WRITERS: David Gury & Alex Gansa (8.3) & Chip Johannessen & Patrick Harbinson (8.4)[SPOILERS] As I've mentioned, I won't be covering 24's eighth season in quite as much detail as I have in previous years (post-premiere) -- mainly because I find it a tricky show to review because episodes are just piecemeal chapters of an ongoing story. I'll still be covering 24 every week (following the Sky1 broadcasts every Sunday), but it'll be in a less comprehensive, more reactive way to the week's big developments...
DIRECTOR: Milan Cheylov
GUEST CAST: Annie Wersching, Doug Hutchison, Akbar Kurtha, Domenick Lombardozzi, Necar Zadegan, Jennifer Westfeldt, Sandra Purpuro, Johnny Wu, T.J Ramini, Greg Collins, John Boyd, Jürgen Prochnow, David Anders, Gene Farber & Jon Skaroff
Jack
This week, Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) was out investigating events solo, with the uneasy blessing of Brian Hastings (Mykelti Williamson) back at CTU. Unfortunately, he wanders straight into a distracting subplot where he's mistaken as a cop-killer by two patrolmen and beaten up in a basement by Herc from The Wire. Above all, I had to laugh at how Jack just takes all of this on the chin when the situation's dealt with.
Dana
The subplot for Dana (Katee Sackhoff) had no relevance to the main story, as it's a separate storyline being used as a "breathing space" right now. Trouble is, you don't really want breathing spaces on high-octane shows like 24, and the mystery of Dana apparently having a former life and identity is only of passing interesting. It's also strange the writers believe it's interesting that Dana isn't what she seems, because we haven't been given time to get to know her in the first place! So, where's the surprise for audiences? Still, Sackhoff's selling her character's emotional torment very well and Dana's reactions to the arrival of her "ex" (husband?) is preventing this story flopping entirely.
CTU
Hastings is still the beaurocratic numbskull who doesn't have faith in Jack and Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) -- who surely have reputations strong enough to give him greater pause for thought -- but he earned some credit for apologizing to Chloe when it became clear she was right all along. Chloe meanwhile is still a terrible character whose sheer longevity on 24 has convinced too many people that she's an interesting, complex personality. The truth is she's a sour-faced pouter who should have been ditched long, long ago.
President Hassan
Anil Kapoor is doing smooth, charismatic work so far. You forget that in the world of Bollywood his presence is akin to casting Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino rolled into one. Hassan's a very likeable, honourable statesman type -- an Indian President Palmer, in some ways -- and that makes any attempt on his life feel more tense that it should, because you already don't want to see Hassan die. A great example of perfect casting doing half the legwork.
President Taylor
It's intriguing that President Taylor's been pushed so far into the background this season. I know we're only four episodes in, but Cherry Jones has had very little to do.
The Assassination Plot
The first four episodes of 24 (broadcast over two consecutive days in the US) always feel relatively self-contained, so it was no surprise to see the assassination plot dominate the third episode. The manner of its execution was fairly plausible, too -- faking a bomb scare in the UN building to force Hassan's motorcade down its evacuation route, and over a manhole cover containing a bomb planted by Davros (Doug Hutchison). 24's still very adept at cranking tension from these kind of scenarios, even if we never believe the terrorists would be successful so early in the run. It was also relatively unexpected to get so much information about the overall plan behind the assassination --- regime change and the procurement of nuclear material provided by Russians, to turn Hassan's country into a nuclear power against his wishes. It was also great to see the likes of Jürgen Prochnow (Das Boot) and David Anders (Heroes) on the show; the latter getting to put on an American accent.
Renee
The big news for fans was the welcome return of Renee Walker (Annie Wersching), who proved to be one of season 7's best new additions to the ensemble. It turns out she was fired from the FBI (after torturing a man in custody), had a mental breakdown, refused to take Jack's calls, and is now working for a security firm. Anyway, she's brought in to help because she still has a cover with Russian mobsters who may be involved with the nuclear materials, and agrees to go back undercover to help CTU. The biggest surprise is that Renee's undergone a significant personality change -- going from feisty Fed to a mean, moody, ruthless "loose cannon". It was a particular joy to see Renee calmly saw a Russian's thumb off in a vice, if only because it even left Jack flabbergasted. And if you do something that makes Jack Bauer's jaw drop open, you know you've crossed a line. Or maybe this is true love.
Asides
-- Why does CTU's rear entrance look like a retrofitted public toilet in a car park?
-- Why does Hastings constantly look like he's ducking his head to walk through a low doorway? That man needs a broom handle up his shirt.
-- Are we worried about the nuclear threat, considering the fact the show's dealt with nukes many times already (including detonating one in downtown L.A)? It's hard to see how they can make this story feel fresh, but I guess there'll be a wider agenda that's impossible to guess right now, because we're only in "phase 1" of the season at the moment.
-- You have to give credit to Cole (Freddie Prinze Jr.) when he refused to help Davros lie about his whereabouts at gunpoint, basically accepting his own death, which was only denied by Jack coming to his rescue in the nick of time. I didn't see that coming, and it was yet another demonstration of Cole's steadfast loyalty and principles. It makes a change to have someone trust Jack implicitly because of his history, too.
-- How long before that anonymous but ever-present geek who works alongside Dana is outed as a mole in CTU?
-- And why does Callum Keith Rennie always have his presence on a show spoiled by us noticing him in mug shots before his on-screen debut (a la Harper's Island)?
31 JANUARY 2010: SKY1 / SKY1 HD, 9PM
