24: Live Another Day
12-episode miniseries, FOX, 2014
Reviews are a comprehensive analysis of the entire aired season. Therefore, if
you haven't watched the entirety of 24: Live Another Day, read no further.
Four years ago, I wrote extensively about the great, the terrible, and the bad of 24's eighth and then final season. 24 was a series I wholeheartedly loved from Senator David Palmer to President Allison Taylor, from Nina Meyers' betrayal to Jack Bauer's rampage of revenge and near assassination of an ex-President. It was with a heavy heart that I said goodbye to the series, but with such a whirlwind of a generally bad season in Day 8, that miraculously - and thankfully - concluded on one hell of a stellar high note, it seemed there was no better time to call quits, and what better way to end it.
And then 24: Live Another Day was announced. With a killer premise - Jack Bauer in London! - and the promise of everyone's favorite non-superhero superhuman who isn't Batman returning from exile, man, I was stoked. A 12-episode miniseries, touted out as a "event" in every bit of press around . . . excitement was building! The potential awesomeness of this compact season could be. No filler, no loose ends going nowhere, no ridiculous melodrama, and best of all, the writers would be rejuvenated with creative ideas and renewed enthusiasm!
Ultimately, what 24: Live Another Day became was more or less the same of what we've seen before.
Typically, that's not a bad thing, but with all the pre-launch press, the sameness can't help but be a bit underwhelming. There is plenty of pleasure to be taken from that, to be sure - Jack Bauer's new rogue status allows him room to do things that he otherwise wouldn't necessarily be able to under government control, and that becomes highly, highly riveting drama. But the hope was that whatever was planned for these 12 episodes would justify the return, and, in a way, spoil the spectacularly appropriate and fulfilling ending Day 8 concluded on.
Things get off with a rocky start as the opening chapter, "11:00AM - 12:00PM", fails to really capture tension. Jack is back, indeed, badass-ly maneuvering a prison escape for himself and Chloe O'Brien that is thrilling, but the build-up, not so much. Aided by a Bad Guy in the form of Margot al-Harazi who has a vendetta against President Heller (last seen in the closing minutes of Day 6 in a brutal verbal sparring exchange with Jack) and commandeers U.S. military drones to exact her revenge against him and the UK. And there's this super awesome kickass agent Kate Morgan (Yvonne Strahovski) who's on Jack's trail, but soon becomes an ally. With Strahovski, who already has street cred as the spectacularly brutal Sarah Walker in NBC's late and great comedy series Chuck, it was a sure bet that her presence would add another layer of awesome to the proceedings. Overall, sounds pretty cool, right?
Unfortunately, those pesky subplots that was hopefully to be eliminated rear their ugly head. A mole inside CTU that propels the second subplot in a new direction! A President with a problem they're trying to keep hidden! A cool character with a sad history that's mentioned at least once per episode! The President's aid scheming behind his back! The bad guy is batshit crazy, and acts batshit crazy to their subordinates! Coupled together, these are all grievances that detract from making Live Another Day a solid installment in the series' overall pretty damn great history. These are annoying problems that could easily have been avoided, or, at least, handled with a more delicate care.
What does work is Jack and when he's allowed to be Jack. With such a short time span to deal with, Jack's status as fugitive of the United States is dealt with a rather welcome speed, and soon becomes President Heller's only real line of defense against Margot. Making Heller President seemed like a contrivance at the beginning - and for the most part, the whole idea rather is a contrivance - but the benefits reaped by having this character in a position of power, especially one with a civilian history with Jack, is more than worth it. The early scenes between these characters as they become reacquainted are deeply rich, nuanced and compelling (as are Jack's interactions with Audrey, which is bursting with electricity and restraint). As the day progresses and a genuine feeling of trust - dare one mention it, friendship - is fostered, that's when the series really shines. Particularly "6:00PM - 7:00PM", where Heller makes a decision regarding Al-Harazi that he entrusts only Jack in executing. It's a brilliant hour of television, and portrays the Jack/Heller dynamic beautifully.
And best of all, it results in one of the series' best lines, spoken by Heller to the CTU head, regarding Jack needing Kate Morgan's assistance in a mission:
"Jack wants her, Jack needs her, Jack gets her."
That also leads to the following hour, "7:00PM - 8:00PM", where that Rogue Jack status really gets to shine. Throughout the season, Jack's patience level has evaporated entirely, smarting off against anyone in his way, and refusing to take gruff from anyone he doesn't have to (namely, the President). It's also allowed him certain liberties, like dealing with problems any way he sees fit, as he does with Margot in one hell of a cold and amazing sequence involving large heights. The season finale, "10:00PM - 11:00AM" also features such a moment between Jack and Cheng Zei, who makes a wonderful return to the 24 after the largely misguided Day 6, to tie up another series-long storyline. The ultimate resolution between these characters didn't entirely reach the epoch of emotional intensity as it should have, given everything that's transpired between the two men, but regardless, having these two scarred characters face off again was a delight.
Chloe O'Brien's arc was less than interesting, as she removed herself from government employ and turned cyberhacker against her country, exploiting government secrets and working with a underground UK cyber operation. Her return works both as a emotional thread for Jack to hold onto, but also helps for plot purposes, as she helps solve Jack's problems all easy peasy and helps move the last subplots into place in the final episodes. Overall, however, it was probably one of the better uses of Chloe in the last handful of years, but like many things this season, failed to really resonate.
There are lots of pros and cons with this miniseries event, with more or the same, less of the new being a problem, but there were also amazing moments, like Jack's confrontations with Margot and Cheng, or Morgan's handcuffed murder of her torturer in episode 6, or the Jack-drone attack in the streets of London. Ultimately, it was an average season of 24.
In the end, the question becomes: what's the point? 24: Live Another Day didn't push as many boundaries as it should have, nor did it offer anything really fresh or exciting to really make the adventure worth it. Yes, it was beyond gratifying to have Jack Bauer back onscreen again doing his thing, but the way he came back - despite a real riveting episode or reveal here or there - just didn't reach the levels of excellence it should have.
The note the series ends on has is a frustrating one. Day 8 ended on such a poignant, beautiful note, so perfect for the character of Jack Bauer, that this new potential series ender just doesn't quite ring the same tone. Jack sacrificing his freedom for his only true friend is completely within the character of Jack Bauer, and in that sense, it's an appropriate ending, sure, but subjectively, Day 8 concluded with more resonance and power.
Screencaps from
Screencapped.net.
I need to see every big-budget epic blockbuster in IMAX 3-D. No if or but about it, this is my new preferred way of watching these types of films. There's something so spectacular in being immersed in the film, as this giant screen literally takes over your vision and you're just in the middle of every little detail and story beat. Moreso in the awesome category, watching Amazing Spider-Man 2 in IMAX 3-D was the first time I really felt the merits of 3-D, especially the opening Spidey-flying-around-Manhattan shots, where were just gobsmacking in their level of detail and dimension. It would be a bit boisterous to say I was flying along the New York skyscrapers with Spider-Man, but I sure as hell felt the dimensionality of his actions. Naturally, the 3-D effect didn't sustain all that well during the more intimate talking heads stuff, but when the film switches gears into a full on CG-frenzy of explosive action, the 3-D was just mind blowing.
Shameless (US) 402. "My Oldest Daughter" - This episode immediately fell into my 'I love it!' because the immensely beautiful Alison Haislip guest starred in the opening bit with the Gallagher family visiting the doctor. She brought her fantastic sass, and it was great to see her. Another great moment in Fiona getting into a vehicle altercation on the road, and the revelation that Frank has another daughter (although this really shouldn't be news). The rest of the episode was rather meager. Lip's fish-out-of-water feeling at college, where his smooth words and charismatic charm isn't going to win him anything, and Veronica and Kevin hear some surprising news that could either be dramatically fun, ridiculously cartoonish, or a omen for bad stories to come. It's great to have Shameless back, and best of all, showing how these characters change, their situations change, and thus, the stories change.
Girls 303. "She Says OK" - After two episodes of Girls that really made me re-evaluate my rather negative opinion about the series thanks to a sense of charm and comedy that was rare in its first two years, "She Says OK" was one of those episodes that just left me puzzled about why it exists, or more specifically, what was the point of all this? Adam's sister, this absolutely deranged, messy-haired chick, Caroline, arrives on the eve of Hannah's 25th birthday party, and she's just bizarre. It simply solidifies that Adam isn't the only frakked up person in the family. Hannah's party itself wasn't all too well interesting, either, save a brutally honest and relatable conversation between Ray and Shoshanna, but outside of that, definitely an episode I could do without, and gravitates more towards Girls' bad impulses.
The Blacklist 112."The Alchemist (No. 101)" - Episodes nine through eleven were extraordinarily excellent for The Blacklist, and ultimately, this episode goes back to basics. There's nothing particularly interesting in the episode itself, although the notion of the Alchemist is enormously frightening and rife with dramatic possibilities that aren't really explored here. The dynamic of Red and Agent Keen seems more at home in the first handful of episodes instead of this half season mark, where much has changed between them. Ultimately, an episode that was too Case of the Week for my taste, especially after a phenomenal set of episodes that pushed Agent Keen to her dramatic/action limits thus far, and gave James Spader the meatiest, most chilling performances yet. 
Supernatural 911. "First Born" - At this point, Supernatural's ninth season feels like it's walking in circles, and this episode, where Sam and Dean are on the outs and doing their own things, isn't all too different, but it does have something quite interesting about it that makes it stand out above the rest - the introduction of Cain, from Cain and Abel. To play Cain, the show hired Timothy Omundson, and my geek radar went into giddy gear as I was particularly affected by his performance as Eli in Xena: Warrior Princess over a decade ago, so to have him in such a powerful role demanding gravitas and stern eyes, man was it satisfying. And tying Cain's story with that of Lucifer was a genius move, and, in a fantasy world, would be a foreshadowing to Lucifer's return. Honestly, I just want Lucifer back into the show, although I know the storytelling logic behind his return would exceed credulity. Overall, a fun episode, with Dean showing off his fighting skills in deadly fashion and the reassembling of the Cain story to suit Supernatural mythology (which this series does extremely well). Sadly, Sam and Castiel's story held little weight, which is even more unfortunate when I've become more invested in Sam's story than Dean's. Oh well. Now that we've reached the halfway point of season 9, and a lot of this Angel mumbo jumbo has found a level of resolution, I'm intrigued where the show will go from here, and how long it'll stretch out story arcs that need to be closed - I'm looking at you, Crowley.
Justified 503. "Good Intentions" - It's normal for Justified to start off with what appears to be loosely connected narratives, but mostly just fun Case of the Week type eps to allow Timothy Olyphant to be his badass, wise-crackin' Raylan Givens self. "Good Intentions" is one of those cases where Raylan's story more or less isn't all that important - outside of a severe case of bad timing - but it's ridiculously fun, from beginning to end, culminating in Wynn Duffy's trailer in trademark Justified dialogue exchanges of witticism. The Boyd plot has yet to fully titillate my interest, as has been the case for years, and with Boyd and Ava not seeing eye to eye, there's just not much to fully engage me. Boyd has, in my opinion, always been a character not particularly written well. Who he is as a person isn't clear, and for season five, Boyd has been reduced to a gangster who needs to keep his business runnin', so he makes some unsavory deals. The Dewey Clan also doesn't show lots of promise, but the Raylan stuff is strong enough to make this another solid episode of television. Just, coming off such a strong fourth year, it'll be interesting to see how this one evolves. Additionally, with Art slowly becoming privy to Raylan's less lawful actions, where will Justified take Raylan Givens in its sixth and final season? Will this be another Shield-esque type situation? Oh, the possibilities.
Arrow 211. "Blind Spot" - Since its return, Arrow's storytelling has slowed down considerably, the writers allowing more time for the Sebastian Blood/Laurel drug addiction/Roy superpowers plots to develop. This isn't, in theory, a horrible thing, but after nine episodes where each one ended with a jaw-dropping cliffhanger or dramatic change, this shift in pace and tone is a bit jarring. What we got here though is Laurel and the Arrow working together, and that's lovely to see after the so-so antagonistic relationship from earlier this season. It is unfortunate, however, that Diggle remains sidelined, coming in to argue with Oliver or divulge wisdom. 
