24 Episode 6.18 - "11:00 PM - 12:00 AM"
Airdate: Monday, April 16th, 2007

24's gotten a little...weird of late.

As I mentioned last week, the idea of ending what seemed to be the season's main storyline early so that a form of suspense-packed "coda" could evolve, slightly connected but seemingly unrelated to the main storyline...it's an interesting concept.

In theory.

In execution, it feels somewhat limp. 24 can only ever be a pulse-pounding show, simply because of its editing and format. Maybe that's a matter of personal preference, but to me, they could feature Jack Bauer reading the Los Angeles county phone book for an entire season, and as long as they edited it in their usual style and provided the same music, it would feel exciting.

However, plot remains a concern. The viewer gets somewhat wrapped up in these manic tales of hacked workstations and suitcase nukes and 25th amendment disputes. We just can't help ourselves--fans of 24 typically seem willing to abandon any pretense of "logic" or "reality" and just follow Jack Bauer down Crazy Road in a souped-up armored tank with big bouncing wheels.

Then suddenly, when the tank the plot's driving takes a dramatic veer to the right and ends up on an unfamiliar street, we are confused. We are a bit shaken. We know we're someplace, and we're willing to look around, but what about the terrorists? The wacky Russian general? The Doyle/Nadia/Milo love triangle?????

To be fair, the writers are carrying some bits of the previous storyline over to the new one. Vice-President Daniels is still stomping around the White House trying to take over the country, President Palmer faints at a news conference, and Chloe is of course still taking big risks to help Jack.

Her latest risk involves Jack's bid to rescue Audrey Raines from the Chinese, in which Jack will actually deliver the technology to the Chinese to get Audrey out. Once Audrey's safe, he vows that he will do whatever it takes to prevent the Chinese from actually getting the tech, including blowing himself up with a brick of C4.

It's a little astonishing to me that Jack jumps into this strategy with both feet, considering that the Chinese didn't even really seem to emphasize that whole classic "Come alone or your friend dies" vibe. The dramatic crunch that ensues when Jack decides to do what he must do is worth the plot bump, however, and forms the most compelling sequences in the episode. Listening to Jack plead that the country "owes" him after everything that's happened on this seemingly endless day is pretty powerful stuff and Kiefer Sutherland really knocks that moment out of the park.

Of course, the course of 24 never did run smooth, so the second Palmer faints, Daniels takes office and wastes no time in canceling Jack's mission to save Audrey, without even really learning all that much about it. Tom Lennox attempts to remind the Vice-President that the hostage in question is the daughter of a former Secretary of the Treasury, and it seems to me that in our reality, that alone would be enough political weight to guarantee the full force of the U.S. military being thrown behind a rescue mission.

Instead, in the 24-verse, Daniels just grumbles something or other and cancels the op. Which, of course, doesn't please Jack, who really doesn't even need to be told--he senses trouble, and pulls a gun on his driver Doyle. Cue ticking clock.

I'm torn here. On one hand, it's not bad TV, certainly. It's got momentum and nice moments and is of course just more of the aforementioned pulse-pounding action.

Yet I wonder if these final episodes wouldn't be more satisfying if they instead featured a more elaborate and detailed conclusion to the season's main plot. There's no question that the turn in the storyline takes us into much tighter personal territory for Jack--while his family was mashed up in the suitcase nukes gambit (24 fan fiction writers--feel free to steal that perfect title), this latest gambit is about Jack saving Audrey because he cares about her, and because she was kidnapped only because she tried to save him. Jack is also asking the country he has given so much to save for their help and support, and they are failing him, which should deliver plenty of compelling drama in the weeks to come.

But...but...suitcase nukes! Seriously! Terrorists blowing up major American cities! One man against the world's toughest and most evil criminals!

I'll stay on board and see the season through, of course. I just hope the writers of 24 can pay off this sharp change in direction. Otherwise, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

iTunes Links

24 - Series
24 - Season 6
"11:00 PM - 12:00 AM"