24...revisited.

Having railed against it, I feel it only fair for me to praise it when they do it well. Last night's episode was classic. Decisive, action packed, new dilemmas, and Jack being given a free hand to be the all around tough guy that he is. I even enjoyed the reappearance of former President Palmer--when he doesn't have his family in tow, he's actually a pretty cool character.

Of course, the real strength of 24 lies in the nature of its storytelling. They tell a story that, though its no longer impossible to predict, is involving nonetheless (when they don't try and stall for time of course). They make you care about the characters, without making it too much of a soap opera. I haven't ever watched it--except for one 15 minute period when I looked just to see--but another show on Fox that accomplishes the exact opposite is the O.C. Its the 90210 of this generation...and possibly stupider (though admittedly I never watched that show either). Its one ugly, badly written, soap opera for teenagers--and its wildly popular. How does that happen? There are some real bombs on Fox right now (on TV as a whole in fact)..."Life on a Stick" "The O.C." and of course, "The Simple Life" jump to mind. I have to wonder how the people who are the "creative genius'" behind these spectacular debacles retain employment.

Course--its not the first time that companies with money seem to be oblivious to the fact that the product they are selling is terribly bad--sometimes even inspite of their legacy. Take Disneyland for example. I love the Magical Kingdom. As long as I am stuck in SoCal I will take advantage of the fact that I can always have a pass to get away from everything anytime I want with an Annual Pass to the Pirates of the Carribbean. However, this doesn't prevent me from saying that the owners of Disneyland have apparently not visited theme parks recently. Even though there are things that I enjoy about California Adventure, the West coast's answer to the Epcot Center has never lived up to the hype. And its sad--especially since there are shows in both parks that repeatedly state that the reason Walt decided to build the Magical Kingdom was because of the insight he received from visiting parks with his girls. I think its fair to say that Walt never lost the initial wonder and joy that accompanies the imaginary worlds of the Amazon, the Carribbean, Space, the Frontier, etc. But the men and women who came after him sure did. That said...if I had the time, I would be there...not here. :)