Our two favorite sources of entertainment in May are going in opposite directions.
Against all odds and all predictions, the Cincinnati Reds have us believing that they're the real deal. Since their opening-day pasting by the Cubs, they've been at least consistent and credible. Lately they're better than that. Today's 3-2 victory over the mighty St. Louis Cardinals--the second Reds' defeat of the Cards in two days, and both in classic style--is the kind of thing that Reds fans have been able to dream about since 1990.
Meanwhile, last night's episode of 24 may in time prove to have been Jack Bauer's jumping of the shark. The episode made cheap use of a just-in-time data discovery for Jack to (a) achieve his objective while (b) providing another crisis for the next week. But the worst scene was Chloe O'Brien's tazing of the drunk in the bar (conveniently located within easy walking distance of Bill Buchanan's house in Los Angeles, for goodness' sake). We may well mark that moment as the end of the show's seriousness and descent into postfeminist cliches.
And how does Jack get cell phone reception at 30,000 feet?
7 comments:
I went to the game last night and I have never seen such a display of lucky hitting from the Reds. The Cardinals defense was solid as could be but luck prevailed. To fellow my fellow mourning Cards fans I will just remind everyone that it is only the start of MAY and the Reds are merely delaying their inevitable slide. Besides, Griffey's hurt, again.
1. There's no way the Reds pitching will hold up through August.
2. I refer you to your post listing all the well known Jack Baur facts. The man can do anything!
There is a pretty accurate statistical formula for predicting record based on run differential.
winning percentage = (runs scored)^2/((runs scored)^2 + (runs allowed)^2)
This predicts a winning percentage of .625 for the Reds. It's good enough to win 101 games.
Oh ye all of little faith. The Red Legs have opened up a can of whoop-sass.
You are only looking to set up an "I told you so" if they do sputter. If the Reds win the division, you'll be able to say, "Well, I was cautiously optimistic back in May."
But hey, "you support the troops!"
The sad thing is you can't enjoy them while they are winning.
Jack Bauer has jumped the shark multiple times. He's really good at it. Every decision he makes is based on just in time intel and 100% accurate intuition.
He is a 1 man army. The previews for the next episode show that he will walk on dihydrogen monoxide and raise Edgar from the cadaverous.
You have followed this show for 5 years, and you're just now complaining about intel that arrives conveniently in the nick of time, and locations that are serendipitously just down the street from one another? Have we been watching the same show?
I find all such criticisms of shows like 24, Lost, and Alias to be, in a word, odd. I do not watch such shows because I expect them to reflect any real-life situations. I watch them exactly because they are fantasy, and thus require a suspension of one's every day beliefs about how the world works. I watch because it is good escapist entertainment, not because I want something that looks like it could have happened in everyday lif. When will we stop insisting that fantasy shows play by the rules of reality?
As for Chloe, I think her actions align completely with her anti-social personality. I laughed out loud, knowing that within the narrative world of this show, this is exactly the kind of behavior I would expect from Chloe if she were being hit upon by a loser in a bar.
If you're not sitting on the edge of your seat during 24 you probably lack the ability to have fun.
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