Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 23 / 24 Day 8: 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Series Finale)

As expected there wasn't anything unexpected in the final two episodes of the series other than Chloe shooting Jack. Sadly the writers didn't have much left for the entire season, and I was never under any illusions that the ending of the season would have spectacular twists and turns in what would be a return to 24's classic form.

We got, instead, an entertaining, sometimes emotional, mostly predictable, two hours of television, a series finale that will, without a doubt, be forgotten by history, but provide a nice bookend to a revolutionary television series.

Jack fighting the man kind of runs its banal course into the ground and we see Jack's last ditch attempt to kill Subarov fails and Chloe is caught before the contents of the memory can be decimated. Obviously the information wouldn't get out there with almost an entire hour left. While the main plot dragged on, I loved the return of Jackula and it might have made the episode for me.

President Taylor has to be the dumbest 24 character since Kim circa S1/2. After a bit of inquiry from Dahlia about Meredith Reed. Taylor admits everything--the plot, the coverup. Now why would she do that? She backs up her statement with threat of attack if Dahlia tells anyone? If Taylor is content with lying and deceiving, how about continuing to lie so there's no chance Dahlia would tell anyone?

And in the end, Taylor comes to her senses after hearing a great speech for Jack about a lasting peace built upon trust and turns herself in. There's a big bloodbath in the end, Logan shooting Piller and himself. Taylor gets hold of the mercenaries before they can kill Jack and after a final conversation between Jack and Chloe over the phone--extremely fitting and moving--Jack, still injured, walks off into the great unknown.

Thankfully, the legacy of the show will not be determined by Season 8 or by the later seasons. Regardless of how the last few seasons turned out, and I enjoyed Season 7, 24 will largely be remember for the early seasons, when the stakes were large and the possibilities endless. Jack Bauer has been a cultural phenomenon grown out of badassery (that's a word!) and the writers' willingness to stretch what is acceptable on television with a blend of creative and political flourish. For all the wonderful memories

There is a movie on its way, so who knows, I could be writing about 24 again something soon.

Score: 9.0/10

Preview of Week 05/23/10 - 05/29/10

Lost - ABC, Sunday, May 23, 9:00pm ET

This is THE television event of the year. If you miss it, you're a loser. Nah...but in all seriousness, even those who don't watch the show should watch the series finale. The episode could suck and make no sense, and the show would still be remembered years from now not for the ending but the journey.

24 - Fox, Monday, May 24, 8:00pm ET

Lost (get it?) in all the frenzy about Lost is that 24 will end the very next day. While this season has been rather weak, 24 has had a long 8 season run and is a seminal show in its own right.

Chuck - NBC, Monday, May 24, 8:00pm ET

The third season finale is here and we don't have to worry about a fourth season; the shows already been renewed.  To be honest, part of me doesn't care much because the writers don't have a plan for the Ring, having spent most of the season with the Ring doing random things, but I've read about a mini-gamechanger at the end of the episode.

Law & Order - NBC, Monday, May 24, 10:00pm ET

Another show coming to an end! It doesn't look like the writers wrote the episode as a series finale, so it'll probably be average, but it wouldn't hurt to watch either.

NCIS - CBS, Tuesday, May 25, 8:00pm ET

At the end of last episode, Gibbs was in Mexico with a gun to his head. How will he get out of the shooting he did over 10 years ago and the current situation he is in?

The Good Wife - CBS, Tuesday, May 25, 10:00pm ET

I've said this many times already, but The Good Wife is the best new drama of the year and possibly the best new show of the year. The characters are compelling, the acting is top notch, and there is a perfect balance between the main story arcs and individual stories.

FlashForward - ABC, Thursday, May 27, 8:00pm ET

So the series kind of sucked after the pilot, but I kept watching. FlashForward was another one of those post-Lost shows whose sole intent was to have a big mystery and a large ensemble cast that flopped due to writer incompetency. This should be a cautionary tale to networks at writers that no matter the promotion or initial premise, the show has to work down the stretch and not just in the pilot to be successful.

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 22

Jack Bauer versus everyone. That's essentially how the writers are playing it and they are sapping every bit of life out of the story literally and figuratively. Having wasted all the plot twists (or having none in the first place), the writers have turned towards a one-dimensional type of storytelling which would be good if we haven't seen it 50 times in the past. Jack takes out the Secret Service, snatches Logan, interrogates Logan, and proceeds to slaughter the Russians. Damn, that's all in one hour.

Taylor continues to bury herself and I'm guessing she'll be exiting with even more disgrace than Logan. This time, she clamps down on the press, so Meredith Reed can't get her information out. Chloe and Arlo track down Jack's buddy and get Cole out of jail to help.

The series finale is next week and I don't really care. Jack will go on revenging and the world goes on.

Score: 8.5/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 21 Day 8: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Jack is totally crazy--and that's just about everything going for 24 right now. There are 3 episodes left and the story is still as flat as ever an fundamentally boxed in corner. Somehow I doubt there will be much to turn this season around.

Meredith Reed reentered the picture as Jack asks her to help break the story, leading to a shootout with Russians at the mall. Jack captures Pavel, the Russian agent in contact with Dana, and brutally tortures him for information. When that doesn't work, Jack simply cuts the SIM card out of Pavel's stomach. Renee's death put Jack over the edge and now he's out for blood. Learning that Logan is involved is sure to make his blood boil even more.

Logan wants glory for helping the deal go down, Taylor continues to be clueless, and Logan's evildoers are doing their coverup while Chloe and Arlo get to the bottom of things. There's hardly anything left to really talk about.

Score: 8.7/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 20 Day 8: 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

After this week's episodes, there are two more episodes and then a two-hour series finale, and honestly, all I want is for it to be over. "11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m." was better than a few of the previous duds, because it was mostly action-oriented with a badass ending (so I don't get called a dick again, I won't reveal what happens until later).

The plot is still going nowhere and seems headed toward a big confrontation between Jack and the Russians. President Taylor is burying herself deeper and deeper into the hole, becoming very much like Logan in Season 5. I don't understand why she can't see the obvious parallels (Russians, breaking the law to "help" the country), and since she's actively opposing Jack by letting Logan send in in his goon, I hope she gets what she deserves: public humiliation and prison. Maybe she have have a mother-daughter cell with Olivia.

And finally, the last seconds of the episode--probably the only thing really worth mentioning. Jack kills Dana in cold blood. I don't know exactly what the writers were thinking, but they tried making Dana a slight more sympathetic character by having her kind of care about Cole before she goes out on the street and shoots everyone. Is she someone who got in too deep or plain evil? From my perspective, she's unredeemable but I'm not sure Jack should have killed her, especially if she had other information. I'm guessing whatever is on the tape will make us like her better.

Score: 8.4/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 19 Day 8: 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

What's going on? Plot-wise, not much. On the character side, every inexplicable action imaginable. Somehow, Logan utterly bamboozles Taylor into buying into his wicked ways without providing a good reason other than peace can be achieved if Dana is taken care of. Easy, right? Um...no. But Taylor thinks it's a good direction tactically and morally. Since when did Taylor think like this? She turned in her own daughter for crying out loud.

Jack is off trying to save Dana from her eventual waterboarding while Chloe tricks him to bring him back in. The eventual result is Jack gaining a helpful ally in Cole. More vigilantism in New York. Yay.

As we approach the end of the series, it almost feels like we are also approaching the end of an unfinished rollercoaster. Each move forward brings us closer and closer to the eventual implosion of Season 8, where everyone, including the actors and writers, acknowledges just how bad the show has become. The horizon has no viable story, no viable characters, and no viable drama. Hang on, because we are sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss.

Just wondering, is waterboarding now the kind of de facto torture on 24? We've seen dangerous chemicals pumped into people, body parts cut, people suffocated, people shocked, and waterboarding was the torture for Dana? I hope next week brings something else.

Score: 7.5/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 18 Day 8: 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Whenever Charles Logan is involved in something, automatically it is dirty. He has incriminating evidence on Novakovich and threatens to reveal it unless the Russians sign the treaty. I thought he would look for some quid pro quo from the Russians, but apparently he's actually looking for peace by any means necessary. That means shutting down Jack before he can extract all the information from Dana. Somehow, he is able to influence Taylor to join the dark side which isn't particularly a bad move. The writers paint the opaque situation in a transparent matter. Either Taylor preserves the peace or she upholds justice. There's no other option. The hard choice is made and Jack is the loser.

Jack stealing the helicopter...yeah, everyone saw it coming. Even Chloe was expecting it. The writers are going on the usual rogue --> hero path. It's yawn-worthy by now, but it occupied a small portion of the episode, so it wasn't enough to take away from the overall strength of the episode.

With the show turning to Jack flying around, I'm afraid this hour may be the last good episode before lots of inane yelling and moralizing which doesn't solve anything. Gregory Itzin brings it every time and had great chemistry with Cherry Jones, making for lots of solid scenes and a good episode.

Score: 8.8/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 17 Day 8: 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Wow, where do I start? The episode was transition towards the "we have to stop the Russians arc," but there were many developments in the right direction. The middle section of the season was definitely underwhelming and largely unsalveagable which is why the nuclear material was ditched so quickly, but I like where everything is going.

In eight seasons, Jack has never been laid until now. It finally happened, and soon thereafter, Renee met a fateful ending. How did we not see that coming? (sarcasm intended) With another silent clock at the end of the episode, we've gotten two silent clocks in two consecutive weeks and Renee has received two silent clocks in her two seasons, both of which are unprecedented. Her death puts Jack right back into the action and we'll see what he does next. He hasn't really tortured anyone yet this season, but we could see him bust out the plastic bag.

The treaty is still on as Taylor asks Dalia to fill in for her late husband. The situation is very reminiscent of the Bhutto and Nehru dynasties which makes the situation more believable. The Russians want to disrupt the deal for no apparent reason, and seriously, what's so important about a treaty in the Middle East for the Russians? Renee is killed for recognizing the guy that injected Samir, so there must be something ominous.

Taylor brings in Logan to deal with Novakovich. Logan is more than willing to help with the caveat of not telling Taylor what goes down. So can Taylor trust Logan? The show has repeated the same actions over and over again, it's now surprising if something different happens. It's a toss-up for me. Gregory Itzin always has that look on his face and you can never tell what he's thinking.

Score: 9.0/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 15/16 Day 8: 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m.

Once a plot has momentum on 24, there's no turning back. The writers must commit to something at a certain point in the season after the beginning exposition and for most of the seasons, it worked out fine. This season featured the dreadful nuclear rods story which had no room to grow, and the writers reverted back to every trick we've seen. In a very uneven two hours, the writers managed to resolve the IRK plotline and propel the season in the the third part with the shocking visage of Hassan's throat slit.

The first episode was possibly the worst episode of the season and was spent moseying around the boring retrieval of Hassan and the nuclear rods by the terrorists and CTU. Predictably, Hassan is swapped to another car before the end of the episode while Tarin flips his car. Taylor also confronts the Secretary of Defense and Rob Weiss, arresting them and getting Ethan Kanin to the hospital.

The second episode was one of the better episodes of the season, and would have received at least a 9.0 had it not been weighed down by the first episode. Cole catches Dana who requests for Jack Bauer, knowing he is quick to make deals. She's proven right, and he offers her immunity. She reveals the location of Hassan who Samir is torturing. Even after being shocked many times, Hassan refuses to read his own crimes, so Samir reads them himself and broadcasts it live on the internet. Using the lighting, Chloe is able to pinpoint his location. Jack and Renee arrive and take out the enemies, but find Hassan's throat already cut.

It was unexpected, because it was logistically impossible to prerecord everything minutes before Jack arrived. After Samir decides to read the crimes and puts on the ski mask, the internet feed starts 2 minutes later. From the time Jack and his team arrived to the moment he saw Hassan dead, about 6 minutes has elapsed, so Jack could have gotten there in time.

Now that the IRK story is out of the way, it looks like the Russians will fill the role of the enemy or at least an adversary. Dana was still being paid by someone else which is another direction. I actually think the season will get better.

Score: 8.5/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 14 Day 8: 5:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m.

If you haven't heard yet, this will be the final season of 24. There have been a decline in ratings, and it can be attributed to the quality of the show. The viewers have seen everything already, and the writers don't have something new. "5:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m." was a great example of this, and sadly, this season doesn't seem to be going anywhere good.

The episode begins with Taylor and other important people around a table arguing over whether to bomb the IRK. What? They will do a retaliatory strike against another country while their president is in the U.S.? That would only serve to further destabilize the IRK and delegitimize Hassan in his own country. A military dictator will fill the void and there will be bigger terrorist problems. Rob Weiss and General Brucker keep pushing, but Ethan Kanin doesn't budge.

It turns into a full-blown government conspiracy when Weiss and Brucker don't help Ethan after a heat attack. They send in their attack dogs to capture Hassan and it turns into a long shootout. Amercian soldiers killing Secret Service? Really? Jack captures a soldier alive and learns what's happening. Either Jack turns Hassan over or New York will be irradiated in 20 minutes. Tick, tick tick...

Score: 8.5/10

24 coming to an end

Press release from Fox:

“24: DAY EIGHT” WILL BE THE AWARD-WINNING SERIES’ FINAL SEASON


Two-Hour Series Finale Airs Monday, May 24, on FOX

In a joint decision made by 24’s star and executive producer Kiefer Sutherland, executive producer and showrunner Howard Gordon, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Imagine Entertainment and Fox Broadcasting Company, it was determined that the acclaimed series will end its remarkable eight-season run. Jack Bauer’s last day on FOX will conclude when the final two hours of “Day Eight” air Monday, May 24 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). As the countdown to the series’ climactic conclusion races on, the final 11 hours will air uninterrupted Mondays (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

Multiple award-winning series star Kiefer Sutherland reflected on the show’s run: “This has been the role of a lifetime, and I will never be able to fully express my appreciation to everyone who made it possible. While the end of the series is bittersweet, we always wanted 24 to finish on a high note, so the decision to make the eighth season our last was one we all agreed upon. This feels like the culmination of all our efforts from the writers to the actors to our fantastic crew and everyone at Fox. Looking ahead to the future, Howard Gordon and I are excited about the opportunity to create the feature film version of 24. But when all is said and done, it is the loyal worldwide fan base that made it possible for me to have the experience of playing the role of Jack Bauer, and for that I am eternally grateful.”

Executive producer and showrunner Howard Gordon said, “Kiefer and I have loved every minute of making 24, but we all believe that now is the right time to call it a day. I echo his sentiments of gratitude toward the show’s amazing creative team, as well as the studio and network who have always believed in us and shown us unbelievable support.”

“24 is so much more than just a TV show – it has redefined the drama genre and created one of the most admired action icons in television history,” said Peter Rice, Chairman, Entertainment, Fox Networks Group. Kevin Reilly, President, Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company added, “We are extremely proud of this groundbreaking series and will be forever thankful to Kiefer, the producers, the cast and crew for everything they’ve put into 24 over the years. It’s truly been an amazing and unforgettable eight days.”

“We are so grateful to Kiefer and Howard who have really poured their hearts and souls into making this show over the past eight seasons,” commented Gary Newman and Dana Walden, Chairmen, Twentieth Century Fox Television. “To everyone who contributed to this iconic series over its amazing run, we want to extend our heartfelt appreciation for your incredible work.”

Added Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, “I’m so proud to have been a part of 24, which has become such a cultural phenomenon. And to Kiefer and Howard and everyone who has worked on the show, many thanks.”

Now in its eighth season with Kiefer Sutherland starring as the heroic Jack Bauer, the inventive and suspenseful 24 has been nominated for a total of 68 Emmy Awards, winning for Outstanding Drama Series in 2006. Over the course of seven seasons, Sutherland garnered seven Emmy nominations and one win for Outstanding Lead Actor – Drama Series. While the series gained global recognition, Sutherland’s portrayal of the legendary character penetrated the American psyche like no other dramatic television character to become part of the English lexicon.

Premiering November 6, 2001, 24 employed a pioneering split-screen, fast-paced format with complex interweaving storylines as viewers followed anti-terrorism agent Jack Bauer through 24 pulse-pounding episodes, each covering one hour and presented in real time. Subsequent seasons combined the show’s unique and trend-setting format while delivering compelling new elements and attracting talented actors and guest stars, including the Emmy Award-winning Cherry Jones (President Allison Taylor). The series also currently stars Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O’Brian), Anil Kapoor (Omar Hassan), Annie Wersching (Renee Walker), Katee Sackhoff (Dana Walsh), Mykelti Williamson (Brian Hastings), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Cole Ortiz), Chris Diamantopoulos (Rob Weiss) and John Boyd (Arlo Glass).

The first six seasons were set in Los Angeles, and following the strike-induced delay of Season Seven, “24: Redemption,” a two-hour film bridging Seasons Six and Seven, was set in Africa. Washington, D.C. was the setting for Season Seven, and the final season of 24 finds Jack Bauer thwarting a terrorist attack in New York.

At the conclusion of Season Eight, 24 will have a produced a total of 194 episodes (including “24: Redemption”), making it one of the longest-running action television shows in history.

Tune in Monday, March 29 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) for the next all-new installment of 24 and Monday, April 5 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) for a special two-hour episode.

Created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, 24 is a production of 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine Television in association with Teakwood Lane Productions. Howard Gordon, Evan Katz, David Fury, Manny Coto, Brannon Braga, Brad Turner, Alex Gansa, Kiefer Sutherland and Brian Grazer are executive producers, while Chip Johannessen and Patrick Harbinson serve as co-executive producers. Brad Turner will direct the series finale.

24 will not go down in history as one of the greatest television shows ever nor will it be remembered for the flashy action sequences, but rather the ideas the show dealt with in regards to terrorism, law and the limits of protection the nation. The Bush administration has taken those ideas in stride, justifying "torture" in a similar manner. There have even been accusations of a 24 fetish among the administration.

Premiering a little over a month after 9/11, it struck a chord with the American people. The terrorists were brought into the living room and the defenders of freedom along with them. The unique format of ultra-serialization ushered in a era of serialized television on broadcast networks. The show will have 8 seasons and a total of 192 episodes, an impressive number that is rarely reached in the world of television where the business aspect dominates everything.

24 has had it's ups and downs, mostly downs the past few seasons, and the ratings have suffered as a result. I haven't liked this season, but knowing that Jack won't be back next year makes a little sad. My heart will always be yearning for Jack and low-pitched growl, signaling an impending doom. Still, there is lots of talk about a film, but the idea is still in it's inception. We can only hope for the best.

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 13 Day 8: 4:00 a.m. – 5:00 a.m.

"CTU is blind, deaf, and dumb." That's definitely a quote for the ages.

Speaking as a huge 24 fan, this episode was awesome. It was action from start to finish, Rambo Chloe showed up, and Renee came back with a bang. I couldn't care less how many stupid NSA or CTU agents there are, how terrible the dialogue was at times, how The main characters were bad ass, and that's all that mattered.

I know most people will be ragging on the episode for the "twist" at the end. Dana kills Bill Prady and calls Omar. Cue ominous music. Yeah, whatever... It's past halfway into the season and after an idiotic storyline about her past, she randomly calls the terrorist. Sure moles are old, but look at the bright side. At least it's better than anything Kevin/Bill could have been.

The story was almost nonexistent, except the terrorists got away with the fuel rods. CTU is partially functioning due to the daring (insanity?) of Chloe, and did I mention the return of Renee?? She arrives in literally a split second to save Jack and Cole, and cradle Jack in her arms.

It seems like the writers are trying to recreate the Palmers with the Hassans, but it's not working. They're boring me to death and they have a knack for being really obnoxious at the wrong times.

Score: 9.5/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 12 Day 8: 3:00 a.m. – 4:00 a.m.

Finally, something happened, but it was in the last minute of the episode. The rest of the episode was spent following Dalia whine incessantly, Dana continuing to be stupid, and Jack and Cole running around guns drawn, accomplishing nothing. I'm predicting the rest of the season gets better, so hopefully this is the last mediocre episode for a long while.

CTU has been attacked like 5 times before, so it's not a new thing. The effect, however, is as real as ever. When the very core of the group whose sole purpose is to fight terrorism is attacked by the terrorists themselves, it dramatically alters the stakes It personalizes the story and makes the situation more dire. And that's where Jack Bauer comes in.

I think we can officially call Dana's storyline the worst storyline in 24 history. It's worse than Teri's amnesia, Kim's trip in the woods, Chase's baby, or anything Audrey relate. Dana may be stupider than Kim and Milo combined. She openly invites Ben Prady into CTU, and finds out that he knows everything. There's a point when she has to say no, and it appears he would literally have to come in with a gun and start shooting everyone before she puts an end to the madness. When Prady comes wandering into the operations area of CTU, Dana leisurely takes her time. There's a terrorist threat!! Get your priorities straight! And if you want to deal with Prady first, actually deal with him!!

It seemed like everyone other than the terrorists were acting completely stupid in the episode. The details of the episode were largely insignificant since the ending was all the mattered. Everything will invariably change from this point forward. Let's not dwell on 12 boring episode and look towards the last half of the season. It will most likely be the final season after all.

Score: 8.5/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 11 Day 8: 2:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m.

I started the season wanting to write long reviews for 24. I'm a huge fan of the show, and the serialized nature of the show gives itself to longer write-ups. Given how mundane this season is, my motivation has dropped drastically. If there is an episode that stands outs, I'll write a bit longer, but if not, I'll give it the usual treatment.

Until the final 10 minutes of the episode, I was sitting there, bored out of my mind, waiting for something to happen. Well, something did happen with the explosion of Marcos into a bloody mess on the door and the revelation that Tarin is a traitor. Tarin as a traitor wasn't too shocking, but Marcos getting blown up was jarring and the lingering shot on the door was terrific

The rest of the episode was spent with the usuals. Jack brings in Marcos's mother for the interrogation. At first, Jack lets her talk to him, but slowly, he turns to threats. Jack still has his edge, and while we haven't seen him do anything too terrible this season, the specter of his deadly, brutal past is still there.

Dana continues to be stupid, taking a call from Kevin's probation officer, Bill Prady (Stephen Root). He has those crazy eyes, but Dana keeps talking to him. She actually agrees to meet him Why can't she just keep to herself and do her job?

Score: 8.5/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 10 Day 8: 1:00 a.m. – 2:00 a.m.

I'll keep this short, because I still have to watch Chuck, and well, this season is boring and doesn't deserve long reviews. I would rather do longer reviews for Damages, but that's for another time.

CTU's plan to save Farhad fails miserably as they arrive mere seconds after Farhad decides to be a doofus and get out so he can be shot twice. He dies, but Jack has a plan: set a trap. Pretend that Farhad is still alive, so the bad guys have to kill him. One of the terrorists named Marcos, who is half white, has an explosive vest. He walks right up to the hospital entrance where Agent Owens is standing. Owens is the wussiest agent ever, and Jack leaves him alone. Chloe even identifies Marcos before he reaches Owens, but Jack has him stay there. Marcos uses Owens to find Farhad. Now if Owens had just gone back inside, Marcos would have no clue where Farhad was, and he could be stopped. His vest is nullified by some sci-fi tech, and is trapped by CTU. Marcos leaps through a window, and barricades himself in a container.

The missing factor to all of this is an enemy. Is there someone else pulling the strings? The writers are going with the personal route. Before leaving, Marcos calls his mother and tells her to leave the city. It's find, but where's the big picture? And more importantly, where's the mole?

Back at the UN, Taylor threatens Hassan with retaliation with the nuclear attack succeeds. I assume it's a bluff since it's only reasonable in Cheney/Rumsfeld/Wolfowitz land, but Hassan buys it anyways, and gives her the nuclear files. Tarin escapes while being transported to the embassy, and hooks up with Kayla at the hospital.

Dana and Cole dump the bodies of Kevin and crazy into the lake. Their foresight extends to about 10 minutes, because there must be evidence all over the place.

Renee makes a brief appearance to talk with Jack, and he confirms that he wants to be with her. She's not in the promo for the next episode, so it may be a while until we see her again. She's been one of the few positives this season, so I'd like to see her do some crime fighting that doesn't involve undercover work.

So that's it. Is anyone excited about anything?

Score: 8.7/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 9 Day 8: 12:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m.

After a chain of weak episodes, the show is back on track and zooming ahead in the right direction. This episode has given me confidence that the season will turn out fine. The main nuclear material story took a few turns, upping the ante, the Jenny/Dana debacle took an expected but necessary turn, and Jack is on top of his game and getting the girl at the same time. Not only were all the stories above average, the episode was as suspenseful as any episode. Before I get ahead of myself, this is only one episode in what I consider a sub-par season, but for one week, we can rejoice.

The turnover rate for the nuclear material erupted into fury within an hour, spanning the end of the last episode to about halfway through this episode. Josef has the nuclear material at the beginning of the episode, and is in contact with CTU, ready to cooperate. In an instant, he is killed by Samir, and the Russians have essentially become a moot point. 24 is so different than other shows, because it's a real time show, but in a day, the power transfers and threats, can switch between so many people, the perceived threat in the beginning never has any consequence in the end. Farhad has it, but who would listen to this short, greasy haired guy with a whiny voice? Nobody. Samir prepares to take him out, but Farhad escapes, hurt, and calls CTU who sends in backup. There's finally a real threat towards America, a clear enemy, and an objective. It's a good start, and one that should have occurred before the ninth episode, so we'll see what the writers do.

It's nearly impossible to create a real romantic relationship on 24, but the writers are trying this season. Fans of the show have made fun or hated Jack's past girls that weren't Teri or Nina Myers. They do have a point with the boring Kate, crying/turnip Audrey, and weird Marilyn. Renee may break the streak. She can be tough and smart, and there has been an indirect that Jack wants to be with her. Sounds good so far, but she's broken. I don't know how better to put it, but that's what she is. With what went on with Wilson and now Vladimir, Renee is struggling to keep everything together. The real relationship stuff will happen off screen, so the payoff of a happy Jack and Renee will never really happen.

White House aide Rob Weiss sees a coming disaster, and takes preemptive action by instructing Hastings to set Renee up for the fall. A DOJ lawyer is going to catch her on a murder charge. Hastings, who has no spine, crumbles like wet cookie and goes along with the plan. The lawyer, Kristin Smith, comes in and immediately puts Renee on the spot. Smith is an angry, spiteful bitch and tears down Renee's world. It's infuriating, it's exactly what the writers wanted, and it's good television.

Jack arrives to save the day, and doesn't think about anything other than saving Renee. He gets tasered, and is about to leave when he hears the attack plan from Agent Owens, who will lead the team to retrieve the nuclear material and save Farhad. Jack makes a passing comment while leaving that the plan isn't that simple. It catches Hastings's attention, and Hastings brings Jack back into the fold.

There could be a quick resolution to Dana's story sooner than expected. Cole shows up right before Dana makes her final approach with her silenced gun, and forces her to tell her everything. She tells him everything, and Cole decides to get out of his car and deal with Kevin and Shane. When he arrives, he gives them two options. Go to jail or get lost. CTU, the top anti-terrorist group in the United States, hires boneheads like Dana and Cole.

Even after hearing Dana tell him that Kevin went back on his word, Cole offers Kevin another out. Second time's is the charm, right? For Kevin it is, but Shane kills Kevin and goes out to kill Cole and Dana. At the last moment, Kevin yells out Jenny, alerting Cole and Dana fast enough so they can get out of the way. Cole kills Shane, so there's now two bodies and a future cover up. Remarkably, after all she been put through, Dana first runs over to Kevin and cradles him as he dies. Nice move in front of your fiancé. I know some will complain that Kevin and Shane was unnecessary, but it got rid of an annoying, extraneous factor, so the focus would be on two main characters that are involved in a heinous crime.

The episode was scant on action, but the writers proved they don't need nonstop action to create a great episode. I'm guessing there will be plenty of action next week with Jack in charge of the operation, so fans that watch for action will be satisfied.

Score: 9.2/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 8 Day 8: 11:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

I can't say I like this season so far, and this week's episode did little to change that, but the episode was enjoyable for what it is--Jack being Jack. We've seen him do everything before, so it's not like anything was that surprising. When Jack is kidnapped, he gets tortured, then escapes by an act of awesomeness. The Jack Bauer legend is carried on the fact that he does incredible things all the time with ease, and watching the feats over an over again doesn't get old. I was watching Count Jackula in season 6 the other day and it was still cool. He has an aura around him that makes non-fans laugh (in derision) and fans cheer.

Sergei takes Jack to the back and has his torture specialist, Dimitri go to work on him. He starts shocking Jack and messing around with the stab wound. Like any villain who is going to be killed, Dimitri is all alone and doesn't know the power of Jack. Jack makes great use of his legs and shocks Dimitri unconscious. Then he uses his legs to break the pipe and again uses his legs to choke Dimitri to death. He still has a gang of Russians to take on, and he dispatches them, leaving Sergei to be interrogated.

Family is still most important to Sergei who snaps up a plea deal after talking to President Taylor. Jack doesn't want to go the interrogation route because Sergei has been hardened already. (But when did that stop him before?) Sergei readily spills all the information, but when Cole and his team arrive at the way station, there's a few dead Russians, and a necklace of Oleg that Josef had taken. Josef is now the one with the nuclear fuel rods. There's no way Sergei can be a threat anymore, so Josef looks like he'll be the big bad for a few episodes until another player rises to the top.

It was a twist I didn't see coming, mostly because Josef seemed the sentimental type after making a big deal of his brother's death. I guess he's no different than his father; they would kill countless people as long as their family is safe. The weird world of family bonds can be taken to the extreme on 24 and still be completely normal.

The focus on Jack left little time to the subplots which have been very weak. Kevin and Nick want more money and they push Dana to continue giving them information. She's an idiot for not expecting that, but she decides to deal with them herself. She packs a gun and head off to the strip club they're at. Arlo has photos on her and Kevin, and after talking to Cole, he's on her trail and talking to Arlo, so it's crashing down on her quickly. Hopefully, the story resolves itself quickly, because it's unoriginal and makes us dislike the characters involved. Arlo, Dana, Cole, Kevin, and Nick are just annoyances with no relevance to the main story. I thought the writers would tie in Kevin and the Russians, but there's eight episodes and no indication of that.

Hassan is getting crazier and crazier by the second and appears to be more Kim Jong Il than Robert Mugabe. Kayla tries to talk reason into him, but gives him more evidence, by his twisted logic, to become more paranoid. She tells him she has been in love with Tarin for a year. Hassan thinks that Tarin wooed his daughter to get closer to him. What a genius.

Renee takes it upon herself to make sure Jack is safe. She is the reason why he was captured (though the situation could have been avoided entirely), and it's hitting her hard. The one person who cared about her might be dead, and it completely crushes her. She's sent for a psych evaluation, but she doesn't appear for the last fourth of the episode.

We're a third of the way through the season there hasn't been much to look forward to. Hassan's story is going slowly with a big showdown looming. Dana's sticky situation is only sticky. The main nuclear material story is pretty weak. Even a mole who be a welcome change to these stories. The only thing going for this season is the developing relationship between Renee and Jack. I hate to be down on the show, especially if it is going to be the final season, but it's looking more and more like the show has run it's course.

Score: 8.9/10

Preview of Week 02/14/10 - 02/20/10

24 - Fox, Monday, February 15, 9:00pm ET

Jack Bauer is tortured for the umpteenth time. We'll see if it's any different than before. Other than that, the promos haven't revealed much, so there may be a few unexpected twists.


Leverage, TNT, Wednesday, February 17, 10:pm ET

The season finale is finally here, and the second episode of the two-parter features the return of Mark Shepard as Sterling, the newly minted Interpol agent who is out for blood.

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 7 Day 8: 10:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

We finally got a classic "Bauer" moment. Jack pulls the knife out of him and throws it into a guy's throat. Then he gets up, still bleeding from the stab wound, and shoots a couple more times. After that, he proceeds to cozy up to Renee. Not as badass as walking around after his heart stops, but damn close.

What happens leading up to that isn't very interesting, but the last 15-20 minutes were exhilarating to say the least. Jack arrives and tries talking Renee about talking things forward, but she insists in pressing Vladimir, and does so successfully. He calls a few numbers including Sergei, but stops when no one has nuclear material. Renee continues pressing him in almost a maniacal manner until the flips and starts punching her. In turn, she pulls a knife and starts stabbing him. Jack comes in and also gets stabbed which is when his heroics start.

Sergei sends a team to deal with Vladimir because no one is supposed to know about the nuclear material, and instead they find three bodies and Jack. Jack's great plan is to have CTU track him to their headquarters. One catch though. The Russians travel by sewer. No aerial surveillance and no way to track where they go.

CTU is lucky Renee held it together for almost 3 hours, because she totally went off the rails in the most unfortunate time when Vladimir actually got a hold of Sergei. While she was undercover, we see her trying to keep it together, and finally she explodes, but becomes the sobbing mess we saw her in several times last season. Next week, anything can be in store.

Kevin and Nick steal stuff from the police warehouse with the help of Dana and almost get caught, but take out a security guard to Dana's dismay. Dana is stupid in general, CTU is stupid for hiring her, and Kevin and Nick are stupidest of all. What may be stupider is the storyline itself. Hastings is all over her for being distracted, but she may be the bigger problem at CTU once her activities come into the light. The storyline is going nowhere and there haven't been any twists yet. Someone will find out what she did and use it as leverage against her, or CTU will find out and kick her out. A big problem is that we don't care about Dana. She has no personality and Kevin popping up has only allowed her to be scared. In between the ridiculous scenes with Kevin, we don't see the dynamic between Dana and Cole. On the outside, their relationship is as bland and boring as the characters.

Hassan's reign of terror is continuing with no end in sight. He continues to crack down on dissents back in Kamistan, and now he wants to torture the wife and child of Jamot, the advisor he arrested last week. Tarin's tries talking him about of it, and Hassan feigns that he will stop, but Tarin sees through him. Hassan gets another advisor to carry out the torture of Jamot's family and sends people to grab Tarin. Tarin talks to Kayla before he is dragged off, so she may make some moves. President Taylor is also getting worried about him, so maybe she'll do something soon. Her role has decreased significantly this season even though the season started with a treaty being signed by her. While the story seems to have no connection to the Russians, especially since Farhad hasn't shown up for two episodes, Taylor stepping in a stopping Hassan's madness would be cool.

I'm still waiting for something big to happen, and that's most likely to come from Jack finally getting involved. The other stories are simply boring, but I'm always hopeful more will come of it.

Score: 8.6/10

Review - 24 Season 8 Episode 6 Day 8: 9:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

We're six episodes in and it's safe to say the Renee story far outclasses the other storylines. There's no competition, and I doubt the rest of the stories can make up for the slow start. Not only is there more time dedicated to Renee's story, there is also a difference in quality. I don't see the big picture for the other stories, but there is a distinct direction of Renee's story.

Vladimir is as crazy as he is on file and starts latching onto Renee, who is clearly reluctant to do anything with him, but this is her job and she'll get it done. Without fulfilling her obligations to crack the case, she has nothing to live for. He wants sex, and she goes along with whatever he wants. She ditches the communication device which is good news for Jack who would go ballistic if he heard everything that went on. Jack, pretending to be a German arms dealer, meets up with Vladimir's goons and takes them out with the help of Cole before they can take him out. Renee manages to cajole Vlad into keeping the deal alive.

Hassan is looking more and more than any old tin-pot dictator. He's still cracking down back home despite President Taylor's warning, and he's even taking it to the next level, arresting one of his own inner circle members whose cousin was arrested. Hassan may be justified in taking extra precautions because there was just an assassination attempt, but he's using tactics any authoritarian ruler would do. He's makes a bigger deal out of something so he can justify the most stringent of actions. The good thing is one the guys around him makes a call to Hassan's daughter. Could there be a coup coming?

The story with Dana/Jenny is still moving at a snail's pace. Her plan to get Kevin the money is to provide him easy access to steal it. You'd think she'd be to come up with an electronic method, but no, she decides to give him schematics and a key card to a place where money from a drug bust is locked up. The lecherous scoundrel Arlo is finally doing something other than making passes at Dana. He decides to be nosy and pokes around the surveillance footage and finds Dana talking with Kevin. Chloe had about one line the entire episode and it was a good one. She tells off Arlo in Chloe fashion with her passive-aggressive attitude and scowl.

I'm not sure what the hell is going on with Sergei and his sons. He has the nuclear material so he is significant to the season, but the story is going in circles for the sole purpose to show he is ruthless. Josef's brother, Oleg,  seems to be doing well when his father's men come in the clinic and grab him, killing everyone else there in the process. Back at their HQ, Sergei kills Oleg. He's dangerous, he's unhinged, and he'll kill anyone. We get it.

This season with exception of Jack and Renee has been bland, and that's part of the problem with reviewing individual episodes of a heavily serialized show. There is usually some form of payoff for everything that happens further down the road, but we can't see it yet. Everything is building to something. In the grand scheme of things, stories that don't seem good in the beginning can become better in the end by default of the story playing itself out or because it is enforced by intersection with another story.

Score: 8.6/10