24 This Week: 3/20/06

First, I've got to get this random rant out:
Okay, I'm watching Sportscenter and there's this new Hooters ad...ladies reading this, don't turn away yet! So this Hooters ad comes on and it's where they're advertising they have crab legs for 7.99 a pound. One perky little lady motivates the other perky little ladies to go out and sell them. Later on, the perky motivator doesn't understand why they're not selling more of the crab legs and one of the others comes up and says it's too expensive. You see, in all their giddyness, the girls have been weighing customers and charging 7.99/pound by how much THE CUSTOMER weighs! Isn't that hilarious!? NOT!

I don't know whether I should laugh or cry about this commercial. One part of me wants to take them to task for perpetuating the stereotype of their restaurant and the women who work there, but the other part of me applauds them for reveling in who they are and their "image." I know, I'm getting all philosophical over freakin' Hooters. I'll stop right now....

I don't know, is it just me or did it seem to take forever for Monday to get here? It seems like we haven't had "24" in ages for some reason. But it's here and I've got to say....I liked it.

It was a marked improvement over last week's show. And yes, folks who were naive enough to think it couldn't be so, they killed off the Tone-ster. Tony Almeida, may you happily be reunited with your wife. Jack WILL avenge you! :)

So no, there were no fancy smancy explosions this week-- Aaron didn't shoot out any flamethrowers-- and no one died a horrible or honorable death, but the end delivered on what "24" has been known for...the last 2 minutes of the show. But now on to the details....

What did we learn this week...

-- That this week it was at 3 minutes into show-proper (after the "Previously on 24" stuff) that I uttered that phrase that pays, "You are such a frackin' idiot." Yes, that's right folks, it took no time at all for our resident President Logan to rattle my cage. Dude, martial law didn't work for Bruce Willis in "The Siege," why is it going to work for you? (See "The Siege" by the way if you haven't in a while. While it sort of takes the whole NY-under-martial-law thing a little over the top, it's actually more topical now in a post-911 world with its internment of Middle Eastern people. And great performances abound with Tony Shaloub, Annette Bening, and Mr. Denzel Washington. Rent it today!)
But I digress...So Logan can't see the shifty-eyed Vice Prez totally making his play for power. The man looks like a humanoid snake and he trusts him. I smell disaster coming on, which is good for me cause then maybe it'll get this yo-yo out of office.


--Once again, people do not know who the f--- they're dealing with when they deal with Jack Bauer. German agent drops out of the sky (by the way, my "Lost" folks, wasn't it good to see Desmond again? We wondered where ya went, you nutty guy!) and says he's not helping Jack b/c it'll compromise his operation. Dude, Jack should've bitch slapped him right there, but he played it cool, secret agent man to secret agent man. I am sort of disappointed they did the whole dissolved disc thing because Jack is many things, but he is not a liar, but as we know, everything in this show happens for a reason. Something tells me this is not the last we see of a pissed off Desmond and he has a role to further play.

--which leads me into another common theme we have for "24"...the show sets up that so many people are out to get Jack that, by the end of the season, we don't know who will "take him out" (I put that in quotes because we all know you can't REALLY kill Jack Bauer...right?) So now we have Desmond pissed off at Jack, Homeland Security chica not liking the food Jack's servin', President Logan may still in some way sell out Jack to save face, and the Russian peeps running around with the gas who helped in framing Jack in the first place. A rogue's gallery any super bad ass would be envious of. Oh, and I forgot the Chinese who, if they find out Jack's alive, will send him somewhere to be very, very painfully tortured for a long, long time.

--and we learn in the ending that Audrey may be in on the terrorist activity. I'm sorry, I truly did not see that one coming. Man, Jack's taste in women truly, truly sucks; it nearly rivals the efforts of internal security at CTU. Maybe the woman from two seasons ago (I forget the character name, but Sarah Wynter played her) is the only woman in his life that hasn't betrayed or put him in crazy, silly danger. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0944077/photogallery-scrapbook-0 I've got to admit, I can't wait to see how they spin this one, cause they either have to plausibly get Audrey off the hook, but keep us guessing that maybe she really is a bad guy, or she is as evil and diabolical as Nina Myers, and THAT was good television.

There was no winner in the Chloe O'Brien Best Line of the Week Award. Zip. I didn't get one good one from even Chloe this week's show. If you have a fav line from the show this week, please share. Speak up, America!

So next week, the thrill is gone for Jack and Audrey if that choke-hold in the preview was any indication...Bill still has to prove CTU has what it takes to find the gas...the bad guys make their move, but looks like CTU may be there in time to stop them...and what the hell is so important Peter Weller is running down Wade Palmer before he can talk to Aaron? I mean, I'm stumped about that one, too. How freakin' prescient was President Palmer? He knew Cummings was bad and evidently he's got something on the gas and/or Peter Weller. Damn, Palmer was good. Like I said, this week not big on boom boom, but definitely good with the intrigue. It kept me watching and hopefully you, too.

Also, here's a shameless plug, but she gives me love on her site, and I'm happy to do it on mine: my buddy Sue has a blog on Blogger.com, and she's a waaaay better writer than me. Read on as she waxes poetic on mostly movie reviews, but other musings as well. You can catch her at:
http://www.suedisco.blogspot.com/