'24' BACK FOR ANOTHER DAY.Byline: David Kronke TV CriticWHEN WE LAST checked in with Jack Bauer Jack Bauer is the protagonist of the American television series 24, in which he has trained and worked in various capacities as a government agent, including US Army Delta Force, LAPD SWAT, and finally the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) Los Angeles. (Kiefer Sutherland), he had won the war, preventing Serbian terrorists from killing presidential candidate David Palmer David Palmer may refer to:
As the Emmy-winning ``24'' begins its second season, Jack's in a bad way. He's left CTU CTU Colorado Technical University CTU Czech Technical University in Prague CTU Counter Terrorist Unit CTU Clinical Trials Unit CTU Catholic Theological Union CTU Chicago Teachers Union CTU Computer Training Unit CTU Control Unit to lick his wounds in private; his daughter, Kim (Elisha Cuthbert Elisha Ann Cuthbert (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Cuthbert is known as the former co-host of the Canadian children's television series, Popular Mechanics for Kids ), has left him to serve as an au pair to a seemingly perfect family that quickly reveals dangerous rifts. And all that will soon prove to be the least of his worries. Credit ``24'' with flirting, literally, with disaster - this season will boast all sorts of provocative hot-button themes, such as terrorists plotting the imminent detonation of a nuclear device in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . The terrorist group hails from an unnamed Middle Eastern country and is named, ominously enough, Second Wave. There was much speculation last season that ``24's'' then far-less-urgent connections to real-life tragedies soured a sizable number of viewers on watching. This season almost defies ripped-from-the-headlines events to disturb viewers. Palmer, now president (and divorced from his harridan har·ri·dan n. A woman regarded as scolding and vicious. [Possibly from French haridelle, gaunt woman, old horse, nag. of a wife), coaxes Jack back into his country's service. And right off the bat, Jack isn't interested in playing nice to save the day. A passel of new characters and red herrings has been added to ``24's'' cast this season. Wormy worm·y adj. worm·i·er, worm·i·est 1. Infested with or damaged by worms. 2. Suggestive of a worm. worm Mason (Xander Berkeley Xander R. Berkeley (born December 16, 1958) is an American actor. Biography Career Berkeley began playing minor roles in 1981, with early appearances in M*A*S*H, Cagney & Lacey, Remington Steele, Miami Vice, ) now heads up CTU, which has a new tech person (played by Sarah Gilbert) whose introduction will immediately arouse viewer suspicions. Palmer's staff includes an aide who seems more interested in beating war drums than in averting cataclysm. And Sarah Wynter joins the cast as a young woman who discovers on the day of her sister's wedding that the groom-to-be may have ties to terrorists. The series seems to be cheating a bit more in terms of transporting characters to sundry locations and other interstitial stuff. And it also looks to amp up the darkness quotient. One hopes the producers, contrary to what they've suggested, will keep tighter reins on the plotting to avoid some of the more dubious pot-boiler aspects that bedeviled the series at points last season. ``24'' walks a mean tightrope: It insists that audiences eschew normal viewing patterns - that is, tune in and watch religiously rather than casually - a demand that might be unrealistic in an age of seemingly boundless viewing choices. On the basis of two episodes available for preview, it looks to reward that devotion. Still, one wonders at how fervently we'll be addicted to this dark fantasy if real life manages to trump its imaginary horrors. Palmer warns the head of that unnamed Middle Eastern country that if the nuclear device does go off, ``It will hurt us, but it will destroy you.'' As it premieres amid warnings that Al-Qaida is plotting atrocities anew, let's hope nothing happens that at the very least would result in that becoming ``24's'' own epitaph epitaph, strictly, an inscription on a tomb; by extension, a statement, usually in verse, commemorating the dead. The earliest such inscriptions are those found on Egyptian sarcophagi. . 24 - Four stars What: Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) has 24 hours and one TV season to prevent Middle Eastern terrorists from detonating det·o·nate intr. & tr.v. det·o·nat·ed, det·o·nat·ing, det·o·nates To explode or cause to explode. [Latin d a nuclear weapon in Los Angeles. Where: Fox (Channel 11). When: 9 tonight. In a nutshell: Another long day for Jack, another long season for impatient fans, provided the series doesn't get too prophetic. |
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