The four-hour, two-night event is all the good things you would expect from a new season of the venerable series, plus New York is in the mix for the first time
Grade: B+
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Cherry Jones, Annie Wersching, , Mykelti Williamson, Katee Sackoff, Freddie Prinz Jr.
By CARL CORTEZ, Contributing Editor
Published 1/17/2010
Each new season of 24 brings its out set of problems. While there will always be the constant of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub), with the addition of so many new characters and settings (last year it was D.C., this year New York), in many respects you’re watching a whole new show each new season.
But one of the brilliant things about the format and the venerable show itself, is that these re-inventions continue to keep the show fresh and re-invigorated.
Plus, Fox, for many years now, has employed the four-hour, two night event strategy, which essentially gives you enough time to up to speed with all the different characters, set some major events in motion and of course, end with a huge bang so you’re hooked for the rest of the twenty hours.
This year, the show moves to New York and actually finds Jack in a happy place. He’s recovered from the radiation effects of his heroics last year and is now playing the dutiful grandfather to daughter Kim’s (Elisha Cuthbert) new baby girl.
Of course, nothing is easy for Jack. Trouble finds him as a Russian lackey ends up on his doorstep wanting immunity for the information he has regarding an assassination attempt on a Middle Eastern President Omar Hassan (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE’S Anil Kapoor) while negotiating peace talks at the U.N. with President Taylor (Cherry Jones).
Jack wants nothing to do with it – he’s already agreed to get on a plane and go back to Los Angeles with his daughter and leave his do-gooding ways behind. Yet, as much as he gets away from things, he gets pulled right back in. He agrees to transport the lackey back to the newly reformed New York CTU and then will leave after that.
Don’t count on things turning out the way Jack expects.
Since this is an early review, it’s not fair to spoil the first two hours, let alone the full four (which I’ve seen), so I won’t get into heavy details, otherwise it will spoil the surprises ahead. Suffice to say, it’s a whopper opening to a show that continually proves to have new life in it.
Chloe is back, this time rejoining CTU because her husband was recently laid off. She doesn’t really want to be there, but she grins and bears it. Providing some ample comic relief, is that this is the first time the technology is greater than Chloe and she has a hard time moving as fast as everyone else. It’s a nice turnabout to her know-it-all abilities she’s had since the beginning on the show.
Still, one thing that Chloe does know, from working with Jack over the years, is smelling rats and traps. So, even if Chloe isn’t as fast as she used to be, she also has the street smarts to figure out when something is rotten in Denmark, and it leads to a sort of redemption before the four hours are over.
Of the new characters, there’s new head of CTU Brian Hastings (Mykelti Williamson) who is a bit of a buffoon and who manages to hide his failings from others by keeping everything close to the vest. Freddie Prinze Jr. fits in nicely as CTU agent Cole Ortiz who has great respect for Jack, and I can’t wait to see these two pair up down the road. Cole’s fiancée is CTU analyst Dana Walsh (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA’s Katee Sackoff) who has a deep dark past. And there’s the various people surrounding the president and assorted bad guys too numerous to mention until this episode has aired.
One of the strong points of this season, is the seamless way the writers have found a way to bring Jack back into CTU, but without it being a burden or an immediate “this guy is too rouge.” It’s a satisfying variation, and continues to prove why Jack is the best at what he does.
New York, as a character, also brings a nice little change of pace. There’s different obstacles with a city like this, including unforgiving N.Y. cops who act on emotion, rather than asking questions first. It proves to be a nice little obstacle for Jack during the course of the premiere.
Whereas last year felt like the great conspiracy thriller movies of the ‘70s (THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN), this season, while still dark, has a brighter feel to things augmented by Jack Bauer smiling for the first time in many a moon.
The new CTU also has a slight futuristic feel (with one element in particular felling like it’s straight out of DOCTOR WHO). It’s very cool looking, and again, adds to the unique feel of this season.
For anyone who has enjoyed 24 over the years, they can respect how, every year, the show comes back better than ever. Even when there’s some rocky detours (remember the rocky Season Six), it’s still one of the most compelling and enjoyable series currently on television.
With an unconventional format that audiences have embraced and a continuous run of its 24 episodes, 24 is appointment TV and if Season Nine is any indication, the show has enough energy to sustain itself for a few more years to come if the producers (and Fox) decide to keep the show going.
But one of the brilliant things about the format and the venerable show itself, is that these re-inventions continue to keep the show fresh and re-invigorated.
Plus, Fox, for many years now, has employed the four-hour, two night event strategy, which essentially gives you enough time to up to speed with all the different characters, set some major events in motion and of course, end with a huge bang so you’re hooked for the rest of the twenty hours.
This year, the show moves to New York and actually finds Jack in a happy place. He’s recovered from the radiation effects of his heroics last year and is now playing the dutiful grandfather to daughter Kim’s (Elisha Cuthbert) new baby girl.
Of course, nothing is easy for Jack. Trouble finds him as a Russian lackey ends up on his doorstep wanting immunity for the information he has regarding an assassination attempt on a Middle Eastern President Omar Hassan (SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE’S Anil Kapoor) while negotiating peace talks at the U.N. with President Taylor (Cherry Jones).
Jack wants nothing to do with it – he’s already agreed to get on a plane and go back to Los Angeles with his daughter and leave his do-gooding ways behind. Yet, as much as he gets away from things, he gets pulled right back in. He agrees to transport the lackey back to the newly reformed New York CTU and then will leave after that.
Don’t count on things turning out the way Jack expects.
Since this is an early review, it’s not fair to spoil the first two hours, let alone the full four (which I’ve seen), so I won’t get into heavy details, otherwise it will spoil the surprises ahead. Suffice to say, it’s a whopper opening to a show that continually proves to have new life in it.
Chloe is back, this time rejoining CTU because her husband was recently laid off. She doesn’t really want to be there, but she grins and bears it. Providing some ample comic relief, is that this is the first time the technology is greater than Chloe and she has a hard time moving as fast as everyone else. It’s a nice turnabout to her know-it-all abilities she’s had since the beginning on the show.
Still, one thing that Chloe does know, from working with Jack over the years, is smelling rats and traps. So, even if Chloe isn’t as fast as she used to be, she also has the street smarts to figure out when something is rotten in Denmark, and it leads to a sort of redemption before the four hours are over.
Of the new characters, there’s new head of CTU Brian Hastings (Mykelti Williamson) who is a bit of a buffoon and who manages to hide his failings from others by keeping everything close to the vest. Freddie Prinze Jr. fits in nicely as CTU agent Cole Ortiz who has great respect for Jack, and I can’t wait to see these two pair up down the road. Cole’s fiancée is CTU analyst Dana Walsh (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA’s Katee Sackoff) who has a deep dark past. And there’s the various people surrounding the president and assorted bad guys too numerous to mention until this episode has aired.
One of the strong points of this season, is the seamless way the writers have found a way to bring Jack back into CTU, but without it being a burden or an immediate “this guy is too rouge.” It’s a satisfying variation, and continues to prove why Jack is the best at what he does.
New York, as a character, also brings a nice little change of pace. There’s different obstacles with a city like this, including unforgiving N.Y. cops who act on emotion, rather than asking questions first. It proves to be a nice little obstacle for Jack during the course of the premiere.
Whereas last year felt like the great conspiracy thriller movies of the ‘70s (THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR, ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN), this season, while still dark, has a brighter feel to things augmented by Jack Bauer smiling for the first time in many a moon.
The new CTU also has a slight futuristic feel (with one element in particular felling like it’s straight out of DOCTOR WHO). It’s very cool looking, and again, adds to the unique feel of this season.
For anyone who has enjoyed 24 over the years, they can respect how, every year, the show comes back better than ever. Even when there’s some rocky detours (remember the rocky Season Six), it’s still one of the most compelling and enjoyable series currently on television.
With an unconventional format that audiences have embraced and a continuous run of its 24 episodes, 24 is appointment TV and if Season Nine is any indication, the show has enough energy to sustain itself for a few more years to come if the producers (and Fox) decide to keep the show going.
Source: ifmagazine.com
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