learned from Jack and the gang. This week, I learned…

• If you ever get shot, go to Sears and rip open a mattress. Everything will be fine.

• If you work at CTU, no matter where that CTU is located, coworkers will date. It’s inevitable.

• If you are hiding a secret life, you are guaranteed to be a small sounding town.

• The head of CTU is always a douchebag.

Tonight’s Kill Count = 7

So, what are you snap judgements of this season? Are you in for the long haul, holding out hope, or jumping off the bandwagon? Let me know in the comments.