24 Season 8 Premiere!! Jan. 17th

[Brent]

NOTE TO ANYONE INTERESTED:

FOX will reair the ENTIRE 5th season Fridays at 8pm ET/PT(two episodes back-to-back) starting tonight with the season premiere.

[lurkey]

Peter MacNicol Joins "24"
If only Jack Bauer had as many hours in the day as he has new castmates. The Washington Post says that Emmy-winning actor Peter MacNicol will be the latest addition to the cast roster when "24" premieres next year.

The actor won an Emmy in 2001 for his work on "Ally McBeal." You might also recognize him as that weird little guy that was obsessed with Sigourney Weaver in "Ghostbusters II."

MacNicol is currently a cast member on the CBS series "Numb3rs." He will continue his role on that show, which makes me think he is not long for the world of Jack Bauer. We shall see.

The sixth season of "24" is scheduled to kick off with a 2-hour premiere on January 14, 2007 on Fox. For more "24" news and reviews, check out 24 Fodder. -- Rachel Cericola


24: Season 6 Casting Info

Alright folks, hope you are ready for the bits of news that will slowly be leaking its way out of the production of Season 6 of 24 ... let's get rolling!

After word that the creepy guy from Ghostbusters 2, Peter MacNicol, would be joining the cast, we now know that Regina King, best known for her roles in Jerry Maguire and Ray, will be joining the cast as a "powerful advocacy lawyer" who also happens to be the sister of David and Wayne Palmer!

(I'll stay off of my soapbox and refrain from mentioning how a Palmer sister has never been mentioned before ... oops, I said it.)

Don't worry, though, we won't be treated to only one Palmer this season, as word is also out that Wayne Palmer will be back in action ... but as the president. Nice.

And the Palmers live on. -- Jason Unger
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[bob rulz]

Wayne Palmer as president? Sorry, but he's not nearly as cool as David was.

[lurkey]

Wayne Palmer as president? Sorry, but he's not nearly as cool as David was.

I check another spoiler source and yes that's the rumor. They are scratching their heads about it too. It doesn't make sense. In other casting news, Jean Smart and Greg Itzin will be back. .

[lurkey]

Season 6 premiere of 24 will be available for purchase on Tuesday, January 16th. The season premiere is on January 14th and 15th. Also, there are rumors that the premiere (Episodes 1-4) has already been leaked on the 'net.

[southerngale]

Whoa, seriously? hmmm....I'm dying to see it, but not sure I want to watch it on my computer as opposed to my big ol TV. But I'm not known for my patience...hehe...do you know where one might find those rumors?

[Ptarmigan]

Season 6 premiere of 24 will be available for purchase on Tuesday, January 16th. The season premiere is on January 14th and 15th. Also, there are rumors that the premiere (Episodes 1-4) has already been leaked on the 'net.

I look forward to the season premiere.

[southerngale]

Great article about 24 by Stephen King. Warning: it will make you wish the season premier was tonight!

WORK RELEASE PROGRAM
As 24 resumes, Jack emerges from 20 months in a Chinese prison
Photo Credit: 24: Kelsey McNeal


The Pop of King

'24': So Good It's Scary
Even longtime viewers will be spooked by the new season's surprisingly real take on terrorism

By Stephen King

Most viewers of 24 will want to know one thing above all others: Is the upcoming season of Fox's groundbreaking experiment in serial TV (father of Lost, grandpappy of Heroes and Jericho) as good as last year? Let me put it to you this way: There are more thrills and suspense in the first four hours than most series can pack into a single season. Or an entire run of show, for that matter. I got those four episodes from EW Central Command and planned to dole them out over the course of maybe a week. Instead I ended up watching all of them that same night. Day 6 (at least so far) is like a book you can't put down...even though there are times when you may want to.

The reason is simple enough. This time the story spun out by Joel Surnow, Howard Gordon, and their co-conspirators seems, if not real, then dismayingly possible. Season 5, distinguished by Gregory Itzin as President Slimeball (and let's not forget Jean Smart as his long-suffering, screw-loosey wife), was almost extinguished by the creaking plot. Sentox? Really? It doesn't sound like nerve gas; it sounds like something you buy at the drugstore to combat athlete's foot or hide those embarrassing facial blemishes.

This time the threat — and no, I'm not going to tell you what it is — seems too plausible. When I got to the shocker that ends episode 4, I could understand Jack Bauer's expression of disbelief; it's a perfectly human reaction to what has just happened. And yet at the same time I'm sitting in my office chair and thinking, This could really happen. And at some point, it probably will. I suppose my reaction was intensified by having just finished Nelson DeMille's excellent novel Wild Fire, which deals with a similar scenario, but mostly it was that clear and persuasive sense of plausibility. 24 doesn't always achieve that, but when it does, it's the best thing on TV. Really, no one does the old ''We're surrounded by enemies!'' bit better than Fox. Bill O'Reilly's going to love this baby.

24 is a perfect example of why some serial TV works and some doesn't. The audience will come along for the ride, but it requires certain things as a quid pro quo. One is an element of believability (which ABC's Invasion never supplied). Another is what producers sometimes call ''a clear through-line.'' What this high-toned bit of jargon actually means is simplicity (NBC's Kidnapped threw that out in the first five minutes of its abortive run). Another is a high emotional temperature (which ABC's The Nine managed for exactly one week before lapsing into soap opera torpidity). Continuing stories have to run hot. How 24 has managed this kind of heat for six seasons is beyond me.

Last — and here's the genius part — continuing series must provide some degree of closure; the audience must feel they are getting somewhere. One of the reasons Lost may have suffered in the ratings this season (although suffering in TV is relative, and many struggling shows would kill to have Lost's ratings) is because it somehow misplaced that sense of things rushing toward some sort of conclusion. Even Fox's Prison Break (a column on this wonderful and hilarious show is forthcoming) provides that sense of closure; at the end of the first season, the main characters broke out of prison (well, duh). Now that the actual prison break's over, season 2 should be titled Show Me the Money.

I would argue that 24 is a genuine New Thing Under the Sun, not really a serial at all, but the world's first überseries. Each season is, in effect, a 24-week ''episode'' in the adventures of Jack Bauer...and while we're on the subject of Jack, let's not forget Kiefer Sutherland, who is now probably the best male actor on TV (although young Mr. Skeet Ulrich from Jericho is a comer).

24 also remains fresh, I think, because it is regularly watered by the blood of supporting characters — the sort who used to be considered eternal. This grisly but effective ritual began with the murder of Jack's wife, Teri Bauer (Leslie Hope), in season 1 and reached its apogee last year, when writers and producers knocked off lovable teddy bear Edgar Stiles (Louis Lombardi). And just when you thought there was no one else worth mourning...along comes another of these shockers this year.

Is 24 my idea of perfection in long-form TV? Indeed not. Just the most successful so far. That doesn't protect it from the occasional loopy plot twist (Kim Bauer and the cougar, case closed), the rather more frequent detour into the TV equivalent of Disney World (I couldn't believe who's president this time), or the sense — it usually sets in between episodes 16 and 20 — that the writers are stretching their material until it's almost thin enough to read a newspaper through. There's also a queasily gleeful subtext to 24 that suggests, ''If things are this bad, why, I guess we can torture anybody we want! In fact, we have an obligation to torture in order to protect the country! Hooray!'' Yet Jack Bauer's face — increasingly lined, increasingly haggard — suggests that extreme measures eventually catch up with the human soul.

One note to 24 writers and producers: Mary Lynn Rajskub (sulky as ever, but looking remarkably pretty this year) is still one of the best things about the show. So let me close by doing my best John Wayne imitation: ''If ya hurt the little lady, you're gonna answer to me.''

And I mean it.

Posted Jan 04, 2007 | Published in issue #915 Jan 05, 2007

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20006667,00.html

[lurkey]

If the 1st episode is any indication of how good the season will be, I can't wait for the rest of the season. I haven't seen Episodes 2-4 yet, but I can't wait to see the end of Episode 4 on Wednesday to see what Stephen King meant.

Note: For anyone confused, the rumors are true (see my post above). I plan on watching them this week and again on Sunday, Jan 14th and Monday, Jan 15th.

[Ptarmigan]

Great article about 24 by Stephen King. Warning: it will make you wish the season premier was tonight!

WORK RELEASE PROGRAM
As 24 resumes, Jack emerges from 20 months in a Chinese prison
Photo Credit: 24: Kelsey McNeal


The Pop of King

'24': So Good It's Scary
Even longtime viewers will be spooked by the new season's surprisingly real take on terrorism

By Stephen King

Most viewers of 24 will want to know one thing above all others: Is the upcoming season of Fox's groundbreaking experiment in serial TV (father of Lost, grandpappy of Heroes and Jericho) as good as last year? Let me put it to you this way: There are more thrills and suspense in the first four hours than most series can pack into a single season. Or an entire run of show, for that matter. I got those four episodes from EW Central Command and planned to dole them out over the course of maybe a week. Instead I ended up watching all of them that same night. Day 6 (at least so far) is like a book you can't put down...even though there are times when you may want to.

The reason is simple enough. This time the story spun out by Joel Surnow, Howard Gordon, and their co-conspirators seems, if not real, then dismayingly possible. Season 5, distinguished by Gregory Itzin as President Slimeball (and let's not forget Jean Smart as his long-suffering, screw-loosey wife), was almost extinguished by the creaking plot. Sentox? Really? It doesn't sound like nerve gas; it sounds like something you buy at the drugstore to combat athlete's foot or hide those embarrassing facial blemishes.

This time the threat — and no, I'm not going to tell you what it is — seems too plausible. When I got to the shocker that ends episode 4, I could understand Jack Bauer's expression of disbelief; it's a perfectly human reaction to what has just happened. And yet at the same time I'm sitting in my office chair and thinking, This could really happen. And at some point, it probably will. I suppose my reaction was intensified by having just finished Nelson DeMille's excellent novel Wild Fire, which deals with a similar scenario, but mostly it was that clear and persuasive sense of plausibility. 24 doesn't always achieve that, but when it does, it's the best thing on TV. Really, no one does the old ''We're surrounded by enemies!'' bit better than Fox. Bill O'Reilly's going to love this baby.

24 is a perfect example of why some serial TV works and some doesn't. The audience will come along for the ride, but it requires certain things as a quid pro quo. One is an element of believability (which ABC's Invasion never supplied). Another is what producers sometimes call ''a clear through-line.'' What this high-toned bit of jargon actually means is simplicity (NBC's Kidnapped threw that out in the first five minutes of its abortive run). Another is a high emotional temperature (which ABC's The Nine managed for exactly one week before lapsing into soap opera torpidity). Continuing stories have to run hot. How 24 has managed this kind of heat for six seasons is beyond me.

Last — and here's the genius part — continuing series must provide some degree of closure; the audience must feel they are getting somewhere. One of the reasons Lost may have suffered in the ratings this season (although suffering in TV is relative, and many struggling shows would kill to have Lost's ratings) is because it somehow misplaced that sense of things rushing toward some sort of conclusion. Even Fox's Prison Break (a column on this wonderful and hilarious show is forthcoming) provides that sense of closure; at the end of the first season, the main characters broke out of prison (well, duh). Now that the actual prison break's over, season 2 should be titled Show Me the Money.

I would argue that 24 is a genuine New Thing Under the Sun, not really a serial at all, but the world's first überseries. Each season is, in effect, a 24-week ''episode'' in the adventures of Jack Bauer...and while we're on the subject of Jack, let's not forget Kiefer Sutherland, who is now probably the best male actor on TV (although young Mr. Skeet Ulrich from Jericho is a comer).

24 also remains fresh, I think, because it is regularly watered by the blood of supporting characters — the sort who used to be considered eternal. This grisly but effective ritual began with the murder of Jack's wife, Teri Bauer (Leslie Hope), in season 1 and reached its apogee last year, when writers and producers knocked off lovable teddy bear Edgar Stiles (Louis Lombardi). And just when you thought there was no one else worth mourning...along comes another of these shockers this year.

Is 24 my idea of perfection in long-form TV? Indeed not. Just the most successful so far. That doesn't protect it from the occasional loopy plot twist (Kim Bauer and the cougar, case closed), the rather more frequent detour into the TV equivalent of Disney World (I couldn't believe who's president this time), or the sense — it usually sets in between episodes 16 and 20 — that the writers are stretching their material until it's almost thin enough to read a newspaper through. There's also a queasily gleeful subtext to 24 that suggests, ''If things are this bad, why, I guess we can torture anybody we want! In fact, we have an obligation to torture in order to protect the country! Hooray!'' Yet Jack Bauer's face — increasingly lined, increasingly haggard — suggests that extreme measures eventually catch up with the human soul.

One note to 24 writers and producers: Mary Lynn Rajskub (sulky as ever, but looking remarkably pretty this year) is still one of the best things about the show. So let me close by doing my best John Wayne imitation: ''If ya hurt the little lady, you're gonna answer to me.''

And I mean it.

Posted Jan 04, 2007 | Published in issue #915 Jan 05, 2007

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20006667,00.html

Now, I want to see 24. The excitement builds up.

[lurkey]

Reminder: 24 starts tonight @ 8:00 pm.


It's a good start to the season

[Brent]

I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to watch Desperate Housewives, The Apprentice, and 24 all at 9pm tonight. YAY for timeslot conflicts...

Otherwise, except for that hour, I'm in though.

[lurkey]

I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to watch Desperate Housewives, The Apprentice, and 24 all at 9pm tonight. YAY for timeslot conflicts...

Otherwise, except for that hour, I'm in though.

If it helps: Desperate Housewives will be available online at http://www.abc.com on Monday. I don't know about The Apprentice. The DVD of the first four episodes of 24 will be available for purchase on Tuesday.

[Brent]

I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to watch Desperate Housewives, The Apprentice, and 24 all at 9pm tonight. YAY for timeslot conflicts...

Otherwise, except for that hour, I'm in though.

If it helps: Desperate Housewives will be available online at http://www.abc.com on Monday. I don't know about The Apprentice. The DVD of the first four episodes of 24 will be available for purchase on Tuesday.

I can catch The Apprentice on CNBC tomorrow, but I'm still struggling with DH and 24. I may just record DH and try to watch 24 live. Fortunately, I don't have to get up early tomorrow for college.

[lurkey]

I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to watch Desperate Housewives, The Apprentice, and 24 all at 9pm tonight. YAY for timeslot conflicts...

Otherwise, except for that hour, I'm in though.

If it helps: Desperate Housewives will be available online at http://www.abc.com on Monday. I don't know about The Apprentice. The DVD of the first four episodes of 24 will be available for purchase on Tuesday.

I can catch The Apprentice on CNBC tomorrow, but I'm still struggling with DH and 24. I may just record DH and try to watch 24 live. Fortunately, I don't have to get up early tomorrow for college.

Record DH and watch 24. That's what I'm doing and I've already seen the season premiere.

IS FOX SET TO **** THE ***** [deleted b/c of spoilers] ON '24'? (SPOILERS, I meant it -- don't click until after hour 4 airs on Monday night. . . you won't get the context until late hour 3)

[Brent]

I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to watch Desperate Housewives, The Apprentice, and 24 all at 9pm tonight. YAY for timeslot conflicts...

Otherwise, except for that hour, I'm in though.

If it helps: Desperate Housewives will be available online at http://www.abc.com on Monday. I don't know about The Apprentice. The DVD of the first four episodes of 24 will be available for purchase on Tuesday.

I can catch The Apprentice on CNBC tomorrow, but I'm still struggling with DH and 24. I may just record DH and try to watch 24 live. Fortunately, I don't have to get up early tomorrow for college.

Record DH and watch 24. That's what I'm doing and I've already seen the season premiere.

IS FOX SET TO **** THE ***** [deleted b/c of spoilers] ON '24'? (SPOILERS, I meant it -- don't click until after hour 4 airs on Monday night. . . you won't get the context until late hour 3)

I clicked it. LOL, because I saw the spoiler earlier when searching. Boo.

Yeah, that's exactly what I'm doing. I am SO bored waiting for 8pm BTW.

The NFL game on CBS is going to run over into 8pm, which is bad for 24(they share an audience). Last year it had the game as a lead-in.

[Brent]

Riveting!

[lurkey]

Jack: "I don't remember how to do it anymore." Assad: "I'm sure you'll remember."

From Dave Barry:

UPDATE: "You'll remember. You have a multi-year contract."

[southerngale]

lol @ Dave Barry.

Wow...last night was great, but the 2 hours went by way too fast. I can't wait for tonight! This one hour a week thing is gonna kill me though.

[Brent]

This one hour a week thing is gonna kill me though.

Oh it's really going to kill you with the cliffhanger at the end of tonight. You'll have to wait a whole 167 hours to see what happens.

Ratings should be out soon for last night.