WHAT WE’RE WATCHING:
24 (9PM FOX, GlobalTV in Canada)
Geeez, one would think that on President’s Day of all days, the first family could catch a little bit of a break. Unfortunately this is 24, where tonight, the first family including daughter Olivia (Sprague Grayden) face painful circumstances.
CHUCK (8PM NBC)
Chuck and Sarah go undercover as a happily married couple in suburbia to solve the biggest mystery of all. Just how exactly does new neighbor Andy Richter score a hot wife like Jenny McCarthy. Damn.
HEROES (9PM NBC, 10PM in Canada)
Proving we’re not the only ones who can’t stand Hiro and Ando, Matt’s prophetic image sends the troublesome twosome to India. ‘Prophetic image’… righttt.
NEW & NOTABLE:
KYLE XY (9PM ABC Family)
Kyle’s job working at Latnok to repay his debt sure sounds like a great idea. Especially when you factor in KYLE XY’s recent cancellation and the fact that Kyle may soon find himself working at In & Out Burger.
HOUSE (8PM FOX, GlobalTV in Canada)
For the reason why we’re not watching tonight’s installment of HOUSE, click here.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING:
24 (9PM FOX, Global in Canada)
Okay, Mr. Bad Guy, it’s one thing to crash planes and threaten the people of the United States. But when you start trash-talkin’ the First Family, you’ve gone too far! Expect retribution to begin… sometime in the next 10 hours.
HEROES (9PM NBC, 10PM on Global in Canada)
Paintings predict a dire future, Sylar meets a guy with abilities he wants to use… wait, this is the storyline that was going to be different and exciting and make everything better again, right? Um, is it working?
THE BIG BANG THEORY (9:30PM CBS)
Christine Baranski swings by as Leonard’s mom. Past experience has taught us that maternal visits to any sitcom character usually wind up disasterously. Meanwhile, is it just us, or is CBS trying to kill this show by just running it whenever the heck they have a gap to fill?
NEW & NOTABLE:
GOSSIP GIRL (8PM CW)
Seeing as The CW is blowing off Obama’s talk, I bet they wish they had something new to offer folks as an alternative! Instead, we get a rerun of this year’s snowflake ball.
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The TV Addict interviews Mary Lynn Rajskub in Los Angeles, January 2009
One of the most exciting aspects with regards to any FOX press junket is that at any given moment, anything can happen.
For instance, you may wake up one morning after an ill-advised Pinkberry binge only to discover that the very friendly gentlemen who pleasantly said good morning to you as you stepped into the elevator in search of a desperately needed caffeine boost was none other than FRINGE star John Noble, looking absolutely dapper and very un-Walter like in a dark suit and sunglasses.
You may overhear an actress joke that she requires a team of hairstylists and makeup artists because these video interviews that she is about to partake in will haunt her for the rest of her career.
Or, in the case of 24 star Mary Lynn Rajskub, you may have your interview interrupted by the ever so cool and slightly intimidating star of 24 Kiefer Sutherland. Which is exactly what when down when this TV Addict had the opportunity to chat with everybody’s favorite techie, Chloe O’Brian.
So what does it feel like to finally be back on TV?
Mary Lynn Rajskub: Yeah I forgot, it’s amazing. I’m back on this show called 24 that we’ve only been waiting for two years to get back on the air. [Rajskub pauses for a moment to pull out her best Jack Bauer impersonation] But now we’re back to kick some ass.
What intel can you spill about the new season of 24?
CTU is no more. I have to deal with people at the FBI this season. Janeane Garofalo is my arch nemesis Janis Gold: Computer tech extraordinaire. Which is really fun because we’ve been friends for years off camera and we get to go toe-to-toe on camera.
And guess what, there’s a terrors plot out there and Chloe returns to help Jack. I do things I shouldn’t, do things I don’t want to do. But what can I say. The guy tugs at my heartstrings.
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Good News: Calling the show “creatively played out” FOX President Kevin Reilly announced this morning that FOX has canceled PRISON BREAK with plans to air its final batch of episode starting April 17. Bad News: It took FOX this long to realize that PRISON BREAK was creatively played out, seriously? [Source]
Good News: The return of 24 attracted nearly 13 million viewers, besting November’s disappointing prequel numbers by 400,000. Bad News: Unfortunately, Sunday’s premiere still managed to garner 20 percent fewer viewrs than its previous season opener back in January 2007. [Source]
Bad News: Outgoing President Bush’s request to address the American public one last time has wrecked havoc on Thursday night’s television schedule (with FOX already bumping the return of BONES). Good News: The phrase “outgoing President Bush” sure does have a nice ring to it. [Source]
Because a picture is worth 1000 words, this week’s edition of The Backlot, written by the TV Addict and drawn by the uber-talented Andrew Mok, succinctly sums up the season premiere of 24. Click here for previous editions of The Backlot. 
The clock is ticking.
And while this TV Addict is the first to admit that posting our review of 24’s new season isn’t exactly akin to saving the world Jack Bauer style. It’s what we do. And unfortunately, we’ve got a little more than five hours remaining to do so. Tick… tock… tick… tock…
Herein lies problem: After watching the season’s first four episodes, this TV Addict remains conflicted as to where we stand. I mean, far be it from us to critique the critics, but it’s almost too easy to simply write off the show as an unrealistic and irrelevant remnant of the Bush/Cheney post 9/11 era (see here, here and here).
Because the reality is, that as a result of what has become a somewhat constrictive real-time format, there is no denying the fact that the new season of 24 is a whole lot of the same.
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Just how big of a 24 fan are you?
Would you watch seasons 1 through 6 of 24 back to back to back to… well you get the idea… for the opportunity to set a new Guiness Book world record and the chance to walk away with $24,000 in cold hard cash?
We’re fairly confident we wouldn’t (and couldn’t!), but are thrilled to introduce one contestant who did. Well kind of. Murtz Jaffer, host of TVTropolis’ REALITY OBSESSED lasted an impressive 48 hours before voluntarily eliminating himself from the 24/7 Ultimate Fan Marathon due to the fact that as an employee of GlobalTV’s parent company Canwest, he wasn’t eligible to actually win the cash.
What he was eligible to win was the next best thing. An exclusive sit down interview with theTVaddict.com. Where Murtz took it upon himself to warn all of you so-called amateur TV Addicts out there: Watching TV is not nearly as easy as one might think.
The TV Addict: So how hard was it, really?
Murtz Jaffer: I thought it would be a lot easier when I first got there. I mean as a TV Critic I watch nine hours of TV on a regular basis. What I learned is that when you watch the show hour after hour after hour on the same TV without getting up is totally different than watching TV in the comfort of your own home with your fridge and more importantly, the freedom to go to the bathroom whenever you want (Contestants were allowed to get a fifteen minute bathroom break every three hours).
I’ll tell you, the last three hours I was in the competition, it didn’t matter if it was Jack Bauer on the TV or if someone was coming up to check on me. All I saw were purple and green triangles. Even now, after it has been 24 hours since I left the competition, I still see a pink hue on the screen. Here’s hoping that’s not permanent!
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The TV Addict with Kiefer Sutherland at the
24 Season Premiere Party, January 2008
If there is one thing that this TV Addict took away following two days holed up with a bunch of rowdy radio shock jocks is that DJ’s love to talk. Thus, you can imagine my surprise when an eery quiet enveloped Hollywood’s Hotel Palamor at the end of the second day of FOX’s January Press Junket. Turns out, Kiefer Sutherland was in the house. And if six seasons of the hit FOX show 24 taught this TV Addict anything, it’s that when Jack Bauer talks, you best be listening. Or risk ending up like this guy.
So listen I did. As Kiefer Sutherland was kind enough to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule to reveal what went wrong with season six, why the new season of 24 is the best one yet and when fans can expect to see Jack Bauer’s adventure continue on the big screen.
So it’s been like what, five years since you’ve been on the air?
Kiefer Sutherland: It feels like it, it really does [TV Addict Note: At this point, Kiefer laughs. Which was quite a sight to see considering that I'm fairly confident that Jack Bauer has barely cracked a smile over the course of 24's six seasons!] Believe me, it’s been a really disappointing time for us. Our fans have been so unbelievably loyal to us. But unfortunately there were a series of events that conspired to keep us off the air. And since it is really important to run all 24 hours continuously the decision was made to hold us off for another year so that we could premiere in January.
Did all the extra time you were afforded help or hurt the show?
We tried to take advantage of all the extra time we had this season and I do believe that now that we’ve done all 24 episodes, they’re finished and I’ve seen them I can confidently say that we’ve made the best season we’ve ever made. I hope people come back to watch it though. To say that we’re not nervous a little would be bullsh*t. Beacuse we are.
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Over the course of the next two days, the TV Addict has once again been given the incredible opportunity to take part in a FOX Press Junket. So if you’ve got any questions for any of the following FOX stars, please post away in the comments below and I’ll endeavor to get them answered.
24’s Keifer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub. BONES’ David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel. DOLLHOUSE’s Eliza Dushku, Tahmoh Penikiett and Joss Whedon. FRINGE’s John Noble. GLEE’s Cory Monteith. HELL’S KITCHEN’s Gordon Ramsay. HOUSE’s Lisa Edelstein and Olivia Wilde. THE OSBOURNES’ Sharon, Ozzy, Kelly and Jack. TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES’ Brian Austin Green and Garret Dillahunt. And finally, LIE TO ME’s Tim Roth, Kelli Williams, Brendan Hines and Ria Torres.
Anybody who caught Annie Wersching as GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Amelia — aka the producer who sought revenge against Kelly Monaco’s Sam by, um, making her a star (even for a soap, that one didn’t make much sense!) — could see that this woman’s star was on the rise. As 24’s FBI agent Renee Walker, the wildly talented Wersching immediately eclipses pretty much everyone else on the screen, which ain’t an easy thing to do given the caliber of talent that show has on board. Better still, it looks like Wersching will be getting a whole lot of air time, as the show immediately makes her a reluctant sidekick to everybody’s favorite torturer, Jack Bauer. While we’re not overly impressed with what we’ve seen of the new season — which suffers from a major case of the “been there, done that” blues — Wersching is the kind of fresh blood that pumps new life into a series and keeps you comin’ back for more.
Look for CT’s full review of 24’s new season — which launches on Sunday, January 11 — on Friday, January 9.
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