So I haven’t given a 24 update in a couple of weeks, and that’s mainly because I’m pretty disappointed with the direction the show is taking. I feel like the wheels came off somewhere around the 12th hour, and I’m not sure they’re going to be able to recover at this point. So instead of talking about the episode, I’m going to talk about general things that are ruining the 24 experience at this point.

1. More Jack, Please - I don’t think we’ve ever had a time on 24 that the show was less about Jack than it is right now. Last night we saw Jack for about 2 minutes at the beginning, and then he was completely absent until the 2nd half of the show, where he basically sat in surveillance for the rest of the show. We had one very small Jack moment (when he shot that guy in the head), but for the most part, he’s been relegated to a bit part. This is made even worse by the lack of other longterm characters. If the story was focusing on Tony and Michelle, I might be into it. But I just don’t care about Nadia and Milo. At all.
2. Dropped storylines - 24 seems intent on dropping major plotlines this season over and over again. First it was that guy they put into the internment camp that got beaten up for spying on those guys (remember him?). Next it was the Logan story. Now it’s the Ben Folds lookalike story. That guy was causing Doyle all kinds of grief last week, and now he’s not mentioned at all. I have a feeling that he will show up again (and hopefully Logan will too), but I think we’ve seen the last of our Muslim friend.
3. Improbable plot points and unrealistic moves by the characters - Do we even need to talk about the President waking up for a coma in a matter of seconds? How about him launching a nuke right after he risked his life to make sure we wouldn’t launch a nuke? Doesn’t make any sense. And why is he taking adrenaline again? How does that relate to being in a coma? Here’s the official 24 site’s research on adrenaline. Notice how it doesn’t mention anything about treating guys that just came out of a coma. Honestly, Tom Lennox has been the only new character that has seemed believable to me at all. The VP is far too warmongering to the point that he’s really a parody (of a certain president perhaps?). Mike Doyle is still a caricature at this point. Morris’ story seems to be played out (turns out he’s not really an alkie anymore). Bleh.
4. Not using the good characters they have - Jack, Karen Hayes, Bill Buchanan, Chloe, and Jack…all of them have been squeezed out by the flood of new characters they’ve brought on to replace everyone they killed off last year. Unfortunately, the new characters are falling flat (see above), and it just makes us miss the veterans even more.

So is the season salvageable? I don’t really see how it’s possible at this point, but I’ll keep watching, of course. Don’t get me wrong, I still think 24 is the best thing on television these days (that I watch anyway), and my complaints are made in that context. It’s just been so great for so long, it’s disappointing to see such a poor season from them.

What do you guys think?

First, I’d like to say that I really liked this episode. I would still like to see more Jack, but overall, this was a great episode. Time for lists!

The good:

1. Martha Logan is back! And she stabbed Charles in the neck! She is my favorite new character from last season, so I hope stabbing Charles isn’t her last act on the show. Not sure if Logan is going to die or not, but we can always hope.
2. Silver Spoons kicked some serious ass. I’m wondering if he and Jack will like each other or if they’ll try to kill each other. They both hate Morris, so that’s a start.
3. Powers Boothe flushed all of my goodwill from last week down the toilet, as I knew he would. I’m ready for Gary Payton to wake up and go back to be a big wuss. But I do like the drama that President Powers is creating, so that’s why he goes up here.
4. Aaron is back!! I think he’s officially the longest running character other than Jack now, right? Makes me worry about him, to be honest.

Okay, now the bad:

1. Need more Jack. His only great moment last night was when that guy said he didn’t believe Jack, and Jack got to point a gun at his girlfriend and say, “I don’t have to convince you!”
2. The believability of Silver Spoons as a badass is thin at best. Maybe with couple more episodes he’ll convince me, but it seemed a little forced last night. I really wanted him to make his grand CTU entrance on that little train.
3. Silver Spoons also had the cheesiest line of the night, something to the effect of, “Get me a medic down here, I’m Mike Doyle!” I think I will end all of my sentences like that from now on.

Other than that, I don’t have any complaints really. I thought this was one of the better episodes of the season. What did you guys think?

I’m a big 24 fan, and even though I’ve been a little disappointed by this season, I still think it’s the best show on television. Last night, I felt like it got a little of the magic back.

I could write a huge post here, but let’s just do lists. If you haven’t seen this episode, you should stop reading here. First, the good things:

1. Tom Lennox stepping up to the plate. Honestly, this was probably the biggest surprise of the season so far. I was sure that Lennox was going to go along with the plan once they released him, and for him to blow the whistle immediately was pretty amazing. Good for you, Tom!
2. The VP becoming President. I know he’s going to be an asshole, but last night when the Russian President called him, I thought, “If that was Wayne, he’d crumple like a wet Kleenex.” I honestly feel safer with Powers Boothe as President, even though I know we’re going to hate him within 2 episodes.
3. JACK BAUER CUTTING A DUDE’S FINGER OFF WITH A CIGAR SNIPPER. See, this is why I love Jack Bauer. I guess he’s over the whole “tortured for years in China” thing.

Now for the bad:

1. The embassy plot rehash. Seriously. Jack just got out of a crazy Chinese prison for breaking in an embassy, and within 12 hours he’s breaking into another one? Perhaps he needs some therapy or something. “So Jack, why are you obsessed with storming embassies??”
2. Logan’s complete and utter uselessness so far. I mean, Jack could have stormed the embassy without Logan’s input. What has Logan brought to the table exactly?
3. Speaking of Logan, Holy gaping plotholes, Batman! Here’s my question: now that Jack is storming the castle, who’s looking after Logan?!? Did Jack just leave him sitting in an limo outside of the gate? Really? One of the more ridiculous oversights in a while.
4. Dumb Russians. Why did that guy even leave the room that Jack was in to make that call to CTU? To find a more private place? THAN THE EMPTY ROOM THAT HE’S CURRENTLY STANDING IN?? Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Overall, a pretty good episode though. It was exciting, the plot moved in some interesting directions, and for the first time in a while, I’m not really sure where it’s heading. Your thoughts?