24 "Day 4: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

He's tried to escape it. He's tried to silence it. But for Jack Bauer... instinct never dies.

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24: Season Four
Day 4: 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

JACK AND PAUL ARE HUNTED BY SOLDIERS, MICHELLE DESSLER TAKES OVER AT CTU ON "24" MONDAY, MARCH 14, ON FOX

Jack and Paul are hunted down by soldiers after an electromagnetic pulse bomb wipes out every electrical device for miles. Meanwhile, Michelle Dessler (Reiko Aylesworth) takes over at CTU in the episode “Day 4: 7:00 PM–8:00 PM ” Monday, March 14 ( 9:00-10:00 PM ET /PT) on FOX. (TWF-413) (TV-14; V) CC-HDTV 720p-Dolby Digital 5.1

Cast: Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, William Devane as James Heller, Kim Raver as Audrey Raines, Lana Parrilla as Sarah Gavin.

Guest Cast: Reiko Aylesworth as Michelle Dessler, Carlos Bernard as Tony Almeida, Roger Cross as Curtis Manning, Louis Lombardi as Edgar Stiles, Cameron Bancroft as Lee Castle, James Frain as Paul Raines, Arnold Vosloo as Marwan, Geoff Pierson as President Keeler, Tomas Arana as Dave Conlon, Amin Azemzadeh as Naji, Omid Abtahi as Safa, Ned Vaughn as Mitch Anderson.

Comments?


Also, check out the Previous Episode Talkback (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=135825).

[Condiment King]

Michelle was great in this episode. Michelle is definitely back. Its finally feeling like Tony Almeida is an intregal part of the season 4 cast as previously, he was just kinda an additiion that could/could not be around for much longer.

Bye dull Sarah.

I hope Paul doesn't die. The story of the two men owning the store was a good one, and I'm glad they didn't have a bad ending. They deserved a good one.

[Temple Fugate]

This is 24. Action, intrigue, romance, and lots of death. I've been critical of this show as of late, but with the recent developments story-wise, they've been flushing out the bad blood at CTU and calling attention to plot points that fans actually care about. Michelle's arrival helped, too. So, why does it get five stars?

Jack is his usual powerhouse of a man, getting in two gunfights and emerging victorious. His "bond" with Tony is discovered to be just that; They were in sync tonight despite being completely out of contact. He even surprised me with his very stubborn attempt to keep Paul conscious. (And after it looked like he was just going to stand there while the M-C guys tortured him at the beginning of the episode. It is SO hard to read this guy sometimes.) And he was just as pushy with the shop owners as he is with just about anyone. Nobody gets special treatment when Jack's got his game face on.

Michelle scared me when she first talked to Audrie, but it's great to see she's still the same person after all. In just one hour her relationship with Tony is on the mend. I should probably be complaining that it can't possibly be taking this fast, but who am I to complain about the way love works? Plus, she fired what's-her-name. That woman is the ONLY new character whose name I still haven't memorized. Anyway, sayonara. (Her "You'll pay for this!" as she was dragged away has me worried, though. Could she really be a mole after all?)

And Heller's acting actually convinced me this time. The guy had a genuine performance tonight. His scene with Audrey was one of the best of the episode. Props to both of them for taking an already good script and acting it out the way it should be.

The only thing I'm going to say about the Middle-Eastern shop owners: Yeah, the writers hit the topic a little too hard on the nose, but as long as this is the only blatant pandering to those interest groups the season's going to have, it's perfectly acceptable. Those two join the ranks of all those who have assisted Jack Bauer and saved the world in the process.

Marwan's got a high-profile defense contracter involved, and he mentions POTUS being kept waiting. How high up does this terrorist conspiracy go? Find out...NEXT WEEK! Tick-BOOM! Tick-BOOM!

24 #4AFF13: "Day 4: 7:00pm-8:00pm" - *****
I love night episodes.

11 hours remain...

[Fone Bone]

President Keeler is a ****. No wonder Sherry Palmer gravitated towards him. I'm surprised they made the president a bad guy as Joel Surnow is a Republican. Maybe they only did it because it will push some people's buttons a lot. I have to keep in mind that there may be another side to the story though.

So this is what 24 does to make Arabs into good guys. I liked it even if it was a little preachy. This is the first time 24 has really caved to political pressure.

Is it just me or am I the only one that is relieved that there are no more buttholes working at CTU? They'll be sure to get the job done faster. I hope Chloe comes back soon. I wonder why they made Lana Parilla a regular if they were just going to kick her off the show. Either way, she went from sympathetic to unlikable which is certainly not the standard motif for this season (see Edgar, Curtis, and Paul Raines).

Speaking of Paul I REALLY hope he doesn't die. He has kicked so much butt these last few episodes. I think Audrey is going to blame Jack if he dies. I think she's going to dump him when all is said and done anyways. And I can't really blame her.

Michelle kicking Sarah out of the building just shows how awesome she is. The fact that Sarah tried to put the screws to her also shows how good Michelle is at her job. I am also glad her and Tony have a truce now.

I liked this episode a lot. Pretty interesting that 24 hasn't had a massive threat for the past few episodes and they manage to keep it exciting either way. ****1/2.

[Carolina Red]

Michelle was great in this episode. Michelle is definitely back. Its finally feeling like Tony Almeida is an intregal part of the season 4 cast as previously, he was just kinda an additiion that could/could not be around for much longer.
I'm just amazed that Michelle is not trying to get her past out as much towards Tony. Then again just once is good enough.

Didn't the graphics on that news report look an awful lot like CNN's?
Jack and Paul were asking for it when they tried shooting at the soldier. Maybe next week they'll address that.

Earlier this season Jack held up a convenience store as a diversion, I don't think that will come back to haunt him anytime soon, but I bet it could if a witness came up - and what are the odds of that happening in Los Angeles?

[Temple Fugate]

Didn't the graphics on that news report look an awful lot like CNN's? In the past 24 has showcased such riveting and award-winning journalism such as FOX News for televised broadcasts. When they don't use that, they use a fake chanel called CNB, which looks very much like CNN. I couldn't see a graphic on this one, though. Edgar and Curtis were in the way.

I'm joining the Paul vigil. He's got to pull through.

[Carolina Red]

Oh, and Sarah really should've thought twice before demanding her pay increase, don't you think it would be better suited for a less pressurizing time? Good work by Michelle though.

She'll be back though, I bet she will.

[RD!]

This season is really bothering me with it's character development. Ryan Chappelle was a jackass from the beginning to the very end. The only time he ever shows compassion is when he allows people to kill themselves. In this season every character we don't like panders to our emotions... Edgar is a turd, but hey, he saved the day! Curtis is boring, but hey, he's a kung-fu masta! Driscoll is a ***** but oh, her daughter killed herself. =[

Evidently Division has two Michelle Deslar's in their office, and Tony must have had a taste of both. I mean, what the Hell? How does someone pull a complete 180 like that.

I really liked the whole... One federal agent, a systems administrator and two shop owners taking on a fully trained task force I mean. ...Jesus I don't even know what I mean? What the Hell was this?

Paul being shot was more pandering. I hope everyone remembers 4 weeks ago how much we absolutely hated this character and wanted him off the show. This isn't character development, this is just piss-poor writing.

Worst episode yet.

[DarkAngel]

This is 24. Action, intrigue, romance, and lots of death. I've been critical of this show as of late, but with the recent developments story-wise, they've been flushing out the bad blood at CTU and calling attention to plot points that fans actually care about. Michelle's arrival helped, too. So, why does it get five stars?I actually haven't been this interested in 24 since season 1. I was watching off-and-on during seasons 2 and 3, but the weaknesses of the show (tendency toward melodrama, stretching out the story to last 24 episodes) stood out to me more than anything positive. For whatever reason, I've been a lot more interested this season. I think starting out with two consecutive two-hour blocks helped by getting us right into the story. But for me, the pace hasn't really flagged after that at all. It's been riveting.


This season is really bothering me with it's character development. Ryan Chappelle was a jackass from the beginning to the very end. The only time he ever shows compassion is when he allows people to kill themselves. In this season every character we don't like panders to our emotions... Edgar is a turd, but hey, he saved the day! Curtis is boring, but hey, he's a kung-fu masta! Driscoll is a ***** but oh, her daughter killed herself. =[

Evidently Division has two Michelle Deslar's in their office, and Tony must have had a taste of both. I mean, what the Hell? How does someone pull a complete 180 like that.I've gotta disagree strongly, SJ. I won't say 24's been perfect with their character development, but they've got the right idea. When they stick with one trait all season (or even one episode) for a character, that's when they're forcing us to feel a certain way.

With Michelle this past episode, for instance, she was portrayed like a you-know-what for the first part of the episode and I felt manipulated. I couldn't stand her and there was no reason why I should...the writers gave us no reason to like her. The second half of the episode is when the writing of the character really sparkled because things were less black-and-white. She was more human. That's how life is. People are complex. There's more going on inside then one might see superficially.

I appreciate seeing more than one side to a character, because then we're truly free to come to our own conclusions about the type of people they are. If they portray someone as a prick all season, naturally we'll see them as a prick, because there's nothing else for us to seize on. That's too easy and not particularly satisfying. I don't think that's really what we want. We don't want cardboard cut-outs, but more nuanced characters.

[Lord Dalek]

K.

Jack and Paul get shot at, Desslar busts dust, and Tony pouts around. This was fun. I do agree that Michelle was kinda bipolar this episode, laying the smackdown on Gavin and then tries to play make up with Tony. But what do you expect from someone who's been gone half this season and only has 60 minutes to figure out what she's doing wrong.

I was happy to see the two kids make it through the night. Shame about Paul though.

five bucks says the president snuffs it.

[Peter Paltridge]

*reads spoiler* Wow, that really WOULD be a good twist, if it happened.

As for Republican presidents being portrayed as evil, that's every show, isn't it? If you want anything kind said about Republicans at all, you'll have to switch to one of those wacky religious channels....of course there, everyone ELSE gets knocked around. Stupid culture wars.

Yeah, I don't know what's up with hiring jerk people at CTU anyway, considering they're guaranteed to pick the wrong plans. And I was relieved to see Michelle become more human towards the end of the hour...I was afraid she'd become Driscoll II and she was going to treat Tony like dirt for the rest of the season. She's alive only because of that man! Tony must have gone on one heck of a binge to turn her off in the first place...how do you make yourself look bad in your wife's eyes after you go that far for her? How?

I don't want Paul to die either, but it's not looking good for him. And yep, there goes "Jack and Audrey" down the pooper.

[DarkAngel]

And Heller's acting actually convinced me this time. The guy had a genuine performance tonight. His scene with Audrey was one of the best of the episode. Props to both of them for taking an already good script and acting it out the way it should be.And beyond the strength of the scene itself, I appreciated the difficulty of what Heller must have been experiencing as he listened to Audrey's concerns. She will at some point find out from her brother what Heller allowed. If she's having trouble looking at Jack now, how will she regard her father when she finds out about the torture of her brother. That was going through Heller's mind and it could be seen in his eyes. And that stems, as you pointed out, from a strong performance.


As for Republican presidents being portrayed as evil, that's every show, isn't it? I must have missed something, but why all the discussion of the President being "evil"?

[Temple Fugate]

I must have missed something, but why all the discussion of the President being "evil"? Marwan mentions the President at the very end of the episode, leading us to think he's somehow involved in the grand scheme. I personally think it's a ruse, that someone close to POTUS (likely the VP or a cabinet member) is conspiring with the terrorists in an assassination attempt.

But I think the next episode should involve the President in a different way. (Cue Announcer voice) He's been trapped in the air for over thirteen hours. And now, he's getting airsick. Only Jack Bauer can perform a desperate maneuver to jump onto the wing Air Force One and deliver medication the President needs. Next week on TWENTY-FOUR. (/Announcer voice)

[DarkAngel]

Marwan mentions the President at the very end of the episode, leading us to think he's somehow involved in the grand scheme. I personally think it's a ruse, that someone close to POTUS (likely the VP or a cabinet member) is conspiring with the terrorists in an assassination attempt.Ah, yes. I didn't think much of that all. My take was similar to yours: I assumed there was going to be some kind of assassination attempt.