24 Points About 24: 2:00PM - 3:00PM

1. I love that opening shot of the crowds going nuts, but I REALLY love that quick lil sleeper hold Jack dropped on that poor security guard kid.

2. Jack's other sidekick Belcheck (the Serbian bro) is a real weird character. What's his deal? How did Jack link up with him?

Future Boss and Future Jedi

3. It was a little too easy for Jack to get that flight key, I mean he didn't even torture anybody.

4. Kate Morgan is a cool and all but if even is Jack's heir apparent it's Lieutenant Tanner. You hear him say "I've got nothing to say to you." Get em. Jedi Jack Bauer, let's go!

5. Always good to know that Jack has a deep knowledge of system architecture of US Embassies. I thought Jack was only about busting into foreign consulates.

6. Never has their been so much pillow talk on 24. Of course it happens with Simone and Naveed on red satin sheets and with some serious maple headboards. 24 never really does subtly well.   

7. Adrian Cross is such a little shit. Why does Jack trust this dude? When is he gonna turn him in?

8. "Can you see if the marines are wearing body armor" - Badass Bauer Line. Listen up folks, from now on we're calling those BBLs.

9. Emily Berrington who plays Simone looks exactly like Emily Browning and it trips me out.

10. Teapot is heating up on some metaphoric shit in that scene with Simone and Margot. A brewing mother daughter feud. Things are coming to a boil! An earl grey grim situation? Ok that one was a little cheesy.

11. What is ruder? Answering your phone in a movie theater or answering it during Parliament?

12. Benjamin Bratt's agent Navarro is the most weak sauce commander since Ryan Chapelle and we all know what happened to him.

13. Under Armour needs to get his interrogation methods up, he seems like he is fronting, and not intimating at all. C'mon man!

14. Really disappointing that we didn't get an epically written monologue for Heller to deliver in full in front of all those Brits. Then again this 24 not West Wing!

14.  Last week Parliament was all rough and rowdy and now they're all docile. They must have had some tea.

15. Audrey swoons so hard when she hears Jack's name. She likes Bad Boys, actually is Tate Tots a bad boy?

16. I love how Audrey & The President initially really only care about Jack and not the HOSTAGE SITUATION AT THE EMBASSY.

17. Smart move for 24 to come back and make Naveen, the only Arab character be very sympathetic. 

18. "There are no innocents" is a pretty scary line from Margot. I'm digging her tune as a villain.

19.  Whoaaah, that finger popping off scene was disgusting. Only a matter of time before we get the classic reaching around inside a body for a chip scene.

20. It is cute that Cate has her little lover boy Jordan at the office and that he doesn't deny how he's got the hots for her.

21. Jack's conversation with President Heller is the best part of this season. Who needs shoot-outs when you dramatic fireworks.

22. I know they're trying to make Tate Tots sound like a rational person here as he lays out a case for Bauer being a bad guy but it's written so heavily handed he just comes across a straight up villain that Jack is going to have to dispatch.

23. The standoff with Jack and the Marines is dynamite. This is why 24 is the tha business!

24. In the words of my lovely fiancee Cate Morgan has gone full "Mama Bear" protecting Jack at the end. Not gonna lie,  I am into it. 

24 Points About 24: 1:00PM - 2:00PM

1.  I have many goals in life but one of them is to one day kick down doors like Jack Bauer.

2. Leaving the wig in the dumpster is a real rookie move, then again 24 is always packed with amateur level terrorists.

3. It's convenient that CCTV is everywhere and easily hackable because if Chloe has lost her touch, you would never know with this setup.

4. "Everyone has a weak spot, we'll find his" says Cate Morgan. I know they're trying to set this character up to be just like Jack but they are being a little too direct here.

5. When Jack Bauer goes into a subway, does he think about all the terrorists he has killed/apprehended there?

6. Damn, even though Morris O'Brian helped terrorists set off a nuke in LA because he couldn't handle a power drill in his back, I feel bad for Chloe. Nice move by the writers to have them hunting Chloe because of her connection to Jack. Now....their blood is on Jack's hands. That only means vengeance.

7. Tate Tots is not just trying to handle over Jack to the Russians (The Russians!) but he's lying to his wife and forging the President's signature. In the words of my fiance "that's more than a Federal offense, that's like treason!"

8. The Al-Harazis remind me of the Araz clan from way back in Season 4, except this time instead of Arab Americans, they're white British gardeners! Way to keep things fresh! 

9. Adrian Cross (the hacker boss guy) is played by Michael Wincott who really burned it up in action movies in the 90's. My personal fave - his role in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. Kevin Coster FTW.

10. Cate Morgan's "torture" technique of driving under a bridge where a bunch of hipsters hang out was both pretty badass and a little ridiculous. If this was 24 season 4, she would have just started snapping his fingers like chicken bones, but hey, can't dwell on the past.

11. Calling it now - UNDER-ARMOUR is a mole.

12. Margot al Harazi is shaping up to be an excellent villain and Michelle Fairley is doing a great job playing her, can't wait to see how she bites it at the end of this season. Maybe Jack will get his first kill by crumpets this season!

13. In a long history of C.I.A. / CTUS bosses Navarro aka Benjamin Bratt is the biggest pushover I've ever seen. He needs to take a stand before he can be knocked over by the insubordinate agents, right now he's just on the ground getting walked on.

14. I really admire President's Heller dedication to what he believes is right. It's great to have a President on the show who takes a firm stand. Of course he could end up being evil, but I don't think so.

15. If Tate Tots is tied up with the bad guys, that would mean that Audrey is in danger, and Jack would have to save her. Don't wanna get too deep into Fan-Fic territory here but would be nice if Jack ended up with her at the end.

16. Simone Al-Harazi is an interesting character. Rarely do we see so much of the bad guys personal lives, not just their mission plotting. Spending time with the villains when they're chilling at their estate makes them more menacing.

17. Really noticing a lot of motorcycles this season, hopefully we'll finally get to Jack's skills on the bike.

18. Stephen Fry is a pretty goofy Prime Minister.

19. Audrey talks down to Tate Tots and you can see a little bit of that Bauer fire in her. Maybe this season we get to see her kick some ass in the field - old school Chloe O'Brien style?

20. Tossing the jacket onto the guards head was a new move for Jack, but I prefer the more lethal variety.

21. Love the way that the riot at the embassy was shot. Awesome kinetic energy in that crowd. Pretty violent shooting as well!

22. Cate Morgan needs to work on her "Bauer" yell, that was barely a murmur, especially if she's in a crowd.

23. Simone's husband Naveed made it out of the episode alive which was shocking, I wonder if he actually will have a much bigger part to play. Perhaps his moral murkiness will prove for rich dramatic moments in the future, maybe Jack will have to talk him out of going through with the attack. He also could just end up getting stabbed in the ear.

24. Bummed we didn't get to see Heller's big speech to Parliament, but I'm sure well get something stirring next week. All in all, a really strong episode. So glad this show is back!

Game of Thrones Recap - S4E6 - The Laws Of Gods & Men

A really solid episode this week that really progresses the story forward and had some pretty decent carnage to boot. Things are really picking up nicely as we steam-roll towards the finale.

Joffrey Swag - The legend lives on. If your murder trial turns into a wild circus then you know you're continuing to swag hard even post death. Swag hard Joffrey!

Direwolf Badassery - Nothing. I'm ok with it because last week Ghost got his!

1.  So finally we get to see Braavos, the land of the shape-shifting assassins, master sword fighters, and....hipster bankers. These bros who control the cheese have some seriously well trimmed beards and are about fine furnishings. Was wondering if they were in a power trio and were gonna break out into song.

2. Ok sorry about that opener, truly great scene in the bank with my boy Sir Davos getting his! Killer monologue praising Stannis and what a nice bonus treat to see the coolest pirate lord around- Salladhor Saan showing up again. Cannot wait to see Stannis makes his move!

3. That Dragon BBQ scene was incredible but felt a little unnecessary. Almost like the suits at HBO wanted to remind us that the Dragons are here and they're spending money on them. Still, if this show ends without a White-Walker - Dragon showdown I'll be pissed.

4. Don't get deceived by Daenerys' plotline with her seeing the citizens of Mereen in the throne-room, the real action in her story was across the sea in the meeting with Tywin. They haven't touched on the fact that Sir Jorah was a spy in the first season but I suspect it may be important again as Varys may need to activate his "little birds" in the future.

5. LOVED Yara Greyjoy's speech to her men as they were rolling into rescue Theon, it's a shame that she didn't see that through, why was she so afraid of a bunch of dogs?

6. Don't get it twisted I love Yara, but I still don't give a shit about Theon or Reek whatever you wanna call him. Never forget what he did at Winterfell.

7. The trial of Tyrion is one of the greatest pieces of drama the show has ever put together. In addition to serving as kind of a greatest hits real of Tyrion's most epic moments, it also is a battleground for Peter Dinklage to show just how incredible of an actor he is.

8. I couldn't tell if Jaime Lannister got played by his Dad when he asked for mercy for Tyrion. Maybe I was just confused after seeing Jaime onscreen in "The Other Woman" two weeks ago. Parallel realities whoa.

9. Absolutely brutal that Shae turned her back on Tyrion like that, but the real question is - where has she been staying? I thought she got sent away. Who's been keeping her around. Did Tywin dig her up so she could testify? Something larger gotta be going on here.

10. A trial by combat? We saw that in season 1, so it's a little underwhelming to see it again, but let's hope this battle is different.

I'll be traveling next week so look for a recap a week from Tuesday! Until next week be well!

24 Points About 24 - 11:06AM - 1:00PM

1. Right away we got Gbenga Akinnagbe aka Chris Partlow from The Wire lurking around as CIA agent Erik Ritter. He appears to have a preference for Under Armour so from now on his nickname will be UNDER ARMOUR. 

2. So nice to see that the Industrial Chic interior design schemes of Intelligence Agencies hasn't changed in four years.

3. Is the Jack Hoodie the new Jack Sack? 

4. Still can't believe that President Heller is alive after his car went off that cliff way back in season five.

5. That drone pilot is John Boyega, aka Moses from ATTACK THE BLOCK and also future star of Star Wars Episode VII. He's also a British dude in real life which makes it crazy he's playing an American drone pilot, but I'm into it.

6. Lots and lots of USB sticks on the show. Somehow keeping data in the cloud just doesn't work as well on a show like 24. They need those physical devices to get captured. The plot wouldn't exist without them.

7. I've seen many an episode of 24 and I know not to trust C.I.A. bro-grammers who have funky facial air. This dude who's buttering up Kate Morgan is no exception.

8. Jack Bauer's readings are unnatural! Pulse and Thermal are static. Do these people think that Jack is human? Fools!

9. Tate-Tots (new nickname alert) aka Mark aka Tate Donovan is reading Jack's file shitting himself and that was only like 3 seasons of Jack's kills, if he thinks that's it, then he's got a lot more to worry about than where his wife's jewelry box is.

10. So Kim Bauer had a son! Not only is this setting up the future "Grandson of Bauer" storyline but it also means that one day that son will grow up to hunt down the spawn of the cougar that once threatened his Mom.

11.  With Kate attacking security guards, working with some dweeby nerd, blowing through clearances, and following hunches, it really appears that she is getting set up to be the new Jack. A female Jack, is the world ready for that? Of course they are...don't you watch Homeland?

12. While it's not a kill, Jack's behind the back choking of Under Armour was pretty badass.

13. So Chloe O'Brien is working with Wikileaks now? I'll buy it.

14. CLASSIC 24 Logic that some dude can just stand on on the roof of a van with a rocket launcher outside of the London Branch of the CIA and no one notices. They must be too busy checking out their interior design contracts.

15. The creeping dementia of President Heller is an interesting plot-line. Will be fascinating to see how far the creators take it over the course of a couple hours, but you know he's going to knock out that speech. Or Tate-Tots is going to sabotage him pre-speech.

16. In reference to point #13, Jack Bauer hates Wikileaks, that's good to know.

17. Oh man, the main villain is played by the woman who played Catelyn Stark on Game Of Thrones. That's too many TV worlds coming together. I don't know if I can handle that shit! You hear the way that she said "schedule." Sent a chill or should I say "schilll" down my spine.

18.  This season will be a mild failure if one of these nerds from Chloe's hacker gang doesn't get a "hero moment" and saves the day. Maybe the rotund Ginger saves his girl, that would be dope.

19. Give it up for cinematographer Jeffrey C. Mygatt. The show has never looked better and the camera work, particularly with the interiors is fluid and exciting. Got dayuum, I missed this show!

20. It is interesting seeing a President prepare for a big speech like this. Shades of Palmer.

21. Gotta love how they close out the premiere with ye old tyme one two punch of Chloe on Comms and Jack just destroying everyone.

22. Jack's first kill of the season is standard close range shooting followed by some slicing up of British gangsters. I would have prepared a spiritual sequel to the legendary Vampire bite but sometimes the wait is worth it.

23.  Kind of feel bad for that evil programmer guy Yates, one minute you think you're gonna go live the Greenland life with your blonde babe of a girlfriend who loves to get freaky in bathrooms and then you get a knife in your ear. Such is the way of the world.

24. I was very satisfied with the opening episodes. It literally felt like they were picking right back up where they left off, I easily could have been watching this four years ago. There are many questions if Jack can still fit in to our Obama Presidency existence and with the all the talk of Drones, Freedom of Information, and Hacker Collectives it appears that he is adapting just fine. 

Game of Thrones Recap With TPG -S4E5 - First Of His Name

Well damn that was kind of a boring episode right? If you take the ending "battle" out of it, most of it was just talking. Still some juicy tidbits in there though, but seriously, only 5 episodes left, things gotta pick up!

Joffrey Swag - Even after I'm gone they remember his name and his legacy (of terror). I mean if that's not swag I don't know what is.

Direwolf Badassery - 10 Points. Ghost is freed (sorry I called him Snow in the video) and promptly bites some dude's head off. So good to have him back.

1. I really don't care about all the future stops of Daenery's Targaryen's Freedom Quest sequel because enough is enough. Can this girl just get to King's Landing already? I know Sir Barristan wants to get back there, but Sir Jorah, bro just because you're in the friendzone, doesn't mean we have to suffer.

2. Not gonna lie, I was pretty psyched to see Game Of Throne's resident breast feeding 12 year old Robin Arryn return to the mix. Kid is a real character.

3. Pretty crazy to learn that Lyssa Aryn poisoned her husband. That's a pretty deep call back to a central mystery in season one. This show is serious with it's plots. Makes you wonder just how long Littlefinger has been manipulating the game. Probably since his Baltimore days.

4. Sounds like The Iron Bank is a lot like the real life Federal Reserve: people need metaphors to explain it and everyone is trying to get on their best side. Something tells me though that empty mines spells trouble for the Lannisters.

5. So if we're to take things at face-value women from the Vale are A)Psycho B) Stage 5 Clingers C)Sexually demanding D) Have complicated relationships with sweets E) Are mean bloody knuckles players.

6. I'm also getting tired of Arya's routine. She would be wise to learn how to kill, not just sword fight. The Hound seems like a great person to learn that from.

7. All you viewers out there, don't you EVER go falling for Cersei's sob stories about missing her daughter, showing off ships,  and saying things like "What good is power if you cannot protect the ones you love." This woman is EVIL.

8. Podrick Payne continues to be one of the realest characters on the show. Love how human he is, I mean who knows how to cook a rabbit like that.

9. Bran warging Hodor was pretty expected after one of the mutineers said something like "I could take over the world with a body like that" but it still was badass to see Hodor regulate. I wonder how this new ability will factor into future battles with White Walkers.

10. Jon Snow, I'm happy you're reunited with Ghost, but you gotta start stepping up your game. You almost lost to a renegade Benihana Chef in that fight and when you won you got the guy from behind, which is no bueno. 

Wasn't that impressed with this episode. Hopefully next week will be stronger.