Sorry Jack. Much like you said in last night's episode, I just can't do this anymore.

As I said in my previous post, suspense of disbelief is fine.  It's just a TV show, right? Right! If the TV show makes up it's own rules of "reality" that's par for the course. Of course I get that, I'm a huge Sci-Fi and Fantasy buff. From the worlds of Radagast and Raistlin to those of Lando Calrissian and the Durass Sisters, everything would fall apart without permitting each world its own unique set of rules that govern everything from physics to society. But when a story-world breaks canon by ignoring its own rules, that's sloppy writing. When it does it frequently, it's inexcusable.

<SPOILER WARNING>

Sunday night in the world of CTU there was an abundance of Satellite coverage, including a bonus satellite that Morris has access to. Roughly an hour later, Bauer-time, it is apparently common knowledge that satellite coverage is nearly impossible to come by and has been for some time due to the terror situation.

Strike One.

Numair, a prisoner in the "Palmdale Detention Facility", is the only person Fayed has access to that can make the Russian suitcase nuke functional. Fayed orchestrates a series of terror attacks like never-before-seen just to free Numair. He also apparently bought off one of the guards at the base — so it would seem the highly complicated series of attacks was entirely unnecessary, but I'll graciously ignore that.  In a show that "happens in real time" Numair makes it from the bathroom of a bus near Palmdale, California to a warehouse in Valencia in 9 minutes, Bauer time.  The two cities are 48 miles apart.

Strike Two.

When they finally get satellite coverage, CTU makes it clear that no one has entered or left the warehouse. Yet somehow Fayed is safely away from the warehouse when the bomb goes off, driving a car that is apparently invisible to satellite imagery.

Strike Three.

But let's say we give them an extra pitch. A mulligan, if you will. It was made absolutely clear that only one single Russian suitcase nuke is unaccounted for. Fayed made it quite clear he desperately needed Numair to make that nuke work. Numair makes it work and is vaporized in the ensuing nuclear detonation. Fayed apparently has four additional suitcase nukes that are fully functional. Would you like to know how? Lean closer, I will tell you.

They were handed to him by a lazy writing team who couldn't be bothered to keep to the lowest writing standards of daytime soaps.

That's it, I'm done. Sorry Jack — and I really am sorry Kiefer, I've always enjoyed your character, you've done a phenomenal job over these past 5 years and counting — but I'm boycotting this show. This is the latest in a long line of examples of just plain horrible writing, and I'm not going to take it anymore. There are plenty of great shows and between Heroes and The Office on NBC, Battlestar Galactica on SciFi, Grey's Anatomy on ABC and Veronica Mars on The CW (or whatever it is now) I won't miss it. I don't need to be insulted by the writing staff over at Fox. Heck, even LOST and Smallville are still hanging in there despite being on my "ehhh…." list. They Didn't contradict their own storylines blatantly, repeatedly and in reference to rules that had just become canon the previous episode.

So Good bye Jack. May your next death bring you peace. I'm sorry I won't be there to see it.

- one 

I am getting sick of the way 24 plays hard and fast with reality. Sure, it's a television program and we're supposed to suspend disbelief, but give me a break — that can only go so far.  The plutonium dust was all right, but by the time we got to Air Force One being shot down by an F-117A Stealth Fighter — a plane that doesn't even carry any air-to-air weapons and can only attack ground targets — a line had been crossed. 

 <SPOILER ALERT>

Tonight, they jumped up and down on the far side of that line and thumbed their nose at the audience. Put aside the fact that they have a highly respected source giving them more than enough reason to call off the air strike on Assad — heck, put aside the fact that they are launching a missile attack on a house in Suburbia, U.S.A. — the entire attack is based on information given to them by a known terrorist.  This level of intel isn't good enough to get this mission approved if it were in Baghdad and I am beside myself that 24 would stoop so low even with their prior history of insulting their audience.

Perhaps FOX upper-management has rubbed off on them over the years and they have gotten to the point where they think the average American is an idiot. To the extent that may be true, it's due to the irresponsible media treating them that way. If great television shows made Americans think, they wouldn't turn them off and just maybe they'd learn to think a little more independantly. Instead the media, along with both major political parties continue to foster, intentionally or unintentionally, an atmosphere which encourages dependent thinking where people get their opinions from other people's opinions instead of from facts.

All right, that was a bit of a rant but frankly I am fuming. I can accept the little things, like Assad having Jack's cellphone number on a stolen cellphone Jack himself probably didn't have the number to. These things brush right past me as they are supposed to. But, fool me once… you know? When a plane that has no air-to-air capability shoots down Air Force One I can chalk that up to lazy writers. When the President of the United States (who seems to be highly concered about not violating people's civil liberties) authorizes an air strike, on U.S. soil, based on questionable intel, with no ground confirmation (for all he knew it could have been Kim Bauer's apartment he was blowing up), that is B.S. on so many levels my jaw is still hanging open.

Add to that having a significantly better source telling him that not only was Assad the "wrong guy" but he was actually their best hope of finding the real bad guy — apparently Wayne Palmer is the absolute worst  President this country has ever seen. Say what you will about George W. Bush, but he walks a fine line of violating the law. Wayne Palmer, one of the guys we're supposed to *like*, just pulled an operation that would have had Bush impeached by even a Republican congress. If you stuck the real Karl Rove into the imaginary Oval Office from tonight's show he would have been the voice of reason. That is how pathetic the 24 writing staff is.

- one 

Rosie O'Donnell, Barbara Walters, Donald Trump — Guys, I know there have some things said by all sides that were entirely true.  I'm well aware that things that were best left unsaid — most especially because everyone already knew them — were said and people were offended.  I know… I know… Listen, I have something to tell the three of you.  It's very important that you listen closely, because this is pretty much the most important thing anyone has said to any of you in a while.

Are you listening? 

Please, please, please do.  Thanks much! 

- one