WRITERS: Howard Gordon & Evan Katz DIRECTOR: Brad Turner
CAST: Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer), D.B Woodside (President Wayne Palmer), James Morrison (Bill Buchanan), Rena Sofer (Marilyn Bauer), James Cromwell (Philip Bauer), Peter MacNicol (Thomas Lennox), Carlo Rota (Morris O'Brian), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O'Brian), Eric Balfour (Milo Pressman), Marisol Nichols (Nadia Yassir), Evan Ellingson (Josh Bauer), Chad Lowe (Reed Pollock), Jamison Jones (Secret Service Agent), Gregory Itzin (Charles Logan), Lyn Alicia Henderson (Survivor), Matt McKenzie (Agent Hollister), Lex Cassar (CTU Agent Ryan), Dylan Kenin (Gredenko's Programmer), Will Radford (Jimmy), James C. Victor (Agent Hal Turner), Maury Sterling (Hacker) & Rade Serbedzija (Dmitri Gredenko)
Milo and Marilyn fend off Gredenko's men, Jack uncovers his father's involvement in events, Morris' behaviour becomes erratic and Lennox takes another step towards treasonous actions...Epidode 10 is a welcome improvement courtesy of regular writers Howard Gordon and Evan Katz, who manage to make most of the various subplots more interesting than they've been for a while. It's just a shame Morris has been landed with a pointless storyline to kill time. Carlo Rota deserves better than to be loaded with a bout of depression and a tired alcoholism theme, particularly as he's been the only season 6 success for the new CTU staff.
I have a soft spot for Rena Sofer, but her performance is quickly becoming two-dimensional and she looks ridiculous in an action context. Viewers will be rolling their eyes as she runs down an alleyway pulling faces, while her utter cowardice amidst bullets may be realistic but seems contrived to allow her capture.
The emphasis is thrown on Philip Bauer, who's holding his grandson Josh hostage in an attempt to force his daughter-in-law Marilyn's cooperation. Jack finally discovers his dad killed Graem and is trying to save his own skin, as his company sold Fayed the nukes now threatening public safety.
Only Kiefer Sutherland can get away with the line "it's personal", before embarking on a one-man mission to save newphew Josh and bring his father to justice. Philip Bauer (James Cromwell) bares a strikingly psychological resemblance to Christopher Henderson last year; both so-called patriots who use extreme methods to get what they want, together with a tragic history with Jack.
This similarity is unfortunate (another example of 24 stealing from itself), although it also has a symmetry with the previous season that seems intentional. I'm perhaps being overly kind, but Day 6 does appear to be a direct sequel to season 5. If you're in any doubt, just wait till the last-minute reveal, folks...
Jack's rescue plan is grass roots 24, performed with gusto and unrelenting entertainment. It's a shame the supporting plots remain quite weak: Lennix seems to be stuck in a boiler room debating whether or not to help assassinate President Palmer, while Morris' laborious post-torture trauma becomes very irritating. Thankfully Lennix's subplot ends on a strong note.
By the episode's close, fans will be giddy on last scene's revelation. I'm also hopeful the explanation to Philip Bauer's actions will give us greater clarity regarding season 6's overall aim. It can't all be about chasing suitcase nukes, there has to be something juicier going behind-the-scenes.
If season 6 can conjur up some shockwaves at its half-way point, rebuild its CTU characters and give President Palmer a decent storyline, things could be about to get very interesting. For now, Episode 10 is the most consistently entertaining instalment of 24 for quite awhile, but it remains to be seen if season 6 can regroup and hit top gear for its second-half...
