RedGage

Ahh yes, Jack Bauer is back and better than ever.  Last night's TV movie Redemption didn't have a whole lot of surprises but it did a good job of tying together season 6 and 7.  With no season airing last year because of the strike, they needed to recapture the attention of their audience and I think they did that.  Every season they always film a brief preview of the upcoming season for the previous season's dvd box seAt but this is the first time they've filmed an entire 2 hour movie. 

We got a glimpse of exiting President Daniels and his snarkiness and a chance to see incoming President Taylor in action.  She seems to be harkening back to the positivity of the Palmer era but you never know.  The whole Jack wandering the globe avoiding the subpoena thing was a little unbelievable but I do think that he seemed to be in a place that made sense when we look at where we left him 4 years ago.  The last glimpse in season 6 is a broken man walking away from the love of his life in order to keep her safe and a job that has brought him nothing but heartache.  4 years later he is still at a loss.  He can't go home because the government that he gave up everything for is trying to hold him responsible for some of his more extreme actions.  He has wound up in Africa with a former co-worker Benton, who is in charge of a African school for young war orphan boys who are the target of rebel soldiers kidnapping them and making them over into the perfect young soldiers by General Juma (the scary Tony Todd).  Meanwhile we learn that a American business group led by the mysterious Jonas Hodges (played by Jon Voigt) is actually funding the rebel group.  One of the company's brokers Chris realizes that more is going on than meets the eye and contacts his friend Roger, who just happens to be the incoming President's son.   When a American Ambassador shows up to serve with Jack with the subpoena he has been avoiding, he decides to leave the school.  Naturally, before he can leave the school is targeted and he must save the day on his own.

The Bad:
-Since season 7's storyline was already well known, it was no surprise to see Jack taken in at the end.  It was also not hard to figure out the rest of the plot details.
-There's yet another mole in the Presidential staff, a lowly limo driver maybe, but a mole nonetheless.
-Although Jack is given a moment to mourn the loss of his friend, there is still not enough time to really convey the emotional upheaval that he has experienced over the years.  Many people are calling for the end of the "real time format" for that reason.
-The land mine/Willie/Benton setup was just plain stupid.  The Jack Bauer curse strikes again.

The Good:
-It was great to see Tom back even if it was just briefly.
-I'm liking new President Taylor.  I think she will end up being a Jack ally.
-Jack's knee of death and his corner knife kill were classic.
-I liked Jack and Willie's bonding.  It's always good to see a glimpse of his softer side.  Also good to hear Kim mentioned.  Despite her insane storylines she's his one familial connection.  She remains bad luck however seeing as how it was her blanket that caused the whole landmine disaster in the first place.
-Roger's girlfriend seems to be yet another strong and in charge woman.  Seeing how she fits into things should be interesting.
-Tony Todd and Jon Voigt both bring depth to what could easily be cartoon characters.  Can't wait to see Kiefer go up against both of them.
-I liked the "Fall of Saigon"ish ending but I was kind of hoping the kids wouldn't get through the gates.  Somehow that would seem like the perfect 24 hopeless ending, lol.
-Finally, there was that great season 7 preview complete with great one liners from Chloe, "I'm a stay at home mom.", and Jack's awesome threat to Tony, "So help me god, I'll kill you and this time you'll stay dead!"Managed to watch a little bit of WWE's Survivor Series last night as well.  Haven't been following it much lately because things have gotten pretty boring but the pay per view wasn't too bad.  Both of the classic Survivor matches were good and even the women's match was entertaining.  Edge came back and saved the dull HHH/Kozlov match and recaptured the title despite an attack by "crazy" Jeff Hardy.  Should be an interesting rivalry.  Great to see Undertaker pull off a casket match victory against Big Show.  This was the 18th anniversary of his debut match.  Pretty crazy!  Sadly, Cena returned and won the belt from Y2J yet again.  BORING!!!!  Noone wants to see Orton/Cena for the 8,000th time.  And they wonder why their ratings are rock bottom and the shows aren't selling out.

It was a crazy week for the Pistons.  After they beat L.A. and Cleveland, they got demolished in Boston and lost again to Minnesota last night.  It's like two entirely different teams from night to night.  Hopefully, it's still just them trying to adjust to all the changes.  We won't even talk about Michigan.  I expected them to lose to Ohio State but I at least figured they'd attempt to put up a fight.  A horrible end to a forgettable season.  At least our basketball team finally has a chance this year.  On the up side, it was great to see Penn State take care of Michigan State's title hopes, lol.

Ended up working a triple shift Wednsday night and Thursday morning and evening.  Pretty insane but the only way to get any hours unfortunately.  After being out in the cold for the Madonna show and then standing at customer service with the doors opening every 2 seconds, I'm getting my first cold of the season.  Can't complain though because I've actually gone almost a year since I've been sick.  Pretty amazing for me knock on wood.

Friday night met up with Diane and Marilyn at Mar's apartment and then we headed out to Stacy's condo where Mar will be moving for a Mary Kay party.  Alicia was there and Karen ended up coming.  Heather stopped by for awhile as well.  Had a good time and we all got to tease James who came for the fun of it.  We all went out for dinner afterwards.  It's been a long time since we all got to hang out but as usual some people just can't move on from high school, lol.