4 February 2007 - Sky One, 10.00 pm
WRITER: Michael Loceff & Joel Surnow DIRECTOR: Milan Cheylov
CAST: Kiefer Sutherland (Jack Bauer), Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O'Brian), D.B Woodside (President Wayne Palmer), James Morrison (Bill Buchanan), Peter MacNicol (Thomas Lennox), Jayne Atkinson (Karen Hayes), Carlo Rota (Morris O'Brian), Eric Balfour (Milo Pressman), Marisol Nichols (Nadia Yassir), Regina King (Sandra Palmer), Harry Lennix (Walid al-Rezani), Paul McCrane (Graham Bauer), David Hunt (Darren MCarthy), Rena Sofer (Marilyn Bauer), James Cromwell (Philip Bauer), Scott William Winters (Agent Samuels), Adoni Maropis (Abu Fayed), Chad Lowe (Reed Pollock), Steve Wastell (CTU Agent Mark), Jim Klock (Army National Guardsman), Haaz Sleiman (Heydar), Al Farris (Salim) & Missy Crider (Rita)
Jack forces his brother Graham to reveal a family connection to the terrorists. Meanwhile, Tom Lennix realizes Karen Hayes is becoming an obstacle for his plans and Walid's infiltration goes deeper...The pacing of this season has been a little uneven in comparison to previous years. The writers seem to be attempting to drag out certain storylines, possible well aware the show tends to stagnate mid-season.
In previous "days" the first eight episodes have always been exhausting and thrilling rides, but out of the six episodes aired so far, only two or three have been up to snuff (the premiere and episode 4 most notably). The surrounding episodes, this one included, deliver information and enjoyable moments, but have lacked bite.
Here, Jack again gets to show off his sadistic side on his brother, courtesy of a plastic bag, only to spend most of the episode stuck in a car. 24 doesn't always rely on Jack's presence to entertain, but at the moment the subplots and new characters haven't developed enough to shoulder the burden without him. This manifests itself with a plodding episode, not helped by the eventual narrative dead-end of Walid's involvement with the FBI as a "makeshift mole".
The only memorable component in Episode 6 is the compelling office politics between Karen Hayes (Jayne Atkinson) and Tom Lennix (Paul MacNicol). It was obvious from hour one that Lennix would be trouble, and he finally gets to live up to expectations. Atkinson and MacNicol are both on great form, particularly when Atkinson has an impassioned argument early in the episode. Both are fine actors and help shake some vigour into an otherwise pedestrian installment.
The Bauer family crisis should become more interesting as the season rolls along, particularly when Jack realizes the extent of his brother's villainy (he was the puppetmaster of criminal President Logan last year, folks). Another Bauer makes his debut here, in the form of noted character actor James Cromwell. Cromwell is an excellent choice by the producers, both for his proven acting skills in movies and a believable facial similarity to Kiefer Sutherland. A part of me still would have liked to see Kiefer's real dad Donald take the lead, but... Cromwell is a great choice that won't be as distracting.
Scenes with Australian terrorist mastermind Darren McCarthy (David Hunt) and his girlfriend Rita (Missy Crider) are also more enjoyable than they should be. It's refreshing to see an actor play a villainous role without the stereotyped dead-eyed intensity. Instead, Hunt makes McCarthy more emotional and human, openly shouting his mouth off and getting upset. This subplot is bubbling along nicely.
Episode 6 isn't much fun, but given the serialize nature of 24 it's still required viewing. The overall storyline definitely treads water and the unthinkable detonation of a nuke doesn't seem to have caused much traffic problems in L.A! I'd like to see more fallout from the nuke in future episodes and a quick shot of writing adrenaline wouldn't go amiss, as the show has been trundling along for a few episodes now.
