Wr: Howard Gordon & Evan Katz
Dr: Brad Turner
Synopsis: Jack is drawn back into the homeland-security business when Middle Eastern leader Omar Hassan (Anil Kapoor) comes to the U.S. on a peacekeeping mission as the eighth season opens in New York.
Review: Jack's back to save the world and get no thanks for it until it's too late AGAIN in this, the debut episode of Fox's flagship edge-of-your-seat, bite-your-fingernails-off-in-crazed-anticipation type show, 24. Jon Cassar, showrunner and principal director, may have abandoned ship at the end of the seventh year, but you wouldn't know it from this melting pot of unnervingly wonky camera work, crazy angles, ludicrously OTT technology and ridiculous dramatic effects (come on, don't tell me Cassar wouldn't have creamed himself at the chance to shoot that rocket launcher sequence). Brad Turner picks up the mantle beautifully, reminding us all just how unique this show is visually and creatively, maintaining its stylistic integrity. Joseph Hodges is on fine form too, doing a wonderful job of creating a bleakly contrasting production. The outside world, Jack's New York, if you will, is all murky blues and greys, which gives the action a refreshingly realistic quality. The new CTU, meanwhile, is like something out of Battlestar Galactica (well, Katee Sackhof DID play Starbuck, you know...), with its gigantic video-screens for arial drones, weird flashy lights, minimalist desktop 'stations' and stark primary colours recalling certain aspects of Cylon decor. It looks ace though, and reminds us that we ARE watching a show that's set several years into the future now due to its between season timelines.
Howard Gordon and Evan Katz's script is ultimately pretty standard 24 fare. Once again, Jack has disassociated himself from any ties to the government, choosing instead to spend time wallowing around on the couch with the young brat, sorry, his beautiful grandddaughter. But naturally, due to a situation far, far beyond his control, he's roped back in and despite the fact that he continues to affirm that he's going to have nothing further to do with events, you just know he's gonna be hampered by circumstance time and time again. It's a little frustrating this, since the beat has been played out so many times in 24's season openers that it's practically a given, and the writers really are fooling no one with their constant attempts to convince us that no, he's going to fly to Los Angeles with Kim to happily ever after. Don't be ridiculous. There's a season to deal with first. It really wouldn't hurt just to have Jack - shock of all shocks - be working in a role that naturally ties him into events (a la seasons three or four). At least it would feel more organic. The means by which he is ingratiated into the plot are quite a nice touch - the informant concept adds verismilitude, and there's a nice continuity reference to season three thrown in for the attentive viewer - but how the story plays out is ultimately just a retread of last season's debut episode, as the guy with all of the important information is tragically murdered just before he can blurt out the most important details by the central villain: yeah, that's exactly what Almeida did last year. Exactly. A little lazy, don't ya think?
Of course, there's plenty to enjoy here too. Jack's execution of the men in pursuit of his informant is absolutely top notch, with Turner's camera angles as the gentlemen falls down the stairs providing some of the best shots in the show's long history. For once, Elisha Cuthbert is actually enjoyable to watch in a role, and it's largely thanks to the organic nature of her dialogue with Sutherland. It's great to see Cherry Jones back, slotting right back into Madame President's shoes effortlessly, conveying a sense of formidable poise during her interactions with the President of a Conveniently Unnamed Islamic Country That Wants To Better Itself. Oh look, he's the guy from Slumdog Millionaire! Well, I never. He's great here though, matching Jones's composed portrayal like-for-like, and convicingly putting across some of the more ambivalent elements of his character. The script benefits greatly from allowing us into the private life of this man, witnessing the disagreements with his brother over certain political decisions, as well as the strain in his relationship with his soon-to-be-ex-wife and the effect this is having on his daughter. It humanises the character and gives a refreshing perspective on a plot device that has been used several times before (good Islamic guy renounces terrorism/nuclear capability in order to establish better ties to the West). Of course, the affair with the reporter is hardly groundbreakingly original either, and the idea that she may be a mole is enough to make you want to chew your own foot off, but at least there seems to be sufficient evidence to suggest that this is a red herring. Doug Hutchison's got someone else on the inside, you mark my words. His casting (and I never thought I'd say this) is actually somewhat questionable, simply because, having been in so many other shows playing characters with American accents, it's hard to buy into his cod-Russian twang. Would it have killed the writers to either have cast someone for whom this is natural or simply made the villain not be from the same damn country as virtually every other bad guy in every other American production since about 1950? At least Freddie Prinze Jr. manages to surprise everybody and be pretty damn great as Bauer-lite Agent Ortiz. In fact, almost all of the newbies at CTU are very strong, particularly the aforementioned Sackhoff who will undoubtedly be the highlight of this particular strand in weeks to come. The only player who really disappoints is Brian Hastings, whose shoulders-haunched stance, perpetual half-smirk and unemotional delivery make every scene feel forced. His disapproval of poor Chloe's progression rate is just going to irritate too, I can tell...
'4pm - 5pm' is another strong debut for 24, successfully introducing the key plot tropes and players of the season and throwing a truckload of tension and suspense at us to boot. While there are certain elements that raise a few eyebrows - particularly some of the more familiar aspects of the plot - on the whole, this is an enjoyable little romp. It may not be anything particularly original but hey, you'll be on the edge of your seat all the same. 8.0
802: '5pm - 6pm'
Teleplay: Manny Coto & Brannon Braga
Story: Howard Gordon
Dr: Brad Turner
Synopsis: Jack is drawn back into the homeland-security business when Middle Eastern leader Omar Hassan (Anil Kapoor) comes to the U.S. on a peacekeeping mission as the eighth season opens in New York.
Review: As hour two of the eighth longest day of Jack Bauer's unhealthily chaotic life kicks into gear, the poor guy's still trying to kid himself that there is even the remotest chance that he will manage to pop off to Los Angeles to live happily ever after as some sort of kooky granddad in White Suburban Heaven with his cougar-baiting daughter. While our hero's unrelenting insistence that he wants nothing to do with the disaster that appears to be unfolding around him is at the very least a logical stance, it doesn't exactly pique the viewer's interest. Ultimately, it's a redundant plot point: we all know Bauer's going to stick around for at least another twenty or so episodes yet, so what's the point in pretending? His stubbornness just becomes irritating since it works in direct contradiction to the natural flow of the narrative. Jack is effectively an obstacle to story development, a hurdle that needs to be overcome in order to allow events to unfold, and in a show that's as heavily dependent on plot as this, that isn't exactly going to endear him to anyone. Thankfully, once Chloe starts to blubbing a bit towards hour's end, and Kim actually develops a functional frontal lobe (who saw that coming? Cougar-gal giving good advice? Is that a pig I see outside my window?), Bauer mans up, grows a pair, develops a conscience and returns to what he does best. But he's only in it to resolve the immediate problem, mind. No sticking around as bigger conspiracies unfold. Honest. Sigh.
Speaking of the Rajskub, Ms O'Brien's struggles continue apace here as the infuriatingly conceited Brian Hastings refuses to acknowledge that she may have some semblance of a point when she questions the ease with which CTU have exposed the 'mole'. Once again, our protagonists are thrown up against workplace conflict when there really is no need for it; for the umpteenth time, everyone who hasn't had prior contact with Jack, Chloe and just about every other character who's played a part in 24 history refuses to believe them when they basically reveal the truth, choosing to ignore the fact that in every prior instance, they've always been right (a quick look over the case history of the place would be enough to make that one apparent...) But you see, it just wouldn't be 24 if the central characters weren't marginalised; I mean, where WOULD the drama come from? How could the writers possibly generate conflict? It's as much of a mystery as Mykelti Williamson's casting. Really, this guy sticks out like a sore thumb amongst this litany of thespians. He makes Hastings even more of a caricature with every forced line and pseudo-sinister turn of the head. At times, it's difficult to watch him hamming it up, pissing all over everything Mary Lynn's trying to do with her character's fairly average storyline.
At least we get celebrities (well, ish) of Katee Sackhoff's calibre to rectify the balance. While the season's first dose of personal relationship, out-of-hours fluff threatens to cross the line into complete irrelevance, and only doesn't because the outcome could directly impact Dana's role at CTU, Sackhoff's portrayal of a character desperate to put her past behind her, struggling with having to face her demons as they quite literally present themselves at the Counter Terrorist Unit gates, is astonishingly convincing and manages to turn what would normally be an excuse to make a cup of tea into must-see television. Her confrontation with her ex-boyfriend is actually one of the best scenes in the episode and it's no small feat to make it so. Naturally, a great many of the hour's other highlights fall in the Presidential camp. Omar Hassan is proving to be a wonderfully three-dimensional character, a far cry from Hollywood's prototypical representation of Middle Eastern politicians, and the revelation that his brother is the insider comes as a pleasing, if not entirely unexpected, twist. It's also something of a relief to see Doug Hutchison return to his actual accent, if only for the delivery of a few lines, and his portrayal remains a distinctly sinister one.
'5pm - 6pm' contains much that is commendable, particularly the presence of an interesting personal story for a peripheral character (those are like gold dust in this show, honestly) and the considered representations within the Middle Eastern storyline, but sadly, it suffers somewhat from the rather lazy nature of much of the writing. There are far too many beats here that became tired several seasons ago, the most notable of which is officials at CTU acting as roadblocks in the progression of the narrative, which does absolutely nothing other than thoroughly piss the viewer off. If the writers spent a little more time brainstorming and a little less time gazing at their navels, perhaps 24 could be a thoroughly amazing show again, and not just a somewhat enjoyable one. 7.3
803: '6pm - 7pm'
Wr: David Fury & Alex Gansa
Dr: Milan Cheylov
Synopsis: Jack Bauer becomes further involved in preventing an assassination attempt on visiting president Omar Hassan. As the crisis continues to escalate, the crew at the newly upgraded CTU is challenged by some unexpected complicated circumstances. Meanwhile, tensions run high when an explosive event jeopardizes international security, and Jack is reunited with Agent Renee Walker
Review: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the most transparent display of stalling for time ever broadcast on primetime television. How David Fury and Alex Gansa ever thought the discerning public would buy into this sorry excuse for a plot device, we'll probably never know. Just in case there's any doubt as to the nature of this atrocity (which, quite frankly, there can't possibly be), I am talking, of course, about Jack Bauer's little trip to the poorly-lit, dingy household basement and his subsequent maltreatment at the hands of Side-Splittingly Abysmal Caricature #302. Come on guys, do you take us for fools? Jack finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place as NYPD officers show up just as he wanders into the household that Doug Hutchison slaughtered only moments ago and despite calmly illustrating his innocence and using the kind of langauge that only ex-government officials and general all-round trustworthy hard-asses would in order to demonstrate his credentials, he's beaten to a bloody pulp by an officer who decides that this moment, right here, is the one at which he's going to let out his pent up frustration at years of what he perceives to be injustice against his co-workers? Oh please. This is truly laughable stuff, a lorry-load of cringeworthy contrivance that attempts to justify itself by proporting to be socially relevant (guys, legislation is too namby-pamby! All these cop killers quite literally get away with murder!) but actually just turns out to be thoroughly embarrassing. And not only that, but it's hopelessly predictable too. In one corner, we have the bent copper stereotype, thuggish, irrational and frankly idiotic, and in the other, we have his doubting partner, who, quite convienently for the show's timeline, takes the majority of the episode to pluck up the courage to do the right thing and put an end to the absurdity that's taking place right in front of him. It's yet another example of appallingly lazy writing, reliant on the sort of conventions and tropes that take meagre seconds to pluck out of thin air. Frankly, it's insulting to think that the writing staff expect us to buy into this crap. And then, that they expect us to be perfectly okay with their penchant for representational stereotypes. Oh yes guys and gals, the one-dimensional ciphers don't end here. Moments prior to the beginning of this strand, Bauer manages to acquire Hutchison's most recent location from a thoroughly intimidating group of young men playing basketball, who threaten to cause him significant injury simply because he's trod on their turf, or some such garbage. Well, the idea that da yoof are a bunch of disrespectful hooligans would be bad enough but just to an even greater dollop of prejudice into the mix, these ruffians are all African-Americans. Thugz from da hood. And what does it take for Jack to get the info? Bribery! Well I never. Those crazy black kids will do anything for a quick buck. Honestly, what IS the point in all of this? What purpose does this horrible display serve, other than to offend? Why couldn't Jack simply have acquired the information from a couple sitting on a park bench? Would that really have been so bad? Why did we have to resort to racial stereotyping? 24, what the freaking hell are you doing?
Unfortunately, the vast majority of the remainder of the episode is decidedly uneventful and, as a result, it's difficult to overlook either of these contrivances. CTU continue to ignore pretty much everything that Chloe (and through her, Jack) says, which just makes you want to throw sharp objects through the television, Mykelti Williamson proves shockingly unconvincing as the interrogator of Hassan's mistress, taking a massive dump all over the tried and tested good cop/bad cop dichotomy (what's with all the guerning? Seriously. Is this guy even aware of the word 'subtle'?), and even the Presidential storyline seems to lack some of its prior sparkle. We do get a nice sequence in which President Hassan confesses his affair to Hastings which actually proves that Gansa and Fury can occasionally surprise, but for the most part, things seem to be squarely on auto-pilot... until the last five minutes of the episode, that is. Yes, in true 24 style, after spending 7/8 of their time putting the brakes on, the writers suddenly accelerate down the highway faster than a speeding bullet as all hell breaks loose at the UN and we flit back and forth between the CTU detail, President Taylor, Jack, Hassan's motorcade, dastardly Davros (I'm sorry, but I can no longer take Doug Hutchison's character even remotely seriously now that the 'previously' sequence has revealed this to be his name... I half expect him to yell 'EXTERMINATE!' every time he appears onscreen, or be followed by a couple of hundred Daleks) and the even more dastardly Farhad, as the plot to kill Omar comes to fruition. It's a brilliantly breakneck sequence and one that is genuinely engaging because the outcome is never clear. Agent Ortiz's ultimate sacrificial attempt to save Hassan's life is a thrilling piece of television, superbly executed by the production crew, and goes some small way to redeeming the episode. But only a little.
Somebody needs to grab David Fury and Alex Gansa by the scruff of their grubby necks and remind them that 55 minutes of stalling and 5 minutes of accelerated action do not a good episode make. Especially not when the stalling consists of the kind of plot that is not only insulting to our intelligence, but is also somewhat prejudicial. Bent coppers, delinquent youth, gang-like and disrespectful African-Americans... these sort of stereotypes should be a thing of the long-forgotten past, not a part of a forward-thinking 21st Century drama series. Sorry guys, but this just isn't good enough. Must try harder. 5.8
804: '7pm - 8pm'
Wr: Chip Johnannessen & Patrick Harbinson
Dr: Milan Cheylov
Synopsis: Jack Bauer becomes further involved in preventing an assassination attempt on visiting president Omar Hassan. As the crisis continues to escalate, the crew at the newly upgraded CTU is challenged by some unexpected complicated circumstances. Meanwhile, tensions run high when an explosive event jeopardizes international security, and Jack is reunited with Agent Renee Walker
Review: A massive improvement on the previous hour, '7pm - 8pm' manages to turn the rusty cogs of the arc plot with enough gusto to maintain the show's forward momentum while simultaneously holding enough back to maintain a comfortable level of intrigue. Now that the assassination attempt's been thwarted and poor Davros has bitten the dust (still can't bring myself to type those letters without my sides splitting) - which, by the way, is somewhat refreshing to see, given the penchant of American television programmes to stall for as long as humanly possible - things begin to take a turn for the more grandiose as Farhad attempts to make good on a deal he was brokering during the whole messy 'let's kill my brother, yeah, that'll be a good idea' thang. While suggestions are made that hint at the guy's motive, specifically in relation to his brother's policies on nuclear disarmament, there's still plenty room to breathe here, with a sufficient lack of clarity to ensure that the viewer remains invested in the storyline. Of course, there is a potentially negative aspect to this; the low-key nature of the central threat arguably lent the first three episodes a certain strength, couching them in the down-to-Earth. Amping things up again could threaten to take the story into the realms of the ridiculous and, perhaps more worringly, into all too familiar territory. What with the wealth of rehashed tropes we've already seen so far this season, the last thing 24 should be doing is subjecting us all to more old material. To be frank, the prognosis isn't a good one. All signs seem to be pointing toward something radioactive in nature, most probably nuclear, given the minutiae of Hassan's narrative. And no matter how the writing staff choose to dress it up, calling the dastardly devices 'rods' and such like, it'll still feel like the plot of at least two other seasons of the show. Unless, that is, they mean these sort of rods...
Now how cool would that be, huh? Slaying the infadels one at time with 'D'You Think I'm Sexy?' Now THAT's a season of 24 that I'd pay good money to see.
For all the portentous nature of these developments, Harbison and Johnannessen manage to do a great deal of good with them. Casting Heroes and Alias' David Anders in any capacity is a truly marvellous idea and from the looks of the role he plays here, it seems we'll be seeing a lot more of him (in case you didn't know, he's the doubting son of the faceless businessman). And then we have the truly spectaculr scene in which we are introduced to the guy's other son... you know, the one who was careless with the ROD STEWARTS and is being left in a room to rot. The dialogue is absolutely spot on in its callous brevity; it magnifies the power of the visual, making it all the more horrific, and leaves a definite impression, providing the discerning public with the first proper 24 water cooler moment in eons. And then, about half an hour later, we get another bloody one as Renee Walker goes postal on her Russian friend and proceeds to slice off his hand. Slowly and brutally. It's a thoroughly sick and twisted sequence, made all the more terrifying thanks to Annie Werschung's stunningly convincing portrayal of the former agent's character turn, and recalls the infamous 'are you Marshall Goren?' scene from the show's second season. It's certainly as effortlessly cool and instantly memorable and will undoubtedly provide much fodder for discussion in the weeks to come. It's a nice idea on the part of the writing staff to have Walker be at the place that Bauer found himself earlier in his career and it certainly showcases Wershung's talents. Hopefully, this will lead to some really interesting interaction between the two now that they're invested in their cover. This, in itself, is good to see, since 24 does this sort of thing so damn well, and the last time we saw a good prolonged undercover operation (that I can recall, anyway) was waaaay back in Salazarland in year three. Here's hoping this whole shebang lasts for a good stretch, eh?
Elsewhere, it's certainly refreshing to see Hassan simply accept Farhad's betrayal and not flat out deny the possibility, thereby sparing us a few episodes of pointless convincing. Omar is turning out to be a really well-rounded and likeable character, refreshingly multi-faceted, which could arguably be the key to the season's success. Katee Sackhoff is also excellent again, demonstrating a very impressive emotional range as she struggles with her ex and his meandering through her apartment, and, to be honest, she's the only thing keeping this personal gumf afloat. But boy is she doing a good job. It's just a bit of a shame that we're still being subjected to Brian Hastings, no matter how satisfying it is to see him have to swallow his pride and commend Chloe on a job well done, since Mykelti Williamson really can't act his way out of a paper bag. Or not in 24 land, at least.
After the last hour's dip, it's good to see 24 back on form with this well structured episode. As the focus of the central narrative changes, the show demonstrates a great deal of promise for the next part of the season, while successfully paying off certain plot strands and character beats from the earlier hours. And of course, we get hardass Renee to boot. Easily the best instalment of the two day special feature. 8.5
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