24 - "8:00 A.M. - 9:00 A.M."

By Chris Wyatt     October 30, 2002

Nothing but respect can be given to the bold choices made by the writers and producers of this season of 24, as evidenced by last night's fall premiere. Ever since September 11th there's been a great deal of serious discussion about the possibility of anti-American terrorists gaining control of a nuclear weapon... some experts have even referred to such an event as a virtual inevitability. On any analyst's list of possible targets Los Angeles ranks close to the top. The possibility is one that most Angelinos have been contemplating for the last year. This year's 24 chooses that exact threat, a terrorist nuke loose somewhere in LA, as the season's central plotline. The fictionalized discussion of such an issue is squirmingly uncomfortablewhich is exactly why it's so fearless.

This season we rejoin President Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) as he relaxes on a lake in Oregon with his son Keith (Vicellous Shannon). Apparently they haven't been able to spend too much time together since Palmer's off-screen election. Palmer and Keith are called off the lake by the NSA who has intel for the President about the abovementioned terrorist action, meant to take place sometime in the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, at CTU, George Mason (Xander Berkeley) is lamenting the fact that Palmer didn't come through on his promised promotion when, speak of the devil, he gets a call from the President's office requesting that he bring the now inactive Agent Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland) back in. Mason is beside himself at the request.

We find Kimberly Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert) at the home of a young preppy family somewhere in LA, acting as a nanny. The father of the family seems to be interested in Kim despite his wife's presence, a fact that disturbs Kim. But that's nothing compared to the disturbing feeling she gets when she witnesses a serious incident of domestic abuse.

On his own Jack is still depressed by the loss of his wife last year, compounded by the fact that his daughter doesn't want to see him. That's part of the reason that he ignores the sudden spate of calls from CTU begging him to come in. He continues to ignore them until he gets a call directly from the President.

The episode, presented commercial-free thanks to sponsorship from Ford, flows very well. It's clearly an episode from creators who have chosen not to rest on their laurels or take their audience for granted. They keep the flame under the characters constantly, and don't presuppose that goodwill will carry over from last season.

Sutherland's performance is flawless. Jack Bauer is a man of few words and Sutherland's body language and expressions are clear, yet somehow also subtle. Indeed they are subtle enough to avoid the dangerous pitfall of turning his depressed character into a caricature. When Jack briefly considers suicide, a moment that could have come off as tired and overly sentimental, Sutherland's believable acting is able to pull it off.

One not so striking performance comes from former ROSEANNE child star Sara Gilbert as new CTU entry-level worker Paula. She comes off awkwardly, and almost theatrically, in comparison with the more filmic performances of the others in CTU, like the excellent Berkeley.



Kim's rejection of Jack is also a bit awkward given that the intuitive result of Terry's death would be to drive the two together. Speaking of the Kim storyline, while the domestic abuse angle in the premiere is compelling, one has to wonder if it will track over the course of the season. While domestic abuse certainly is a serious problem, it pales in comparison to the 2.5 million that are about to die by the bomb... so are viewers really going to care in the long run?

Also, Jack's sudden murder of the witness is a little hard to swallow. He may be on edge, he may have good intentions, but it seems unreasonable to believe that Jack would be able to slaughter someone in the protection of the FBI and still be able to move unimpeded for the rest of the day.

Despite slight bumps the episode remains compelling in the extreme.

Here's what potential bad guys should learn from this season of 24: if you're going to face off against Jack Bauer and the CTU always do whatever it is you're going to do (whether it be assassinating a presidential candidate, or setting off a bomb in LA) in the morning... if you do it in the evening you're giving them way too much time to find you!

Admittedly, this critic, though a fan of the show, was skeptical that a second season of 24 could approach the intensity of the first; but now it's clear that the nuclear terror threat has the potential to get viewers sitting even closer to the edge of their seats than they were last year.

That does beg a question: how can there possibly be a third season? What can you do to get a threat that tops nuclear devastation? But it's too early to worry about something like that. We have 23 more hours of this season before such a thing even has to be considered. And if the premiere is any indication we're going to be in for another groundbreaking year.

But please... and I know the 24 producers are sick to death of hearing this, but it still bears repeating... please no amnesia this year!

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