Never Not A Nerd

That’s a line I never thought I would say, but season eight of 24 just hasn’t really gripped me like it has before.  In a show that features mostly ridiculous plot points you expect them to ratchet up the action and not rely on their storytelling ‘abilities’. Just a few years ago this show began with a former president being assassinated and an airport takeover, in the same episode! I know last year it took a while to build up and it got better, but I just can’t bank on that right now. There will be spoilers under the cut.

YAY :

• The moments when things get crazy are fun to watch. The CTU agent beating President Hassan’s car to the bomb and taking most of the explosion, the guy with the terrible Russian accent blowing up the helicopter on the roof, and Renee Walker cutting that Russian guy’s fingers off.  Only the last one was unexpected though. Oh yeah, and Jack introduced an axe to an adversary’s chest.

NAY :

• Did high school students write this? Do they really expect us to believe a woman, who is an ex-convict, could create a completely new persona for herself that a government agency wouldn’t catch onto, and some random guy from Hickville is going to come into town and show them how they messed up? THAT’S COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS! You’re expecting your audience to believe that either no form of background check is done on people who have access to information that deals with national security or that she covered her tracks well enough to fool everyone, but they’re going to believe a guy that just got out of prison over her.
• This goes along with the story somewhat. So let me get this right…the new CTU is in NYC, Jack’s treatment for the bio-agent he was exposed to in season 7 was in NYC, Renee Walker just so happened to be in NYC (where the Russian mobsters she ran with are as well), and all of this is happening at the PERFECT time.
• I like Keifer Sutherland, well maybe only in this show, but I like him. Aside from that the acting is mostly terrible. Mary Lynn Rajskub has no clue how to act.  She’s funny, but she really doesn’t belong in anything that’s not a comedy. Her facial expressions make me want to change the channel sometimes. And what was up with that ‘Russian’ guy that they wanted you to think was the main villain in the first two-three episodes? That was one of the worst Russian accents I have ever heard in my life.

I’ve been a fan of 24 for quite some time, but unless it steps up it’s game, kills the side-plot with the ex-con, and presents me with some plot points to care about I might not even finish watching this season.