Lloyd Grove in the New York Daily News has reported that somebody has paid $20,000 to spend a day with Kiefer Sutherland on the '24' set. Fortunately, the money went to charity. You can read the story here - it's the story about Dennis Leary and the charity auction, the third one down the page.
If anyone could spare a couple of dollars so I can spent a few minutes looking shifty around the back fence of the '24' set, whilst shaking hands with the guy who spit polishes Kiefer's shoes, you know where to send it. Cheers.
This week's premiere of '24' caused a mighty rash of postings across the internet. Of course it did, because it's quite possibly the best thing to happen on TV since last season's finale...
Snarkfest has some views with a whole bunch of comments. It's not safe for UK viewers who don't want to know what'll happen, though.
On the other hand, UK readers can feel safe to take a look at atmasphere, who noticed some of the kit that the characters were using in last night's show. The link does contain spoilers, but it's really nothing you wouldn't already know if you're a regular reader of '24' fan sites.
However, Amy's Robot has plenty of spoilers and makes some clever points about how us '24' viewers are addicted to the series...
Diego of dynamicobjects.com compares Jack Bauer to James Bond, whilst the crew of I Love Everything review the episode and predict "in the next episode Jack turns into a vampire and the two Coreys try to slay him". Well, it could happen...
The biggest shock for me was that Kevin who writes 24fan.blogspot.com has kept reasonably quiet (beware, though - last week he posted some up 'n' coming plot points that even US viwers might not know about).
Oh, and if you want the definitive review of the episode then keep your eye on Television Without Pity's '24' page. They have a great forum too.
Hello fox.com viewers! For those regular readers (admittedly, there aren't many of you) who haven't realised, 24weblog.com has been chosen as the official '24' site's current favourite weblog on the 'fan obsession' page. I'd just like to thank the Academy... no, really. Cheers guys.
So what's the latest? The first episode of '24' season three was shown in the States just over 24 hours ago. Everybody's favourite news channel, Fox News, gives the skinny on the diddle-o, with spoilers (of course) for anyone who hasn't seen the latest show. So beware, eh?
Like fox.com themselves said, I haven't seen the season premiere yet. Not for want of trying, though. I could download it, but, even though the office I work in has a nice fat speedy internet connection and is fully equipped with a CD burner, the ports to kazaa and bittorrent are blocked. Whatever that means. I'm sure a CTU techie could explain.
So I'm stuck without having seen the new episode. It's up to you, the people reading 24weblog.com to solve this! If any of you - preferably someone in the UK - is willing to pop a PAL format video tape or a CD-ROM with the episode on, I'd be quite willing to cover your expenses. Just email me if you're up for it. On the other hand, if any of those nice people at Fox are reading this, maybe you could provide me with a spare copy of one of the preview tapes. After all, home taping is killing music ace TV shows!
10.24 | "These are definitely not Scully's breasts"
The moment he boots up case file 371, the detective gets that twisted feeling in his gut. Ed Lake - blue button-down shirt, gray hair, hangdog jowls - studies the evidence alone in the musty dining room of his tiny apartment in Racine, Wisconsin, a small town southeast of Milwaukee. It's that blonde again. Elisha Cuthbert. He's seen her. The daughter on the TV show '24'. And here she is now. Frozen on his computer screen - the smoky eyes, the parted lips. But something's wrong. The plunging neckline. The sheer black blouse. The exposed nipples. It's her, but it's not. It's a sham.
Ooh-err missus. Not much to say on this one, really.
In unrelated news, I hear that the Whitehouse has also updated it's site.
10.24 | '24' spinoff being planned for DVD
A spinoff to hit real-time drama series '24' is being mulled by FOX Home Entertainment. The show's creator, Joel Surnow, said Wednesday that he and FOX were discussing ideas for a spinoff featuring an all-new cast and taking place in real-time.
Digitalspy.co.uk reports on this interesting development.
10.24 | "They've come up with, what I think, is an absolutely brilliant idea for season three"
"I got hooked on 'The Sopranos' like so many people, and then 'The West Wing' just had such a fantastic cast," he said. "I certainly don't spend every evening at home watching the tube, but there's amazing television, and it's what made me think about even considering it for work."
Kiefer Sutherland talks to The Salt Lake Tribune and fails to mention any new season three plot developments, so it's OK for UK viewers to read - as long as you know the basic premise of the upcoming series...
10.23 | [spoiler] "This year's **** as we know it comes from a *** **** so **** it makes the one in **** look cuddly"
This season, Jack and the CTU - for the '24'-impaired, that's the (fictional) federal Counter Terrorist Unit - must contend with still another grave threat to LA. Am I the only one who's starting to suspect that the series' Hollywood writers have some sort of death wish?
There's a load of spoilers - well, nothing you wouldn't already know from reading some of the fansites - but jsonline.com has 24 facts about the new season of '24'.
The Gemini Awards is - I think - like the Canadian version of the Emmy telly awards. Or, for those of you who like your reference points to be British, the BAFTAs. Anyway, a certain Canadian actress appeared at thse 'Geminis' and talked about her new role on TV's top show, '24'.
Obviously I can't tell you here who it is, or what part she'll play, or even what she said about it. If you're brave enough, the link is here. Most of you probably know this all already. So sue me already, eh?
10.22 | It's worth at least £20 million for the 'hacksaw' line alone...
A bidding war for cult series '24' is hotting up after the BBC lost screening rights.
The third series of the thriller is up for grabs, with bosses at Channel 4 and Channel 5 expected to offer up to £10 million.
Rupert Murdoch's The Sun further pushes the agenda of Rupert Murdoch's Fox TV network by claiming that there's a £10 million bidding war for '24'.
Beware, everybody who won't be watching the news series when it's broadcast in the USA in six days time. The link contained in this article contains spoilers which give away parts of the plot of the first episode of the new series. Which is why I put '[spoiler]' in the post tile up above - you might want to keep an eye out for that in the future...
Fox's riveting, real-time drama '24' returns next Tuesday, but I'm sorry to say it's not the immediate grabber it was the first two seasons... But while intriguing, neither the first nor second episode that I previewed gets the juices surging like before. It's off to too-slow a start, considering the series' track record. It's as though producers don't have quite enough to pack all 24 hour-long episodes and are doling it out slowly to keep from running short.
Well,
this reviewer obviously doesn't remember the 'cypress audio' storyline from last season.
And there's a Kiefer Sutherland interview about the new series up at the TV Guide website.
10.16 | A few things that actually entertain him
"'24: Fox's high-octane action series seems gimmicky and over-the-top (and it sort of is), but I'll be damned if I'm not anxious to see each episode. The show that saved Kiefer Sutherland's career is set to kick off its third season, and judging by the ratings and the DVD sales of the first two seasons, '24' appears to be headed for more success. I know I'll be there. Well, actually I won't because I have class on Tuesday nights this semester, but rest assured that if I'm involved in a terrible accident and relegated to sitting in a full-body cast for several weeks, I'll never miss an episode. Knock on wood."
Dan Port of the Daily Trojan lists a few of his favourite things, including '24'. The rest of his suggestions are pretty cool, too, including Chuck Palahniuk, Bret Easton Ellis and 'Office Space'.
10.15 | "One ridiculous disaster to another"
Elisha Cuthbert, who ran from one ridiculous disaster to another in last season's '24', will seek comfort from a new source this season - the bathroom. This is a breakthrough role, since none of the counterterrorists have ever been seen answering nature's call.
Cuthbert, who plays Kim, daughter of Keifer Sutherland's Jack Bauer, told TV Guide, "I think the last two years, we were lacking bathroom scenes, and that is something that happens during the course of a day for everyone - unless there's something wrong with them."
The search for 'kim-bauer-pissing-in-toilet.mpg' starts here.
10.13 | Bollocks
"Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is considering suing the BBC to stop it showing programmes like 'The Simpsons', '24' and 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' after it decided to change its distribution of BBC1, 2, 3 and 4 on satellite TV to make them available in continental Europe for free."
Oh dear. Looks like things are going tits up. Now where's my bittorrent?
10.13 | "No, no, no. But, I'd like to give it some balls"
The show's creators, Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow, promise a big surprise early in the season - "It's not Jack dying, but it's big," Cochran said.
More on that 'Kiefer wanting to kill off Jack Bauer story from the other day, but with this tiny added bonus of a teaser for the new season.
10.11 | "Look, I realize this is a terrible time for you to discover all this"
'Kiefer Sutherland suggested that the producers of '24' kill off his character, Jack Bauer - which, given the show's success, was never going to happen.
Still, Sutherland tells TV Guide that he did make the suggestion for last season's finale. "I felt very strongly that if you really want to jar the audience, take Jack out," he says. "As much as it would break my heart not to do this show, I think it's important the audience believe that at any given moment, any cast member can go."'
Yes, Kiefer. You nearly killed off Jack Bauer. It's very easy to say that in retrospect, though. These shocking revelations published by the New York Post, and pointed out to us by Feeling Listless - who does this job a whole lot better than this site does.
10.10 | "Virtual act of violence"
"During the sniper crime spree in and around Washington DC, a bizarre case of accidental art appeared in my neighbourhood. First, a signboard went up with Kiefer Sutherland aiming a handgun directly at the street. Then, less than 100 feet away, a competing ad agency posted a bus shelter ad with an anonymous dead guy lying on his back. The virtual act of violence was frozen in a moment of truth for two weeks."
[from the May/June 2003 issue of the ever excellent adbusters magazine]
I'm back, and I'd like to say a cheery "Hello again, everyone" to occasional viewers and geeky fan-boys alike. Nice to see that you're all still checking the site out. The BBC haven't even shown an episode of '24' for nearly three months now, you know.
So what have I been up to? Well, I took a bit of a break after updating this site solidly for 24 weeks. If you want to know the specifics, I've been sunning myself and my svelte American girlfriend somewhere off the coast of Germany on board my luxury yacht... no, not really. Actually, I've been incommunicado as I've been undercover with a bunch of South American drug runners. Yes.
To fill in the time, I've been watching the DVDs of season two. You've got to love some of those cut scenes from the final episode.
There's the shock news that Kiefer Sutherland has signed up for the lead role in another TV series. Bloody Hell, eh? Well, it is a mini-series, and it is about Kiefer's grandfather, so it smacks of a vanity project, so it'll all be over soon enough - so that's alright, then. Kiefer has also recorded all the station idents and voiceovers for Blink 102.7FM in New York. So, yeah. As if any of you lot reading this will be able to receive that.
I've also downloaded the four minute season three preview, which Fox thoughtfully put up on the official '24' site.
I've signed a petition started by 24fans.de that asks for the release of the '24' musical score on a CD soundtrack album. Sounds like a good idea.
Sorry. That was a terrible joke.
There's some American '24' fans who are planning on watching both seasons one and two of the show back to back in a 48 hour marathon. They've scheduled the screening for October 24th. I guess they should be sponsored for charity, or something. Utter madness, I know, and you can read about their progress at iseeseveralflaws.com. Pretty much certain that they won't be seeing many flaws in the final few episodes...
There's this new show called 'Threat Matrix' which is meant to be just like '24'. Yeah, I've heard that one before. Spooks, anyone?
I've seen Xander Berkeley (who played the late George Mason in '24') appear in Todd Solondz' fabulous 'Storytelling' as a school guidance counsellor. In other news, Xander's joining the cast of CSI.
'24' won two Emmy awards for "Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series" for the 5AM - 6AM episode and "Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)" for the 10PM - 11PM episode. Elisha Cuthbert sported her new-look season three hair cut at the Emmy awards ceremony. She also wore a rubbish-looking purple dress, but enough of that.
Jack Bauer is going to save Microsoft as part of his next mission. Microsoft has paid for product placement in '24' and this means that the major characters will be using Windows Media Center Edition 2004. Blimey. Like a government department would even consider installing a consumer OS in their offices. And there was me thinking that all the good guys use Apple Macs, too.
I've been avoiding the rumours that the next series of '24' will feature Jack Bauer's father and brother. I mean, duhh - do you really think that the writers will blow all their credibility? Normally, I wouldn't panic - but the rumour is that Jack's brother could be an EVIL TWIN!!!!!1111 OH NO!!!!111 No, really. I'm deadly serious.
However, the best rumour around is that season three will feature a 'reverse mole' - a character that will act much the same as Nina in season one, but backwards. We might get to see a bad guy character who is only revealed as a goodie - as a double agent, say, or a doublecrosser - when it is absolutely necessary. I think that'd work. Your views?
Currently, the '24' crew is in Los Angeles working long nights filming scenes for episodes around the timeframe of 9PM - 10PM and 10PM - 11PM. Since the new season is supposedly starting at 1PM, this means that this latest filming is for the eighth or ninth episode.
