Thursday, December 11, 2003
Too much?
So I'm standing by the microwave impatiently waiting for my lunch to finish heating up. It's late afternoon, I haven't eaten brekkie and my stomach's yelling furiously at me for treating it so badly. I'm staring the the seconds on the clock and as the final few count down I hear the famous 'tick-boom, tick-boom, tick-boom' in my head. I think that might just be a sign that I'm pretty far gone and there's no hope left for me.
Oh well :)
I finished up Season 2 screencaps today. That was fun. Took ages but I had a great time doing it as I do with all my screencaps. I just have to get through the rest of Season 1 now and then I get a break until Season 3 comes out on DVD :) I could cap Season 3 from the crappy downloaded episodes I've gotten but.. yuck. They look awful so S3 will just have to wait for the DVDs.
I'm babbling again. I'm really just trying to kill a little time before the kidlet gets home from school. Then I'm off to watch last Tuesday's show again. God it was so good. More twists and turns than a twisty-turny thing! -- Right she's home so off I go. Later kids.
Oh well :)
I finished up Season 2 screencaps today. That was fun. Took ages but I had a great time doing it as I do with all my screencaps. I just have to get through the rest of Season 1 now and then I get a break until Season 3 comes out on DVD :) I could cap Season 3 from the crappy downloaded episodes I've gotten but.. yuck. They look awful so S3 will just have to wait for the DVDs.
I'm babbling again. I'm really just trying to kill a little time before the kidlet gets home from school. Then I'm off to watch last Tuesday's show again. God it was so good. More twists and turns than a twisty-turny thing! -- Right she's home so off I go. Later kids.
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Tuesday, December 09, 2003
7pm - 8pm
..... Ugh.
I have no clue where to begin. This episode has just flipped every damn thing around and I'm all confused (but in a good, that-is-SO-24 kind of way.) Early into the episode Gael's duct-taping Kim up and menacing her, holding her at gunpoint - though I don't know why she's so scared. It's not like she hasn't 'been there, done that' before. Just kidding :) There was another moment of 'doh!' when Adam hung up the phone into Tech One (where Gael's holding Kim) *just* as she manages to pull the receiver off the hook. I went into this episode thinking that possibly Gael will hold Kim hostage throughout the show while fending off overly curious Adam. I was so wrong. I told you I was terrible at predicting stuff.
So Adam, who might just have the beginnings of a crush on Kim (who knows, I can't predict remember?), goes looking for her just when Gael's being briefed by Michelle. She's leaving the building you see, to go be with her husband. Michelle needed to hand off her duties to Gael I guess. I'm a little hazy about when Michelle suggested Chloe can help look after her things and Chapelle says poor socially inept Chloe is a pain in the ass, but it made me giggle :) I digress. But Michelle's off to see Tony, Gael's about to be handed the keys to CTU and we're all going 'Noooooo!' in our heads - or out loud depending on whether you're alone or not. But that wacky Adam. He's got to find Kim because his logs are backed up and she's supposed to be sorting that out. So to my surprise, he finds Kim all tied up quite early in the show. The jig is up for Gael and he does a runner. I'm sorry, but when he's about to get away, the scene with Michelle walking towards him, unafraid of being shot and with no fear - well that was cool as hell. Michelle is rocking my socks this season. So it's off to the torture room for Gael.
Cut to the Palmer plot. Where did they go? They left the college campus and debate. Are they now back at L.A. headquarters whatever-it-was from last season? I don't know. Anyway, wanker brother tells Palmer he needs to let Jack go because he's got bigger fires to put out. And it seems like he's going to do just that. We'll have to wait and see because that was pretty much it with David for this hour. He had a quick moment with Anne as he walked into the building, and then listened to wankerboy tell him to distance himself from Anne right now because he's used up his untrustworthy significant other card with Sherry and that the public is not going to care whether Anne's innocent of Keeler's allegations. Cut to Anne and she gets a call from her ex-husband. He wants to meet her at his office to give her documents that prove her innocence. Why? He would have taken a payoff from Palmer earlier and now suddenly he's grown a conscience and wants to make it right? I don't get it. Maybe that story's about to flip me next week but right now I don't care all that much.
Jack. Oh Jack you poor thing. Unconscious on a plane with a man who can't stop looking towards you with death in his eyes. Loved seeing Salazar playing pimp daddy with the obligatory scantily clad babes and wretched Cucaracha music. But I loved the looks he kept shooting towards Jack throughout the flight. I really thought he'd give in and off him. But for nearly the whole hour we know that Hector wants Jack alive and Ramon can't fathom why. Neither could I. But as Ramon goes off to play with the babes, Jack's left alone with Pedro the guard - whom he obviously knows and tries to talk his way out of the situation. To no avail. And then oh the shakes come. Withdrawals are at last hitting our beleaguered hero bigtime... or are they? Just as Pedro comes over to see if Jack's ok, Jack wraps those lethal legs around the boy's neck and kills him. Whahey!!! (Oh shit moment!) Now Jack's free and armed, just how we love him.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Hector's loading up a small army of his men to go and meet the plane. He hurriedly says goodbye to Claudia's lips and rushes off.
At CTU, Chapelle begins to interrogate Gael. He gets his flunky to inject Gael but they never really say what the junk is. Must be painful though because Gael was crying like a baby. But he wasn't giving any info up. Michelle greets Tony who's groggily waking up in recovery and as a true professional, after the mushy hello, he asks for an update. When he learns Gael's been busted as a mole he struggles out of bed and forces the doctor to release him immediately. Now, I love 24. I love the show beyond any show I've ever seen in my life. And I'm willing and able to bend the rules of believability moreso than others are in order to just enjoy the ride. But how can the boy be up and walking and talking and turning his head etc. so soon after what seemed like a major surgery? Only on TV it seems. I might do some looking up on vascular surgery and see if it's possible. Was the bullet in him? Or did it pass through? I can't remember. Anyway, I'm digressing again.
Tony asks Michelle to trust him and get him to CTU as soon as possible. While they're off doing that, Jack and Ramon are nearing their destination. Ramon gives in to his base desire to kill the man who put him in prison and goes into Jack's room. Except Jack's got a gun now and ends up taking Ramon hostage. I think Ramon was gobsmacked to find that his flunkies were not just shooting Jack as he ordered them to do. But they have an agenda old Ramon doesn't know about. So Jack's able to hold Ramon at gunpoint and tell him to shutup a lot. I like Ramon :) He really is quite funny to listen to when he's under duress and has had some awesome lines this season. "You don't look so good Jack. That's a bitch." - LOL!
Oh I forgot about Chase. Chase Chase Chase.. OH! Chapelle orders Chase back to CTU, but Chase wants to follow a thread to find and save Jack. Chappelle is quite insistent Chase return and when Chase wants to know why, Chapelle drops the bomb that he knows Jack's a junkie. You know that feeling you get when you know you're in trouble, and about to pretty much get busted for something? Your heart pounds a little. Maybe some blood rushes to your head and causes your skin to flush. I had that feeling just then, when Chapelle accused Chase of covering for Jack. That was awesome :) So Chase pretty much tells Chapelle where he can go and heads off to bully some poor accountant who did business with the Salazars into giving up the location of Hector. Then he makes that accountant fire up a private jet to take him there. On the way he phones Kim and discovers Gael's been sussed out. So he freaks out and says he has to 'go dark' and Kim can't tell anyone that he called her. He tries to make her promise not to tell, but we know how well Kim keeps a secret and she doesn't promise before hanging up.
Back to Jack. They have now landed and Hector anxiously waits for his brother to deplane. Instead the pilots, the babes, and the flunkies come out looking rather flustered. Finally Jack hauls Ramon out and orders Hector's men to stand down. And this is where I totally flipped out because Ramon looks confused as hell when Hector goes up to Jack, hugs him and says, 'Good work.' Gah! What???? Jack's bad now??? Argh! I almost cried. How could he do that!
Cut back to CTU and a bedraggled Tony wanders in and interrupts Chapelle's interrogation of Gael. Tony even tries to order Chapelle out of the room. What the hell is going on?? Gael's a mole for Salazars but is really a mole for CTU (well, for Tony and Jack anyway). Holy shit! Jack's trying to get back undercover with the Salazars. And that is how it ends. And I'm left wondering wtf!
God that was a great episode. I love so much how everything just got shaken up. I also love how everything that everyone has been whinging about suddenly has a purpose and it makes me smirk :) Patience grasshoppers. Never complain until it's all over. If you're still unhappy then have at it. But right now after checking various boards here and there, I'm seeing a lot of recent naysayers completely changing their tunes :)
Fucking fantastic.
I have no clue where to begin. This episode has just flipped every damn thing around and I'm all confused (but in a good, that-is-SO-24 kind of way.) Early into the episode Gael's duct-taping Kim up and menacing her, holding her at gunpoint - though I don't know why she's so scared. It's not like she hasn't 'been there, done that' before. Just kidding :) There was another moment of 'doh!' when Adam hung up the phone into Tech One (where Gael's holding Kim) *just* as she manages to pull the receiver off the hook. I went into this episode thinking that possibly Gael will hold Kim hostage throughout the show while fending off overly curious Adam. I was so wrong. I told you I was terrible at predicting stuff.
So Adam, who might just have the beginnings of a crush on Kim (who knows, I can't predict remember?), goes looking for her just when Gael's being briefed by Michelle. She's leaving the building you see, to go be with her husband. Michelle needed to hand off her duties to Gael I guess. I'm a little hazy about when Michelle suggested Chloe can help look after her things and Chapelle says poor socially inept Chloe is a pain in the ass, but it made me giggle :) I digress. But Michelle's off to see Tony, Gael's about to be handed the keys to CTU and we're all going 'Noooooo!' in our heads - or out loud depending on whether you're alone or not. But that wacky Adam. He's got to find Kim because his logs are backed up and she's supposed to be sorting that out. So to my surprise, he finds Kim all tied up quite early in the show. The jig is up for Gael and he does a runner. I'm sorry, but when he's about to get away, the scene with Michelle walking towards him, unafraid of being shot and with no fear - well that was cool as hell. Michelle is rocking my socks this season. So it's off to the torture room for Gael.
Cut to the Palmer plot. Where did they go? They left the college campus and debate. Are they now back at L.A. headquarters whatever-it-was from last season? I don't know. Anyway, wanker brother tells Palmer he needs to let Jack go because he's got bigger fires to put out. And it seems like he's going to do just that. We'll have to wait and see because that was pretty much it with David for this hour. He had a quick moment with Anne as he walked into the building, and then listened to wankerboy tell him to distance himself from Anne right now because he's used up his untrustworthy significant other card with Sherry and that the public is not going to care whether Anne's innocent of Keeler's allegations. Cut to Anne and she gets a call from her ex-husband. He wants to meet her at his office to give her documents that prove her innocence. Why? He would have taken a payoff from Palmer earlier and now suddenly he's grown a conscience and wants to make it right? I don't get it. Maybe that story's about to flip me next week but right now I don't care all that much.
Jack. Oh Jack you poor thing. Unconscious on a plane with a man who can't stop looking towards you with death in his eyes. Loved seeing Salazar playing pimp daddy with the obligatory scantily clad babes and wretched Cucaracha music. But I loved the looks he kept shooting towards Jack throughout the flight. I really thought he'd give in and off him. But for nearly the whole hour we know that Hector wants Jack alive and Ramon can't fathom why. Neither could I. But as Ramon goes off to play with the babes, Jack's left alone with Pedro the guard - whom he obviously knows and tries to talk his way out of the situation. To no avail. And then oh the shakes come. Withdrawals are at last hitting our beleaguered hero bigtime... or are they? Just as Pedro comes over to see if Jack's ok, Jack wraps those lethal legs around the boy's neck and kills him. Whahey!!! (Oh shit moment!) Now Jack's free and armed, just how we love him.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Hector's loading up a small army of his men to go and meet the plane. He hurriedly says goodbye to Claudia's lips and rushes off.
At CTU, Chapelle begins to interrogate Gael. He gets his flunky to inject Gael but they never really say what the junk is. Must be painful though because Gael was crying like a baby. But he wasn't giving any info up. Michelle greets Tony who's groggily waking up in recovery and as a true professional, after the mushy hello, he asks for an update. When he learns Gael's been busted as a mole he struggles out of bed and forces the doctor to release him immediately. Now, I love 24. I love the show beyond any show I've ever seen in my life. And I'm willing and able to bend the rules of believability moreso than others are in order to just enjoy the ride. But how can the boy be up and walking and talking and turning his head etc. so soon after what seemed like a major surgery? Only on TV it seems. I might do some looking up on vascular surgery and see if it's possible. Was the bullet in him? Or did it pass through? I can't remember. Anyway, I'm digressing again.
Tony asks Michelle to trust him and get him to CTU as soon as possible. While they're off doing that, Jack and Ramon are nearing their destination. Ramon gives in to his base desire to kill the man who put him in prison and goes into Jack's room. Except Jack's got a gun now and ends up taking Ramon hostage. I think Ramon was gobsmacked to find that his flunkies were not just shooting Jack as he ordered them to do. But they have an agenda old Ramon doesn't know about. So Jack's able to hold Ramon at gunpoint and tell him to shutup a lot. I like Ramon :) He really is quite funny to listen to when he's under duress and has had some awesome lines this season. "You don't look so good Jack. That's a bitch." - LOL!
Oh I forgot about Chase. Chase Chase Chase.. OH! Chapelle orders Chase back to CTU, but Chase wants to follow a thread to find and save Jack. Chappelle is quite insistent Chase return and when Chase wants to know why, Chapelle drops the bomb that he knows Jack's a junkie. You know that feeling you get when you know you're in trouble, and about to pretty much get busted for something? Your heart pounds a little. Maybe some blood rushes to your head and causes your skin to flush. I had that feeling just then, when Chapelle accused Chase of covering for Jack. That was awesome :) So Chase pretty much tells Chapelle where he can go and heads off to bully some poor accountant who did business with the Salazars into giving up the location of Hector. Then he makes that accountant fire up a private jet to take him there. On the way he phones Kim and discovers Gael's been sussed out. So he freaks out and says he has to 'go dark' and Kim can't tell anyone that he called her. He tries to make her promise not to tell, but we know how well Kim keeps a secret and she doesn't promise before hanging up.
Back to Jack. They have now landed and Hector anxiously waits for his brother to deplane. Instead the pilots, the babes, and the flunkies come out looking rather flustered. Finally Jack hauls Ramon out and orders Hector's men to stand down. And this is where I totally flipped out because Ramon looks confused as hell when Hector goes up to Jack, hugs him and says, 'Good work.' Gah! What???? Jack's bad now??? Argh! I almost cried. How could he do that!
Cut back to CTU and a bedraggled Tony wanders in and interrupts Chapelle's interrogation of Gael. Tony even tries to order Chapelle out of the room. What the hell is going on?? Gael's a mole for Salazars but is really a mole for CTU (well, for Tony and Jack anyway). Holy shit! Jack's trying to get back undercover with the Salazars. And that is how it ends. And I'm left wondering wtf!
God that was a great episode. I love so much how everything just got shaken up. I also love how everything that everyone has been whinging about suddenly has a purpose and it makes me smirk :) Patience grasshoppers. Never complain until it's all over. If you're still unhappy then have at it. But right now after checking various boards here and there, I'm seeing a lot of recent naysayers completely changing their tunes :)
Fucking fantastic.
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Homage or ripoff?
A lot of fans seem to be pissed about the big Russian Roulette scene in 24. Something about the film Deer Hunter or something. I'm just glad I've not seen it. But you know? Even if I had seen it, I don't think I'd care very much if 24 took inspiration from it. I'm talking blind here because I can't tell from everyone's bitching whether the scene was a ripoff of Deer Hunter or an homage. So without having seen the film, here's my take on it:
I looked it up on the imdb and aha - it's got Deniro and Walken in it. Say no more :) Tough guy Vietnam movie. So I can imagine what the Russian Roulette scene(s?) in that would be like. Must have been very powerful (powerful enough to be remembered for comparison 25 years later). But my theory is that the prisoners at Downey were most likely the type of men who loved The Deer Hunter and movies like it. So why wouldn't they force Jack, the guard and Salazar to play out what must have been a visceral and exciting tough-guy moment from that particular film? What do they have to lose? They know they aren't getting out of there anyway. So they block up the doors and have a little fun with the hostages. And this theory works for me :)
Anyway, if it were me writing this scene (don't I wish!), and I'd written my prisoners into a corner, given them guns and hostages and no way out, I'd probably be thinking that my guys are hyped up from the thrill of a riot (and a break in prison monotony), and my 'leader' prisoner in the scene is a complete psychopath... What could I have them do with the hostages while Chase et. al. race to get Jack and Salazar. They could just sit around quietly, but that doesn't seem in keeping with the prison mentality. Hmmm. I know! Remember that cool scene in that old movie Deer Hunter? Why not make Jack and Salazar do something like that somehow... Roulette just seems like a natural progression in the scene really. And who knows, maybe the writers weren't thinking about Deer Hunter at all when they wrote it. Russian Roulette isn't exactly exclusive to that movie, surely?
I know I've gone back a couple of episodes here, but even now when we're going into episode 7 tonight (yay!) some people around the Net are still complaning about that particular scene. And I guess I just have to say that Deer Hunter or no Deer Hunter, that was an incredibly taut and tense scene to watch on network television and I loved every second of it.
I looked it up on the imdb and aha - it's got Deniro and Walken in it. Say no more :) Tough guy Vietnam movie. So I can imagine what the Russian Roulette scene(s?) in that would be like. Must have been very powerful (powerful enough to be remembered for comparison 25 years later). But my theory is that the prisoners at Downey were most likely the type of men who loved The Deer Hunter and movies like it. So why wouldn't they force Jack, the guard and Salazar to play out what must have been a visceral and exciting tough-guy moment from that particular film? What do they have to lose? They know they aren't getting out of there anyway. So they block up the doors and have a little fun with the hostages. And this theory works for me :)
Anyway, if it were me writing this scene (don't I wish!), and I'd written my prisoners into a corner, given them guns and hostages and no way out, I'd probably be thinking that my guys are hyped up from the thrill of a riot (and a break in prison monotony), and my 'leader' prisoner in the scene is a complete psychopath... What could I have them do with the hostages while Chase et. al. race to get Jack and Salazar. They could just sit around quietly, but that doesn't seem in keeping with the prison mentality. Hmmm. I know! Remember that cool scene in that old movie Deer Hunter? Why not make Jack and Salazar do something like that somehow... Roulette just seems like a natural progression in the scene really. And who knows, maybe the writers weren't thinking about Deer Hunter at all when they wrote it. Russian Roulette isn't exactly exclusive to that movie, surely?
I know I've gone back a couple of episodes here, but even now when we're going into episode 7 tonight (yay!) some people around the Net are still complaning about that particular scene. And I guess I just have to say that Deer Hunter or no Deer Hunter, that was an incredibly taut and tense scene to watch on network television and I loved every second of it.
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Monday, December 08, 2003
I'd vote for him.
I don't really have anything earth-shattering to cover today. Just killing time until the show tomorrow. Although, how sad is it that I'm mad at my daughter's band teacher for scheduling the Christmas concert on 24 Night. *sigh* My whole 24 routine is messed up now. (Before anyone thinks I'm an uncaring horrible parent, rest easy, I'm not that ticked about it and yes I DO have a VCR :D)
So I was thinking about President Palmer this season and if I could choose one word to describe him right now, it would have to be... Well I can't think of a good word right now. I've been staring at the screen now for five minutes trying to sum him up with one word and it just isn't happening. He's not the same Palmer on this 'day' that we knew from Day 1 or 2. I think his confidence is gone. Understandable considering his ex-wife was mixed up in a plot to detonate a nuclear bomb and is probably coming up with a new scheme from prison to "help David" (since it's been announced Penny Johnson Jerald is on board for some episodes this season, Sherry's coming back baby! When and how, I don't know and don't want to know.) Not to mention the bio-attack on his life, the betrayals of his closest friends and allies etc etc. I suppose that has to take its toll. He's cautious - almost too cautious.
So now we get to see this different side of Palmer. One that allows his wanker brother (I'm still waiting for him to de-wank.) to lead him around. I can't decide whether he's really got David's best interests at heart or not and in that sense, he's very Sherry-like. Wayne is not above dealing dirty to protect the president; he's been doing those patented 24 lingering looks that make you wonder if he's really got his own agenda and what that agenda might be... He's wonderfully ambiguous, just like Sherry. However, Palmer should know Wayne better than he knew Sherry considering they're brothers. You would think anyway. I just don't know. I still love me some Palmer, but this season he's confusing me. You could count on Palmer to do the ethical and honourable thing before. But with his decision to pay off Packard's greedy husband (which I know he didn't do but only because Anne talked him out of it) it seems like the Prez is giving up those virtues to some extent in exchange for a less bumpy road.
I'm rambling now. Time to shut up (stupid). I'm off to renew my Allstate insurance on my Ford F150 and call my sister with my MCI friends and family plan :)
So I was thinking about President Palmer this season and if I could choose one word to describe him right now, it would have to be... Well I can't think of a good word right now. I've been staring at the screen now for five minutes trying to sum him up with one word and it just isn't happening. He's not the same Palmer on this 'day' that we knew from Day 1 or 2. I think his confidence is gone. Understandable considering his ex-wife was mixed up in a plot to detonate a nuclear bomb and is probably coming up with a new scheme from prison to "help David" (since it's been announced Penny Johnson Jerald is on board for some episodes this season, Sherry's coming back baby! When and how, I don't know and don't want to know.) Not to mention the bio-attack on his life, the betrayals of his closest friends and allies etc etc. I suppose that has to take its toll. He's cautious - almost too cautious.
So now we get to see this different side of Palmer. One that allows his wanker brother (I'm still waiting for him to de-wank.) to lead him around. I can't decide whether he's really got David's best interests at heart or not and in that sense, he's very Sherry-like. Wayne is not above dealing dirty to protect the president; he's been doing those patented 24 lingering looks that make you wonder if he's really got his own agenda and what that agenda might be... He's wonderfully ambiguous, just like Sherry. However, Palmer should know Wayne better than he knew Sherry considering they're brothers. You would think anyway. I just don't know. I still love me some Palmer, but this season he's confusing me. You could count on Palmer to do the ethical and honourable thing before. But with his decision to pay off Packard's greedy husband (which I know he didn't do but only because Anne talked him out of it) it seems like the Prez is giving up those virtues to some extent in exchange for a less bumpy road.
I'm rambling now. Time to shut up (stupid). I'm off to renew my Allstate insurance on my Ford F150 and call my sister with my MCI friends and family plan :)
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