24: Season 6 (2007)

On the whole a real disappointment. I watched the first half of the season in its original airing on Fox, but then was unable to continue my viewing and just recently finished it up via DVD. The show plays better in the later more continues format and some of the plot devices don't come across quite as ridicules as they might sound if I were to just describe them. That being said the season felt quite cliched and recycled and the characterization far from continuous.

Now I treat you to some of my 24 season 6 posts from my old blog 'The Dredge Report':

1/16/07

Also watched the 4 hour season primer for the 6th season of 24. It seemed to start out a little slower then the last few seasons (hard to bet season 5 on that front), and to be attempting slight experimitation in formate, such as having the President actully be in Washington D.C. for a change. I feel shades of the disapointing season 3 coming on here, and am a little worryed that the show may have 'jumped the shark'. While the suitcase nuke going off was supposed to be one of those 24, I can't belive they did that moments, the program on the whole feels like it is becoming a charictature (can't spell) of its self. You've got the work place feuds set up at CTU, Chloie going outside the system, Jack going dark, an untrustworthy advisor to the president (I'm affaird Wayne won't be able to fill Davids shoes), and making deals with terror leaders for the greater good. It feels like there is only so many combinations of this kind of thing that you can do, without getting really cliche. Finally I totally didn't buy the Curtis sub-plot, it was out of character and simply designed to get him off the program as quickly as possible. I personally am just hoping the my favorite character, Bill Buchanon, survives the season.

1/31/07

24 Timeline:

Okay, so here's the best I can figure out:

March 2004: Day 1

Early Fall 2005: Day 2

Early 2006: 24: The Game

September/October 2008: Day 3

January or Febuary 2009: Season 4 Prequel

Febuary 2010: Day 4

Febuary 2011: Season 5 Prequel

August 2011: Day 5

March 2012: Season 6 Prequel

April 2013: Day 6

Note: There is some evidence in the first season to backdate events on Day 1 into an alternate version of the 2000 election (one minues Al Gore running). While this may have been the orignal intent of the shows creators, the occurance of the September 11th attacks seems to have pushed the show into a decidely post 9/11 world. For example, President David Palmer has a Department of Homeland Security early in first term, indicting the occurance of a previous 9/11 style War on Terror triggering event, prior to the nuclear explosion in the California desert that highlights season 2.

3/13/07

While watching the latest episode of 24 on Monday night, which reunited season 5's first couple of Charles and Martha Logan, I was struck with just how much I enjoy watching those two together. Honestly the interplay between Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart was far more engaging then the terrorist goings on in the six o'clock hour. So it struck me, here we have the perfect candidate for 24's first spin off: The Logan's. I'm thinking it would be a lot like Dynasty, with Charles and Martha, Aaron Pierce, Mike Novak, the Suberovs, and a host of wacky relatives constantly plotting against each other and causing all sorts of trouble. Of course this can only work if the former President survives his stab wound and gets some kind of pardon. But hay, if Kim can work as a computer analyst at CTU with out ever attending college, or showing any indication of skill at the job, then Surnow and his writing crew can make anything happen.

4/03/07

I was thinking, if they where to make a TV movie in the world of 24 about President Wayne Palmer and the events of day 6, Montel Willimas is who I'd cast for the part. I was also thinking maybe Tony Todd could play David in flashbacks.

Shrek the Third (2007)

Toned back a few notch's from the heavy handed and hyper Shrek two, this third entry might be the best of the Shrek films (though I've always thought the franchise over rated). It's more comfortable and settled, some might call it lazy, but for me the whole concept works best if they don't try to hard. Murphy's Donky and Banderas's Puss make great comedy team. Timberlake casting as Arthur very natural seeming.

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)

Muppet version of 'It's a Wonderful Life' lacks the full magic of Jim Henson era television Christmas specials, but still manages to entertain. Overabundance of early 2000's pop cultural references and NBC 'corporate synergy' a little distracting. Joan Cusack's just not that sexy.

No Country For Old Men (2007)

I just wrote a review for this but blogspot was stupid and erased it. I just want to say this is one of the best films of the year. Javier Bardem's performance as the bad guy is one of the most memorable ever put on film, an evil dude posed of a strong personal code that doesn't allow him to give anyone anything, the best he can do is let you call a coin toss on wither you live or die. The Coen's are in a full form they haven't been in in some time and the parallels to Fargo and Blood Simple abound. But this is its own distinct story beautifully rendered from the novel by Cormick McCarthy. A real find and strong contender for the Oscar for best picture.

Seasame Street: Old School Vol. 1 (1969-1975)

A DVD collection of episodes and segments from the first five seasons of the PBS perennial. Some of these segments were recycled enough that I recall seeing them when I religiously watched the program in the early 1980's. Of course the show has changed a lot over the years with a current Elmo fixation that’s arguably overly cutesy. A major virtue of the shows earlier years was a stronger sense of its urbaneness, and a 1970's good natured frankness, Oscar was a grouch, Cookie Monster a gluten, things that have been PC’d out a bit since that time. Anyway fascinating as nostalgia. Included is an early pitch presentation for the program to President Johnson’s newly created Public Broadcasting System.

I Am Legend (2007)

While essentially the same story has been made before, once with Vincent Price, and once with Charlton Heston, it is Will Smith who gets the accolades of comparison with Tom Hanks and Spencer Tracy, for his ability to effectively hold the screen alone for much of the picture (though I think the dog stole the show). You know the plot with this one already, man messed with nature and released a virus that killed off most of us, and left most of the survivors viscous albino’s. Smith survives of course, he’s a cool Bob Marley loving virologist who has memorized all of the dialogue from the first Shrek, and who either created a cure of limited transportability or is conveniently naturally immune. His three years unkept New York is beautifully rendered, grass grows through every crack in the pavement, dear and escaped zoo lions run free, wilted Christmas decorations hang from empty buildings, some of which are covered in plastic shields, evidence of ultimately unsuccessful efforts to contain the contingent that cancer researcher Emma Thompson accidently unleashed on us. Smith is such a likable everyman that the film survives on at least first viewing, and is probably the best cinematic rendering of post-apocalyptic loneliness. A little more contemplative then your average summer block buster, its sentimental streak make it a perfect mass audience fit for the holidays.

Dexter: Season 1 (2006)

A sympathetic portrait of a serial killer as the crux of a cable drama, perhaps not so weird sounding until you factor in that it stars Michael C. Hall, Nate’s gay brother David from ‘Six Feet Under’, in the title role. The series is sharp and tight, with a 12 episode arc that’s among the most satisfying I’ve ever seen. The show even manages to make the Miami setting its own, carving out a distinctly separate identity as a southern Florida crime drama apart from both ‘Vice’ and ‘CSI’. Most of all it makes an ‘emotionless’ serial killer someone you’d like to hang out with.

Golden Boy (1939)

Clifford Odets wrote the stage play for John Garfield, but when Columbia made the movie version, they decided to mount a search for a new face to play the young man torn between a passion for the violin and a career in boxing. William Holden was the actor they found to play Joe Bonaparte, and in that profession his career would be a largely undistinguished one for the next decade, until achieving superstardom with Billy Wilder’s ‘Sunset Blvd’. This film itself seems largely undistinguish throughout much of its running time, but achieves near greatness through the stunning denunciation of the sport that appears near the end of the film, and the performance of Lee J. Cobb as Bonaparte’ father. Despite the schmalzy and overly period seeming conceit of the film, it’s new theater sensibilities makes it interesting as a for shadower of changes that would grip American drama on both the stage and screen in the late 1940's and 50's.

Enchanted (2007)

It’s perhaps a long time in coming that Disney would put a post modern spin on its venerable fairytale franchise, adjusting the ‘true love’ dynamic for contemporary times, and give us a send-up of the story conventions of earlier films that’s warm hearted and delightfully non-mawkish. ‘Enchanted’ is throughly so, an enjoyable romp that worked for me as well as it could for any child. Amy Adams becomes the new it girl with her wide-eyed turned heroic performance, and Patrick Dempsy ensures a place in my ‘don’t hate them’ list by proving the perfect fit for the role of a divorce lawyer (que Irony) who takes in the banished fantasy princess while she awaits rescue from her surpassingly likable prince.. There’s even a character named Nathaniel who gets to overcome his self doubts and publish a best selling book, how could I not like this film. Heck, I even liked Pip.

La Vie En Rose (2007)

France and the U.S.; 1918-1963

Marion Cotillard should be Oscar nominated for her portrait of French singer Edith Paif in this effective bio-pic. The movie is concentrated despair, it seems little that was not sad happened in her brief 47 years of life, the last four spent in ever increasing levels of bodily decay following a collapse onstage in New York in 1959. While the film goes through a slow period about an hour in, and tragically skips over most the second World War era, its still a powerful piece of work, owing to Cotillards conviction of performance and to some wonderfully composed sequences, most notably Paifs debut at 'the music hall' and her death sequence. I have to get this soundtrack.

Carnivale: Season 2 (2005)

Setting: U.S. from Texas to California; mid 1930's)

Second and sadly final season of ‘Carnivale’ started out fairly strong, but then got a little slow for my taste, seemingly relying on filler for most of each show. However it all wrapped up quite impressively, bringing things to another level and creating a very strong and satisfying mythology, one that I’m saddened I’ll never get to see further developed. Aviaters, Omega's, blind confederate widows, delimbed Russians, and Methodists ranging from good to evil, oh yes, and the Dreyfus’s.