The Following Takes Place Between 6am And 8am
Overall
It wasn’t as good as it could have been but it was still pretty freaking sweet. Overall they’ve got some good meaty drama already unlike the half-assed-action of season 5. I would have to say this season is ALREADY better than Seasons 5 and 1.
Jack
You would think after 5 years they’d run out of new dramatic places to take his character, season 5 certainly seemed that way, but once again they’ve found a way to make Jack new and fresh. Although I found it interesting that after having not spoken a word for two years he seemed to have difficulty talking a very interesting idea, they had him shouting orders like his old self in the second hour. The nitpicker in me is bothered by it but the pragmatist realizes they can’t have Jack whispering for half the season.
Cloe
Cloe’s Cloe, what can you say? Although her crying at Jack maybe dying seemed a bit much. Did she cry when Edgar died? Hmmm, I need to get season 5 on DVD…
Wayne
Alright! You know when they revealed last season that he was a marine the very first thing I thought was “that’s a good qualification to run for president“. If he doesn’t keep office through until the end of the season I will be very upset. They seemed to under-utilize him in the first couple episodes but hopefully they can get him some serious dramatically intense scene-chewing stuff in the episodes ahead.
Bill
You gotta love Bill. He’s a non-character in the sense that there’s not much you can say to describe him except that he’s a good guy. Who thought a level-headed administrator would be so fun to watch?
Thomas
I can’t wait to see Peter Nichols get beat down. You know DB Woodside is gonna kick his ass. He has Eric Rayburn written all over him. My nickname for him is Fatty, his face is so round now, it’s almost comical.
Karen
Okay, we get it! She married Bill. I mean, the sexual tension was obvious, if a little icky, last season you don’t have to spell it out for us. And then later revisit it to really bang us over the head with it. Geez, they should know the 24 audience is smarter than that.
Morris
I was SO ready to hate this guy given his behaviour last season but he’s just so charming…
Milo
From “Milo!” to “Milo, Milo, Milo“. I was so excited to hear he was coming back this season and yes his conflict with Morris is dramatically interesting but I feel like he’s completely forgotten his character from season 1. I REALLY hope at some point he smacks someone down with “I’ve known Jack far longer than any of you” and I can’t wait to see Jack’s reaction when he sees Milo back at CTU. He’s NOT just a new character people, he’s a fan favorite.
Nadia
She seems absent a personality but isn’t as interesting as Bill. Is she a placeholder or did they realize we had really gotten sick of irritating ambitious overbearing female managers at CTU?
Sandra
Regina King’s character, Sandra Palmer, while interesting and likable, seems just like her characters from Enemy Of The State and that Chris Rock movie, Down To Earth. In fact I coulda swore her guy friend called her by her name from that movie at one point during the episode.
Curtis
Curtis is still Curtis, under utilized in the first two episodes but unlike with Wayne I have no problem with that because you KNOW he’ll be kicking ass and taking names later in the season. Besides, Jack has a new partner now…
Cheng
Call his appearance a cameo I guess. Hopefully he’ll be back for more later as I really like that actor. Maybe Jack will kill him at some point.
Fayed
Okay, seriously, why couldn’t he be related to Syed Ali from season 2? That would’ve been way better than inventing another pissed off guy from a chapter of Jack heretofore unmentioned special ops past. I mean seriously, an 8 year grudge?
Assad
Hell ya. I cannot express how happy I am that Alexander Siddig is a good guy. I loved how Siddig was all trying to pick Jack up with his “you’ll remember” comment. I was like “Bashir’s the new Jack!“. They spend the entire first hour talking about him and then boom, it’s episode 2 and he’s the new Chase. This character is fully half of why these first 2 episodes kicked so much sour frog ass. I really hope they throw some meaty drama his way. It’s too bad Wayne’s in DC, could you imagine what it would be like if these two met face-to-face? Oh man, that would be sweet. They wouldn’t just spike the ratings for the show and provide some great entertainment - they’d heal the wounds that exist in real America. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement but they could certainly address some serious emotional-political-military issues in a intelligent way. Educate, inform, and engage the masses as it were.
Amar
I haven’t even SEEN Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle and I spent the entire first episode thinking of him as Kumar. I spent the second episode thinking of him as an evil Behrooz. I think the actor has a lot of potential though, I hope they make good use of him. It would be sweet if Behrooz, now working for the government, ends up taking him down. That would be sweet.
Ray
Michael Jonas is back!!! And he stole my name. Please, please at some point make a secret transmission; come on Manny, make it happen.
Michael
Okay is this kid gay or just really good friends with Kumar, er, I mean Amar? And why did he steal Derek’s hair from last year?
Behind The Scenes
I just want to say I love Jon Cassar and if he ever leaves the show I would be greatly concerned. I was also pleased to see Manny’s still on board - he wrote episode 2. I caught it in the opening credits and then caught myself predicting dialogue in the episode. Several times I was like “it’d be cool if they said X right now” and then they’d say it.
Hit List
Who I want killed: Nadia and Michael.
Wish List
Who I want to see back: James, Mike, Chase (not gonna happen), Aaron, Behrooz, Mandy, Miles (to be killed), and Kate.
Yea Right
Who I want brought back from the dead: TONY, George, and Ryan.
More
Who I want to see more of: Assad, Wayne, Amar, Ray, and Cheng.
Tonight is the next two hours.
