Right Wing Nut House

Now I know how my father felt when he was a kid going to Saturday matinees where serials like “Flash Gordon” and “Rocketman” would leave kids all over America panting for the next week’s thrilling installment. Will Flash be able to save Dale from the evil clutches of Ming the Merciless? How will Commando Cody get out of this one?

And knowing my Dad, he probably wished that he could jump in a time machine and be whisked away to next Saturday so he didn’t have to wait 7 days for the answers to the plot twists.

Oh, for a time machine today! Visiting the “24″ forums and lurking as I do on a regular basis, I’ve noticed that many “24″ aficionados have been disappointed in this season’s installments. Frankly, all I can say is they’re missing some great television.

Trying to enjoy the show while being a critic has been a very difficult assignment for me. . Early on this year I solved that problem by taping the show and watching it the first time for pure enjoyment and then watching a replay on tape for the critique. This has allowed me to garner some insights that perhaps some of the more cynical “24″ fans have failed to appreciate.

One of those insights has to be the terrifying efficiency of Marwan’s organization. They’ve got all the bases covered. They’re piped into local police networks. They have an idea of how CTU works to the point that Marwan knows he can overload CTU employees with extra work by setting up the hostage exchange which will mean putting aside routine tasks like checking the “hourlies” from local and state police departments thus insuring our heroes are distracted long enough for his nefarious plot to succeed.

Marwan’s organization isn’t perfect. But its effectiveness can take your breath away at times.

SUMMARY

Interesting and revealing exchange between Jack and Marwan as Jack is held hostage in the warehouse:

Jack: That really wasn’t your plan, was it? We managed to stop the other 103 power plants from melting down. That’s what America will remember. That we stopped you.

Marwan: No. They will remember the image of Secretary of Defense Heller held hostage on your own soil. And it will burn in their psyches. This country will forever be afraid to let their leaders appear in public.

Jack: For all the hatred you have for this country, you don’t understand it very well. Whatever you throw at us, I promise you, that will never happen.

Marwan has been in this country a long enough time to realize his statement about our leaders not appearing in public out of fear is baloney. Or does he? From Bin Laden’s boasting about 9/11 to Zarqawi’s threats to kick America out of Iraq, terrorists the world over really don’t have a clue about what this country is made of. We see this myopia time and time again when listening to the pronuncimentos of radical islamists from Indonesia to Iran. In the end, this ignorance -along with their own hubris - will be the cause of their downfall.

All of this won’t help Jack who now becomes a pawn in Marwan’s game to distract CTU long enough so that terrorist pilot Anderson can get his stealth fighter off the ground and, we assume, go after Air Force I. The reason for this distraction - the imminent discovery by CTU that an Air Force pilots family is missing - becomes the main focus of the hour as the camera dotes lovingly on the CD containing the vital flagged police report. Thanks to the bureaucratic turf war between Chloe and fat geek Edgar, that CD makes torturous progress toward Edgar and eventual discovery.

Someone is going to pay for this error when its discovered. My guess is Chloe.

Meanwhile, not knowing he’s an orphan, Behroos is questioned once again by Curtis about his knowledge of Marwan. Lying through his teeth, Curtis assures Behroos his mother is fine. And that’s when CTU’s resident “Dr. Feel Good” comes in with his little black bag full of some of the biggest damned needles I ever saw. Referred to as “Richard,” when shooting Behroos up with truth serum, he seems to be enjoying himself just a little too much. And that begs the question; where does CTU get these guys?

And that little CD? It’s still winding its way slowly toward Edgar. And every time Edgar is about ready to discover its contents, he’s called away to do something else. This Hitchcockian plot device becomes more and more effective as eventually, the viewer just wants to scream at Edgar “Look at the damn thing, will ya!”

Audrey, still waiting for news on whether or not Paul will live or die, confronts Tony several times asking for updates on Jack. To his credit, Tony is brutally honest with her which only confuses both Audrey and us even more. Who will it be? Jack or Paul? My guess is that Paul will live but be paralyzed. And Audrey will feel duty bound to take care of him for the rest of his life.

Speaking of Audrey, her conversation with Chloe is priceless. Chloe, exhibiting the social skills of a tree sloth, asks poor Audrey how she feels about Paul taking a bullet intended for her lover Jack. Audrey tells Chloe to in effect, shut up which is when Chloe gets off the revealing line; “I was inappropriately blunt…I do that a lot.”

Yes you do dear, but we still love ya!

And Jack? Just before being taken to the dam where CTU will exchange him for Behroos, Jack manages to cross circuit some telephone wires in the warehouse which will come in handy later…if he lives. Marwan has decreed Jack’s death after the exchange takes place.

So Behroos, still unaware that he’s an orphan, is taken unwillingly to the exchange point. The switch goes forward and Jack is saved when Marwan makes a rare mistake and underestimates CTU’s tactical ability. Turns out our guys had placed a team at the site before Marwan’s assassin could get there. Jack is saved, but Behroos is now in the hands of Marwan where he’s finally told about his mother’s death. Do you think that this will have an effect on the young man’s willingness to cooperate with Marwan? I knew that you would.

Jack’s shenanigans with the phone lines pays big dividends as Tony finds the address of the warehouse. So Jack and CTU tactical head off to get Marwan while the vital information regarding the dead pilot’s missing family continues to be buried under fat geek Edgar’s backlog of work and Anderson takes off in his stealth fighter for his rendezvous with Air Force I.

Like I said…gimme a time machine!

BODY COUNT

Anderson snuffs the maintenance guy holding up his flight. CTU takes out Marwan’s assassin.

Jack: 27

Show: 124

SPECULATION

More food for thought. Behroos feels betrayed by CTU. To save his own hide (and get back at Curtis) the kid will revert to being a terrorist and, since he’s an orphan with nothing to live for, become a suicide bomber for the cause. Who or what will be blow up? I’m open to speculation there but my gut feeling is Jack will “rescue” him and bring him back to CTU.

If I were Michelle, I’d call the contractors now and get an estimate on how much it’s going to cost to rebuild headquarters.

GREAT BIG HAT TIP TO LOYAL READER MARGO FOR SENDING ME A TAPE OF THIS WEEK’S EPISODE!

One of the more puzzling twists in the plot of this season’s “24″ has been the largely unexplained presence of so many Americans working with Hamid Marwan, the terrorist mastermind. Who are they? Are they just a PC construct used by Fox to show that Arab Muslims aren’t the only terrorists thus placating the American Muslim community? Or are they working with the terrorists to achieve their own nefarious ends?

McGLENNON-FORSTER

While it’s apparent that Mr. McGlennon was in the dark about Marwan’s activities, we were told that for Marwan to get clearance to work there he would have needed help. Someone in that company (someone who’s presumably still alive) helped Marwan to evade all the security checks. Security VP Conlon is dead. Who was it?

THE PILOT

This clean cut, all-American looking killer is either current or ex Air Force. If our speculation pans out about the pilot attempting to shoot down Air Force I, he’s going to have to have the expertise to fly a fighter escort.

You don’t learn how to fly a fighter jet by playing Lethal Skies II.

ADULTEROUS WOMAN

The sleazy woman who was sleeping with the real pilot John could very well be ex-special forces or ex-black ops CIA. Either way she’s in business for herself. Could Marwan have had some help in recruiting? Could some rouge intelligence agents have some part to play in the unfolding drama?

THE “ROAD CREW”

Getting those guys out to the tunnel on such short notice is either a weak plot device or evidence of extraordinary precision. Since several of the “workers” who spoke had American accents we have to assume some kind of coordinated effort here. But why? And what is it?

Could the President’s conversation with Secretary Heller about martial law be a clue? Does someone in the American government want the country under martial law?

Could we possibly be looking at some kind of attempt by the military to take over the government?

Don’t put it past these Hollywood types. As unrealistic and preposterous as it sounds, military plots to take over the country are standard fare in Hollywood through the years.

SUMMARY

With Audrey’s accusatory look (”Tell me Paul is going to live, Jack”) still fresh in his mind, Jack comes up witha real “Andy Hardy” idea; why not have Dina go undercover with Jack as hostage and pay a visit to terrorist Joseph Fayeed. Maybe Fayeed can get them close to Marwan.

Andy Hardy, for those not familiar with 1960’s Saturday morning TV, was a character portrayed by Mickey Rooney in a series of movies with Judy Garland back in the 1940’s when both were playing teenagers. The story was always a variation on a theme. Mickey and Judy would have to solve some financial problem for some poor widow or an orphanage or some other worthy cause. How did they do it? Mickey would think a minute and then announce “Hey kids! Let’s put on a show!” Which, of course, gave Mickey and Judy a chance to do a few musical numbers and save the day.

So here’s Jack thinking outside the box again and what does he say? “Hey kids! Let’s mount an undercover operation!”

And it’s a doozy. But wait. If this crazy, loony plan is going to have any chance of success, we’re gonna need top-flight surveillance from beginning to end. Fat geek Edgar doesn’t appear to be up to the challenge. Oh dear, what are we going to do?

Why call Chloe of course! And with her usual persnickety manner, Chloe accepts Michele’s appeal to her loyalty to Jack and rejoins the crew.

So now, they’re all back together-Jack, Tony, Michele, and Chloe-battling the forces of evil while trying to keep their personal dramas from destroying the country. All that’s missing is President Palmer (stay tuned for that potential shocker).

With Dina in tow, Jack arrives at Fayeeds house. But he’s faced with a rather perplexing problem; how do you convince the terrorist that the cover story, which has Dina escaping from CTU custody with the help of her terrorist cell, is real? Jack comes up with a novel, if rather painful solution.

He stabs himself.

The look on Dina’s face when Jack commits partial Harri-Kari should be bottled and sold. It was that precious. It reminded me of the look that Dale Arden used to get on her face when Flash Gordon was about to jump into a pit with some extraterrestrial monster to save Prince Baron; absolute horror along with a touch of “What the hell are you doing?” (More 60’s flashback TV. Sorry.)

As far as the plan itself, Marwan smells a rat immediately. When Fayeed gets off the phone with him, you can tell by the look on his face he’s been ordered to commit suicide. Why did Marwan order that unless he didn’t believe a word of the cover story? Then there was the vehicle switcheroo in the tunnel. It all adds up to one thing; Jack’s in big trouble.

The plan falls completely apart when Dina is ordered by Marwan to whack Jack to prove her loyalty. When Dina aims the gun at Marwan and pulls the trigger only to have the hammer fall on an empty chamber, the jig is up and poor Behroos becomes an instant orphan.

Meanwhile, back at CTU Audrey professes her loyalty to Paul who may be crippled because a bullet is lodged against his spine. It’s unclear at this point who she’s going to choose but the smart money is going to be on Paul. Which brings me to a question I’d like to ask all female readers? Why is it that women can love two men at the same time?

I’m 51 years old and never been in love with two women at once. The very idea is beyond my imagining. Is this something only women are capable of. And by the way, how DO you make a decision between the two? Anthropologists the world over are waiting for an explanation.

BODY COUNT

Real pilot John and his family are toast (we didn’t see the family get it but the faux pilot was kind enough to inform John that his family was dead…just before putting a bullet in poor John and cutting off his finger so that he could gain fingerprint ID access to flight ops).

Also, Fayeed gets to play with his 72 virgins for martyring himself and taking a CTU agent with him. And Dina probably wishes she had reasoned out the fact that if Marwan suspected her, he wouldn’t have given her a loaded gun.

Jack: 27

Show: 122

LOOSE END

Anyone else notice the crappy return salute given by the fake pilot to the AF security guy? What a joke! If I had been that Sergeant, I would have been immediately suspicious of an officer who couldn’t salute worth a damn.

If the writers for the show are making this up as they go along, they’re doing a damned fine job. All of the terrorist activity to date-the train wreck to steal the override device, the kidnapping of Heller, and the nuke meltdowns-has been a prelude to the terrorists real goal:

Kill the President.

The plot is exquisite in it’s elegance and subtlety. The terrorists also seem to have a frightening familiarity with the American psyche. In short, they’ve played us, CTU and indeed the entire security apparatus of the United States government perfectly.

My complaint last week about the President being in the air for the entire show now appears to be something that terrorist mastermind Marwan counted on. In a conversation with the President, Heller implied that the reason the President hadn’t landed was a matter of security. Marwan’s planning must have included this because the final part of the plot involves a rouge Air Force officer. Can’t wait to see how this plays out but my guess would be either an attack on Air Force One using a hijacked fighter escort or an attempt at the air base.

Stay tuned.

SUMMARY

Michelle arrives at CTU and immediately makes her presence felt. First, she carves poor Audrey into little pieces for questioning her on a matter of procedure. Then it’s Tony’s turn as their long awaited and much anticipated confrontation ends up with Tony’s already bruised and battered ego nearly destroyed by Michelle’s taunt about his lack of sobriety. Finally, Sarah feels the icy blast of Michelle’s wrath when, in the middle of the worst internal security crisis in the history of the United States, she demands that Michelle make sure that the deal she had with Erin about expunging her personnel record and the bump in pay grade go through. Michelle gives her a look that would freeze the Hounds of Hades and promptly fires her.

Adios, Sarah…for a while. Anyone whose last line as they exit is “You’ll be sorry…I promise you will” is going to be back, I guarantee it.

Meanwhile, Jack rescues Paul from the clutches of the McGlennon-Forster goons and, because of the EMP bomb knocking out any car with an electronic ignition within 8 miles, they have to try and make their escape on foot. Conlon discovers that Jack and Paul have esacped and calls in a squad of commando/mercenaries to finish them off.

The two rivals for Audrey’s love take refuge in a sporting goods store owned by two Arab-American brothers. (I deal with the PC aspects of this issue in my post below). After the brothers volunteer their services, Jack outlines his plan; start a firefight with an enemy of greatly superior numbers and firepower and hope to hell that CTU is expecting him to do that so that they can rescue him.

In point of fact, Tony is expecting Jack to do that…but Michelle overrules him condemning Jack and Paul to a long couple of minutes before CTU ground teams can arrive.

And Audrey? In a heart to heart with her father, she makes clear that Jack is in trouble. Talking about Jack’s novel interrogation methods when questioning Paul a few hours ago, Audrey reveals that she’s in something of a quandry as to who Jack Bauer really is:

Audrey: Somehow, he seemed like a different person.

Heller: We need people like that Audrey…

Audrey: (Beginning to cry) Jack is an extraordinary man.

Heller: But you’re not sure you feel the same way you did before, is that it?

Audrey: Something like that…

Doesn’t look good for Jack.

And Tony doesn’t make matters any better for his erstwhile friend. Judging by this exchange, maybe Tony should keep his mouth shut:

Tony: You think he’ll go back to wearing a suite?

Audrey: After the hell he’s gone through today do you think he’ll want to come back to that?

Tony: Some people are more comfortable in hell.

Thanks a lot Tony…just what she needed to hear.

After being told of Tony’s heroics earlier in the day by Audrey (who also informs the ice queen that Tony still has feelings for her), Michelle tries to be a little friendlier in their subsequent meetings but Tony’s having none of it. Hard to tell where this is going, but an interesting possibility would be a reconciliation followed by Tony’s untimely demise. Serve her right, anyway.

Back at the sporting goods store, Jack, Paul, and the two good Arabs are putting up a good fight but are forced to fall back to their last line of defense, the storage room. After Jack’s most horrific killing to date (he stabs a mercenary through the back of the neck) Conlon corners Jack. But before he can kill him, CTU arrives and takes care of Conlon…mostly. As Jack is talking to the leader of the CTU swat team, Paul notices that Conlon isn’t dead just in time to save Jack’s life and take a bullett for him in the process. As Paul’s life ebbs away, Jack probably remembers his promise to Audrey from last week:

Audrey: Take care of Paul. He’s not like you Jack. Please promise me you’ll look after him?

Jack: Yeah…I will.

One more nail in Jack’s coffin.

BODY COUNT

Big night for the grim reaper. Jack took out 3 McGlennon-Forster security flunkies and 6 commandos. Paul and the good Arabs accounted for 5 more. Still no word on casualties from the meltdown although Audrey told Heller it’s not as bad as they feared.

Jack: 27 dead

Show: 115

LOOSE END

There’s no such thing as “residual” EMP effects. The pulse is like a wave. Once it passes, there’s no way any more damage can be sustained. This fallacy was used as a plot device to keep Jack in trouble a little bit longer.

There’s an old Arab proverb that says “Example is better than precept.” I really wish Fox Television would have taken that to heart last night because the way the network worked “the good muslims” into the story line of “24″ was so jarring, so unnatural that the only conclusion one can draw from it is that the network must think we’re all a bunch of goober chewing, redneck, red state yahoos who need to be hit over the head with an allegorical two-by-four in order to get the message.

The fact that there are tens of thousands of Americans of Arab descent serving honorably in the United States military as well as millions more who are law abiding citizens that love this country as much as you and I should be enough to convince everyone except the galoots, the yawpers, and the mentally deficient that there’s a vast difference between the guy who owns the convenience store down the street and Abu Musab al Zarqawi and his merry band of beheaders.

Which begs the question; if the only people who need to be reminded of this are immune to any and all pleas for ratiionality, what’s the point?

The point is to placate a pressure group. And Fox has shamelessly caved in to pressure exerted by muslim organizations, in particilar the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Last December when the plot line first emerged for this season’s “24,” CAIR objected saying that portraying muslims in such a negative way would feed prejudices and lead to bigotry and perhaps even violence.

But is it necessary? Since 9/11 the Justice Department has investigated 546 “incidents” involving not just Arabs, but others who appear to be of middle eastern origin. Out of all those incidents, federal charges have been brought against just 13 individuals. They’ve also assisted local prosecutors with another 121 cases.

Not exactly a crime spree directed against American muslims.

Despite this, Fox changed the story line and added characters that would portray muslims in a more positive light. The result was the stilted, heavy handed, and preachy scenes tonight in a gunshop owned by two Arab American brothers who, after first trying to kill Jack and Paul thinking they were looters, ended up joining the fight against the McGlennon-Forster mercenaries.

Some of the dialouge could have been lifted from a CAIR press release:

Good Arab #1: You don’t understand…for years we’ve been blamed for the attacks of these terrorists. We grew up in this neighborhood. This country’s our home.

Good Arab #2: If you find the people who caused today’s bloodshed, then we’ll help you.

And then later:

Good Arab #1: We’re going to stand up and be part of the solution.

Good Arab#2: If our father were here now, he’d be standing next to you, just as we are.

Leaving aside the fact that 3 of CAIR’s board members have been charged with aiding terrorists and that money raised by CAIR has found it’s way into the coffers of Hamas and Hizballah, the idea of a television network bending to this kind of pressure sets a bad precedent.

Whether Arabs are portrayed positively or negatively doesn’t change the fact that there are thousands of Arab muslims bent on killing as many Americans as they can get their hands on. They’ve been trained for it. They’ve dedicated their lives to that end. No amount of pressure by CAIR on TV networks is going to change that singular fact.

So instead of whining about how Arabs are portrayed in the American media, perhaps CAIR and other Arab and muslim organizations could take a page from their own handbook and “stand up and be part of the solution.” As it stands now, they seem more concerned about playing “the victim card” rather than working to expose those in our midst who would do us harm.

Is the Fox TV show “24″ unfair in their portrayal of Muslims?

“It’s disgusting,” [Yosry] Bekhiet said after watching an episode with an Associated Press reporter. “My own kids, if they see this show, they might hate me.” “It seems like on television, everybody has their turn as the bad guys: It happened to the Italians, the Russians. Now it’s our turn,” he said.

Is there justification for this criticism?

Mr. Bekhiet was complaining about the portrayal of the Araz family who were part of a terrorist cell that tried to meltdown dozens of nuclear power plants. The father, Navi was so dedicated to the plot that when his son wasn’t measuring up, he tried to have him killed. When his wife Dina discovered this, she turned against him in an effort to save her son. She ended up being shot by her husband for her trouble.

Certainly not your typical family. But is it unfair? Here’s Robert Spencer of Frontpage Magazine:

24 is a drama about terrorism. Episodes have featured Bosnian terrorists, German terrorists, South American terrorists, and terrorists from a Halliburton-like conglomerate. And, most famously, 24 has featured Muslim terrorists -or at least terrorists with a vaguely Middle Eastern aspect. But while no Bosnians, Germans, South Americans or Halliburton execs contacted the network to complain about the way they were portrayed on the show, when Fox ventured into Islamic terror territory, the network immediately aroused the ire of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Mohamed Heva, a computer network administrator also watched the episode at Bekhiet’s home. He suspects this season’s plot line was intended not only to entertain, but to validate the Bush administration’s foreign policy.

“Sometimes I feel like it’s being done on purpose, to instigate things and to let people know what the administration is doing is right,” he said. “It makes people look at every Muslim as a terrorist. These guys want to melt down reactors and kill Americans. That makes people hate us even more.”

Why this hypersenitivity? Clearly, there’s no evidence that such portrayals make people look “at every Muslim as a terrorist.” But by embracing victimhood, the American Muslims insulate themselves from criticism.

This is the doing of CAIR. There has been no greater advocate of Muslim victimhood in the United States than this shadowy so-called civil rights group who has consistently failed to condemn terrorist acts on Israel and even the United States.

As an example of what CAIR does, this is what happened in the immediate aftermath of 9/11:

In September of 2001, just following the worst terrorist attack ever suffered in modern history, CAIR placed on its website, under a picture of the World Trade Center in flames, a plea for donations. It read, “Donate to the NY/DC Emergency Relief Fund.”

Yet, when people clicked on the link, it did not take them to any NY/DC Emergency Relief Fund. No, it took them straight to the website of the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, an Islamic ‘charity’ that was soon to be shut down by the United States for “raising millions of dollars annually for HAMAS.”

And there are other, more sinister connections between CAIR and terrorism. Three of its top officals have been charged with aiding terrorist organizations. And the Holy Land Foundation itself was finally shut down by the government and its assets seized in 2003.

Then, late last year CAIR met with Fox executives to air their complaints about the story line for “24.” And Fox caved in shamelessly. They altered the story line and promised to run CAIR-made anti discrimination commercials around the country.

Was Fox aware of the CAIR-terrorist connections?

But why was Fox playing ball with CAIR in the first place? Were the execs who met with CAIR representatives aware that three of its officials have been arrested for various terrorist-related activities? Yes, said the source, that is a matter of public record. Are they aware that CAIR founder Nihad Awad helped establish CAIR after working at the Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), where he was public relations director -and that former FBI counterterrorism official Oliver Revell has called the IAP “a front organization for Hamas that engages in propaganda for Islamic militants”? Did they know that Awad himself has declared: “I am in support of the Hamas movement”? Well, yes, said the source, they were aware of allegations that CAIR had some links, however tenuous, with Hamas, but they judged the organization’s complaints on their merits. That’s what Fox always does, he said: it considers not the source of a complaint, but the worthiness of the complaint itself.

So if the Ku Klux Klan called with a complaint, that complaint would be judged on its merits, not its source? That’s a question that only Fox’s cowed executives can answer, and they aren’t talking.

The idea that the American people are too stupid to differentiate between a TV program and real life is ridiculous. All it proves is that CAIR and the American Muslim community in general have discovered that the best way to promote your agenda and deflect criticism of your positions is to play the victim card.

Liberal guilt will take care of the rest.

Cross-Posted at Blogger News Network

Marwan’s escape and the subsequent activation of another terrorist cell means that once again, America is on the terrorist’s clock. This time, with the hint that the attack will be at an Air Force base, you can bet dollars to navy beans that we’re looking at something really grim; probably something to do with nuclear weapons this time.

Speaking of weapons…I was a little skeptical of the “pulse bomb” McGlennon-Forster was using to wipe the computer files until I did a little research…fascinating stuff.

Electromagnetic pulse effects have been observed since the beginning ot the atomic age. They’re caused by the 2 million degree heat generated when a nuclear device is set off. That heat, which lasts for a couple millionths of a second, changes from thermal energy to electromagnetic energy after it cools down. This “pulse” is a line-of-sight effect; that is, the energy can’t penetrate the earth’s crust so it’s pretty much limited to wherever the horizon is. Obviously, if you set it off at ground level, the effect is very limited; about 22 miles from ground zero.

But suppose you send some nukes into low earth orbit? If you set them off in space over North America the effect would be devastating. Everything that uses a micro chip-from cars to toys-would be shut down. Only “hardened” or shielded devices would be exempt from the effects of the blast. It would pretty much destroy western civilization.

Currently, the only practical way to generate the enormous energies required for the effect is the detonation of a nuke. But the Pentagon is working on several non-nuclear alternatives, including something very much like the device on the first floor of the McGlennon-Forster building.

Feel better now? I knew that you would…

SUMMARY

Following Marwan’s escape, Jack and Paul head over to McGlennon-Forster to try and pick up the thread on the terrorist mastermind. Audrey has a request for Jack:

Audrey: Take care of Paul. He’s not like you Jack (a brutal, thuggish, torturer: Ed.). Please promise me you’ll look after him?
Jack: Yeah…I will.

And you know that Jack is willing die to keep that promise. Because when Jack makes a promise, it’s his blood-bond at stake. His word is his life.

Maybe in this case he’ll make an exception? NAAAAAWWWWW!

Meanwhile, as Erin descends into darkness following Maya’s suicide, it becomes apparent that she’s incapable of continuing as director of CTU. Now who should we get to replace her? MMMMMMMM…We need someone with experience, someone with courage, someone who can lead, someone with the cohones to stand up to division when necessary.

And someone with the smarmy good looks and great bod to make female fans keep watching the show!

As predicted by me here Tony is made interim director of CTU. After a brief skirmish with Curtis over turf, Tony jumps right in to help Jack and Paul who’ve arrived at McGlennon-Forster. They’re met by Security VP Dave Conlon (played by Tomas Arana who was Quintas in Gladiator) who promises “full cooperation.”

Meanwhile, Gene McGlennon (played by “Life Goes On” dad Bill Smitrovitch) is convinced by IT VP John Reese to try and cover up Marwan’s full involvement in the shady dealings of the defense contractor. As Paul manipulates the computer system trying to get at Marwan’s files, it becomes obvious to the corporate criminals that the jig is about up. And like the Republicans in Congress, the bad guys decide to go nuclear. They give the order to activate the “pulse bomb” that will wipe every computer in the building-not to mention affect the power grid and land lines for most of Los Angles county.

As the bomb builds up power, the phones go down preventing Tony from telling Jack about the EMP build up. They resort for the first time in television history (as far as I know) to the IM.

Note to producers: Please get some cool emoticons and better fonts for IM windows. And for God’s sake add a little color, will ya? And maybe some neat sound effects like cats meowing or birds chirping or something…

Too late, Jack tries closing the blast doors but the pulse bomb goes off…but not until after Paul has printed out some encoded files from Marwan’s computer. The cascade effect from the pulse knocks out power to most of the city while Jack and Paul try to make their escape from the building. Paul is caught by Conlon/Quintas while Jack, lucky to be alive, hurries towards him.

And Tony? Heller calls Tony into the conference room:

Heller: We got lucky. Division had someone available with the appropriate qualifications and CTU experience. I’d like you to stick around and assist Ms. Deschler.

Tony: Who?

Heller: Do you know her?

Tony: I was married to her!

Indeed…

BODY COUNT

It was brought to my attention by loyal reader Jasimine that I did not include Maya in the body count last week. That change is reflected below:

Jack: 18 dead
Show: 101 dead

We don’t know the casualty figures yet on the power plant meltdown. And since I included the 32 dead from the train wreck from the first night, I guess I’ll have to include however many bit the dust as a result of the meltdown.

LOOSE ENDS

No word on what happened to Baldy who was pistol whipped by Curtis last week. But then, the writers went 4 weeks without a word about Maya and then they killed her off.

Also, the President is still on the plane! Where was he visiting, the moon? He’s been flying for at least 8 hours (we saw him first after Heller had been kidnapped at 11:00 am). Better get on the ground soon or the press is going to have a field day with this.

Who is Jack Bauer?

Is he the nice, sweet guy who always says “please” and “thank you” to co-workers, plays loving boyfriend to nice girl Audrey, and will do anything for a teamate (”I’m gonna need a hacksaw!”)?

Or is he the ultimate “ugly American” whose “get it done at all costs” attitude puts him just slight step above the terrorist trash he so relentlessly pursues?

He is, of course, both…and more. Jack’s complexities can be better explained by looking at American mythical figures like Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett the great hunter/heroes of the early 19th century, as well as other, later heroes created by Hollywood.

Both Boone and Crockett were popular, charismatic men whose charm and good humor masked an almost unfathomable violence that lurked just below the surface. Boone especially proved to be as single-minded as Jack as he pursued his goal of hacking a settlement out of the Kentucky wilderness. Crockett’s well known hard headedness led to both problems in his personal life as well as his ultimate defeat for re-election to Congress in 1836. Both men mirror Jack’s patriotic devotion as well as a willingness to do what ever it takes to succeed.

The myth of the hunter/hero gave way to the lone hero motif popularized by Hollywood. This hero, usually played by a small town sherriff (Gary Cooper in “High Noon”) or the gunfighter with a heart of gold (Alan Ladd in “Shane”), used violence to defeat greater violence. This concept was turned on its head in the 1960’s and 1970’s as the great “anti-heroes” of Clint Eastwood blurred the distinction between good and evil. Dirty Harry got the job done (as did the “Man with No-Name”) but at what cost?

Enter Jack Bauer who’s not quite the Clint anti-hero but not the pure, small town Gary Cooperish protaganist either. He is, in fact, the perfect hero in a post-9/11 world. Torn as America is between getting the job done at all costs while upholding American ideals, Jack simply can’t help himself. He necessarily sees the world in stark relief, a black and white universe populated by some really nasty thugs who don’t even blink at the idea of murdering hundreds of thousands of people. Like Audrey, we recoil at some of Jack’s tactics. But even Audrey recognizes that Jack is the guy doing what needs to be done to keep us safe.

SUMMARY

Jack: Paul, you need to start talking to me now.
Paul: I’ve got nothing to say to you!

BZZZZZZZZZZZZ! Wrong answer!

Try, “Give me makeshift CTU torture devices for $400, Alex”…

Jack, whose one punch knockout of Paul at the end of last week’s episode would have made Oscar de la Hoya green with envy, sets out to determine whether or not Paul is involved with the terrorists. His method for discovering the truth-the gruesome torture of Paul in front of his maybe-not-so-soon-to-be-ex-wife Audrey is puzzling. Was Jack deliberately setting himself up to be hurt when good girl Audrey sees Jack inflicting pain (with some satisfaction) on Paul and starts to have second thoughts about their relationship? After all, he could have insisted that Audrey leave the room. Instead, by allowing Audrey to stay and see Jack’s dark side, he must have known that she would have blanched at his methods. We’ll see.

Thanks to Paul, Jack finds the first link in the chain that leads to Marwan, the leader of the Araz family cell. We learn from Dina (who supplies the next link courtesy of Tony’s exquisitely handled interrogation) that there are other cells who also report to Marwan. And Curtis, who easily escapes the clutches of Baldy and his American turncoats, supplies the final bit of information that allows CTU to close in on the override device.

Cornering Marwan in what appears to be just your typical American IT Department (pretty damn chilling, that) Curtis and Jack secure the override device while Marawan attempts his escape. Enter fat geek Edgar who proceeds to override the override and just in the nick of time save the day…for the moment anyway. We’ve got 13 hours to go folks.

Meanwhile, after more than 4 hours we finally learn the fate of Erin’s daughter Maya. Turns out she’s causing a lot of problems in the CTU infirmary due to her bi-polar disorder, leading to Erin’s frequent absences from the CTU floor.

My respect for Erin has grown tremendously over the past couple of episodes. Tonight, of course, she generated a lot of sympathy even prior to Maya’s suicide. Looking back, I think she handled the enormous pressures of both the job and being a single mother with about as much dignity and grace that someone in that position could. Maya’s suicide at what could only be described as the high point of her professional career was especially poignant.

One hint at what’s coming:

Marwan: The important thing is that one of them (nuke plants) has already melted down.

Despite stopping all the rest of the power plants from melting down, the plant that did meltdown is either a cover for something worse (hard to imagine what) or a signal for something else to begin.

Stay tuned.

BODY COUNT

Curtis takes out two American tunrcoats. Marwan accounts for two CTU agents. CTU takes out Marwan’s main contact at the IT office. We also learned the fate of the back-up CTU agents captured with Curtis last week. This brings us to the century mark for the show.

Jack: 18 dead.
Show: 100 dead.

What happened to Baldy?

LOOSE ENDS

Loyal reader Maryhunter points out that we have more clothing continuity problems. You’ll recall Secretary Heller’s magical change of clothing after escaping from the terrorists. Now Paul has an equally miraculous shirt change from the time he’s brutalized by Jack to the point where he, Jack, and Audrey are driving to the office building to get the override.

Do all rich people carry around spare clothing like this? What am I missing here? This from an email from Maryhunter:

“… that discontinuity of Paul’s shirt suddenly going from stripes to purplish isn’t horribly offensive, because the Jackmeister ripped his old shirt’s buttons all off pre-zappage. (sometime I want someone, perhaps Jack, to rip my shirt off like that…an old one, though…)”

Settle down girl!

Cross-posted at Blogger News Network

It’s offiicial. The terrorists are being aided by good old fashioned red blooded American thugs. Here’s what we know:

1. The terrorists knew that the override device was on the train they deliberately wrecked.

2. Powell, who we saw was working directly with the terrorists and who worked for McGlennon- Forster, creator of the override device, was also working with the thugs.

3. The “mystery man” that Heller’s son Richard was covering for with regards to the kidnapping could very well be his brother-in-law Paul, whose company is part owner of the building where the terrorists planned everything.

SUMMARY

When last we left the Araz family they were having problems that would tax the abilities of the best family therapists around. Bad Dad Navi was about ready to murder his own son (after shooting wife Dina in her attempt to escape with poor, angst -ridden Behruzz). Dina agreed to help CTU if Jack and Tony could rescue her son from the clutches of her murderous husband. And Behruzz? Well, let’s just say that Behruzz is…confused:

Navi: “You’re not my son.”

Navi: “Because you are weak and stand for nothing!”

Jeez…talk about failing to meet your dad’s expectations…

Jack uses Dina as a ruse to keep Navi occupied on the phone while he shimmies down the laundry chute. As luck would have it, the harness of his rappelling outfit bangs the chute on its way up alerting Navi to his presence. No problem. Jack overcomes Navi and, while getting ready to take him into custody, watches helplessly as his best chance to find the override device disappears in a spasm of Oedipal violence. Behruzz extracts his revenge on the fanatical father.

As expected, Jack asks Tony to rejoin CTU and Tony accepts (to the delight of female fans at every “24″ forum around). Tony escorts the remaining members of the Araz family back to CTU for questioning, which will set up a very interesting confrontation next week if, as expected, Tony’s ex-wife Michelle makes an appearance as the representative from Division who is sent to investigate the Maryann fiasco.

Can you say bitchslap ‘dat ho’?

The traitorous Maryann reveals to Curtis that there’s a computer file at Powell’s office that contains the names of people involved in the plot. She convinces Curtis that she’s the only one that can retrieve the data. Whether Maryann would have actually downloaded the file is open to question. When in Powell’s office, she acted as if she expected someone to show up. Someone did. Baldy and his merry band of American thugs broke in on Curtis and Maryann with guns drawn and before Maryann could weasel her way out of it, she gets her just desserts.

Meanwhile, after discovering that Audrey’s soon-to-be-ex Paul has ties to the terrorists, Jack blanches as Audrey volunteers to see Paul and stall him until Jack can get there. Jack arrives at a very opportune moment as Audrey is about to be acccosted by Paul. Stay tuned for next week’s episode where Jack will put the screws to Paul right in front of his soon-to-be-ex wife Audrey.

Speaking of torture, Sarah has Erin over a barrel because Secretary Heller is horning in on Erin’s bureaucratic turf. In exchange for her support, Sarah wants the record of her false arrest expunged. Oh yeah…she also wants a promotion and a double raise in pay grade.

Sarah’s mama didn’t raise no dummies.

Finally, after watching Maryann get whacked, Curtis confronts Baldy:

Curtis: You’re an American. And you’re working with the terrorists?

Baldy: I’m going to ask you one more time. What does CTU know about the override?

Clearly, the override device is the link between middle eastern Islamofascists and American thugs. But who are they? CIA? Corporate spy’s seeking to steal the device?

And have we been told everything about this override device? Perhaps…just perhaps it has the capability to not only melt down power plants but also set off nuclear bombs! If the writers are going to be fanciful about a device that can remotely melt down the nuclear pile of a power plant, why not give the device the ability to remotely detonate nuclear bombs? Hell, maybe they could give it the capability of reproducing the exact recipe for Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey.

Now that would be worth stealing.

BODY COUNT

If this keeps up, poor Jack is going to go through withdrawl symptons again. This time for a lack of kills. I think the medical condition is known as Mortus Corpus absentia .

Jack: 18 dead
Show: 93 dead

Maryann and bad dad Navi bite the dust. We don’t know the condition of the security team that accompanied Curtis and Maryann to Powell’s office.

LOOSE ENDS

We still haven’t heard what happened to Erin’s daughter after being given a drug she was allergic to in the CTU infirmary. Not only that, Erin goes to the infirmary to apologize to Sarah for torturing her even though she was innocent and doesn’t even look in on her daughter? It’s been 4 hours guys,…give!

Maybe the writers forgot about her.

WELCOME ANKLEBITING PUNDIT READERS! I POST ON “24″ EVERY TUESDAY MORNING. THANKS FOR STOPPING BY…AND BOOKMARK THIS SITE!

If there’s one thing about the show that’s been consistent since it began three years ago, it’s the capacity of the writers to surprise the viewer with the unexpected.

The powerplant meltdown last night is a good example of this.

While other shows have the hero saving the day in the nick of time, “24″ has gone beyond this cliched and hackneyed formula for the last three years. First, it was the actual explosion of a nuclear device on American soil. Then, it was the devastating scenes in the hotel last year as the lethal virus killed dozens. And now an actual full blown meltdown of a nuclear power plant with all the attendant confusion, panic, and apparently large number of casualties.

The writers have used these tragedies to draw the viewer in and make the subsequent dangers to the country and the characters even more real and terrifying. I believe this to be the key as to why the show is so popular and why its fans are so rabid (me included).

SUMMARY

The episode opens with Curtis and Erin doing a bureaucratic two step to avoid responsibility for the fiasco regarding Maryann’s penetration of CTU security. Will it work? Probably not. My prediction is either next week or the week after, a representative from division (who’s supposed to be there to look into the security breach at 5:00 pm) will show up, see through the CYA gambit employed by Erin and Curtis, fire the two slackers, and take over CTU operations herself. Who am I talking about?

Who else but Tony’s ex-wife, ungrateful wretch Michelle, who works as Assistant Supervisor at Division.

What do you think Michelle’s reaction is going to be when she finds out that Tony and Jack are partnered up on this thing? Stay tuned for those fireworks!

Meanwhile, bad dad Navi is still looking to kill his wife and son. Dina and Behruzz, after escaping the police at the hospital, hide out in a motel where Dina, in pain from being shot by Navi, sends Behruzz to another hospital nearby to get pain medication from her brother Haseem. The plan backfires when Haseem calls Navi who tells him that Behruzz is a druggie and that he’ll be right over to take him home.

Jack, thanks to some good work by fat geek Edgar, finds out where the Araz’s are hiding. He and Tony, along with a CTU swat team, crash the motel room and capture Dina. Not suprisingly, she refuses to cooperate. That is, until we find out that Homeland Security is listening in on your cell phone conversations whenever they want to and, in the process, pick up the converation Behruzz has with his mother about his father trying to kill him.

It’s nice that Jack now has this leverage to use against Dina, but does it bother anyone else that this kind of technical capacity exists? The National Security Agency (NSA), the most secretive agency in government, has been using this technology to spy in foreign countries for years. Basically, it works without any direct spying on your conversations…unlesss you happen to use a “keyword” that the computer is programmed to recognize in which case your conversation is recorded to be listened to later. Is this too high a price to pay for being safe? I report, you decide.

At any rate, this information lets Jack show what he does best in interrogations; he makes the witness sweat while casually walking into the room, going to the bathroom, washing his hands, then slowly and deliberately drying them. All the while, Dina’s pucker factor has gone up about 10 fold. It makes the conversational tone of his voice when he first starts talking to her that much more effective.

After extracting a promise from Jack to get immunity for Behruzz, Dina agrees to help them. When Jack talks to the President to get the clemency, we see for the first time what kind of guy this Chief Executive is; he ain’t no David Palmer. While Palmer would never double cross Jack in a matter such as this due to a personal debt owed to him for saving his life, we see no such compunction on the part of this President. After agreeing to Jack’s request and hanging up the phone, our President turns to an aide and says “Make sure that document is non-binding.”

Meanwhile back at CTU, in the most affecting scene so far, fat geek Edgar tries to get his mother out of the fall out zone, to no avail. In a heart wrenching phone conversation, she says goodbye making it clear she was going to kill herself rather than go through the horrors of radiation sickness. Edgar, beside himself with worry, starts to leave until confronted by Erin, who convinces him to stay and help prevent further plant meltdowns.

Back at the hospital, when Behruzz realizes that uncle Haseem has accidentally betrayed him, he starts to run only to be confronted by bad dad Navi who, after taking care of Haseem, (the only casualty of the hour) is about to off his own son when Behruzz spills the beans about mom’s betrayal to CTU. Enraged, Navi drags Behruzz to the car only to be confronted by Jack who, after getting hit by the vehicle, miraculously arises unhurt to shoot the tires out and stop Navi from escaping. Just in time, the car driven by Tony with Dina in it shows up to see Navi take Behruzz at gunpoint into the hospital basement. Dina then gets off the most chilling line of the show to date:

Dina: “I believe in my cause. And if you can’t save my son, I’ll be happy to see the reactors meltdown.
Jack (talking on the phone to CTU): “Did you get that?”

Yes, Jack we got it. And we’re all waiting to see how you get us out of this one.

BODY COUNT

At this rate, they’ll be able to take the “Due to some graphic violence…etc.” disclaimer off the beginning ot the show. Only one stiff for the entire hour, poor unsuspecting Haseem who couldn’t possibly believe that his relatives were terrorists. Here’’s the running total:

JACK: 18 dead, 1 gratuitous wounding, 1 viscous pistol whipping.
Show: 91 dead total

LOOSE END

Secretary Heller has shaved and changed into another suit. More continuity problems? Also, while we’ll eventually learn the fate of Erin’s daughter who, last we saw, was near death after getting misdosed by a CTU doctor. Does it bother anyone else that we haven’t heard a thing about her for two hours?

UPDATE:

The comments seem to be down for the moment as are trackbacks. Feel free to click on the “Contact Me” header and send me an email to tell me what you think about my new site design…as well as anything else on your mind.

Kiefer_Sutherland_108504a
Originally uploaded by elvenstar522.

“I don’t want to get caught up in it. I’m staying out of it”.
Tony Almeida

Jyah, shure!

Life’s been a bitch for the former federal prisoner turned unemployed self-pitier Toni. I mean how would you feel if you threw your life and career away for a woman only to have her leave you when things got a little rough? Not only that, you’re now shacked up with the number one piece of slutty trailer trash in all of Orange County, bartender Jen. Top it off with a gun battle where you killed two terrorists before lunch and you have the makings of a real bad day. (Note: Doesn’t anybody ever eat anything on this show? Haven’t these people ever heard of hypoglycemia?)

SUMMARY

After escaping from the terrorist trap at the security firm thanks to Toni’s intervention (and apparently undimmed marksmanship), Jack and Secretary Heller lay a trap for the mole at CTU.

Maryann, on instructions from Powell, “stings the stingers” by setting up Sarah to take the fall. It works. Sarah is arrested and brought to the infamous CTU “Holding Room” where they ought to put a sign up outside the door that reads “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.”

That room has an interesting history over the last few years. Not only did Jack just up and off a terrorist two years ago, this year he kneecapped a guy. Nina was brought there to be browbeaten by Jack, and innumerable traitors, snitches, suspects, terrorists, and moles have graced that gray, empty, forlorn room. And let’s not forget the ordeal of Heller’s now estranged son Richard who went through a “sensory deprivation” experience (somehow, I think it would have been more painful if they had strapped Richard down and made him listen to the soundtrack from “Sound of Music”).

Fat geek Edgar starts to put two and two together and suspects Maryann. He hacks her workstation (what a great co-worker) and finds the message that she sent to Powell. He finally stands up to the witch and goes to Driscoll with the evidence.

Maryann, realizing the jig is up (she has a great sense of self-preservation) tries to escape but is caught by Curtis, who must feel an enormous sense of satisfaction as he nabs her. He orders CTU security to “turn the car inside out.” Security has some help when a bomb goes off and indeed, turns the car inside out and backwards. Maryann hits her head as a result of the explosion and it’s unclear how badly injured she is.

Meanwhile, Audrey is safely returned to CTU headquarters into the loving arms of her father where she’ll probably be safe for oh…say 15 minutes or so. It will also give her estranged husband Paul a chance to work on her while Jack is out saving the country. (Prediction: Paul will suggest that they “go someplace and talk” where Audrey will be kidnapped and once again find herself in the clutches of the merciless terrorists.)

After identifying the man at the Heritage Club party as one Henry Powell who works for McGlennon-Forster, the company that made the override device, CTU discovers that Powell is about ready to flee. Jack gets off the best line of the night in his conversation with Erin about going after Powell:

Erin: Jack, do you need any help?
Jack: No. I want to maintain a low profile.

Heh.

As Jack readies to go after Powell, Tony realizes what he’s been missing and joins him. I think he just wanted to get away from trailer trash Jen. Can you blame him? She looks like the type of woman who would nag a guy just because he wanted to sit around all day, watch TV, and drink beer while letting her work like a slave to support him. Some women just don’t have a sense of humor about those kind of things.

As Jack and Tony arrive at the helipad and discover Powell about ready to take off, Jack drives his car down an embankment and races towards the copter with guns drawn screaming at the pilot to stop.

So much for the low profile.

Powell turns out to be a squirming, sniveling, cowardly wretch. He looks at Tony and Jack’s hackneyed appearance and asks the obvious question:

Powell: Who are you guys? Police? FBI?
Tony: Actually, I’m unemployed.

That turns out to be the last laugh for Powell as he’s subsequently gunned down by a sharpshooter dressed like a SWAT guy (helmet, vest, uniform). Back to square one.

BODY COUNT

A light night for the grim reaper. Two dead; one from the car bomb and Powell. Here’s the running total:

JACK: 18 dead, 1 gratuitous wounding, 1 viscous pistol whipping.
Show: 90 dead total

LOOSE END:

This is a minor point but Heller’s beard changed from scene to scene. When he talked with Jack on the phone, his stubble was quite pronounced. Later when talking to Erin, it was barely visible. Finally, when Audrey got back to CTU, it was different again.

This is a question of continuity and it’s why they have a Continuity Director. Because scenes are shot “out of sequence,” it becomes vital for the Continuity staff to check little details like this.

Bad production values.

That’s it for this week. I’d like to thank all the great people over at “24 Forums” who make it a point to visit every week. I enjoy reading your speculation…keep ‘em coming!