24's Smart Move
After weeks of beating up on
24, I felt I should weigh in briefly after this week's above-par episode, if only to shower praise on someone who was so robbed last year at the Emmys, when the show and Kiefer Sutherland finally won their long-deserved trophies. I'm talking, of course, about the ever-fabulous Jean Smart, as former first lady Martha Logan. (How could they have given the Emmy to Blythe Danner over Smart- or, for that matter, over this year's awards queen, Chandra Wilson? Aren't the Emmys just sad?)
Back to Martha. Now institutionalized in a cozy bungalow and under the watchful and affectionate care of Secret Service Agent Extraordinaire Aaron Pierce, Martha (as played so wittily by Smart) was somehow both ravaged and ravishing as she coolly regarded what remained of her ex-husband the disgraced ex-president.
They may have telegraphed the kitchen knife a few too many times as Martha began melting down under the stress of the visit and the delayed phone call to her Russian first-lady counterpart, but it was still shocking when Martha plunged the blade into her husband's shoulder, severing an artery and (as shown in the final seconds of the episode, as Logan flatlined) possibly killing him.
By taking us briefly out of CTU and the White House bunker, and reintroducing us to the Logan dynamic that propelled so much of the excellent Season 5, the episode had an energy largely lacking the last few weeks. I won't say it was entirely unpredictable, given that it was pretty clear the Logan reunion wouldn't end well (not to mention the promos giving away there would be a crisis as well), but it was highly dramatic, which was a nice bonus.
Also enjoyed Ricky Schroder's bullying act as the new field ops leader Mike Doyle. Who besides me thought he would jump the gun and storm the consulate before the Russian prez gave his OK? Doyle's so rudely, bluntly all-business he almost makes Chloe look like Doris Day.
He made a strong if unpleasant first impression. So, once again, did Powers Boothe as scary vice president Cy Tolliver McEvil (he'll always be a Deadwood villain to me), rolling over Tom Lennox to hurl nuclear threats at the cowed Middle Eastern ambassador.
But this week, bragging rights go without question to Martha Logan. Once again, she rocked
24's world.
