So this is the "24" blog, 17 episodes too late and on one of the most inconsistent seasons to date. Basically this will contain my nerd-like ramblings about my thoughts on the episode and where the crap I think this perpetual trainwreck may be headed. So let's jump into it....

Usually it's not a good sign when the main star the show centers around is absent for most of the running time of the show, or, in this case, the season. Jack has bounced around from being a tortured soul with nothing to lose (lasted a few good hours, before shaking off years of mindbending assault in a Chinese camp) to "Guy That Just Above Alive Curtis" and, now, thank God, back to being the focal point of the show.

This season has been lacking in both action and characters. You can throw a million Milos, Nadias (really, you could, she's good eye candy) and Boyles but without any depth - drinking problems and forced love angles don't count - we don't care. Gone are Tony, Michelle, Edgar and countless other characters who we cared about. Now, without many interesting characters, you'd think the show would lean more heavily on Jack - it doesn't and it suffers.

Granted, I won't lie and say there weren't some good parts that I got excited, just far few less than other seasons. Not to mention many hours wasted on watching an Irish techie have boughts with alcohol and the guy from "Matrix: Revolutions" be a part of honestly the most useless and unnecessary subplots known to man. Not to mention all of the bland subplots in what now is more-or-less a useless waste of White House in-fights and betrayals.

With all that being said, I enjoyed tonight's episode - more than most as of late. It was Jack-centric, which was a plus. The whole preview for last week gave the fake tease that Jack died and anyone that fell for that clearly has had too much fresh air and has never seen more than 15 minutes of any previous episode of "24." Also, the President Palmer going all crazy and nuking only to be a fluke - yes, I was fooled but I still think, for the most part, it was a pointless ploy.

But the "terrorists" stealing Fayed and killing Jack and Doyle, that was gold. I was crying foul as the same "car-hits-car-with-terrorist-inside-and-he-gets-away" as done is past seasons. But for it to be a ploy was something I didn't expect as I thought the writers had finally stooped to the lowest level of recycling.

But the fight between Jack and Fayed - excellent. No fancy choreography or terrible dialogue. It was, as my friend Yost said, a Man-fight. Both pummeled, kicked and bludgeoned only for Jack for send his regards to Fayed's kin and send him off to the afterlife. It was a rare moment where I really did care about what was going on- which says alot since Fayed was just another cookie cutter terrorist.

Which finally leads us to the Chinese and their inevitable comeback to the show. As with Jack's fake death, no one really believed Audrey was dead because "24" only keeps characters that have little substanse or relevance. But I'm glad Jack's going to get her because that, Lord willing, means less old people yelling at each other in the White House bunker and more Jack squaring off against the Crazy 88.

In Closing - Tonight's show - A solid B+

And, for the record, I'd like to list the unresolved plots - whether I care for them or not. These are purely to see if the writers care to resolve them by season's end.

- Jack's Dad (Where did he go? Did "Babe" get sick? Will he ever be a cohesive villain?

- Will President Palmer die? (Sorry Wayne, you were no David.)

- Does Palmer's sister serve any purpose, whatsoever?

- Will Nadia receive any background besides being Arabic (and hot)?

- Was there a point in bringing Milo back?

- Whatever happened to Brother Lowe and Conspiracy Co.? (I really don't care, but I had to bring it up.)

- What about the rest of the Blue Tooth Mafia?

- Will the show avoid pointless subplots?

- And finally, what's Behrooz been up to?

Note: The current logo is something I put together in two seconds. I look to make a better one, only time will tell. Also, I only included the picture of Jack Bauer, but will add more characters as they become important.

posted by Andrew Gaug  # 10:28 PM