It's the classic philosophical debate between the utilitarians and some form of absolutist/deontologist. Jack is the quintessential act-utilitarian: do whatever you gotta do (no matter how dirty you're gonna get) for the best outcome.

How are they gonna cover their arses after the Chinese Embassy thing, though???

To tell you the truth, they have so many different options, I can't even scratch the surface. When a show has ostensibly three Presidents of the U.S. at the same time, with a fourth waiting in the wings if something happens to the Veep, you could go in an infinite number of directions.

OK, so Jack potentially started WW III last night, but that sure sets up lots of storylines. Who needs Marwan? He's a great villain, but he played almost no role in yesterday's show. China could be something they have all summer to resolve in time for next season.

True, there are just too many witnesses to keep the Embassy Incident covert, but Jack's gotten out of just as bad before. Maybe they'll even turn Jack over, get him tried, convicted and about to be executed on good old Chinese soil inside their embassy here in the U.S...

It's often difficult to remember that these shows are supposed to be played out in real time, considering how many kitchen sinks keep getting thrown in.

We're way past the kitchen sink baby...we've got the friggin' septic tank in there now!

So I was throwing around different scenarios for Pres Palm and CTU getting out of the Chinese Embassy thing:

They somehow frame some of the terrorists and make it look like they needed to take him out before he gave up info to CTU. But then, why wouldn't they have just gone in and shot him and left instead of dragging him out?

Are there any other possibilities?

I thought they would frame the terrorists for the kidnapping, but they can only do that if the guy they kidnapped winds up dead, right? Do they have to kill him to frame Marwan?

mark may be onto something...maybe the China crisis (dig the music reference!) will be the center of the season 5 storyline!!!

So NOW what are they gonna do? They are really in a pickle now. I don't see how at least the "caught on tape" CTU guy doesn't fall for this.

I still think the only way is to frame the terrorists, but now they have to include the CTU guy? Oh man, they are screwed.

I don't see how they can finish all their problems (especially with China) just in the next two hours. I think the China debacle will be left unresolved...is there any way to stop a nuclear warhead once it has been launched?

I love this show.

I never got into 24. I saw two episodes of first season and...well, if when describing an episode, you keep thinking of the phrase 'for no reason' multiple times, you've got plausibility issues.

(Particularly...the car goes off the cliff for no reason, the girl somehow survives, then the mother gets amnesia for no reason. Plus you've got some pretty stupid bad guys to go after the person's family. These bad guys obviously never read Sun Tzu. And then that woman who stabbed the drug dealer when she knew how many people were watching..)

I haven't seen the later seasons, but the situations from the ads have always seemed a little eyebrow-raisingly extreme and sensationalistic for me.

Haha, you are exactly right Bob. The whole show is incredibly far-fetched, but that's what makes it fun: to see what off-the-wall stuff will happen next. Jack Bauer by now is pretty much a God figure...he can do anything he wants, is never wrong, and loyal to a fault. It is really fun to get immersed in this world.

I'll second that Pax. Jack is one bad mo-fo! He could say "Mr. President, you need to shoot yourself in the left foot, go soak yourself in school glue and then roll around in a pile of thumbtacks"...and the Pres would do it if Jack told him it was in the best interest of this country. OH, THE POWER!

great show!

It's a TV drama...you've got to suspend some disbelief to enjoy it. If you're not willing to, it's gonna seem WAY too far-fetched. If it were a documentary, I'd be worried about the security of our country.

To the show...MANDY'S BACK!!! I was wondering if she's show up. I don't recall her appearing in season 3 (I could be wrong) but she made prominent appearances in One and Two. According to the movie database, she will appear on all of the remaining episodes this season.

I think we're gonna get a HUGE cliffhanger this year. Does Tony live or die? Does the missile go off? What about China?

I think the Speaker of the House is gonna make a power play...

Yes, excellent show Monday night. I think it will probably be a cliff hanger as well. I don't see how they can wrap everything up in one more episode...the missile, China, Tony...

And what about the chick that Michelle fired who said "you'll be sorry for this!"? And Edgar still needs to flip out because of his mother, and Chloe needs to flip out because she shot a baddy with an automatic...

pE, who is Mandy? I'm drawing a blank.

quote:

Originally posted by JackietheBlade:


pE, who is Mandy? I'm drawing a blank.

Mandy (played by Mia Kirshner) blew up the plane and stole a photographer's (after getting it on with him in the airplane bathroom!) ID in the first ep of Season One. She sold it to the bad guys in ep 2 or 3. She was also the person who, at the end of Season Two, shook President Palmer's hand in a crowd of people, infecting him with some kind of bioweapon. I don't think she appeared in Season Three. She was uncredited in Season Two.

WOW!!! What an ending! I thought they played the Tony/bad chick thing beautifully. And having Jack "die"...that was perfect. I still would have liked to see Chloe and Edgar flip out.

So...here are my two "theories" for next season: Jack is rogue/black ops. He is somehow contacted by Palmer to help in a "situation" in a foreign country. He is this anonymous do-gooder...kinda like Batman (hey, sounds fun right?). Or...

Tony and Michelle find Jack and they are the fearsome threesome, fighting tyranny worldwide as a trio. Hey, why not?

What do you guys think?

I like both ideas, but I was imagining Jack doing something in a black ops capacity thaty will somehow clear his name with the Chinese and bring him out of the world of the dead. They'll have to bring his daughter back into the show, if only to deal with the repercussions of his "death."

I had read rumors of whole-scale cast changes for next year, which would set up a Jack working somewhere else (a writing out most of the CTU folks) scenario. Maybe he'll go after a pardoned Mandy like he did Nina Meyers...

I really liked the final two episodes. That Mandy is one bad-ass b*tch! I would have liked to see the return of Kim though. They didn't even mention her once throughout the whole season!
I like your ideas for next season too Jackie (I can't believe they've already signed on for seasons 5 AND 6). I think having the show take place mostly in a foreign country could be really cool. I'd also love to see David Palmer on the outside, fighting side by side with Jack! It would be sweet!
'24' is in my opinion, one of the most riveting shows on TV. Let's hope they can keep up the good work in the seasons to come.

I just watched the first 3 seasons on DVD, not having seen any of it on TV, and wanting to see it all in order. It was
so great to find a show this good but now I'm dying to see
the reruns of season 4 since it's not out on DVD yet. Does anyone know when they'll start airing? If Season 5 starts up next January, the reruns should start up this summer, right? Or...... does Fox even show reruns of the previous season before the next season starts?

JUst finished season 2. What a great season, everything kept me guessing. I loved the ending with Palmer going down, I never would have seen that, and the way tony acted to back up jack was pretty unexpected too.

quote:

Originally posted by AnaManana:
...now I'm dying to see
the reruns of season 4 since it's not out on DVD yet. Does anyone know when they'll start airing? If Season 5 starts up next January, the reruns should start up this summer, right? Or...... does Fox even show reruns of the previous season before the next season starts?

No. But the DVD's usually come out before the next season begins...if they do season 5 like they did Season 4, it won't start until January so they can air all 24 eps in a row with no gaps and no breaks.

quote:

Originally posted by keitht7:
JUst finished season 2. What a great season, everything kept me guessing. I loved the ending with Palmer going down, I never would have seen that, and the way tony acted to back up jack was pretty unexpected too.

I thought Season 2 was the Best season. It didn't slow down for a second.

omg i just finished season 1 boy did i scam myself of years of great tv, i have a lot if catching up to do.