24 Season 6 Anticipation Thread

Man, it sucks that we have to wait all the way until January 2007 for Season Six. But, I waited that long for Serason Five, I guess I can do it for Serason Six. I got this stuff from 24fan.blogpot.com:

Spoiler:

About S6 in this tv.com article:

Sutherland that said in the upcoming season his character will be a shell of man, tired of all the death that surrounded him in season five. "[Bauer's] at the end of his line," the actor confided. "Something's going to have to really rejuvenate him from the position that he's in...he'll come from a really deep, dark place."
He also says S6 picks up more than a year later. Per sources that have read the first script, it's actually 2 years after he's on that slow boat to China.

Spoiler:

Kiefer Sutherland tells London's The Observer that Season 6 of 24 "will take a slightly different turn" as Jack Bauer faces his next very bad day. "We've had five years of him saving a large thing; this [season] is much more about him saving his own ass," says the actor. "He’ll go from being the one who hunts people down to the one who's being hunted" — and still, amazingly, never make time for a bite of a panini or even a quick trip to see a man about a horse.

""Numb3rs" and "Ally McBeal" actor Peter MacNicol is joining 24 next season as a series regular. The actor will portray a high-ranking government official."

"Much speculation on the various 24 boards about the role of Wayne Palmer's wife in the S6 storyline.
Regina King has been cast as a regular. She plays Wayne and David Palmer's sister -- an advocacy lawyer named Angela Palmer.

UPDATE: Entertainment Weekly's Popwatch asks an interesting question: Can a strong black woman actually survive a season of 24 without being devious, imperious or just plain evil?"

Spoiler from Kim Raver:

Spoiler:

From the TV Critics during the junket for her new ABC show:
"They are keeping Audrey alive," Raver said of Jack Bauer's great love, who must be wondering where the hell he is. "Hopefully it will be me going back to play Audrey and not someone else. And there's a specific reason that I can't get into now."

Spoiler:

Season 6 in NYC

Producers for the hit Fox series 24 confirm they have been in talks with New York city officials about filming "some" of season six there.

Would Jack stop to get a good bagel or a Sabrett hot dog? Maybe take in a Broadway show? This article says it might just happen.

But even more exciting?

Surnow also told Ausiello that fans can expect a return visit from the disgraced President Logan, played by Gregory Itzin, and his feisty wife, Martha, played by Jean Smart.

------------

That's all the stuff I have so far.

xman25

Double Post:
These two things I got from http://24fan.blogspot.com/

1) "From The Ausiello Report:

Eric Balfour has signed on to reprise his Season 1 role as independent CTU contractor Milo Pressman. My spy wouldn't say how Milo would be re-introduced, but he'll be sticking around for a while: Balfour will be credited as a series regular.

Former Star Trek: Deep Space Nine doc Alexander Siddig is joining the cast as one of the evildoers behind the big Season 6 plot. Additionally, Carlo Rota (aka Mr. Chloe O'Brian) will be back as a series regular."
--

Something to watch for: 2) "Next week on the 24 stages, Kiefer and Mary Lynn are shooting a special spoof video with Conan O'Brien for the Emmy telecast. So it wasn't enough that 24 got the most freaking nominations for a series, and the fact that Kiefer is confirmed to be a presenter. Now I'm gonna have to tune in on August 27th just to see this video. Conan has the best writers, so I'm predicting it will be hilarious."
--

xman25

Jam it back in, in the dark.

From wikipedia, some of the things are repeats from earlier posts in this thread, but a number of things aren't. I didn't feel like editing things out. So here you go:

Spoiler:

Background
----------
Towards the end of the fourth season, with authorization from the White House, Jack Bauer invaded the Los Angeles Chinese consulate. As a result of this raid, the Chinese consul was accidentally killed by an embassy guard. CTU field agent Howard Bern, who was involved in the raid, was identified by the Chinese and illegally taken in for questioning, where he was told that he would be put on a slow boat to China before being transferred to a maximum security prison on Chinese / Siberian border. The United States government and his family would not be notified, he would have no chance of escape. He eventually broke and told the Chinese that the man that led the raid was Jack Bauer. The Chinese contacted the American Government and demanded that the US government hand Bauer over so that he could be placed in a Chinese prison camp, where he would spend the rest of his life. Rather than risk a nuclear war with China, the White House ordered Jack to turn himself in to the Chinese government. However, Walt Cummings ordered the Secret Service agent that was going to arrest Jack to kill him instead. Jack was warned of this by David Palmer and faked his own death. At the end of the fifth season, after having spent the intervening eighteen months in hiding, Jack was captured by the Chinese and was last seen imprisoned on a Shanghai registered container ship. Jack's girlfriend Audrey Raines notices his disappearance and reports it to CTU.

President Charles Logan has been arrested by federal marshals on the orders of the Attorney General and Vice President Hal Gardner due to a taped confession in which Logan admitted his involvement with the events of the day to his wife, Martha. Logan will either resign or face impeachment and most likely criminal charges.

Known Details
----------
1) Some of the events of Day 6 will take place (and reportedly be shot on location) in New York City. However, Co-Executive Producer Jon Cassar told Ecran Large, "Honestly, I have no idea where this one came out from. All I can say is that we're starting the preps mid-July in L.A. and that's where we're going to shoot." In a later interview the producers actually admitted to this idea being scrapped, finding that the same plot can be carried out in L.A. and would prevent location disorientation.

2) Joel Surnow said at the Heritage Foundation that the President's storyline would take place in Washington D.C.. He also said that Aaron Pierce would be there, protecting the President.

3) The terrorists will be of Middle Eastern origin and one of the them will be undercover in Simi Valley.

4) Kiefer Sutherland said in an interview that: "We've had five years of [Jack Bauer] saving a large thing; this one's much more about him saving his own ass. He'll go from being the one who hunts people down to the one who's being hunted, so that in itself turns the show around."
While Kim Raver will return as Audrey Raines, she has said that she won't be on the show every week, but has said that she hopes to be in "a couple storylines." She is interested in being in both the sixth season as well as the upcoming movie but will have to work around her shooting schedule for The Nine in order to do so.

5) Wayne Palmer will now be the President of the United States. Also appearing will be the sister of Wayne and the late David Palmer, Angela, who will be played by Regina King.

6) Jean Smart has said that she and Gregory Itzin are likely to return to the series, but it seems unlikely that they would be regular members of the cast.

7) Co-Executive Producer and Director Jon Cassar speculated that a successful terrorist attack already had happened at the beginning of the new season. He quote: "What would be the situation if something like 10 nuclear bombs had already exploded in a row all around the country?". This way, the season start after the terrorist menace, with Jack trying to fix the situation, and not prevent like always have been.

8) Jon Cassar has stated that the Season 5 DVD release of 24 will contain a special prequel short to season 6, just as the last two DVD releases have done - showing glimpses of Jack's life in between seasons. It will also be released online.

9) According to the August 14-20, 2006 issue of TV Guide Magazine, Season 6 begins with Jack "two months into his Chinese incarceration." Director Jon Cassar remarks that "He's not the same Jack we've seen before... He's beaten down, a weakened shell."

10) Also in the August 14-20 TV Guide issue, Cassar states that Season 6 begins "in the midst of America being terrorized... Something horrible has already happened, so we start in a mood of national paranoia and fear and go from there."

Cast
-------
The following have been confirmed to return:

Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer

James Morrison as Bill Buchanan

Gregory Itzin as Charles Logan

Jean Smart as Martha Logan

Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian

Carlo Rota as Morris O'Brian

D.B. Woodside as Wayne Palmer

Glenn Morshower as Aaron Pierce

Kim Raver as Audrey Raines

Eric Balfour as Milo Pressman

The following are new additions to the series:

Regina King as Angela Palmer

Peter MacNicol as a High-Ranking Government Official

Alexander Siddig as One of the Evildoers Behind the Big Season 6 plot

Marisol Nichols as The New Head of CTU

Michael Angarano as Scott

Kal Penn as a man associated with an Islamic guru/mosque leader

Unresolved Plots
-----------
The finale of previous seasons leave several threads unresolved while setting up the context for Season 6:

1) Who is Graham and who are his fellow conspirators? Is he working for anyone else? What is the full scope of his role in the events of Day 5, and possibly Day 4?

2) What happened to Evelyn Martin and Miles Papazian?

3)What is the condition of Secretary of Defense James Heller? After crashing into a lake in Season 5 episode 19, he was revealed to be alive but in intensive care in Season 5 episode 21.

4)How does Jack escape custody of the Chinese Government?

-------------------

I imagine at least some of this is subject to change.

xman25

Most amazing jew boots

Great for Kiefer and 24!!!! Some fun stuff for 24, taken from twentyfour.tv:

24 things you didn't know about 24

Written by CTU
Sunday, 09 July 2006

1 Jack Bauer has killed 112 people over the five years of the show. Season 4, during which he dispatched 44 'hostiles', was his best ever; in the first season he managed a lacklustre 10.

2 Kiefer Sutherland heard that American college students use 24 as a drinking game, downing a shot every time Jack Bauer says 'damn it'. So he changed the script in one episode to have Jack say 'damn it' 14 times in one hour.

3 Another frat-house game is to monitor Jack's flouting of the Geneva Conventions. In season 2 he shot a key suspect under interrogation in the heart before beheading him. In season 3, he executed a colleague on the president's orders.

4 Jack's entry codes for CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit) are 4393 and Q22Q17

5 For season 2, a prototype script was written in which each (non real-time) episode would span 24 hours, but execs decided to stick to the original format.

6 During season 4 an incoming call number was shown on a character's mobile phone. More than 50,000 fans dialled the number - only to find it was real and belonged to one of the crew.

7 More than 20 lead characters have died in seasons 1-5.

8 Jack Bauer has actually died twice. In season 2 he was tortured, burned and tazered to death before miraculously coming round. In season 4 he was shot dead; then Tony Almeida injected him with epinephrine and he recovered.

9 Executive Producer Evan Katz once said: 'We make a lot of it up as we go along.'

10 24 was the first TV show to embrace real-time - the clock keeps ticking during ad breaks and there are no flashbacks.

11 Of course, it's not quite as simple as that. Three minutes are in fact gradually added to the timer during the ad breaks.

12 Almost all scenes are shot at head height.

13 We've never seen Jack eating, sleeping or going to the toilet. As a joke for season 5 he was filmed exiting the bathroom, eating a sandwich and wearing his pyjamas. It didn't make the final cut.

14 What might have been: 'The original iteration of 24 was that we were going to do 24 hours in the life of a wedding ... kind of a romantic comedy series.' (Creator Joel Surnow)

15 In the US, the Fox network had to screen adverts during season 4 episodes showing 'positive' images of Muslims, to counter charges of Islamophobia.

16 Everyone on the programme has to sign pledges not to reveal the plot.

17 Former presidential candidate and Republican Senator John McCain is such a fan of 24 he landed himself a walk-on part.

18 Blooper alert! The Californian presidential primary - the backdrop to season 1 - is held in March, not June.

19 The premiere was due to air in the US just one month after 9/11. Following the attacks, a shot of a 747 exploding was removed and the screening was delayed.

20 Jack's daughter, Kim, has been held captive in one form or other eight times.

21 Sarah Clarke was cast as Nina Myers on the morning filming was due to begin for the pilot episode.

22 Glenn Morshower, Kiefer Sutherland, Carlos Bernard and Dennis Haysbert are the only actors to appear in all five seasons.

23 To speak fluent Jack, use the following phrases often: 'Where's Kim?', 'Who are you working for?', 'Get down on the ground!' and, of course, 'Damn it!'

24 Fox commissioned two more series of 24 in May. A feature film will begin production next year, with parts to be shot in London.
---------
Intersting stuff. I like the drinking game bit.

xman25

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

From http://24fan.blogspot.com/:

Spoiler:

Marisol Nichols has joined Fox's Emmy-winning drama "24" in a recurring role as a Counter Terrorist Unit operative. She will play Natalie, the boss of socially-impaired systems analyst Chloe (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and the right-hand woman to bureau chief Bill (James Morrison) at the CTU.

Nichols, whose credits include the series "Cold Case," "Blind Justice" and "In Justice" and the feature "Big Momma's House 2," recently wrapped the comedy feature "Delta Farce."

Spoiler:

http://24fan.blogspot.com/uploaded_i...sol-747251.jpg

------

She's hot.

xman25

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Here is something I found on comixfan.com:

24: NIGHTFALL #1
Mark Haynes, J.C. Vaughn (w); Jean Diaz (a); Diaz, Joe Corroney (c)

Presenting a special six-part 24 Season One prequel! In 24: Nightfall, future CTU agent Jack Bauer heads an elite Special Forces team sent to take down the mass murderer, Victor Drazen. But events in the war-torn former Yugoslavia quickly spiral out of control as the hunters become the hunted. The secrets behind Bauer's pivotal Operation: Nightfall mission are revealed here! Joe Corroney (Spike vs. Dracula) provides a special variant cover, too.

*Covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.

FC • $3.99 • 32 pages
-------------

Issue number #1 is scheduled to come out this November.

xman25

I was speaking idiomatically.

An interview with the writers of the new 24 comic book mini-series. It's from IDW, the publisher of the 24 comic books. :

IDW Sets the Clock Back for a 24 Prequel

Jack Bauer Returns to Comics in November with 24: Nightfall

Following on the success of previous 24 offerings-including 24 Stories and 24: Midnight Sun-IDW Publishing is presenting 24: Nightfall, an all-new six-issue mini series featuring everybody's favorite Federal Agent-Jack Bauer.

If you thought Jack Bauer had rough days started with the first season of 24, think again. 24: Nightfall is a prequel to the on-going hit Fox television series. Before the clock started ticking on season one, Jack Bauer was the head of an elite Special Forces team sent to take down the mass murderer Victor Drazen. Not an easy mission by any means, especially in the war-torn former Yugoslavia. Events quickly spiral out of control, as the hunters become the hunted—and the true facts of the pivotal Operation: Nightfall are revealed.

24: Nightfall is a six-issue mini series premiering in November and is written by J.K. Vaughn and Mark L. Haynes, the team that brought you 24: Midnight Sun, and with art by Jean Diaz.

IDW managed to get Vaughn and Haynes to clear some space in their 24-hour day-planners in order to answer some timely questions regarding 24: Nightfall.

IDW: Why tell a story that takes place before the timeline already established by 24 the television series?

J.C. Vaughn: Good question, but this timeline was established by the series. The events of Day One (Season One) take place two years to the day after this mission. What happened that day in Jack Bauer's life (and Senator David Palmer's, too) was Victor Drazen's revenge for the events that are the backbone of our story.

Mark L. Haynes: From a storytelling standpoint, this mini-series is the "cause" that goes along with the devastating "effects" that Season One has for Jack Bauer and the other characters. From a fan's viewpoint, this story is being told in order to answer the all-important question of "why?" Why is Victor Drazen out to destroy David Palmer and Jack Bauer? Why does Jack act the way he does? The comics can explore all that.

IDW: What are the constraints of writing a story based on a well-established property such as 24? And what liberties due you feel that you have writing 24 within the comic book medium?

MLH: Far from a constraint, a well-established property allows substantially more freedom. All good stories are based, in large measure, on the motivations of the characters. After five seasons of the show, our writing is governed by the simple question: "What would Jack Bauer do?" From there, the comic book medium allows us to show Jack operating in a wider world. While his actions certainly have global impact, comics allows us to take Jack out of the L.A. area and drop him into any situation to reinforce just how good he is at his job.

JCV: Rather than think of constraints, it's more fun to take the situation as a positive. 24 is the one comic I don't have to sketch before I script. The visual paradigms of the show are well established in the readers' minds, too, so we're not re-inventing the wheel here. Mark and I plot it very, very tightly, because frankly as fans of the show that's what we would demand if we were reading it instead of writing it. Once we're plotted, that frees us to do one thing-concentrate on the craft of writing, creating the best additions to the world of 24 that we can.

IDW: What is it that makes Jack Bauer "tick," so to speak? What separates him from the countless other tough-guy maverick heroes of page and screen?

JCV: It's like those internet jokes: Jack Bauer once lost his car keys and tortured himself for a half hour until he confessed where the keys were. And he makes onions cry. Seriously, though, Jack Bauer is a relentless, purpose-driven patriot who knows that there are scary people out there who want to kill us simply because we're American and/or they can make some money doing it.

MLH: While there are similarities between Jack Bauer and characters like John McClane (Die Hard) and Martin Riggs (Lethal Weapon), Jack differs in that he's not a loner when it comes to a mission, and he is not inclined to take chances if there is any other possible way to solve a crisis.

IDW: So why is it that no one seems to have a worse day than Jack Bauer? What is it that Jack could have possibly done in a previous life to deserve such horrible periods of 24 hours?

MLH: There are people that have worse days than Jack. They're the insurance adjusters that show up the next day.

JCV: Jack is a high caliber problem solver. The problem with solving difficult problems effectively is that you generally are then given even more difficult problems to solve. Nobody sends the lady at the DMV, whose main decision is whether to look put out or just disinterested, to deal with the terrorists who have just taken over the In and Out Burger down the street from Meltdown Comics. They send Jack Bauer. Or one of us, but only because it's near a comic shop.
-----

IDW has some preview pages on their website. I'll include them with this post. I don't think they give the plot away, so no spoilers.

xman25

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Some new stuff about the show I found on 24fan.blogspot.com:

Spoiler:

Oscar- and Emmy-nominated actor James Cromwell ("Babe," "Six Feet Under") and Emmy Award-winning actor Eddie Izzard ("Dress to Kill," "My Super Ex-Girlfriend") join the season six cast of 24. The highly respected Cromwell will recur this season as PHILLIP BAUER, the estranged father of JACK BAUER. (Ed - Was Donald Sutherland too busy?) British actor/comedian Izzard will portray a villainous accomplice, DARREN McCARTHY.
In addition to Cromwell and Izzard, newcomers joining the pulse-pounding thriller include Kal Penn ("Harold & Kumar"), Marisol Nichols ("In Justice"), Alexander Siddig ("Syriana") and Harry Lennix ("Commander in Chief"). Eric Balfour and Carlo Rota will reprise their respective roles as CTU contractors MILO PRESSMAN and MORRIS O'BRIAN.

-----

xman25

Double Post:
Something else I found on 24fan.blogspot.com:

Kief D'oh Sutherland

The Simpsons's 400th episode this year will be a parody called "24 Minutes" and will include Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub as their 24 characters.

I'm not sure if that's different from the Kiefer guest star episode titled "G.I. D'oh," which is scheduled to air on November 12th. I'll find out.
--------

That should be fun to watch.

xman25

FELIPE NO

I got this from 24.blogspot.com. It could be classified as an "oh crap" kind of thing if you're a superstitious person:

Rena Sofer will have a recurring role this season as the wife of shady power broker Graham (Paul McCrane). Now most of you don't really care, but if you know of her filmography then you might panic. She overacts in both drama (Melrose Place) and comedy (Seinfeld). Plus she's known as a "series killer." That's someone who's mere presence in the cast means that the show either jumped the shark or is destined to be cancelled. Other examples of such killers are Jason Gedrick, Paula Marshall, Steven Eckholdt and Ivan Sergei (Fox won't even air his pilot Drive).

Want more examples? Rena starred in the U.S. version of Coupling, Blind Justice, The Chronicle, Cursed and Oh Grow Up. Enough said.
--------------

I hope she doesn't kill 24.

xman25

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I got this from 24fan.blogspot.com:

Official Season Six Press Release

“24” SETS THE CLOCK FOR SEASON SIX

2006’s Most Emmy-Winning Series Premieres With Two-Night, Four-Hour Event Sunday, Jan. 14, and Monday, Jan. 15, on FOX

www.24trailer.com to Feature Season Six Sneak Peek on Tuesday, Oct. 24


24, this year’s most Emmy Award-winning television series (with five Emmys, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Kiefer Sutherland) and Outstanding Drama Series), sets the clock for “Day Six” with a four-hour, two-night television event Sunday, Jan. 14 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) and Monday, Jan. 15 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.

The fifth hour of 24 will air in the show’s regular time period Monday, Jan. 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT), and the intense season will unfold without interruptions until the season finale in May 2007.

As the clock ticks closer to 24’s highly anticipated return, FOX will make a special, extended “Day Six” trailer available for worldwide viewing on the web. The online countdown to the trailer’s debut begins today at www.24trailer.com. Fans around the globe can take their first look at Season Six by visiting the website on Tuesday, Oct. 24 (3:00 PM ET/Noon PT). The first promo for the new season is also scheduled to air during Game 3 of the World Series that night on FOX.

Season Five concluded with a battered and bloodied JACK BAUER (Kiefer Sutherland) captured by Chinese government agents and headed for points unknown. Season Six picks up 20 months later. After a series of horrific terrorist attacks, an unthinkable, nail-biting day begins.

Season Six will feature Wayne Palmer (DB Woodside), the strong-minded brother of the late President David Palmer; Sandra Palmer (Regina King), a determined and powerful advocacy lawyer; presidential advisors KAREN Hayes (Jayne Atkinson) and THOMAS LENNOX (Peter MacNicol); and CTU colleagues CHLOE O’BRIAN (Mary Lynn Rajskub), CURTIS MANNING (Roger Cross) and BILL BUCHANAN (James Morrison).

The cast also includes James Cromwell, recurring as PHILLIP BAUER, the estranged father of Jack Bauer, as well as Kal Penn (“Harold & Kumar”), Marisol Nichols (“In Justice”), Alexander Siddig (“Syriana”), Harry Lennix (“Commander in Chief”) and David Hunt (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) as villainous accomplice DARREN McCARTHY. Eric Balfour and Carlo Rota will reprise their respective roles as CTU contractors MILO PRESSMAN and MORRIS O’BRIAN.
------------

xman25

Jam it back in, in the dark.

The comic book '24: Nightfall #1' is scheduled to come out this week.

xman25

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by The Furious One

lol a comic, I guess thats something different, would of preferred a novel.

Can anyone tell the story line to the 24 videogame??

There are novels. Three of them I think.

xman25

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

http://24fan.blogspot.com has the prequel to Season 6.

xman25

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Spoiler:

The Chinese were trying to get information out of Jack, he wouldn't say anything, so they tricked him into giving them the information they wanted.

xman25

I was speaking idiomatically.

Spoiler:

I think it was the way he was acting, the way he looked at the guy, his body language.

xman25

Most amazing jew boots

The site http://24fan.blogspot.com/ has a good 24-themed Christmas video.

xman25

FELIPE NO

From Esquire magazine:

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: by Jack Bauer

Counterterrorism Expert, Los Angeles

By Nicole Ranadive and Matt Michnovetz
January 2007, Volume 147, Issue 1

-Fuck diplomacy.

-Actions speak louder than words. Though shouting can also be effective.

-If you shoot a man's wife in the knee and he still doesn't give you the information, he's bad.

-Revenge is the cruelest trick. I've seen it taken out on others, I've been victim to it, I've even done it myself. But it doesn't change anything, and it doesn't bring comfort.

-Trust is the key to survival. And by trust, I mean getting out of the way and letting me do what I need to do.

-The only thing harder than racing to stop a madman from releasing a deadly virus that will kill thousands of people is doing it while simultaneously trying to kick heroin.

-I've been beaten, kidnapped, gassed, and shot at, but the most terrifying thing I've ever been through was facing my daughter after I made her believe I was dead.

-I eat a lot of bananas. They're a good source of vitamin B and potassium. They're also easy to take on the move.

-Love is a privilege.

-If you have to trust someone, make it a quirky computer genius.

-If I say "dammit," either something bad just happened, something bad is about to happen, or I'm going to do something drastic.

-Any man can make a mistake. It's what he does to remedy that mistake that shows his character.

-You better know who you are before you go undercover. If you don't, you could easily lose yourself.

-Always carry at least one spare fully charged cell-phone battery.

-So many times when I thought there was no more time, there was.

-When interrogating a suspect, I've often found it effective to ask the question loudly and repeat it several times.

-Remember, terrorists use the phone as much as we do.

-In the event of a highway landing, always fasten your seat belt and return your chair and tray table to their upright and locked positions.

-It's all key cards and thumb drives these days.

-If the president of the United States ever orders you to shoot your boss in the head at point-blank range in cold blood, take a deep breath, ask God to forgive you, and just do it.

-Without conscience, a man becomes his worst enemy.

-Sometimes it's necessary to create a believable diversion, even at the risk of others thinking you're an asshole.

-A cell phone can sometimes be used to activate a secondary detonator on a terrorist's explosive vest regardless of how many minutes are left on your plan.

-Dead terrorists can often be effectively used as human shields. So can live ones.

-Bureaucrats want results but never want to get their hands dirty.

-The safety of the people I love is worth any sacrifice. Even their trust.

-Some people don't deserve to die, but that's not my call.

-Serbs have a different word for everything.

-If you don't have a Taser gun, the wires from a lamp will deliver the current needed to shock your subject just enough to get him to give up the information you need without doing any permanent damage.

-Sometimes you have to do the wrong thing for the right reasons.

-You can't save everyone.

-If you see me running down the street, it's probably a good idea to take cover.

-Don't piss off the Chinese.

Nicole Ranadive is the staff writer of 24. Matt Michnovetz is the show's story editor.
-------------
Good stuff.

xman25

Most amazing jew boots

From Entertainment Weekley:

The Pop of King

'24': So Good It's Scary

Even longtime viewers will be spooked by the new season's surprisingly real take on terrorism

By Stephen King

Most viewers of 24 will want to know one thing above all others: Is the upcoming season of Fox's groundbreaking experiment in serial TV (father of Lost, grandpappy of Heroes and Jericho) as good as last year? Let me put it to you this way: There are more thrills and suspense in the first four hours than most series can pack into a single season. Or an entire run of show, for that matter. I got those four episodes from EW Central Command and planned to dole them out over the course of maybe a week. Instead I ended up watching all of them that same night. Day 6 (at least so far) is like a book you can't put down...even though there are times when you may want to.

The reason is simple enough. This time the story spun out by Joel Surnow, Howard Gordon, and their co-conspirators seems, if not real, then dismayingly possible. Season 5, distinguished by Gregory Itzin as President Slimeball (and let's not forget Jean Smart as his long-suffering, screw-loosey wife), was almost extinguished by the creaking plot. Sentox? Really? It doesn't sound like nerve gas; it sounds like something you buy at the drugstore to combat athlete's foot or hide those embarrassing facial blemishes.

This time the threat — and no, I'm not going to tell you what it is — seems too plausible. When I got to the shocker that ends episode 4, I could understand Jack Bauer's expression of disbelief; it's a perfectly human reaction to what has just happened. And yet at the same time I'm sitting in my office chair and thinking, This could really happen. And at some point, it probably will. I suppose my reaction was intensified by having just finished Nelson DeMille's excellent novel Wild Fire, which deals with a similar scenario, but mostly it was that clear and persuasive sense of plausibility. 24 doesn't always achieve that, but when it does, it's the best thing on TV. Really, no one does the old ''We're surrounded by enemies!'' bit better than Fox. Bill O'Reilly's going to love this baby.

24 is a perfect example of why some serial TV works and some doesn't. The audience will come along for the ride, but it requires certain things as a quid pro quo. One is an element of believability (which ABC's Invasion never supplied). Another is what producers sometimes call ''a clear through-line.'' What this high-toned bit of jargon actually means is simplicity (NBC's Kidnapped threw that out in the first five minutes of its abortive run). Another is a high emotional temperature (which ABC's The Nine managed for exactly one week before lapsing into soap opera torpidity). Continuing stories have to run hot. How 24 has managed this kind of heat for six seasons is beyond me.

Last — and here's the genius part — continuing series must provide some degree of closure; the audience must feel they are getting somewhere. One of the reasons Lost may have suffered in the ratings this season (although suffering in TV is relative, and many struggling shows would kill to have Lost's ratings) is because it somehow misplaced that sense of things rushing toward some sort of conclusion. Even Fox's Prison Break (a column on this wonderful and hilarious show is forthcoming) provides that sense of closure; at the end of the first season, the main characters broke out of prison (well, duh). Now that the actual prison break's over, season 2 should be titled Show Me the Money.

I would argue that 24 is a genuine New Thing Under the Sun, not really a serial at all, but the world's first überseries. Each season is, in effect, a 24-week ''episode'' in the adventures of Jack Bauer...and while we're on the subject of Jack, let's not forget Kiefer Sutherland, who is now probably the best male actor on TV (although young Mr. Skeet Ulrich from Jericho is a comer).

24 also remains fresh, I think, because it is regularly watered by the blood of supporting characters — the sort who used to be considered eternal. This grisly but effective ritual began with the murder of Jack's wife, Teri Bauer (Leslie Hope), in season 1 and reached its apogee last year, when writers and producers knocked off lovable teddy bear Edgar Stiles (Louis Lombardi). And just when you thought there was no one else worth mourning...along comes another of these shockers this year.

Is 24 my idea of perfection in long-form TV? Indeed not. Just the most successful so far. That doesn't protect it from the occasional loopy plot twist (Kim Bauer and the cougar, case closed), the rather more frequent detour into the TV equivalent of Disney World (I couldn't believe who's president this time), or the sense — it usually sets in between episodes 16 and 20 — that the writers are stretching their material until it's almost thin enough to read a newspaper through. There's also a queasily gleeful subtext to 24 that suggests, ''If things are this bad, why, I guess we can torture anybody we want! In fact, we have an obligation to torture in order to protect the country! Hooray!'' Yet Jack Bauer's face — increasingly lined, increasingly haggard — suggests that extreme measures eventually catch up with the human soul.

One note to 24 writers and producers: Mary Lynn Rajskub (sulky as ever, but looking remarkably pretty this year) is still one of the best things about the show. So let me close by doing my best John Wayne imitation: ''If ya hurt the little lady, you're gonna answer to me.''

And I mean it.

Posted Jan 04, 2007 | Published in issue #915 Jan 05, 2007
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It would be interesting if Stephen King wrote some episodes of 24.

xman25

Jam it back in, in the dark.