"24" spoilers coming right up...Rest in peace, Curtis Manning. I had you pegged in my "24" Dead Pool almost from the moment you appeared this season. Frankly, I'm stunned you survived this long as Jack's sidekick. At the very least, I would have expected you to have lost a limb by now. I'm sorry I didn't care about your inner torment over what Assad did to you and your buddies in the Gulf, but you did something no one's been able to do since Nina capped Teri Bauer: you made Jack weep.
And rest in peace, Raphael Sbarge and the people of Valencia. Damn. In the can-you-top-this world of "24," what happens when a nuke gets detonated in a populated area in the season's fourth episode? Ordinarily, I'd speculate, but I think Surnow, Cochran and Gordon know only slightly more than I do about where things are going from here.
The 2x2 premiere worked well this time, if only because episode three was by far the weakest of the bunch, and it was immediately followed by the double-whammy of Jack killing Curtis and the nuke going off.
Some other random thoughts:
- Episode four wasn't perfect, either. The Chloe/Morris/Milo scene is giving amnesia and the cougar a run for their money in the Worst "24" Ideas of All Time sweepstakes.
- Speaking of non-existent titles, I didn't see "Kingdom of Heaven," but between "Syriana" and this, Alexander Siddig may start challenging Colm Meaney for Best Post-"Deep Space Nine" Career. He's got a long way to go to catch Meaney, but I like what I've been seeing out of him lately.
- The Morris/Milo silliness did at least yield one good line, Morris' "Let's just stop this mad psychotic terrorist bad guy before he detonates a nuke on Wilshire Blvd."
The Chloe/Morris/Milo thing reminded me a little bit of that time Michelle's brother had dated some girl from CTU and caused drama for an episode. Annoying and pointless.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll kind of miss Curtis. If only because there won't be a standard back up guy any more - a la Agents Baker and Castle.
I'm wondering if Ricky Schroder hasn't been brought in as the new Curtis.
ReplyDeleteJack did break down in the final moments of season 3.
ReplyDeleteAll the shooting and nuking aside, my favorite moment of the night was when Jack knocked that dude down and stole his SUV. "Don't get up!" Gun? Who needs a gun? He's Jack Freakin' Bauer.
My favorite moment, by far, was when Jack made a hit-and-run and as he stalked off back to his car, declared, "SCREW YOU GUYS!" It had me and my friends cracking up!
ReplyDeleteVery intense and entertaining 4th episode. Never dreamed they would go there so early in the season. How do you top that??
ReplyDeleteAs a Canadian, I got a huge kick out of the casting of comedian Shaun Majunder, an Indo-Canadian from Newfoundland (!), as the terrorist bomb maker.
I like that they've already detonated one bomb and we just found out that there are several more. It means they can keep looking for and closing in on various bombs throughout the season rather than having them search and continually fail to find one bomb until the 24th episode.
ReplyDeleteThe entire storyline with Kumar and the family he'd taken hostage was ridiculous. Did the dad really think he'd just walk into a terrorist den and they'd let him go? And did he really think it was a good idea to help them? At the very least he should have taken the gun from the guy he killed.
The Milo/Chloe dating past was just too unbelievable. For several seasons now, Chloe has been nothing but prickly and less-than-sexy. Milo would never have been interested in Chloe.
ReplyDeleteShe looks better this year, and they've made her less annoyed with everyone and everything, but she's still Chloe! Don't take that away from her by saying she'd date someone like Milo....
Good ep. overall. LOVED the weeping Jack. He's so messed up this season...love it! I wonder how any of these doubts and emotions will affect how this season plays out...maybe we can't expect Jack to be Jack anymore....
"All the shooting and nuking aside, my favorite moment of the night was when Jack knocked that dude down and stole his SUV"
ReplyDeletei LOVED this so much...i had to rewind it a couple times because i was laughing so hard.
re: Shaun Majumder...i kept hoping he'd break into his NFLD accent..that would have been GREAT!
question: since jack and co were so close to the bomb going off...won't they all die of radiation poison?
"Jack did break down in the final moments of season 3."
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when I don't watch two seasons (3 & 4) to their conclusion.
Were they at least tears of joy over his ability to kick a heroin addiction in, like, four hours?
"Were they at least tears of joy over his ability to kick a heroin addiction in, like, four hours?"
ReplyDeleteNo, they were tears of angst over having to chop off his daughter's boyfriend's hand to SAVE THE WORLD, or at least the general Los Angeles area from the virus.
IIRC a terrorist had handcuffed or tied or SOMETHING a virus bomb to Chase's hand and THERE WAS NO TIME to undo the cuffs, so Chase told Jack to lop his hand off with an axe and shove the bomb into a freezer so the cold would kill the virus.
After Jack takes Chase to the hospital he sits in his car and has a crying fit.
My memory is hazy on this, though.
After Dean Stockwell on BSG, we have another character actor channeling Bill Kristol this season with Peter MacNicol as Tom Lennox.
Rick Schroeder is joining the cast? Seriously?
Yep. To quote the original press release, "Schroder will play forceful CTU Operative Mike Doyle, who teams with Jack Bauer to execute crucial field operations."
ReplyDeleteSure sounds like the new Curtis to me.
Re: Radiation
ReplyDeleteThe bomb went off in Valencia, CA. The map I looked at shows a large National FOrest just north of Valencia, I expect a line about how the wind was out of the South and most of the radiation settled over this unpopulated area.
Well, I kind of like Schroeder, so that works for me, especially playing a bad ass Curtis clone.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jack shot Curtis, his expression made me think, "Ah, a face that will launch a thousand hurt/comfort slashfics."
The bomb went off in Valencia, CA. The map I looked at shows a large National FOrest just north of Valencia, I expect a line about how the wind was out of the South and most of the radiation settled over this unpopulated area.
ReplyDeleteI just hope Magic Mountain's okay!
Great start to the season. Unfortunately, some jerkwad posted a spoiler (without marking it as such) on a newsgroup I read, so I wasn't surprised at what happened to Curtis {sniffle}, though seeing that nuke cloud was still chilling. I'm looking forward to Jack gradually becoming more Jack-like. I hope they spread it out a little over the season, though I'm sure he'll be back to his old self in no time flat.
"I like that they've already detonated one bomb and we just found out that there are several more. It means they can keep looking for and closing in on various bombs throughout the season rather than having them search and continually fail to find one bomb until the 24th episode."
ReplyDeleteWelcome to 24. The 4 remaining bombs will just be a diversion from a different terrorist plot, which will peel away to reveal another plot, and so on.
"IIRC a terrorist had handcuffed or tied or SOMETHING a virus bomb to Chase's hand and THERE WAS NO TIME to undo the cuffs, so Chase told Jack to lop his hand off with an axe and shove the bomb into a freezer so the cold would kill the virus."
It wasn't the cold, but just the fact that it was sealed and the virus couldn't get out. But yeah, I guess chopping off your possible son-in-law's hand will knock the wind out of you.
"Seriously though, why isn't Chloe in a more powerful position at CTU?"
Because she keeps opening her mouth?
According to IMDb, Schroder doesn't show up until episode 13. I hope we don't have to wait THAT long! He was a pretty convincing tough guy on NYPD Blue, and it'll be interesting to see how he butts heads with Bauer.
Seriously though, why isn't Chloe in a more powerful position at CTU? She has been there the whole time you would think by now she would have gotten a decent promotion.
ReplyDeleteChloe has broken CTU protocol so much the only reason she has the job is her talent.
You know what I want, desperately? When they finally decide there will be no further seasons of 24, the final scene MUST be a straight rip of most, if not all, James Bond movies (you know how they end...Bond in bed with the beautiful woman, answering then ignoring the phone from headquarters)...with Jack and Chloe, together, in bliss, finally.
ReplyDeletePlease, FOX, make it so.
question: since jack and co were so close to the bomb going off...won't they all die of radiation poison?
ReplyDeleteJack was in Granada Hills, the bomb went off in Valencia, so not so much on the close.
And given that Magic Mountain will probably be closed by the setting of this episode (remember, the chronology is ahead of ours), it's current status isn't of much concern.
I know it would be a horrible thing to do to Mary Lynn Rajskub, but I'd love to see Chloe going through a season pregnant - the sarcasm she could get out of that would be amazing. The only problem is that at some point the writers would get lazy and make her deliver the baby, which is not the point at all. Any show can do that.
ReplyDeleteAnd given that Magic Mountain will probably be closed by the setting of this episode (remember, the chronology is ahead of ours), it's current status isn't of much concern.
ReplyDeleteEh, screw the imaginary people and make sure MM didn't melt (or vaporize)! ;-D
Seriously, though, that nuke scene really creeped me out. Way too close to home for comfort!
Episode four wasn't perfect, either. The Chloe/Morris/Milo scene is giving amnesia and the cougar a run for their money in the Worst "24" Ideas of All Time sweepstakes.
ReplyDeleteAren't we forgetting the Chase/Chloe baby-daycare-at-CTU subplot? Hands down worse than any cougar.
jack cried at the end season 3. Not jsut because he cut chase's arm off but just because of everything that had happened (especially having to kill Chapelle as he did). that last scene of Season 3 might be the best thing Keifer has done on the show. Yeah, he was crying when he found terri at the end of Season 1, but the scene was just so cathartic and made him seem so damn human. I am pretty sure it was the only time KS has ever made me cry.
ReplyDeleteAren't we forgetting the Chase/Chloe baby-daycare-at-CTU subplot? Hands down worse than any cougar.
ReplyDeleteClearly, I watched even less of seasons 3 and 4 than I remember, and should hereafter refrain from commenting on "24" firsts, worsts, bests, etc.
Jack cried at the end of season 3 because he was in love with Claudia, Hector Salazar's girl. When she dies he almost falls out of character but being Jack holds it in until the end. She died only the night before. One keeps forgetting.
ReplyDeleteBest part is in the trailer with Jane Saunders who frantically demands a lawyer and Jack looking over to his side at her can't help but smirk when he says, that she won't get one.
Man we laughed so hard, we had to rewind it like 5 times.