WRITER: Manny Cotto DIRECTOR: Tim Iacofano
CAST: Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer), D.B Woodside (President Wayne Palmer), James Morrison (Bill Buchanan), Rena Sofer (Marilyn Bauer), Peter MacNicol (Thomas Lennox), Carlo Rota (Morris O'Brian), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O'Brian), Marisol Nichols (Nadia Yassir), Evan Ellingson (Josh Bauer), Chad Lowe (Reed Pollock), Gregory Itzin (Charles Logan), Rade Serbedzija (Dmitri Gredenko), Adoni Maropis (Abu Fayed), Richard Rosser (Floor Manager), Dylan Kenin (Gredenko's Programmer), Jole Kim (Melinda), Jamison Jones (Secret Service Agent), Ajay Mehta (Ambassador), Alexander Siddig (Hamri Al-Assad), Michael Reilly (Carson), Nancy Cartwright (Jeannie), Eddie Driscoll (Security Station Agent), Michael Khmourov (Yuli) & Lex Cassar (CTU Agent Ryan)
Jack visits former President Logan, who has information about Gredenko, Chloe continues to cover for Morris and Lennix tries to escape capture and warn the President about the assassination plot...Why isn't season six working? You can berate previous seasons for their freewheeling nature, but they still consistently slapped you in the face with surprises. Season six is trying desperately to shock, but beyond the chilling nuke in episode 4, it's all quite routine. The writers' belief in the Bauer family and D.B Woodside is also proving unfounded. Pinning hopes on frequent tortures and vague real-life exaggerations isn't really cutting it this time.
The last episode ended with Philip Bauer giving Jack a phone number that connected him to former President Logan. 24 loves to reintroduce past characters and such moments always provide flutters of excitement in my stomach. Gregory Itzin was magnificent last season; a slimy Nixon clone who was a brilliant juxtaposition to David Palmer's calm Kennedy.
Itzin returns here, now a bearded born-again Christian under house arrest for his crimes (of which the true depth were kept secret, much to Jack's chagrin). Itzin is always good value, but his return disappointed me. I'm hoping there'll be a twist behind Logan's helpfulness, despite his claims to the contrary. We'll see...
The Wayne Palmer assassination plot against finally heats up, with Lennix restrained in the boiler room and a bomb smuggled into the bunker. Oridinarly this plot would be intense and potent material, but D.B Woodside has failed to make Wayne particularly interesting or likeable as the President. He was fine in seasons 3 and 5 as David Palmer's advisor, but he lacks the charisma so ingrained in Dennis Haysbert's performance as his screen brother. I actually have my fingers crossed the coup d'etat succeeds.
Meanwhile, the CTU subplot with Morris battling the demon drink is falling flat on its face. Carlo Rota deserves better as the touchy programmer, while Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe) seems to have lost her chutzpah.
Even more depressing is that sexy Marisol Nichols continues to be wasted as Nadia, stuck in a thankless role that's going absolutely nowhere. James Morrison goes through the motions once again as Bill Buchanan -- always competent and a solid presence, but chomping on scraps the writers throw him occassionally.
As feared, the loss of so many CTU-characters in recent years is now taking its toll. The writers seem unable to create a compelling situation between Chloe, Milo, Morris and Nadia, or create interesting personalities for their new faces.
It's all a bit glib, really. Logan's return hasn't created the shockwave I was expecting, CTU is an unwelcome distraction right now, while the assassination plot just seems old-hat. There's an indication more interesting times are to come when Gredenko's unveiled an aerial "drone" to deliver his bombs, but not much else to keep your attention.
Things had better start improving. For the first time in my 24 viewing history, I've reached the middle of a season and find no clear incentive to continue watching. I will, because I know 24 is capable of turning things around in a flash of inspirational boldness, but it's worrying to see the show this sluggish half-way through...
