It’s been a long time since an episode of 24, so here we get a little teaser for next season in the form of a 90 mins TV movie. The format is so different than what we usually get from 24, that this just didn’t feel like a 24 show.

Jack Bauer is basically the only constant of the show, and we get all his mannerisms and action scenes. We even got a nice co-star in Robert Carlyle who had good chemistry with Kiefer Sutherland, but his character is not returning, so I felt it was a waste of a good character (on the other hand, he probably couldn’t commit to multiple episodes).

Unfortunately we didn’t get any of the usual twists and turns, at least not of the same quality and I just didn’t care enough about what was at stake here. That’s mainly due to the short running time, which re-enforces my theory that a 24 feature film would not work.

By the end of this story it was clear that this was just a bridge to bring Jack back to US, and also setup some of the conspiracy for the upcoming season. So in that respect I guess it achieved its goal.

However it failed to wet my appetite for next season, on the contrary I am now less excited about it. Rationally I know this movie is not a reflection of what’s coming, but I just have a weird feeling about 24.

Rating: 2 Stars

SPOILERS FOR 24 SEASON 6!!

24 is back with another day in Jack’s life. After being held captive by the Chinese government, Jack is freed only to be sacrificed to a terrorist Abu. The connection between Jack and Abu Fayed is only dealt with in the first few episodes, after which it seems to be forgotten. I liked Alexander Siddig’s role, he is a reformed terrorist who is trying to do good. I’ve been a fan of his ever since his role in DS9.

The terrorist threat this time did not feel too threatening, even though they actually do detonate a nuclear bomb. I know it was supposed to shock us, but I didn’t feel it because there were no important losses. None of the important characters lost their lives in the explosion, so this explosion did not feel important.

The middle eastern boy who is supposed to deliver a package in the first few episodes also didn’t feel important to me. We’ve seen that before, and we know that he will disappear after a few episodes. Unfortunately it’s becoming too formulaic.

What I really did like was the whole Bauer family plot. First of all we finally find out who was the mysterious man behind the plot in the previous season. He is none other than Jack’s brother Graem! And not only is he evil, their father is the real puppet. I did fall for the Bauers plan to misdirect Jack, that’s why the scene where Graem dies was so effective to me. Not only we discover Phillip’s real nature, but how evil he is, by killing his own son.

On the Washington side, Wayne Palmer as president was a bit of a stretch. He is not only too young but too indecisive. Although that didn’t stop real presidents to be elected… However I did like the Lennox character, especially after he reported the plot to assassinate the president. As much as I love Powers Booth’s (he is really scary!!) performance, it just didn’t make much sense that he was so stubborn and that nobody really contested his decisions. He seemed to make a bad decision after another. By the end, even he felt sympathetic though, especially after what happened with Lisa.

On the CTU side, I didn’t really feel it worked as well this time out. Morris was a complete dumbass, very annoying with no shred of sympathy. I never really cared for Curtis, so that subplot didn’t engage me at all. The attack on CTU by the Chinese also didn’t feel much of a threat, we already knew what they wanted and the only victim was Milo. That was the only emotional shock from the CTU subplot, but it wasn’t as emotional as in previous seasons.

The terrorist plot concludes a few episodes from the end, at which point things change completely and Jack is trying to save Audrey. This change felt anticlimactic, we’ve been building tension all season trying to find the bombs, and when they do they suddenly want us to care for some more episodes about Audrey and the Chinese (again!). I felt they really dropped the ball this time.

The end was an emotional one, it reminded me of superheroes, the whole “keep your loved ones away to protect them from your enemies”. However this concept never really worked in the end, the heroes in the end still marry their loved ones (Superman, Spider-Man…). Frankly it felt like an old concept to me.

I still enjoyed this season, but it was a definite drop in quality from the last few seasons. I hope they can do better next season, and keep surprising us.

Season Rating: 3 Stars

The 5th season of 24 felt very similar to season 4. Maybe because I watched them back to back, and 5 started right where 4 left us, which is unusual for this series.

In reality the pace of this season was different. It started with the best first season episode I’ve ever seen. Everything turns to hell, and for people who have watched all previous seasons, it was a huge shock!! The usual national threat is slowly unveiled, filled with tension and action. But then - towards the middle point - it turned into more of a conspiracy thriller, still filled with tension, but it was based on character interaction.

The end was satisfying, although I would have liked to have known who were the real bad guys behind all this. They were shown in the second half of the season, but we don’t know anything about them.

There are many moments I remember in this season, maybe more than in the last few. I am not sure where it stands compared to the other seasons, but it’s certainly one the best. I am still amazed at the high quality of this show.

Rating: 4 Stars

My wife and I had some time off for Chinese New Year, and we managed to watch “24 S4″ in 3 days. I am still surprised at the high quality of this show. I thought after season 3 this show would be boring, predictable. Not so.

This last season is even better than the previous. They still manage to hold us in our seats and not let go until the end of the season. Even though it is still about saving the US, it still involves CTU and the white house (with a new president this time), and terrorists and bombs. I am still into it.

A lot of things happen in this season, and as usual you can’t stop watching after each episode. The CTU mole was a bit obvious this time, but I think they realize they couldn’t fool us anymore, so they just played it straight. Chloe still makes me want to punch that face! Edgar is not confident, and always has to respond to anyone, he never just says “yes sir”. Tony’s entrance surprised me, Palmer’s arrival was also a nice relief after that stupid Logan. I can’t believe a politician could be so incompetent, but then looking at Bush… in fact I thought that character was a veil criticism at Bush.

This ending is also a very intriguing one, the best since the end of season one. So much that I feel like watching the new season. And I will. For the first time we’ve decided to watch 24 week by week. Maybe this time we will not have to spend our holiday locked in our apartment.

Rating: 4 Stars