TNMC

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Episode 2.13, "8 PM to 9 PM"
Written by: Maurice Hurley
Directed by: Jon Cassar

I have to admit that this episode ended up being quite different then I expected it to be, and perhaps not for the better. What I expected and wanted, was some balls to the wall action. What we were given though was the traditional slow burn. Still, there were some highlights in this episode, and the ending leaves me excited as hell for next week.

There seems to be a balance to this show by the way, if one week happens to be exceptionally Jack-centric, then the next one will spend more time on the side characters as this one did.

To begin with, Kim, who just wanders from one bad story line to another. This time she's hanging with the strange hunter who rescued her from the snare. Obviously this guy can't be normal, because where's the dramatic fun in that? So he ends up being a militant survivalist, as Kim sees when she visits the bomb shelter. He's got guns, gas masks, and perhaps just a bit of insanity. All he's missing is the Rush Limbaugh guide to survival and I would think he belongs in Michigan Militia. McRae (the psycho's name) and Ted Nugent could hang.

Kim, to her credit, is smart enough to realize that this guy is kind of sketchy and wants to beeline to her aunt's house. However before she can scoot, the plot gods do step in as a forest ranger is out looking for Kim. This forces her to delay her plans to leave, and gives our forest psychopath time to concoct his master plan. Which consists of using an old radio and pretending that the nuke has gone off in order to throw Kim into a panic and thereby convincing her to lock herself in the bomb shelter with him. Now don't get me wrong, if I had seen Kim walking around in that shear wifebeater with her nips protruding proudly, I'd be tempted to come up with some pretty insane plots myself. In case I didn't make myself clear there, allow me to get a little more male. Dear God Elisha Cuthbert is Hot! I mean absolutely smoking. That's why I don't want to see Kim die, even if she is bounding from Lifetime movie to Lifetime movie.

But really, once this damn bomb shelter thing is finished and the nuclear threat has passed, just take Kim to the CTU and keep her there. No more psycho fathers, or chubby soul stealing pink blobs of eternal damnation named Megan, or hick and biased sheriffs, or insane mountain men. Just involvement in the actual freaking story line. I don't think that's too much to ask.

Things are pretty quiet on the CTU front, the only real notable things are the increasing physical degeneration of Mason and the fact that Chapelle still doesn't seem to like the branch office of the CTU much for some reason.

Palmer gets a few moments of genuine coolness in this episode, as he once more gets to vent his wrathful side. That's the great dichotomy of the character, he's a genuinely moral and caring man, but when he truly loses his temper, he becomes a hurricane of wrath. It makes for truly interesting and dynamic character. In this case that anger is directed on Stanton who has finally broken under the strains of torture. He reveals that they've known about Second Wave's plot since the beginning. They allowed the bomb to be smuggled into the country from the beginning, but they also had an elite military team under the command of Colonel Samuels (personally I think KFC could have had a great built in plug by paying to have this character named Col. Sanders) tracking the bomb in order to defuse it at the last moment. Stanton just wanted to create a national scare that would make Americans desire greater security measures then they currently did. But come on, since when are we sheepish enough to give up freedom for the illusion of security? Oh, and in case subtext is hard to pick up in actual text, there was more then a little sarcasm in that last statement. This military squad is also under orders to not allow anyone else to get near the bomb at Norton airfield.

Which means Jack will have to lay a serious smackdown on them since he and the CTU just reached Norton airbase. Or at least that's what I was hoping for. A little quality violence in a quality show. However as the CTU search the airfield for the bomb and the military unit, they come upon a hanger where they believe the Special Forces are held up. Jack rushes in, and my first thought is that he should be dead since any Special Forces unit worth anything would have had a sniper focused on the door. Then again, perhaps I've been playing far too much HALO.

As Jack further explores the hanger though, he finds all six members of the unit dead. This is doubly troubling to Stanton, since it means the bomb is no longer being tracked, and the unit was supposed to have seven members. My guess is that Col. Samuels is the one who flipped over and has his own plans for the nuke. This also creates a physical threat for Jack to contend with at some point, something the character has been needing.

The nuke itself is piled onto a van by Marie and driven away from the airport. Here's my problem with that, I realize that the CTU force was spread thin, but the first priority in any situation like this is to establish a perimeter around the airport to stop anybody from being able to sneak out.

Perhaps those who were standing guard though where drawn out when Omar made a break for it in the airplane, making everybody think he had the nuke. If that were the case though, I would have liked to see it executed. Jack quickly puts an end to Mr. Omar's Wild Ride with some sharp shooting, taking out the tire and pilot line of the propeller plane, thus making sure it never takes off of the ground. Of course the bomb in there is a fake and the real one left with the van.

Palmer hears about this and demands to know if there is anyone else who would have interest in obtaining the bomb. Stanton hesitates before telling Palmer that he might want to ask Sherry that. Earlier in this episode, David had made his peace with Sherry, apologizing for his past rudeness and letting her into the securest parts of his complex against the warnings of Lynne and Mike. And he's just found out that she's betrayed him once again. The look that Dennis Haysbert portrays on his face is practically perfect. It becomes equal parts shock, pain, and finally settles on rage. The storm clouds have gathered and the hurricane is about to be unleashed on Sherry.

So while this episode definitely helped extend the plot, it did so in some forced ways. Keeping the nuke in play keeps that tension running, but I was hoping we would have a repeat of last year on 24 with the first plot being wrapped up halfway through and then segueing way into the larger plot. Perhaps that still might come to pass. Plus there's the continuing adventures of Kim story, which I'm willing to forgive due to some quality T & A teasing. I never said I was a particularly demanding critic. Plenty of good moments this week, but still a tad lackluster. I'm hoping next week really manages to step it up.

Episode Rating: 7 out of 10

-- Tim Ritenour

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