Looks like America has survived Day 5 of 24 . Thank goodness for Jack Bauer. Also, thank goodness for the Blogcritics 24 crew, and Blogs4Bauer.
As we contemplate the big season finale though, I'm looking back to one particularly amusing bit of series history: the HOT LESBIAN TERRORISTS from the first season. As Evelyn Quince would say during the presentation of his Tales of Ribaldry, "Dangerous sex! Dangerous sex! Oh, why isn't there a single word for 'dangerous sex?'"
The very first show, hour one of day one, famously involved blowing up a commercial jet full of passengers mid-air. I've got an extensive photo layout on that notorious 24 airplane sequence.
The actual blowing up of the plane was done by an evil chick named Mandy (Mia Kirshner), who has shown up briefly but repeatedly since then. Now, Mandy is undeniably hot, but that point was largely lost. This was just weeks after 9/11, and people were more gasping over the raw emotions being accidentally stoked by something that was written and filmed months before. Folks were certainly in no mood to see anything the least bit sexy anywhere in the situation.
So then, the public was definitely not ready for the story of Mandy and her lesbian terrorist lover Bridget (Kim Murphy). Watching this again years later, their story strikes me as ultra-high camp. I might usually mean such a thing as criticism, but not here.
Their story makes perfectly good sense dramatically. They are an organic part of the larger story, and their behavior makes good sense in the context of the show. It's perfectly legitimate, well thought out and acted out.
But their story strikes me as just gut-bustingly funny — and I don't think that's accidental from the creators. It's presented as what you might consider absolutely and inappropriately yet undeniably sexy. Classically, Quentin Tarantino got some of his best humor with the overt taunting by the inappropriately irresistible Japanese schoolgirl assassin Gogo Yubari in Kill Bill. I don't know if it's a funny explanation, but it's about how easy it is to crank the mammalian biology of even smart sophisticated Tarantino fans. Yeah, you got us.
Article comments
1 - Gordon Hauptfleisch
You forgot to mention these scenes were inextricably integral to the plot and character development or something. And any qualms the actresses had diminished because they "fell in love with the script"--oh, and it was explained to them that if they didn't do the scenes they would be "with the terrorists."
2 - Brent
Strictly speaking I think you'd have to qualify Mandy as bisexual if not omnisexual. She'd do it with anything that permanently walked on two legs and in just about any combination. We don't know about anmals but nothing about Mandy would surprise me.
3 - Al Barger
Brent, you make a good point. I'm sure Mandy would do it with dudes too. She's an evil outlaw, and she's liable to do ANYTHING. "Hey, let's do in the park in broad daylight, then kill all the bystanders for watching!"
Oh, why isn't there a single word for "dangerous sex"?
4 - Brooks
Mia Kirschner is always, when asked, noncommittal about her sexuality, but she has frequently done lesbian scenes. Certainly gorgeous and evil. Season Four, in which she captures Tony Almeida and kills her neighbors, is classic Mandy.