Dare I say it? We have reached what some may consider a mid-season lull, of sorts, on 24. Some may say that the show is reverting back to old form, but I for one cannot complain. As fast-paced as this season has been, you know there were have to fit a few moments when you weren't on the edge of your seat trying to suppress the oncoming heart attack as your pulse races with every passing minute. Phew! I am tired just thinking about all of that other action. Besides, I thing we can make a argument that this is the calm before the oncoming storm of action that will take us through the last several episodes. And although I believe it all would have been better if Dina Araz was still stirring shit up, I'll shut up about that now and get on with the rest of our story.
Air Force One, it's just been kind of flying in the air for a long time without worrying too much about what was on the ground. And really, why would you leave? I am sure you got all the booze you need, you got a nice office and a plasma television. We find out that the President's son was on board, so it likely has a Playstation. Refuel in mid-air a couple of times, and you are good to go. The president has other ideas though. He thinks that the American people will want to hear from him, and he is right. Americans would have loved to have heard from him, 10 HOURS AGO! Wouldn't it have been better to land at some air force base right after Heller was captured? Perhaps when the nuclear reactors were melting down? Why the sudden urge to get on the ground?
We all know why he should have a sudden urge to get back down, because we know that their is an F117 out on the loose, and it has the president's plane written all over it. You have to hand it to Marwan, he really knew what he was doing. He knew that you could count on government bureaucracy to fail with only the smallest bit of distraction. Behroos was that distraction, and it looked like Marwan's plan was going to work better than even he had expected.
If there was one thing that Marwan didn't plan on, it was the resourcefulness of Jack, who was able to take two wires from the phone system and create an overload that CTU would be able to see on the phone companies grid layout. He was happily conducting his business, unaware that CTU was bearing down on him, and there was quite a few things that he had to take care of. Our pilot, Mitch Anderson (sad that I can only think of Baywatch when I hear the name Mitch) had a roommate, and this roommate was a little sloppy. Apparently he had left a hard drive around that may contain some information about the mission. Marwan sent Nicole, the woman who had slept with the original pilot, to check out the apartment, and she was having trouble finding anything. She suggested that Marwan contact Mitch.
So, what to do when you need to reach a pilot who is miles away and happens to be flying in a stealth fighter? You use his cell phone of course. Now, I am sure that the people at Imagine did some research, and maybe we are supposed to suspend some disbelief for a minute, but with all of that Stealth technology that is supposed to block any sort of transmission from tracking it's location, how does a simple cell communication get through loud and clear? Well, I am not sure, but it happens, just long enough for Mitch to say that he has no idea what Nicole is talking about.
Comments (17)
i don't think there's been a lull. i love this show! although i doubt the president is dead.
1 of 17 | Posted by sara | Posted on April 6, 2005 8:33 AM
I think CTU needs some help from Andy Sipowitiz. Any cop working knows if you enter into a home that's been trashed you pull out your gun and clear the house. And I know there's a manpower shortage in the terroist suppression fields but put a couple of people on the roof with some night vision or infra-red things to seal the perimeter. CTU is starting to look like the CIA.
2 of 17 | Posted by Bob Radcliffe | Posted on April 6, 2005 8:46 AM
The president is totally dead. 24 loves to do things when you least expect it and there's no love for President Keeler - he's barely been developed. On 24, that's a guaranteed death sentence.
3 of 17 | Posted by Dave | Posted on April 6, 2005 9:11 AM
CTU did not set up a HARD perimeter. If Michelle had set up a HARD perimeter (which is what she should have done) no doubt Marwan would have been captured. She only ordered an extended perimeter and that was her mistake. Maybe she was distracted by her former paramour Buchanan.
Also Mitch Anderson could be in big trouble for not turning off his cell phone before takeoff and leaving it off for the duration of his flight. All experienced travelers should know that.
4 of 17 | Posted by B-dub | Posted on April 6, 2005 9:20 AM
Once again, timelines are too tight. That woman shot up the real agent and disposed of her body so that two CTU agents could tear the house apart and not find it. And she did it in 5 minutes! Not since Shoreh Agadoshou (or whatever) memorized her entire CTU-written back story in the 30 seconds it took them to drive across L.A. have I been so impressed.
5 of 17 | Posted by drew | Posted on April 6, 2005 9:38 AM
love this show, miss the 2 hours back-to-back they had the first few episodes this season. but sometimes the suspension of disbelief is hard to swallow, even for simple things like why wouldn't Marwan blow up the entire building, why just the computers, he's not planning on redecorating, is he? What about Behroooooooz, was he in the building? Where's Senator Keehler (not that i miss him)? I love this show, agree it is in a bit of a lull, but have hope for the future (hoping somehow sherry palmer didn't die because Marwan is the only bad guy, and this show has great bad girls, maybe Kim can come back as Sherry Palmer i.e. Face/Off like they did on Alias and stir up some trouble).
6 of 17 | Posted by Chris | Posted on April 6, 2005 10:27 AM
i concur--this week's hour was a bit of a snooze, and when it wasn't dull, it stretched credibility to the breaking point. opie cunningham--er, mitch anderson shooting down air force one might have been a good way to rev the intensity back up, but where did the writers get the idea that the president would be safer in an airplane headed towards the vicinity of a nuclear reactor meltdown than in a bomb/radiation proof bunker? nevermind the fact that anyone who's seen 'broken arrow' knows that it takes a little more than a bloody thumb to swipe a billion dollar airplane, or that said airplane is a bomber, not a fighter. and since when do telephone wires give off sparks? and how does CTU keep forgetting to include back doors, roofs, and fire escapes in their hard perimeters? i mean, i know marwan is slick--he's the mummy after all; i'm sure he could just turn into a cloud of dust and float away if he needed to--but starsky and hutch definitely would have covered the fire escape. paul's paralyzed? how convenient! i know it's jack bauer's lot in life to get screwed over again and again despite being a three-time savior-of-the-planet, but really--this is a bit much.
thankfully, little mitchie's attack on the prez and his poor sweet motherless son should bring the pace back up so we don't have as much time to notice the story's increasingly implausible turns.
7 of 17 | Posted by jack | Posted on April 6, 2005 10:35 AM
Hi-larry-us recap! My co-worker was like "what's your problem"...i was laughing so hard.
I loved last nights episode. No lull for me. Nicole kicked ass. That is one tough beeotch & I wished she got away so she could haunt Jack in future episodes.
Why would the president land his plane in LA of all places during a national crisis? Why not do what King George did after 911 and disappear for a week.
8 of 17 | Posted by America's Next Top Fan | Posted on April 6, 2005 11:03 AM
Hi-larry-us recap! My co-worker was like "what's your problem"...i was laughing so hard.
I loved last nights episode. No lull for me. Nicole kicked ass. That is one tough beeotch & I wished she got away so she could haunt Jack in future episodes.
Why would the president land his plane in LA of all places during a national crisis? Why not do what King George did after 911 and disappear for a week.
9 of 17 | Posted by America's Next Top Fan | Posted on April 6, 2005 11:06 AM
This one did stretch things a bit, even for 24. I mean, how many times is that slippery mummy gonna escape? And Chris is right, where was Behrooz?? Did he Afro his way out of there?
Did anyone else notice Palmer's old chief of staff talking to the VP in the preview? His name was Mike something...
10 of 17 | Posted by dumbanddumber | Posted on April 6, 2005 1:41 PM
Thats Mike "Fuck Face" Novick you're talking about there. Which furthers my theory that Heller is either behind or in on the day's plot.
11 of 17 | Posted by Papercuts! | Posted on April 6, 2005 1:50 PM
Actually, did Anderson have a cell phone in the plane? It actually looked like one of the new(-ish) Iridium phones, a la:
http://www.satwest.com/aviation_satellite.html
It seemed to have the large antenna you see with a sat phone.
12 of 17 | Posted by TheMatt | Posted on April 6, 2005 2:20 PM
Michelle's doing Buchanan????? EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!
Tony could use a quote from Adam Sandler in Big Daddy, "I know you'll be missing me when you got that big, white, wrinkly body on top of you with his loose skin and old balls!"
13 of 17 | Posted by Amy | Posted on April 6, 2005 2:34 PM
I totally thought they brought Leslie Hope (who played Teri Bauer) back to play Agent Drake. It was spooky. I can't wait for Palmer to come back, he is awesome.
BTW--Audrey is in on all this. She has some grudge against her father or something. She's Nina again. You KNOW this show has to have a great villianess a la Nina and Sherry and that crazy blonde chick that killed her fiance that one year. I am sure the reason will be a good one and she will reveal it right after she kills a main character...hmmm...maybe Tony?
14 of 17 | Posted by Lauren | Posted on April 6, 2005 4:10 PM
Lauren, I have been thinking all along that Audrey has something to do with all this. She is in the perfect position to get information, and nobody suspects her.
15 of 17 | Posted by Katrina | Posted on April 6, 2005 9:54 PM
I'm sorry but Audrey has to be the dumbest, hardest to watch character on 24 since Kim. Her facial contortions alone bring me pain every week. "What do I do? What do I say? Where am I?" And every now and then they stick some glasses on her and make her act smart. It's not working.
I think last week was the dullest episode with this week coming in a close 2nd.
Papercuts - Why would Palmer's old chief of staff talking to the VP make you think that Heller is behind any of this? I would love it if he and Audrey were both in on it, but Audrey is a horrible actress (i.e. the sheer terror on her face during the abduction). We've got to see a return of Heller's crazy son.
BRING ON PALMER!!!!
16 of 17 | Posted by RealityTV4Me | Posted on April 7, 2005 6:59 AM
I've suspected Secretery Heller since about hour 8. Most of the calls he's making have been downright suspect, especially when he encouraged the President to stay in the air.
It's Fuck Face Novick's PRESENCE that has sent alarm bells off, rather than seeing him talking to the Veep. We know he's not one of the good guys and since he works for the gub'ment, he could easily be tied to what i think is Heller's plot.
17 of 17 | Posted by Papercuts! | Posted on April 7, 2005 7:13 AM