TV Review: S6:12 of 24 — Can You Say “Pinky Swear” in Russian?

One of the most insidious elements of 24 has always been the torture scenes. Jack Bauer has been tortured almost as often as he has tortured others, which does not justify his actions but rather qualifies them. In this world of high stakes, when lives are literally teetering in the balance in the wake of a nuclear strike and the promise of more to follow, one would expect that Jack would resort to any and all measures to get the information he needs.

Keeping in mind the Abu Ghraib scandal in Iraq and all sorts of reports about the issue, there was a story late last year about top American generals going to the set of 24 and asking the producers to “cool it” on the torture scenes. The generals felt the show was taking too many liberties in this department. Apparently everyone involved, even those of liberal bent like Kiefer Sutherland (who plays Agent Jack Bauer), told the generals that this was a fictional show. In essence, this means that everything depicted does not reflect reality and, if it should happen to in some rare cases, it is purely coincidental.

Now that we have that straight, the big moment last night came down to Jack interrogating Russian diplomat Markov in a very bloody and grisly manner. Earlier, former President Charles Logan tried to meet with Markov in a civilized way, but the Russian blows off Logan and claims to know nothing about the whereabouts of Grendko (who just happens to have three nuclear suitcases and an itchy trigger finger). Logan comes out of his meeting and tells Jack that Markov is lying. What is there left for Bauer to do other than violate the embassy, kidnap Markov, and get to the truth in any way necessary?

Back at the bloodied White House conference room, a wounded Wayne Palmer is taken away to the medical center and is still kicking. Hamri (Cat Stevens) Al-Assad is not so fortunate. He loses his life in saving Prez Wayne, but anyone present in the room to attest to this heroic act is apparently dead. This leaves a convenient opening for Reed (Rob Lowe’s Little Bro) to point a finger at Assad. He goes back to the room where Tom (Twitchy) Lennox is still tied up and dreaming of his blow-up girl doll in his office closet. Bruce (Kit) Carson, who assembled the bomb, is there threatening to kill Twitchy, but Little Bro steps in and says Twitchy can be trusted.

No sooner are they all in the hallway than Twitchy gives up Kit and Little Bro to the Secret Service and remands himself into custody. Typical of 24 in its twisting allegiances and plots, Twitchy has now emerged as a stand-up guy, though as he truthfully tells his story to the Secret Service, it does sound dubious at best. The VP Noah (Jim Jones) Daniels arrives on the scene ready to kick Muslim butt, but he wants Twitchy (the architect of the Muslim butt-kicking plan) to be on the same page. Twitchy has problems with this, but does still believe in his plan.

Article Author: Victor Lana

Victor Lana has published numerous stories and articles in literary magazines and online, including his favorite haunt here at Blogcritics. His books A Death in Prague (2002),Move (2003), and The Savage Quiet September Sun: A Collection of 9/11 Stories are available at online bookstores. …

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