Category: 24 (Page 15 of 25)

As Fox releases its fall schedule, “Drive” fans get revved up for those last two episodes…

May 17, 2007 / Will Harris

…but let’s get the bad news out of the way first: we asked Peter Liguori, Fox’s President of Entertainment, point blank as to whether the show might yet be saved if it somehow sets ratings records when its last two episodes air on July 4th.

His response: “As near and dear to my heart as that show is, I would say that that’s definitely a long shot.”

Ah, well. Not that anyone expected it would play out any differently, I’m sure, but it would’ve been nice if he’d gone out on a limb and, “By God, if that thing scores such-and-such a rating, then we sure WILL pick it back up!” But no such luck.

So, okay, now that we’re pretty sure about what isn’t going to be on Fox’s 2007 – 2008 fall schedule, let’s take a look at what will…but be forewarned about one thing: Fox is playing the game of having one schedule in the fall and one schedule in the spring. Not that that’s anything new, but it does show a certain amount of foresight to be willing to lay out their strategy this early.

MONDAY

The fall starts out with “Prison Break” in the 8 PM timeslot, followed by a new drama, “K-Ville,” which is already destined to create a stir because of its setting.

K-VILLE: From writer and executive producer Jonathan Lisco (“NYPD Blue,” “The District”) comes a heroic police drama set in New Orleans. Two years after Katrina, the city is still in chaos. Many cops have quit, and the jails, police stations and crime labs still haven’t been properly rebuilt. But the cops who remain have courage to burn and a passion to reclaim and rebuild their city. MARLIN BOULET (Anthony Anderson, “The Departed,” “The Shield”) is a brash, funny, in-your-face veteran of the NOPD’s Felony Action Squad, the specialized unit that targets the most-wanted criminals. Even when his partner deserted him during the storm, Boulet held his post, spending days in the water saving lives and keeping order. Now he’s unapologetic about bending the rules when it comes to collaring bad guys. Boulet’s new partner, TREVOR COBB (Cole Hauser, “The Break-Up,” “ER”), was a soldier in Afghanistan before joining the NOPD. He’s tough and committed, but if he’s less than comfortable with Boulet’s methods, it’s because he’s harboring a dark secret. Cobb has come to New Orleans seeking redemption, but redemption can be dangerous. Will Boulet be able to trust him? Will Cobb’s past endanger them both? Rounding out the crew of cops are hotheaded BILLY “K-9” FAUST (Maximiliano Hernández, “Law & Order,” “Shark”), who often speaks before thinking; wisecracking JEFF “GLUE BOY” GOODEN (Blake Shields, “Sleeper Cell,” “Veronica Mars”), the team’s comic relief; tough-as-nails GINGER “LOVE TAP” LeBEAU (Tawny Cypress, “Heroes”), the only female on the squad, who gives as good as she gets; and CAPTAIN JAMES EMBRY (John Carroll Lynch, “Zodiac,” “The Drew Carey Show”), who wrangles the eclectic personalities of his squad with equal parts humor and tenacity.

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/WRITER: Jonathan Lisco
DIRECTOR: Deran Sarafian
CAST: Anthony Anderson as Marlin Boulet, Cole Hauser as Trevor Cobb, Maximiliano Hernández as Billy “K-9” Faust, Blake Shields as Jeff “Glue Boy” Gooden, Tawny Cypress as Ginger “Love Tap” LeBeau, John Carroll Lynch as Captain James Embry

Come January, “K-Ville” will apparently move to the 8 PM timeslot, and, upon its completion, “Prison Break” will return to that timeslot while “24” reclaims the 9 PM slot.

Oh, and check this out: another writer on the teleconference basically called Fox out on how crap “24” has been this season and wanted to know if things were gonna change next year. Having been put on the spot, Mr. Liguori responded thusly:

“We’ve heard what the show’s loyal audience has said to us, and I’ll tell you that it’s really fuelled the show runners to be more daring with what they do next year. I’ve always likened ‘24’ to a James Bond movie – every one offers a different vision, different villains, a different love interest – and I have every confidence that Joel (Surnow), Bob (Cochran), and Howard (Gordon) will come back with a daring and loquacious swing at the plate with the next season of ’24,’ and I’m looking forward to next year.”

Nice comeback. We’ll see if his confidence turns out to be warranted…

24, Actors, Actresses, American Idol, External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, News, Prison Break, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

24, Hour 22: Girlfriend in a coma. I know, I know, it’s serious

May 15, 2007 / David Medsker

Talk about art imitating blog. Last week, after trying to sift through the ashes of the most needlessly circuitous plot in TV history, I said, “None of this makes sense.” Tonight, as Senator Roark is processing the seriousness of Russian President Suvarov’s threat to attack the Americans for willingly allowing Russian technology to fall into the hands of the Russians, Roark said, yep, “None of this makes sense.”

At last, we are all in agreement.

As for Farmer Hoggett’s relationship with the Chinese, well, to quote the Hives, hate to say I told you so, all right. Cheng praised Hoggett as a man of vision, and Hoggett loves China so much that he plans to steal his grandson and live there forever and ever. I’d say that makes them allies, wouldn’t you? Well, until (a clearly deaf) Cheng loses Jack Jack, and Hoggett kills the deal to hand over the Russian component. Gotta give Hoggett credit: he has the negotiation skills of a Corleone. Or maybe Mel Gibson’s character in “Payback.” “My money, yes or no?” “No!” Bang.

So back to the blog’s title. Lisa Miller’s attempt to schmooze her lobbyist spy of a paramour ends poorly of course, and her boy toy chokes her until she’s unconscious. Another coma? Are you kidding me? How many is that over the course of the show? Maura Tierney, Tony Almeida, Wheelbarrow Wayne twice…wasn’t Robocop in one for a while last year? Does anyone know four people that have fallen into comas? I was only sort of kidding when I called this show “Dynasty of Terror” a while back. It really is becoming a full fledged soap opera.

Is Audrey Raines really gone from the show? Or is she merely gone for now, only to be brought back stunt-style next season, a la Kim Bauer last year? And as one of our astute readers pointed out, they never explained how Big Dick Heller survived that header into the Pacific from a quarter mile above the surface. But these guys are good at not explaining stuff, aren’t they? The Palmer family may as well not even exist at this point, and the fallout from this morning’s nuclear explosion doesn’t seem to be affecting anything at all. Got a plot thread that needs to be temporarily resolved? Put it in a coma. As Eric Cartman would say, this is totally weak. Indeed, this has gone from weak to super weak.

Did I see an oil rig as the site of the big showdown for next week’s two-hour season finale? An oil rig? What the hell is Cheng doing on an oil rig? And besides, didn’t “Alias” do that a couple years ago? Speaking of “Alias,” what happened to “Drive”? My beloved Amy Acker was on both shows, and we at Bullz-Eye are all big, big fans of “Drive” hero Nathan Fillion. Hey, here’s an idea: make Fillion the villain – the only villain – for next season. He usually plays the plucky hero, but fans of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” will tell you that he can play a baddie just as well as he can play a goodie. Create some kind of Bruce Willis/Alan Rickman dynamic between him and Kiefer, and you’ll save the show. Oh, and if any “24” writers are reading this, you should know that our fearless leader is a lawyer, and he will fight for a story credit. Just thought I’d warn you in advance.

24, Actors, External TV, TV, TV Action

24, Hour 21: I call shenanigans

May 8, 2007 / David Medsker

All right, let me see if I have this straight. Farmer Hoggett, the father of a Federal agent, sold suitcase nukes to a former Russian general, who in turn teamed up with an Islamic terrorist group that had the resources to execute a massive strike that would take down several highly populated U.S. cities. Those terrorists, before they even revealed that they had nuclear capabilities, demanded the delivery of Jack Bauer, currently imprisoned by the Chinese government, for the purpose of killing him as a vendetta for various crimes against the Islamic terrorist cause. Jack, luckily, is not killed, and assists CTU in recovering the remaining suitcase nukes. Enter the Chinese, who extort Jack into stealing the components of one of the nukes, using former squeeze Audrey Raines – assumed dead by the Western world – as bait. Jack complies, even though it means serious jail time if not the death penalty. The Chinese now have Russian nuclear technology, and for that they have to thank…Farmer Hoggett, who has apparently been working with them from the very beginning.

I call shenanigans.

This is an even bigger house of cards than the ending to “Saw III,” and that was the shakiest house of cards I’ve seen in my life. In order for this to work, Hoggett has to hope that Jack doesn’t get killed by the Muslims. He then has to hope that no one at CTU will consider holding him for questioning when his other son – who works for him, I might add – confesses to trying to kill Jack and orchestrating the hit on President Palmer the First. He then has to hope that no one will find it at all suspicious when said son dies while alone in a room with him, as he blames his son Jack for excessive use of force. After that, he actually has to hope that Jack can stop the bombs from being detonated so Jack is even in a position to deliver the technology to the Chinese at all.

I call shenanigans!

On the other side of the rock, Lisa Miller is forced to snuggle up to her lobbyist spy of a boyfriend in order to implicate him, and if Bishop didn’t read her non-verbal cues, then he is the worst spy in the history of bad spies. We’re talking Aykroyd/Chase “Spies Like Us” bad, decoy bad. He must want to have sex with her pretty badly, even though they just did it an hour ago and he was alarmed by her abrupt departure and equally abrupt return. Can they really convict Lisa of treason? She had no idea she was being played. That’s like pressing charges against people who have their identities stolen.

None of this makes sense. Or, if it does actually work in the vaguest way possible, it all leads to a big “Who cares?,” as my wife puts it. Can’t say I disagree. Jack Bauer, you have officially been put on notice.

24, External TV, TV, TV Action

24, Hour 20: Farewell, my concubine

May 1, 2007 / David Medsker

I am not proud of the fact that I have an uncanny ability to tell when a woman is repulsed by the thought of being touched by a certain man. Maybe it’s the result of some repressed memory of a humiliating experience in high school, I couldn’t tell you. The memory, if it exists, is suppressed, remember? But the instinct is not. I know fake emotion when I see it. And you, Lisa Miller, couldn’t fool me on the foolingest day of your life with an electrified fooling machine.

As an aside, I both love and hate the fact that Roark’s concubine is named Lisa Miller. I’m tempted to adorn her with the nickname of Maura Tierney, in honor of the original Lisa Miller, but I’m already confusing people with the Senator Roark business, so I suppose I will call her by her (stolen) name. Still, this Lisa Miller will always be Maura Tierney to me. Only not as pretty.

Man oh man, did the Chinese rewire Audrey something fierce. Over a hundred injection marks? That would explain the bulky clothing she wore to the exchange; had she looked like a heroin junkie at the drop, Jack probably would have flicked the switch on the C4 in an attempt to save her honor. Instead, Audrey lives long enough to teach Nadia a valuable lesson on the importance of doing what’s right versus doing what the rulebook requires. Jack and the Ricker, they’re peas in a pod, they are.

William Devane doesn’t get a tremendous amount of work, but I just love his low-key intensity in situations where a lesser actor would take things way over the top. “You’re cursed,” he tells Jack right after he’s ordered her to stay the hell away from his daughter. And you could tell that, in the way that he didn’t argue the point, Jack believed what Big Dick Heller said to be true. After all, look at the lives of any female who has dared to get close to him. Death, torture, bear trap, child out of wedlock, that’s what the Women of Jack receive for their troubles. (Yes, that last one is still unconfirmed, but come on, we all know that Jack Jack is not Graem’s kid.)

So “Lisa Miller” is put in play to snare the lobbyist. Was it just me, or was the thread connecting Lisa as the leak a tenuous one at best? Sure, you’ve got her dead to rights as a philanderer, but I don’t recall them unveiling any hard evidence that she told the lobbyist anything. Did he get it off of her email? Not even Roark was sure of that. Well, if you guys aren’t sure of your intel, then how are we supposed to buy into it?

And speaking of stuff we’re supposed to buy, we still do not know what Wheelbarrow Wayne gave the Chinese in order for them to give up Jack. We still don’t know what’s up with former President Buck Buck Brawwwwwk. And we still don’t know how Farmer Hoggett connects the dots between President BBB and Jack. Are they saving all those plot points for the “24” movie? Will there even be a “24” movie now that “South Park” has torn them a new one? Why don’t they just make another “South Park” movie? That’s what I really want to see. “Shut your fucking face, Uncle Fuckaaaaaaa…”

24, Actors, Actresses, External TV, TV, TV Action

24, Hour 19: CTU’s terrible, horrible, no good very bad hour

April 24, 2007 / David Medsker

So let’s take a look at what has happened to CTU in the last 60 minutes:

– Director Bill Buchanan, the lone sane man in a sea of crazy, was fired by Karen Hayes, his wife, for releasing Fayed two years ago for lack of evidence. That’s right, he was fired for following procedure and not obtaining a then-innocent man. Holy “Minority Report,” Batman.
– Morris O’Brien, fed up with the flippant cruelty of his ex-wife and current girlfriend (that comment about arming the nukes was a low blow), has requested a transfer out of coms.
– Acting director Nadia (!) has ordered the arrest of Jack Bauer. I’m actually on her side on this one. She had to do it: he went rogue and left them no choice but to take him down. However…
– Because of the Ricker’s impulsiveness, Cheng got away with the chip despite Jack’s plans to blow Cheng, the chip, and himself sky high. In the meantime, Cheng’s men blew a CTU helicopter out of the sky.

That’s some bad hat, Harry.

As much as I didn’t like seeing Cheng get away with the chip – if you were shocked by the outcome, congratulations, you haven’t watched as much TV as the rest of us – I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Cheng’s men launch a bazooka at that CTU helicopter. The gloves are off again, or as they said in one memorable “South Park” episode, it’s on. China just attacked the United States’ Counter-Intelligence Unit. Is there any way that China can spin this in such a way that they’re the victim? Don’t think so. Hit ‘em with everything you’ve got. Nice to see the show sport some onions.

And for the second week, I saw Senator Roark’s assistant/concubine wince at the thought of getting physical with him. Sure, she kissed him and said she’d get a change of clothes, but that woman’s body language is saying something compleeeeeeeetely different. She’s saying, “Damn it, I was kissing William Fichtner on the set of ‘Invasion’ a few months ago! Now I’m kissing…this? He damn well better make me the new First Lady.” And the funny thing is, she’d still be a distant second in the list of blindly ambitious First Ladies, but that’s a topic for another blog altogether. And speaking of First Ladies, I just realized: Wheelbarrow Wayne doesn’t have one, either. Or if he did, where is she? Is that even allowed? Was there speculation about his preferences during his campaign due to the Seinfeldian trifecta of Palmer being thin, neat and single?

And lastly, there’s Audrey, or what’s left of her, anyway. Her babbling towards the end of the episode sounded like Tara after the demigod Glory scrambled her brain in Season Five of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” I have to say, I didn’t see that coming. When I saw her walk in with the bulky coat, I immediately thought, “She’s strapped with C-4, too,” and that Cheng was going to blow Jack sky high after he was safely out of range. Since that didn’t happen, well, I’m at a loss for how they resolve that plot thread in a way that ends with me giving a damn. Could we get JJ Abrams to take over as show runner for a season? Screw the final frontier, JJ: we need you here and now!