I Wanna Be Sedated

In 2003 I was sick and in bed for several days - watching TV every hour of every day. One night a show started and for the first 15 minutes it was on I didn't breathe. Bah! What the heck?! It was '24' and it was insane. Remember Nina? EVIL. Also, remember a time before you knew that someone at CTU was rotten? Or when you couldn't pick out the guy in each episode who would be dead before the hour was up? Good times.


Brian and I have been loyal friends of '24' ever since. Except for maybe seasons three and four, which we watched on DVD in about five days. (Never do that.) For season five we decided to give Jack Bauer three hours to show us that he deserved our friendship. That turned out to be the best season of all thanks to some very simple things. First, great acting. Second, it was always President Logan behind everything and it was because he was evil. Done and done. (None of this it's-Jon-Voigt-wait-no-it's-other-evil-guys nonsense.) On the one hand, yay that we have a fun show we want to watch together (I can't convert Brian to Project Runway no matter how hard I try). On the other hand, now we know how great '24' can be and it will never ever measure up again.

This season we're back at CTU, this time in New York and underground, somehow. Not so hard to find for a redneck looking for his old girlfriend who has changed her name and her appearance, but whatever. We'll get back to that. I like that we got to see Jack with his cute granddaughter and that the show didn't put her in danger (I vowed to turn off the TV and change the DVR schedule the second that little girl was chased by a cougar or a psycho). I'm glad Kim is in LA now and we won't have to see her for the next 20 hours. It's always nice to see Chloe and have her snark to her boss occasionally (I found a photo of Chloe from season five - remember that awful sweater we had to see all season?). I believe that Jack really doesn't want to be involved in this whole mess and that he truly doesn't care about the stuff he can't control anymore. I think that's interesting. Renee losing her marbles and coming back to work for CTU undercover, however, is NOT interesting. '24' is at it's best when we delve into the psyches of the main players, but Renee cutting off that guy's hand was just so far over the top... It was the fourth hour, for crying out loud. They didn't cut Chase's hand off until the last hour of season three or four. I can't remember because they are the same in my mind - watched them both in just a few days, remember. (Also, Jack killing a guy with an ax to the chest in hour two was a bit much.)
The worst thing so far about this season, though, is definitely Dana/Jenny Walsh (there is no Dana, ONLY ZOOL). I booed her the moment she showed up - sleeveless mini-dress in a government office? Oh, I don't think so. Perfectly styled hair over one shoulder? Nope. None of that helped the fact that she looks like she could be a dude. And the redneck boyfriend who threatens to expose her past? WHO CARES?! That guy knows where she lives, where she works, her private cell phone number, and how to get to the underground entrance at CTU? Maybe he should be working at CTU instead of Dana. I don't buy that she should be scared of this guy. What could she possibly have done in the past that she doesn't want to come out so much that she lets a crazy ex-boyfriend stay at her house? Wait, I don't care.
We know there's a mole somewhere at CTU, right? I think it's that weasel-y guy who keeps hitting on Dana. (That would explain that, now wouldn't it.) Freddie Prinze, Jr. is okay as Agent Ortiz and The Guy Who Trusts Jack at CTU. You knew he wasn't getting killed in the first four hours...

In conclusion, I'm going to watch all season of '24' because I keep my commitments. There are terms (always) and they are:

1. Kim cannot come back and get into danger.

2. Kim's daughter cannot be in danger ever.

3. Tony cannot come back unless he is a good guy again.

That's not too much to ask.