24 Faithful Podcast: in partnership with the TVShow Time app

Season 5 is hand-down our favorite season (almost flawless), and we've covered a lot about it over the past 4 episodes. Today, we go into some pieces that we didn't get a chance to before.

Some of the specific highlights:

• The end of Bierko and Henderson
• Homeland Security takeover
• Martha Logan

Share your own feedback by mailing joshua@podcastguymedia.com or going to https://24faithful.com

As Jack and friends discover that Logan has been behind the day's events, they track down a recording that proves Logan's involvement. When things don't go as planned, Jack comes up with (another) insane plan - to kidnap the President and force a confession.

• The recording
• Flight 520
• Logan’s cabal
• Taking down Logan
• Jack captured

This second half of season 5 is filled with insane ideas from Jack - unfortunately because he/they are put into insane circumstances. The insane circumstance that we left off with last week was the nerve gas attack on CTU, which led to the death of many CTU agents, including Edgar. It also led to Jack and several others getting locked in a few air-tight rooms. The new problem is that the nerve gas was laced with an acid that was deteriorating the seals of these safe rooms.

As we move into the second set of episodes in this season, we see the tensions growing and the conspiracy starting to grow. We also see the release of the Sentox nerve gas twice - at a local mall and in CTU.

Specifically, we talk about:

• Erwich's betrayal
• Lynn's mental breakdown
• Suvarov ambush
• And Peter Weller as Christopher Henderson
• Attack on CTU

He disappeared to protect his secret

He changed his name and started a new life

He thought he was safe

Then Day 5 began

Day 5 begins at 7:00am PT (10:00am ET), taking place 18 months after Day 4 and 7 years and 6 months after Day 1.

Main Plot Points Discussed:

• The defining premiere
• Airport attack
• Jack's return to civilization
• New season, new Logan?
• The Cummings Conspiracy

As we look at season 4 as a whole, our general consensus was that it was not quite as good as we remembered, falling to the middle-of-the-pack of all 24 seasons.

We discuss how the invasion of the Chinese consulate impacts the future seasons and how a single series of events can cause such a ripple-effect.

We also talk about the relationship between Jack and Audrey, Mandy, and Logan.

Marwan shot down Air Force One and has stolen the nuclear football, which he uses to find a nuclear warhead. It’s mounted onto a missile and aimed for Los Angeles. New President Charles Logan orders Jack’s arrest for torturing Joe Prado, only for that to cause Marwan to slip away, leading Logan to call on ex-President David Palmer to help him through the crisis. Palmer’s first act is to authorise an assault on the Chinese consulate to get Lee Jong, a man connected with Marwan. But during Jack’s assault, the consul is killed and Lee is shot, and at CTU there is only one doctor to treat either Lee or Paul Raines: Jack chooses Lee, and Paul dies. CTU are led to Mandy, who kills Lee Castle and takes Tony hostage, looking to utilise Michelle’s position to help her escape. Mandy fakes their death but Jack saves Tony and captures Mandy, taking down Marwan with her information. Logan agrees to turn Jack to the Chinese but Walt Cummings wants him killed, a fact which Logan ignores and Palmer warns Jack of, leading him to fake his own death with the help of Tony, Michelle and Chloe - and stride off into the sunset. Jack Bauer is dead.

Jack and co., through the takedown of Henry Powell and Dina and Behrooz Araz, found the trail of Habib Marwan, the man in control of the Dobson Override. Jack and Curtis managed to stop the meltdown of five power plants, although one did meltdown at San Gabriel Island. We learn that Marwan worked for McLennen-Forster under the alias Harris Barnes, but as Jack and Paul search their computer files, they detonate an EMP to cover their involvement. The pair manage to escape but as they’re rescued by CTU, Paul is shot twice and has to undergo surgery, which is successful but he remains critical. Jack goes undercover with Dina to find Marwan, but he sets up CTU, kills Dina and takes Jack, offering him in a trade for Behrooz to cover a missing person’s report of a military pilot. Mitch Anderson is impersonating the pilot to steal a stealth fighter and shoot down Air Force One, which he succeeds with, and Charles Logan is elevated to President through the 25th Amendment. His first issue is Marwan’s partial theft of the nuclear football, and of a nuclear warhead

So, in the first part of Season 4, Jack is now working for the Secretary of Defense, James Heller, and is dating his daughter, Audrey. Heller and Audrey are kidnapped at the end of episode 1 and then Jack rescues them less than 5 hours later. Of course, Driscoll didn’t want to work with Jack at first and resisted his attempts.

While everyone thought that the purpose of Heller’s kidnapping was to humiliate him and the country through a forced confession and execution, it turns out the whole thing was a diversion from the real purpose - Marwan using an override device to access the network of nuclear power plants across the country.

Jack Bauer is out of CTU: he’s got a job working for Secretary of Defense Heller and is in a serious relationship with his daughter, Audrey. But as terrorists begin attacking the United States with a train bombing and the kidnapping of Heller and Audrey, Jack is dragged back into action, tasked by new CTU director Erin Driscoll with saving them. 

Season 3 is near the top of our favorite seasons of 24, mostly for the second half of the season. It's also (probably) one of the worst days for Jack as well as the nail in the coffin for David Palmer's presidency.

• Overall thoughts on season 3

• • I underestimated 3A from memory, it’s a mix of the slow-burn nature of season 2 and the big moment-centric approach of seasons 4/5 but it really works
  • 3B is just immense, relentlessly thrilling and edge-of-your-seat stuff
  • There are a lot of threads early on: Kyle Singer, Tony being shot, the Gael stuff, Jack’s heroin addiction, Kim/Chase, Ramon in prison/breaking out, Hector and Claudia
  • • By the time we get to, say, 5am, there are very few: outbreak at the Chandler Plaza, Saunders’ demands of Palmer, CTU’s quest to stop Saunders. Then occasionally threads appear: 
    • • Odd reappearance of Kim/Chase, the Alan Milliken stuff resurfaces, Adam’s sister etc
  • I love season 3 for bringing us a great team with Jack, Tony, Michelle, and Chloe

• Jack’s worst day

• • Fairly confident in saying that more terrible things happen to Jack in season 3 than in any other season:
  • • Heroin addiction, almost dies in Russian roulette, briefly becomes a fugitive, has to pull the trigger on Chase to prove his loyalty, has to work with Nina, watched both Salazars die, almost killed at MI6, forced to kill his boss, threatens to sentence an innocent 19yo not unlike his daughter to death, chops off Chase’s hand
  • We talked briefly about it but I really love the end scene of season 3, it’s so rare that we get an insight into Jack’s emotions beyond anger, and at the end of such an exhausting season both for him and for us, I think it’s essential to see it
  • I also think that Jack’s breakdown gives the viewer an excuse to feel similarly, so many horrific things have happened today away from Jack (Ted Packard’s suicide, Alan Milliken, Chandler Plaza, Sherry/Julia) that the short epilogue finally gives us a chance to actually breathe for the first time in a while
  •  

• CTU’s newbies

• • Chloe: 
  • • If you were new and finished season 3, and someone told you she’d be a mainstay of the next 5 seasons, you’d probably question whether you want to continue watching
    • They well establish her talent and overemphasise her quirks and it doesn’t work in her favour
    • I don’t like Chloe if we are looking at just season 3 by itself; but I do love her in this because I know where her character goes from here
    • She is immensely loyal when she believes something/someone is right
    •  
  • Adam:
  • • Zachary Quinto is underused, and as a result I’m not wholly sold on Adam’s character
    • He’s almost a bit Carrie just slightly less hard-up, and more willing to accept help/that he can be wrong
    • Zachary Quinto also plays the serial killer, Sylar, on Heroes, so I sometimes see that when I watch him :)
  • Chase:
  • • Jack lite, but more committed to not being detached
    • I like the relationships he’s got with everyone from the outset, Kim romance is workable, nicely acquainted with Chloe (they worked together at CTU Washington), he clearly has some respect from Jack for feeling confident enough to challenge him as and when required
    • They got rid of him too soon, but two issues with keeping him: season 4 became an almost total reset in characters, set, style, everything, and only Jack and Chloe transfer over to begin with; he’s too similar to Jack, would steal focus and turn it into a more duo-led show, which I don’t think works
    • I think they could have used Chase in special situations in future seasons - i.e. maybe Chase could be a contact during a mission

• David Palmer’s compromised morality

• • David’s morality goes out the window here: he agrees to pay off Ted, brings in Sherry to do his dirty work, covers up a murder - all for his own gain, and he’d disguise it as “my re-election is best for the country, therefore I’m doing it for the country” but that doesn’t fly
  • Killing Chappelle but not exposing the spies list is an odd line to draw
  • David clearly realises at the end that the events of season 3 have exhausted him, but it’s also clearly the best thing for his character who falls down a very slippery path the longer this season goes on
  • This season was David Palmer at his worst

As Steven Saunders increases his control over President Palmer and the country, Jack and CTU make strides toward identifying Steven Saunders weakness. We also see Tony crossing the line in an effort to save Michelle. Ultimately, we see Jack getting the upper hand (no intended slight to Chase) and CTU tracking down the remaining vials of the virus. Unfortunately, even though Palmer gains control over Saunders, the final nail is driven into his political coffin.

Main talking points:

• Jane Saunders sting
• Tony commits treason
• Taking down Rabens and saving the day
• Julia's murder-suicide

We pick up with Jack and Chase arresting Nina to bring her back to LA. She unleashes a computer worm on CTU which Chloe manages to stop, and while being questioned Nina manages to escape, only to be shot and killed by Jack. Stephen Saunders, one of Jack’s team on Operation Nightfall, is revealed as the true buyer of the virus, and has Marcus Alvers release a vial in the Chandler Plaza hotel, causing 800+ people including Gael and Michelle to become exposed. Saunders makes demands of President Palmer, just moments after he lies to the police to cover Sherry’s involvement in Alan Milliken’s death - the last demand being the murder of Ryan Chappelle.

Main talking points:

• Nice knowing ya, Nina
• Enter Stephen Saunders: master criminal
• Attack on the Chandler Plaza
• Saunders' demands and Ryan's death
• Death #2 related to the Palmer administration

Last week, we started season 3, where Jack, Tony, and Gael fabricated a story that a virus is going to be spread through Kyle Singer. The whole point of the story was to facilitate Jack breaking Ramon Salazar out of prison so he could gain their trust and lead Jack and CTU to the real virus threat. Now, during the first six episodes, it wasn’t revealed that it was all manufactured, but it seemed legit. As we get into episodes 7 and 8, Tony comes out of the hospital and is forced to reveal the plot of the undercover mission.

This time, another day begins for Jack Bauer as bioterrorists are attempting to release viral capsules into Los Angeles and eventually throughout the United States. President Palmer must deal with a scandal as he seeks re-election against a Republican senator, John Keeler. Jack is again thrust into action as he tries to tie Ramon Salazar to the viral threat; however, presumed-dead Operation Nightfall operative Stephen Saunders turns out to be the mastermind behind the release of the Cordilla virus.

Season 3 takes place:

• 3 years after Season 2
• 4 years 6 months after Season 1
• 6 years 6 months after Operation: Nightfall (this will be important later)

Talking points:

• Jack's heroin habit
• Kyle Singer and the hunt for the virus
• Ramon’s prison break
• Keeler’s accusations against Anne/David

Season 2 starts fairly flimsily and picks up hugely after Nina is brought into CTU, and especially from the moment Kate is kidnapped

As aforementioned, there is a relentless tension which fills this season like a building smog, and it’s glorious

Season 2 also contains 24’s best episode (episode 15, in Bradley's opinion).

• The Game/Max

  • Love the first-person shooter stuff, similarly sniper missions
  • Puzzle solving is solid but really repetitive and not that hard
  • Interrogations are alright, weirdly I really struggled when I played recently having always done them fairly easily
  • The driving missions are shocking
  • He targeted Prescott, who survived an assassination attempt by Peter Madsen’s men
  • Madsen kidnapped Kate and Max used her to blackmail Bob into helping him smuggle nuclear weapons out of the country
  • He’s a German arms dealer with ties to the Middle East. The US government caught onto him, his deals with the Middle East fell through, and his contacts there forced Max to watch his children be executed, for which he blames the US hence the attacks
  • Gameplay:
  • Annoyingly the story isn’t the most coherent and often missions exist simply to exist (Bringing In Lee Jin Yu, who is actually a terrorist with Peter Madsen, where you’re chased and there’s a van that shoots at you, with the aim of destroying your car to kill you. Even though they need Joseph Sin-Chung to be at CTU)
  • Max:

• David Palmer’s presidency

  • Hell of a thing for David to deal with in our first in-office sighting of him, and within the first 10 months of his presidency
  • I like that David remains true to his principles throughout, even when all non-fourth wall breaking logic suggests he should change his mind (e.g. we know Cyprus is fake, but David’s faith in Jack is *mental* given all the confirmations)
  • Not keen on him having accepted Sherry back into things, even briefly, though I am intrigued by the moments 12-3am where he looks incompetent and like he’s just appeasing his highest-ranking staff with his decision-making
  • David’s character and control is great, even when experiencing the pressure from everyone around him.

• What to do with Kim?

  • On an emotional level, Jack’s concern for getting her out of LA is fine, and the various tearful interactions between them work nicely
  • A bonkers plot involving an abusive father, technical kidnapping, assault, murder suspect, intentionally causing a car accident, coyote, creepy cabin dudes, store robber - it just doesn’t work, beyond the occasional high of Kim being responsible and mature beyond her age
  • Kim episodes 1-14 and 16-17 are infinitely worse than anything involving Teri in season 1
  • Kim’s existence made sense in season 1 when she could be the target of the Drazens’ revenge plot, but I don’t feel like she has any use this season
  • I do really like her killing Gary and the aftermath of that, but everything else…
  • Kim’s storyline was largely unnecessary - could have done with just highlights

• Jack’s journey

  • Starts the day willing to (and seemingly willing himself to) die, ends the day willing to die (and having died) in the line of duty - which feels like we’re back to season 1 and general 24 Jack
  • I feel like Jack’s depression could’ve been touched on more, it was prominent early on and popped back up when Nina took him hostage, but otherwise disappeared up until he flew the plane
  • I think that, while Jack is battling depression, his reuniting with Kim and the events of the day have shown him that he still has purpose and can do good

AOB

• Favorite quotes (unless aforementioned)

• • “You still have a life, Jack. You wanna be a real hero? Here's what you do. You get back down there and you put the pieces together. You find a way to forgive yourself for what happened to your wife. You make things right with your daughter, and you go on serving your country. That'd take some real guts.” - George Mason to Jack

As Jack races to beat the clock to find proof that the Cyprus recording was forged, there is shifting power struggles at CTU and unrest amongst President Palmer's cabinet and staff.

• The Trial of David Palmer
• Jack tortured for the chip
• Tony and Michelle work against Chappelle
• Jack and Sherry work together v Peter Kingsley
• Palmer's assassination attempt
• Kim kills Gary Matheson

The tension continues to grow Jack and CTU tracks down the nuclear bomb and then the focus shifts as a new lead comes into play.

• Jack and Kate v Marie
• Mason leaves
• Jack on the plane (include Kim call and Mason chat; essentially this is just 10-11pm in general) - THE GREATEST EPISODE OF 24
• Jack v Tony
• Rip Syed Ali, we hardly knew ya
• Wallace has evidence disproving Cyprus
• David’s doubt over the military response
• Bye, Sherry
• Kim and the robbery

After a somewhat shaky first 6 episodes of season 2, this next 6 gets things into a nice gear.

While the scenes with Kim are lack-luster, things get heated and emotional between Jack, Nina, and President Palmer as an impossible decision is made.

Key plot points we cover:

• Jack and Nina go after Mamud Faheen
• Coral Snake crew attack and Nina has Jack hostage
• Jack rescues Kate
• Syed Ali interrogation
• Mason’s health decline
• Warner drama (Bob’s CIA! Marie’s a terrorist!)
• David’s Roger Stanton issue
• Lynne v Sherry
• Kim

Season 2 takes place 18 months after Season 1.

Jack leaves CTU and isolates himself, so George Mason becomes the Director of CTU LA, awaiting his pending position in Washington, DC.

Kim leaves and recently becomes a live-in nanny for the Mathison's.

David Palmer has won the election and is now President.

It has been discovered that a terrorist group has a nuclear bomb and is planning to detonate it in LA. The terrorist group is Second Wave and there was one federal agent that had previously worked undercover to bring down the group - Jack Bauer.

Jack the recluse is brought back in

Jack undercover with Wald’s crew

Jack vs Nina

Mason the dying coward (includes killing Paula)

Kate and Tony investigates Reza

Kim takes Megan from Gary and is set up for kidnapping

David is betrayed by Eric Rayburn

Sherry’s back

Josh, Bradley, and Joel cover the last episode of season 1 and went back and reviewed other pieces of season 1 that we missed before.

Check out the episode on the website

And, if you have any feedback of your own, we'd love to hear it! Next week (we record on Tuesdays) we'll be starting Season 2!

Josh, Bradley, and Joel discuss and review 24 Season 1, episode 20-24.

Check out the website (and read our fan-fiction novel, 24: Countdown)

Josh, Bradley, and Joel discuss and review 24 Season 1, episode 14-19.

Josh, Bradley, and Joel discuss and review 24 Season 1, episode 8-13.

Josh, Bradley, and Joel discuss their review of the first 8 episodes of 24 season 1.

We are back!

After hearing back from some listeners, we have decided to bring the podcast back and start reviewing and recapping the past seasons of 24.

• Introduction of the hosts
• What we plan on doing with the podcast
• Favorites/rankings
• Feedback from listeners via email
• Next time...Season 1, episodes 1-8

A month after the end of 24: Legacy Season 1, we come back together to review the entire season and give our thoughts about the future of 24.

This season is 2/3 of the way done, but it's still ramping up! We discuss this 8th episode.

Josh, Mark, Joel, and Bradley come back again to discuss the first episode of 24: Legacy!

We continue to talk about the setup of the new series, comparisons and hat-tips back to the original series, and the political issues mentioned in the show. The feud between Mark and Joel continues and Bradley continues his [fake] travel around the world.

Check out our website (http://24faithful.com) for our original 24 fan fiction novel, 24: Countdown!

Josh, Mark, Joel, and Bradley come back to discuss the first episode of 24: Legacy!

We talk about the setup of the new series, comparisons and hat-tips back to the original series, and the political issues mentioned in the show. All enveloped with quirky banter and the start of a feud between Mark and Joel.

Check out our website (http://24faithful.com) for our original 24 fan fiction novel, 24: Countdown!

24 Legacy: Manny and Evan

Welcome to 24 Faithful, the unofficial podcast for Fox’s show 24. My name is Joshua Rivers and I am your host. In the last episode, Mark Sieverkropp and Bradley Adams joined me to discuss some things about the upcoming 24: Legacy season. We are less than a week from this airing, and we will be back next week to cover the first two episodes, so make sure to stay tuned and be ready to share your thoughts and reactions as well.

In the last episode of the podcast, we also mentioned a new partner, TVShow Time from Whipclips. It’s an awesome app that does several things. First of all, you find the shows that you are currently watching, or even shows that you have already watched. You can mark the episodes and seasons that you have seen. Then you can also get involved in some discussions with others that love the show as well. They are starting to integrate certain podcasts into the app as well, and that’s where we come in! Be sure to check out the TVShow Time app and join the discussion there. You can go to 24faithful.com/tvshowtime.

Another awesome part of this partnership is that Whipclips has connections to the TV show networks. As a result, they can get exclusive interviews with the showrunners and other crew members. Today we are sharing one such interview. They were able to interview Manny Coto and Evan Katz. They are both producers and writers for the show and share some personal insights about the show’s past and future.

We are back!

And we are improved!

For the return of 24 in 24: Legacy, the podcast is coming back full strength with lots of goodies! Not only is Josh Rivers and Mark Sieverkropp back to host the show, they are joined by Cody Adams and Joel Wood on a round-table format to discuss the various details of the show.

In this episode, Josh, Mark, and Cody come together to share some thoughts prior to the airing of the first episode of 24: Legacy.

Make sure to subscribe and be ready to connect further as a new partnership with TVShow Time begins and a Facebook group is created!

Today, we have author Dayton Ward with us to discuss the recent 24 novel, 24: Trial By Fire.

Before becoming a full-time author, Dayton was a marine and a computer programmer. He is a huge fan of Star Trek and has written several books in that world.

He is has also been a huge fan of 24 since the first episode aired live! He not only watched the episodes live, but he would get the DVD sets and binge watch them again!

Find out more about Dayton on his website: http://www.daytonward.com/