24: Season Two
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Movie Reviews of 24: Season Two
Movie Review: 24 Season 2 (DVD)
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm always amazed to see it come together. Because so many times, you're so close to it that it doesn't seem like it's going to be very good." If you've seen even a couple of episodes of Fox's "real time" series 24, you likely won't be surprised to hear that Carlos Bernard, who plays Tony Almeida, has a sense of humor and humility. Still, it's entertaining to hear him yuk it up with costars Sarah Wynter (who plays hapless but incredibly gritty bystander Kate Warner) and Michelle Forbes (Presidential Assistant Lynne Kresge), as they watch the fourth episode ("11am-12pm") for Fox's second season DVD collection.
Over the 45 minutes, the three remark on one another's good or bad hair, enthuse about their camera people and writers, call star Kiefer Sutherland "the Keifernator," and joke about the show's lapses into convention ("Look at this guy with his arm!" Bernard giggles when he spots corny behavior by a victim of the explosion at CTU [Counter Terrorism Unit], at whose offices much of the show is set). From the sounds of it, they actually like working on this show.
And no wonder. The series not only takes on a timely subject -- ongoing and organized terrorist threats against the U.S., this season set in L.A., where a nuclear bomb is set to explode -- but it also treats its performers with unusual care, granting them unusually lengthy onscreen minutes in which to build characters. Indeed, it is somewhat amazing," to borrow Bernard's term, to consider that the show commences production each season with only six or so episodes written, that the confluence of events and storylines is only imagined late in the season, that the actors don't exactly know who will survive or not; on one of the DVD set's documentaries, a casting director says she tells agents wondering about character arcs, "If you don't die, you can come back." Still, it does "come together" and make for compelling tv, and despite the Perils of Kim (Elisha Cuthbert).
The new DVD set is certainly well outfitted (especially compared to the notoriously no-frills first season), with commentary tracks on six episodes (some more engaged than others), and a seventh disc with two documentaries, "On The Button: The Destruction Of CTU" (in which FX Coordinator Stan Blackwell dryly observes, "You don't want too much Styrofoam flying when you do an explosion, 'cause it's so light. Nothing ruins a frame more than one piece of fluttering concrete coming down like a leaf"); and a two-part documentary, "24 Exposed," about the making of the final two episodes (with a focus on the shootout and fighting between Jack and an array of feisty villains).
This in addition to 49 deleted scenes and alternate takes, and the original extended version season premiere, which remains excellent, even on repeated viewing: the moment when Jack, sullen and short-tempered following his wife's murder last season, shoots that slimy suspect point blank in the chest is seriously disconcerting. As George Mason (Xander Berkley) looks on, appropriately aghast, Jack instructs him, "That's the problem with people like you, George. You want results, but you never want to get your hands dirty... I'm gonna need a hacksaw." (As producer Joel Surnow pronounces, "This is a red meat show. People kill people and go eat a sandwich right after.")
The season had much to live up to, given that the first was critically lauded, but took some time to gather a broad audience (this process including the repurposing of episodes on Fox's sister network, FX, such that 24 was available to view, for a few months anyway, repeatedly (though not nearly so often as the Law & Order behemoth or Seinfeld reruns, for that matter). Jack's transformation from morally upright hard worker to singular angry ex-agent is efficiently conveyed in the first episode, "8am-9am," as he appears, "inactive," walking away from the camera in a split screen, next to Tony walking toward the camera. Grizzled, flannel-shirted, and stalking his daughter, Jack's still suffering from the traumatic events 18 months earlier, but NSA calls him in anyway, as he's the only guy with a remote chance to respond usefully to a "domestic terrorist alert," a nuclear device timed to go off within 24 hours. Of course he's the only guy. He's Jack Bauer.
The "domestic" aspect of this terror always works across boundaries in 24 -- the private and public domains are continually collapsing here. As Forbes notes, "Read it on paper, and you expect it to be like heightened melodrama," but, between Jack's job at CTU (however reluctantly he returns to it) and the extraordinary/daily crises faced by President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), the series neatly inserts imminent, global catastrophes. As Forbes notes, the directors work this line repeatedly and unusually, for television: "Here," she says, "they let the camera rest on all of these characters' faces, and they let their eyes speak what isn't being said." It's a productive way to exploit tv close-ups, as well as these particular actors, all great faces. (As director Jon Cassar puts it during his commentary, "It's all about the faces, the looks, the raised eyebrows. We don't need the visual eye candy that other shows have").
This season's plot, as Sutherland notes in "24 Exposed," runs more or less (and often uncomfortably) parallel to current headlines, except, as the politically outspoken Sutherland offers, "Our show is about trying to stop a war; our country, unfortunately, is at war." During shooting (much of it in Toronto), cast and crew were only too aware of these correspondences ("It was just hitting a little too close to home," says Forbes), and the series made its own (sometimes subtle, sometimes not) assessments of the wrong-headedness of U.S. administration policies.
Such assessments are most plainly realized in the terrorist plot, in which Second Wave, a group "officially not recognized by any of the Middle Eastern States," threatens to explode a bomb in downtown L.A. This sucks in everyone at the office, including Paula (Sara Gilbert, who is terrific) and Michelle (equally sharp Reiko Aylesworth), who brilliantly juggles her part in the ticking bomb plot, her daughterish relation to George, and her growing attraction to self-interested Tony.
The series also handles politics in a slightly offset way, for instance, in the supposed wedding between pert Marie Warner (Laura Harris, currently making charming trouble in Dead Like Me) and Reza Naiyeer (Phillip Rhys), the latter introduced speaking Arabic on his cell while speeding along in his red convertible, that is, just asking to be profiled by viewers, up until the point that he walks up behind his fiancée accompanied by vaguely menacing music. Wynter says in her commentary, "I think it was really gutsy for [the terrorist] to turn out not to be [Reza], but my very white, very blond, very privileged, very cheerleading kind of sister." (At which point Bernard adds, if only he knew she was a cheerleader, Tony "woulda been mackin' on her.")
Other commentaries include the one over "3-4am," by Sutherland and Surnow, which solicits my favorite comment of the whole package, from Sutherland: watching a series of images sans Jack: "When I look at these scenes, it's just other people, other people, other people, just waiting for Jack" (he hurries to declare this a joke, in case you're wondering). Another commentary, for "1pm-2pm," features Cassar (who directed 10 episodes this year) and Sarah Clarke, who plays Nina (to file under gossipy trivia, she is recently married to the terrific Xander Berkley, whom she met on last year's set). Like everyone else, they discuss their affection for the series structure (Clarke likes "the constant storylines coming at you") as well as the episode in which Jack first confronts Nina (murderer of his wife), specifically, the smart use of surveillance monitors and window or doorframes to mark the tension and confusion caused by her re-appearance at CTU. "It's like two fighters," Clarke says, watching Jack and Nina square off in a sequence of unnerving close-ups, "Round after round."
The season's other brilliant return belongs to Sheri (Penny Johnson Jerald), with machinations as sinister as before. This complex, powerful woman can do anything, it's clear, the ethical and emotional arrangements in her own mind are always breathtakingly focused on her relationship to that man she loves. At the same time, Sheri is part of the show's commitment to intelligent and politicized casting; watching a scene with characters of color, Johnson Jerald notes during her commentary track, "This is the beauty of 24 here, in terms of casting. I enjoy it when I see people who look like me and look like other people and represent the full spectrum of people, without making a big deal out of it."
Definitely less well rounded, much like last season, Kim's annoying storyline stumbles from calamity to calamity. Again, she's caught up in serial dangers, so that her box is always about to break out into chaos: dashing about in her tight little top, she's always in dire need of Jack's help (that said, she does eventually come into her own, and proves wholly capable of the sort of "red meat" violence for which her father is infamous). Still, she tends to distract him from whatever latest international fire he's forced to put out (as Johnson Jerald says, "Look at the difference between Dennis and Kiefer, just in terms of the manly look. You have this clean-cut, very Presidential man with power, and then this rugged look of this man who's going to save the day). Working as a nanny for a little girl whose father is abusing her, Kim escapes with the help of her gorgeous beau Miguel (pop star Innis Casey), runs right into the arms of hard-charging head case Kevin Dillon, then has to deal with the apparent fact that her father is playing Slim Pickens on a nuclear warhead. Again, he's the only guy. He's Jack Bauer.
As Jack careens from mishap to tragedy, he's set off against the President, who behaves in the noblest manner imaginable, no matter what disasters head his way. Haysbert describes his performance this way: "I live in a world where there are no accidents." It's an apt way of looking at the responsibility Palmer shoulders (Haysbert says he models the character on Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Colin Powell, and does his best, even off set, to seem a role model; "My personal belief," he says in his incredible voice, "Is that I have to maintain a certain footing."
Leave it to Sheri to see though this gallant posture, as when she confronts Jack with his own only guyness, his lonely absolutism, in the final episode, "7-8am." "You're a very impressive man, Jack, but you see everything as either good or bad, just like David. And the world is so much more complicated than that." 24 appreciates these complications, even if it might wish Jack is right. It reveals dangers from within the U.S. administration (emerging from corruption and ineptitude equally), from within the perfect Southern Californian family, from within those "corporate interests" propped up by government policies. It also gives you a hero, but he's mad about it.
Movie Review: 24 more hours of pure entertainment
Summary: 5 Stars
Season One of 24 was near-perfect television: movie-quality, with great characters, great cinematography, inventive action, clever plot twists, heart-rending drama, and satisfying conclusions.Season Two is even better.
The story picks up a little over a year after the events of Season One. Main character Jack Bauer, who was already a loose cannon in Season One, is now even more unhinged. He's just as crazily determined as Mel Gibson's character Riggs in "Lethal Weapon." Just as deadly too. This makes him the perfect candidate for the mission at hand: find a nuclear bomb, somewhere in the LA area, that is going to go off sometime in the next 24 hours. Bauer shows no mercy in his quest.
I understand that some viewers, many of whom enjoyed Season One, refused to watch Season Two just because they didn't buy it that the same character could go through yet another crazy day. I find this ridiculous. That everything happens within a 24-hour period is the show's premise. Not watching it because you think it's impossible is like not watching "Star Trek" because you don't believe in alien life, or not watching "Buffy" because you don't believe in vampires. You have to buy into this show, for sure, but once you do, you find yourself swept along with it.
Season One pushed the envelope of what can be shown on television, but Season Two tears the envelope to shreds. I'm mostly a jaded viewer, but still I was shocked by the amount of carnage and violence on display. I lost count of how many terrorists Bauer killed, and how many people were tortured. So be aware that this show doesn't skimp on the violence quotient, which is fine for action junkies such as myself.
The budget must have been significant for this season, as the quality of the production is high throughout. No expenses seem to have been spared. Let me just give you an idea. There is a scene where a terrorist is tearing down a runway in a plane that's holding the nuclear bomb. Bauer and his agents are in hot pursuit, in humvees. All of this is shown as it actually happens - the plane going super fast, the humvees right behind. Bauer gets on the roof of the humvee and shoots at the plane. All of this is shown in the same angle, so you can see that they are actually doing the stunt, that it's not camera trickery. Now, normally that would be something you'd see at the end of a big-budget film - but this was just the middle half of episode 13!
That's just one of the many great action scenes at hand. Episode 9 features a well-done combat sequence, in which Jack takes on a team of rogue US commandos. There's more machine gun and small arms fire in this one scene than in most big-budget feature films. There's another great night-time alley battle in Episode 20 or thereabouts, in which Bauer and two comrades are holed up in an abandoned building, while a squad of heavily armed terrorists track them down.
The show isn't just all action. There's lots of drama on hand, as well. Normally I shy from the stuff, I find too much of it comes off a bit Lifetime channel-ish. But the drama reached here is better handled than just about any other movie I can think of. The heights reached go way beyond the normal strands of television. Jack's yearning for reconciliation with his daughter, the President's resolve to stand firm, the reunion of Jack and Nina Myers, George Mason saying goodbye to his son, Jack saying goodbye to his daughter from an airplane, and the resolutions to all of these plot threads in the final episode; every one of these scenes, and more, are carried off effectively.
I considered Season One to be like a well-done feature film, stretched out over 24 episodes. Season Two is the same, but it could just as easily be compared to a novel. There's foreshadowing, set-ups, and resolutions, which each episode working as a chapter. Things mentioned in early episodes sometimes don't come into play until near the end of the series. That's one of my favorite things about the show. It never once insults the viewer's intelligence. It requires he or she to keep up with events, to remember things. Nothing is spoon-fed.
Season One was originally only greenlit for 12 episodes, but was expanded by Fox to 24 episodes mid-season, requiring the producers to sometimes grasp at straws to continue stretching the tension. However, Season Two was greenlit for 24 episodes from the get-go, meaning that there is no mid-season slump, this time around, and that the story evolves and expands naturally.
So, is everything perfect? Well, not exactly. Most reviewers will bring up the oft-ridiculed Kim Bauer plotline, in which Jack's nubile daughter runs from one bizarre encounter to the next, each more unbelievable than the last. Season One's mid-season downfall occurred when Jack's wife suffered from amnesia, a plot development that just about everyone hated, but in no way does Season Two slump so bad. I didn't mind the Kim plotline, because I enjoyed the dark comedy of it all. I mean, the girl goes from being chased by a maniacal guy who's gone buck wild for no reason at all, to being chased by cops, to meeting a deranged loner who lives in a bomb shelter, to getting involved in a hostage situation.
Now, most of the scenes with Kim involve her running around. She wears tight clothing throughout. The actress portraying Kim is a very shapely, beautiful young woman. 24 is a Fox Television program. Girl in tight clothes, running around. Fox program. NOW do you see why the Kim plotline was added?
The DVD release is flawless. Unlike Season One, there are actually chapter stops! This alone is cause for celebration. There are 6 audio commentaries spread throughout the season, and deleted/alternate scenes for most episodes. You have the option of integrating these scenes back into the episodes by selecting that feature on each episode's menu, or you can watch all of them, separated from the shows they're from, on the bonus 7th disc of the set. This is a nice feature, as I prefer watching the episodes without interruption, and then watching what was taken out later. The video and audio presentation is flawless.
In short, 24 is a fast-paced, action-packed, emotion-pulling tour de force; an intelligent, mature, supremely-crafted piece of entertainment that surpasses any other action TV program I've ever seen. The final episode is just as satisfying as the conclusions of "Die Hard," "Lethal Weapon," "The Rock," or any other action movie you could name. If you are a discerning viewer who believes there's nothing on TV worth watching, get ready to have all of your notions blown away.
The only way I can sum it all up is this: for years now, I've been a TV snob. Never watched "Friends," never watched "Law & Order," never watched "CSI." As far as I was concerned, the only show worth watching was "the Simpsons." I still think it's the best show in TV history, but that's a story/review/debate for another time. So when I say that I think Season Two of 24 is certainly equal to - and in a few ways better than - the Simpsons, please understand that this is the highest praise I can give.
Movie Review: No sophomore slump for "24"
Summary: 5 Stars
The first season of "24" introduced to television the idea of an action thriller told in real-time: 24 hours, 24 episodes, one hour per episode. The concept was generally well executed in Season 1, but the second half of the season admittedly did not seem quite as well-paced or well-planned as the first. With elements like Teri Bauer's instant amnesia and Kim Bauer's return to Rick, it seemed obvious that the writers were straining to sustain the already intricate main terrorist plot for the whole season. And yet, despite its imperfections, the whole added up to more than the sum of its parts. It worked as an addictive television thriller, sure; but not only did it also manage subtle political commentary into its storylines, it also managed real humanity and soul amidst its conventional action-thriller elements. And of course there was the calm center of the show, Kiefer Sutherland, who was able to sustain a deft mixture of soulfulness, charisma, and intensity as Jack Bauer for all 24 episodes.
The second season of "24" could have gone wrong; it could have exacerbated the problems of Season 1's second half and easily become a mess. And yet, Robert Cochran, Joel Surnow, and co. returned with a sophomore season that is, in many ways, even better than the first. There is a confident sweep that amazingly spans the entire season; you really get the feeling that the writers know where the twisty plot is going every step of the way. And---especially when the season aired, during 2002-3, as the U.S. was launching its still-controversial Iraq offensive---Season 2 is even stronger with the topical relevance, as, in the season's latter half, (possible spoiler alert) President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) finds his presidency endangered by a decision he makes regarding a surprise attack and the possibility that it may be based on false intelligence. To those who followed President George W. Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq, the parallels must have seemed uncanny in 2003. Season 2 may be the first season of "24" to fully assert its calling card: the fear of terrorism that marks the atmosphere these days is used to ground the Hollywood-thriller action---and occasional outrageous plot twists---of "24" in today's reality. Season 2 has more torture scenes than Season 1, but the writers suggest that, under this atmosphere of tension and fear, these are the kinds of methods that may have to be employed in order to keep the country safe.
As well-done as Season 2 is, not even this season manages perfection. The storylines involving Kim Bauer (played by Elisha Cuthbert) have gotten a lot of flack from fans, and for understandable reasons: she gets into so much trouble that after a while her sheer bad luck starts to feel impossibly contrived---mere padding, if you will. (Thankfully, Kim wasn't around for Season 4.) Yet, at least Cuthbert herself has the good luck to be involved in what is perhaps the best scene of the entire season: an emotional, heartbreaking scene during the 10PM hour in which father Jack tells her he may not be returning from the field alive.
Jack Bauer is perhaps worth a mention too; this is a slightly different Jack from the one seen in Season 1. Apparently, since his wife's tragic death 18 months ago, he's gained a ruthless streak that leads him to act nearly as dirty as the terrorists in trying to save Los Angeles from nuclear annihilation. In other words, it seems to me that Jack Bauer has morphed from a straight action hero into a morally ambiguous anti-hero, one who dirties his hands and does controversial things---like stage the death of a suspected terrorist's son---to get results. Perhaps the subtle transformation is meant to be a commentary by itself: this is what terrorism and the threat of war does to characters like Jack. It's a credit to Kiefer Sutherland that he still manages to make Bauer a compelling, even charismatic lead figure without making him too likable.
Dennis Haysbert is also on hand as President David Palmer, and once again he is one of authentically presidential actors you'll ever see. Conviction rings through nearly every syllable of Haysbert's voice; but this is hardly a one-note performance. Haysbert manages to create a convincing portrayal of a president under undue pressure, and not only from the country to protect them from terrorism; members of his own cabinet, it turns out, seem to have it in for Palmer in some way.
Other characters pop up from Season 1. Sherry Palmer (Penny Johnson Jerald), for instance, who was so unceremoniously dismissed by her husband at the end of the first season, returns; so does Nina Myers (Sarah Clarke), who was revealed to be a traitor in the penultimate episode of Season 1 and killed Teri Bauer in the end. It's apparently a small world in the "24" universe, but no matter: "24" is a show about intelligent thrills, not about absolute realism.
I have yet to see the third season of "24," but if it is as messy and uneven as a lot of fans say it is, then Season 2, for me, will stand as the best season of "24" so far. As enjoyable as Seasons 1 & 4 was, neither managed the confident forward sweep of this second season, which is so well-executed that it truly does start to feel like one huge epic action film. I can think of no higher compliment for the second season of this fine show. Recommended.
Movie Review: 24: Season Two (2002-2003)
Summary: 5 Stars
When 24 had premiered it's first season back in late 2001, fans all over were raving about the show. But the writers were not about to just give up on the show after one season. Kiefer Sutherland returns as Jack Bauer, and he is about to have his second bad day.
It has been a year and half since the events of the first season. JACK BAUER (again played by Kiefer Sutherland) is still in grief over his wife's untimely death and he no longer works for CTU. He had quit after Teri's death. He and his daughter KIM BAUER (again played by Elisha Cuthbert) are estranged from each other, but they are trying to work out their relationship. Kim is working as a live-in nanny for a family, until she finds that the husband of the girl Kim is nannying turns out to be physically abusive to both his wife and daughter.
After a brief visit to Kim, Jack receives a phone call from DAVID PALMER (again played by Dennis Haysbert). David is now in office, well has been for the last year and a half. He informs Jack that there are plans of a terrorist attack on L.A. The plan is to detonate a nuclear bomb over L.A. Jack returns to CTU and is greeted by TONY ALMEIDA (again played by Carlos Bernard) and GEORGE MASON (again played by Xander Berkeley). George is now the head of CTU. He has taken Jack's place after Jack had quit. After Nina Myers had been arrested and taken to jail for murdering Jack's wife, CTU has brought in a new employee to take Nina's place. Replacing Nina is MICHELLE DESSLER (played by the beautiful Reiko Aylesworth). She and Tony seem to have a personal interest in each other. Jack decides to help out Tony, George, and Michelle through the day.
Off-hand, there is a family residing in L.A., they are the WARNER family. Mr. Warner resides in L.A. with his daughters, KATE WARNER (played by Sarah Wynter) and MARIE WARNER. Marie is getting married today. But all of that unfolds as CTU closes in on Marie's fiancee, Reza. But CTU finds that Reza is not involved with today's threat, for his fiancee...Marie...is the one involved, after they find out that she has killed Reza. Jack decides that Kate should help out CTU, whereas Kate agrees to help do anything to stop the threats from occuring.
David has enough power to handle this day's threats, but he wants to bring in extra help. So, he decides to bring in SHERRY PALMER (again played by Penny Johnson Jerald), his ex-wife. All seems fine until Sherry stills shows signs of her being against David, rather than help him.
Throughout the course of the day, CTU tries to locate the nuclear bomb. Jack finds that the person who authorized the location of this bomb is none other than...NINA MYERS (again played by Sarah Clarke). Nina has a lot of key information for CTU. She says she'll only help if she is allowed a presidental pardon. They allow it to her, with David's authorization, just so they can get rid of today's events. CTU locates the bomb, whereas Jack is the only one to plummit the bomb into the ground, destroying it. But to do that, Jack would have to be killed in the process of plummiting a helicopter. But George Mason has stellowayed on the chopper. Earlier, George had been infected with some sort of infectious gas, where he will die int he next 24 hours. He has Jack skydive out of the chopper, where George will take the plummit, since he's dying anyway.
Saved by Mason's dying deed, Jack still has to find out the terrorists who are still trying to bring L.A. down. He finds Sherry Palmer with one of the men involved, but the man Sherry is meeting with kills himself, forcing Sherry to help Jack out with the leader of today's terrorists. Jack and Sherry successfully pull it off, whereas Tony and Michelle officially become an item, with Jack and Kim finally working things out between them, whereas Kim has killed the man she was working for, since he had tried killing her.
The first season was extremely intense, but the season was even more intense than the first. I really enjoyed the season and you all will too. Get a copy of 24: Season Two. You all better hurry; the clock is ticking.
Episode List
8am-9am
9am-10am
10am-11am
11am-12pm
12pm-1pm
1pm-2pm
2pm-3pm
3pm-4pm
4pm-5pm
5pm-6pm
6pm-7pm
7pm-8pm
8pm-9pm
10pm-11pm
11pm-12am
12am-1am
1am-2am
2am-3am
3am-4am
4am-5am
6am-7am
7am-8am
24: Season Two Castlist
Kiefer Sutherland: JACK BAUER
Elisha Cuthbert: KIM BAUER
Carlos Bernard: TONY ALMEIDA
Reiko Aylesworth: MICHELLE DESSLER
Sarah Wynter: KATE WARNER
Sarah Clarke: Nina Myers
Xander Berkeley: GEORGE MASON
Penny Johnson Jerald: SHERRY PALMER
Dennis Haysbert: PRESIDENT DAVID PALMER
Movie Review: Day Two: Countdown to Destruction
Summary: 5 Stars
...And the countdown is on! One of the compelling themes that runs through 24 is the idea that someone, somewhere, is always running out of time. That's a notion that we can all identify with on many levels. Throw in a nuclear bomb scheduled to be detonated somewhere in Los Angeles, a group of renegade terrorists who control the bomb and a retired agent with a tragic past, and you've got a recipe for suspense, action and the unexpected. The major strength of 24 has always been its ability to be twisted and unpredictable. Although some of the surprises aren't as shocking as those in the first season of the show, there are more than enough to ratchet up the tension in this drama until the viewer's nerves become taught with anticipation. Kiefer Sutherland proved himself a top-notch actor in the first season of this unique series and he returns as Federal Agent Jack Bauer. Bauer is a man haunted by his own demons; the tragic death of his wife and the estrangement of his daughter Kim. The last thing he wants to do is help his old friends at CTU with another mission. But he can't bring himself to say no to President David Palmer when he is asked to help hunt down a nuclear bomb somewhere in L.A. Jack is dragged into the middle of it all and finds himself working undercover with a McVeigh-like group of domestic terrorists, a path that will ultimately lead him to a forced alliance with his arch nemesis, Nina Myers (Sarah Clark), the traitor who killed Jack's wife in the explosive finale of season one. The scenes between jack and Nina are probably the most electrifying and intense during the course of the day. Once they worked as partners and lovers, and now they must track down the bomb with an ever-present sense of murderous ferocity between them. Meanwhile, Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), must deal with a conspiracy within his own administration, lead by those who seek to remove him from power any way they can. Things become more complicated when Palmer's duplicitous ex wife, Sherry (Penny Johnson Jerald), arrives on the scene claiming to have information that will help the President during this crisis. Other familiar faces return from the first season, including the rye Tony Almeda (Carlos Bernard), the loyal Mike Novick (Jude Ciccolella) and the apathetic George Mason (Xander Berkeley). Mason was a minor character during the previous season, but his role in this day's events becomes important as he is forced to face his own destiny. We also meet a young lady who is about to marry a Middle Eastern businessman who may or not be a terrorist. The weakest plot thread throughout Day Two involves Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert). Many fans found her exploits annoying during the first season when she was more central to the story, but during this day of building terror, she seems to serve as little more than filler as she tries to help a little girl flea Los Angeles and her abusive father. The purpose of the writers seems to be to put Kim in every conceivable terrifying scenario, from a hostage situation in a convenience store to an unexpected encounter in the woods with a cougar. Still, while they are irritating, the Kim story line doesn't detract from the excellent suspense of the other major plots as Jack hunts down the nuclear bomb and tries to prevent a war from being waged by the U.S. in the Middle East. The real-time format in which each episode represents one hour in this day-long period may create implausibility at times, but its easy to forgive the writers when the tension is razor sharp.The extras in this DVD package are superb and are far superior to the meager offerings of the Season One set. We are given 44 deleted scenes that can be branched into the shows, episode commentary from all major stars and producers and three behind-the-scenes documentaries that take up an entire bonus disk. The picture quality is excellent and the sound is in clear Dolby 5.1 dynamics. Many fans have compared the two seasons and there seems to be a split decision as to which one is better. While I personally lean a bit more toward season one as the better story offering, both seasons are excellent and I encourage every viewer to check out both packages and decide for yourself. Whether you prefer season one or two, you won't be disappointed with either. It is well worth the money you would invest to own the box set. Once you start watching, you won't be able to stop. Like the previous season, 24 is one hell of a wild ride from start to finish.