24: Day Four, 1 - 2 p.m.
Just when you thought the show might be getting back to a little bit of the real-time format (Jack and Audrey's ride across town takes more than 2 minutes),
24 goes and throws it all out the window again when Tony Almeda is able to get to Jack's location and save the day in under four minutes. Not that I was sorry to see Tony back in the show as I like his character. And give 24 credit--they were able to pull this off as a surprise. But I found that Tony's sudden, dramatic emergence on the scene raised some big questions--such as why isn't this guy in prison? Last time we saw him, he was being hauled away from treason for choosing to save Michelle. I will be intrigued to see what happened there.
That is, of course, assuming that Jack didn't just call up the prison, ask them to parole Tony, drop him off at their location and ask that he be given a gun--all in under four minutes.
Last week's show was about father and son relationships gone wrong and this week was more focused on mother's relationships with their young ones. I think we all knew that Dina would risk her life to let Behrooz live and get away from his father. I guess this is why TerrorDad had Behrooz kill his girlfriend--you think you know someone and then she up and turns on your plan for destroying the United States because she loves her child more than the cause. Meanwhile, Driscoll is having some complications as the worst day of her tenure as head of CTU coincides with a really bad day Maya is having. And then to see Maya given a drug to which she is allergic. Wow, powerful stuff.
And then you've got Heller and his son, who just don't get along. And that's pretty much out the window now, don't you think. Don't see these two going on a father-son picnic before the day is done.
And then, poor Jack. The look on his face as Audrey talks to Paul on the cell phone. You can almost see him thinking--yeah, I'm going to lose this one to when she goes back to her estranged husband.
But, thankfully,
24 isn't just all about these various relationships in play. It's about edge-of-your-seat tension. Edgar's plan to save the reactors was tense, even though we were basically watching a guy code some software. And Jack and Audrey's walking into a trap was nicely done as well--a good few minutes of suspense. Good balance to the storytelling and I never felt like one plotline was overshadowing the others or that I was losing interest in one and thinking--no, please go back to the other more interesting plot.
Monk: Mr Monk vs the Cobra
Tony Shalhoub's performance in this week's
Monk could be take by aspiring actors out there as "How to Win an Emmy." It was just THAT good.
For the second time this year, the series choose to play the Trudy and Adrian get to interact card. And for the second time this year, it hits all the right notes and puts a lump in your throat. Shalhoub's performance was incredible here. This is an area that is dangerous--it could be too sappy or too gimmicky if not done right. Monk does it right. And it highlights the last act of the episode. Seeing Monk explain the solution to Trudy as he coughs becuase he's dying in the coffin and his reluctant acceptance that he has to give up her office was so well done. Again, Shalhoub should just start making room for an Emmy because if he doesn't get one for this, there is no justice.
I also have to admit this one didn't have me missing Shirona that much either. Give the producers credit--they've taken a potential shark jump moment and really mined some gold out of it. Natalie's conversations with Monk about paying her business expenses were very well done. And I have to admit that the Captain Stottlemeyer really was given some good material--his concern at not letting the press know his prime suspect was a man who'd been dead for six years was nice as was his desparation to find and save Monk in the end.
Too bad they didn't get it all right. Disher still has problems. He was just too gung-ho, fan-boy of Sonny Chow to be believable. Also, I hate it when a character is given an interest in something simply to help move the plot forward or introduce plot twists. Disher can be a good character, but they need to start writing him a bit better before loses all likeability. It's no fun having a foil if the foil is a too muh of a buffoon.
posted by Michael Hickerson at 2/01/2005 01:28:00 PM |
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