Jack Is Back in First 24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY Trailer

Kiefer Sutherland’s iconic Jack Bauer character returns in the reboot of 24 — now trimmed down to a lean 12 episodes — that finds international fugitive Jack trying to prevent the assassination of the U.S. president in London.

However, just like every other series of 24, no one believes Jack, and this time he’s being hunted by CIA operative Kate Morgan, played by CHUCK’s Yvonne Strahovski (last seen in the tragically disappointing DEXTER series finale).

As you can see, Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lyn Rajskub) is back, and William Devane’s James Heller has been elevated from secretary of defense (in 2007’s series) to president! Also glimpsed: Kim Raver as Audrey Raines!

24: LIVE ANOTHER DAY debuts May 5 on Fox.

Could Pompeii Be a Disaster of a Flick?

It’s certainly nowhere near as high-profile as some films due for imminent release (coughCaptainAmericasequelcough), but Paul W.S. Anderson’s upcoming Pompeii has a couple of things going for it: It’s based on an intriguing and haunting historical event, and it has a pretty terrific cast, including Kit Harington (GAME OF THRONES), Emily Browning (Sucker Punch), Kiefer Sutherland (24), Jared Harris (MAD MEN), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (LOST) and Carrie-Anne Moss (Matrix trilogy).

I’d like this movie to be a success because I’m a fan of Ms. Browning, but the rest of the cast also deserve for the project not to suck, however, looking at the trailer…

So who’s going to party like it’s AD 79 when Pompeii opens Feb. 21?

TOUCH 1.1: Pilot

Tim Kring, creator of the flash-in-the-pan phenomenon HEROES, is back with a new show about a kid who appears to exhibit extraordinary powers, and a father who just wants to connect with that son.

I didn’t know what to expect from TOUCH because the marketing campaign was so weak and muddled, but the ads depicted Kiefer Sutherland running and shouting a lot, so how far off the rails could it go? But it also looked like it was supposed to be real family story with emotion. And it has a Danny Glover cameo!

Soap Opera Weekly: 1/19/10

I don’t know what I enjoyed more about the two-night, four-hour return of 24… It could have been the way Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) started his eighth very bad day snoozing on the couch with his granddaughter, enjoying an afternoon nap just like any other grandfather.

It could have been the guest appearance by Benito Martinez (ex-Acevedo, THE SHIELD) as Jack’s old stoolie. Or the addition of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA’s erstwhile Starbuck, Katee Sackhoff, as CTU operative Dana, a vulnerable woman with a past…

Was it the familiar New York City environs? Creepy Doug Hutchison (Horace, LOST; ex-Sebastian, GUIDING LIGHT) as a Russian assassin called Davros (just like the DOCTOR WHO villain?)

Or maybe it was the fact that Anil Kapoor‘s President Omar Hassan is the good guy. And the first words we heard him say were, “Let me be clear” — as if he were a certain U.S. president.

Then it must have been the return of Annie Wersching (ex-Amelia, GENERAL HOSPITAL) as Renee, who has been scarred in more ways than one, and now resembles Jack more than either cares to admit, right?

But no, it was the way that — against all odds — 24 was able to redeem Kim (Elisha Cuthbert). Yes, Jack’s daughter, the plot device to end all plot devices, the butt of myriad jokes and the very symbol of plot inanity — was made palatable once again, when she sent her father to do what he does best, save the world. In seasons past she would have whined about him going to Los Angeles with her, and then probably run over Davros in a crosswalk and get taken hostage. But, no. She did the right thing, and let her old man do what he was clearly born to do, and what the country needs him to do.

Originally published on SoapOperaWeekly.com

Soap Opera Weekly: 1/15/10

Be sure to tune in to Fox Sunday for a double dose of adrenaline: an hour of the new series HUMAN TARGET followed by two hours of 24. (Maybe that’s a triple-shot).

Kiefer Sutherland is back for his eighth very bad day, but this time in a new town: New York. Jack is sucked into a plot to assassinate a Middle Eastern leader played by Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire). I have seen the first four hours, and I can tell you Jack is back in fine form, and lots of stuff explodes and bullets fly while bodies (and body parts) drop left and right. Focusing on protecting one man again (like the halcyon days of Season 1) actually freshens the show. We feel more connected with Kapoor’s Hassan, and let’s face it, Jack saving the entire globe for the umpteenth time can get a bit repetitive. Or… does it? (And who says the threat won’t…evolve?) Of course, this wouldn’t be 24 without a shocking twist or three. Speaking of threes, Monday’s third hour is when the action really cuts loose, building tension relentlessly into an explosive cliff-hanger. 24 premieres Sunday at a special time: 9 p.m., and then Monday’s two-fer begins at 8 o’clock.

At 8 on Sunday, leading into 24, however, is a “preview” of HUMAN TARGET, which moves to its regular time slot, Wednesdays at 8, on Jan. 20. TARGET stars Mark Valley (ex-Jack, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-John, FRINGE) as a daredevil bodyguard. Look for BATTLESTAR GALACTICA’s Tricia Helfer (ex-Six) as Stephanie, his client.

Originally published on SoapOperaWeekly.com

24 Day 8: 12 a.m.-1 a.m.

Dana...or is it Jenny?

Now that Jenny’s trashy ex has been perforated by his partner-in-crime, Nick (who was in turn aerated by Cole), can 24 please get back to the matter at hand – those missing uranium fuel rods?

Dana’s out-of-office domestic intrigue detour has been a terrible drag on the excitement of Day 8. In a lot of ways this season has been a return to form for Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) as well as 24 itself. Unfortunately the back-to-basics approach seems have been a warts-and-all transformation, meaning the dull, credibility-stretching subplots are back (Remember Chloe and the baby? Zzzzz…). Has anyone ever labored in an office where the co-workers so worried about one another’s business? Whenever Arlo (John Boyd) wasn’t sexually harassing Dana, he was demanding to know who was talking to on the phone. I know these people are engaged in counterintelligence, but that kind of snooping beggars the imagination.

And viewers have already been asked to suspend their disbelief to accept one of the central premises of the refurbished CTU: Freddie Prinze Jr. as the lead field agent for an anti-terror organization. Now, Prinze may be a pleasant-enough comic actor, but he looks 14 years old. No way is this kid the go-to guy with Jack out of the picture. Cole Ortiz isn’t even Curtis.

Understand, I am a huge fan of Katee Sackhoff (Jenny/Dana), but this storyline has been a giant disappointment for her. She has had absolutely no opportunity to show viewers the charismatic brilliance she displayed as Battlestar Galactica’s Kara “Starbuck” Thrace. Heck, even her gig on the Bionic Woman reboot gave her more chances to shine. As Kara, Sackhoff was magnetic; as Dana, she is passive and reactive. I can understand Sackhoff wanting to show some range, but I really have little interest in seeing CTU’s crack data analyst crack like an eggshell when that loser Kevin showed his squirrely face. I hope the-powers-that-be give Jenny a chance to return to form as Dana and really contribute to the story.

Perhaps she can save us all from the annoyingly nosy Arlo!

24: I’ll Take That Pardon in Writing…

24

So there was 24 breaking out one of its all-time classic tropes, the letter of immunity from the president, last night. By now, fans can see it coming. As soon as Sergei Bazhaev (Jurgen Prochnow) said he would cooperate, I knew he would ask for full immunity. In writing. At least by now Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) knows to tell the president ahead of time, “He’s gonna want that in writing.” I am sure that the Justice Department in the 24 universe now has a form handy for just such a circumstance. They probably call it a “Bauer.” The night’s best laugh line came when Jack handed Bazhaev the cell and said, “The president of the United States wants to talk to you.”

It was fun watching Jack get tortured by that Russian thug. “Fun?” you say? Yes, fun, because the sequence so perfectly aped a similar scene in the movie Lethal Weapon (1987). You may recall that a character called Mr. Endo tortured Riggs (Mel Gibson) with a car battery while he was suspended from a pipe. Riggs ended up strangling Endo (Al Leong, also recognizable in a similar role in 1988’s Die Hard) with his legs while still dangling from the pipe. Here, Jack turned the electricity against the Russian, and then freed himself from the pipe in time to choke out the thug – but Jack’s hands and his feet were tied the whole time. Take that, Mel Gibson. Who’s a lethal weapon now? Jack is a living weapon. And bravo to Sutherland for doing a lot of that pipe stuntwork himself. (Or else that was damn clever camerawork.)