Dude, step it up, show.

[dealan311]

Well, that was anti-climatic.

I know I am spoiled by the awesome way S7 started off with a bang, because it really was like a flurry of punches of Tony alive! Bill and Chloe in town and kicking ass! First Gentleman possibly getting killed! that kept my interest going. But some of this stuff seemed really superfluous and kinda boring/predicatable, really.

The Good:

1. Jack, Kim and Teri- I totally dig Grandpa Jack and this grown-up version of Kim. I love how content he seems to be, and how he finally chose to put his family before the job and I love how Kim puts it right back into his hands because she totally understands and accepts Jack, with all his flaws. They're both trying so hard against their better natures to meet each other in the middle, and ultimately I think that the fact that Jack chose Teri, Kim and Stephen is the reason why she's okay with him going off to save the world again. He chose Kim and his family over the job, and that knowledge gives her the security to let him go. These two have come a long way from S1 and I really do hope that they get their happy ending at the end of this season.

2. Chloe- I think it was a brilliant and completely believable move to make her the fish out of water for once. Not only does it make it easier to believe that a hard ass like Hastings would let Chloe help Jack, but it's something new to see her shine not because of her technical skills but because of her experience in counter-terrorism. She's had a front row seat to the madness that has been Saunders, Marwan, Logan, Emerson, Henderson, and Tony and it stands to reason that she'd pick up some of Jack's skills.

Speaking of which, I love the reversal of Chloe calling Jack out on the crazy ass shit he's asked of her. Again and again we've seen Chloe put Jack and his crusades above her safety, her career, and her marriage. To see him NOT return the favor in kind, at least not without prompting from Kim, had to have hurt. That must have tarnished her hero-worship of Jack a little bit and I do have to wonder if perhaps the writers are brave enough to start pulling the Chloe-Jack bond apart a bit. As with all premieres, I'm looking for the beginnings of a season long character arcs, and it might be interesting to see some tension between the two of them just to shake things up a bit.

3. The new Administration. I like the new dynamic between the new Chief of Staff, Taylor, and Ethan. It's different than the back and forth that Henry, Ethan and Allison had, in that the conflict is still there, but there seems to be more respect on Ethan's part for the new guy. It's not quite mentor-y, but there's certainly more acceptance of his place as the counterpoint to Ethan's POV than he ever had for Henry, and I really like the new guy for some reason. He seems really passionate, if not a little bull-headed, about doing the right thing, and I like that he holds people to their promises. (Is it wrong that I kinda found the new guy hot when he told off Hastings?) I look forward to seeing more conflict in the mix once he meets Jack. I also worry about Ethan and his pills. The "not dead yet" thing seems to indicate that there's something the characters know that we don't yet, and I worry whenever they show pills in the first act of the season. That never bodes well for the future of any character.

4. Dana Walsh- I'm not yet sold on her character, but what I've seen so far, I like. She's calm, shows good judgment of handling inappropriate (Arlow) and floundering (Chloe) subordinates, and if she's been able to restart her life from scratch and hide from sketchy people despite keeping in contact with her trailer trash family, that means she's also very resourceful. The fact that she seems to be looking out and vocalizing her support of Chloe, smoothing out some of the rougher edges, is a huge point in her favor. And good job on Katee Sackhoff's part on selling someone who is the anti-Starbuck, anti-evil!Bionic Woman. The only thing that makes me wary is her backstory (more on that later) but there's a lot of potential here for her character.

The Bad:

5. Cole Ortiz, on the other hand, kinda makes me wanna snooze. I appreciated the "no one talks to their wives until I do" throwaway line, since yay for character, and I do see shades of Chase in him, but Freddie Prinze Jr also has this Keanu Reeves quality about him that isn't helped by the fact that his character is idealistic and a bit oblivious. I hope I'm proven wrong but I need his character to start showing more of a spine, so Jack can capitalize on his clear hero-worship.

6. Hastings- I already hate him. I get that to make us dislike Hastings, they're making him into The Disbeliever, by revealing that the insider is the brother and having him insist upon focusing on the reporter instead. But they really didn't have to because he's hateful enough already. Hastings is That Guy. The guy whose success has made him cocky, who makes promises before he's sure he's able to keep them, and who'll abuse his power and force other people to stick their necks out and lie in order to cover his ass, but probably never to the same in kind. I couldn't be bothered to watch him make an ass out himself, so I fastforwarded through all his scenes....and that? That's not good.

The Meh:

7. President MacGuffin and family. I'm glad that the whole President having an affair with a reporter didn't come across as icky as I thought it would, as well as the fact that the affair has some purpose in the storyline. But for the most part, though, I was mostly bored with him and his family. It was so clear that the brother was the mole that I don't know why they even bothered trying to make us think it was the reporter at the top of the hour. I hope they give Layla something to do and that she becomes more of a player as the season progresses. Could be interesting to see how she responds to her dad taking up with a new woman, but so far I'm bored to tears.

8. I'm not all that interested with the villain, nor was I really all that invested in Victor's character. He was totally dead man walking, so I was just waiting for him to blow up. Yeah, I was spoiled by last year because Redemption had already set up Dubaku and because they had Tony in the mix to make me care about the villainy stuff. But so far, I don't really care about finding out why they want to kill Hassan or why his brother has it out for him, probably because so far there's no personal connection to the characters I love yet. I hope that changes soon.

9. Dana's backstory. While I'm starting to warm up to Dana's character, I'm extremely wary of her backstory. Last year, almost all the storylines were tied to the main plot, particularly in beginning from the stuff with Alison, to Henry Taylor, and of course the Jack-Renee-Larry stuff. There was none of this "crazy/annoying member of someone's backstory comes in to distract the FBI/CTU and slow down our heroes" business. (Crazy!Dead!Driscoll daughter, I'm looking at you.) The only time I ever forgave the "annoying family members coming into CTU" ruse was when Danny showed up in S2, because we were rewarded with Tony and Michelle making out.

Although I doubt certain people would mind it if Dana's backstory led to Jack and Renee making out, I don't think that's going to be the case, so in lieu of that, I hope we find out that there's a reason we're seeing all this shadiness and that it's somehow tied to the main plot threads. Maybe someone in her past dealings is tied to a future baddie. Or perhaps that we're seeing it so that it can be revealed that she's actually kind of a badass and can be put out into the field- thereby setting up a parallel of Jack/Renee and Cole/Dana of men not knowing what to do with the women they care about running headlong into danger, despite the fact that they do that themselves. (A long shot, but hey it could happen.) Whatever the reason, I just hope there's a point to seeing all this backstory because otherwise my patience will wear thin (and I will be sad to see them waste Katee Sackhoff's skills).


The WTF:

And speaking of Renee: WHERE THE HELL WAS SHE? I know she's a regular and from the amount of flail, I know she's gotta be in the season, but I was expecting her to at least show up at the end of the first night of the premiere. Where the hell is she and how is she going to be tied to the main event? I'm really really really getting antsy now because as potentially good Dana seems to be, I wanna to see Renee. Every time anyone picked up the phone, I was like, oooh, is she/he gonna call Renee? Who's gonna bring her in? The wait better be worth it. (And no, I haven't yet seen the previews for tonight's episode).

Overall, the first two eps felt a lot like set up, but I'm waiting for that kick in the stomach and punch in the face that lets me know that my show is back. Because right now? Not really feeling the excitement. Step it up a notch or twelve tonight, okay show? I want my roller coaster back.

Comments

[marinw.livejournal.com]

Arlo irritates me already. He's such a sterotype computer geek.

I'll give Hasting a few more eps, he will probably come around to Jack's way of thinking eventually. If he dosn't die first.

I predict that Jack will call on Renee they way he called on Tony in Day 4. Okay, bad comparison.

[dealan311.livejournal.com]

Agreement on Arlo. Also, random note: I still find the lack of Asian characters in CTU to be astounding given how technology dependent it is. Never mind that it's NYC (or was LA in the past), it's the lack of Asians in technology department that I find it hard to believe.

Given the fact that he's an efficiency guy who cuts corners to deliver a product, I'm sure of it. I just remain skeptical of how much I'll warm up to him. At least Mason had a healthy dose of sarcasm about him and Ryan was a bringer of unintentional hilarity (Michelle/Ryan hug in S3 anyone?) So far, I have found nothing redeemable about his character. I hope that changes. I like my characters with layers.

Really? I don't see that from this Jack. S4!Jack sure. Maybe even S6!Jack. But given that S8!Jack is so adamant about staying out of the game, I think he's changed enough that I don't see him pulling in any players that he cares about unless he absolutely has to, which he doesn't because CTU is at his disposal. Chloe's already in the thick of it, and he probably already knows that Cole likes him, give the intro. All he needs to do is prove that the lead is more viable than the Reed lead; he doesn't need to pull Renee into that danger. Of course, I know nothing of Renee's situation, but unless she's already in the thick of it too, I don't see him calling on her. f anything, I'd see him fighting against her joining in.

[marinw.livejournal.com]

Well, Dr. Macer looks HALF Asian. Does that count? CTU Classic had Korean guy from Lost But yeah, good point about the Asians. Also, Day 7 seemed to have the odd lady FBI field agent. Wonder if CTNew will have any.

[dealan311.livejournal.com]

Macer is half Asian. Totally counts. As is Agent Baker.

But the show does have a habit of race!fail in that most of its minorities happen to be villains rather than incidental characters. And for cities like NYC, LA and DC...it's sort of glaring.

[marinw.livejournal.com]

most of its minorities happen to be villains rather than incidental characters

Like the entire nation of China? Or Sangalian General Juma? To be fair, there has been a good number of white male villains.

[dealan311.livejournal.com]

Hehe. Yes, of the Eastern European descent.

But really, the most unbelievable thing about 24, more so than the lack of traffic, is the lack of minorities. Like, I can't believe we didn't get any major Hispanic characters until S3. Yeesh.

[cybertoothtiger.livejournal.com]

I miss Ryan.

Word to the Asian thing. Mr. Tiger is partner in a small hi-tech company, and about 80% of his staff is either Asian, South Asian, or Arab. OTOH, I'm just as happy the token Good Muslim character is in the Presidential storyline this year. Makes it easier to fast-forward. Not that I have a problem with Good Muslims, it's just that usually that storyline takes a turn for the ridiculous. (C.F. Ricky Schroeder and whats-her-name. Nadia?)

[dealan311.livejournal.com]

Oy. The less said about Nadia, the better. In fact, let's just forget S6 entirely.

[cybertoothtiger.livejournal.com]

Yes to everything. This has to be the least exciting premier I've seen of this show. There's nothing happening that Jack is really invested in, or any of the characters, really. Even the Pres doesn't really care that much about the death threat on McGuffin, as long as she gets her deal. So all that has to happen is for them to delay the assassination for an hour and she's good. Thanks for playing, everybody! Jack, you can go home now, if you can get on a plane after breaking into the armory at CTU. (Thank you, MGiant.)

I want Layla to play a bigger role, too. She rocked The Border, but not so much here yet.

[dealan311.livejournal.com]

It was totally boring. I want to care. Why don't I care?

Oh right. Because nothing means anything yet. I miss that jolt of investment. Tonight needs to rock, because so far, I'm 0-2 on the return of my shows. Chuck picked up its game in the second night, so I'm hoping 24 does the same. I'm still sad that it didn't come roaring out of the gates like I had hoped, though.

Also, the TWOP recaps are up already? That was fast.

[cybertoothtiger.livejournal.com]

Chuck wasn't great? Rats. I'm having trouble finding S2, so we were thinking we might go ahead and watch S3. I've been recording them so we could watch once we'd caught up.

[dealan311.livejournal.com]

Shaky start, but picks up speed and is back in top form by 3x03. Given the S2 finale, it's sort of understandable, so I'm more forgiving of it than I am of 24. The 24 crew should have this down pat by now.

And no, don't skip S2. One because it's amazing and two because there are a lot of developments that you need to see in order to understand why the characters are acting the way they are.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

Well, I know a tiny bit about when/why Renee will be brought in, but I don't want to say anything if you'd rather be surprised.

I don't have any feeling either way towards Freddy's character, but so far I'm the only person not terribly impressed with Katee.

Hastings will from hereon out be known as Agent CYA (in the grand tradition of Larry from last season, aka Agent Doofus).

[dealan311.livejournal.com]

Don't tell me anything. I'm a huge spoiler phobe who won't even watch the previews.

This early on in the season, I'm not looking to be impressed. I rarely have strong feelings of like or dislike for new characters by the first four eps (Renee was a surprise, and even with her, I didn't realize how much I liked her until Ep 5). At this stage, I look for potential, things that will develop characters into good white hats, black hats, and grey hats. Like I said upthread, I like my characters with layers, so flat characters like Cole and Hastings and Arlo annoy me.

And hey now. No Larry bashing in my LJ. It's pretty well documented that I sort of loved his character, because as misguided as he was, his reasons for not liking Jack from the get go were understandable. Larry was a total Boy Scout, White Knight, by-the-books guy. Of course he'd clash with Jack; the inclusion of Renee into their conflict only upped the ante.

Hastings, on the other hand, shouldn't be this daft, particularly because he seems to be exactly the type of person who would embrace the Jack Bauer way of doing things, since it produces results. It doesn't hurt him to let Jack and Chloe do their thing; if anything it's totally CYA to let them do it and it removes Chloe from tasks that he clearly thinks she's incapable of doing properly. I'd probably liked it better if he decided to play along with their game and monitored Jack and Chloe without their knowledge, then sweep in to take all the credit when their lead panned out. Then at least I could say that he's a smart weasel instead of just a dumb one. I hope they change his character soon and give him something else to act as other than the major cockblock to Jack's mission.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

Like I said upthread, I like my characters with layers, so flat characters like Cole and Hastings and Arlo annoy me.

I guess I'm more willing to give them some time to develop or reveal the layers, assuming they're there. In the first two hours there's a lot of characters to introduce and flesh out and it's inevitable that some are going to get the short shrift. Meanwhile the Dana Walsh Sekrit Past Cliche is going to need to do more to turn itself around, IMO.

Ah yes, I remember you had a thing for Larry. But he was still a huge doofus ;)

Hastings wants results, but he also doesn't want to take risks. Jack's already been paraded in front of Congress and CSPAN as the poster child for torture blah blah blah and Hastings doesn't want to be connected with that. It makes sense that he would cut Jack loose - and Chloe too - because if they end up being wrong/making things worse, he can disavow all knowledge (and blame Cole somehow) whereas if, like you said, it pans out, he can take the credit (and blame Cole for something else). Either way, at least Jack can't claim that Hastings prevented him from acting.

[dealan311.livejournal.com]

Yeah, see the thing is I'm having problems seeing even hints of things to come with some of the characters. Cole less so than Hastings, but right now they all feel like stock characters.

And I'm talking characters here, not storylines. The Dana Walsh Secret Past is a cliched storyline that I'm worried about, but the character herself intrigues me a bit more because she seems mostly competent.

Not a doofus. A little judgmental of those who don't meet his standards, maybe. Let his emotions and history with Renee color his actions, definitely. But all totally understandable and consistent with his character, and more importantly, he showed from the beginning he was open to someone changing his mind, despite his skepticism. (It's pretty much the first line he says to Jack.) Besides which, Jack is not always right, either. In fact, even when he's right, he's also often wrong. There's a lot of grey area in this show, which is why I keep tuning in.

Yeah, but he only cut Jack and Chloe loose because Jack forced his hand. Hastings walked into that room with all intention of shutting Jack down. If Jack hadn't held the Taylor threat against him, he'd be locked up for stealing from the armory.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

but the character herself intrigues me a bit more because she seems mostly competent.

Until, in the grand tradition of a majority of CTU employees, she starts compromising her job because of personal issues ;)

We might have to agree to disagree on Ol' Lar. All I know is that in the beginning of the season, when I couldn't remember his name, Doofus just seemed to fit. Yes, he wised up at the end, but from his first episode he seemed to be letting his personal prejudice against Jack cloud his judgment. Which, of course, is necessary, because if people just listened to Jack the season would be like half as long.

If Hastings had really wanted to, he could have detained Jack, probably indefinitely. And considering that Jack WAS stealing weapons, he would have been within his rights. (Chloe probably would have joined him.) But, because he is Agent CYA, he decided to go the other route.

[dealan311.livejournal.com]

Well, I did say mostly. And to be fair, the situations the writers put the characters in are pretty extreme that we expect to see compromise. In fact, I'd argue that the very foundation the show is based upon: how far can you push a person before they break?

With Cole, I'm already predicting where he'll bend and where he'll break- and I hope I'm wrong, but it does seem like a Chase retread. Dana is a bit more unpredictable because ehe's nice to Chloe, she plays the peacemaker, she showed some personality in her light smackdown of Arlol; yet she's also a Lying McLiarson with some shady dealings and a trailer-trash history. While I hesitate to put her in the "Like" column just yet, she seems to be a bit more complicated than Cole, and that's good for an opener.

Everything is subject to change, of course.

**
Yeah, we will have to agree to disagree, but if you want to keep posting on my LJ, then stop calling one of my favorite characters a doofus, mmkay?

Also, I'm okay with people having personal prejudices against Jack, because frankly, I'm surprised more people don't. Jack can come across as a real son of a bitch to those who don't know him, and certainly one can't fault Larry for not liking Jack's repeated and seemingly remorseless disregard of the law. These differences in opinion are to expected and are the foundation for good conflict and good TV. What distinguishes interesting characters from boring ones is when it's clear that neither party is willing to show any growth toward understanding the other. Because then that's a case, as you say, people not listening because then the show would be called 12, or 6 or maybe even 4.

That wasn't the case with Larry. Larry didn't really start to come into his character until about Episode 8 for me, but he did show signs of an open mind by sheer fact that he let Renee bring in Jack in the first place.

**
I think we're talking in circles here. Yes, he let Jack and Chloe loose to cover his ass. But I'm surprised that he had to be blackmailed into doing so. It doesn't seem consistent with his "efficiency first, cover your ass" M.O. to fight something that is so clearly in line with his goals as it a) removes the inefficient worker who objects to his plan and b) is a freebie back up plan from Jack Bauer. His staunch opposition to Jack doesn't make much sense and reeks of lazy writing to make him out to be a one-note obstacle, and I am hoping for much more than that from this character.

[cybertoothtiger.livejournal.com]

*hijacks all over the place*

I fell in love with Larry during his "So this is how it starts?" speech to Jack. It was so perfect. Mostly because it showed a normal person responding to the total badass that is Jack, and that wanks my fan something fierce.

After that he mostly danced in the Greek Chorusline until he got to go in the field, and then.. I can't even talk about it.

As you were.

[leigh57.livejournal.com]

hahahaha. We just posted at almost the same time, and with the exception of the Dana/Cole reversal in our opinions, it's looking as if we're pretty much on the same page. I'm kinda with you. I really want to care a lot. It's just that mostly . . . I don't. I still care about Jack. If they had taken out everything but him, Chloe, Kim, and Teri, I would have been a happy girl. Oh and the axe.

I also feel compelled to point out that I have no shame and couldn't give a shit WHAT leads to Jack and Renee making out, if they could just make out. I mean look at the fuckcakes Adrienne and I made! (and dude, those are SO the PG rated version;)

Oh show. Please be better tonight, okay?

p.s. You know I will ALWAYS have your back on Larry. Oh, my love for him. The love you had to help me discover, but it's just . . . insane!

[dealan311.livejournal.com]

To be fair, the reason why Dana holds some of my interest right now is because I always look for strong female characters in shows. It's one of my things because there are so few well developed female characters per show, that any time anyone shows a modicum of competence, they jump out at me. I get where you are coming at with the perfect hair, perfect dress, etc, but this being 24, I view that more as a starting point and look for reasons as to why she's like that because you know that's all going to fall apart in a few eps. She's trying too hard, because she's totally pretending, and what I'm trying to suss out is, what's really her and what's just part of the veneer, so I can decide if I like her as a character. I placed her in "the Good" section because whether she turns villain or hero in this season, at least right now she shows potential as an interesting character.

Cole's a little more straight forward as a character, but the thing is that a) we've seen it done before with Chase and b) he's a little bit too passive for me to really like him that much yet. It's one thing to put tread lightly with what's bothering Dana. It's quite another to let Hastings AND Jack steamroll over him and make decisions over what he puts in the final report. If he can become more of a player, I'll probably warm up to him more. But right now, he's falling a little too flat. Not quite as bad as Hastings though.

And hahahah. The axe. Probably the only exciting part of the premiere, honestly.

Fuckcakes. Hmm. Do I even want to know? Oh wait, I just saw your icon. Hahaha. Oh dear. You're insane. (Please, never change.)

p.s. Hehehe. Good to know.

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

OMG the axe was awesome!

Jack had to axe him a question ;)

[leigh57.livejournal.com]

I laughed at the axe. That's wrong, yes?

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

If laughing at an axe protruding from a terrorist's chest is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

[dealan311.livejournal.com]

I think it was the little wiggle he gave the handle at the end that sold it. It's sort of like, "Hmm. Damnit, I need a hacksaw....Eh, this will have to do."

[evilmissbecky.livejournal.com]

Truthfully, I was bored. I am hoping that will change tonight with the return of Renee.

I hate Hastings already, could care less about Ortiz and Arlo, was happy to see Chloe again, and loved Grandpa!Jack.

What I'm waiting to pass judgement on is the whole Not!Dana storyline. On the one hand, I'm so sick of the CTU employee with a dark past storyline (don't they ever do proper background checks??). But OTOH, it's Starbuck. And I know Katee is capable of so much more than technobabble. So I've got my fingers crossed that for once this particular plotline will deliver -- provided the writers give her something good to work with.

[mult1taskr.livejournal.com]

i don't watch 24. i just wanted to comment that i just watched chuck.