2) Does Kate's brief appearance signal that she won't be a major character this season?
3) This recent WMD obsession may stifle their creativity, although I said the same thing last season and it turned out to be wrong.
Bottom line, 24 seasons never start as hardcore as they end up. They should show the last episode without commercial interruption, not the first.
Posts: 4600 | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
"24 seasons never start as hardcore as they end-up" ????
Okay, I didn't watch last season at all, but I watched the entire first season and all I can say(in a really phony English accent) is "Destineer, have you lost your bloody mind?"
The last 1/3 of the first season of 24 was awful!!, not decent, not mediocre, flat out awful. It's why I didn't watch season 2. The first 2/3 of season 1 were brilliant. Maybe last years season got off to a slow start, but that is a very small sample size (especially with how intense season 1 was out of the gates) to make such a statement.
Posts: 748 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
Whatever dude, the first couple hours of Season 1 you just had no idea what was going on. It was exciting in a tantalizing way, but not a lot happened. I will agree that the fight with Ira Gaines was the best part of that season, but the last 3 or 4 episodes were also dynamite.
Posts: 4600 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Kim's new hairstyle is grotesque. And it's a bit out of character for her to be suddenly working at CTU.
Apparently there has to be a moron at CTU every year...That Adam guy is annoying me already.
Michelle and Tony are married...awww...
Palmer is alive! Yay! (And romantically involved with his doctor, whom I don't trust - what were those pills she gave him?) I really want to know what happened to him during that three-year gap.
And the biggest question of all - what happened to Jack?? How did he end up addicted to drugs? What happened with this Salazar guy, and what's the deal with Kate? And what about his heart problem? And why is he in such a pissy mood today?
posted
Sarfa, I think you're remembering season 1 wrong.
Season 1 started great, then was absolutely ridiculous (the soap opera-esque amnesia episodes), then got back on track. There were problems down the stretch, but the weakest stretch of the show was around episodes 11-17 or thereabouts.
Season 2 has been ripped by some, but again, I liked it. I thought it had it's share of weaknesses in the the middle, yet again, but it evened out, and had a nice stretch toward it's finale.
To me, the show has to figure out how to write a great middle act, it seems to lose it's steam in that section of episodes that start in mid January and end in early to mid March. If it can solve that, maybe it will be nice as usual.
As for the premiere tonight. Solid, but not as good as the previous two. Kim's hair was absurd, I've read that Kate's off the show, which if true, sucks, as she was a great character (to me anyway). I liked the wife of Ramon's brother. Intriguing character, so far they've done a nice job writing there. Usually writers get very lazy with that sort of role but so far she's well drawn.
Anyway I have a sinking feeling that this is the year that the show slips, but my initial impressions are actually pretty good. Hopefully they can further refine the show, iron out the problems and have a great season.
Posts: 752 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
Funny thing was, I was relieved when he grabbed his little bag.
Usually in a movie or a TV show if someone coughs, just once, they're going to die from it. I knew this one was about a plague so I figured they were using Jack as the vector. Of course, they still could be since the bad guy in 24 always has several back up plans to make sure the show runs the whole day =)
Still, without a Star Trek like Magic Door where they cure the plague in a single day, how could they infect Jack and have a season 4? ::thinking aloud:: Unless he's a typhoid mary...
posted
Well Jack may die. Sutherland has stated that he thinks that this would be a neat idea.
Here is what I think has happened.
Palmer survived the bio attack from last year(3 years ago show time) but still has physical problems becuase of it. Did you see the scars on his right hand and wrist? I figure the medicine the doc gave him is to treat the left over effects of the bio stuff.
Jack obviously went undercover to get Salazar and became addicted in the process, probably taking smack to prove he was with them. It would have been part of his under cover job. It sounds like he was gone for at least a year, in deep undercover, and I am sure that that is what caused the break up between him and Kate. Jack is going to try and kick the addiction cold turkey, so expect him to be really pissy most of the season.
Jack seems to trust his new partner, even if the kid is dumb enough to date Kim. You know that that makes him a target. Also when he tells Jack, that will cause tension between the two of them.
How does some one who does not have a college degree get a job at CTU working on their computers? How old is Kim? I thought that in Year 1 she was in High School. Has she been through college? What qualifications does she have? That computer geek is annoying but probably right. You know that he is involved somehow.
Do you expect there to be people in CTU that you can not trust? The first year they had a mole, but last year they didn't. They had people with their own agendas, but no moles. Will Palmer's group have any moles? Can he trust his brother or the Doctor? I was glad to see the head of the SS detail is back, even if he tried to help get rid of Palmer for a bit last year. I think Palmer knows the guys heart was in the right position.
posted
AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! I didn't realize that since we have sattelite tv we don't get local channels! I had taped the reruns off of Bravo and just assumed that they would also be showing the next season. Guess I'll just have to wait.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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msquared: Are you talking about Aaron? He was arrested for smuggling Palmer a phone while he was supposed to be guarding him. I don't think Palmer questions his loyalty at all.
I missed where DB Woodside (I didn't catch his name in the show but I recognized him from Buffy) was Palmer's brother. I guess I'll have to watch it again.
BTW, Where's Lynn? I was under the impression she survived the fall... Maybe she'll show up later in the season.
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I just finished season two last night, and I have to tell you, it was better than season one.
It's fun to watch in a shorter time frame, because you get to make fun of how petal-fresh Michelle looks by the end, and when somebody gets to change clothes, it's an event. (Remember when Kim showered at the survivalist's place? In one ep he said, "I'll see if I can find you something to wear" and in the next ep, she's coming out of the bathroom wearing this skin-tight tank top. Ron laughed and said, "Are we supposed to believe that's HIS?")
Kim has the intelligence of a chihuahua on crack. Ron kept fast-forwarding through her bits.
Anyway, there will always be some problems maintaining tension in every character's situation, which leads to laugh-out-loud tension inventions like amnesia and being stalked by pumas.
But it's still fun, and we'll be lookingforward to the dvd next year. Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000
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His brother is mentioned when Palmer is practicing for the debate. Palmer mentions something about his mothers view of the two boys. It is very fast.
The head of the SS detail did come through later, but he did go against Palmer, for what he thought were the right reasons. I think Palmer knows this and still trusts him.
I wonder what ever became of the old VP? Is that the guy he is running against?
posted
Whatever it was, one minute it's looking at her licking it's chops and then 20 minutes later (show time) somebody shows up to free her from the trap.
Personally, I think letting the cougar eat her would have made for good television, as well as making more sense. Posts: 9293 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
no, I'm not remembering the season wrong, the Amnesia happened during the last 1/3 of the season (approximately, maybe it's closer to half), and it never got back on track after that. The last episodes were boring, ill concieved, and obvious. The beginning of 24 was great because it was so intense week after week. Once the intensity died (after the rescue) the writers had no idea what to do, and the show sucked.
quote: COUGAR: a large powerful tawny brown cat (Felis concolor) formerly widespread in the Americas but now reduced in number or extinct in many areas -- called also catamount, mountain lion, panther, puma
-Merriam-Webster
Just thought I'd throw that in. Someone has to stick up for Olivet.
posted
Well, everyone has their own opinions. I disagree quite strongly with you. The weakest point of season one was the middle act, when they were free'd/escaped from the compound which occured in episodes 12 and 13 which fits snugly in the area I predicted to be. The amnesia nonsense cropped up later then I remembered, in episode 15 of the 24, being a major feature in episode 16 (which is the 2/3's point of the season fitting more in line with your view). However, I felt that while there were cheesy aspects down the stretch, there was plenty of excitement left, and plenty of interest as the safe house was compromised, and then the final show down with Drazen's crew began. Was it as effective as the first act? No, but how on earth can a show maintain that sort of intensity week in and week out. Does one expect any other drama to be flawless for an entire 22-25 episode run? The now unfortunately defunct Boomtown, L&O Criminal Intent and SVU (I think the original has fallen apart), the CSI's, and even my beloved H: Lots had their bad days. 24 will have it's ups and downs like any other show, but I definitely feel that it has been good or great far more often than it has been mediocre or poor/below average.
Other than the the first act of season one, I too liked season 2 better, which is interesting since apparently quite a few critics preferred the debut season, probably due to the Kim non-sense which became a ridiculous albatross that any and everyone dreaded having to watch in any given episode (apparently even she was sick of having to deal with the ridiculous nonsense her character was getting involved in).
Anyway, hopefully tossing her into CTU will salvage the character, but I've got the sneaking suspicion that her scenes will be as worthless and tedious as ever this season, I hope I'm wrong.
posted
clearly we disagree on the quality of the end of season 1. Irregardless, I think your comparison to Law and Order, CSI, etc. isn't a very good one, they are completely different beasts. 24 (at least season 1) was one long story told in 24 parts, so if part of it is bad (especially if it's the end), it can ruin the whole show. It's like a novel that only good for the first half and then falls apart, you wil generally think of that as a bad novel. The other shows you mentioned are individual episodes that do not have much cohesion from one to the other (with the exception of an occasional 2 parter and some minor character development), so one bad episode, or even a stretch of bad episodes will not spoil the show. You can come back the next week, have a completely new storyline and wipe the bad episode out of your mind with relative ease. Those shows are like a collection of short stories, the collection is viewed as good or bad based on how many of the individual stories are good or bad.
Posts: 748 | Registered: Dec 1999
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I dreaded the first episode of this season. I ground my teeth in utter and complete frustration watching the writers butcher the middle section of the second season. The tools of this evil were Kim, and every single character that I liked (besides Jack). Any character that showed an iota of common sense or just coolness was killed (I'm thinking right now of the Indian fellow that helped Jack get out of the meeting with that Spec Ops guy and got beaten to death for his trouble).
Thus, my first reaction to Jake (is that Kim's boyfriend's name?) is that he's going to die a horrible death. He spoke a lot of sense at Jack...a lot more sense than any single character made in the last season, save Jack.
I do like 24, really! It's just...painful, sometimes.
posted
Good take, Sarfa. And Reasonable certainly but the fact remains, even if 24 is told as one long story arc, as it is, it's still 24 episodes of a show. If one allows for slippage in shows that feature stand alone episodes, though these shows usually feature a continuing storyline as well (such as SVU's stand alone episodes which also incorporate the witness protection program the Assistant D.A. is in). I understand holding 24 to a higher standard because it's episodes are not stand alone. However, it's absurd to expect any tv show to go episode to episode without drop offs in quality from time to time. And of course I disagree with you fundamentally in regards to the finale. In my view season 1 was terrific in episodes 1 through 11, then weakened considerably between 12-17, then got back on track for 18-24, a terrific start, a mediocre middle act, and in my view a solid to very good finale/final act. My interpretation of the show via your Novel metaphor is a book that slows down in the middle third, and weakenes distinctly before rallying it up for a great finale. Not perfect, not flawless, but certainly good, and certainly not horrible or anything like that.
Posts: 752 | Registered: Jul 2002
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how likely do you think it is that upon given the information that the virus was most likely in powdered form, you would automatically jump to the conclusion that someone had snuck it in as a bag of coke and probably doesn't even know what it is...
Posts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
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Given that the person behind the plot (and his brother) are both drug dealers and Jack spent a year and half of his life getting inside their organization and learning everything about the way they do business, I'd say that it was extremely likely.
Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
I've got bad feelings for this season. Other than a few random area's of interest this season appears to be infinitely worse than the previous two, and they need to climb out of the hole and quick. The first two episodes have been medium paced and more or less, disappointing, none of the new characters thus far have really managed to peak my interest.
I'm really worried about the show, it may be too dependent on energy and excitement for it to continue to produce quality television. So far, it's not grabbing me at all. I hope to hell I'm wrong, I loved most of the first and second seasons, but this one just isn't doing it for me.
Hopefully things will improve a great deal from here on out, but thus far the villains have not captured my interest, and neither has CTU, or the president's scene's. It's been rather dull to me, unfortunately .,
Posts: 752 | Registered: Jul 2002
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i find the most interesting thing is Bauer's drug addiction. but for the most part you're right. it hasn't grabbed me like the other seasons. and nothing will ever live up the first season.
Posts: 8741 | Registered: Apr 2001
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quote: none of the new characters thus far have really managed to peak my interest.
Oh, come on! How can Jesse Borrego (Gael) not pique your interest?!? You mean you haven't been steadfastly following his carrer since Fame?
(My personal opinion? This season blows and Jacks addiction is only one of many reasons why. Maybe I'm just tired of the soap opera quality to it all.)
Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Well, I do like the wife of the drug dealer. But as much as I admire her strength and will, I can't help but wonder how thoroughly unlikely it would be for a character, drawn as she is, to end up with that pig of a husband.
Posts: 752 | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
Warning bells went off as soon as Tony was leaving the building, too. Now Chase will have to be used in the field again, and probably get killed in the process. Or not, since this is 24 after all.
Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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I agree Tony is meat. Chase will have to suffer first.
Now my question is: When they catch the kid in the next episode or two is the virus problem going to go away and the rest of the show tracking down who designed the virus? Will it center on the guy in jail? Will Salazar get out? Will they find the mole?(Of course they will, but how much damage will he do before they find out about him). Will the mole threaten Kim?(Of course he will.)
quote:Warning bells went off as soon as Tony was leaving the building, too.
Warning bells went off during that conversation between Tony and Michelle at the beginning of the season. I knew one of them was going to meet a bad end by the end of the day, I just didn't think it would be so early.
Posts: 1357 | Registered: Mar 2002
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See, the thing is, they left themselves another out with the virus. There *was* virus in crystalline form in the dead body, so they *have* weaponized it into a fine white powder.
Just because the bag Singer was carrying did not contain the virus does *not* mean such a bag does not exist, carried by a different person. Salazar's brother Hector may not have put all his eggs in one basket, after all.
Beyond that, if the "bad guys" get Singer, they can always hold him for the three hours and infect someone new, thus granting them a new 14 hour incubation period which would take them roughly until the last couple episodes of the show.
Lots more to come with the virus, I'm sure. There will likely be a jaunt by Jack down to Mexico to take out the production facility as well, or to get documents from it before the US firebombs it from the sky or something. Stopping Singer is only the first step - he's like the scout ant that lets you know there are more somewhere, even if you can't see them.
Posts: 3960 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Does anyone else think the character Chloe is autistic? That may be what they're going for. She clearly has a social learning disability-level understanding of other peoples' emotions.
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(And romantically involved with his doctor, whom I don't trust - what were those pills she gave him?) I really want to know what happened to him during that three-year gap.![[Frown]](frown.gif)
Guess I'll just have to wait.
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