all this talk about underwear has got me a-wonderin'...how many worthless asses can I really nail to the wall...a wall like no other wall... it'll be a Dishonor Roll Wall, a Hall of Shameful Asses Wall..asses who have lied, cheated, committed fraud, and otherwise tried to screw with America and the Santa Barbara area over the last few years...and oh my, there's a bunch of asses..some I've named, some whom I've never even met yet, but surely will, one way or another... Some that you recognize, some that you've hardly even heard of...some of their misdeeds include driving drunk after which their private employer promoted them! firing people for joining the union! blindly supporting the Iraq invasion, then holding fraudulent war rallies at Harley Davidson! lying to the judge! pretending to be a doctor of psychology and fraudulently making money from it! supporting rightwing economic theories that derailed Wall Street with greed, avarice and more fraud! private companies stealing worker pensions! non-profits worth over $50 million like People's Self Help Housing begging for taxpayers money...city councils giving it to them to curry favor..as you can see it's an endless list.. so who are these people?
Some of them are members of the bored rightwing bourgeoisie and are leftovers from the Nixon/J.Edgar Hoover era...they lie, cheat, snoop, lie some more, abuse power, lie again, wear women's underwear..and are more fascist than American! They think government is evil unless they need protection, then they cry like babies when someone scares them! Protect me Uncle Sam!Protect me!! They are afraid of their own shadows!! A government of, by and for the people is AMERICA! Above all, these hacks hate free speech! HATE IT!! They hide behind money walls like PARASITES and piss on the working class, then they start crying when the working class pisses back! An age-old tradition: a pissing contest between the forces of light the forces of evil! I congratulate them all for making it onto the first annual WALL OF WORTHLESS ASSES!! All in All... you're just another brick in the wall..
splattered right on the front page, in Channel Island pig blood!! If people give you awards for writing a lot about a subject, the News-Press should get the Helene Schneider Award...as it is, the NewsPress got a "special recognition" faux award from the new/improved Humane Society for writing a lot about animals..well, duh, that's all they do when they're not writing about Helene! The Society's new President and CEO is a goofy looking kid named Wayne who gushed: the News-Press is without peer when writing about animals"... "I'm so pleased to be rubbing my nose in Wendy's ass....ayyiyi!" HumaneStain I'm certain the Humane Society was once a respected institution that helped raise awareness about animal cruelty. Today, however, they are a bunch of dilettantes and lobbyists that have become almost useless..when they spend time trying to stop legitimate hunts or the making of foie gras, when they recognize criminals like the News-Press as animal saviors, then they are pretty much worthless...I'm certain the real reason for the ass kissing by Wayne is related to the amount of money Wendy has donated, not Travis' writing skills. If this isn't obvious to anyone, then try some Visine! more
and PETA wants my money, too! I contacted PETA about the Channel Island pig slaughter..they supported it!
says PETA: With your support, the slaughter of seals need not go on forever. The U.S. outlawed the sale of seal fur more than 25 years ago, and the European Union is actively considering a ban on all seal products as I write. PETA's vigorous anti-fur campaign is persuading compassionate consumers, designers, and retailers to turn away from fur. We have convinced leading designers and retailers, including Donna Karan, Polo Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Liz Claiborne, J.Crew, and many others, to stop selling all fur. But we need your support.Please stand with us. Make a tax-deductible gift today to help us save animals from a painful and terrifying death at the hands of the international skins trade. Audit them and see what they've really done! The News-Press does not deserve ANY awards...they are a FARCE... phony environmentalists whose newspaper business actually harms animals! All the stories they print about how many awards they get takes cutting down trees which harms animals. Wendy is a hypocrite! "Her industry worldwide consumed 37.8 million tons of newsprint in 2001, which at 12 trees per ton, accounts for 453 million trees. That level of industry-driven deforestation is by no means insignificant (see this link and also this link for more). Free daily newspaper circulation more than doubled from 2001 to 2005, from 12 million copies in 2001 to 28 million in 2005, an increase of 137 percent. It stands to reason that the greenies are starting to look at free newspapers very critically." The News-Press owner deserves handcuffs, not awards, which may be coming when the trials get underway...labor law violations too numerous to mention will finally be addressed...Wendy will pay off anyone to keep herself out of jail...but can she pay all the pipers???
Tony: “Don’t do it. You’re gonna turn a surveillance job into a firefight. It’ll be two against 10.”
Jack (aiming his gun at Cooper): “Two against nine.”
As the FBI continue their search for Jack, Larry calls Ethan and tells him that Senator Mayer is dead. They believe that Jack murdered him. Ethan is angry with Larry for letting Jack get away, but Larry reminds him that he advised Ethan against using Jack in the first place. This sobers Ethan, who subsequently tenders his resignation to the President.
Comment: After that conversation with Larry, Ethan realizes his career going down the tubes so he decides he has to “fall on the sword” for the President.
With her husband on the mend, the President was hoping the day would end on a more positive note. She tries to persuade Ethan not to resign, but he feels that his poor decisions will tarnish her administration if he does not resign immediately.
Comment: Nice to know that Henry Taylor made it through the surgery ok. Nice brief conversation between him and President Taylor. The scene between President Taylor and Ethan were he resigns was very well acted. Nice scene. I thought maybe Ethan was a bad guy for awhile but I guess he is not. I felt bad for him having to resign, but he did make some bad decisions so I can understand why he would resign.
Jack calls Tony and explains about the bioweapon that Starkwood is about to get a hold of in order to fight their congressional order to be dismantled. U.S. civilians will be killed to prove that Starkwood is needed as a secondary security force. Jack believes the weapon is still at the port. There's only one Port Authority Officer on duty, named Carl Gadsen. As Gadsen gets off the phone with his very pregnant wife while working double shifts to make ends meet, Jack and Tony grab him. They disarm him and force him at gunpoint to get the port manifest.
Comment: I loved when Tony tells Jack they should contact the FBI about Starkwood and the bioweapon and Jack says they can’t because “we’re fugitives Tony!” I loved the way Jack said that. He might as well have said, “Tony, you moron get with the program!”
At Starkwood, Hodges is informed that Quinn hasn't checked in. He then addresses Starkwood's board, exhorting them to stop cooperating with the government subcommittee. They are not to answer any more subpoenas. Starkwood can be a vital tool in protecting an America that has an army stretched to the breaking point and the draft off the table. After the meeting, Douglas Knowles, the Board's chairman, tells Hodges he thinks it's folly to fight Senator Mayer. Hodges informs him that Mayer has been killed by a rogue federal agent. Knowles is horrified, and asks for Hodges' assurance that he wasn't involved. Hodges feigns offense, but coolly suggests that while Starkwood is not in the business of political assassinations, it's certainly a growth market they could look into.
Comment: Great comment by Hodges, “They’re six year olds, Greg. They need to eat their carrots.” Love the performance by Jon Voight. Cool business man on the surface, but cold and ruthless underneath. Great ‘24’ villain.
At the port, Gadsen tells Jack and Tony that he was trying to make extra cash to support his impending twins conceived with expensive fertility treatments. He had planned to aid men that he thought were simple electronics smugglers. They haven't arrived yet. Jack tries to call in the FBI, but communication is jammed. The men arrive at the gate. Jack tells Gadsen to let them in. He and Tony will follow them and call for help once they're out of jamming range. Gadsen is reluctant, but Jack promises that they have his back. Gadsen opens the gate to find a small army waiting, led by Stokes, who is suspicious of how nervous Gadsen is. He forces Gadsen to come along with them to the pickup site. Tony whispers to Jack that he knew Gadsen was a dead man the moment he walked out that door.
Comment: Jack and Tony seem to be switching roles here which is interesting. Jack seems to be more willing to save one innocent person and risk the whole operation but Tony is perfectly willing for Gadsen to be an “acceptable loss.” This is a role reversal for these characters. It shows me how much Tony’s character has changed since Michelle’s death. Tony’s much more hardened and cold; very much like Jack was after Teri’s death. I think when Gadsen talks about his wife having twins, trying to pay for the fertility treatments, etc got to Jack and he didn’t want this guy to miss his chance at having a family. I think Jack wanted to give Gadsen a chance at the life he never had.
Olivia tells Ethan that she is personally sorry for his resignation, though she still think it's what's best for her mother. Ethan apologizes for accusing her of leaking his role in Jack's escape to the press. He advises her that running the country isn't like running a campaign -- you need to do what's right for the people, not just whatever it takes to win. Olivia responds that sometimes those things aren't mutually exclusive. Once he's gone, she calls network White House reporter Ken Dellao to inform him that he can now run with the story about Ethan and Jack. She was the leak.
Comment: Well this wasn’t much of a surprise: Olivia’s evil! I knew she was the leaker all along. Too bad Ethan didn’t know that. He gave Olivia some good advice…too bad she won’t listen to it.
At Senator Mayer's home, evidence is found that points to a third person being involved with the murder. Larry calls Renee to say that he is prepared to entertain the idea that Jack is innocent. He wants her to tell him what she knows. She's reluctant to blow Jack's cover, but finally discloses what she knows about Quinn and Starkwood, and the fact that Jack was trying to prove that Starkwood was behind today's attacks.
Comment: Well Larry’s starting to finally get it. I’m glad Renee explained what was going on with Jack and why he’s been doing what he’s doing. I’m starting to like Larry again.
At the port, Tony wants to move out, but Jack can't abandon Gadsen. He already promised one person today that he'd protect them, and now they are dead. He can't let that happen again. When a thug is dispatched to lead Gadsen off to be executed, Jack takes aim. Tony exhorts him not to do it because it will blow the whole mission, causing so many more innocents to die. Jack pulls the trigger, saving Gadsen, who runs away to safety.
Comment: Another debatable action by Jack. Should he have saved Gadsen or sacrificed him for the success of the operation? Should Jack have heeded Tony’s advice and not “break his own rules?” Jack of course decides to save Gadsen. This situation goes to the heart of the moral dilemma that has been an on-going theme during the entire run of ‘24’: for the greater good, is it sometimes necessary to sacrifice one life to save potentially thousands or hundreds of thousands?
Jack and Tony come up with a fallback plan: hijack the truck. The dead man is found in short order, and Tony and Jack open fire. In the course of the gunfire, Jack manages to leap aboard the truck and throw the driver out of the cab while Tony keeps them distracted. However, Tony gets captured. As Jack prepares to drive away with the bioweapon, he hears over the walkie-talkie about Tony getting caught. Stokes recognizes him. Jack calls Larry and asks him to scramble together teams to meet him at a weigh station.
Comment: Another great shootout scene and beautifully shot as well. Jon Cassar directed this episode and did another terrific job. He will really be missed during Day 8. Tony gets captured – that should be interesting. Jack pulls an Indiana Jones and hijacks the truck! That was great. I never get tired of Jack doing things like that.
Just as Jack gets off the phone, a flashing light alerts him to a breach. He stops the truck and checks in the truck's pallet to find a gash in one of the containers causing bioweapon gas to leak out. Unfortunately, he's stopped near a suburban area. Jack desperately manages to hammer the leak closed.
Moments later, the Starkwood team arrives with gunmen and a helicopter. Jack is forced to take cover while the gunmen airlift the bioweapon away. Stokes calls Hodges and reports he'll be there in ten minutes. Meanwhile, Jack calls Larry and tells him that Starkwood recovered the weapon and headed due west from his position. Larry says there's a large military facility in that area, but he can't assault a private compound without evidence that a weapon exists. Jack tells him to send his CDC men to him and they'll have all the proof they need -- Jack was exposed to the bioweapon chemical.
Comment: Poor Jack, he’s been exposed! I don’t think Jack is going to die of course, we know that there will be a Season 8 and it was recently announced that Kiefer has signed on for day 8 but even just the thought of Jack possibly being affected by a bioweapon is scary. I liked the scene where Jack calls Larry explaining what happened. You can see for the first time Larry feeling some compassion for Jack. Kiefer played Jack’s reaction to being exposed beautifully. It was subtle and nuanced, but Kiefer captured Jack’s realization of being exposed and quiet fear wonderfully. This episode ended differently than most ‘24’ episodes, very quietly with Jack sitting thinking about what just happened to him. Nice way to end this episode.
Clock ticks to…11:00 pm
Episode Overview From fox.com/24 / Comments are mine (24FanForever)
Note to parents: don't feed your children or yourselves psychotropic drugs..when you read this blog, you tend to get hyper-excited and start crapping over the keyboard..then I have to clean it up! One of my many missions here is to expose private sector fraud and hypocrisy, and then NAIL THEIR ASSES TO THE WALL..I'm a philosopher, not a goddam babysitter! GOT IT? Goooood....
Have you ever seen Steve Pappas talk..after a few minutes his face starts wiggling and contorting like a cartoon character! Then a silly grin appears out of nowhere...then he starts talking/gurgling like a drunk REPUBLICAN!! These deplorable traits and facial ticks are what lost the election, not voter fraud! Steve, you're just too weird dude! And to confirm this after I mentioned it in this very blog, a judge with some backbone and low tolerance for bullshit scolded Pappas for misleading and wasting the court's time. This judge should be on Wendy McNew's case! She'd be in D-block by now! A few folks are praising Steve for "challenging" the system. These nutheads are his supporters, numbering about 3 or 4. "what a hero he is"; "what a brave man" they claim. We know who these people are: a deluded rightwing blogger, the NewsPress and Nancy Crawford-Hall. If you want to see what's wrong with the judicial system, look no further than the Pappas case. His kind of case clogs the system to the point that justice is no longer served, just fed.. like a hog..like the woman who bankrolled Pappas. What kind of a man uses a rich woman's money to sue the county for holding an election that he lost? What the hell kind of lawsuit is that? Crawford- Hall has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Pappas to win the long-over 3rd District election. Is this a responsible way to spend? What should be investigated is the relationship between Pappas and C- Hall. Mrs C- Hall is fat and homely, so maybe she's paying Steve for, well, you know what it's all about, Alfie. I mean, no man would be led around so easily unless something untoward was going on! If Nancy Crawford-Hall came on to me, I'd be untowards too..running untowards the door!! Steve must need the money and like Nipper, has got himself a cash cow! And now the point of this whole affair:WHY NOT ME?? Where's my pearly-necked benefactor?? My standards are a little different..you gotta be between 20 and 45..I'll go up to 60 if you're in good shape, you are rich and stupid and you must have really low self-esteem..that way I'm in faster.. if you got the money honey I got the time...
Some of you out there would rather I deal in fairy tales than the biting political/social satire I usually provide...ok..let's try!
CINDERELLA wants to go to the ball, but her wicked stepmother won't let her. As Cinderella sits crying in the garden, her fairy godmother appears, and promised to provide Cinderella with everything she needs to go to the ball, but only on two conditions. "First, you must wear a diaphragm."Cinderella agrees. "What's the second condition?" "You must be home by 2:00 a.m. Any later, and your diaphragm will turn into a pumpkin." Cinderella agrees to be home by 2:00 am. The appointed hour comes and goes, and Cinderella doesn't show up. Finally, at 5:00 a.m. Cinderella shows up, looking love struck and very satisfied. "Where have you been?" demands the Fairy Godmother. "Your diaphragm was supposed to turn into a pumpkin three hours ago!!!" "I met a prince, Fairy Godmother.He took care of everything." The Fairy Godmother stated, "I know of no prince with that kind of power!Tell me his name! "Cinderella replied, I can't remember, exactly, Peter, Peter, the something eater." _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PINOCCHIO had a human girlfriend who would sometimes complain about splinters when they were having sex. Pinocchio, therefore, went to visit Gepetto to see if he could help. Gepetto suggested he try a little sandpaper wherever indicated and Pinocchio skipped away enlightened.A couple weeks later, Gepetto saw Pinocchio bouncing happily through town and asked him, "How's the girlfriend? "Pinocchio replied, "Who needs a girlfriend?" _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ MICKEY MOUSE and MINNIE MOUSE were in divorce court and the judge said to Mickey, "You say here that your wife is crazy. "Mickey replied, "I didn't say she was crazy, I said she's f**king Goofy." _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Did you know..Captain Hook died from jock itch. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ One day, JANE met TARZAN in the jungle. She was very attracted to him and during her questions about his life she asked him how he engaged to have sex. "What's that?" he asked.She explained to him what sex was and he said, "Oh, I use a hole in the trunk of a tree."Horrified, she said, " Tarzan, you have it all wrong but I will show you how to do it properly." She took off her clothes, lay down on the ground and spread her legs. "Here," she said, "you must put it in here. "Tarzan removed his loincloth, stepped closer and then gave her an almighty kick in the crotch. Jane rolled around in agony. Eventually she managed to gasp,"What the hell did you do that for?" "Just checking for bees," said Tarzan... swamp
This spring and summer, which look to be a good ones, need to be protected. The birdies are out singing, the flowers are blooming, the air is filled with a lemony fennel fragrance..it's just lovely! So what or who could possibly poison such an idyllic setting? HYPER-CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICANS..the irrelevant political party. They've gotten so many things wrong in the past 8 years, they have been reduced to the playpen, occasionally shouting and crying about liberal agendas destroying America..I am not going to waste my time changing their diapers! A quarantine would isolate them for a while, like a leper colony..we could ask the Chumash to buy some big boats and take the conservatives to the Channel Islands for the summer..to pull out native plants!
My brilliant idea was hatched after reading the latest from Gina Perry at the Daily Sound and Wendy McCaw's News-Press. First Gina: she thinks that grades K-6 are being dumbed down to teach Mexican kids English! But really, how do you "dumb-down" a 2nd grader?? I can see the Daily Sound being dumbed down by adding Gina as a columnist, that's obvious. But a 2nd grader? They don't know anything yet!! and Wendy's claim that UCSB students should not be allowed to vote because Steve Pappas lost the 3rd District election to Doreen Farr! Two wealthy rightwing newspaper owners, Wendy McCaw and Nancy "Fats" Crawford-Hall don't want students to vote! What kind of fascist agenda do these two pudgey bitches have..anyway?? The real issue is when rich people attempt to buy an election and then lose, they blame and sue! Add Steve Pappas to the list of News-Press sock puppets who can't get power the honest way! Dimwits... Republicans..your island paradise awaits!
I grew up enjoying playing the board game 'Clue' and now a '24' version of the game will become available next month.
The 24 CLUE game is the first and only Clue game that allows diehard 24 fans to prevent an imminent attack on the U.S. by solving: 'WHO' the Traitor is; 'WHAT' kind of attack is planned, and 'WHERE' inside CTU will it happen!
no trash talkin' smeary venomous ad hominems today folks!
ok, now that I've exposed the SBCTA (hey..what happened to their website SBCTA ??) for what they are..a bunch of damn hillbillies..I need to expose the real problems in the city of Santa Barbara. There is nothing wrong with paying employees who work the essential services, that's what Public Works is all all about..where the city has lost its way is the green jobs created...Creeks Supervisor for example makes $90,000/year to wage a war against invasive species...fire him/her immediately and let the Parks Dept take care of creek maintenance..all that's needed is a quarterly or semi-annual cleaning.. otherwise, leave the plants alone. Storm drains..you don't need a separate treatment scheme...putting screens or cages on the drains encourages flooding and back-up...instead, go back and do what the city used to do..clean the beaches with a tractor! I used to sit out in the morning sun at East Beach with a cup of 7/11 and watch the tractor go by, dragging a rototiller..afterwards the beach looked great! Simple! Fine people for littering..$1000...
and now for the first or second time on santabarbarnewspressblog.com.. an advertisement!
Get the new Flip Mino! a little camcorder that looks like a washing machine.....why pay $89 for a digital camera that can do the same thing when you can buy a FlipMino that does less? only $178 at Nippers.com.. get yours..today!!
now, back to the Naked City..Managers..go thru the city depts and get rid of overlapping management...three or four supervisors per dept is too many! Get lean and mean! Non-essential services like dog-walker should be stopped! This ain't Mayberry!! Stop all projects that threaten the city's history..De La Guerra Plaza doesn't need anything but a few benches! Stop harassing the homeless..they don't bother me at all! Freedom isn't pretty sometimes.. Now, the council needs to stop all this political ping pong and get to work..get back to basics, show some leadership and individuality...oh wait a minute, this is the political season..keep up the theater then..I'm rather enjoying myself!
Below are five preview clips from episode 16 that will air on 3/30/09. Most of them don't give too much away but if you adverse to spoilers, you may want to stay away from clip #5 (Mobilizing):
I do not support incest! It seems you gotta be really lazy to do it with your kin...it's not natural in the natural world, altho it happens, and it is not good in the political world, where it also happens. I will show you what I'm talking about by using a local example of wut I'm talking about...do I sound inbred? Well, I'm trying to make a point! Ok then...we got a few boards and councils and associations that have become a concern to me. My job here is to concern you with my concerns so we can be concerned together..like a family. So here's my concern: I'm really concerned! I went to the Carpinteria Water District meeting Wednesday and learned that they have a debt of..get this..one hundred million dollars!
$100,000,000!! I saw a local celeb there, Ann Bardach..she's a rabble rouser and looks like Nancy Pelosi! She said the CWD should just give up and declare bankruptcy! Now here's where the political incest part comes in: The Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association has a few members from Carpinteria..Carp councilman Joe Armendariz and June Van Wingerden, a private flower grower..June also sits on the Carp Water Board with Carp City Parks Director Matt Roberts...Roberts answers to Joe and the other city council members...Now, Joe and Lanny Ebenstein (who used to play Eddie on the old Munsters show) have been complaining to anyone who will listen about public sector salaries, making up facts to suit their theories..some private rich people pay them to do that...it's all a political game..nothing more and nothing less. They claim, hiding behind the silent money, to care about the taxpayers, but Joe has been mute, so far, about the huge Carpinteria water district debt and the increased salaries and benefits for the district workers..he's a Carp City councilman yet spends more time fretting about City of Santa Barbara employee salaries! Isn't that curious? Is it a case selective concern for the Santa Barbara taxpayers? or is he getting cash from Wendy McCaw to prop up sock puppets Francisco and Falcone? See how tangled this all gets and how it's not my fault!! I just connected the dots!! I'm sure I'll think of more stuff in the future... and you should be very concerned......
Looocy....I'm Hooommmeee! I'll say it again...the Santa Barbara City Council meetings are the funniest thing going...it's like a sitcom! It's better than Seinfeld! better than "Cheers"..better than I Love Lucy! No wait, it is I Love Lucy! Watching Iya Falcone sit up there and talk circles around herself is hurting my brain, but tickling my funny bone (not that one)..watching Dale Francisco pander to the NewsPress is pathetic...Wendy and Travis own this dude. Watching Mayor Blum point out logic inconsistencies in Iya and Dale's arguments is priceless! The sniping back and forth is hilarious! Even Steve Cushman showed up.When the Mesa Madman Wayne Scoles was up there ranting, calling the city council worms, Cushman stood up and came to the podium, positioned right behind him. Cushman's a big dude and Scoles almost fell on his ass when he turned around to leave and saw Big Steve!! Let's see what develops, if anything, between him and the criminal News-Press. If he's clean, he looks good to go for mayor! The council was voting again to pass the contract for City TAP (Treatment and Patrol) units. Last week they voted to pass it, but for some reason the law requires another vote....last week, Dale was absent, this week he was auditioning for a spot on the News-Press gravy train..Dale got a newsflash that the economy was tanking thus supposedly changing the contract scenerio. Ahh, Dale, the stock market was up 500 points on Monday! I bought Citi at $1.80, it's up to $3.05!
He wanted to delay the contract item for a few more weeks, to discuss this new economic information in closed session, and have another public hearing. Actually, he was just doing what Travis told him... STALL!!! Das and Helene were flabberghasted..what kind of political stunt are you pulling now, Dale?? Then Iya chimed right in, on Dale's cue, to tell the voters how much she yearns to listen to them..all five of them in the chamber who spoke against the raises! Ha Ha...she thinks the whole community is against paying city employees because of what the News-Press prints! Watch Iya, she gives long -winded monotone speeches, occasionally turns her head to the side, then looks straight ahead sleepily, then a crazy- Lucy-like look..instead of discussing the contract, she was giving a campaign speech to get NewsPress support..last week she voted for the contract, now she wants to "discuss" it more..after 8 months of negotiations!! SHE IS FOR SALE!!! It was like she was hypnotized! Francisco's motion failed and the contract passed... It is no joke to play politics with the employees salaries, and Iya's ploy showed her true colors..black and white and read all over!
Kiefer Sutherland Says He's On For 8th '24' Season
by Min Lee | The Associated Press
Tuesday March 24, 2009, 6:50 AM
HONG KONG -- Kiefer Sutherland will be back to play Jack Bauer for an eighth season of the hit counterterrorism drama "24," but the show's longevity will depend on its writers, the actor said Tuesday.
The 42-year-old told The Associated Press that "24," currently in its seventh season, will start shooting its eighth in May. He spoke during an interview in Hong Kong to promote the new 3-D animated movie "Monsters vs. Aliens," in which he voices the character of General W.R. Monger.
Sutherland, whose gritty portrayal of the counterterrorism agent has made Bauer an iconic character, said he's committed to the show that's revived his career.
"If I was going to liken '24' to a girlfriend, '24' has been really good to me. And I need to be really good back," Sutherland said.
"There are plays I want to do. There are so many different things I would like to do, but I was so fortunate to be part of something like '24' that my focus is still on that right now," he said.
Sutherland said the show's future also hinges on its writers' ability to shape its story.
"The real pressure is placed on the writers. It's a real question about how much they feel they can give and what they can do," he said.
Sutherland, whose movie credits include "Young Guns" and "A Few Good Men," said he hasn't thought much about his career after "24" and isn't worried about being typecast as a Bauer-like government agent.
"I will do the work I want to do and people can accept it or not," he said.
Working as a voice actor on "Monsters vs. Aliens" was a "fantastic counterbalance" to playing Bauer, he said.
"The relief was unbelievable. For five days a week, 14 hours a day, I'm doing Jack Bauer on '24' and then for five hours on the weekend, I got to kind of proverbially let my hair down and play this character and talk like that and be a kid. I felt like a five-year-old," said Sutherland, simulating the deep, raspy voice of his character.
"Monsters vs. Aliens," which is about a jailed group of monsters who are freed to help battle an alien robot, opens in U.S. theaters on Friday.
This interview is mostly about Kiefer's voicing a character in the upcoming 'Monsters vs. Aliens' film, but some of it is about '24' that was very interesting.
MoviesOnline caught up recently with Kiefer Sutherland (“24”) at the Los Angeles press day for his new 3-D animated adventure, “Monsters vs. Aliens,” directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon.
When California girl Susan Murphy (Reese Witherspoon) is unwittingly clobbered by a meteor full of outer space gunk on her wedding day, she mysteriously grows to 49-feet-11-inches tall. Alerted to the threat of this new monster, the military jumps into action and Susan is captured and secreted away to a covert government compound. There, she is renamed Ginormica and placed in confinement with a ragtag group of other monsters: the brilliant but insect-headed Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D. (Hugh Laurie); the macho half-ape, half-fish The Missing Link (Will Arnett); the gelatinous and indestructible B.O.B. (Seth Rogen); and the 350-foot grub called Insectosaurus. Their confinement is cut short, however, when a mysterious Alien Robot lands on Earth and begins storming the country. In a moment of desperation, The President (Stephen Colbert) is persuaded by General W.R. Monger (Sutherland) to enlist the motley crew of Monsters to combat the Alien Robot and save the world from imminent destruction.
Sutherland gladly joined the project and states, “Animated films, they’re fantastic. There’s something wonderful, because these people operate in such a different world than what I’m used to…to be able to work in a room where people are laughing all the time, and they’ve been working on this film for almost four years. To be able to come into a room four years later and still have the same kind of energy and enthusiasm and find it funny – that’s really inspiring. It makes you really want to impress them and make them laugh. They were unbelievably helpful, knowing that this is a really different kind of thing for me.”
Director Letterman comments, “On ’24,’ he’s a little whispery. But during our recording sessions, he had this country accent and he just started screaming at the top of his lungs, and we thought, ‘That’s great, that’s fantastic!’ He just totally broke out into something brand new and that really nailed the character right there for us.
Kiefer Sutherland is a fabulous guy and we really appreciated his time. Here’s what he had to tell us about his new movie as well as the latest on “24”:
Q: WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THIS MOVIE THAT MADE YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF IT?
SUTHERLAND: It was a combination of a few things. I believe that in the English language Jeffery Katzenberg makes some of the best-animated movies. He was a huge part of this. I had worked with Reese [Witherspoon] before and her voice is in a much higher register than mine. I thought that would be a nice balance. It's in a much higher register than mine. But most importantly I've never chosen films because of a specific character. I have always chosen films because of what the story is and how it affects me. This story specifically was geared to young people and it told them that it was all right to be different. Not only was it all right to be different, but also the thing that might make you uncomfortable or weird, could be your greatest quality. That quality in the context of our movie allows Ginormica to save the planet. Certainly when I was growing up there were times when I felt different than other kids. That scared me a lot. What I liked about this movie was that it told children and young people that it was all right.
Q: DID YOU WATCH ANIMATED FILMS AS A KID? WHAT DO YOU THINK JACK BAUER WOULD HAVE DONE IN THIS SITUATION?
SUTHERLAND: I think that Jack Bauer would have been the first person that the aliens took out. He would have survived somehow for the sequel but he would have been certainly unconscious through this film. Of course I did watch those films. Walt Disney, whatever anybody thinks about him, was a very smart guy. He made an animated film every seven years, for each generation. My generation, the film he made for us, was a film called 'Bambi'. It was one of the most dramatic films I've still yet to see. The mother dies in the first act. It's literally the great coming of age story of how to be a man. That film moved me. That was my opening to films. As much as I must have cried, I'm pretending like I can't remember, as much as I cried when that happened, at the end of the film I was just amazed how much I felt. That drew me to see other films. Animated movies for me were the doorway to the genre of entertainment that I fell in love with.
Q: CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE DECISION TO DO A CHARACTER VOICE AND NOT SOUND LIKE YOU? DID YOU LOOK AT ANY OF THE GREAT MILITARY GENERAL PARTS THAT YOUR DAD HAS PLAYED?
SUTHERLAND: Gosh, I wish I had. That would have gone over well for our Sunday night dinner. Almost all of the animated stuff that I have done before, like 'The Wild' or 'The Land Before Time' and things like that had always wanted my voice to sound like my voice. That way it would be recognizable. When I came in to do this, I had told Lisa [Stewart] and Conrad [Vernon] that I had an idea for a character. I asked if that was going to be all right. They said 'Not only is it alright but that's what we wanted you to do.' So, for the military aspect of the character, I love the voice of the sergeant in 'Full Metal Jacket' because he was so abrasive, loud, and southern. I knew Reese was going to have a southern thing going on so I thought that would fit. Then, to temper that for some humor, my favorite cartoon character was Yosemite Sam. Have you ever seen the Bugs Bunny cartoons? Yosemite Sam used to start off the cartoons he was in, he was always sitting in some kind of western saloon and he would start off with the line ‘I hate rabbits.' And he would go on like that, so I did that voice and the producers laughed. We started joking around with melding the two together. That's how we came up with the voice for the General, which is actually not very different from what I just did, and we went from there.
Q: Full Metal Sam, huh?
SUTHERLAND: That's very cool, I like that.
Q: WAS IT GEORGE C. SCOTT?
SUTHERLAND: This is what is so cool. I've been to Berlin, London, Madrid, Rome, Paris, New York, and here. I've gotten that everywhere. That's the power of the animation. Oddly enough it's a Kubrick film as well. We had never seen any of the animation. The entire time I worked on the film all I saw was the placard of the character. When I saw the animation this is where I think all the George C. Scott references come from. It's the physicality of the character. When I saw the character, he was big. I didn't realize he was going to shrink compared to the 49 foot woman. He's almost like a bee. He's kind of square and physically he reminds me of 'Patton' and 'Dr. Strangelove' but the voice references were completely separate and different. The power of the animation and visual [style] can steer that in that direction very quickly.
Q: THEY DID A LOT OF CLOSE UPS ON THE GENERAL'S MOUTH. WAS THAT YOU?
SUTHERLAND: Nope. You would have to ask the animators. I know that they filmed us the entire time when we were doing the voiceovers, but how much they actually take what our mouths are doing and incorporate that into the drawings, I don't know. I think one of the great freedoms of this is that as an actor you get to leave your physicality at the door. I'm limited by my physicality. I'm 5'10, I'm blonde, I look like this, and there is only so much I can do with that much. But with this there is unlimited freedom. I'm only responsible for the emotional characteristics of the character and the voice. I'm in partnership with the animator. It's a great question but I'm not the one to answer it because I didn't do the drawings.
Q: THERE ARE A LOT OF CANADIANS IN THE MOVIE. DO YOU HAVE ANY THEORIES ON THAT? YOUR CHARACTER IS KIND OF AN AMERICAN ARCHETYPE BUT DID YOU BRING ANY OF CANADA TO THE WORK?
SUTHERLAND: No, because I forgot to say 'Eh'. No, why are there so many Canadian actors? You can say that about '24'. At one point we looked around and the cinematographer, the director, the woman who played my wife Leslie Hope, Elisha Cuthbert played my daughter, we were all Canadian. Why I have to go to Toronto, to the Four Seasons, to meet every American actor I know is also bizarre to me as well. It never crossed my mind with regards to this character. I was focused on two quintessentially American voices.
Q: WITH 'THE SIMPSONS' AND THIS I'M REMINDED HOW FUNNY YOU CAN BE. IS IT A SITUATION WHERE YOUR PAST ROLES HAVE BEEN SO INTENSE THAT IT’S HARD FOR PEOPLE TO CAST YOU IN COMEDY? DO YOU NOT LOOK AT DOING LIVE ACTION COMEDY?
SUTHERLAND: I really don't look at doing it. All of us can be funny at a dinner. The gift of timing, the training of the great comedians of our time, is not light. It's a real talent. Speaking about Canada, I used to watch Martin Short do these camera commercials. He was unbelievable. I was 15 years old and I watched those commercials and knew 'You better be very good at drama because you don't have that.' It's not something innate in me. I don't have that kind of gift. I think to my own detriment I get quite self-conscious very quickly in a lot of different things. A comedian cannot have that. I've also been drawn to drama. That is the aspect of story telling and the human dynamic that I'm most interested in. It would make perfect sense that in an effort to be funny in a movie it would be an animated film. I can leave all the other stuff behind.
Q: ON '24' I'M STILL REELING FROM THE DEATH A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.
SUTHERLAND: Which death? I don't know what episode you are on.
Q: BILL BUCHANAN. HOW DID YOU DECIDE HE WOULD SACRIFICE HIMSELF? THERE ARE STILL SEVERAL HOURS LEFT. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TOP A SHOOTOUT IN THE WHITE HOUSE?
SUTHERLAND: It's really funny. The end of '24' this season, the most I can tell you, is that it's not going to end because someone cuts two wires and the clock on a bomb stops. It's going to end because a few of the characters are going through a very difficult emotional dilemma. It's going to end on a much more dramatic level than it is going to be a physical or action oriented sequence. In saying that, I believe it's the most powerful and important ending that we have ever had. I think one of the most difficult things about '24' has been developing the relationships with actors, the trust with actors, and this family we've created, and then losing them. From Leslie Hope in the first season right down the line, Carlos Bernard, Dennis Haysbert, Carlos Bernard twice. It's really hard. As much as I know that it services the story, it's exciting and dramatic for fans to deal with, it's been very difficult as an actor to get into a rhythm with someone and let them go. It certainly wasn't my choice. It was very powerful but for all of us and for James [Morrison] himself, it was a sad day when that happened.
Q: WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE MOVIE?
SUTHERLAND: Again, it would be cruel and unusual punishment to ask these writers to write the equivalent of 12 films a year and then say 'By the way, in your off time, come up with an unbelievable idea that is so superb we could justify making a film out of it.' We all collectively decided when the show was finished we would then take on the idea of making a film. That's if anybody still wanted to see it.
Q: SOMEONE MENTIONED ONE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE RECORDING BOOTH COULD DO PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY'S VOICES.
SUTHERLAND: He was amazing.
Q: WHO WAS THE ONE WHO DID YOU THE BEST?
SUTHERLAND: I only knew him as Paul and he never did my voice. You would have to ask Reese. I only worked with him once and it was extraordinary. It was actually quite clever the way that they did it. It was the first session I did so that I got a sense of working with another actor. I think the hardest transition, for all the freedom that just doing the voice is, I have a philosophy in life that nothing is free, you have to pay on some level. The payment is actually having to work by yourself. The first time I did a session I got to work with him and he was extraordinary. He was like Mel Blanc's grandson. He was quite something else. My favorite voice of his that he did was his imitation of Hugh Laurie doing Dr. Cockroach. It was even more insidious and I call it British bother, but it's an upper crust British. That voice he did was fantastic.
Q: WHAT SEASON WILL BE THE NEXT OF '24'?
SUTHERLAND: We start the 8th in May.
Q: IN ROCK STAR YEARS THAT WOULD BE LIKE HAVING EIGHT ALBUMS OUT. HOW LONG CAN YOU DO '24'?
SUTHERLAND: I would love to do it till I was 60 but I don't think anybody would accept it. It's a great analogy to do a rock band because they have to write their music. The harder question is really to the writers. The greatest burden of the creativity is really to them. They are looking tired. It's been a haul, but we are a really competitive group though. We took a bit of a beating in season six. What I loved about our group is that I believe that they rallied instead of giving up. I think all of us believe and understand that our whole experience with '24' has been a giant learning curve. No one has ever tried to do a show in real time. We really do believe that the idea is so special and we also believe that we are capable of making a perfect season. I don't believe that any of us has felt that we've done that yet. Every year we have learned something that was 'Oh God, I wish I could go back and fix that, or do that better.' Certainly, going into our 8th season there were a couple of things from the previous season, which we were immensely proud of, that we feel we can make better. We will continue to work till people say stop or until we've made that season.
Q: YOU SAY IT'S ABOUT THE WRITERS BUT YOU'RE THE LEAD SINGER. YOU ARE THE ONE THRASHING AROUND.
SUTHERLAND: I should do a milk commercial. Physically I feel fine doing it. If you take a look at Jack Bauer from season 1 to season 7, he's a very different guy. The character continually evolves. It's a serialized show so unlike 'Law & Order' where there is a beginning, middle, and end each hour, this guy continually grows. In season 1 he loses his wife and is estranged from his daughter that affects the character through season 2. Then when he meets Kim Raver and finds hope in love, which affects him through season 3. When he loses her in season 5, it affects him and right down the line. The character continues to grow so he's different always. There are things that are vastly interesting for me to play from season to season. Creatively it's continually growing.
Q: DO YOU THINK JACK WILL FIND LOVE AGAIN? AND THE PRESIDENTS DAUGHTER MIGHT BE THE WORST TV VILLAIN EVER?
SUTHERLAND: Well, I wouldn't want to ruin that for anybody. Cherry Jones is probably one of the few actors that I've ever been really scared about working with. You are talking about an unbelievably extraordinary talent. We work at such a fast pace. When you get a scene and go to work with someone like Cherry, there is easily five different ways to play it, three just in volume alone. I was very nervous about picking what I thought would be the right one to start off with. I wanted to earn her respect. She's also one of the most gracious people you'll ever meet. I knew that if I didn't pick the right one she would never tell me. That made me even more nervous. She was fantastic.
Q: WILL HE FIND LOVE AGAIN?
SUTHERLAND: I think he's in the process now in his own kind of speedy way.
Q: THE GENERAL GROWS A LITTLE AND BECOMES PROUD OF THE MONSTERS AT THE END. WERE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT MAKING SURE THE MILITARY GUY WASN'T GOING TO COME OFF TOO MEAN?
SUTHERLAND: No, that was one of the character’s aspects that I liked. That was written before my involvement. He has a responsibility to run this prison, and hold the monsters the way he does, but I think he feels a great deal of sympathy. I think that sympathy comes out when he puts Ginormica in her cell and gives her a new name. She starts to cry and that affects him. I think he understands clearly that these monsters are not dangerous or vicious or mean. He even says it: 'We don't believe that society will understand so we have to keep you away.' I think he feels very sad about that, he feels proud of those monsters. I certainly believe in the speech when he goes to present the idea to the President that they can take on the aliens, he has an enormous sense of pride. I tried to play that when he refers to them and describes them. I wasn't scared about that at all. That was an aspect of the character that I really liked.
Q: YOU TALKED ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHY AND LESSON THAT ATTRACTED YOU. DURING THE ELECTION, THERE WERE A LOT OF THINGS WRITTEN ABOUT PROGRAMS LIKE '24' MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO THINK OF HAVING A BLACK PRESIDENT. WHAT ROLE DO YOU THINK ART PLAYS IN THE SHAPING OF AN OPINION?
SUTHERLAND: I'll give you my answer. First off Barack Obama is completely responsible for Barack Obama. Contrary to anything that anybody has said, none of us are taking even the slightest credit for what that man has accomplished. By saying that, I also don't want to undermine the power of television and film. I can go back to 'All in the Family'. You take a look at a character like Archie Bunker. Through humor and this older, bigoted, racist character we completely through the early 70's changed our perspective and behavior on what was acceptable with regards to integration, race, love, hugging, and homosexuality. They changed the social landscape with that television show, I believe. I also believe that if you show on television or in films, for instance as we did an African American President, 10 years ago people would have said it would never happen. If you start to show people that it's a potential reality, then people will start to accept that. I can say the same thing about season seven. We have a female president and I guarantee you that is going to happen. It's just a question of time. I think Chekhov wrote, in the opening of 'The Seagull', in the opening monologue in describing actors 'I watch these high priests of a sacred art depict the way we'll eat, drink, walk about, make love, and wear our clothes.' Basically he was telling us that these actors were teaching people how to live. I believe that and so yes, I think there is a huge responsibility in that. I know that in my lifetime I believe that I've been a part of projects that have lived up to that responsibility and I've been a part of projects that have taken advantage of that responsibility. It’s certainly there.
Q: DURING THIS SEASON, WE CAN TELL THAT YOU ARE WORKING HARD. DO YOU GET FREE TIME TO DEVOTE TO OTHER PROJECTS?
SUTHERLAND: Yes, I have two and a half months a year to make a film. What is really difficult is finding the film you want to make, that happens to be going in the time slot that would allow you to do it. This year I did not do one. Three years ago I did not do one. 'Mirrors' was a specific project, because of Alex Aja, that I really wanted to do with him. He made it work in that time slot. It's not like it would be if I wasn't doing '24' and I had the time off. I could actually develop a film and go work on it whenever I want. No, it's vastly limiting, but I have no problem with that because I am really enjoying what we're doing on '24'.
Q: DO YOU HAVE A HIATUS COMING UP?
SUTHERLAND: No, this was kind of it. We start up in May. We are quick back to work this time. This is what I chose to do and I'm going to finish it out, hopefully properly, and then I will have time for that.
Q: CAN'T BILL STILL BE ALIVE?
SUTHERLAND: I will pass that along to the writers. I will certainly call James and let him know that you were this concerned.
Q: WOULD YOU PLAY THE GENERAL AGAIN IF THEY DO A SEQUEL OF THIS ONE?
SUTHERLAND: Yeah, I would love to.
Q: ARE THERE ANY BIG SUMMER MOVIES THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING?
SUTHERLAND: I don't even know what they are now.
“Monsters vs. Aliens” opens in theaters on March 27th.
Given everything that has happened on 24 this season, it's hard to believe the action's just getting started. Now that megalomaniac Jonas Hodges (played by Jon Voight) is back in the picture, it's time to "make some holy hell for Jack Bauer," series newcomer Michael Rodrick tells TVGuide.com. The actor, who plays Hodges' cohort, Stokes, gave us a preview of the bloody mess to come.
TVGuide.com: I've been trying to read up on Stokes and there's nothing besides "deadly military operative." So who is he and how do we meet him? Michael Rodrick: [Laughs] Well, you know how it is. Basically Jon Voight is just going to start to unleash a lot of bedlam and I'm one of the henchmen there to get things rolling. It's going to be a lot of psychological warfare. Then it's gonna escalate and be a lot of physical warfare — aka torture — to get what we want.
TVGuide.com: What can we expect on this week's episode? Rodrick: We'll be bringing a bio-weapon onto U.S. soil, as part of a plan. We have orders that we want to execute and of course [Jack] gets in the way. In the last episode, he was on his way to the containing yard. We're going to be there — and we're gonna make sure he doesn't win.
TVGuide.com: We just got re-introduced to Hodges. What's his overall motivation? Rodrick: Yeah, what is his overall motivation? [Laughs] In terms of the overall arc, I'm not privy to that. But I think these private mercenaries for the most part are motivated by the fact that their country has let them down in some way. I think that's what [Hodges] is all about and what I am all about. We're a private army and we feel like how Tony Almeida feels, except Tony's still doing the right thing and we're not.
TVGuide.com: Are you loyal to Hodges? Rodrick: Oh, I always have my own agenda. That's all I'm gonna say. You'll get to know Stokes very well. Be prepared for me to psychologically tear a lot of people apart and kidnap them. Watch me kick Bauer's ass! [Laughs]
TVGuide.com: Do you get your ass kicked? Rodrick: Uh... I'm pretty tough. I withstand a lot of pain. I'm like the Harrison Ford who keeps getting kicked around but keeps coming back.
TVGuide.com: The talk is that Hodges will prove to be one of 24's best villains ever. Do you agree? Rodrick: Defintely. I think that this corporate entity he represents will frighten people to the bone. To make that jump of disbelief is quite easy when you think of a private army gone mad. It's gonna be fascinating. The viewers will be entranced by it and him.
TVGuide.com: Were you intimidated to work with Jon Voight? Rodrick: We went to the same college, so I knew I had an icebreaker. But we were in a production van and I'm telling this techie who's got twin boys about raising twins, because I'm a twin. As I'm saying this, Jon Voight's like, "Hold on! Hold on!" It never even occurred to me that Angelina Jolie just had twins, so of course he wants to know this stuff! I think he absorbed everything that I said. He's very proud to be a grandpa. ... He's a real guy's guy. He smashed an ankle [in one scene] — didn't say anything, gets an ice pack and ices it himself. What a tough guy. You look at him walk and the way he talks — it's that whole generation. Him and Clint Eastwood, they've got this gait. They're all cowboys.
TVGuide.com: What was it like working with Kiefer Sutherland? Rodrick: Kiefer is so intense, an incredible bundle of energy. He's landing helicopters, running around and shooting people. ... And in between takes, he's playing chess! He sets up this chessboard and everyone's got to be really quiet. If you're a Kiefer fan, grab a chessboard and get him to sign it.
TVGuide.com: Is there a chance we will see Stokes beyond this arc? Rodrick: [Laughs] I cannot say, but you'll definitely be surprised what happens to him.
So I'm reading the News-Press on Sunday and what do I see..a bunch of stupid things as usual! First, I read the LIFE section and there's a disgusting picture of Wendy and Nipper looking stupid with two other goofy looking white people..they were attending an awards ceremony for Laguna Blanca school..a private school I used to attend and got kicked out of back in the fun days..too rebellious was I! Most of the students were cool and smart and potheads to boot..I was clean and still the school messed with me! Laguna's a good school but for a few issues I found untenable..the French teacher was a c-u-n-t who couldn't teach French to Louie L'Amour..she had no right teaching anything to anybody, altho if she taught me how to lick her pussy I may have actually learned something useful...the other thing was they sent me home because my hair was too long..it touched my collar..HOLY FUCK!! What kind of crap was that?? I'm there to learn and the administrators are more concerned with how I look?? What a lesson that teaches..so I said bye dickheads, don't call me, I'll call you..and went off to seek my fame and fortune in the real world... I am saddened to see how low Laguna has sunk..they've always depended on money from rich white conservatives to keep their kids from thinking too much for themselves, but now they are taking money from the likes of Wendy and Nipper..CRIMINALS...what a bunch of spineless sissies Laguna's administrators have turned out to be..I wash my hands of you!! Now the second dumb thing I read was the editorial condemning the idea of a Lady Liberty statue replica that a private group wants to erect at the harbor for 4th of July..it's temporary, it might be fun, might bring in the tourist money, so why not? Santa Barbara used to be fun until the fun folks moved away and the zombies moved in...so let's support a little kitsch in stuffy Santa Barbara and celebrate freedom and democracy..the two things that Wendy's NewsPress hate!! If Santa Barbara can attach Beanie Baby Ty Warner's name to the Sea Center, surely they can allow the replica Statue of Liberty for some 4th of July fun! I was "Born in the USA"!!
Jack steals a car from the hospital parking garage to make his escape. Meanwhile, Morris O'Brian has arrived at the FBI demanding to know where his wife is and he finds that Chloe has been arrested. Larry calls Janis to inform her Ryan Burnett is dead and Jack is the suspect. He has her put out an APB. Renee, in the process of filling out her suspension paperwork, overhears this and asks Janis what's going on. All Janis knows is that Burnett is dead and Jack has gone missing.
Renee goes to her office -- and Jack calls, declaring his innocence. He took a surveillance DVD from the hospital and is viewing it on a laptop in the car. He emails her a frame-grab of Quinn and says that this is who killed Burnett. He is the only connection they've got to whoever else is still involved.
Comment: Jack multi-tasking again. I love how he can drive a car and work a computer.
Quinn calls Hodges and tells him that Jack got away. Hodges isn't concerned; his shipment from Juma will arrive within the hour. Once they deploy the weapons, it won't matter what Jack finds out. Hodges' number two, Greg Seaton, looks discomfited. Hodges insists that he gets no pleasure out of killing people. Even one death is tragic -- but they are fighting a war, and what they're doing is absolutely, fundamentally necessary. He tells Seaton to wake up their colleagues and tell them to assemble in one hour.
Comment: I’m loving this Hodges character more and more. You can tell he’s pretty “out there” but cold and calculating at the same time. Loved the “pajamas and toothbrushes” comment.
Renee calls Jack back. She has identified Quinn as a former Black Ops combat vet who now works for Starkwood, which turns out to be a private paramilitary organization. Senator Mayer may know more because he had been investigating Starkwood. Jack will need to talk to him. As Renee looks up Mayer's current location, Larry enters. The conversation they have about Jack convinces Larry that she's been talking to him. He secretly has Janis access Renee's phone log and workstation. Renee is their best chance of catching Jack.
President Taylor prepares to make a statement. Olivia advises her mother to not just reassure the nation, but to also claim victory and reaffirm that standing up to terrorism works. The President agrees. Ethan arrives and briefs them on what happened with Jack and Ryan Burnett. He also confesses his culpability in sanctioning Jack's plan.
As Renee attempts to leave the FBI, she is stopped by Larry and a security team. He demands to know where Jack is. She refuses to talk, and insists that as soon as Jack has the evidence he needs, he will call. Larry has her arrested. Jack confronts Senator Mayer in his own home, holding him hostage. Mayer doesn't recognize Quinn. When he hears Jack's story, Mayer says that if Starkwood was connected to Juma or Sangala, he'd have known about it because he investigated Starkwood for six months. Jack insists on seeing his case files. Mayer asks whether Jack will turn himself in if the evidence isn't there. Jack just demands he open the files.
Comment: I love when the Senator enters the room in his home the first thing he notices is a printer printing out something and then Jack appears from behind. The Senator initially thinks Jack is there to kill him but he will soon realize he’s there for other reasons.
As the President makes her statement on television, a news reporter asks Ethan for a statement about Jack Bauer being a suspect in the murder of Ryan Burnett. The reporter also wants to know about Ethan's involvement. Ethan won't comment. He realizes that Olivia leaked this to the press, and he confronts her about trying to hurt him while inflicting political damage on her mother. The President is on record as condemning torture as unacceptable under any circumstances. It will now look as if she's condoned exactly that.
Comment: Olivia seems like another Sherry Palmer to me. Her character is getting more interesting.
Janis has trouble decoding the information on Renee's computer and asks Morris for help. He does so, under the condition that Chloe gets full immunity with all charges expunged from her record. Larry agrees, with Janis as witness. In mere moments, Morris decrypts the files and finds that Jack's probable location is the home of Senator Mayer. Larry musters the SWAT teams to move in on Jack. Morris is reunited with Chloe -- who is upset that he helped the FBI catch Jack. Morris apologies, explaining that his child and marriage come first, but she's already done enough for Jack. He can prove he's telling the truth when he's taken into custody. Chloe, though, isn't sure the FBI will give Jack the chance.
Comment: I’m sure a lot of people were upset that Morris gave in and helped Larry locate Jack. I wished he hadn’t helped as well, but I can understand Morris’ position especially since he and Chloe have a young son. I really can’t fault him for looking out for his family first.
As Jack goes through Mayer's files, he talks with the Senator about regret and sacrifice. Jack finds a photo of Quinn at the scene of a car accident that killed a source inside Starkwood. The victim had been making wild, seemingly unsubstantiated accusations about Starkwood -- they blackmailed Pentagon officials, were involved in assassination plots and were seeking to acquire W.M.D.s, including a bioweapon. Jack says that is the connection: Juma tested a bioweapon on his own people. It was not pursued because Juma destroyed the evidence by firebombing his village before the U.N. team could get there. Starkwood may have wanted bioweapons to fight back against Mayer's attempts to shut them down, and Juma provided them with a safe haven to test those weapons. Suddenly, there's a voice claiming to be the police at Mayer's door. Jack is about to run, but Mayer convinces him that he can protect him and convince the FBI to listen. Mayer answers the door -- but it's not the FBI. It's Quinn, who shoots Mayer dead. Quinn attacks Jack, who is forced to flee. Quinn goes after him as the police begin to arrive. He leaps through a French window and lacerates his arm.
Comment: The scene where Jack and Senator Meyer have this conversation about regret and sacrifice is one of the best written scenes ever in ‘24’. The Senator went from thinking Jack was there to kill him to getting a better understanding of Jack’s motivations for the things he has done and better understanding of what Jack has lost in serving his country. At the same time, Jack seemed to better understand the Senator’s views and in turn began to trust him a little more by agreeing to let the Senator help Jack in his investigation of Starkwood.
I should have seen the murder of the Senator coming because as soon as an unlikable character on ‘24’ starts to become likeable, that usually means they are toast. That is what happened here. Even though I should have seen it coming, I was shocked when Mayer opened that door and Quinn was there and shot him. Great, great scene from beginning to end.
Olivia meets with the President and Ethan in the Oval Office. She professes her innocence and insists she can verify that she's not the leak. The source at CNB news will guarantee that the leak didn't come from the White House. Olivia offered him exclusive time with the President in exchange for his killing the story. The President is impressed with her daughter's acumen. Ethan is chagrined, and apologies to Olivia.
Comment: I’m not so sure I believe Olivia here. She seems to be a sneaky one.
Quinn pursues Jack onto a construction site and enters a trailer. Suddenly, the trailer tips over. Jack has pushed it with a bulldozer. Quinn manages to escape the trailer, and he and Jack fight. Jack manages to get a hold of a screwdriver and impales Quinn, demanding to know when the weapons will arrive. With his dying breath, Quinn says that they're already here. Jack finds a text message on Quinn's cell phone that reads, "Port of Alexandria. Yard C. 2230."
Comment: Another great action/fight scene. Loved Jack using the bulldozer and the hand-to-hand fighting with Quinn. I don’t think you can throw a screwdriver with enough force to go through a Kevlar vest, but it was great anyway. Jack can always improvise when he doesn’t have a weapon. And of course, Jack using the screwdriver he killed Quinn with to start the truck – classic Jack Bauer!
Larry and the Metro PD enter Mayer's house. Larry calls Janis and tells her that Jack has murdered the Senator. Orders are to now shoot Jack on sight. Meanwhile, Jack uses Quinn's phone to call Tony Almeida for help. Jack asks him to bring weapons and a surveillance package to the Port of Alexandria. He will explain when Tony arrives.
Clock ticks to…10:00 pm
Comment: Poor Jack, now they think he killed the Senator as well. “Shoot on sight” - Jack’s in real trouble now! We finally see Tony again, having coffee or something at an outdoor café. Huh? That was a little strange. I wonder what he was trying to tell Jack before he hung up?
I keep saying this every week, but another great episode. It had just the right amount of drama and action. I think the writing in this particular episode really stood out. Plus there was a classic ‘24’ surprise twist with Quinn killing the Senator.
Is it Monday yet?
Episode Overview From FOX.com/24. Comments are mine.
what's so funny 'bout peace, love and understanding??
why should the reprobates at the NewsPress be the only ones with a cabal? I've decided to come up with my own enemies list..people, places and things I consider my enemies and put them on notice that a war will ensue..I'll be watching them like a hawk! here's a list of my enemies,with a bonus analysis of their personality disorders!
~Wendy Wendy Wendy.. a fraud, a witch, a parasite, an ugly muthafuckin woman, a business disaster...thinks her role as boss is playing nurse to a bunch of trained seals! she's a narcissist meaning she has a grandiose feeling of self-importance mixed with feelings of inferiority! ~the News-Press..for what it's worth..NOTHING! ~Nipper..never send a boy to do a man's job...very passive aggressive...works very hard to find ways NOT to do what is expected of him! ~Travis..the biggest brown-noser in the County..thinks he has his hands on the pulse of the city, but we know where his hands have been... a histrionic disorder...self-dramatization and exaggerated displays of false emotion..it's manipulative, aimed at attracting attention and sympathy! ~dogs..flea ridden little shitbags! ~President Obama..made a joke at the expense of the Special Oympics...what a retard! ~Mick Von Caw..I'm my own worst enemy sometimes, and I have to take it out on you..sorry ~Dr Dan Secord.. after delivering his share of babies into the world, this ugly old bald fuck needs to die...panders to the NewsPress and rich people like a pimp, not a doctor..antisocial..irritable and aggressive..an angry old dude! ~Dr Lanny Ebenstein..what the fuck, is everybody a doctor now?? Lanny gave money to the Armendariz city council campaign and now they work together at the SBCTA! Lanny has an obsessive compulsive disorder meaning he has an obsessive preoccupation with trivial details, lists, rules and the mechanics of efficiency to the point that he himself has become inefficient..just read some of Lanny's posts on local blogs and you'll see! ~Dr Laura.. what the fuck, is everybody a doctor now?? I need a separate post to deal with her! ~Carp Councilman Joe Armendariz..I watch Joe like I watch a snake...Joe has a Borderline Personality Disorder..impulsive and self-destructive; has trouble finding a secure identity and is heavily dependent on others to help him find his purpose... ~the Chumash.."don't use stereotypes" chant the Chumash..unless they are advertising the Casino! ~the Santa Barbara County Tea Party..some weird off-shoot of SBCTA? teaparty
~Timmy Buckley/Montecito Journal..if you suck on your daddy's wang long enough, he'll let you run the paper, which is nothing more than a wannabe society rag for the botox set..see Timmy, wut you got is an Oedipus complex in reverse..yer messed up dude! Get out of the house and get a real job, then you will understand the working class! If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him.
all this talk about underwear has got me a-wonderin'...how many worthless asses can I really nail to the wall...a wall like no other wall...
Some of them are members of the bored rightwing bourgeoisie and are leftovers from the Nixon/J.Edgar Hoover era...they lie, cheat, snoop, lie some more, abuse power, lie again, wear women's underwear..and are more fascist than American! They think government is evil unless they need protection, then they cry like babies when someone scares them! Protect me Uncle Sam!Protect me!! They are afraid of their own shadows!!
