24

From the Writers/Producers Perspective:



24 is a show that has a structure divided in thirds. This means that after 8 episodes, a arc is closed and a new one begins. This not mean that that arc is totally closed, only a part is close.



Until now, DAvid Palmer was assassinated and a conspiracy plot arrived. After the nerve gas plot arrived, Jack was able to locate the responsible for the Conspiracy. In episode 8 the sentox gas was demonstrated.



So in this episode begins another arc, base solely in the setox gás and how the writers creativity can play this out.



It is difficult to create something very good for every episode of 24, so my note are more gentile compared to others show I revised.



The writers can only focus on Jack and President Logan. CTU don´t have any type of good material drama to play.



So in this episode, the writers decided to make McGill the bad guy in CTU, make Jack life more difficult. This is one of the plots - CTU Vs Jack, that every season have to happen. With this, both Audrey and Chloe can share a good time on screen.



Jack now has another lead, as usual, well connected this one. Of course, in the end, the guy with the information is dead and Jack has a Chip that make Jack pursuit another lead to the sentox gas.



My Point of View:



CTU scenes were interesting, the tension created was good, since CTU didn´t play another type of tension like this in this season , I think is not boring, it is interesting, but repetitive too.



Jack Pursuit ends bad, as usual, repetitive, but the action itself wasn´t the top one, but was acceptable and interesting at some parts.



The high point here is the drama in the white house. President Logan Choice end up bad when Martha too take her decision.



Overall, better than the previous episode, but not too much. There are some interesting points that was well explored and is interesting to see.

Yikes; after some bad signs, S5 rebounds dramatically, and the writers manage to put something new in the mix.

It even begins differently from most these days. Instead of some tidy exposition at CTU, we're introduced to a new villain who immediately and effectively offs Erwich and takes the reins of Bigbad. We see that while Jack was busy with his mall thing, Vladimir Bierko was busy trying to get back at Nathanson. Lovely how some significant stuff actually happens offscreen this season. Really.

Technically, Jack does follow a new lead here, but ends up going rogue in the process. This leads to a neat action piece at an abandoned warehouse. While that twist on The Formula is underway, new intrigue rises at CTU, where McGill breathes down Audrey's neck as she tries to assist Jack's quest. So Chloe and Buchanan are brought into the equation to assist HER quest.

But I consider those the B-plots of this Grade-A hour. The major storyline is that of Logan, who's contacted by Bierko and forced to hand over President Suvarov's life, which is somewhat similar to Saunders and Palmer in S3, but much grander in scale. If that's not intense enough, just watch what Martha does (no, after her crazy screaming). Are you giddy yet?

This episode takes the path that S5 had been following and flips it around with new storylines that practically pop out of nowhere, in about the best way possible. I'm sold.



Hourly Highlight:

Bierko skewers Erwich.

Wow.. this was a great episode - the whole thing with Russians and Logan and his wife.. the whole struggle what is right and what is wrong and the decision Martha makes in the end and forcing that oh.. old good bodyguard to come with her.. Ok.. but there is stunning action going on CTU.. Audrye gets call from Jack who attacks Cutris and then takes off with important information.. And there is McGill who has been pushed to limit and he acts.. oo.. totally randomly and without reason, at least it seems to me. He lets Bill but into holding.. he thinks everyone plot against him.. they do.. Anyway, it ends very excitingly..

This was a good episode with several key moments and only 1 discrepency that I noticed. The situation at CTU has gone about as high as it can go, with Lynn placing Bill in a holding cell, rendering much of what Chole and Audrey can do useless. Jacks moments during this episode were good - as always. The gunfight that lead to the death of Nathanson was pretty good, only Jack Bauer could take down a Helicopter with a handgun. The ending was good as well, with Martha Logan forcing her husbands hand and getting into the limo with the Russian president...forcing him to make very tough decisions in the upcoming episode. The only thing I didnt like was a time issue. The terrorists said they would call back in 15 minutes, yet called almost 35 minutes later. Nothing big, but just something that could have been done a little bit better.

Just as we thought things are already handled by the FBI. We realize that it isn't, there are more hours left in a day, and so much stuff can still happen in this long day. Logan gets demands from the terrorists, and it's something that he can stomach and might be forced to do in order to save civilians. Things get complicated when their only lead is executed by his fellow terrorists. Jack gets a call from a crazy ex CIA operative who started this today, his one crazy guy getting way over his head and he gets himself killed. Jack Bauer gets in the middle of it.

A good enough episode, better than the previous, but still not as good as the first 1/4 of the season.



Agent Hobbit is getting out of control. Yeah I still like this character though. The inapt president has put a huge weight on his shoulders and given him the blame for Jack's decisions, no wonder he is freaking out all over the place. Add to that his weird sister... It's kind of nice actually to have a character react this way, on these types of shows characters often act as they SHOULD but not as they WOULD. Nice to see it go the other way around for a change.



Jack and the terrorist was an interesting storyline in this episode. From coming there as an enemy to Nathanson Jack ends up teaming up with him against the Russian terrorists. An interesting turn of events which I rather liked.



The Logans annoyed me but I guess that's what they're there for... I cannot believe that the president doesn't have more of a spine than he does. Was it just me, or was Mike trying to get Martha to convince the president not to sacrifice the Suvarovs by letting her believe he thought the president should? Smart Mike in that case! I must say I sort of admire Martha for getting in that car with the Russian president and his wife, I just hope the idiot of a husband she's got will try to stop it all.



If you can say anything specific about this episode I think it would be that it developed a few of the characters. Agent Hobbit became a bit more human, the president and his wife developed through their back-against-the-wall dilemma and Jack had his thing with Nathanson. In addition we got to see Bill make some hard choices and I think he developed a lot in this episode too.

While some enjoyed this episode, others felt that this episode was the beginning of the mid season slump, a typical and unfortunate part of 24's writers to plan arcs in advance. I'm not willing to call it a slump since I did enjoy this episode because of the love to hate attitude I have toward Lynn and Logan. However, I will concede that there a few things wrong with the writing that may make me declare a slump in the future.



In a previous review, I wrote that it was difficult to believe that Erwich was the master of this plan. Now it is clear why: he was never the one in charge and he stupidly overstepped his boundaries. It does explain why he wasn't on top of the changing mission as he should've. It could be the product of the writers making the show up as they go along, but why didn't Erwich call Bierko to formulate plan B?



Bierko (Julian Sands) reminds me physically of Gaines from season one. He does have a similarly ruthless nature, shown as he guts Erwich within the first minutes on screen. Although he wants to attack Russia by way of assassinating Suvarov, he ultimately wants to return to Russia to use the nerve gas in Moscow. He will want Logan to facilitate them ignoring their departure from LA, which is surprisingly absent from their phone conversation. Logan putting his foot down is likely going to cause Bierko to go for Erwich's plan, making Erwich's death ironic.



One thing that felt weird was that it took the terrorists two hours to get to Nathanson's hideout of doom. It is a considerable head start for their loose threads. However, this fit the narrative better (not the first time "24" has taken liberties with the real time format) so Jack would be available to pursue this lead. Why no one at CTU (except Lynn) even mentioned tracking Nathanson in the two hours between is beyond me.



Nathanson's call to Jack serves as the catalyst for CTU's drama. Jack rogue is always fun, and Lynn being cranky makes it better. While Lynn is wasting time, Jack manages to get a significant lead, something that helps explain how the nerve gas was made and how it fell into the terrorists' hands. It also has an unknown connection to Jack's past, which makes Jack's involvement necessary again.



He also brings up another mole storyline. It would make sense that there would be more people involved in this conspiracy besides Walt, Nathanson and Spenser. Considering what happened to the man at Nathanson's hideout and the guy Nathanson called after bailing from the hideout of doom, the other mole is likely going to face similar pursuits from Bierko's men.



Lynn and Logan are closely competing for most annoying character on 24, not that they don't make for good drama. Lynn's first mistake is following orders from the useless Logan. Second is his inability to keep his private business that. Earlier, I've mentioned that this behavior was caused by his fight earlier. Lynn is the kid at school who is endlessly frustrated that he isn't cool that when he gets some power he seeks to make everyone else miserable. Lynn is more interested in getting the Jack, who happens to be following a lead, and his associates in trouble than following the break Jack gives them. Hopefully, Audrey will call up Heller (who apparently kept his job when the power shifted) to get CTU back in shape. Since William Devane is on "Crumbs" now, I wonder how much of a role he'll play if or when he returns.



One confusing thing is why Audrey didn't alert anyone at CTU to Nathanson's phone call. She doesn't know that anyone else in the government was conspiring with Nathanson's men. Yes, Lynn is giving everyone a hard time, but maybe learning that there is a lead would make him less cranky over being beaten. She was making it far worse for herself, especially when she got Chloe to erase all the phone logs from her station. Although she knows Jack, she didn't suggest that he go rogue or anything else.



Whatever Dwayne wants out of this keycard, it can't be good. The first theory would be that he is working with the Russians and getting involved with Jenny was a part of the plan. It wouldn't be surprising if Lynn's troubled sister wasn't in his file. The second would be that Dwayne is just trouble and will barge in at an inopportune moment. I hope that this isn't the case, but is the most probable.



There are certain comparisons to Palmer's situation with Saunders in season three (interesting how many parallels to season three there have been) to Logan's situation with Bierko. However, Palmer backed into Saunders' demands because he was backed into a corner, but eventually yielded. Logan is weak, however, and can't stand up to Bierko. We saw that when Bierko called them and Logan all but told Novick to tell Bierko he was in the shower.



Logan's weakness also stands to void the treaty he signed five hours earlier. When the terminal crisis was underway, all Logan could think about was how this was going to blemish his administration and the accord he would sign. Now he is willing to do something much worse. Even explaining that the terrorists were holding the US hostage with the nerve gas, it wouldn't justify Logan aiding terrorists in assassinating a head of state. While releasing the nerve gas would cause huge casualties, aiding the terrorists would trigger an international crisis that would make the Chinese problem last season insignificant.



Again, we're given another reason to love Martha. Considering Logan is too much of a coward to stand up to the terrorists, Martha has to give Logan enough motivation to rethink his decision. Luckily, she is able to do this without creating a scene or giving the terrorists' notice. This plan does make me worry about our beloved Pierce because he is only a guest actor and they seem to be eager to kill off characters this season.



While this episode is enjoyable, some flaws are apparent upon a second viewing. Considering how little Jack appears, this script could've gone through some last minute rewrites before or during filming. If this is the case, the last minute tweaking didn't bother me enough to hinder my rating significantly.

Episode #105 - Day 5: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm - 2/20/06





Following the shocking events of last week's episode, this week's hour commences as we are taken to the underground lair of Bierko, the man financing the terrorists. Erwich is killed by Bierko for trying to "waste" the nerve gas on American citizens, something that Bierko doesn't want for fear that it may compromise his plot against Moscow.



Meanwhile, President Logan confronts McGill regarding his botched mission and his inability to follow the orders given to him, which has obviously led to them losing their only real lead. Enraged, McGill returns from his meeting with the president and blames Raines for defending Bauer and his decisions. He orders Bauer to be brought in under custody as a punishment for directly disobeying the orders that he was given.



Raines receives a mysterious call from Nathanson, the man who originally sold the terrorists the nerve gas, who will give valuable information on retrieving the remaining canisters, but only if he talks to Bauer. Raines is reluctant to patch him through, but does so anyway. Trading information for protection from Bierko's assassination squad, Nathanson tells Bauer to meet him in ten minutes.



With no other choice, Bauer chokes out Manning while in the car and under custody, dumps him out, and then disables all of the tracking devices, making it impossible for CTU to track him as he drives off. Back at CTU, McGill finds out about Bauer's escape and suspects Raines of being involved; he almost checks her last phone message, but Raines is able to convince O'Brian to delete the phone logs, thereby causing McGill to assume a system glitch. However, after he becomes increasingly suspicious of Raines, even Buchanan has to cover for her after finding out about her last call.



Meanwhile, Bierko contacts President Logan ... using Cummings' cell phone, and tells him that since he won't be able to release the nerve gas on Moscow, he wants the next best thing - the assassination of the Russian president. Wanting the travel route of Suvarov's motorcade, Bierko warns that if the President does not help him in this assassination attempt, then he will be forced to use the nerve gas in more populated areas on U.S. soil.



Bauer arrives close to Nathanson's location and is given specific directions on how to get to him; however, before he can get far, Bauer sees a helicopter land on the roof of the building carrying Bierko's assassins and is forced to given Nathanson directions on how to escape. Nathanson is able to take out one of them and grab his gun but is forced to run from the others. After he is shot in the leg, the terrorists close in on him, but somehow Bauer makes it there in time and shoots and kills both.



Unfortunately, another helicopter spots them and starts shooting; Bauer is able to take it down, but not before it fatally wounds Nathanson. Before he dies, he tells Bauer to check his pockets - Jack finds a computer chip. Jack calls Raines, but with McGill literally looking over her shoulder, she pretends it's a wrong line and patches Bauer through to O'Brian, who has him upload the data on the chip to her.



Meanwhile, Mrs. Logan finds out about Bierko's ultimatum and is shocked that her husband is considering it. She points out that the whole point of the treaty was to create an alliance powerful enough to stand up to terrorists, and that allowing them to get to Suvarov would be murder on President Logan's part. The President, however, realizes that he cannot let tens of thousands of Americans and probably more die.



Back at CTU, O'Brian realizes that the only person who can access the encrypted data on the chip is Raines, and she calls Buchanan to get him to stall McGill while she gives the message to Raines. Raines gets the memo, but McGill is not so easily fooled, as he watches Raines close the window containing the message and then confronts both Raines and Buchanan on just WTH is going on. When he realizes that they're working together on this with Bauer, he gets security to throw Buchanan out of CTU.



President Logan and Mrs. Logan meet Suvarov just before he and his wife leave on the motorcade route, which the Chief of Staff gives to Bierko. Mrs. Logan tries to get her husband to stop him before it's too late, but when he refuses, she makes the unbelievable decision of riding with Suvarov and his wife in their limousine, putting her in direct danger and possibly certain death, as Bierko instructs his men to attack and destroy all of the cars on the route ...

Stupid Lynn - telling them that the keycard is important... You know it's going to go badly from there. That was a throwaway, though - guess we'll be dealing with that in the next couple of episodes.



Logan - "Take responsibility and do your job!" Well, isn't that a laugh - *Logan* is the one who made the call to release the gas. This is a classic example of big monkey craps on middle monkey, and middle monkey craps on little monkey. In this case, Logan freaks all over Lynn, and to maintain some semblance of control, Lynn then goes and blames the whole mess on Jack, and promptly wants him to be brought back in chains.



Nathanson set Jack up to take the fall for Palmer's assassination and now wants Jack to help him avoid Bierko's men, so Jack has to take out Curtis and steal his vehicle (not a car, never would be - is a TRUCK - a Ford, gee, imagine that... lol)



Others in the government besides Cummings are behind the sale of the nerve gas to the Russians.

What others? Who could it be?



Why did Audrey lie when McGill asked her if she'd spoken to Jack since he'd been taken into custody? The best lie is always mixed with the truth - as much truth as possible.



Logan not wanting to talk to the terrorist - telling Novick "you deal with them" - yet another sign of a man with no backbone, and no will of his own, constantly following whoever speaks with the loudest voice. I read a review of an earlier episode, where the author was saying that Logan has been choosing the course of action that leaves him with the most options open down the line, and in my opinion that is not the case. It seems to me that he merely goes along with whomever can present their case in the most convincing manner.



I can't believe Logan is actually considering this - giving Bierko the route of the Russian president's motorcade. Talk about suicidal. I thought the American policy was never to negotiate with terrorists, but Logan seemed to have completely forgotten that until Martha reminded him - way to go Martha, what a tongue lashing, and boy, did he deserve it. Wow, the ultimate betrayal - this better be a false route that Novick is giving the terrorists, or there truly will be hell to pay. I love the way Martha has chosen to force Logan's hand to make him actually do the right thing, for once, although I kind of wish that Aaron wasn't in the line of fire as well.



McGill is going off the deep end, putting Buchanan into holding like that. He hasn't got the experience required to run an operation like this one, and he just locked up his best shot at keeping the whole mess under control.



Next week is definitely going to be interesting.

The fifth installment to this show which I have watched all of from its creation - still hasn't gotten me into its grips - it kinda does, then doesn't.

Yes. There was a bit of corruption within the White House. That seems somewhat fresh. Now yes, they're tracking down more bad guys, and more false leads.

We still don't know who the bad guy is - and the chase is starting to feel a bit long-winded. Without the stunning factor of previous seasons (with Air Force One getting taken down, etc.) the gas at the mall was a rise - but it still isn't full on yet.

Keep watching. It's hard work making these episodes...and I betcha they're gonna get better. =) -Akie

The writers and producers openly admit that they try to structure the series in thirds. That is the unofficial format for most shows with even a hint of a season arc, and “24” is no exception. However, the seasonal act breaks usually involve a more smooth transition. In this case, the plot shifts focus in a matter of seconds, and the jarring effect on the story makes it hard for the writers to recover momentum.



It was a given that Erwich was a middle-man, but it was still a shock to see him killed so quickly. Apparently the way to move the story forward is to toss out the existing threat of a terrorist attack on Americans and shift back to the Russian plot thread. While there are elements in place that allow for that, it also betrays, once again, the haphazard nature of the writing for this show.



Bierko should make for an interesting villain, if only because Julian Sands is a great antagonist. (Note his creepy work in recent “Stargate: SG-1” episodes.) It makes sense that Bierko would look to eliminate complications in the wake of Erwich’s mess and the revelations about Nathanson. How he learned the truth about Nathanson is unclear, but the fact that Bierko wants the man dead provides the expected means for Nathanson to re-enter the story as a source of information for Jack.



Piled on top of these abrupt changes in the terrorism plot thread are far too many psychological issues related to Lynn McGill. Last season’s short-term CTU boss was bad enough when it came to tossing out accusations and getting in the way; Lynn seems to revel in the consequences of his own incompetence. That keycard is going to become one of those requisite annoying plot elements in the future, if past history is any indication!



So Logan, in his usual mode of covering for his own poor and self-absorbed choices, takes Lynn to task, and the inevitable reaction is paranoid fascism. Rather than let Bauer work with the autonomy that he supposed had, Lynn falls back on the cliché reaction of “arrest Jack!”, which always goes well. And thus begins a somewhat tired exercise in putting Jack on the run, which has been done enough times to make it more annoying than suspenseful.



This triggers a series of remarkably outlandish plot devices, which has a certain level of parallel thematic resonance. Audrey gets a call to do something immoral, which then sets her at odds with Lynn and forces a number of people to make difficult choices with countless lives at stake. Logan gets a call to do something immoral, which then sets him at odds with Novick and forces a number of people to make difficult choices with countless lives at stake. Thematically, does it work? Sure. But getting there is a rather ludicrous exercise.



Chloe’s decision to erase the phone logs, leaving an obvious trail, is a ridiculous plot element designed specifically for Lynn to have an excuse to abuse his power. The whole idea is to hide the call so that it cannot be proven that Audrey called Jack. Erasing the logs in an obvious way eliminates the direct evidence, but leaves whopping indirect evidence that does little more than widen the consequences. If Audrey believes that having Chloe erase phone logs could eventually be justified, she should know the same applies to her personal decision to help Jack.



Logan began the season with one goal in mind: forging a legacy. For him, it’s all about making choices that will give him maximum flexibility for spin control after the fact. So it seems rather out of character for Logan to risk a major international incident, sure to undermine the entire accord signed hours earlier, to protect American lives that might be otherwise saved through CTU efforts. It doesn’t make much sense at all, for someone who screwed Jack to avoid an international incident with China.



Here’s a thought. Why not inform Suvarov of the situation, since he’s already aware of what has been happening, and see if CTU can be aided by Russian personnel on Suvarov’s security detail? Why not give the anti-terrorist accord some weight by working together to resolve a threat that affects both governments? Logan doesn’t even begin to consider the long-term advantages, and unfortunately, the writers make sure Novick doesn’t bring that up either.



On the other hand, Logan does flirt with the idea of using the situation as a setup to foil the terrorists, but he does it incorrectly. If he wanted to do that, why not contact CTU first? Well, that would be too easy, and it might demonstrate competence. It would also distract Lynn from his dictatorial leanings. And of course, once Martha gets wind of it, the situation has to escalate from her actions before anyone else can intervene.



Once Chloe identifies that the chip provided by Nathanson requires DOD passwords and Lynn catches them in the act, the situation becomes a pretext for bringing Secretary of Defense Heller back for a few episodes. He will probably deal with Lynn harshly and then proceed to act with authority that he shouldn’t have under the circumstances, much like the fourth season.



Ultimately the lead sends Jack in the direction of a former acquaintance, while Lynn continues to follow Logan’s demand for swift anti-terrorism response by taking everyone taller than him into custody. This is where the logic completely breaks down. Lynn and Logan want the canisters found. Lynn assumes that Jack is secretly working with people in CTU against orders. Instead of tabling that issue for later and seeing what Jack has managed to uncover, he places control of CTU activities at the top of his list. Lynn is, essentially, a complete and utter moron.



Judging by the end of the episode, things aren’t looking good for Agent Pierce. The writers aren’t going to kill Martha, and killing off the Russian president would be too much to contain in terms of an international incident. So someone needs to die to ramp up the tension again, and Pierce is all too likely a candidate.



The despicable and illogical decisions from Logan and Lynn in this episode are a major contributor to its downfall. The characters aren’t making decisions that are based on existing character aspects; they’re making decisions for the sake of the plot and regaining tension. It is possible, as seen in previous episodes and seasons, for the situations to escalate in a manner that doesn’t betray a cobbled-together creative process. Unfortunately, this episode doesn’t have that quality.



Ironically, this episode was written by Howard Gordon and David Fury. This is not very hard to believe. Gordon has been the writer for many of the more challenged episodes of the series, especially when the writers are in “scramble” mode. Fury is usually better at taking a script and banging it into shape in short order, but the plot demands might have overcome his usual facility with character detail. Whatever the case, this lives up too far too many low expectations for a Howard Gordon script.

In an episode where Lynn terrorizes CTU with useless orders and constantly hounds those trying to help Jack, this episode seemed like it was a slow down in pace from the rest of the season.



Up until this episode, every episode had something at stake, making every one action-packed. However, there was nothing going on, in terms of 24, in this episode. There was still big action and drama over at CTU, but outside of that, this episode didn't do much on it's own. It seems like it's being used only to setup something bigger.



This is easily the slowest episode of the season. Hopefully things pick back up next episode, getting back on pace with what can be the best season yet.

Well I think that the writers are getting unawared to the series format... When Nathanson talks to Jack he said "... Be there in 10 minutes or i will be gone..." or something like this... Jack onlu gets there in about 20 minutes and Nathanson is still there... Not very comum in this show things like this!!! After the newest terrorist's boss calls President Logan and said that would return the call after 15 minutes... And he takes a lot more....

I know that this are silly things maybe.. But my favorite thing in this show is the syncronism of it so it can pass the feal that the events realy occurs in real time.. well this one failed terrible!!!

The episode reminds me of the seasons 3 and 4 (this is not a complement), but in some ways worse. The most drama in this episode and has been somewhat similar the last few, is within the ‘good-guy’ structure, in-fighting, and miscommunications and misunderstandings.. GAH if I really wanted to see some 3-companies crap, I’d watch crap… on purpose. The character interaction is just unrealistic, the characters don’t remember what they were last episode let alone the season or previous seasons. At times it’s so horribly childish it’s almost painful, then.. oh wait… there are bad guys? in this show? really? where? and what are they doing prey tell? .. the same thing? in-fighting and killing each other.. oh.. yay!

Another good episode but a few things:



1.Lynn - I believe he is doing the right thing. CTU has more leaks than the Titanic and he is absolutely correct in his suspicions about what's happening. Ok so perhaps trying to take Jack into custody was a mistake but he had Audrey and Bucannon bang to rights.



2.Logan - I really hate this odious scumbag. He is so weak and pathetic he makes me boil with rage. I have to say though, Gregory Itzin is utterly convincing as the unsure, bumbling President. Give that man an award.

This is what happens a little more than halfway through season 2: Jack gets a phone call from a mysterious man (leader of the coral snakes). The man wants to only speak to Jack. He claims that he has vital information (computer chip) which will be needed to stop the terrorists\' (conspirators) plot of killing innocent civilains. He tells Jack to quickly meet him now in a remote location. He admits to having helped the terrorists in their plan but now the terrorists want to kill him. He needs Jack\'s help to protect him from the terrorists and is willing to provide the chip. Jack then injurs his co-worker (Tony) in order meet the man. Shortly after Jack gets there, the terrorists arrive there as well and shoot the man. As the man is dying, Jack discovers the chip on his body (actually it was in his body).

Does this plot sound familiar. Last night\'s episode (2/20/06) used the same exact outline. This is just one of several examples of how season 5 is stealing from seasons 1 and 2.

Walt Cummings from season 5 is Roger Stanton from season 2. Think about what each of them did and and what their motivations were.

Don\'t get wrong, season 5 is still great but i think the writers are recycling several plotlines from seasons 1 and 2.

This show gets better and better! I love it! The ending for this episode was totally awesome, it really cinched the deal for an even better episode for next week. Can't wait to see what the president does. He is such a putz, can't make a decision to save his life or can he?? Hmm that will be the question for next week's episode. I am just loving the Jean Smart character, Mrs. Logan is one tough cookie.

Wow! That is exactly what I said after the first ten minutes of this episode! To kill such as important character as Erwich, but then to see a more evil character! And that was just the beginning of the episode! So much happens in this episode that makes it so good, Lynn going nuts about Jack, the President with a choice I would never want to make, and then Jack trying to see what Nathanson, has for him! AHHHH I can not wait for next weeks episode! Where are they going to go with the way that they ended, (I'm not gonna say to much for those who haven't seen it, ENJOY!)

Is there no end to this madness!?! James Nathanson, prepared to help Jack, ends up being killed by the terrorists who magically find him. Nathanson, like Walt Cummings, while his intentions were godd, couldn't see past the error of their master plan to foil the terrorists.

President Logan is put in yet another stressful situation. This stress has once again undone his peaceful non-aggressive character, we just saw like two hours ago when his benevolence and respect towards Jack were most apparent. The president worried most about the legacy of his presidency has forced Lynn into an impossible situation. Lynn pressured by the loss of his credit cards and key card by his sister, and the missing gas with no lead, Lynn has taken on a new persona that threatens the welfare of CTU and the entire country.

Mrs. Logan also shows again that she is incompetent and cannot act rashly. She clearly intends to tell the Russian representatives about the terrorists plans to attack their country with the nerve gas. Again, while she means well, she is putting the Russians in an impossible situation while going against the will of her husband. I liked Palmer and his wife a lot better than this duo.

Where the show is headed next, no fan truly knows except that we can only expect the Russians will find out the plan, Lynn will come to his senses soon, President Logan will once again be saved by the incredible work of Jack Bauer.

I think this was a great episode. Primarily, Lyn is showing that he can't handle "24" style pressure the way the rest of the gang can. But is not being Jack Bauer a bad thing? I think it shows realism, something that this series is ussually a tad low on. The president of the United States calls him every 15 minutes to yell at him. His agency can't seem to stop nerve gas weilding terrorists. His sister helped get him beat up. I'm guessing the "scumbag boyfriend" having Lyn's security card is a security breech that Lyn doesn't want to report. That would make me snap.



The end of the episode was truly amazing. Martha went with the Russians so that when they die, she will die too, and war will be averted. No one will believe the president had anything to do with the attack on the motorcade if Martha dies there too. And she knew it. She is sacrificing herself to avoid a war. That deserves repect.

So the question for 24 fans should always be: WWDP=What would David Palmer do?



I can just hear him saying, "The United States will not negotiate with terrorists." And he would have McGill locked away for being a flat out moron.



How many times is Jack going to be called back in?



So really the piece here is about Logan. He is the crappiest person to have the title President of the U.S. of A. He obviously has no issues w/ murdering innocent people. He'll kill them in a mall or kill them in a motorcade.



I'll give the writers one thing here. I'm sure everyone watching thought Martha was going to blurt out what was going on. But what a sweet set up for the next episode as she hops in the car with the Russians. And Logan amped up the wuss factor by bowing out of going w/ the Russians.



Here's a prediction: Logan will be dead by the end of the season.

Just when i thought things couldn't go bad in 24, they got worse. The start was bizzare. They introduced a flurry of characters just calling each other and getting killed by someone. God knows who ! One more thing i don't understand about 24 is the amazing chain of co-incidences. I mean why the hell did Lynn's sister chose this very day to bother him. Also they have shown the White House and President in particular in a very bad light. Don't know what the writers were thinking showing the President to be an absolute dumbo who has no control over anything.

24 has always been implausible but this season has taken the ridiculous to new levels.



This president does nothing more than harass the employees at LA CTU every hour on the hour wondering why the crisis has not been solved yet.



Frustrated by their failure to solve the world's problems in an hour the president is now negotiating directly with the terrorists.



Could a man with so few people skills and with such a microscopic amount of integrity and with so little common sense ever get elected? Whoops ... I think that was a retorical question.



How about Mike, the president's second in command. The guy orders the president around but has no idea what a president should be doing.



Oh well, the end result is we have an interesting situation. Maybe it doesn't matter how we got here but Buchanan is in the slammer for covering for Jack while Chloe and Audrey are working covertly with Jack to get some secret location from a cell phone rescued single-handedly by Jack from a helicopter full of gun-toting terrorists. Breathe...



Now Jack is about to take on all the terrorists at once ... BY HIMSELF ...



Meanwhile, the President has signed an anti-Terrorist treaty with the Russians and told the terrorists where the Russian President's car will be. Apparently his one skill is working both ends of the deal...



Mrs. President has decided that her husbands backbone is in need of some alignment and has elected to go along for the ride with the Russian President and his wife.

Once again "24" has captured my attention. The show has a way of being much like an addicting drug. It leaves you craving more. This show is the only thing that makes me enjoy Mondays. Judging by the previews for next week, we are in for even more of a ride. I think for the final show of the final season, whenever that may be, "24" needs to go FEATURE FILM!

I thought the Lynn overreacted quite a bit throughout the entire episode. He was catching a lot of grief from the president, but that is no excuse. Poor Buchanan was arrested. Jack was forced to attack Curtis, though he didn't injure him, in order to help with the investigation. Audrey was forced to lie because of this. I am curious as to when we are going to see Kim this season. I am pretty certain we will because I heard that Elisha Cuthbert would be returning. I am looking forward to the rest of the season.

A very well written episode began the way most "techno-thriller" books and movies begin. Various people with knowledge of a terrorist threat are killed and one person is on the run to help stop them ( Nathanson ). This begins an episdoe filled suspense, action, and well developed storylines. Many of us were a little distraught over Lynn's filler storyline two episodes back, but it seems that it might serve a purpose. His character is clearly showing that he cannot handle pressure even though he is the person in charge of CTU. This adds a very nice dynamic to the CTU setting and having the very compendent Buchanan detained only adds to the intrigue of CTU.



Jack's story had a nice little action set-piece with him taking on a helicopter, I did duduct a small point from the episode's score because I think the actor playing Nathanson had a very unrealistic shoot-out ( the way he was holding his gun, his mannerisms ). But it was pretty cool. Jack wasn't even featured predominatly throughout the episode, which shows how strong the show's supporting charcters and storylines are.



The Presidential storyline is also very well written this season and its a nice change of pace from other shows and movies to have a leader that absolutely does not deserve to be one. Logan proves that he is an absolute moron and Martha takes a very shocking choice to stop her husband from forcefully aiding the terrorists. This episode did not let up at all with everyone's storyline fast-paced and suspenseful. It looks like next week will keep up the momentum and still have Day 5 to be the best one yet.