5/19: “24″ finale recap, day 7, Steve Adamson leaves WXIA-TV, new Fox lineup, Kim Zolciak’s phone stolen
This season’s “24″ has been far more entertaining than last year, where the storylines felt reconstituted and the ending strung together with duct tape and chicken wire. Fortunately, the writers’ strike gave them time to ensure a proper 24 hour timeline for Day 7 where plotlines could be properly opened and closed.
And this final episode, while a bit flaccid and predictable at the tail end, had enough thrills and spills and even an emotional crescendo, to satisfy most “24″ addicts.
Loading ...There were basically three plotlines going on at once.
First, there’s the tie between Jack and his daughter Kim. At 6 a.m., the bad guys are using Jack to try to apprehend Tony away from the FBI by holding his daughter unknowingly hostage at the airport.
He frees Tony, who takes Jack with him. His female operative buddy wonders why he wants to even take Jack. Tony says Jack has the pathogen in him, enough possibly to reconstitute the bio-pathogen.
After Jack is tortured by docs who take spinal fluid from his back (ouch!), he ovecomes them and tries to get away before Tony apprehends him one more time. By then, Tony had convinced the female bad gal that he has earned his keep and should meet Alan Wilson, the big bad guy.
In the interim, Kim finds out she’s being followed. The two bad folks linked to Alan Wilson create a ruckus, shooting up guards in the airport terminal. The stringy-haired dude gets away but Kim follows him. The guards shoot him as he tries to get away, his car flips and she grabs his computer before he dies. That leads the FBI to Jack Bauer in time to save him and get Tony.
This ties into this Tony Almeda revenge situation, which is an interwoven second thread. At the start of the day (or this season), he was a good guy gone bad. But wait–he was actually working on the inside with Bill and Chloe. He’s good. Oh, no. He’s really bad, killing the head of the FBI. But now we find out he’s sorta kinda good? He wanted to get to the head of this dark conspiracy, an ordinary looking dude with an ordinary name, Alan Wilson. Why? The dude killed Tony’s love of his life Michelle Day 5 AND his unborn son. His unborn son!
Yes, he wasted time actually having to explain his rationale for killing Alan before trying to kill him because that’s what people do on TV shows. And he left just enough time for Jack to come in and shoot him so he wouldn’t shoot Alan. Alan was taken into custody, as was Tony. Renee, who debates the merits of torture outside the law as a means to a proper end with Jack, decides to torture him though we don’t find out the consequences. Presumably, Renee will be back next year and we’ll find out what she learns.
Meanwhile, Jack is dying and placed in a coma. Naturally, the predictable part happens next. Kim arrives at the hospital and finds out she might be able to save his life. Of course, she does it without his permission. We know that since Kiefer Sutherland is set to be around for season eight, Kim will indeed save his life. Yawn. But Jack Bauer.. cannot.. die.
Finally, there was the president’s daughter Olivia and her bad behavior. She had set up to kill off Jonas Hodges, the bad military contractor played by Jon Voight, then changed her mind. But he was killed anyway. She tries to cover her tracks but Agent Pierce (our favorite “24″ character ever) is suspicious and has the former Chief of Staff Kinan she had ousted earlier in the day come back to check out the DVR which had taped her conversation. She didn’t know about the taping device.
When she discovers the DVR, she tries to stop him discover her nefarious conversation with the dude who set up the kill. But Kinan outsmarts her by giving her a blank disc and handing off the real one to Pierce. Psych! During the second hour, he tells her he knows about her involvement with the murder hit. She confesses to her mom, hoping she would just cover it up since the entire sordid affair would threaten her presidency.
But President Taylor is incredibly ethical. She puts away her daughter although Olivia’s motives (Hodges killed their son!) were defensible. Taylor’s husband is not pleased. Cherry Jones plays this scene with real emotion realizing her entire family has been sacrificed in the name of the presidency. She will be back next season when the show switches to New York.
I enjoyed the change of venue from the “24″ terrorism capital of the world Los Angeles to Washington D.C. Pluses: the addition of Cherry Jones as prez. The entire Tony Almeida plotline. And Jack facing his mortality, even if we know he won’t die.
Negatives: losing Bill Buchanan. Rest in peace, man. We loved you! And Janeane Garofalo’s Janis Gold was a lame version of Chloe. Their catty little arguments were mildly amusing at best and they even made up at the end.
-The fall Fox lineup includes that new show about a glee club called “Glee” that debuts tomorrow after “Idol.”
-There’s also that spinoff of “The Family Guy,” “The Cleveland Show.” It will air on Sundays.
-“Brothers” features Michael Strahan (”NFL Fox Sunday”) playing a former NFL hotshot who comes home to get his life back in order. It will air on Fridays.
-“The Wanda Sykes Show” will be a new talk show on Saturday nights, replacing “MADtv.”
“So You Think You Can Dance” is going to be added to the fall lineup, as noted earlier.
Fox shows coming back next season: “24,” “Fringe,” “American Dad,” “American Idol,” “Bones,” “Dollhouse,” “Family Guy,” “House,” “Kitchen Nightmares,” “Lie to Me,” “The Simpsons,” “Til Death.” “America’s Most Wanted,” “Cops.” “Hell’s Kitchen.”
Fox shows canned: “Sit Down, Shut Up.” “Prison Break.” “King of the Hill” “Sarah Connor.”
-Steve Adamson, a weekend meteorologist for WXIA-TV, has left the station to pursue his career in aviation, according to Bob Walker, general manager. He wouldn’t say whether Adamson left voluntarily though insiders say his contract was not renewed. Gannett, which owns WXIA, is budget cutting across the board and has required furloughs for its employees this quarter.
- “Real Housewives of Atlanta” pseudo-housewife Kim Zolciak’s phone was stolen. She sent out a note today asking people to send her their numbers again. The note went like this:
Hey there please email your cell and or work number somone stole my phone…YUCK….”Don’t worry about the people in your past, There’s a reason why they didn’t make it into your future”
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42 comments Add your comment
Bill Buchanan
May 18th, 2009
11:58 pm
Who’s this “Bill Brennan” guy? Does that mean I’m not dead?
Bored MAN
May 19th, 2009
7:35 am
I can’t believe men act like complete women over ‘24′, which is not such a great show. Story lines, boring! Keifer, boring! I guess it’s like Socom, Halo, or one of those other ‘Macho’ games that dudes play, since it makes them feel “Manly”, I guess?
Tony T
May 19th, 2009
7:37 am
24 was one hour too long. They should have stopped at 23. The 24th hour dragged, lectured on and politicized EITs.
Joe Schmoe
May 19th, 2009
8:11 am
Bored Man, go stick to Desperate Housewives or Greys Anatomy. Whatever the lame chik show is these days. 24 is great, and is proven in the ratings.
GeoffDawg
May 19th, 2009
8:30 am
24 is usually great but was below average this year. With the exception of a few scenes like Bill’s death, I didn’t find myself on the edge of my seat like I usually do. But, all in all, it’s still better than 90% of what’s available.
Snellvillian
May 19th, 2009
8:32 am
I thought Jack was going to become a muslim. A sure fire way to end this series.
I certainly would never watch again. And those stupid PSA’s on global warming, do not help.
stilldefiant
May 19th, 2009
8:35 am
Great summary LOL. Great season as well especially after the train wreck that was last season. The season finale was a little disappointing however the writers did a great job keeping viewers engaged throughout the season. I agree the change of scenario from L.A. to N.Y. will be good. Looking forward to next season!
dave
May 19th, 2009
8:44 am
Agree . . . Agent Pierce was a really great character . . .
Just the fax
May 19th, 2009
8:52 am
That was a great episode. I know people watch 24 for the blow-em-up, edge of your seat,whos-gonna-die next but this was an emotional thriller. i personally got tired of the killing for “shock value” and it seemed to take away from the story. This reminded me of the first season (probably the best) and i am glad they did it. I was still on the edge of my seat but in a different way. Kudos to the writers, I thought it was excellent.
Just the fax
May 19th, 2009
8:53 am
And…………..Agent Pierce ROCKS!!!!!!
Dilly
May 19th, 2009
8:55 am
Chloe RULES!!!!!!
Amy
May 19th, 2009
9:17 am
Here’s a great 24 blog- https://the24knapsack.wordpress.com/
Dawg Fud
May 19th, 2009
9:20 am
Bored MAN – Jack Bauer reads these blogs. I would be careful what you comment. dork.
Lady C
May 19th, 2009
9:22 am
Why on earth would you can “Prison Break”. It’s a whole better than The Simpson, Family Guy & American Dad? Who’s idea was this?
11Alive Bad
May 19th, 2009
9:22 am
The decline of 11Alive continues.
Jack in the Know
May 19th, 2009
9:39 am
WXIA is in a very pathetic state right now. The talent bleed from 11Alive in the last year both on-air and back-room has been sad to see. They let go a lot off-air people last week too. It is all about cost cutting there right now. They centralize as much as they can out of Gannett Corporate, replace who they ahve to with younger, cheaper people, and who stays has to take massive paycuts and week off each quarter without pay. The quality of the news has been greatly degraded in the last year as well. The sensational promos about stories that are not really sensational, all the non-newsworthy filler, it all seems to be for a station that would be in market 180 not market 8.
gary
May 19th, 2009
9:43 am
24 was definitely great this season. It was the first in a while that I was able to watch all of the episodes and the plot lines kept me entertained and interested. Lady C, two things, Prison break was not getting much of a rating on Mondays so Fox moved them to Fridays and the show got worse. That move to begin with pretty much sealed the fate as the show lost its zeal after the second season. As for the animated shows, check out the ratings, they do much better than Prison Break could and they also have contracts with those shows to continue producing.
As for King of the Hill, Rodney, Fox actually has 6 shows left to air and rumor has it that they will show them sometime next year and give the show a proper series finale. It was four shows and they ordered two more as to give it a deserved send off.
All in all, I don’t see why so many people question why shows get canceled. Yeah you may like it vs some of the other hit shows, but if they ratings aren’t there people then the networks are not going to keep the show around.
gary
May 19th, 2009
9:45 am
Also one more thing about King of the Hill…..if you read some of the TV guides and checking the info on my DirecTV, the show actually was labeled season finale vs the usual series finale that shows normally get for the very last show.
Gary
May 19th, 2009
9:46 am
24 was great this year and one of the best yet.
You said that Glee and So you think you can Dance are their “Fall” shows. We’re not even into Summer yet (June 21st starts summer) and your stating that “Fall” shows are already airing this week? Is this the same mentality that is the reason why they have Christmas decorations up before Halloween is even here? Sorry bud but they are not FALL shows…………. far from it!
Rodney Ho
May 19th, 2009
9:50 am
Gary–a clarification. “Glee” is debuting one episode tonight. But the series will start up for real in the fall. As for “So You Think You Can Dance.” Season five starts Thursday. But Fox will segue into a new season six almost immediately in the fall.
Disappointed
May 19th, 2009
9:57 am
I have been a fan of 24 from the first hour and I was very disappointed in last nights episodes. I wanted a more dramatic ending and the writers let me down. I couldn’t believe it! I was very upset when it went off. I really didn’t care too much for the story line this time either. Although it was a bit engaging at times, I still feel that this season was very weak compared to previous seasons.
John
May 19th, 2009
10:18 am
I’ve seen every episode of every season, and I flat out love 24. I confess it has had its ups and downs, but this was an exceptional year. Can’t wait for that next expisode….even though it will be a while.
Last night Cherry Jones showed us why she won two Tony Awards. Her last scene was played with a wonderful combination of strength and tenderness. She’s one of the greatest American actresses, ever.
KaRon
May 19th, 2009
10:57 am
I thought 24 was GREAT and I’m wanting more. This was my first season watching. I’m now in the process of buying the previous seasons to catch up.
meme
May 19th, 2009
11:37 am
Who really watches the “Real housewives of Atlanta”? What a joke!
Herd89
May 19th, 2009
1:02 pm
I agree with John, Cherry Jones did an amazing job this season. Sure hope she is president next year. I really hope they don’t bring Agent Walker back. They tried to make her into a female Jack but she can’t pull it off. She is as tough as a cupcake. Please! Certainly didn’t buy the tender moment between she & Jack when he was on the stretcher. Fave scenes – Jack escaping after the spinal tap and the president sending her evil spawn down the river. Overall, I expected more from the finale, so I give it 2.5 stars out of 5.
Erk
May 19th, 2009
1:30 pm
Jack Bauer has “jumped the shark” with me. Jack is constantly asking people to sacrifice themselves for the country, but when the bad guys threaten his daughter, it’s screw the country, I’m going to do whatever I want.
“24″ is dead to me.
ThisLadyLoves24
May 19th, 2009
2:05 pm
John, I agree 100%. I have seen every single episode of every season — 24 is a great show. I love it. I love the way this season’s plot unfolded — especially the situation with Tony. When we found out he’d turned bad after losing Michelle, I think we realized how much that must have messed him up. But I was baffled in the end, when the true depth of his plot was revealed. His plan to use Jack to kill Alan Wilson was unbelievable. How could Tony betray Jack? Let alone kill him?! Unless you’ve watched 24 from Day 1, Episode 1, you won’t understand why that scene was so important. Last season was terrible, I have to admit. But I think they did an excellent job tying it into this season. I like how they began the season with the 2-hour Redemption episode. At first I wasn’t sure where they were going with it, but it was a great segue into Day 7.
Looking forward to next season!
BigBear
May 19th, 2009
2:26 pm
I don’t care what the reason was, but I’m glad Botox Man is off the air. I couldn’t stand to look at him! His facial expression NEVER changed!
Hooper
May 19th, 2009
2:31 pm
Man, I really hope that the implications are true, and next season we find out that Jack has converted to Islam. On the one hand, it makes for a really interesting character shift – will his newfound religion alter his willingness to beat the living snot out of people? On the other hand, it could be an excuse for Fox to throw every single awful stereotype of ISLAMOFASCIST TERRORMONGERS onto the air because hey, the hero is a muslim, so it’s OK for us to treat every other muslim as a blood-crazed lunatic.
While I liked Garafalo’s character, I really really disliked the way she was handled – there are entirely valid ethical concerns regarding information gathered through torture, and she was basically there so the producers could claim they were “showing both sides,” even though it’s patently obvious their message was that Torture is Awesome and Totally Okay and if you disagree you are a big weepy crybaby Dumb Ol’ Libbrul Strawperson who hates America and freedom and wants The Terrorists to Win.
I mean, I know TV rots your brain, but it doesn’t need to insult your intelligence, too.
24 since the begining
May 19th, 2009
2:31 pm
The best season of 24 since season 1 period. I only take the word of those on here who have been watching from the begining and I think we all agree this was a redeeming season after last year with his dad and all that crap. Never would I think Jack would not be the ending to 24 but Agent Walker as far as story line goes. The really did a great job this season! Plus we are left with so many cliff hangers. Jack to the presidents daughter to Agent Walker and her interigation. Awesome! awesome! awesome!
pHred
May 19th, 2009
2:58 pm
Hey Bored MAN…leave your number…we’ll call you and let you know when they’re running those Tampon commercials…
Spoiled
May 19th, 2009
3:51 pm
Why the hell didn’t you put Bill Buchanan dies in the title of this recap? You only like spoiling selected shows? Or just the shows I watch?
Hmmmm
May 19th, 2009
5:14 pm
24 should be renamed to Cheesy-4! This is the last season for me. Same old tired routine. Jack is done, Jack gets called back, Jack reluctantly agrees to help, Jack goes rogue, Jack is redeemed, someone suprisingly gets killed, Jack goes rogue again, Good guy turns bad, Jack is redeemed, Bad guy is actually good, Jack goes rogue, last 10 minutes Jack is Redeemed and then a cliff hanger of oh me, oh my what WILL happen with poor Jack.
Mind numbing cr@p that I shamefully admit I watched but will no longer. Same with 90% of all the sludge of TV. Writers have lost their imaginations.
Chris
May 19th, 2009
6:25 pm
I will really miss Steve Adamson on 11. That leaves Chris Holcomb as the only person there that I would trust forecasting the weather. 11 has really slipped lately. Lots of good people gone and piles of phony schmaltz, like their random act of kindess, tell us something good, the science experiments, the value shopping, the anchors walking around during the news, then endless banter back and forth, it all is a big waste of time that keeps people from quickly seeing the day’s important news, weather, and traffic.
Chris
May 19th, 2009
6:25 pm
Enter your comments here
jason
May 19th, 2009
8:10 pm
Thank goodness for those “Random Acts of Kindness” on 11 Alive. It’s basically “Hey here’s a free smoothie, now go do something nice.” Really??
I’m surprised they didn’t show us footage of them getting Steve Adamson a cookie cake and telling him to “pay it forward” to someone else.
vondrakovia
May 19th, 2009
8:31 pm
Agree with John, commenter at 10:11 this AM……..Cherry Jones was fabulous in the ‘24′ finale and it shows why she is America’s premier theater actress. It is really a shame that she has not had more roles in film and TV……..(she was in the movie “Signs” as Officer Paski), but has had relatively small roles in other films.
How is it possible for someone to be so famous “in New York” (on Broadway), and so celebrated, and receive so many awards and nominations…….and not be a truly Big Name star?
‘24′ will be a springboard for Cherry Jones for bigger and better things, of that we are sure.
Justin Cider
May 21st, 2009
9:38 am
Zolciak is a disgrace to all white women! A complete, plastic phony.
Bee
May 21st, 2009
6:46 pm
I’m sorry to see the end of “The Game” and “Everybody Loves Chris.” I looked forward to winding down my Fridays with both shows. Too bad both couldn’t have had a series finale as a tribute to fans. The same thing happened to “Girlfriends.”
Ronald
May 22nd, 2009
4:17 pm
I will miss Steve. Maybe he will turn up at WGCL. They seem desperate for for meteorologists especially during severe weather.
bjstarnes
June 20th, 2009
3:57 pm
Why did you let Steve Adamson go???
Or did you actually fire him???
I am a LONGTIME viewer of Channel 11
and I cannot believe you did did this….
He was do down-to-earth and wonderful..
My family loved him too…
We like all the “boys”…
Chris, Paul, and Steve…
If you fired Steve, then how did you
afford a new Weather Man???
I really look forward to an answer from
My alltime favourite Channel…
Thank you.
bjstarnes
June 20th, 2009
3:59 pm
Note to Brenda Wood.
I am very curious as to the meaning
of the Locket you wear.
Was it a gift from your Mom?
Thank you.