24- Showing Respect to Mr. Bauer

Last night we began viewing the eighth longest day of Mr. Bauer's life. The first thing I need to mention is that I wasn't left with any spark after this two-hour season premier. There was something to the beginning of last season that had a fire to it and got me extremely excited for the rest of the season. Maybe it was the fact that they took a year off and it was great to have it back, or maybe this season's just not going to be as good, but I wasn't left as excited this year when the clock hit 11:00 p.m.

Having said that, there were a lot of things I liked about the season premier of 24. After the cold open hits us with some random dudes shooting at each other, we get to see what I (and the people of Tropic Thunder) like to call Simple Jack. This is when we get to see Mr. Bauer doing normal every day things. The only other time we really get to see him act this way is the beginning of season one when he's at home with the first Teri and Kim. Sure in season 5 he is eating breakfast with Tami Taylor, but he is doing it under a false identity and he's hiding out from people. Not the same. In season 8 we get to see a once gain retired Mr. Bauer relaxing with his granddaughter, the second Teri, watching some cartoons. The whole relaxed atmosphere makes the change that much better when he has to turn his killing face on.

We're now in New York City, which is a great change of scenery. If there is something that got stale from 24, and it wasn't the fact that they repeat story lines, than it was the location. There's only so many horrific things that can happen in Los Angeles. The skyscrapers. The jam-packed streets. The underground entrance to CTU NY. It's all a nice change of pace. The CTU NY inside itself is really cool looking.

Then we get to the new guy. Cole Ortiz, played by Freddie Prinze, Jr., is the head of field ops CTU NY. AKA the new Chase Edmunds. I like what I've seen so far from Cole. When he first hears that Jack Bauer is bringing in a guy with information about the hit on President Hassan, he simply asks, "Jack Bauer?" The subtle, yet surprised, nature of his reaction shows that he knows what that name means and unlike some that have come before him, Cole has a grasp of the historical relevance of what Mr. Bauer has done for this country. Then we get to the point where me continuing to call Jack, Mr. Bauer makes sense. Every time that Cole talked to Jack, he called him Mr. Bauer. The respect that he showed him was awesome to see. This is the kind of admiration that all young government agents should show Jack Bauer. And I might continue to call him that as long as Cole does. When the chopper lands on the roof and Cole meets Mr. Bauer for the first time he again simply state, "It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Bauer."

The man getting everything done (or not done) at CTU NY is Brian Hastings, played by Mykelti Williamson. (Update: I can't believe I didn't realize this was Bubba Gump at first)  I love how wrong he has been about everything so far to start the season. I also love how confident he has been in everything he has done and said during the first two hours. Incompetence like this, we have not seen from the head of CTU since Lynn McGill.

Chloe is back. She is at CTU NY for some bogus reason. Something to do with Morris. This is the one thing that got me angry during the premier. This is just too coincidental. Chloe just happens to be working in New York now that Mr. Bauer is here. I much would've rather seen Mr. Bauer get twisted up in the situation in New York and then have him call her in because she was the only one who could help out. She was the only one to get things done the right way. Maybe bring her in for ep 3 or something. Just didn't have a good feel to it.

What did have a good feel to it was the partnership between Mr. Bauer and Chloe. Although she came in for season 3, it does seem like these two have been together for the entirety of the show. When Chloe makes her plea for Mr. Bauer to stay in New York, it was fantastic.

Jack. You've come to me for help many times, and I've never let you down. You've asked me to do crazy things, and I've always taken your side. Please. Help me. I can't do this by myself.

Anyway not the home run to start the season like we saw last year, but there is a lot of promise in what we have going on here. We get another two-hour dosage tonight before they go back into the regular time slot of Mondays at 9:00 p.m.