24 - Day 8: 3:00AM - 4:00AM: Discussion and Spoilers

[RobertScorpio]

Man, this car handles like I'm lugging a big old EMP in the trunk or something!

I don't know how they got the EMP, that Tarin guy was only on like a 5 kill streak, he should've gotten the Predator strike. Needed another 10 kills for EMP

I liked the guy who looked at the countdown on the EMP, saw that he had like 5 seconds, and thought he could drive it out of range. That was about as big a FAIL as I've seen on 24

And yeah, very strange that they just let that parole guy wander wherever the hell he feels like. He kind of stumbles around like he's got some form of dementia.

Honestly I don't think this show has been 'good' since Season 2, but it's still strangely entertaining and brings WTF on a weekly basis

Oh, I agree with that. For me it has been on auto-pilot since season one actually. Most of the formula was invented in that season. I mean, every season you know there will be someone on the inside (starbuck this year) who is comprimised, and then...surprise...SOMEONE ELSE!!!!

Kim getting into idiotic danger has been, thankfully, retired (well, the season isn't over yet. But at least she's on another show, so...her coming back is doubtful)...

But as you said, Yoda, its entertaining. Its like going on the same roller-coaster over and over. Its good, but not as good as that first time (kind of like sex too)

Rob

 

[FreezeC77]

Yoda I swear I was laughing so hard when that redshirt guard was like "I can drive it out!" hahahaha

it was hilarious I don't think he even was sitting completely in the seat when it blew up.

 

[Scout101]

Having the EMP on a timer, rather than tied into the engine, or remote-detonated, is a fairly major plot hole as well, isn't it? Nice that they were able to time out the time it takes for a panicked driver to get to CTU, almost to the second! What if she was behind a slow driver, or stuck at a red light, or drove around for 2 seconds before being told how to get to CTU, a place she's never been? If she went the wrong way before Starbuck gave her directions, the EMP goes off a mile away and probably does nothing. Brilliant plan, morons! Should have just had it wired to a remote, or tied in so it goes off when the car is shut off, or something...

 

[Sheep]

Having the EMP on a timer, rather than tied into the engine, or remote-detonated, is a fairly major plot hole as well, isn't it? Nice that they were able to time out the time it takes for a panicked driver to get to CTU, almost to the second! What if she was behind a slow driver, or stuck at a red light, or drove around for 2 seconds before being told how to get to CTU, a place she's never been? If she went the wrong way before Starbuck gave her directions, the EMP goes off a mile away and probably does nothing. Brilliant plan, morons! Should have just had it wired to a remote, or tied in so it goes off when the car is shut off, or something...

At least 24 is following its own rules about traffic not existing and nobody ever getting lost in their universe.

 

[Yoda]

What, just because these guys can pull an EMP out of their collective ass you think they could rig up some sort of GPS system to monitor and detonate it at the right place?

We may as well move this thread straight over to SF&F!

It makes zero sense that they could do something like that, especially when they have the almighty quartz crystal and a guestimate at their disposal!

 

[Marten]

It was four o clock in the morning. traffic can't be that much of a concern.

 

[DarthPipes]

How about Jack Bauer cheering on his granddaugther's soccer team? He can threaten the referees mother if he makes a bad call.

"Where the red flag?!"

 

[doubleohfive]

^

"I'm gonna need a hacksaw!"

 

[O'Dib]

A short countdown may have been remotely activated once she arrived?

 

[Trekker4747]

I was kind-of thinking something like that. That the terrorists activated the countdown remotely when she entered CTU, they may have been tracking the car with a GPS or something.

I still think it's fairly dumb that she can just drive right into CTU and their little valet vestibule so easily. In Season 2 when Jack -undercover with terrorists as phone repairmen- entered CTU's parking garage the procedures seemed a lot more realistic. The phone-van was parked at the gate for a few minutes while the gaurds looked the van over, checked in the back, used mirrors to look under it, etc. But now, after everything that's happened in 24's universe, this woman just drives right up to their front door with a bomb in her car.

 

[Harvey]

Well, there you go right there. That was 24 season two. This is 24 season eight. The show hasn't bothered with that level of realism, since...probably the second season, honestly. Which is a damned shame.

 

[Procutus]

The hate comes from the insane way that she (and now Cole) have been reacting to the entire situation. And, probably to an even greater degree, the fact that it is completely unrelated to the main threat. Sort of like the ancillary Palmer threads in season three that ruined that season's momentum--and neither Dana nor Cole carry as much audience investment as a David Palmer.

Well said. I'm one of the folks who isn't too keen on this particular storyline, and I totally agree with your assessment. The major problem here is that the Starbuck subplot is contributing next to nothing to the overall storyline.

 

[DarthPipes]

The hate comes from the insane way that she (and now Cole) have been reacting to the entire situation. And, probably to an even greater degree, the fact that it is completely unrelated to the main threat. Sort of like the ancillary Palmer threads in season three that ruined that season's momentum--and neither Dana nor Cole carry as much audience investment as a David Palmer.

Well said. I'm one of the folks who isn't too keen on this particular storyline, and I totally agree with your assessment. The major problem here is that the Starbuck subplot is contributing next to nothing to the overall storyline.

Agreed. The plot has nothing to do with the main storyline and has wasted a ton of time. Add to the fact that we've been given no reason whatsoever to care about Dana.

 

[Agent Richard07]

Like I said last week, I think the Dana/Cole plot is the most interesting thing happening this season. Watching Dana's secrets unravel and then dragging Cole into it is actually pretty captivating. I want to see where it goes. The main story on the other hand, I find pretty dull and repetitive. This last episode wasn't bad, but on the whole, not much about this season is new or exciting.

 

[Yoda]

I was kind-of thinking something like that. That the terrorists activated the countdown remotely when she entered CTU, they may have been tracking the car with a GPS or something.

Except that makes no sense. She's there! Excellent comrades... begin the 30 second countdown! It'd be absolutely pointless, and more importantly that's not what they showed us. What they showed us was the thing was on a timer while the baddies were fleeing and presumably not setting it off through GPS technology.

This reminds me of people going waaaay out of their way to rationalize nonsense plot elements in ENT and VOY, which I guess is appropriate since Braga is involved.

Look, lots of plots have questionable elements... I'm not demanding perfection... but there are levels of sloppiness. This is on the level where you watch it, and instantly know it makes no sense. At least have it on the level where you have to consider if it makes sense before you reach the conclusion that it doesn't make sense!

You can just see the level of thought that went into it... and nobody even bothered to think 'how would these terrorist guys go about this', they just thought, 'Countdowns and explosions are RAD!'

Like I said, it's 24, so I don't really care that much at this point, I can handle stupid in this show, but do they really need to go out of their way to make it extra stupid?

 

[Harvey]

Why is there even a countdown clock on the thing to begin with? The goal was not to inspire fear (the Fox Mulder explanation) but to sneak the thing in and cripple CTU.

Still not as silly as the LCD timer on the suicide vest last week, though. Talk about absurd.

 

[Trekker4747]

Well, there you go right there. That was 24 season two. This is 24 season eight. The show hasn't bothered with that level of realism, since...probably the second season, honestly. Which is a damned shame.

I'd go as far as saying Season 3 was the last "realistic" season. It was on the border of absurd, but S3 is still a solid season with a single cohesive plot and threat, it's only bogged down by the nonsense with Palmer and his campaign.

Season 4 is when the show took a dive into the silly and never really looked back.

 

[Harvey]

Season three ended up having two different plots for Jack--the Salazars and Stephen Saunders and two different plots for Palmer--concerning Dr. Anne Packard, his girlfriend for half a season, and the Alan Milliken debacle. Palmer and Jack were mostly isolated from each other, narratively, and, worse, they each had two plots that weren't as cohesive as they could have been.

It's much more cohesive than the mess that was season four, but it's still not as tight as season two. I know some people don't like where the story went in the final third of that season, but at least the build-up to war made sense.

But I'd also agree that season three was the last season that really bothered with realism. Like in season two, you can see the source of all the ridiculousness that began with the fourth season, but it's not so extreme yet.