24: Episode 5, 11 AM - 12 PM

Key Words: 24, Jack Bauer, Louis Lombardi, West Wing, Illegal Wiretaps

The first real week of "24". Can they make the magic using only 60 minutes instead of last week's 120? We’ll see.
9:03: Jack Bauer is in custody, but still being used as a resource, he must be steamed.
9:04: See, this is why you don’t drug a First Lady and leave her on a bed all asunder. You're bound to get caught, Walt. Jack Bauer is probably already on to you.
9:05: The energy crisis is hitting C.T.U. just like everyone else. They’re still driving SUVs, but each SUV is required to carry 5 passengers inside the vehicle and at least 4 hangers on.
9:08: Oh, ho ho. These terrorists are smuggling poisonous gasses OUT of the country. Is it possible Jack Bauer should be helping them?
9:11: Does the Secret Service protect a First Lady if she's in an asylum.
9:12: Why is it that C.T.U. is easier for bad guys to infiltrate than, well, there’s never ever been an entity easier to infiltrate, ever. I guess, that if Kim Bauer could get hired, they’ll hire any body off the street as long as they have agent training and clearance. Though if Walt can be a baddie and also President Logan’s most trusted aid, this alternate "24" universe is filled with the most gullible people of any work of fiction. I’m trying to suspend my disbelief so I can enjoy the show, but really.
9:19: Chloe sleeps with who she wants around here, Spencer, get used to it. Isn’t Spencer too obvious a bad guy to be the inside guy?
9:19: I'm still intrigued by how giant Edgar is. It’s like the actor who plays Edgar this year ate the actor who played Edgar last year whole and still hasn’t digested him yet.
9:20: And if Spencer is such a bad guy, won’t Mr. McGill catch him? Here’s what I think Audrey’s interrogation is going to be like. "Wait, you slept with Jack Bauer? That’s so funny, I did, too! Wow, what a small world, huh? Woo. So where was he when David Palmer was killed?"
9:22: Audrey says, "Yes, I knew him." While thinking, "In the Biblical sense."
9:27: LEVEL TWO CLEARANCE?! LEVEL TWO CLEARANCE? I can't believe that's all he got. Jack Bauer sprinkles Level Two Clearance on his oatmeal in the morning. That is, on the days that he’s eating. Lucky for Mr. McGill, today isn’t one of those days.
9:29: “So you don’t have a personal relationship with him?” That’s Audrey’s way of saying “Wait, do you KNOW him or not?"
9:31: "Jack, you made a hard decision." Come on, that’s too easy for me. Sheesh.
9:33: "I needed to get into your utilities volume." Oh, Chloe, stop it, you’re too much. Her days are filled with self-doubt and lust, just like all of us. Chloe reminds me of a rhinoceros, always has, anyone else?
9:36: Wait, so Spencer got this guy in to C.T.U. legitimately and he just happens to be an assassin? What a serendipitous twist of fate! I have to say, the terrorists have had Lady Luck on their side in each of the past three seasons and you know what? When Jack Bauer was done with Lady Luck she was begging him to stop while secretly wanting more and Jack Bauer gave it to her, too.
9:40: JR said it would be a big scandal for the First Lady to be committed. I said it would be a bigger scandal for her to commit suicide. We were both wrong. Don’t First Ladies get fitted for GPS tags or something? You’d think they would be after one of the daughters went missing on The West Wing a couple seasons ago?
9:52: Jack Bauer likes Derrick so much because he has never had a son with two arms before. Get it? Chase? Get it? Because Chase…Oh, nevermind.
9:52: Spencer is such a bad bad guy. Too bad to be bad? I think so. He must be good. Prediction? Chase isn’t a bad guy.
9:53: The first violence of the episode. What’s going to happen? Is there anyway for Jack Bauer to kill the assassin 11 times to get his JBKC up?
9:53: NJBD: 1 (Doctor Paulson). JBKC: 1 (The baddie who killed Doctor Paulson). Cracked rib, huh? How long does that slow Jack Bauer down for? Not long I’d bet.
9:56: Can Internal Affairs agents get in trouble? Walt Cummings wanted to make sure C.T.U. was operating within the rules, but he went outside the rules to do it. Just like last year with all torture all the time (Jack Bauer would have cut wholes in Spencer to get him to talk last year) this year is mirroring the new government scandal. What I haven’t been able to figure out yet, Is whether the writers of "24" are trying to portray this favorably or not. Do they have an opinion or are they just objectively putting in their commentary using Jack Bauer as their pen?
Final thoughts:
JBKC: 1, torture scenes 0, NJBD: 1, Prediction Ratio: 100%
A kindler, gentler "24"? Tonight it was, and I don’t think it was that bad, either.

Totals for the season, 12 JBKCs, 1 torture, NJBD: 13, Prediction Ratio 40% (2 out of 5).