While watching the third-to-last hour of "24" ever, did anyone else get the impression that Jack Bauer had finally succumbed to the Dark Side?
The hour begins happily enough for Charles Logan. He gets the President to publically announce his involvement in saving the peace deal... but the good times just aren't destined to last.
Jason reveals the brutal disembowelment of Pavel, which coupled with the imminent revealing of information by Meredith means the whole operation is about to be blown wide open. Because of this, Logan begs President Taylor to effectively shut down Meredith's paper and censor the free press. Incredibly, she goes along with this and orders an equally unwilling Tim to sic the FBI on the case. To Meredith's credit, she doesn't immediately favor Jack, especially when he initially reveals nothing. But once the truth begins to come out (and she gets her hands on the proof), she deftly maneuvers to meet with her editor... except he's been silenced. Lucky for her, she piques Kayla's interest in the whole deal before the FBI hauls her (and the evidence) away.
Back at CTU, Chloe's still feeling stifled by Logan's hired gun, so she continues to have Arlo work around the system to get the information they need. Not only do they secure a live feed following Jason's every move, but they acquire the real deal on Jim Ricker, including his current residence. Chloe is able to use Jason's ridiculous restrictions against him by securing the services of Cole (under the guise of UN security) to locate and question Jim. Of course, Cole is no longer gonna treat Jack as anything but a threat. To this, he promises to take Jack out if he is anything but 100% cooperative... bringing an arsenal as a back-up plan.
Speaking of arsenals, Jack gets his hands on quite the package of weapons and gear from Jim. With a live feed of the Charles Logan motorcade, Jack flies solo and tracks the cars to an underpass. Dressed in full Imperial Stormtrooper regalia, Jack goes all-out with the automatic gunfire assault, wounding most everyone in his path. Seriously, the man rather calmly walks right up to Logan's limousine and begins shooting at the bulletproof glass to the point it weakens enough to drop a canister of teargas into the front seat, forcing Logan from the car. Jack then drags the weasel to a back room where it doesn't take much to scare most all of the information out of him. Logan reveals that he's merely involved in the cover-up... that Novakovich is the man behind the conspiracy AND the killing of Renee. What seems like a death by strangulation for Logan ends merely by an aggressive sleeper hold.
Tracking his boss, Jason isn't far behind. He finds Logan on the ground and Jack far away. When he finds out Logan gave up Novakovich, he tries to warn him... but it's too late. Seems Jack assaulted a limo driver for the Russian's suite information, and then killed two guards on his way to annihilating the entire Russian delegation (including the impaling of Novakovich, among other wounds). As a result of the battle with the guards, Jack received a wicked stab wound to his left side.
In the end, Jason tells Logan how screwed they all are, which causes Logan to personally call Russian President Yuri Suvarov (who is on his way to sign the peace treaty) and warn him that Jack will be the death of all of them. As suspected, Suvarov knew of and endorsed the entire operation all along... even Renee's killing. What they don't know is that Jack heard every single word of the conversation, having placed a bug on Logan's shirt collar.
190 hours down, two to go... how will the eighth and final longest day of Jack Bauer's life end?
Photo credit: FOX
After launching in November of 2001, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, FOX's "24"came to occupy a unique place in the American psyche, both echoing and expanding on the fears of terrorism and everything that went into fighting it.
The thriller and its relentless lead character, CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit) operative Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), have still not lost their influence, as seen in the wake of the attempted car bombing in New York's Times Square on May 1, and the subsequent capture of a suspect in a little over 53 hours.
In an early May press conference, New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kellysaid, "Now, we know that Jack Bauer can do it in 24 minutes [likely meaning to say 'hours']. But in the real world. 53 hours is a ... is a pretty good number."
Bauer's time as a TV character comes to an end with the show's eighth-season finale on Monday, May 24, but there are plans to continue his story on the big screen.
But a chapter is still closing for executive producer Howard Gordon, who took over as show-runner from creators Joel Surnow and Bob Cochran, and he takes the time to answer a few questions from Zap2it.
Zap2it: What was your worst decision?
Howard Gordon: "I feel as though the story made a very wrong turn in season 6. I don't think the idea of Jack's family was a wrong turn, but I think the way we accelerated the story was wrong, and we paid for it the balance of the year. That, to me, is one of the narrative gaps I don't think we ever quite recovered from. We did, on an episode-by-episode basis,or on a certain arc-by-arc basis, but the DNA of the season never really recovered from it.
"Honestly, other than that, I'm remarkably free of regrets, because even the moments that one would imagine we'd regret -- like the cougar or amnesia or shooting JoBeth Williams in the leg, the moments people would point to as being gaffes -- I have to say, they occurred in moments when the story needed them to happen. They were really just collateral damage of the real-time conceit."
Zap2it: Since each season takes place over one day, people are often in the same clothes for many episodes, if not the whole season. What was the worst wardrobe choice?
Howard Gordon: "One of the worst wardrobe decisions would probably be Dana Walsh [played by Katee Sackhoff] this year, wearing what looked like a sleeveless cocktail dress. That's probably up there. CTU agents aren't supposed to be like that."
Zap2it: Has actor Carlos Bernard -- who played CTU operative turned bad guy Tony Almeida -- forgiven you for having to wear a soul patch under his chin the whole first season?
Howard Gordon: "That was his own doing. You gotta take it up with him."
Zap2it: What do fans not know about Kiefer Sutherland?
Howard Gordon: "I think people know too much about Kiefer, but the one thing that they may not know -- and they have to read between the lines -- is how incredibly active and hands-on he was in terms of having creative input on the show. Kiefer was truly one of the most productive producers at times.
"You have to think, he had done this for about 20 years before he started the show, so he's truly a filmmaker. I think his experience informed what he brought to the table, but he's also got a tremendously steep learning curve. He became a very, very important person behind the scenes."
Zap2it: Would you develop a TV show with him?
Howard Gordon: "Sure, but it would have to be something in another wheelhouse entirely."
Zap2it: He used to ride rodeo, so maybe it should be a cowboy series. There aren't many of those right now.
A: "Yes, exactly. I think you're right."
Zap2it: But, are you qualified to work on a cowboy series, being from New Jersey?
Howard Gordon: "Well, I spent a summer on a farm in Texas. I got kicked in the balls by a cow. I fell back in a pile of s*** a foot deep. I was laughed at by the Mexican cowhand. I was 13, 14."
Zap2it: One feature of the the production offices at "24" was a separate room dedicated to cigar smoking. What has become of its contents?
Howard Gordon: "We had an official send-off, the last smoke, two weeks ago. I got plaques, and I gave out three of the humidors to Manny [writer Manny Coto], me and to Joel [Surnow], and then I lotteried the last one."
Zap2it: How have you evolved politically over the course of "24"?
Howard Gordon: "I think I have the optimism of some Democrats and the pragmatism of some Republicans. I have to say, I'm kind of an issue guy. I'm disappointed in both parties. It really is a candidate-by-candidate and representative-by-representative thing.
"I have incredible respect for the process, I'll tell you that. What it's done is make me appreciate American in a way that I probably didn't before."
Photo credit: Getty Images
Kiefer Sutherland admits he wasn't ready when his time on"24" stopped the week before last.
"We had months to prepare for that last day, and I'd thought of what I wanted to say," Sutherland tells Zap2it. Now in his last Mondays of playing antiterrorist operative Jack Bauer in the FOX run that ends May 24, he says, "We're usually running-and-gunning so fast, it's like, 'We've gotta move on!' Since we knew it was almost the last scene, though, we were doing extra coverage of my feet, my elbows, my hands ... we were making up shots, just to have the next one not be 'the one.'
"I thought there was still one shot left. Just as I walked out on the stairs for it, they said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, that is a show wrap.' It kind of caught me off-guard, but I figured,'"Well, I'd better say something.' It was going to be short, because there was nothing you could say to explain how much all of this meant."
Sutherland thought he was doing well with that goodbye -- which he says was filmed for the forthcoming final-season DVD set -- until he "caught the eye of our key gaffer and our key camera operator, and my voice started to go. Then my lips started to go, and I had to look down at my own feet.
"We all went out afterward, and I think it was the shortest night I ever had on the show. We wrapped around 9, went across the street, then everyone was gone by 10."
Currently reading the script for a "24" feature-film spinoff, Sutherland will return to movies first with "Melancholia" for writer-director Lars von Trier. The role is "almost as 180 degrees a turn (from Jack) as you can go," Sutherland vows. "My immediate instinct is, 'You can't pick up a gun and chase anybody for a while.' Not unless you're playing Jack Bauer in '24,' anyway. That would just be too odd ... almost icky."
Source: Zap2it
Jack Bauer's time on television is quickly drawing to a close, but the world's most sleep-deprived counterterrorism agent has cleared one hurdle in making his way to the big screen.
Kiefer Sutherland, who wrapped shooting on the eighth and final season of "24" last week, was in London over the weekend to speak at a BAFTA panel about the show. He told the audience, per IGN, that screenwriter Billy Ray ("Breach," "State of Play") has finished a script for the long-discussed feature film version of the series.
Like the show, the movie will depict a crisis-filled day in Jack's life -- but it will condense the action to a more theater-friendly two hours or so. That might also let Jack and Co. cover a little more ground than they normally do on the show: "We've always had to have the situation come to us. "But now it's feasible to get him from Eastern Europe to England" during the course of the film.
Sutherland says he hasn't read the script yet but plans to in the next couple of weeks. He's an executive producer of the series and a producer on the film, so he'll likely have some say in the direction the movie's story takes.
The "24" series finale is scheduled for Monday, May 24.
Gregory Itzin is returning to "24" again, but he knows it could be his final round as ex-President Charles Logan.
The scheming former chief executive shows more spine as Itzin begins another stint Monday, Apr. 12, on the FOX suspense series -- which is awash in speculation about cancelation as its clock keeps ticking toward the end of its eighth season, and possibly its entire run.
"I wasn't anticipating [being summoned back] in what may be perceived as the middle of its last year," Itzin tells Zap2it.
"There are the rumors floating around, but I don't think anybody is willing to hammer the final nail into the coffin. If the end is nigh, there have been guys with the show from the beginning, so there's a lot of strong feeling there. I mean, they vacation together; they're a family.
"While it is the norm in our business to go through 'breakups' on a regular basis, if this comes to pass, I think it'll be a very special sadness for most of the people," Itzin adds. "Aside from the fact that it's nice to be employed, it's nice to be employed on a show that everybody considers important. Everybody considers the result to be worthy of the work they do. Nobody phones it in on '24.'"
One of Itzin's biggest treats in coming back to the series is in pairing one of its past presidents with the current one, since many of his scenes are with Emmy-winner Cherry Jones as President Allison Taylor.
"I'm a very lucky guy," Itzin beams. "She called me and said, 'Oh, good. I'm gonna get Loganized!' That's a person you throw the ball to and she throws it right back. And with a little spin on it."
Itzin is glad to put his own spin on Logan this time, since the character has a more noble purpose in assisting President Taylor.
"It took me a while to get used to the degree to which people believe in this show," notes the actor, who also opens soon in the play "Enron" on Broadway. "They'd carry their feelings into the outside world, and yell at me and say nasty things to me. For a while, I took it personally ... until I realized that I must have been doing a good job."
