24 Season 5: Episode 9 Recap(Hour 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.)

WARNING: The following post may, and probably will, contain spoilers.

Looks like more and more people are becoming aggravated that I take time to write this blog. Again, let me re-state why I do this... 24 was a good show... when it first started. Great concept. Great plot. But somewhere along the line, more and more people got turned onto 24 and that’s when the plots, writing, etc. started to slip. It’s still a fun show, don’t get me wrong, but for a show that’s supposed to be based in reality, it falls short in way too many areas to fulfill that goal. For example...

Who’s The Bad Guy Now?
In, yet again, another over-used story-line, we viewers are taken on a wild goose chase to really figure out who the bad guy is. Once again, the bad guy we’ve been following for the past four episodes (in the least), was killed and another took his place. This one talks directly to President Logan, though, so maybe he’s the top dog. But I doubt it. Any bets on how many more "bosses" we get through this season?

CTU Needs An Overhaul
This is the Counter Terrorism Unit everyone, the last line of defense between America and terrorists... that’s why there’s been five different directors of CTU in five different seasons. That’s why they’re in meetings all day long during a major crisis. That’s why there’s only five people working at computers. That’s why it only takes one person to put Jack into custody (yet another over-used story-line) and bring him in.

Can you see where I’m going with this? This is a government agency and it’s no where near proficient. Just 18 months ago, they fake an agent’s death. Now he’s back and is a rogue agent operating under his own terms. There’s a Department of Defense agent doing whatever she wants in CTU, i.e., breaking protocol. Other agents break protocol whenever and however they want. I think that’s called treason and probably wouldn’t work out so well in the real world.

Think about it, no government outfit would stay in operation if this happened in real life. Hell, the director of FEMA was fired because he was writing silly emails during the aftermath of Katrina.

One more thing, how in hell did Lynn get back into CTU when his key card was stolen by his sister’s duggie boyfriend? Nevermind, don’t question that, we’re not supposed to think.

In The News
First off, I find it very weird that the terrorists are always watching the national news. Secondly, on a day where not only one, but two, terrorist activities (the nerve gas mall incident and, remember, the hijacking of an airport) have taken place, the news figures they will cover the boring peace treaty signing. Riiiiight. In reality, we cover the VP shooting a friend rather than Bush pimping alternative energy. Let me ask you this, would there really be "live" footage of a foreign leader leaving a summit? Answer, no.

Impeach Him Already
I’m growing tired of ragging on the "weak" Presidential figure in the show. Yes, we get it, he’s not a strong President like Palmer was. In the real world, no one this weak would ever get elected. And if he did, somehow, get elected, then his wife would’ve been out the door a LONG time ago. She’s a nut job.

What’s worse, the President doesn’t use his cabinet or staff. I mean, how could he, they’re not even in California with him. He hasn’t contacted a single one in D.C. (if that’s where they are) and he seems pretty content to make US-threatening decisions with just his main advisor and the (crazy) First Lady. No way in hell this works, especially on a day where his Chief of Staff KILLS HIMSELF! There’d be some major investigations going on.

That’s just a small sampling of a much larger list of errors on the show. I won’t even get into the nitpicky stuff, like how cell phones don’t get stolen by bums from a pay phone on an old abandoned street. Or how the only people that die on the show are the ones with the most important information. Or why all terrorists have huge "databases" of information at their disposal. Or how Jack can shoot down a helicopter with a 9MM... see where I’m going?

24 could be so much better, but it has to be based more in reality – things that can really happen. Stop hanging things over our head like we’re too stupid to know what’s going on. Write a better plot, make things real.

Several people have written in and said "who cares if it’s believable?" Huh? Seriously? I wouldn’t, if Jack was supposed to be some super-hero that could fly. But that’s not the case here. This is supposed to be believable. That’s why ER (used to be) and Grey’s Anatomy are so popular, because they’re realistic. That’s why The West Wing is believable, because it’s realistic. That’s why no one cared if The X-Files was believable, because it didn’t have to be realistic. Would anybody be surprised if Jack saved someone by performing heart surgery with his tongue? No... because apparently it’s not supposed to be believable.

And for the record, I’m not jealous of the creators of this show. The creators are awesome and made a truly unique concept. If anything, I commend them for such a cool idea. I never said I could write better than them, nor do I think I could. I just want a better show, is that too much to ask for?