24: Season 1, Episode 7: 6:00 AM - 7:00 AM Review

6:00 AM - 7:00 AM
Original Airdate: January 8, 2002
Writer: Andrea Newman

Director: Bryan Spicer

The second part of this "trilogy" adds on to the complications brought up from the last episode. Jack's compromised position threatens one of CTU's own. We finally discover who has been compromising CTU regarding this investigation. While the ending may be considered a cop out, the show as a whole is better for it.

As the sun rises, the shot segues to Jonathan, the gunman who will in a few hours attempt to kill Palmer. There is a great visual flair in this episode. The transition to the gunman is cool and the use of split screens creates an impressive effect. With Belkin's picture in the mirror, he carefully makes sure he has every detail down to the green contacts. It's creepy, and a good way to remind us that the threat on Palmer is very real and close to coming into fruition.

Jonathan tells Gaines that he's leaving while Gaines still watches Jack. Gaines has left a keycard in the car for Jack to use when he gets back to work. This card is identical to the one that Milo is currently decrypting. Although Jack isn't told yet, he must know that Gaines plans to swap them. His mole in the agency has let him know that they've found this piece of valuable information. They are too close, but Gaines won't tell him that. He has enough power that he doesn't have to say why.

Following his meeting with Novick, Palmer rushes out to convince his family to stand by him as he comes forward with the story. The first person this request concerns the most is Keith. Palmer disregards Pierce's request to stay in his limo and runs towards his jogging son. His appeal is turned down because Keith only sees this move as political; something he believes his father has always made his top priority. Palmer is a paradox. While he is a man of integrity, his career has made it difficult to remain strong with his family and now he's frantically trying to make up for lost time.

On the compound, Rick cleans off after burying Dan. One could nit-pick about how it only took him five minutes to move all that dirt, but would we really want to see another hour of burial? Kim's in the midst of Stockholm Syndrome, although Rick is the least evil of the people at this compound. Despite Gaines' dismissive and condescending attitude, Rick still thinks that he'll honor his promise to let Rick go. Rick still lives afraid to assert himself. Kim, about as close to an impartial observer, knows that Gaines won't allow him to leave.

Jack arrives at CTU, where he awkwardly dismisses Kim's situation to Nina. She then informs him that the body in the trunk was Alan York's. He quickly returns to his office to curse Gaines out. However, a simple gunshot quickly reminds Jack of the power Gaines has over him if he doesn't obey his orders. Gaines tells him to replace the keycard they're analyzing with the one in the car.

Gaines takes a moment to inform Kevin, the man impersonating Alan York, that Teri knows he's fake. Kevin doesn't know it because his phone has poor signal. While driving with Kevin, Teri demands that they pull over because she feels whoozy. Although it had only been a few minutes, the fact that she was with this man obviously put her in a state of shock. However, like her husband, she must've been crafting some plan to deal with this development. Of course it isn't as sophisticated as anything Jack can do, but it works for the character. Alone in the car, he finds the message and can gather enough to know what's going on. He investigates and Teri hits him with a rock. Before Teri knocks him out, Kevin throws the keys into a bush far away. With Kevin knocked out and secured to a tree, Teri tries to call Jack, but is unable to get a signal.

Kim proves herself right when Gaines denies Rick's request to be paid and leave. Gaines manipulates Rick by turning around Rick's feelings of being "in the way". He claims to have some other jobs for him to do before he can go, but it's a bogus story. The only way he'll leave is like Dan. Rick doesn't resist, though, but this provokes him to take Kim's advice since Gaines won't.

As Nina comes up to inform Jack of Milo's progress on the card, Jack tries to tip her to Gaines' control. To his horror, Jack discovers that Gaines is watching him at CTU as well. Obviously the work of the mole, who we later learn is Jamey, but more on that later. Jack disposes of the evidence just before Nina enters. Milo is about to find out who the shooter is. However, Jack orders that they stop the decrypting until he gets down there.

Meanwhile, David consults Nicole about Keith. Unfortunately, she thought this ordeal was over years ago. To relive that again may be too much for her to deal with. However, Palmer proves to be a strong supportive father by advising her not to answer any questions she doesn't feel comfortable with or diverting those asking to him for an answer. Unlike her brother, she trusts her father's support. Since the scandal revolves around Keith, they don't need the additional conflict between her and her father.

An obviously frustrated Milo complains to Jack about having to stop decrypting the card. Jack dismisses it as a communication failure, which only makes Milo madder. Then he spills Milo's cup of crackers, using the diversion to switch the keycards. Milo doesn't even know it until a few minutes later, when the machine reads the card quicker than it should have and refuses to comply to the orders he gave the first card.

Kevin has woken up and warns Teri that if she isn't taken to Gaines' compound, then Kimberly will die. Like many people caught in this situation, Teri doesn't know how to proceed. She seriously doubts that she will be unharmed, but to have her daughter in danger too adds a lot to the equation. She still tries to call Jack, despite Kevin advising that it won't do much good.

Rick finally agrees to work with Kim on an escape plan. Before Rick can go into detail, another thug named Eli barges in. Kim quickly makes it look like Rick is raping her and Eli gives him a few minutes to finish. Obviously this is a bad sign of Eli's character, but it allows Rick and Kim a few minutes to devise their plan. When Rick leaves, Eli commends Rick for his brazen effort that could've gotten him killed, then goes to rape her himself. However, Rick finally shows some spine and gets Eli away so Kim can escape. On their way to load some trucks, Rick pretends he lost his keys and rushes back to Kim.

Gaines forces Jack to get clearance into the breakfast only a half-hour before it happens. Nina comes in and confronts Jack about the keycard that they know is a fake. Jack admits to switching them out, but lies about why. When Nina threatens to call division, Jack pulls a gun on her, something that throws Gaines off guard. He quickly escorts her out of the building, explaining to Tony that they're heading to a division meeting.

As soon as Teri gets service, she tries Jack's phone again, but is scared to hear someone from the hospital pick up. Frantically, she dials CTU, where Jamey picks up. Teri details her ordeal, and Jamey offers to send some agents to get her. Unfortunately for her, these people are Gaines' men, who get Kevin lose and take her back into their custody. Meanwhile, Jamey crosses out and disposes of the note she took during the phone call.

I like how they underplayed this moment. We finally learn who the mole is and instead of a dramatic reveal like her suddenly killing someone, she's just quickly threw away some information. It made sense for her to be the dirty agent. While there was a lot of suspicion drawn upon Tony, it was far more because he disagreed with Jack. Jamey was the least suspicious, plus her changing hairstyles, initially a nit-pick for fans, can be explained away as her alibi for when she contacted Gaines and his men.

Palmer has one person left to persuade, and that's Sherry. She's not budging. Rather, she offers an alternative: blackmail Kingsley into keeping the story quiet. She wants her son to avoid jail and her husband to be president, but knowing that he added to the cover up is too much for Palmer's conscience. Palmer wants this to be revealed since it will be eventually and a clean conscience means a lot to him.

Jack and Nina continue driving. An upset Nina questions whether anything Jack has said to her since midnight has been true. She must be going crazy thinking about what is really going on. Her emotions almost get them killed when she fails to notice the car in front of her has stopped at a red light. They proceed to a deserted industrial area, where Gaines then instructs Jack to shoot Nina. She can't believe what is happening, and demands that Jack shoot her to her face, which he does. They confirm what they believe is a dead body and move on.

Although this twist is negated in a few minutes, it is still a major development. Jack shot his strongest ally in a mock execution. She lived, but part of him looked like he wasn't sure it worked or at least the impact of shooting her took a lot out of him. However, he needed to project this image. He tricked the man who has the lives of his family in his hands.

Kim and Rick manage to dig a whole under an area of fence. When Kim squeezes under, she hears her mom scream. She can't leave her there, and Rick stays too, having missed the window to escape. Though some may criticize this decision, I can see how it works. She doesn't want to leave her mother alone there. Rick however, needed to step up and go. He's still a coward.

Tony asks Jamey about the meeting Jack and Nina told him about, but Jamey says that she hasn't heard of any meeting. Nina hasn't called either, which adds to Tony's anxiety. He investigates himself by getting the surveillance footage. There he sees Jack accost Nina, but is baffled as to why he gave her a flack jacket. We see that Nina, while groggy, is still alive. The jacket stopped the bullets. Now she is alone in the middle of nowhere, confused as to what is happening.

It is a second part, but by the end you know something is big is coming. We already saw some big things. Jamey's mole reveal is interestingly low key, but its implications are huge. While some parts may have been less than stellar, it makes up for it with Jack's story.

Score: 9/10

Sorry for my absence

Hey,
I apologize for not posting as much this month as I did in June. Recently I got a job, so I've been adjusting to that. I am working on a review for 24 "6:00 AM - 7:00 AM" with "7:00 AM - 8:00 AM" coming after that. Nip/Tuck reviews will be put on hold for a while because I am unable to find the tapes of the middle of the phenomenal second season and therefore have to wait until they repeat on FX in the next couple weeks, but once I can do it, they will be up. I am considering adding a third show to review, but haven't yet come close to a decision.
-As for commentary regarding the Emmys, most critics have said what I would've said (Will & Grace?? West Wing???? SIX FEET UNDER????? No Shorheh? No Nip/Tuck??? Etc.)
-Well, I hope to get half way through 24's first season of reviews in the next two weeks. I'll try and get some more stuff up soon. Until then, the remote is yours.

Matty

24: Season 1, Episode 6: 5:00 AM - 6:00 AM Review

5:00 AM - 6:00 AM

Original Airdate: December 18, 2001
Writer: Howard Gordon
Director: Bryan Spicer

I remember when 24 first came on amidst all the hype. At first, I didn't necessarily think it deserved a lot of the praise it received, but was still a worthwhile episode. However, after this episode, 24 became appointment television, a status it still holds today. It is a vital episode to the entire series. Lies are exposed, characters are torn away from each other and things wind up in a place where we're dying for more.

In some ways, this episode is the first of a trilogy. Culminating at the breakfast, you can tell this episode is the start of something big. In this episode, we learn that Sherry has a dark ambitious side, Jack loses all control and one character's dark side is revealed. The next episode complicates these developments and the third episode pays off this mini arc.

As the doctors frantically save a flat lining Janet, Jack calls to tell Teri that he'll be there soon. Until he does, Teri is to make sure no one comes near Janet because her life may be in danger. Teri's confused and scared as to why Janet is a target. Unfortunately, Jack can't say why. This only sends Teri's day further out of control. Unlike Jack, she doesn't know how to deal with situations like this. Of course, this uncomfortable mix of work and home life is a major part of this season.

Jack pulls into CTU and shows Nina the body he recovered in the last episode. Forensics hasn't yet arrived. Their assignment's tough since all of the identifying parts have been removed or badly mutilated. Jack leaves in a chopper to get to the hospital. He want Nina not to mention that he acquired it for personal use. All his favors have been accumulating. In only a few hours, she has put her job on the line because Jack asked her. We're leading towards a place where he'll ask for too much.

Once Jack is airborne, Tony demands to know what is happening, but Nina doesn't give him any answers. Despite all of Jack's broken protocols, she's still supporting him and willing to risk everything. She defensively tells him to back off. Things have been tense between them all night. Although Nina is dating Tony, Jack still plays a major role in her life and that doesn't sit well with Tony.

Rick sits over Dan's body, grief stricken. Gaines comes with a shovel, ordering him to bury Dan. Because of his fear, Rick now answers to a far tougher authority than his friend did. A man who doesn't care about anyone who knew someone he killed, looks down upon him and will likely kill him when the job is over. Kim realizes this, but she can't convince Rick to actively try to escape.

Following the meeting with Maureen and his son, Palmer contacts Carl for the truth. Palmer won't take any more lies, so the crafty aide admits that he did help Keith hide the Gibson death. Although he covered it up, he believed Keith when he told him that it was in self-defense. Palmer is disgusted and claims that he would've gone to the police. However, Carl believes such an action would've prevented him from even running for president. This is enough for Palmer, who orders Carl out of his life.

Before he steps out of the room, Carl drops a major bombshell. Not only did Keith and Carl keep this a secret, but so did Sherry! With this revelation, the doting wife we saw Sherry as died and the manipulative icon we grew to love was born. Palmer initially doesn't believe Carl, but when he reveals that she was the one to contact Carl for help, Palmer knows he's telling the truth. The one person Palmer believed he could trust has been lying to him for years.

Gaines and his entourage are extremely courteous mercenaries. When they kidnapped Kim, they allowed her to roam around free and help Rick bury Dan. Perhaps they had good results with free-range hostages. Anyway, Kim picks up a shovel and digs Dan's grave while Rick takes a break to smoke weed and bask in self pity. He still has a lot of work to do emotionally. Although he apologizes for what has happened, it doesn't change that it did happen. Kim sees that he needs to face this, but Rick doesn't yet.

At the hospital, Jack arrives and hugs Teri. Though it has only been five hours since they've seen each other, their lives have changed significantly since then. All of the frustration Teri had was forgotten in that moment. However, it quickly came back when Jack met "Alan" and began questioning him, accusing him of negligence as a father (even though Jack and Teri don't know much about their kid's life either.) "Alan" had been a good support for her during this difficult time and Jack's suspicion appalled him. However, we now know that Jack didn't push him enough.

Elsewhere, Palmer confronts Sherry when she gets out of the shower. He learns that even Nicole kept this a secret from the police and him. Palmer knew that Sherry was ambitious, but never to the extent that he finds out this day. Sherry even says that their marriage was based on ambition, not love as he believed. Despite this disagreement, she explains that she didn't want to send her son to prison, but her desire to be first lady is still prominent. Now, Palmer is still hesitant about what he needs to do.

This sneaky move was a good for the show. Initially, many may dismiss the original Sherry Palmer as someone the writers threw in without an idea of what her purpose would be on the show. This appears to be anything but true and the result was a phenomenon. Having Sherry and David's philosophies play off each other was great too see.

Last episode featured Teri telling "Alan" about her problems with her daughter. This week we see Kim's side, and both women are in similar mindsets. Despite all their problems they've had, this situation has made them want nothing more than to be together. Like "Alan" to Teri, Rick has been supportive to Kim during this ordeal. Only "Alan" was pretending to be unaware of the escalating circumstances, whereas Rick passively let it happen. Regardless, she still believes that Rick wants to escape as badly as she does.

Gaines interrupts the digging and demands that Kim come with him. He doesn't say why, but he advises that she "leave the shovel unless [she] plans on using it on [him]." Defiantly, she jams the shovel into the ground. Of course, she will be used to blackmail Jack to do Gaines' bidding. Looking at this episode again, we can theorize that "Alan" provided Gaines with his opportunity to take control by alerting him to Jack's pressence. Though having all these pieces fall in place where their plan can't waver an inch is hard to believe, it makes the writing more complex.

Jack calls about the body, who is still unknown. In the next room, Teri apologizes to "Alan" about Jack's behavior. He shrugs it off, but deep down he's thinking that he hopes that Jack doesn't find out his secret. That questioning earlier could've blown their operation.

With everything happening, including Jack attacking a MacGuffin, he couldn't keep the truth from Teri any longer. He takes her to a private area and tells her about Palmer and that this threat is connected to Kim's disappearance. Jack believes that she's gone because someone knows Jack is assigned to protect him. Of course, there is more to it than this, but this summary is a good set up for what we'll learn later.

It's a great scene because it is a rare instance where Jack shows uncertainty and fear. Usually Jack is in control and keeps his emotions to himself, but this situation is too much for him. All he's done to keep his family away from his work hasn't been enough for him. For a powerful man like Jack to be powerless is his weakness. At the end of the episode, Jack loses all control as Gaines exerts his will over him.

Nina takes Jamey off the keycard, which will be handed to Milo, an outside contractor brought in to help. Nina claims that she is needed to help identify who the John Doe is, but it sounds weird that she would assign a data analyst for a forensics case, it works. They find a special orthopedic device that can be traced to the surgeon who implanted it. Such a discovery will let them find out whom it belonged to by the end of the episode, providing a great surprise.

Because everyone in his family covered up Gibson's death, Palmer can only confide in Mike Novick, his Chief of Staff. Unfortunately, his outlook isn't good. The story will be saturated in the media and the spin will destroy his career and family. However, if he deals with this properly, he can salvage his shot at the White House. That entails coming forward before the media does, and having his family by his side. In only a few hours, he needs to reconcile this sudden betrayal at least enough for the media.

Janet is expected to make a full recovery, the doctor tells them, so Jack asks the doctor if he could ask her a few questions about where Kim is. Of course, with Jack so close to the truth, he must be untimely ripped from it. Before he gets to see her, he gets a phone call. He thinks it's Nina; it's Gaines. Now things are getting really interesting. Using Kim, he gets Jack to get away from Teri, leaving her confused as to what is happening yet again.

If that wasn't enough of a satisfying development, we're taken upstairs to ICU where "Alan" is about to see "his daughter". He manages to convince the nurse to allow him to see her alone. He enters the poorly lit room to find a groggy Janet. At first, he appears sympathetic, until we hear Janet mumble some revealing words: "Who are you? Where's my father?" Jaws drop, profanities are shouted. "Alan" caresses her face and proceeds to calmly suffocate her. It's more cold-blooded and fitting this way. This is business to him.

Meanwhile, Jack follows Gaines' instructions, leading him to the parking lot and a planted car. In the car is an earpiece that Jack will now use to receive instructions from Gaines. His next instruction: drive to CTU. Speculation certainly can run crazy as to what Gaines wants Jack to do at CTU. His high ranking offers many opportunities for Gaines to exploit. Whatever Palmer's would be assassins want, Jack plays a role in their plan.

After Kim is used to coerce Jack to obey Gaines' instructions, she's taken back to see Rick start burying his friend. Before he drops the first load of dirt, he apologizes for what has happened. Spending this hour has given him plenty of time to think about what his inaction has cost him. Kim tries to ease Rick's worries by telling him that her father is coming.

"Alan" manages to get Teri out of the hospital on the lie that Janet told him where Kim was. Her calls to Jack have gone unanswered due to him disposing of his phone at Gaines' demand. Nina can't reach Jack either, so she calls Teri with the John Doe's identity. Alone in the car with him, Teri discovers that the real Alan York is dead and an unknown man has been with her all along. This vital twist is a great topper for a great episode.

Man, this was good stuff. The shocking development that Alan York isn't who he claimed he was provided a great standard for shocking twists yet to come in the show. Also, this episode was the first glimpse of Sherry Palmer as we know her. It may be slower paced than previous episodes, but it allows more time for character and story development and this episode had plenty. When the clock ticks 6, you need to see what happens next, which is what you want out of 24.

Score: 10/10

24: Season 1, Episode 5: 4:00 AM - 5:00 AM Review

4:00 AM - 5:00 AM
Original Airdate: December 11, 2001
Writer: Chip Johannessen
Director: Winrich Kolbe

We're starting to see more. The next few episodes make up probably one of the best arcs 24's had and it's clear by this one that we're in for good stuff. Things are tense between Teri and Jack, Palmer confronts his parental skills and we learn the difference between being dead and not dead. Also we see how clever Jack can be when he needs to get information out of a suspect.

As the doctor's prep Janet for surgery, Alan and Teri burst in asking about her. None of the help is helpful. When they learn that a Jane Doe was brought in, they run down to the OR to find Janet. Jack calls for an update, but he can't come to the hospital because he's pursuing Penticoff, who was arrested minutes earlier. The lack of sleep is getting to Teri, who crankily calls Jack out, unaware of the circumstances. Their situation has gotten to the point where they'll need to address it soon.

Gaines prepares to return to the compound with Kim in his car. Dan and Rick will meet him and receive payment there. When Gaines drives away, Rick suggests they split. With $20,000 on the line, Dan refuses and reminds Rick that he owes him. Still, Gaines' presence spooked the hell out of Rick and we can see why. Dan knows Gaines, since he's clearly the one who made the deal to kidnap Kim. Gaines isn't a person you'd want to threaten.

Palmer contemplates telling Nicole about the allegations. Sherry doesn't want to bring it up because Nicole has been doing so well. However, if she hears this before it breaks, Palmer may be able to help her face the demons again. Palmer changes his mind when he sees how happy Nicole is about her father's chances in the primary. She'll still need to find out, but now isn't the time. No time is right in this situation though.

Jack arrives at the police station demanding that he see the suspect, but the officer in charge refuses because Penticoff killed one of their own. There's no denying Jack has undying respect for people who serve, but he should've pulled rank. This is a federal investigation, and it's not like he would let a cop killer go. Although, had they done it clean, Penticoff may have demanded immunity for help, so Jack would have to give the illusion that he was complying completely. He manages to get a few minutes with Penticoff. Since things are going so smoothly, a wrench has to be thrown in. This wrench of course is Mason, following the lead he found last episode.

Mason grills Jack about his behavior since Walsh's death. Jack asks him why he would want to take down his best and highest ranking ally. Since the mole information must remain confidential, Jack can't divulge everything. This only raises Mason's suspicions. Jack does reveal that Penticoff is somehow connected with the hit on Palmer. Mason still insists on interrogating him first.

En route to the compound, Rick beats himself up for not doing anything for Kim. Dan knows that Kim will likely be killed if she hasn't already because she saw Gaines and the guys. Throughout this season, Rick deals with his own cowardice and reluctance to admit responsibility for his actions. Unfortunately, he hasn't yet done what he thought was right and by the end of the hour, he'll pay a grave price.

For now, Kim is still alive in Gaines' backseat. He must've thought there wouldn't be much traffic at four in the morning, but he was wrong. They pull up next to a truck driver and Kim kicks the window to get the driver's attention. Gaines quickly stops that. To ensure no further problems, he throws her in his trunk. Probably would've been easier to throw her in there at first, but then again, his nonchalant "stop, please" was cool.

At the police station, Jack calls Teri. He updates her about the possible lead he has. Why didn't Teri theorize that perhaps whoever has their daughter is connected to what Jack was investigating? Perhaps we should cut her slack since we know something is wrong. Despite her crankiness that he isn't there, she must know that Jack's work must be more important than a routine meeting. He promises to be there soon, but until then, she should wait to speak to Janet.

Jack is an incredibly skillful planner. In a matter of twenty minutes, he has already devised a plan to get what he wants from Penticoff. To do this, Jack will need to gain his trust and make him believe that he will break him out of jail to help the investigation. Luckily, he won't speak to anyone but Jack. When he does, Jack tells him that everyone else is still listening in. Then he leans over and whispers something. Obviously, he wants to earn Penticoff's trust so he'll go with his plan. Penticoff and Jack start fighting and are separated, just like they wanted. The suspect demands his phone call. His call is to Jack, whose number he got during the fight. Jack needs to break him out because the people behind this are going to call him within the hour.

Jack gets another opportunity to talk to Penticoff when he sees Hampton's partner, Phillips. He appeals to Phillips' desire for his partner's death to mean something. Phillips grants Jack's request under the condition that he goes in with him. Jack accepts this offer, but when they return to the holding room, things become hostile again. He provokes Phillips and all three men wind up in a fight, just like they wanted. In the chaos, Jack steals Phillips' ID card and gives it to Penticoff, who escapes.

Palmer contacts Maureen, and they meet privately in a hotel conference room. She's still patted down as if they weren't friends before. He tries to make Maureen feel guilty about her involvement. We usually don't see this manipulative side of Palmer, but this works because he is convinced that Maureen is lying and trying to profit from it. However, this changes when he finds out her evidence. In addition to Dr. Ferragamo's testimony, she has a hospital record of a boy who came to a hospital hours after Gibson's death. He had similar injuries to Gibson and the boy's handwriting on the hospital forms matches Keith's. To save face, Palmer dismisses it, although he's sure that she's right.

This must be dealt with immediately, so Palmer wakes up his son and asks about the accident. Defensive, Keith calls his father on being too focused on his work to deal with the situation. Starting in this episode, we see more about the bad side to David Palmer the father. It becomes a vital piece of his character throughout the season and his tenure on the show. He is an honorable man, but his work has kept him away from his family and that has created distance between them. Some of their motives and secrets remain unknown to him and as he discovers them throughout this season, he has to come to terms with them.

Palmer deals with his family parallel to the Bauers. Teri tells Alan about how guilty she has been feeling since they fought over Kim's falling grades. Of course, she never wanted something like this to happen, but the fact that she said it still hurts. This isn't any different than any other parent and Alan tries to reassure her of that. At this point it seems like Alan may be more compatible for her.

This police squad must be clueless considering that the culprit of a cop killing was able to sneak out of the building unnoticed for fifteen minutes. However, it still is fun to see Jack outsmart everyone. CTU still has the upper hand as Mason uses satellite photos to identify Jack and the van he took Penticoff in. Meanwhile they're back at the phone Gaines said he would be call. Unfortunately for Nina's trace, the call is from a hidden cell phone. Jack listens in as Gaines instructs him to dispose of a body in a car's trunk. Jack assumes as we do that the body is Kim's. The last place we saw her was in the trunk because she was giving Gaines a hard time. This is a great example of the misdirection they do well.

They manage to find the car and Jack is horrified to see a dead body in the trunk. Although it is horribly mutilated, it is a man's body so Jack is relieved. Mason and the LAPD return and Jack freely gives Penticoff up (as if he would let him go). Since he has the information Penticoff had, Jack decides that he has to tell Mason the truth if he wants to continue investigating. It works and Jack is allowed to deliver the body to CTU to identify.

Here comes the scene this episode is noteworthy for. At the compound, Rick and Dan await Gaines, who arrives with Kim still in the trunk. He was considerate enough to pop it once they got there, since it must be stuffy. Dan asks for the money and Gaines demands that they be clear about what really happened to Janet. Reluctantly, Dan confesses that they didn't quite kill her. In a lesson Rick won't forget, Gaines shows them that "there's no such thing as 'sorta dead'" by shooting Dan dead. Rick was right, but his failure to act on it cost his friend's life.

Although I know, it is clear that this is just the beginning of the first payoff of season one. It's follow up, one of 24's best, overshadows this, but 4-5 AM is still an impressive piece of work. Rogue Jack is also good to see early so we can use this as a reference. This episode is most comparable to the top of a roller coaster, and you know what that means.

Score: 9/10

Nip/Tuck: Season 2, Episode 7: Naomi Gaines Review

Naomi Gaines
Original Airdate: August 3, 2004
Writer: Sean Jablonski
Director: Craig Zisk

After setting everything up, this episode kicks it full speed with revelations, problems and a little triumph of the human spirit. Ava was a lot to handle, but then they unleashed her disturbed son. In addition, it also adds The Carver, which would provide some later intrigue once the major stories this season die down.

Following Bobbi's restaurant outburst, Christian and Sean knew they were in for a tough ride. Bobbi has taken her fight to their office, convincing an old woman not to have them do her facelift. The woman did the consult anyway to see for herself. When the old lady leaves, they confront Bobbi haranguing patients in the waiting room. She scares them off showing them her botched lipo. Despite their requests that she leave, she insists on staying.

Bobbi's disturbances are too overt for their business, so the doctors try to discuss this matter privately. However, Bobbi remains adamant that she get an apology and that they inform the public what they did. Either way, they're going to take a major hit in public relations and revenue. Although Bobbi is unstable, she has convinced local newswoman Andrea Hall to do a piece on her surgery. Exposure like that would doom their business since local news is more concerned about scandal than the truth.

Sean's still distracted the next morning when Julia tells him about an attack on a model named Naomi Gaines. The third victim in a month, Naomi was brutalized by someone referred to only as "The Carver". He was named this because he mutilates his victims after raping them. Suddenly, Sean has someone who needs his help, a real victim of a horrible tragedy. Although he is concerned largely for her well being, part of him appears to be interesting in the publicity. That direction was misguided as it better suits Christian's point of view. Christian and Sean's differing attitudes become integral to the episode. Perhaps the scene should've been reworked as a scene between Sean and Christian or Christian and someone else.

While Sean is leaving for work, Matt is finishing making love to Ava. Adrian interrupts their pillow talk. He's not feeling well and is staying home from school. When Ava tells him that she wants him in bed, he tries to climb in with them. This boy missed many hugs when he was younger. Ava remarks that sometimes she regrets not having an abortion when she was pregnant with Adrian. Obviously such an issue between her son and her has made him a disturbed kid.

Matt questions her feelings being with someone her son's age. She claims that Matt's age has nothing to do with her attraction. It does. His age still leaves him impressionable, and Ava needs someone she can easily leech off and manipulate. Adrian has been manipulated all his life and we see that it has warped him. Before he left, he tells Matt that he will be discarded eventually. Adrian's obsession with his mother would give Hamlet pause.

Bobbi continues to terrorize McNamara/Troy, filling their schedule with phony appointments for famous victims and sending rotten meat to their building. However, this day they have a real client: Naomi. Words can only say so much about what she went through. The Carver cut her face badly, the cuts running from the corners of her mouth up her face. As he raped her and she choked on her blood, he kept saying, "Beauty is a curse on the world". In addition to this wrenching story, this quote has the added dramatic effect with the show's plastic surgery setting. The Carver chooses his victims because of their beauty and beauty is their business.

Sean sees her ordeal as an opportunity to be a healer again. He's genuinely sympathetic to her ordeal, gently examining her wounds and waving all costs for the procedure. When he asks her to smile and she can't, he tells her that it is because of nerve damage instead of trauma. Throughout the consult he assures her that most of what has happened to her is fixable. Naomi booked a cover before her attack and all she wants is her life back.

Christian sees that this is a huge story that would overshadow whatever Bobbi Broderick is planning. Without Sean knowing, he seduces reporter Andrea Hall. When she learns about it the next morning, she's initially flattered. However, she says that she won't shelve the story because of her personal life. After a few choice words about her eventual need for surgery, Andrea almost storms out of his room. A few more words, about their pro bono work, convinces her to stay. Christian's plan worked perfectly.

The new alarm system at the McNamaras, installed at Julia's request, goes off in the middle of the night. Sean and Julia find Matt trying to sneak back in after being with Ava. He dodges the bullet, but realizes that he can't hide it much longer. Later that day he tells Ava about his situation. She's thrilled and decides to call his parents and set up a meeting where they can tell them. Obviously, she can't see how wrong this relationship is, but where would the fun be there?

While Ava makes the call, Adrian asks if Matt wants to masturbate by the pool. If Matt had any early indicator to get out of this relationship, this was it. It makes Matt uncomfortable, and his efforts to get Adrian to relax don't work. Adrian sees Matt as a wannabe father to him. Since they're the same age, he can't exert that authority. Ava returns to confirm their dinner date. Adrian makes an odd comment regarding favors, further adding to the weirdness quota.

On the latest campaign against McNamara/Troy, Bobbi stands outside their offices handing fliers of her stomach. This is the end of her effectiveness, as Andrea Hall is now covering their procedure on Naomi. Sean rolls his eyes again when he finds out how she was swayed and is uncomfortable when Christian requests that Sean ask Naomi to appear on camera and talk about her experience. He has done a lot to make Naomi comfortable and empowered: he doesn't want to trick her.

He has an opportunity when Naomi arrives to see what she should look like after surgery. After an awkward icebreaker, he manages to become more sincere as his lines sound less scripted. Initially she doesn't want to, but Sean persuades her by telling her that this would be getting back the power The Carver took from her. Through her ordeal, she has always been looked upon as this poor victim. Sean's compassion has made her believe that she can have what she used to have. Although he wasn't completely forward, this has been incredibly helpful for her.

Sean's concern for Naomi is genuine, as he tenderly looks at her before they operate. However, Christian doesn't see things that way. Christian's desire for honorable headlines and Sean's desire to give back what Naomi lost creates friction among the doctors, but nothing noticeable for the news cameras. While Sean may not like this publicity, he must realize that it is far better than the smear campaign Andrea Hall was originally going to cover.

That night, Julia, Matt, Adrian and Ava have dinner together. Adrian agreed to play nice, but his perpetual resentment towards them is still clear. Despite some hints, Adrian manages to keep quiet. He and Matt are excused from the table so Matt can show Adrian his CD collection. Matt asks what's the matter, but Adrian doesn't care. He takes the moment to kiss Matt, thoroughly freaking him out.

Spurned, Adrian returns to see Julia making a vegan meal for him since he told her he doesn't eat meat. He does, but he turned down her original meal to see if she would make something he requested. He claims Ava doesn't do that. Ava's rebuttal is that he isn't denied anything, so Adrian reveals their relationship in the most inappropriate way in front of Julia.

Off guard, Julia demands to know the truth, which she gets. Suddenly, Julia's vision of what she wants to be is shattered. Before she saw a woman in control of her life; someone who helped her get the strength to cast out her manipulative mother. Now she sees a much darker version of this woman, a woman far worse than her mother. She lashes out against Ava and orders her out of their lives. To Ava's surprise, Matt doesn't take her side. Ava needs to get Matt in a place where she can have control over him.

Meanwhile, Sean takes off the bandages to see how Naomi is healing. Thankfully, she is doing well. Her face hurts, but that's a sign that the surgery was a success. Unfortunately, Bobbi intrudes. Handing Naomi an envelope, she asks that she join her in a class action lawsuit against McNamara/Troy. At this point, she asks Naomi what had happened to her. Naomi gets her strength back here. Hearing this spoiled woman screaming for attention over a bad procedure was enough for her. She stands up for herself and tells Bobbi about her ordeal not in shock like she was at the beginning of the episode, but with power. It's clearly defeat for Bobbi.

And it's enough for Sean. He's going to press charges against her. Bobbi feels horrible for trying to compare her problem to rape. She confesses that she never went to her job interview and she did everything the doctors told her not to do. In her desperate attempt for attention, she lost all track of reality. Despite all she did to their company under this influence, Sean shows sympathy. He even offers to let Bobbi be a reference for future patients, giving her the attention she desperately needs.

Matt decides following the confrontation to break it off with Ava. He can't lie to his family anymore. She can't accept this. Matt is her life source. So, she unleashes the one thing she knows will revive his trust in her. That night he confronts Julia. She knows she can't lie to him about this. Everything Matt knows has been based on this lie that Julia has perpetuated. His trust in his mom is vanquished, just like Ava wanted. This revelation also has rocked him to his core, which makes him susceptible for more manipulation by Ava. During this fight, Sean walks in. Instead of revealing the entire truth, Matt tells him the truth about his relationship with Ava. It's merely a band-aid: he's going to find out soon.

This episode was jammed full of things that exemplify Nip/Tuck at its best. Adrian is a great addition to the cast. Though I wish there was more of the Bobbi Broderick storyline, it's quick resolution left them able to devote time to what was coming next.

Score: 10/10

Nip/Tuck: Season 2, Episode 6: Bobbi Broderick Review

Bobbi Broderick
Original Airdate: July 27, 2004
Writers: Lynnie Greene & Richard Levine
Director: Michael M. Robin

The second season really gets cooking in this episode. Writers Greene and Levine, who have written some of my least favorite (but still good) episodes, pull together easily their best effort yet. Of course, on a soap like Nip/Tuck, it fits that this episode is all about secrets and lies. The biggest secret is Matt's parentage, which by the end of the episode, three people know. Others, like Mrs. Calderello's surgery, represent another degree of secrets and lies. But obviously the big ones that get the most coverage this week are the most devastating.

Following the death of her father, Liz aspires to be a mother. She refrained from doing it while her father was alive because she didn't want to have a child out of spite. Now, she's middle aged, a dangerous time to give birth. Despite the risks someone her age faces having a child, she feels it's worth it. They proceed to operate on a grossly overweight man. They're not doing lipo, but working on his ears. Liz makes a typical comment about how people can be so oblivious about their physical problems, which may place them in a harmful situation. This time it is hypocritical since she is forgoing the concerns of having a child at her age because she wants one badly.

Our patient of the week, Bobbie Broderick, seeks to have her stomach reshaped. Her sons have moved out of the house and she wants a job at Saks to fill her time Only problem is that the women competing for the job are as old as her sons are and they haven't had two kids. She hopes this procedure will improve her chances. When Sean presents the forms, she quickly signs them without reading them out of fear that one of the warnings will scare her away.

Ava and Julia continue meeting, this time for a run. The "life coach" extols the virtues of running on the mind, but Julia isn't accustomed to running long distances. Emotions, instead of endorphins are released. Julia tells Ava a little bit about the secret she's been keeping for 17 years. She doesn't say anything about Matt, but asks if Ava could help him because his grades have been declining.

In the break room, Christian offers his sperm to Liz. Liz is baffled considering that they don't get along (I see them more like Christian does, as the siblings who tease each other). Of course, Christian's eloquent sales pitch, "you or the toilet", isn't flattering. However, Liz still considers it. Many who are looking for sperm donors pay high prices for medical students. Liz has doctor sperm.

At Ava's house, Matt and Ava start drinking to celebrate his new treatment. Matt appears reluctant and defensive at first. She wants to earn his trust. Now we see what is underneath this seemingly self-assuring life coach. When Matt says he'll get "naked in his own truth" only if she'll get naked first, she takes off her shirt! To gain his trust, she has him take a picture of her for himself, trusting him not to show it to anyone. This tactic works as Matt reveals what he did to Cara. However, it works more because Ava is playing off Matt's clear attraction to her.

When Mrs. Calderello tried her new stove, it exploded, severely burning her lips. McNamara/Troy offer to help make new lips using the folds of her labia. This scares her. If her husband knew, he would never kiss her because he had never kissed them before. His culture looks down upon that act. Christian assures her that he won't know where it came from since it is just skin, but Sean isn't comfortable having her husband not know where her new lips came from.

As Ava is about to head to work, Matt hops into her car. At first, she is uncomfortable having him there, but he is able to get her to admit that she is attracted to him. She makes him another shocking offer: if he can get an 'A' in French, she will sleep with him. When he says it's impossible, she rebuts by saying that it'll be impossible for her to relieve his tension. Clearly, Ava is manipulative, but we have yet to see how deep that really goes.

While performing the lipo on Bobbi, Christian barges in asking why Mrs. Calderello was taken off the schedule. Sean tells him about his discomfort lying to her husband, but Christian calls out Sean for his sudden self-righteousness. Of course, it makes more sense for Christian to be more comfortable with a lie considering the massive one he shares now with Julia, but he still has a good point. Their business is lying. They make people something they aren't, be it breast implants, liposuction or skin grafts. Despite Sean's objections, Christian puts Mrs. Calderello back on the schedule.

To alleviate his frustration at being unable to have Ava, Matt pleasures himself outside her window while she undresses. Though Matt has some experience with women before, Ava is a completely different level. Many young guys find an older woman alluring, from Mrs. Robinson to Stifler's mom. On Nip/Tuck, they take this to a far darker place. Satisfying his infatuation, she's willing to give him sex for higher grades, but like many boys, he can't wait that long to satisfy his urges. He also can't see the two cops who destroy his fantasy. This obsession almost cost him dearly.

Christian bails him out and Matt expects a "boys will be boys" type attitude. Before this, Christian had always been one to let Matt do things that Sean never would. He took Matt to a porn party and a strip club last season. However, things have changed. Julia's revelation has brought about the paternal side of Christian. He certainly doesn't want to see his son's obsession label him as a sex offender for the rest of his life. What kind of second chance at fatherhood would that be? Unfortunately, Christian can't tell him the truth about why he's so concerned.

The next day Christian visits Ava at her home, addressing his concern about her relationship with Matt. Their conversation is professional until Christian asks that Matt see another professional regarding his problems. Matt's feelings for her don't scare her off, but rather turn her on. A disgusted Christian threatens to bring her to the authorities. Ava brings out the big guns and threatens to tell Sean that Matt isn't his son. His reference to knowing Christian and Sean for 17 years was a clear sign that Ava connected to what Julia said earlier. Knowing what she knows has earned her more leverage.

The bandages are ready to come off Mrs. Broderick. Her enthusiasm quickly dies when she sees her stomach dark purple and when Sean tells her that she may need a touch up procedure. Although she ignored the information when she signed off, she complains that Sean never informed her that this could happen. Like some people, Mrs. Broderick seems to think that plastic surgery has a near magical capability to fix her problem. Later, Bobbi Broderick interrupts Sean and Julia at dinner and publicly displays her dissatisfaction to a full crowd at a restaurant. This problem isn't going to go away easily, which leads to good drama.

Sean grows concerned about Christian. He finds Christian exerting himself too much on the treadmill and unfazed by the buxom women inhabiting the gym. Since Wilbur left, Christian has tried to repress his problems, although learning that he has a biological son has softened the overall blow. Sean recommends that Christian try to find a meaningful relationship, which is probably futile considering who he's recommending that to, but Sean does have a candidate: who else, but Ava. Before Sean leaves them alone, he mentions that Matt got an A in French. We know what this means for Matt, but Sean only sees it as an achievement a good indicator of Ava's results.

At the office, Christian tries to convince her to go with him instead of Matt, but she prefers the potential of youth. Before leaving, she extorts some botox out of him. It's amazing how Famke Janssen, an actress many have associated with Jean Grey from the X-Men movies, could make such a convincing turn into the "love to hate" realm. Her original appearance, looking back, seems to be the transitional piece; had we seen this side of Ava initially, we may have screamed that she was desperately avoiding type.

Mrs. Caldellero's surgery is an outstanding success. It is bizarre to imagine having that type of surgery and the ramifications that would result. She never told her husband where the skin for her new lips came from. Instead, she told him they got it from her knees. Despite his reservations, Sean doesn't intervene, which was the right call. Although it may be weird to kiss someone, especially her husband, with her new lips, this lie hurts no one. It is an extreme version of a little white lie, but what else do you expect on this show?

Alone in the break room, Liz talks to Christian about his earlier offer. Having her close friends turn her down, she accepts his. After having to keep his offspring a secret, having a known child serves as a way for Christian to openly enjoy fatherhood again. It also gives Liz the chance she wants, to feel life growing inside her.

After their night together, Matt eats some breakfast as Ava prepares to meet a morning client. Although Ava wanted to make Matt believe that he could trust her, she still had her own secrets. The first we find out at the end. Ava's secret son Adrian, completely naked, meets Matt and doesn't make any effort to cover up. With all her emphasis on trust and honesty, holding out that she has a kid certainly creates a lot of friction in that relationship. Plus, Adrian is clearly

This is where the second season really begins. The first few episodes were devoted to establishing the major characters, their situations and the problems their facing. The conflicts and complications are starting. Though some may complain that it took this long, the ride that results more than makes up for it.

Score: 9/10

24: Season 1, Episode 4: 3:00 AM - 4:00 AM Review

3:00 AM - 4:00 AM

Original Airdate: November 27, 2001
Writer: Robert Cochran
Director: Winrich Kolbe

After the previous episode experienced some filler tendencies, this episode appeared to move the action forward, although some of the stories plod forward. However, this slower pace in some of the storylines allowed more time to develop character, especially Palmer and Mason. It seems like they are on a steady roll with this episode.

Rick and Dan drag Kim back to van while Janet lies barely conscious on the street. Kim demands that they go back and get Janet, but neither of them complies. She appeals to Rick, but still Dan shuts him down. These guys are obviously amateurs or else they would've figured out immediately that leaving her there is a major loose end for their part of the operation.

Jack tries to reassure Nina of her place at CTU moments after she was cleared of leaking information. Because of this, Jack brings her into his circle of trust. Jamey, Nina and Jack have to trust each other and work together to stop the threat. Any person at CTU could be working with the terrorists. Although I'm surprised Jack didn't do more to root out who this dirty agent was, but he is too busy in the next few hours to thoroughly investigate.

At Palmer's hotel, he calls his advisor again, ordering Carl on the phone to find who the source of the story about Keith is. Sherry sees him talking and asks him where he was in the last episode. He doesn't tell her exactly. When she informs him about the assassination threat, he shrugs it off. Being the first black presidential candidate who could win certainly makes him a target for many radical groups. He's used to threats as much as a person could be.

Tony has found a lead with an empty seat in the flight manifest. Since the flight was full and had a waiting list, they wouldn't have departed with an empty seat. This lead is left open because of purges the writers had to do out of respect for 9/11, but this seemingly loose end serves the purpose the terrorists wanted. We can assume that the "empty seat" belonged to Martin Belkin. Every government agency would probably have access to this information. If they knew Martin Belkin was dead and his impersonator appeared at the breakfast, game over. By the time the authorities find out, it's too late.

Jamey finds another worthwhile lead in the keycard. Decrypting pieces of the data, they isolate an address. Unfortunately, it'll take Jamey hours to decrypt the entire card, so Jack decides to check this address out now. As soon as Jack leaves, Jamey's analysis of the keycard is disrupted. Mason returns and places CTU under lockdown. Jack plays dumb for a guard and with the help of some slight of hand, knocks him out and escapes CTU.

Under lockdown, Tony tells Nina that he was the one who called Mason in because of Jack's behavior. With two of their agents dead, Tony needs to know what is going on. Mason then confronts her about Jack's location, but Nina feigns ignorance. This episode, if anything, explores Nina and Jack's relationship. Why is she so unwaveringly loyal to him? Why is she willing to sacrifice her job or go to jail for him? These questions are left open to explore later, but it's good that they set it up early.

Sherry must've informed Secret Service about Palmer's nonchalance regarding the terrorist threat, because Agent Pierce arrives to inform him about the seriousness of the threat. It isn't that convincing since they do not know much about the threat yet. Today is Super Tuesday, a pivotal day for Palmer's campaign, and he can't spend it locked away in the hotel. Both jobs, protecting Palmer and winning the election, are both much more difficult now.

Back in the van of doom, Kim continues to beg Rick and Dan to go back for Janet, but neither of them budge. Despite Rick being the better of the two, Rick doesn't do anything. Dan suddenly realizes that Kim does have a point, only that Janet could identify them. Therefore, they need to keep her quiet. Kim pleads more assertively, but is silenced when Rick ties her up.

Nearby, Teri and Alan are pulled over for speeding. They alert the officer to the 911 call they made, but Alan is impatient when the officer checks it out. When he gets too aggressive, he's placed under arrest for disobeying a direct order. Unbeknownst to them, the van of doom passes the scene. Yes, this storyline is filler, but it also provides an interesting look into Alan's psychology. Previously he had been seen as compassionate towards Teri and her problems, but now we see a darker side.

At the address on the keycard, Jack finds a mostly rundown building complex, evident by the spray painted address number. While investigating, he finds a man, Penticoff, smoking a cigarette. A chase ensues and shots are fired, alerting a nearby police officer. She stops Jack, enabling Penticoff to escape. After he explains the situation, she allows him to continue pursuing the suspect with her. You can almost tell the lack of confidence they had in this actress considering how little dialogue she had and how unconvincingly she delivered it.

Mason grills Nina further about her relationship with Jack, exposing flaws that he hopes will lead to her talking, but she doesn't say anything. He really gets under her skin, describing her as a cast aside lover and a flunky who had the potential for greatness in the agency. Part of this is obviously out of jealousy for the respect Jack commands and the frustration that comes from not knowing why. Regardless, she remains quiet.

The van of doom approaches the road where Janet is still lying unconscious. Dan holds his gun out the window, preparing to shoot. Kim screams, but can't make enough noise to stop him. Rick doesn't do much either, sitting aside and only half-heartedly telling his friend not to do it. Fate, by way of an ambulance, intervenes and stops him.

In a dark room, Palmer listens to Carl on the phone. He found the source. It is George Ferragamo, Keith's former therapist. After the call, Palmer shares the news that has been troubling him. They both initially believe Kinglsey is lying. Doubt creeps in, and Palmer starts to believe that Keith may have killed the rapist. Kingsley has proven herself to be a professional journalist, and wouldn't do something like this unless she had enough evidence to prove it.

Pursuing Penticoff, Jack gets a call from Teri. He never learned to put his phone on vibrate. Penticoff hears the phone and fires. Jack has to turn it off. Unaware of the circumstances, Teri's obviously not pleased. The officer, Jesse Hampton, calls for back up. Jack and Hampton split to cover more ground. However, Jack is pinned down by the police helicopters who are unaware that he isn't a hostile. In one of the lamer plot contrivances, this largely empty building has a janitor who cleans it at 3 in the morning. This janitor distracts Hampton long enough to allow Penticoff to take her hostage.

The 911 call Teri made is verified and the officer lets a cranky Alan go. They speed off to find an ambulance racing down the road. Believing it could be one of the girls, they ask a homeless woman if she knows where it went. In a Boston accent, she tells them that it likely went to St. Marks. Elsewhere, Rick and Dan meet with Gaines to deliver Kim. When asked about Janet, Dan lies and says they killed her and hid her body. This is definitely a bad move to lie to a man like Gaines. The mercenary turns to his new leverage and makes a simple threat; if she's bad, she won't "be back in the mall in a day or two".

Jamey is next in Mason's interrogation block. He emphasizes that Jack could be using her. She doesn't say anything. The interrogation ends abruptly when they find Jack's name on a police frequency. Knowing where Jack is, Mason ends the lockdown and leaves to find him. Before he leaves, he asks Nina, who he still believes was involved, what's the big deal with Jack. She doesn't answer. We learn what the big deal is if we haven't already.

Penticoff calls for Jack to reveal himself, which he does. Hampton yells to Jack not to because Penticoff will likely kill them both anyway. Jack tells Hampton, who he knows speaks Spanish, to cover because he is going to lunge at Penticoff. Penticoff drops a rare extreme swear word before shooting Hampton dead, just like Hampton warned. Jack manages to subdue him.

After Hampton's body is taken away, Jack demands to speak to Penticoff. The cops don't want him to take him in because he killed one of their own. However, wouldn't Jack be able to pull rank as a federal agent? Penticoff is a part of a federal investigation. It's not like Jack would let him go after what he did. They do allow him a few minutes. Penticoff demands that Jack spring him, which he refuses. Then Penticoff calls Jack by name and warns that if he wants to see Kim again, he'll help him.

Things are slowly coming together. Now Jack knows that his daughter has been kidnapped and it is connected with Palmer's assassination attempt. This becomes a major part of the entire season, so his discovery of this knowledge is an appropriate bombshell. It's great to see Mason back and further developed regarding his relationship with Jack. We also learn more about Palmer and his family, which helps us since he didn't get a lot of coverage early in the season.

Score: 8/10

Nip/Tuck: Season 2, Episode 5: Joel Gideon Review

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!!

Joel Gideon

Original Airdate: July 20, 2004
Writer: Brad Falchuk
Director: Nelson McCormick

How do we deal with fear? Do we surrender, try to live lives with little risk and sacrifice? Do we go out of our way in the quest of adventure? Our time here is limited, and fear plays a big part in it. If we allow fear to control our lives, our lives become depressing and unfulfilling. If we try to overcome fear entirely, we end up placing ourselves in unnecessary danger. This Nip/Tuck seeks to explore fear in its many facets.

On a normal day, Sean calls Julia to ask what she wants for dinner. At home, she's studying the adrenal gland. Thankfully, they decided not to forget completely that Julia was going back to school in the first season. Before they can choose what to pick up, another driver strikes Sean head on. The staging of this crash is refreshing given the predisposition some filmmakers have to recreate The Matrix for shots like these. We see his crash in fast motion with breaks in slow motion, which really help show what it must feel like to be in an accident like this one.

Sean's taken to a hospital, where Christian takes care of him. Like last week, they still don't care for younger doctors, dismissing the younger hospital doctor. A cop comes into the recovery room to tell Sean that he'll need to fill out some forms regarding the accident. He also informs Sean that despite appearing fine after the crash, the other driver died in surgery. Sean denies being in shock, but since he isn't aware that he's missing a shoe, he is.

In true character, Gina storms into Christian's apartment demanding to know where Wilbur is. Christian informs her that James, Wilbur's real father, has taken him. Ironically, her plan to keep Wilbur away from him is going to keep Wilbur away from her as well. Although he loves Wilbur, he tries to forget it by getting rid of his toys and not fighting James' claim. Gina yells at him for not having the courage to fight for his son.

Then we cut to Matt (hint, hint). In a moment that screams "inappropriate", he plays a car racing game while Sean sits next to him. Sean shuts off the TV, but doesn't call him out. He's looking through a magazine to find a new car. Sean's search is facilitated when the car manufacturer responds to his grateful e-mail, where he praised them for their safety features. Since he is a doctor, they want him to conduct analysis on the damage crash test subjects receive. These subjects are donated corpses, since they're more accurate than dummies. Sean goes along, but panics when one of the test cars crashes.

Christian stops over to take Sean home. Sean sees that Christian has Wilbur's toys in the backseat. Christian explains that he's getting rid of them and that trying to be a father to Wilbur was the biggest mistake of his life. We know Christian's lying to protect himself from the pain. If he was so determined to get Wilbur out of his life, the toys wouldn't have been sitting in the backseat when he picked up Sean.

Their patient this week knows a lot about fear. He wanted his kids to remember him as someone who sought adventure out of life. So, he took up mountain climbing. On an expedition up Mt. Everest, he suffered frostbite, which took some of his fingers and a part of his face. Despite all the pain this has caused him, he's still determined to go back and take the summit. He'd rather have "a numb nose over a numb soul". His refusal to "surrender to fear" inspires Sean and Christian to take risks. Sean calls about the car company's offer and Christian gets Gina to prepare for the custody hearing.

The subject of the latest crash was a friend of one of the people working there. Like Sean, the body never took many risks in his life. His friend Brody tells Sean that he too has decided to try something that would scare him because of this. Brody's been swimming with sharks. After the car has been crashed, Sean looks over the body's injuries and he's taken aback by the fact that the body shares similar injuries to him.

Gina, Christian, James and his wife meet with a judge regarding Wilbur. They've decided to do arbitrarily, which is cheaper, both for them and for the budget of the episode. The judge has a difficult choice. Wilbur's biological parents both have significant flaws. James' wife clearly resents him for cheating on her and this resentment would likely be passed on to Wilbur. Also, they are much older. They have children in their thirties. On the other hand, Gina and Christian have problems with sex.

One thing that didn't seem right was why Christian didn't say that Gina told him initially that he was Wilbur's father. It would help make sense of the incident and why he's there, although the heartfelt speech accomplished that. You'd have to be a fool not to tell that this kid means more to Christian than anything in his life.

The McNamaras have chicken delivered. Sean doesn't want any, but Julia mentions that Sean is very picky with his food. Going with his new philosophy, he takes his family to a Japanese restaurant. Julia can't order safe bets. Sean decides to get fugu, a dish made from a poisonous fish. If prepared properly, it's tasty since there is a part of the fish that isn't poisonous. Julia can't stand it, especially when he offered Matt some. This was too far. They leave and Sean's faced with the fugu. He stares at it, then eats it with relish.

The next day they operate on Joel's face, slashing the dead tissue off his face and replacing it with skin they grafted. Sean tells Christian about his plans to swim with the sharks. Christian doesn't like it, and offers an interesting perspective on fear. Christian may not be fearful, but he has respect for fear. In addition to adding a great Christianism "slipindicktomy", he tells Sean that fear can help you avoid making a bad decision.

It came down to Gina. Despite their other flaws, it was Gina's self destructive addiction that made the judge decide that Wilbur would be best with James and his wife. Even worse, since they live in Arizona, they receive full custody of Wilbur. Christian and Gina won't be able to see Wilbur until he turns eighteen. This fact twists the knife in Christian's heart further.

As Christian loses his son, Annie loses her pet. Frisky (really a replacement of the original Frisky) has cancer, but Sean tells her that the gerbil is pregnant. It doesn't seem fair to him to have Annie face death so young. However, Frisky dies shortly afterward. At Frisky's funeral, Julia eulogizes that we lose things so we can appreciate what we have. It is true, as much as it hurts to say goodbye.

Christian thought he could cut himself off from Wilbur to avoid the pain their separation would cause, but he can't. The McNamaras find him crying in their living room. He tells them about the court's decision. Sean tries to consult him, but Christian can't suppress his sadness. Though Sean reminds him that he lost a child when Julia miscarried and his father when he was young, Christian tells him that it hasn't affect him as much considering what he is planning to do. He alerts Julia to his plans to go shark diving, which only makes her even madder.

Despite her problems, he sneaks out with Matt to go diving. Things are fine until Matt stands about to jump into the water. Sean sees his son as a six-year-old. This epiphany convinces him not to dive. There is a difference between spicing up his life and doing something that could get him killed. Matt gets mad at his dad and calls him a word similar to a coward. Just then, Sean's friend from the crash site has an embolism. He convulses furiously, but Sean takes control of the situation, saving his life.

With little time left, Christian offers Wilbur some advice, starting lighthearted but quickly becoming somber as he encourages his son to be strong. James arrives to pick up his son. He gave him an extra hour to be with him before they left. James credits Christian for saving his life. However, he still plans to uphold the no contact section of the ruling. It does feel unfair for Christian not to be able to have contact either, but that's what makes James' choice even more sad.

Sean realizes that smaller steps are much better and safer. He writes his own obituary to motivate the changes he wants in his life. Matt tells him that he doesn't think of his dad the way he did earlier that day. The way he saved the man on the boat impressed him to the point where Matt doesn't need his father to prove himself. Of course, this nice place in their relationship is doomed because it is too agreeable.

Julia stays at Christian's house to comfort him about losing Wilbur, but Christian is still beyond consoling. She then tells him that he is Matt's father. Since getting the paternity results back, she has been reluctant to find out, then reluctant to reveal to anyone else. In this moment of weakness, she tells because she thinks it will help her friend. Of course, this opens many doors for the problems that will make up the rest of the season.

This is a good episode, even if some people thought scenes like Sean scarfing down the fugu cheesy. It finally resolved the question of who Matt's true father was, but it clearly is only the beginning. Fear works well with the recurring themes of aging, life and the mid-life crises the two doctors find themselves in. The season is starting to move in this episode, and it'll be a great ride.

Score: 8/10

Nip/Tuck: Season 2, Episode 4: Mrs. Grubman Review

Mrs. Grubman

Original Airdate: July 13, 2004
Writer: Jennifer Salt
Director: Jamie Babbit

Womanhood is the theme this week. Perhaps no other group is targeted more by the business of beauty than women. We've seen before how it affects the women on this show, sometimes ending tragically, like with Nanette Babcock. It affects young, like the cheerleader who has lipo so her legs will be smoother, and old, like Mrs. Grubman. We see several women dealing with aging this episode.

The first is Annie. Annie McNamara has always been a lost character. Since so much of the show revolves around Julia, Matt, Sean and Christian, Annie doesn't have anything to do. You have to wonder why they put her in the mix. This episode finally puts the character to use. While bathing her daughter, Julia notices red stains on Annie's underwear. Annie has started puberty.

The next day Julia returns home with her friend Suzanne. After discussing Annie's situation, Suzanne proposes that they throw a Princes Menses party, a party celebrating the onset of puberty. She then selfishly calls attention to herself and her "youthful" appearance. She credits it to switching to an organic diet, claiming that processed food had too many poisons in them. Now Julia has a crisis of age.

Next, we see Mrs. Grubman in another consultation. She wants a knee lift, a task that baffles the doctors. They are still under obligation to give her whatever she wants pro bono, but they still question her motives. In six months, she has had ten procedures done. The doctors suggest that she has an addiction. She openly talks about her recent problems. Her daughter has cancer, and she sees beauty as a defense, as a way to be strong for her daughter.

That night, Wilbur's father visits Christian. He found Gina's diary and is appalled by what he's read. Of course, its ironic that he's seeking Christian's help after learning how many sexual partners she's had in the last few years. Christian has probably had that many, if not more, in that time span. Wilbur's father wants to ally himself with Christian against Gina in the custody battle. This is welcome since Christian has little weight in court over the biological parents. Wilbur's father offers another tidbit; Gina has contacted Kimber as a character witness.

The next day, Suzanne acts as master of ceremonies for Annie's Princess Menses party. Things are going fine until Sean comes. He's curious about it, but Suzanne doesn't want him around. Annie insists that her dad be her prince. Suzanne goes along and tells a story about Princess Menses, but what starts as a lighthearted story turns rather explicit. Julia and Sean quickly finish the story and confront Suzanne about her offensive story, of which she feels wasn't inappropriate.

Meanwhile, the symbolic Princess Menses, Kimber, prepares to lunch with Christian. After some small talk, addressing that she left Bobolit and is pursuing acting, she makes Christian know that she's aware that he's only meeting with her to convince her to side with him. He pleads his case. Wilbur has opened his heart to a love he never experienced before. Kim, upset, asks why she couldn't have been loved that way.

Kimber's cocaine addiction has gotten worse since we last saw her. She snorts some before her date. Then she finds out about Christian's newfound love and loses it. Frantically dumping her purse's contents on the bathroom floor, she snorts as much cocaine as possible: off the floor, off the toilet paper stand, anywhere except for the bowl. When she returns, she yells at him, but her nose starts to bleed.

Great segue to the dinner scene as Julia pours a red substance into a bowl. This gives the audience a clear impression of what this will taste like. Julia prepares a meal following her new diet. The reaction is bad. Matt gets up to make a sandwich, but can't since his mom got rid of all the non-organic foods. He turns extremely hostile, bluntly telling Annie graphic things about menstruation and angering Sean and Julia. Confused about this recent behavior, they decide to contact Ava to see if she can help him.

Another great music queue, "Mother's Little Helper" by The Rolling Stones, plays as they operate on Mrs. Grubman. The line "What a drag it is getting old", couldn't better sum up how Mrs. Grubman must feel. During the surgery, she flatlines and they work to save her. Later, we see that she has stabilized, but suffered from paralysis. Mrs. Grubman's daughter, Claire, confronts the doctors. Then we find out that Mrs. Grubman was taking antidepressants, which with the anesthesia caused her to flat line. She started taking them before Claire's cancer was diagnosed. Claire confirms what we suspected, that she was taking them because aging depressed her.

Christian looks through Kimber's nose and sees that cocaine really is a hell of a drug. It has destroyed her septum. He agrees to fix it for her if she doesn't take the stand against him. With that, she goes under the knife. Liz is baffled and a little saddened about how Kimber could've fallen as far as she did. Christian's rather tender to Kimber, stroking her forehead considerately. Life has treated her poorly and Christian wants to help. Obviously because of Wilbur, he has found a new sense of compassion.

Suddenly the McNamaras go into crisis mode when Annie suddenly becomes ill. She's dehydrated and running a fever. After being taken to the hospital, they discover that Annie used one of Julia's tampons inappropriately, which caused her body to go into shock. They realize that they've gone out of control with the new regime. Julia's fear of aging ended up being passed down to Annie and it almost ended in tragedy.

When they return home, they assure Annie that there are good things about getting older. Then they tell her another story about sex in a less crude manner. Simultaneously, we see Kimber in a wedding gown, symbolic of her Menses role in the episode. A man with a crown on his head carries her on a bed and has sex with her. It turns out that she's on the set of a porn movie. As Kimber ages, modeling becomes a tougher occupation, so she turns to porn to survive.

Christian visits Mrs. Grubman in the rehab facility. She can't move the left side of her body. Unfortunately, Christian can't fix it. For a character who cruelly manipulated McNamara/Troy to get what she wants, they did a great job making us feel sorry for this character. Vanity was her tragic flaw. Since she can't achieve perfection, she asks that they do one more surgery for her: reconstruct Claire's breasts that the cancer has ravaged. She wasted her daughter's life because she was fixated on her vanity. Her last piece of advice to Christian is not to let the mirror distract him from Wilbur's life.

That doesn't appear to be the way things will play out. Wilbur's dad isn't as sure that he wants to give his son to Christian after hearing him call Gina horrible names. Although he doesn't want Gina to be near the child, he doesn't want the legal father to instill on Wilbur such negative opinions about his mother. Originally, Wilbur's father didn't want to take him because he didn't want to introduce a new son to his wife of almost forty years. Christian agrees to have Wilbur baptized, but after it is done, Wilbur's father tells Christian he wants his son.

"What a drag it is getting old", especially for women, who have so many pressures society place on them to avoid it. Of course, it works since a woman, Jennifer Salt, wrote the episode. It also works well because we see the issue of women and aging from several perspectives, each playing out differently. This episode resolves the Mrs. Grubman storyline too, another thing they must've wanted to do so they could get the major arcs of this season underway. However, some of the gears are in motion.

Score: 8/10

Nip/Tuck: Season 2, Episode 3: Manya Mabika Review

Manya Mabika

Original Airdate: July 6, 2004
Writers: Lynnie Greene & Richard Levine
Director: Elodie Keene

This episode certainly had a few developments, including the introduction of Ava Moore, but guest star Aisha Tyler carries the episode. I didn't even recognize her at first when I saw the previews, but this appearance provided many opportunities. After this, she landed recurring roles on 24 and CSI. She credited this episode for helping her career. Even watching the teaser scene shows that she can do drama.

Who thought Aisha Tyler had it in her? The actress, known previously for comedy, plays the titular Manya, an African model who was the victim of a violent female circumcision. Even a vague description made me cringe. Any cutting near that area for either gender makes me uncomfortable. It's hard to believe stuff like this still happens in the world, but it would be naïve not to believe it does.

Christian and Sean offer an experimental procedure, wherein they take some of the skin off one of her toes, and use it to create a new clitoris. In the break room they argue over who will perform the surgery. Christian argues that his many partners make him the best candidate, but Sean argues that it needs to work too in addition to looking nice.

Liz walks in, chiding them for not looking at Manya's condition from a human perspective. Throughout the episode, Liz's view contrasts with Sean and Christian's. The doctors have trouble seeing this aside from a medical perspective, but as the hour goes on, they learn a little bit more and Manya is healed with the help of Liz after her surgery.

The day of Manya's surgery, Gina bursts into Christian's apartment with a soiled Wilbur. She's hysterically storming into the bathroom to clean herself off, leaving Christian to clean the baby. He takes to it, washing Wilbur while cracking jokes. This pleases Gina enough to ask Christian if he would father another baby. Christian doesn't want one, but he does want to legally become Wilbur's dad.

Sean and Julia start the day passionately making love. They finish and Sean heads into the shower. Unbeknownst to Sean, Julia faked it and pleasures herself while Sean's in the shower. He catches her and she confesses that she's been having trouble achieving orgasms. Of course, this makes Sean unsure about Manya's surgery if he is that clueless about the clitoris.

Both men gather to work on Manya with different mindsets. Christian is coming off a high from being the father to Wilbur. For a man as narcissistic as Christian, fatherhood has been a blessing. He's now seeing that something other than himself matters and it makes him a better man. Cleaning up a stained carpet is a pleasure because Wilbur gets a kick out of it. It's hard to imagine Christian behaving this way otherwise.

Sean is reluctant to operate on Manya following the episode with Julia. How can he equip his patient with a functioning clitoris when he himself is clueless about his wife's? Christian advises that Sean try some different techniques to please her. It still doesn't ease his uncertainty over how this procedure will go or his understanding of women. Christian boosts his confidence by reminding him that they're trying to give her a shot at what the butchers took from her. It's enough to get Sean into the OR. They tie off one of Manya's toes and cut it off. This tip is then placed in Manya's private area. One thing they never explain is what they plan to do with her foot. Losing a toe would require some rehabilitation or a replacement. However, genital reconstruction is so big that everything else seems insignificant.

Christian meets with Gina and Wilbur to discuss his adoption plans. Gina believes that Christian will go through with fathering another child, but he still refuses. He believes that Gina's addictive personality has shifted. She's filling that hole (no pun intended) with babies instead of sex. This turns Gina hostile, and she storms off with Wilbur in tow. Christian follows her to her apartment. There he threatens to cut off Gina from his support. She agrees to let him see Wilbur, but has a look that implies she has a plan.

Sean sees an opportunity to help his wife when a patient, Elias, comes in regarding his alopecia. The hairless man is apprehensive about the procedure, but the woman he's with assures him to do it because it is something he wants. This woman is none other than "life coach" Ava Moore, played by Famke Janssen. Our initial impression is that she just wants to build other people's confidence with new age psychology. Elias certainly could use it since his condition has affected his self-esteem. This care for her patients sets the audience off guard for what she is underneath.

Her confidence and ability to help her client provokes Sean to ask for her services. Ava agrees and later asks Julia some questions. Erica, in the room, criticizes Ava's style, bringing up her credentials. However, Ava is quick to point out Erica's shoddy analogy, which is the writers' way of showing us that she isn't just a quack. Knowing defeat, Erica stabs a piece of fruit and leaves. Ava advises that Julia needs to get her mother out of her life because she is a vampire. Ava is right. All her mother does is make her feel inferior about her life.

Christian checks up on Manya, who is healing well. She's eager to have sex. He tries to help her have realistic expectations, but Manya isn't as in the dark as he believes. Though she hasn't had an orgasm, she still feels when she caresses her body. She sees Christian as a healer and trusts him to make love to her.

Apparently, Sean and Christian bought their sheets at a bogo sale because both of them have sex with their respective partners on the same type of sheets. Either that or they did it on the same bed. Let's try not to think about the latter. Both situations play out similarly. Despite their efforts, the women can't be satisfied. While this happens, Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" plays. I'm not going to criticize Marvin, but this song has been featured in so many love scenes that it takes away from the scene itself.

As they're about to operate on Elias, the men talk about their experiences from the previous night. Christian's confidence doesn't waver even when Sean tells him that they can't tell if a woman's having an orgasm. They can make the physical appearance look great, but pleasure is a different place. Sean's thankful that day that they're operating on a man, something he knows.

Christian and Troy examine Manya's clitoris, checking to see if she is responding the stimulation. Manya looks uncomfortable through the whole thing. The doctors focus heavily on the product instead of the woman it belongs to. Liz steps in and asks to speak to her privately. Alone, she tells Manya that to feel pleasure from others she must first know how to please herself. After getting the "circuitry" to work, she tells Sean that Manya wants to see him.

Liz and Christian talk about Manya. She was initially disgusted that he slept with Manya, but she doesn't hold it against him because she asked for it. This goodwill doesn't exist for long when Christian suggests that he couldn't pleasure Manya because she was a lesbian. Christian can't comprehend not being a perfect lover. Instead, he merely explains it away for his ego's sake.

Manya cries softly in her hospital bed. Sean asks if anything is wrong. She isn't crying out of sadness. She's crying because the orgasm was a release. After ten years, she finally experienced pleasure beyond her imagination. It was so beautiful, so liberating, that she feels whole again and able to forgive those responsible for mutilating her. The moment was like "God waking up inside of her". This simile touches Sean.

Christian and Wilbur arrive at Gina's apartment early, only to find a sketchy man leaving. As they approach he bedroom door, another guy walks out. Christian goes in alone to see her having sex with a third man. Gina has been sleeping with multiple partners in succession because the more sperm inside her, the more competitive they become to fertilize an egg. Despite his womanizing, he can't stand to see it to this extent and threatens to sue for custody of Wilbur.

At the McNamara's, Christian asks Julia to be the maternal caretaker of Wilbur. In this conversation about fatherhood, Julia gives Christian a look that confirms what many people have believed. Erica enters and makes some critical comments about how they're treating Wilbur. Julia doesn't budge from her decision and agrees to help Christian. Unfortunately, Gina has decided to play hardball by finding Wilbur's real father.

Later she confronts her daughter about Julia's feelings. Erica knows that she is in love with Christian and has been as long as they've known each other. Julia takes Ava's advice and stands up to her mother, demanding that she leave. Her departure allows Julia to have the sexual satisfaction she's been missing, but she's gotten it by fantasizing that she's with Christian.

Again, Aisha Tyler's performance carries the episode since the overall arc doesn't progress as much as it does in subsequent episodes. We do get glimpses from the arrival of Ava Moore and the departure of Erica from the McNamara household. However, Manya's ordeal is what's really compelling.

Score: 7/10