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Marvel comes out with a Pride and Prejudice comic.

Also? Annie Wersching (Renee Walker on 24) has gotta be one of the cutest fangirls of 24 ever. Apparently while she was filming scenes with Mary-lynn and Carlos, she would internally freak out about how she was "talking to Chloe and Tony." Also, she flew back to her hometown and hired out a local theater for all her friends and family to watch the premiere of 24. She even got a bunch of the cast and crew to say hello wherein you can see her acting like a kid in a candy store (one cast spoiler in that video, btw. It's out there in the media already, but just fair warning for the spoiler phobes.)

Anyway, I find Wersching's fangirl ways somewhat hilarious and totally endearing, which is great because it's nice that my favorite new character on 24 isn't played by a total jerk. Not that the cast of 24 isn't awesome, but it can happen. And I really like Renee's character. I can't figure out why just yet, but I do. Maybe it's because she's like the female counterpart to S1!Jack. Or maybe she's more like S1!Tony. I don't know, what do you think?

[Poll #1346216]

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That video is one of the most insanely cute things I've seen this year <3. I think it was for her birthday, too.

Yes. Yes it can happen *eyes season six*. But Renee! Awesome!

I actually think, going from that scale we were talking 'bout last week I believe, that she's the Scully to Jack's Mulder, and Jack is the Scully to Tony's Mulder, which...kinda makes sense on the idealist-cynic scale. But yeah, right now I'm voting Scully with a hint of Nina.

Somewhere on youtube, there's a piece that the local news did on her viewing, and it actually gets cuter when you see all her friends and family being giddy at her getting this gig. It's really adorable that they're so supportive. Honestly though, where the hell did she come from? I know she was the last one cast, but damn. Once again the casting department for 24 knocks it out of the park.

Oh and btw, here's something else to think about in terms of the Renee-Jack-Tony thread. Someone over at TWOP mentioned that Renee was like the Ghost of Christmas Past while Tony was the Ghost of Christmas Future. I thought that was amusing.

I really can't wait until tonight though. From the previews, I realize now that the "When are you guys going to realize that nobody else is playing by your rules? / "The rules make us better." conversation is going to go down in this episode. I think that is why I'm good with the new characters that were added this season. The writers are really doing an excellent job showing us the different points of view to evaluate the question of honor and morality this season and I think that without Larry and Renee, we couldn't get that dialogue really going if it were just Jack, Tony, Bill and Chloe.

Because it really is an interesting question. What happens when the rules change and you realize that "There is no such thing as honor anymore" but you know that "the rules make us better"? I was thinking last night about how the rules of warfare changed in the Revolutionary War, and again World War II and in the Vietnam War and now with the Iraq Wars. When the rules change because people aren't adhering to them, do you change with it or do you draw a line and say, "No, I won't cross this line." It's funny because Jack's comment about the "two worlds" is one possibility that allows for both to exist (and we really have been playing in that possibility for the last 5 seasons), but what I'm really loving about S7 is that it is the convergence of those two worlds.

Also, I need a Renee icon.

Edited 2009-02-09 16:45 (UTC)

Aw, that is adorable. Hey, she's awesome and I love that they found her. She was in that one show that didn't get picked up which sounded like it sucked anyway but Jon Cassar thought she was great. She was also in a bunch of other shows with past 24 actors, like E-Ring.

I love that! And it really is true in a way. Chloe totally calls Ghost of Christmas Present.

Oooo yes - and really it makes that whole bizarre dynamic in that clip make a lot more sense. I like the addition of the FBI - Larry keeps standing on the line that Renee keeps crossing - I hope someone says that just because I'm that much of a geek.

But is there really no more honor left or is that just what men like Emerson believe? (I almost called him Henderson, the names are SO CLOSE). I think it takes a lot of integrity to stick to the rules when everyone's breaking them, but, in the 24verse at least it seems you can stick to the rules and die or break the rules and lose yourself. It's not a great choice.

I love that! And it really is true in a way. Chloe totally calls Ghost of Christmas Present.

YES. Dude, someone needs to fic that like whoa.

But is there really no more honor left or is that just what men like Emerson believe?

Well, it's all about perspective now isn't it? There are the moral imperatives set out by the Geneva Convention precisely because of the Nazis, but everything leading up to that is little bit more fuzzy. I remember reading about the Revolutionary War and how ultimately the British just kept getting hit by the more free form tactics, because they would maintain the lines and the American colonists wouldn't. It used to be that THAT was how you fought with honor- in open, not utilizing guerilla war-fare. And then you got to World War II, when all of a sudden, the US breaks all the rules by busting out with the A-bomb on places where civilians live. And then you get to 9/11 where the threat was coordinated and executed from within the residents of the country. So what really defines honor when honor in wartime is a dynamic thing? Its definition lies in the context of those exercising it.

That's why 24 is so interesting to me as a show. Because it's one more step beyond what we've experienced. In the 24-verse, it's not just that the external enemies are doing horrific things and employing tactics that those following the Geneva Convention disallow. It's that our team members can be so easily turned that is so distressing. The show explores a situation wherein you have Americans working against Americans and moles are a staple of every season, and so the question of honor still existing depends on how deep the corruption goes. Can it be isolated and extracted or is it just too late and it's every man for himself as Emerson had Tony believing? Because even if/when the solution is fixed by Jack at the end of this "day," there is the argument that it keeps happening again and again. And one day Jack isn't going to be there to fix it.

It's an interesting what if? question, and I like that the writers are really getting into the nitty gritty of it through the character interactions.

Edited 2009-02-09 17:45 (UTC)

Yes, I think that's why the Geneva convention came about, because of the awfulness of WWII and the Nazi regime.

It's that our team members can be so easily turned that is so distressing. The show explores a situation wherein you have Americans working against Americans and moles are a staple of every season, and so the question of honor still existing depends on how deep the corruption goes

This is not even mentioning that we've already had a season with the President being the big bad. That's *so* interesting as I never thought of it that way. I thought of the people being turned as the exception, not the rule. I kinda wanted to believe that the corruption wasn't that deep and that it's more men like Jack, not Jack himself, that have to fix it. But the corruption is getting deeper every season, and it's harder to find the "Good guys". Is it every man for himself all that matters is money? Or does someone have to speak for the woman and the child with the balloon?

If there is no honor, if the rules have changed and there's no justice, then the world is amoral and if it's amoral...how can you even begin to be moral yourself?

If there is no honor, if the rules have changed and there's no justice, then the world is amoral and if it's amoral...how can you even begin to be moral yourself?

And that's how Tony got to where he is. When your belief is so shattered the way his was in S5 by the loss of Michelle, by the corruption of Logan, you can find yourself doing horrible things because your compass is gone.

And we really don't know if people being turned is the exception or the rule. That's why our central character is always Jack, who considers both possibilities. He often plays the lone wolf when he thinks he can't trust anyone, but we also see him willing to reach out to other agencies. They have him do this so that we can evaluate it too. So they play around with this question a lot, usually using Jack as their lens. Again though, what's nice is that now we have Renee, Tony, and Bill running alongside him offering other counterpoints.

Edited 2009-02-09 19:14 (UTC)

Oh that's so true - I wonder if he knows that Jack's brother was actually the mastermind. But I think you're right, between Logan helping terrorists get nerve gas and being high enough that he doesn't get punished for it really while Tony himself went to jail for a MUCH lesser crime. (It's easy to forget that angle, that there's an absolute sense of inequal justice and I could see Emerson playing on that). Plus, Tony went to jail to save Michelle's life and now she's dead, so talk about your zero sum situations.

I think he trusts other agencies because he hasn't seen the evidence that he *can't* - so finding out tonight maybe that the Secret Service has been compromised will be...interesting.

I think that if Tony did find out that Jack's brother was the mastermind, he'd be even more disheartened. To know that the man he loves like a brother is suffering in China because his own flesh and blood betrayed him? That would be the nail in the coffin to prove that there is no honor left in the world. I'm still convinced it's not just that he lost Michelle, but also that he lost Jack that Tony's world went spiraling.

I think he trusts other agencies because he hasn't seen the evidence that he *can't* - so finding out tonight maybe that the Secret Service has been compromised will be...interesting.
Just like he trusts Bill, Chloe and Tony until he finds evidence that he can't? And hah! When he finds out about the Secret Service, part of me really want him to go all, "Yo, Agent Pierce! Where the hell are you and how the hell did you let this haaaaaaaaaaaaappen!?!?!"

I love your icons btw. Where are you getting them from?

(I got a lot of them from 24_icons - yay 24_icons!)

No, I totally agree. I think he was a moral compass, as screwed up as it is to have Jack as your moral compass, because wow. Then again, at that point, Jack had been gone for a while - but Michelle and Tony had risked their lives to save his, to keep him from the Chinese, so to really have it all be moot? Ow. But I think that is SO horrible. I mean not a surprise, because honestly that kind of plan could only be concocted by someone who really wanted to make him suffer. AND if Graem was somehow involved in Henderson's plan with Emerson, well...what better revenge then to use someone your brother thought of as a brother against him? The 24verse is such a twisted place for blood relations.

Hee - that would be Legen-Dary.

Oooh. Must seek out more icons. Or caps to make my own icons. (I was highly amused at the "Class Reunion 09" one. Teehee.)

True that Jack had been absent for a long time, but Jack was also the one he interacted with the most after finding out that Michelle was gone. And also, Jack and Tony had the shared experience of being betrayed by Nina. Had Tony not been almost!killed and had Jack not been captured by the Chinese, the only one who could possibly understand and help Tony pick up the pieces again would have been Jack. To have both of them ripped away so quickly- it must of hurt like hell.

And word on the twisty blood relations on 24. Aside from the Bauers, I still can't wrap my head around Heller blaming Jack for Audrey's condition when he did jackshit as Secretary of State to get his own daughter back. And we can't forget the Worst!Coming!Out!Experience!Ever!

On a complete side note, I still maintain that Agent Johnson's testimony would be just as interesting to hear as Jack Bauer's. I wonder if that's what they're doing while Jack's off saving the country again.

Oh and I just realized most obvious duh here too that Jack was the one that actually DID talk Tony down from killing Henderson. Not a mistake Tony would make twice, but still.

That's why he was so vulnerable to Emerson, because he'd lost Michelle which killed him and then he lost the only mooring he had left. But he was also dead! And therefore...kinda lost everyone.

DUDE YES. Seriously WTF Heller? That makes me question every description of Heller as a nice or upright guy WTF? Lets not forget he also had his daughter tied up to keep her from following him to Logan's and he'd ordered his own son tortured - even before the worst 'I'm not straight' experience ever. To be fair, he wasn't SoS, he was SoD but he wasn't even that by end of day five. I've been telling friends, I want evil!Heller this year, because I think that's the only way I can make his total not that much caring about his daughter being magically still alive make sense. It seemed like he KNEW Audrey wasn't dead. He was happy to have her back, but he knew she was always alive.

Edited 2009-02-09 20:38 (UTC)

Right. DoD.

But he was also dead! And therefore...kinda lost everyone.
I do find it telling that Jack automatically assumed that Tony would go undercover to expose his operation. Tony was "dead" but he did have a choice in the matter. He could have gone deep undercover. But he didn't. He chose to be the bad guy and do "pretty bad things." At least until they reached that line that even Tony couldn't cross. Tony's story arc over the seasons is just as tragic as Jack's- and it goes back to what you pointed out upthread. The ones who toe the line eventually break (either dying or breaking completely) while the ones who bend, survive but only barely so because they constantly live in the darkness. There's not a happy choice at all.

You know a lot of people were complaing about how S7 seems to be recycling of a lot of storylines of past season, but I can't help but think they're doing it on purpose. If this season is supposed to be about the Redemption of Jack Bauer, since they can't do it in a Senate hearing, they're doing it by bringing up things that specifically remind us of what he's done in the past.

For example Jack had to shoot someone for the sake of the mission- does Renee become like S1!Nina or like S3!Chappelle? Jack's crossed a lot of lines, with tone set by the Senate hearing in the first episode, by having these similar situations come up this way, Jack gets another chance to do things differently (or not). It forces both the character and audience to reaffirm or redraw certain lines around Jack, and in doing so, he's being redefined. I sort of love the way they're doing it, because it's really clever. (And for this reason I'm really glad that a certain someone is showing up so he can make right that part of his life).

(You think about them way too much? I'm at work and this has half-eaten my brain).

That's *so* true - but why would he choose to go undercover after all, there's nothing left "outside". This reminds me how I used to think of "Pressure" by Billy Joel as Tony's s3 song in a way. But I don't think Tony is a good example of toeing the line and breaking, as he started going off book all the way back in s1.

I think this season has so many amazing parallels to the past too. I didn't think of that reason. I kinda think they're doing all this now to really change up the game later in the day when darkness falls. I kinda hope Renee doesn't become like either of those and instead opts for staying alive an' not evil!

Yes, it's like Jack didn't miss Christmas after all.

*raises hand sheepishly* Am also at work.

"but why would he choose to go undercover after all, there's nothing left "outside".
Because he's Tony, and he's supposed to know right from wrong. He's cut of the same cloth as Jack (and Michelle and Bill and Chloe), who can't help but offer up their services if it means taking down the bad guy. He's not supposed to be a bad guy or do bad things for selfish reason, except he was and he did, until recently. And now he's in as much need for redemption than Jack, even more so.

True. Maybe I should amend my statement then and say that Tony didn't toe the line, but he didn't want to continue bending the rules either and that's what got him in trouble. I think that deep down, Tony was always more reluctant to go off book than Jack. In the first couple seasons, Tony took a mostly passive role, covering for Jack or gathering intel for him while Jack did the really crazy stuff. Jack always seemed to be the one the one convincing him, you know? So at the first opportunity to bail, he tried to pull himself and Michelle out of that life of choosing between a rock and a hard place.

Except that's the thing. Once you're in as far deep as Tony was (doing the stuff he did for Michelle, helping Jack bend the rules), you're in it forever. You don't get to pull out of the game. So you either continue to function like Jack or somehow you become collateral damage. Which is what happened to Michelle and should have happened to Tony, if not for the reviving thing. Instead Tony is forced back into the world of hard choices, and as a result, he broke.

Renee can't be evil, I've decided. They'd have to retcon and explain why Debaku, Nichols, and the "contact at the Bureau" wanted to kill her off when it was confirmed she didn't have info beyond the stuff Tanner told her. And that's just too much work. As to her possibly dying? She already got shot in the neck and didn't die. She already had her almost!dead moment, and she's not Teri. (Although weird that she's looks a lot like Leslie Hope, no? Or is that just me?)

I think if I keep chanting this to myself, it will happen and she'll survive beyond S7.

Edited 2009-02-09 23:10 (UTC)

Yay - where do you work again? :)

Tony totally needs redemption. Can we volunteer to help? He could teach underprivileged kids! Or uh, he and Jack could go open a school in Africa or Afghanistan or something!

Yes, that's totally true. I remember in s3 thinking, how the hell did Jack get Tony to go along with this insane half-baked doomed to failure plan? I think Tony thought he had a better sense of right and wrong, at least in s1. It's when the definitions started shifting that there was trouble.

You're right of course, and that they left and before they left helped fake someone's death which made them bound for life even further. Tony made the mistake of thinking you could get out of the game by taking your ball and going home. But the bad guys follow afterward, especially when you never got rid of any of the conspiracy that's been lurking for seasons. It's not just hard choices, it's that Tony doesn't do very well alone, I mean in s4 he had Jen which was sorta an obvious 'I can't be alone' cry for help.

YES. She so does. I remember looking at promo pics and going omg she has Teri's look here - enough that I almost fanwanked she was her baby sister.

(I work for this government contractor right outside DC)

Aww, and here I had successfully suppressed Jen from my memory. Gah.

I wonder if I would be shipping them more if I had seen AW's picture and made the "OMG she looks like Teri, shoots like Nina, and acts like Michelle, of course Jack is going to fall for her" leap. So far, there's great chemistry between them, but I don't know if they're going in the romantic direction. It will be interesting to see if they decide to make Larry's clear romantic feelings for Renee one-sided, and maybe play it out like Bill/Michelle in S4? That could add a twist, because the actors are being awfully coy about whether Renee is a love interest or not for Jack.

Also, is it true that they actually filmed all the episodes of the season before the first one even aired? Because if so, that makes me feel a little bit better and gives me hope that this season is going to hopefully as cohesive as S1. So far, it's still firing on all cylinders, and I'm really glad that I've stayed mostly spoiler-free this season. I knew that Tony was back, that CTU was no more, and that they were basing it in DC (kinda hard to avoid, when they're shooting in your city). And I stumbled upon that casting spoiler in the video in this post. Beyond that though, I stayed away as much as possible, so it's making the ride pretty awesome to speculate again. Especially if the end is already written, filmed and in the can.

On a final note: have you seen this? The 24-hour News Cycle if 24 were real (http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1768810)

Edited 2009-02-10 00:57 (UTC)

(Oooo ya'll from the gov'ment? Sorry. That's how my brain works. I work in market research, kinda.)

Aw, sorry, some things don't go away. Plus my friend's been revisiting it.

She also shoots like Michelle! Lets give credit here. Yes, the only slight problem is her age, which wouldn't be a problem if the 24verse wasn't like ten years in the future. I can't tell if it's one sided or not, I know she *trusts* him, which means uh, something. Probably.

YES! Everything's filmed. It's all donoe. They took a year to make it so there could be some interesting stuff comin' up. Did you get to see any filming? I got spoiled for parts of the first four or five eps, but I'm pretty much in the dark for most of the rest of it. Okay, I do know one or two things about returning person, but i'm vaguely focused.

Hee! I love this I just read: http://thejacksack.com/2009/02/24-poker-night.html

Edited 2009-02-10 01:03 (UTC)

Hmm, Michelle was a good shot, but I suspect Nina was a faster draw and had more experience with guns. And Michelle never carried violence as easily as Nina, Jack, Curtis, and other field agents did/do due to years of training. Michelle was also not evil though so she had that going for her.

Yeah the age thing throws me. How old is Renee supposed to be? I know AW is about 5 years older than Elisha Cuthbert, but she could be playing Renee older the way Reiko did. Carlos and Reiko were 10 years apart in age, which is about the age difference between Kiefer and Annie.

Sadly, no I didn't get to see any filming because at the time I was writing my thesis. Also, I am a huge spoiler phobe and wouldn't want to get spoiled anyway. My friend, however, did get a chance to meet Kiefer since she was his waitress. Of course, she didn't know who he was at the time (she's not into TV, she's more into international development) so it didn't really register. Apparently he's a pretty good tipper.

Also, that link? AWESOME.

Edited 2009-02-10 01:23 (UTC)

"Will Lizzy’s father manage to marry off her five daughters, despite his wife’s incessant nagging? And will Lizzy’s beautiful sister Jane marry the handsome, wealthy Mr. Bingley, or will his brooding friend Mr. Darcy stand between their happiness?"

...no one will be able to predict how it will all end! /sarcasm. Weird.

I know right? It's like, "Spoiler alert! The robot falls in love!"

so totally don't care. i want this comic.

Hehe. That's why I posted it.

Me too. And I don't think I've ever wanted to buy a comic book before this point.

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