24: Season 7 - Discussion

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24: Season 7 - Discussion
I'll be watching tonight in hopes that the magic returns to this once venerable series. However, I'll be clear in saying I am a pessimist as to the trajectory of the show and didn't particularly like the 2 hour introductory movie, Redemption. That being said, I have invested 24x6 +2 = 146 hours into this program, so I guess I better give it a shot before writing it completely off... [INDENT][B]Known details[/B] ([URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Hillinger"]via wikipedia[/URL]) [I] * According to a TV Guide interview with co-executive producer Manny Coto, "In a sense, it's a reboot — in location and personnel. We're going to be introducing a new stable of characters, along with a couple of old ones. Jack starts next season in a very different place than any season so far. [He's] not living under an alias. He's found a place he thinks he belongs and a job he enjoys doing that doesn't involve the government... We're hewing much closer to real life: tighter, more personal, more difficult for Jack. There will not be a ticking clock on a nuclear device [and] the villain is not a terrorist [but] someone with a supremely dark past who's done something horrific and whose ambition is to regain his stature in the world. There may even be a plot thread that doesn't take place on U.S. soil."[/I] [I] * Writer and Executive Producer Michael Loceff has confirmed, "what we are going for, is really taking this to the personal level," unlike this season six's focus on nuclear threats, Presidential health and possible war. Loceff says "you just can't go much bigger than that, unless you put a spacesuit on Jack Bauer and shoot him into orbit. Which you know, we may get there, but we're not going to be there yet." The show's producers are hinting smaller story lines for the characters, including Jack. Loceff adds, "and how he tries to resolve a particularly thorny conflict in the final episode." Loceff tells us Season 7 will focus on smaller and more intense story lines. But the specifics are still a mystery even for Loceff and the writers.[/I] [I] * Carlos Bernard will return as Tony Almeida in the premiere of season 7 as one of the main antagonists, using his knowledge in order to help the terrorists get around government interference. Show-runner Howard Gordon explained that Tony's "uncertain fate" left the door open for his return and cited the lack of a "silent clock" as a deliberate move to keep his death ambiguous. "We didn't give him the silent clock because we always wanted to keep alive the possibility for some kind of (admittedly) miraculous resurrection... which we will explain," and followed up with "He's definitely not the Almeida we once knew.".[/I] [/INDENT][B]BTW: [/B]I am not buying the party line "no silent clock" bs concerning Almeida. He died. They wanted to bring him back. They did. It is that simple.
[B][U]YES.[/U][/B]
I watched and I have an opinion. Although not spectacular, the opening salvo did leave me wanting more. However, I can see this sliding quickly into the old formula/routine (interrogation - torture - answers - next bad guy; repeat.) Initially the Tony storyline is driving the story - but I am not sure how deep that well is... I'll see where things stand after tonight and decide if there is enough original and captivating content to move forward. That being sad, I'll come out and say the first two hours where promising. Maybe even good. [B] Random thoughts:[/B] [LIST] [*]I am not sure that I particularly buy the premise that a small, poor African country in the midst of a civil war has a massive multi million dollar slush fund kicking around to support taking over the United States digital infrastructure - let alone the human assets. But hey, I guess you need to suspend a little belief when watching television, right? [*]I like agent Walker (Annie Wersching) already. [/LIST] [CENTER][URL="http://vevmo.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=1153"][IMG]http://vevmo.com/imagehosting/1496b4bc4c9cbc.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [/CENTER] [LIST] [*]Where is Chloe? Obviously she [I]"just happens to be in Washington"[/I] sooner or later! [*]FBI Assistant Director Larry Moss is the mole for sure. I have moledar! [*]Janeane Garofalo's character is definitely going to bite it (and she is the other mole option.) [*]I predict by the end, Tony and Jack will be working together. [/LIST]
[quote=Bacchus;44158][B]Where is Chloe?[/B] Obviously she [I]"just happens to be in Washington"[/I] sooner or later![/quote] Seriously! I was thinking the same thing! It just didn't seem like 24 without her.
Here are a few thoughts, though I'm going to suspend judgment til after tonight. 1. Good, not great first 2 hours. BUT it shows tremendous potential! 2. I think Tony might be under cover somehow. But then again...that seems too simple and it seems like they'd be throwing a bone to fans/a cop out. Idk what to think about the tony sitch. That said....if he IS bad....the well needs to be MUCH deeper than "the government killed his wife". There has to be something else. HAS TO BE. 3. Jeanine...i love you...but what terrible casting. 4. I hate to say it, but the first two hours really did lack familiar faces. It's season 7 and im like "who the ***k are these people and why would I care?" Chloe and Bill (and Morris...if he HAS to...) need to come back. ASAP. 5. I'm intrigued by the whole "dead son" storyline! I thought he was going to be a major character and now he's dead! Glad to see Carly Pope still on though! AND i think im going to LOVE President Taylor.
PS.....any word on how the ratings were? And where do you usually check for numbers?
[quote=RockSteadyVybes;44169]PS.....any word on how the ratings were? And where do you usually check for numbers?[/quote] [INDENT][I]The season premiere of Fox’s [B][I]24[/I][/B], gone since early 2007, was down ~30% from the 2007 season premiere.[/I] [[URL="http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/01/12/sunday-ratings-globes-somewhat-less-golden-24-opens-lower-steelers-win-at-home-for-cbs/10643"]via TVBYTHENUMBERS[/URL]] [/INDENT]Still, it averaged 12+ million viewers.
This is Toni Fitzgerald's take on the show ratings for last night, courtesy of Media Life Magazine: [QUOTE]After nearly two years away from the tube because of last year’s writers’ strike, Fox’s drama “24” returned last night with a respectable showing against strong competition on NBC and ABC. “24” averaged a 4.2 adults 18-49 rating from 8 to 10 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, up 5 percent from a 4.0 for a standalone movie that aired in November, bridging the gap between the most recent season and this one. That’s a solid number for a show that’s been off the air so long, though whether it can maintain that level will be seen tonight, when part two of the two-part, four-hour season opener airs. Still, “24” finished a mere third in its timeslot on a night of unusually heavy competition. ABC’s Sunday lineup, as usual, had the night’s top-rated scripted show, “Desperate Housewives” at a 5.2 rating. NBC’s three-hour “Golden Globe Awards” saw the biggest year-to-year improvement for any show, averaging a 4.6 rating, up 153 percent versus last year’s 1.9 for the writers’ strike-abbreviated ceremony. Yet it was CBS that won the night thanks to a huge audience for the one-hour AFC playoffs overrun at 7 p.m., which averaged a 10.1. The network averaged a 4.9 average overnight rating and a 12 share. NBC was second at 4.1/10, ABC third at 3.5/9, Fox fourth at 3.4/8, Univision fifth at 1.1/3 and CW sixth at 0.4/1. As a reminder, all ratings are based on live-plus-same-day DVR playback. Seven-day DVR data won’t be available for several weeks. Twenty-eight percent of Nielsen households have DVRs. [/QUOTE]
Yeah....12+ mill really isn't bad considering how messed up 24's scheduling has been and the writers' strike and all...
[quote=RockSteadyVybes;44168]I think Tony might be under cover somehow. But then again...that seems too simple and it seems like they'd be throwing a bone to fans/a cop out. Idk what to think about the tony sitch. That said....if he IS bad....the well needs to be MUCH deeper than "the government killed his wife". There has to be something else. HAS TO BE.[/quote] I agree there is a lot of potential, but if I have a feeling a cop out is coming. My guess is the terrorists are holding someone close to Tony hostage and making him bad. Are we sure Michelle is dead? Oh please don't make this into another Heroes with the entire dead cast all popping out of graves across the metro DC area, lol.
I knew Tony was good. I knew it! Ugh, as far as Jack going undercover, I'm not a fan. I don't care what the circumstances are - as a terrorist you don't welcome aboard the most infamous terrorist killer in the world, especially hours after he was on CSPAN, hahaha. Overall, I thought it was another solid two hours. Not insanely good, but good by 24 standards. As long as things keep moving at this brisk pace we should be in for a good season.
[QUOTE=Bacchus;44231]I agree there is a lot of potential, but if I have a feeling a cop out is coming. My guess is the terrorists are holding someone close to Tony hostage and making him bad. Are we sure Michelle is dead? Oh please don't make this into another Heroes with the entire dead cast all popping out of graves across the metro DC area, lol.[/QUOTE] HAHAHA....honestly. If Michelle somehow comes back from the dead....I'll be the first to call it out for jumping the shark. But no, I think she's really dead. I think the interesting part of last night's episodes was that Tony did admit to being bad for 3 years until he found out about the corruption in the government. I think they're going to make Tony flip on Jack/Bill/Chloe mid-season/end of season. Maybe Jack will have to kill Tony after all? I don't know...but last night's episodes were EVEN BETTER. I hope this momentum continues!
[quote=RockSteadyVybes;44311]I think they're going to make Tony flip on Jack/Bill/Chloe mid-season/end of season. Maybe Jack will have to kill Tony after all? [/quote] I hope it doesn't go down this way, but you are right in that there was some serious foreshadowing (i.e Jack asking are you loyal to him, is it going to be a problem etc.) Who do you think the bad guys in the FBI are? They already did one fake out. ;) (Oh and obviously that adviser always talking to the President is a bit fishy.)
The adviser is definitely sketchy...but it seems too obvious, yanno? My girlfriend can't get over the Secret Service agent that watches Henry Taylor....she thinks he's way too young and not believable. She then changed her feelings of confusion towards the casting to thinking that he (the ss agent) will be a bad guy and prevent Henry from finding the truth about his son....she may or may not be on to something. I'm not sure if we mentioned this yet...but they DID mention that Pres. Logan was still alive and on house arrest. I was waiting to see if they mentioned that. But I think that was in Sunday's episodes. But yeah...I think '24' will definitely play up the "gray area" in anything Almeida. They want to keep us on our toes, I think. I'm not convinced he's [I]all[/I] good! So Bacchus...you stickin' with it?
[quote=RockSteadyVybes;44319]My girlfriend can't get over the Secret Service agent that watches Henry Taylor....she thinks he's way too young and not believable. She then changed her feelings of confusion towards the casting to thinking that he (the ss agent) will be a bad guy and prevent Henry from finding the truth about his son....she may or may not be on to something. [/quote] They did that ominous, "I'm watching you" binocular pan with the secret service agent. He has bad guy written all over him. [quote]So Bacchus...you stickin' with it?[/quote] Definitely yes. I'll try to juggle all my shows on Monday, but with the way Heroes is fading I probably won't even have to. The entire premise of the next chapter makes me not even want to watch...
I'm done with Heroes. I broke up with it after like 3 or 4 episodes of Season 3. Then a few friends were like "no its seriously good now! its back!" yada yada yada....I watched the Eclipse episodes....nothing happened. I'm done! 24 > Heroes! For sure. AND....the pans they do on 24 to create suspicion are CLASSIC. We laugh every time, but we love them. haha My brother was also [I]extremely[/I] skeptic about 24. He called last night and was like "I'm surprisingly impressed! I just hope it's not like last year where the first 4 episodes rocked and then it tanked." I have faith! I'm GIDDY that its back. I really am haha
I think that last night offered another solid episode of 24. Sure the "Jack must fake kill the good guy" script has been played through on previous seasons ad nauseum, but then having to bury her added the extra bit of oomph which carried the scene and made me want to tune in next week. Not only that, but both the action in the new "CTU" and the side story with the First Husband are both compelling. Heck, I am even starting to warm up to Jeanne Garofalo as Chloe 2.0! I am not sure how far this momentum can carry before a feeling of sameness carries through and we settle into the old grind, but thus far I don't have any real complaints. It is 48 minutes of razor sharp action with only a hint of the uncomfortable, "Ya Right" goofyness that comes standard with this series.
B - I agree with everything you said. Burying alive was AWESOME (though I'm not convinced she's dead), Garofalo is there and I'm ok with it, the First Man story is an awesome B-story...etc. I think one thing we MUST mention here: When Emerson and co. are beating up the security guard, and the guard's phone rings...it said "FBI CALLING" hahaha I had 5 friends over watching and we almost had to pause because we were laughing so hard! I'm so happy that '24' is back to being awesome.
I am starting to think we are in for a great season. I loved last night's episode again. I think 24 is firing on all cylinders! It seems we are moving very quickly toward the mid season conclusion (there always is one, right?) Hopefully the second half story is just as compelling. Thank God the First Husband got out of that sticky situation! I knew he had it in him (and I hated that secret service agent. What a cold blooded killer!) Good to see that Chloe and Bill were back in the picture and that they saved our hapless agent from dying of suffocation in her earthbound tomb. Current bets on spies are that weird guy who is cheating on his wife in CTU and the president's main adviser. My guess is the former works for the latter. Oh, and I think for some strange reason Tony turns bad again and Jack kills him... [B]BTW:[/B] Next week I have Heroes and Chuck vs. House and 24 vs. The Bachelor. One has to go (I think it is going to be Heroes. I'll catch up online if the buzz is good about the new chapter.)
[QUOTE=Bacchus;46146]I am starting to think we are in for a great season. I loved last night's episode again. I think 24 is firing on all cylinders! It seems we are moving very quickly toward the mid season conclusion (there always is one, right?) Hopefully the second half story is just as compelling. Thank God the First Husband got out of that sticky situation! I knew he had it in him (and I hated that secret service agent. What a cold blooded killer!) Good to see that Chloe and Bill were back in the picture and that they saved our hapless agent from dying of suffocation in her earthbound tomb. Current bets on spies are that weird guy who is cheating on his wife in CTU and the president's main adviser. My guess is the former works for the latter. Oh, and I think for some strange reason Tony turns bad again and Jack kills him... [B]BTW:[/B] Next week I have Heroes and Chuck vs. House and 24 vs. The Bachelor. One has to go (I think it is going to be Heroes. I'll catch up online if the buzz is good about the new chapter.)[/QUOTE] 2444444! Watch 24 and CAN Heroes! That show has ***ked up more than once. It doesn't deserve loyalty from anyone! This week - Sad to see Samantha die (mostly because I like Carly Pope), but it worked out GREAT! And the First Husband isn't out of the water yet - there's another bad-agent-guy waiting outside in a car! I like that President Taylor isn't giving in to the terrorists demands. She's the best we've had since David Palmer. RIP. I also think Tony will go bad and Jack will kill him. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to suffer that loss....AGAIN. It seems Tony really was quite close with Emerson....which, by the way, was Emerson dead? or dying? next week's episode looks amaaaazingggggggggggggg Season 7 > Season 6. It's in stone now =)
PS....how are we the only 2 vevmo members watching this!?!? A devastating mistake on everyone else's part!
[QUOTE=RockSteadyVybes;46151]PS....how are we the only 2 vevmo members watching this!?!? A devastating mistake on everyone else's part![/QUOTE] Not true! I just have nothing eloquent to say, therefore, I lurk in the shadows:ninja_hide:
Don't lurk, post away! Even if its nonsensical (like most of my posts!)
I think the president and I are both a little confused over Tony and the gang being on the level. Getting the bad guys the CIP device makes no sense at all and when she asked about this and they gave a story about finding Dubaku I started to feel a bit snookered. With this reasoning, maybe the US should give Bin Laden a nuclear bomb that he can use to blow up in New York so that we can find him? Umm, not so much. You might make some sacrifices along the way to get the bad guy, but you don't give him the tool that can shut down the electric grid and crash 2000 planes (among other things) in that attempt... Crazy logic aside, the story is moving along at a good clip and there were a few standout moments. I am kind of enjoying Agent Walker being a Jack devil spawn. There is no question she would have snapped that little babies neck had it come to it...
B, in your opinion, is it worth starting from the very beginning of 24? I've never taken the time to watch and thought it might me something to take with me on vacation later this year.
[quote=V1man;47633]B, in your opinion, is it worth starting from the very beginning of 24? I've never taken the time to watch and thought it might me something to take with me on vacation later this year.[/quote] If you have never watched it, season 1 is a true thriller and will keep you guessing. Out of the box, it was very original and compelling with its ground breaking "real time" story progression. Definitely worth the watch. I wish I could go back. It is still shocking! 24 is the first prime time show in recent memory completely without "red shirts" (ala Star Trek) - so you never know who is going to bite it (besides Jack) or who the bad guys are... I suspect with your military and political background, it will play well as it focuses on counter terrorist tactics and the inner circle discussions of the President, Vice president and staff. Of course, by the end of season 2 you'll have seen it all and then only watch for the sake of keeping with the story - but that is another topic entirely. ;)
V1 - I agree with what Bacchus said about Seasons 1 and 2...totally worth it. However, I don't think the "more of the same" element truly struck until Season 6, and it has since then redeemed itself from the lackluster season. In my opinion - my favorite seasons are [I]by far[/I] 4 and 5. Also - 24 is fun when its good, and fun when its bad. Even when its bad or wavers slightly...you still can kind of laugh and stay tuned with the action of the series. It's totally worth jumping into!
Sadly 24 has dropped out of my tv lineup...I just never think about it and it seems like the season is going good. I am definitely gonna have catch up sooner or later.
Golden - Don't let season 6 discourage you! This new one on TV now is awesome! Tons of fun....worth watching on DVD for sure
[quote=RockSteadyVybes;47955]Golden - Don't let season 6 discourage you! This new one on TV now is awesome! Tons of fun....worth watching on DVD for sure[/quote] I'm with Rock on this one....I actually moved Heroes to rerun status for the new season. That has to say something as I am the eternal ****h pessimist when it comes to TV. Season 7 delivers. Not home runs, but many singles and an occasional double.
[QUOTE=Bacchus;47961]I'm with Rock on this one....I actually moved Heroes to rerun status for the new season. That has to say something as I am the eternal ****h pessimist when it comes to TV. Season 7 delivers. Not home runs, but many singles and an occasional double.[/QUOTE] I think we're in for a home run...eventually. Maybe not next week. Maybe not even the week after. BUT SOOOOON. haha

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