"Ma'am, as I just stated, I'm with the FBI. Does that sound vaguely important to you?"-- Janis Gold (Janeane Garofalo)
Spoilers. A turning-point episode, most definitely. 24 has often fallen foul of spreading its story too thin in the past, or making illogical leaps into a new phase of the story, so it's nice to see an episode handle a transfer well. President Matobo (Isaach De Bankole) and his wife are being delivered to terrorist leader Dubaku (Hakeem Kae-Kazim), who is blissfully unaware Jack (Kiefer Sutherland), Tony (Carlos Bernard), Bill (James Morrison), Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and Renee (Annie Wersching) are providing covert back-up, primed to strike when Matobo's captors lead them to Dubaku's secret hideout...
As Jack and his gang try to save the day without anyone's knowledge, the FBI are busy trying to prevent Dubaku's latest attack using the CIP firewall: an atmospheric release of a toxin from a chemical plan in Kidron, Ohio. In stark disregard for reality, Janis (Janeane Garofalo) helps the foreman of the plant try to return pressure to the safety valves, using schematics the FBI bizarrely have access to via their network. Then again, 24 has always given near-omniscient technical powers to its counter-terrorism agencies, so we'll just have to ignore how this event could never really happen in real life. I mean, Day 7 itself is only possible if you buy into the entire US infrastructure being protected by a single firewall!The First Gentleman storyline is mostly ignored, with Henry (Colm Feore) unconscious on the floor, having fallen from the balcony in a calculated aim to crush his attacker Agent Gedge. Gedge's accomplice is waiting patiently outside for news that Henry's suicide has been staged, while Chief of Staff Ethan Kanin (Bob Gunton) grows concerned over Henry's bodyguard suddenly becoming unreachable. Might it be time to tell President Taylor (Cherry Jones) that her husband has been trying to prove his theory their son Roger was murdered? Or does she have enough on her plate, now that Dubaku is about to kill over half the population of Kidron?
As I've mentioned before, there are no subplots that feel extraneous or irritating this year. Everything seems to be feeding into the main story; following either the African coup channel or via the White House conspiracy angle. This has certainly helped keep Day 7 more focused and purposeful, but there's still a lack of edge to events this year. I'm still not sure if it's general 24 fatigue after years spent watching Jack Bauer run around getting into similar scrapes, or the fact it's difficult to feel invested in the off-screen Sangala situation -- despite being given a flavour of the African turmoil with 24: Redemption.
Still, this episode heralds a welcome shift in narrative and direction: Henry is later kidnapped by Gedge's accessory after rousing from unconsciousness, to be delivered to Dubaku (no doubt as a way to threaten the President); Dubaku comes under fire from Jack's successful attack, forced to flee to his apartment (where it's revealed he has a girlfriend who's unaware he's a cold-blooded killer); the CIP device is unexpectedly destroyed, ending that particular threat very early; and the rescued President Matobo is made aware of the secret operation set-up by Bill, then arranges a meeting with Taylor to tell her what's been going on.As usual with 24, when you cast your mind back to recent episodes, it can be mildly annoying to realize how many characters and story ideas have had little overall impact, but that's always been how 24 operates. Quite wisely, time marches on, things change, the plot evolves and people die. The trick is ensuring the tension escalates and everything has a certain logic, and Day 7 is doing a decent job of that. I'm still waiting for a sizeable emotional blow or a big shock to make your jaw-drop and kick-start the kind of fervor that usually accompanies 24, but maybe that's too much to ask these days. At the very least, this is entertaining and as well-produced as ever, while the lack of filler is greatly appreciated.
9 February 2009
Sky1, 9pm
Writers: Manny Coto, Brannon Braga & Michael Loceff
Director: Milan Cheylov
Cast: Kiefer Sutherland (Jack), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe), Cherry Jones (President Taylor), James Morrison (Bill), Annie Wersching (Renee), Colm Feore (Henry), Bob Gunton (Ethan Kanin), Jeffrey Nordling (Agent Moss), Rhys Coiro (Sean), Janeane Garofalo (Janis), Carlos Bernard (Tony), Tonya Pinkins (Alama Matobo), Tom Irwin (John Brunner), Mark Kiely (Edward Vossley), Lesley Fera (Angela Nelson), Mark Aiken (Nichols), Dajuan Johnson (Technician #1), Charles Emmett (Boyd Engineer), Beau Dremann (Security Guard), Reginald James (Technician #2), Enuka Okuma (Marika), Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Dubaku), Frank John Hughes (Tim Woods), John Billingsley (Michael Latham) & Isaach De Bankole (Ule Matobo)
