A Blog
The calendar may say it’s still winter, but around here, grilling season has begun.
With the weather in the 50s and 60s the past few days and the daylight lasting past 7:30 p.m., The Civee and I decided it was time to start grilling again. And as you can see from the above image, it was worth it. We’re a little rusty, not having done the half-inside, half-outside cooking deal in some months, but we did just fine.
Q: What are three things not to leave laying around when Jack Bauer’s coming after you?
So Jack Bauer escaped from the hospital and is fighting for his life at a construction site, Secret Agent Larry Fine is having a helicopter escort him all around DC, the folks in the White House are going through damage control with the media and what is Tony Almeida doing?
Enjoying himself a nice mocha latte.
Heck of a season it’s shaking up to be for 24.
Continue reading “A: A Bulldozer, A Screwdriver and A Two-By-Four”
I have to admit, when Bill Buchanan showed up at CTU all those years ago (season four, anyone?) as a division stooge, I wasn’t a fan. But over these years, Bill has grown on me. And now, he’s gone.
Usually, when 24 introduces a character, I know right away whether I like them or whether I want Jack to put us out of our misery by crushing their windpipe with his legs. I have to admit, I was wrong about Bill. Maybe it’s because even though he was a division guy, he didn’t get in the way. Maybe it was because even though he was “seeing” Michelle, that was all water under the bridge between him and Tony. Or maybe it was because he was one of the few authority figures who saw the benefits in letting Jack be Jack.
Well, after five seasons, Bill is gone, having gone out in a selfless (typical Bill) blaze of glory in a successful attempt to liberate the White House and it’s hostages.
At least he got a silent clock. And in an effort to memorialize Bill, I’d like to quote something that I wrote in an episode recap from February of aught-six:
I read James Morrison, the guy who plays Buchanan, is a yoga instructor and poet. Because of this, I imagine Buchanan lives in a sparsely-decorated home, and sleeps on a stone tablet. Bill Buchanan is the man.
Yes Bill, in a television world where 95 percent of government authority figures are portrayed as idiots, you were the man.
So master con-man Sawyer is trapped in the 70s has to come up with a new identity on the spot, and the best he can do is Jim LaFleur?
Well, at least he made himself captain of the boat, instead of deck swabber.
Until yesterday, Ohio was the only state with an official state rock song.
Back in the 80’s, the Ohio Legislature made Hang on Sloopy the official state rock song. The Oklahoma State Legislature followed suit this week, only their choice for a song is much better:
A song by the alternative rock band The Flaming Lips has been given a big statewide kiss in Oklahoma.
Their tune “Do You Realize??” was named the state’s official rock song, beating out more famous songs written or recorded by Oklahomans such as “Heartbreak Hotel,” co-written by former Oklahoma school teacher Mae Boren Axton, and recorded by Elvis Presley.
“We have an official state folk song and a state country song. With as many outstanding rock artists as we have in Oklahoma, it was time to recognize this music as well,” said Sen. Mike Schulz, R-Altus.
More than 21,000 voted online from a list of 10 songs selected by a panel of experts. The winner was announced Monday in the Oklahoma Senate.
-from the AP
I’m a bit disappointed that Ohio’s song is a soundalike of Louie, Louie, while the Oklahomers (Oklahomies? Oklahomans? Oklahomites? Oklahomians?) are represented by an alt-rock masterpiece.
Oh well. I salute you, Oklahoma. Well done.
After watching these last two frustrating (yet somehow compelling) hours of 24, all I have to say is if security really is that bad at the White House, we’re all screwed.
So you’re on a path to sacrificing your life to get your friends back to a magical island. You turn a magical frozen donkey wheel (the wrong way). You’re about to find out the love of your life is dead while being driven around by a really creepy guy you had a spooky encounter with in the past. Your leg is broken and you’re stranded in the middle of the Tunisian desert. Once night falls, you’re apprehended by a bunch of guys in a pickup truck and taken to what passes for a Tunisian hospital. Once there, you’re attended to by the Tunisian version of House.
Welcome back to civilization, John Locke Jeremy Bentham.
Throughout his career as a government agent, Jack Bauer has a history of being one step ahead of everyone else. Bad guys, good guys, idiot family members, Jack is portrayed as the sharpest knife in the drawer that is the 24-verse. As a viewer, it’s fun- cheering for the guy who is always right and always gets things done.
But tonight, I have to admit my faith in Jack was broken. True, Jack’s pursuit of Ike and the information to take down the conspiracy achieved their goals, but he made two missteps along the way that resulted in me shouting at the TV, questioning whether Jack was out of his mind.
First, after pulling Ike’s seemingly lifeless body out of a flaming car, Jack left Ike there to lay on the sidewalk while he helped Special Agent Renee attempt to save Martika.
Not that I have anything against saving the life of someone who helped you nail the bad guy, but I’ve watched way too much TV to expect Ike to still be laying there when Jack is done trying to save Martika.
Secondly, shortly after procuring a chip from Ike’s body, Jack proceeds to hand said MacGuffin over to a random police officer who just so happened to be standing by a helicopter. Now, that chip contained the names and information on all of the government agents involved in the conspiracy, right? Then why would Jack hand that over to some random police officer?
Luckily, neither of these missteps came back to bite Jack in the ass. Hopefully, Jack’s brain was catching up on its sleep this episode and his body was on autopilot. Jack will be back to normal next week (I hope).
Despite Jack’s questionable decisions, the whole pursuit of Ike and retrieval of the microchip is over. But the name of the game is 24, not 9, and there’s more to talk about.
Welcome back, Oceanic Six…Welcome back.
For all the hubbub about this season of Lost featuring the cast split between the Island and the mainland, everyone got back on the same piece of land pretty quickly, huh?
I thought they were going to drag out the O6’s off-island storyline all season, but I’m glad they didn’t. On tonight’s episode, 316, we’ve seen at least three of them (with possibly two more, plus Ben, Frank, the body of John Locke, Marshall Girl and the random first class dude of indeterminate origin) making it back to the island, in what appears to be the mid-seventies. Meanwhile, Aaron’s back on the mainland taking acting lessons.
First, just a little something I want to get out of the way. From January 19 of this year:
Speaking of the FBI, Special Agent Jeanene’s associate (good ol’ whatshisname) is really irritating, even moreso than her. I’m guessing he’s the mole. Because of the hair grease. Why the hair grease? Well, the main terrorist (the guy who Jack’s boss reported to) also used a bit too much hair grease this morning. So did one of the evil secret service agents. Remember back in season 1 how all the good guys used Macs and the bad guys used PCs? Well, I’m calling it now. Bad guys, hair grease. Good guys, natural and fluffy.
I’m glad that I actually called a mole right one of these seasons. Even though “good ol’ whatshisname” since been re-named on this blog as Special Agent Brylcreem, my disdain for him and his whiny ways have not changed. I suppose that serves notice to Special Agent The Bowler as well, because she remains just as annoying. Still, this whole episode just reinforced one fact:
