Rewind: 24 S3

The third season of 24 is remarkably methodical.  There's not really much spectacular about it, but there's also not really anything terrible about it.  They have interesting storylines that tended to go a few episodes too long, but there's not any easily identifiable plot holes or stinkers.  There was exactly one episode that ratcheted the tension enough to make my skin crawl, but the rest was mildly enjoyable television.

If it sounds like I'm complaining about this season, I'm not.  Generally speaking, I'm the type of viewer who would tend to HATE 24 if I find a certain plot point implausible or repetitive - usually because that means it would go on for at least a few episodes.  So if a season of 24 can make me feel ambivalent - not loving a season, but not really finding anything wrong with it - it's not the worst thing.

That said, I wasn't that invested in many of the storylines.  The majority of the president's actions had a "been there, done that" feel.  The debate setting for a second election was a smart choice although that ended after just five episodes.  It was interesting to see President Palmer forced to acquiesce to a terrorist's demands.  Sherry Palmer was a breath of a fresh air when she first appeared.  (At which point she become quickly annoying)  And... that's about it.  Anything involving Anne was a drag because I did not care about Anne, and it was even worse that they broke up out of nowhere after all that trouble.  I don't really have any strong feelings one way or the other about Wayne Palmer, except I guess at least his character is consistent.

I will say this: the threat is solid.  The Salazars as villains are exactly like this season - serviceable, but nothing special.  However a deadly virus that can theoretically kill nearly everyone?  Yeah that's terrifying.  I can't remember which specific episodes it is, but one of the episodes where Michelle is trying to contain the virus in the hotel is by far the best episode of this season.  (For what it's worth, my best guess is the 17th episode)

And while Stephen Saunders is ok, making the president do orders against his will is extremely effective.  Saunders' death was stupid, although at least foreshadowed.  It certainly gave the sense that 24 episodes is far too many for a show like this.  And Michelle not dying from the disease is kind of a cop-out, but at least understandable given that the writers are clearly not afraid of killing off major characters.

Speaking of which, the death of Ryan Chappelle is pretty astounding.  It's not so much that he died but how he died.  I think his actions from finding out about his death to the death were extremely well-written (although make note that I have zero idea how someone facing imminent death would react).  Jack killing Nina was awesome - and I believe him killing her came at a detriment to the country if I remember correctly.  Gael's death was also surprisingly touching considering half the episodes he was in, he was supposed to be a traitor.

The fact that the traitorous actions of Jack Bauer and Gael were all planned from the get-go is somewhat implausible, although it certainly does a lot to justify some rather outlandish actions and their potential consequences.  Also, the threat certainly warrants their secretive behavior.  I was all set to put Gael being a traitor as a negative, if only because he extremely conveniently happens to have an office completely separated from everyone else.  (Unfortunately, I am not a big fan of the traitors in CTU which I'm pretty sure happens frequently enough that I will definitely have a problem with it in the future)

I have forgotten to talk about two major characters at all, which is Chase and Kim.  Chase is another character that's simply ok.  I didn't hate him.  I'm not to sorry to find out he won't be returning for another season though.  The romance between him and Kim took up far too much time - it really doesn't help that I knew neither character would return in the 4th season.  One positive thing about that relationship is Jacks' reaction to it - hilarious and eventually touching.  (And Jack's willingness to pull the trigger on Chase was not surprising, but still effective)

Bare with me a little longer as I talk about more plot somehow.  24 has more plot in one season than most shows do in entire series.  At least that's what it seems like when you try to write about it all.  Anyway, Jack's heroin withdrawal is a very good choice - making an invincible character need to deal with a weakness is always a strong idea.  Predictably, it sort of peters out, but it would sort of be hard to watch 24 episodes of him sweating and nearly puking so I can't complain.  I can however complain about the stupid tacked-on romance between Jack and Claudia, Hector's girlfriend.  (In fact, Hector and Claudia doesn't work either)


This season justifies what will happen in the fourth season: a revamped cast.  As much as I love President Palmer, there's only so much drama you can squeeze of his idealized persona.  A new president will certainly give the show some much needed life in my opinion.  (And really allow me to talk about new things because I'm grasping for topics beyond plot here.)

Overall, this appears to be your median 24 season.  Everything is really solid.  It does dishearten me a bit that I didn't love a median 24 season if only because it's clear this will never be one of my favorite shows.  I think the best way to judge a 24 season is how much I want to watch the next episode upon finishing an episode: and I never really had that strong of an urge.

Grade - B

Playlist
1. "Ancient Audio" - Cyne
2. "I Wanna Get Better" - Bleachers
3. "I Wanna Go" - Summer Heart
4. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" - Michael Jackson
5. "Hip Hop is Dead" - Nas

Rewind: The Simpsons S6

With a then-series high 25 episodes, it's truly amazing that the series barely suffers in quality despite having a clip show and two other episodes produced by writers from a different show.  That's a little unfair actually.  The vast majority of the episodes, with the exception of the couch and chalkboard gags (which honestly seem less inspired, but it really doesn't matter), seem completely unaffected.  Really, you could only point to two episodes that aren't really up to the classic The Simpsons standard (which I'll get to later).

This season received writing credits from an astounding 16 people.  If you look at some of the shows these writers worked on, post-Simpsons, though you begin to truly understand the talent that was at hand.  There's Greg Daniels of course, who later co-created King of the Hill and Parks and Recreation, and developed The Office for American television.  There's David Cohen (Futurama), Jennifer Crittenden (Seinfeld), and Ken Keeler (Futurama).  Then there's Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein (showrunners for seasons 7 and 8), Mike Scully (showrunner for Seasons 9-12), and John Schwartzwelder (the most prolific writer with 59 writing credits and some considered the best).

These writers helped manage what they considered an impossible amount of episodes.  The surprising thing to me is that the next three seasons are just as long and I would have thought The Simpsons had enough leverage to produce less episodes.  The ratings were great, the quality was great, and it was a beloved show.  If they wanted to produce less episodes, couldn't they have forced the network to simply accept it?  (I mean they eventually were able to, but it just surprises me)

The two episodes that I mentioned above that suffer from your typical "golden era" Simpsons is the clip show of course and "Round Springfield."  The former is simply unavoidable.  While it is vastly superior to most clip shows, it's still inferior to the rest of the season.  They make it as good as a clip show can be (well, Community technically did but that wasn't really a "clip" show so unfair comparison) to their credit.  "Round Springfield" seems dropped from another season to me with the death of Bleeding Gums.  It wasn't even written by the main staff of The Simpsons, but by The Critic writers.  (Not sure I'd let this episode dictate my opinion of The Critic though as the other "controversial" episode, A Star is Burns, is actually pretty good despite Matt Groening's complaints.)

As always, the voice work done by the main cast (and the guest stars) is phenomenal.  Not trying to take away from the writers, but they can make the most mundane lines hilarious.  Dan Castellaneta, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer, and Nancy Cartwright are national treasures both for their work on the family and for the recurring characters.  (The other two, Julie Kavner and Yeardley Smith, are also good although play very few characters)

While I mentioned that the high episode order is evident, I don't want to act like this season is somehow below par.  This may be my favorite season of The Simpsons - picking between this season and the fifth season is like picking between seasons two and four of The Wire - I don't really think you can go wrong with either choice.  It's as quotable as the show has ever been, it has stone cold classics ("Itchy and Scratchy Land, "Homer Badman," and "Lemon of Troy"), and it's extremely funny.

"Itchy and Scratchy Land" rips on violence in cartoons and Disneyland, "Sideshow Bob Roberts" rips on politics, and "Lisa on Ice" rips on parents who care too much about their kids' sports (which scarily seems even more prevalent today).  "Homer Badman" is an episode that also seems timely to watch now with the reporting in Ferguson.  (To clarify, because that sentence can be misconstrued badly, I do NOT support Darren Wilson)  Words can't possibly describe how great "Homer the Great" is with guest star Patrick Stewart the perfect choice for an underground secret club.

"And Maggie Makes Three" and "Lisa's Wedding" are two of those episodes that I would point to in season six having more heart than you'd expect.  I'm just going to keep listing episodes that stand out for me, by the way, which is nearly every single episode.  There's the fantastic "Bart's Comet," the aforementioned "Lemon of Troy" with its rival town, and "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds with Burns as evil as he probably will ever be.  And I can't forget "Bart vs. Australia" with its completely bizarre idea of Australia.

I'm probably forgetting to mention your favorite episode, but it's hard to talk about more without just commenting on every episode.  I'm not saying those episodes I didn't mention are bad or even worse than the ones mentioned above, they just don't quite make me laugh instantly upon remembering the insane plot or a funny quote.  The sixth season of The Simpsons is simply about as good as a comedy show can get.  (This is kind of an awkward way to end this post, but last paragraphs always suck to write and the last paragraph would just be filler cause I have nothing else to say.)

Grade - A

Playlist

1. "Seasons (Waiting on You)" - Future Islands

2. "Emotion" - The Bee Gees feat. Samantha Sang

3. "Pretend" - Bad Suns

4. "Go" - Grimes feat. Blood Diamonds

5. "Recover" - CHVRCHES