Hello out in cyber world. Through the good graces of the arts and online editors here at The Daily Collegian, I have been granted a spot on the web weekly to review what is going on in TV land.
As a film/TV reporter, I could not help but notice my "beat" has been mostly reduced to just "film" and not much "TV." And since I'm a poor college kid and don't feel like spending $5+ each week to see a movie to review for the paper, I came up with this brilliant idea. So from this Friday on, I will be writing a review of sorts about a television show that has stood out to me during the week. Whether it is Stephen Colbert grilling someone on his show, or Jack Bauer saving the world in a neatly wrapped hour for the sixth straight season, I'm going to write about it.
But here's where you can make it fun and not just a self-absorbed purging of my useless knowledge - if you see something during the week that you thought was cool, email me. I'll write about it. But this is the first week, and since this is probably going to go widely unread because it hasn't generated the earth shattering "buzz" I know it is capable of producing, I am going to write about what I want. And that is this week's episode of 24.
When 24 started it was a breath of fresh air from TV's usual crime/government dramas. It blended the action of a cops show with the drama of West Wing, and the whodunit mystery of CSI. But it's catch - it was in real time and took place over the course of one day.
So how is it then that 24 has stayed relevant and entertaining season after season when we can pretty much guess the plot and how it's going to end? That is the conundrum that is 24. You know what's going to happen (terrorist attack on America) how it's going to be solved (CTU agent Jack Bauer torturing a ton of people until they "tell him what he needs to know") and how it's going to finish (Jack saving the day after almost "blowing it" by going against the agency to take care of business his way).
But I think it's 24's plot-twists and without-fail action scenes that bring viewers back. I won't lie, no matter how many times Jack Bauer goes AWOL to deal with terrorists "his way," or there is political scandal in the White House, I get excited.
This all being said, this week's episode was no different. Two episodes ago (Hour 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.) we discovered that the character in a previous season that was manipulating a former President and is responsible for the death of another is Jack Bauer's brother. However, it's interesting because Jack doesn't know. We find this out because the Bauer family business that Jack's brother works for has ties to the current terrorist attacks.
Last episode we were clued into Phillip Bauer's (Jack's father) involvement, and we saw Graem (Jack's brother) turn on both Jack and his father and send them to be killed. This week's episode picks up with a silky-smooth escape from death by Jack and his father. They return to Graem's home with CTU agents to take Graem in for serious questioning about the companies involvement.
Meanwhile, at the batcave...or CTU if you will, some intelligence is revealed that the people behind the terrorist attack are getting a new software engineer to get the second bomb detonated. At this point, it appears to be yet another standard episode to help further along the plot. However, in the last seven minutes or so we are let in on the twists in the various plot lines.
Jack Bauer's brother reveals to him that he was the one involved in the death of the previous president and Jack goes crazy. He cannot believe his own brother's involvement is something so immoral. In addition, after CTU agent Morris O'Brian is informed that his younger brother is in the hospital and he must go, we the viewer are treated to seeing who this new software engineer the terrorists need is-none other than Morris. He, however, does not know, and is quickly picked up after he left CTU by those involved in the terrorist attacks.
But wait, there's more. As the camera takes us back to Graem Bauer's house, we see a scene between Graem and his father. Graem assures his father he hasn't broke now and won't after they take him in for more questioning. This reveals that Graem and Phillip have been in on the attack the whole time, and just playing with Jack. Phillip, however, does not seem so convinced of his son's statement and injects Graem with the torture-serum and kills his son.
Crazy, I know. But as I said, these are the things that keep the loyal viewers of 24 coming back for more each week. We know there are going to be twists and turns in the plot, but we don't know to whom, and we don't know where. And it is that uncertainty that we keep coming back week after week to try and resolve.
