Contrary to rumors, 24 will be 24 episodes next season
There’s been some scuttlebutt stirred up to suggest that next season’s two-hour 24 prequel TV movie will be considered part of the 24 hours in Day 7, therefore leading some to think that there’ll only be 22 episodes. But how could there only be 22 hours in a day, right? Well, TV being what it is, I’m sure they’d find a way to do two hours in one — other shows do! — but that won’t be the case. There will be 24 hours, 24 episodes in the 2009 season of 24.
Part of the reason for all this confusion is an interview that actor Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty) gave to Premiere.com. Carlyle, who will be playing someone who’d been a mentor to Jack, said that the 24 TV movie, which is meant to cover what’s happened since the end of Day 6 with the new Day 7, would apply to the Fox episode commitment. He told Premiere.com, “This is two hours in real time, and there’ll then be 22 episodes.”
Well, Robert had it wrong. TV Guide’s Matt Mitovitch went directly to Fox and they assured him that Day 7 will definitely be 24 hours, 24 episodes. They are not part of the TV-movie. He also learned that the movie is set four years after the end of Day 6. That’s 2017.
I don’t know about you, but I’m itching for 24. It seems like forever since Valencia went up in a mushroom cloud. And since this TV movie is 2017, I guess Chloe’s baby — assuming she had it — will be a toddler. Does CTU have a daycare center?
[via TVTattle]
Army Wives: The Messenger
Army Wives is the kind of show that’s not afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve, metaphorically speaking. That’s what this episode was in essence. The writers weren’t afraid to deal with some core themes like faith, courage, fear and bravery.
Time has passed since Amanda’s death, but life is not returning to normal for the Holdens. Until Claudia Joy is able to begin to heal, Michael and Emmalin will be suffering, a point driven home in this episode by the messenger. In the guise of guest star Bill Cobbs, he’s not real.
At least not real in human form; he’s imaginary and only Claudia Joy can see and speak with him. This is very much a dramatic device to help her see that life goes on.
Family tradition dictates that Claudia Joy teach Em how to drive a stick shift, but just like she can’t go to church or be intimate with Michael, she also can’t be there for her daughter. Everybody seems to want something from her. When she encounters the messenger — outside the church — he tells her that, “I don’t want a thing.”
It’s only when she’s able to lash out in anger, telling him how mad she is that she’ll never see Amanda get married, or hold her babies, that his message makes sense to her. “Death is a part of life. You can’t have one without the other,” he explains.
It was a nice touch to see Emmalin finding an outlet for her pain and confusion about Amanda by asking Roland if she could play basketball with him. She’s able to tell him about her fears that the soldiers on base now longer make her feel safe. Roland, who’s not working at the hospital right now — remember he resigned to go to Northwestern, then changed his mind — begins an ad hoc practice on the court. Em returns and brings troubled friends along.
At the hospital, Denise meets a young man, an amputee whose legs were blown off in Iraq, and while he compares her to Mona Lisa, he’s not really flirting with her. He sees a sadness in her smile. They talk motorcycles, she sneaks him out for a beer. Mac, in his innocent way, helps Denise to remember a part of her life that was lost years before, when she was a teenager and less regimented by first her father, and later Frank. Mac’s gift to her is a set of keys. He leaves her his motorcycle when he’s sent to Walter Reed Hospital.
When Claudia Joy literally putting her hands to her daughter’s hands to show her how to drive a stick, she is finally able to reconnect. This was excellent dialog and really worked. She tells Em, “Until you can trust, you can’t move forward.”
Other points of interest
– Pamela and Chase are again caught in the push-pull of his being back for a short time and trying to be super dad and spouse while he’s home.
– The subplot of Finn dressing up with a tie to ask Claudia out on a date was adorable. His imaginary friend, Harry, eggs him on. Roxy explains to Claudia, and later, out on their date, Finn says Harry is at the bar. When Claudia Joy looks over, her messenger is there. Are they one in the same?
— Finn looked like a little Harry Potter with his suit and tie and glasses. Interesting that his imaginary friend is named Harry.
— It was nice that Roland’s well enough to be shooting hoops and helping others, but what’s going on with Joan? There was no mention of her and the baby.
— Chase is deploying again, but they actually give him three days notice. That was a change of pace. Delta Force rules usually means he comes and goes without warning. Given some time to get his life in order, the guy stepped up and told his wife and kids how much he loves and needs them.
— Betty is not easy to live with. Her cancer has progressed and she needs chemo. She also doesn’t like kids because she could never have any of her own.
Is it Super Friends, or Superfriends? (Or even SuperFriends)
Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.
Here is one of those questions that doesn’t come up too much in normal conversation. Yet, it’s one of those things that, once you think about it, does make you go ’hmmm’. It’s about the Super Friends. Well, actually, the Superfriends. Or, is it the SuperFriends?
I’ve seen it written so many ways over the last 35 years(!) that it is a bit confusing. And, while it probably isn’t the most earth-shattering question, it is something to take into consideration when you are writing a post about the Saturday morning show. Especially when there are fans of the show reading the post who are ready and willing to point out the mis-spelling in fine detail.
So, for the purposes of accuracy, I present the following evidence to you, the TV readers, to help me determine the proper spelling.
The most obvious way to write up the title of the show would be Super Friends. That’s because the first season of the show, premiering on ABC in 1973, was Super Friends. It was hard to tell as the two words were so close together on the title card that they seemed to spell SuperFriends. However, the subsequent comic book by DC Comics and the DVD release of the series were also titled Super Friends. So, that doubt was put to rest.
Here’s where the confusion begins. Starting in 1976 the title of the show changed. Instead of a space between the Super and Friends the words merged into the compound noun Superfriends. From that point on the word ’Superfriends’ seems to have been used in each incarnation of the series. This included the classic Challenge of the Superfriends, The World’s Greatest Superfriends, and Superfriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show. The confusion has been amplified because each DVD release has had the title of Super Friends as well.
Add to that the various ways thousands upon millions of people on the Superinfohighwayweb have written Super Friends over the years, and you can see where I am unsure of how to write it up. Being the purist I’m going to go with Super Friends for the time being. Then again, writing Superfriends seems to be a cleaner version of the title. Ah, I’ll just call it ’That Show with Superheroes’ and leave it at that. Or, is it Super Heroes?
Christian Bale Is No Christian Slater
What’s in a name? Well, if you’re Christian Bale, it means a slight case of mistaken identity.
In the June/July issue of Details magazine, the Dark Knight star recalls the time somebody actually thought he was that other Christian:
“A casting director saw me in a hotel lobby and practically ran at me, holding a script: ’Thank god I’ve finally found you! We have this movie that you’re perfect for, and this is an amazing coincidence. The director and producer are not going to believe it, that I just bumped into you! We’ve been talking about how perfect you are for this role for so long! Finally, I met Christian Slater.
” ’Christian Bale.’
” ’Excuse me?’
” ’I said, ’Christian Bale.’
“And she went, ’Oh, I’m sorry,’ took the script, and walked away.”
Dylan McDermott and Dermot Mulroney can no doubt sympathize with such confusion.
Meanwhile, ChristianBale, that isalso opens up about working with the late Heath Ledger on the upcoming Batman sequel…
“He was incredibly intense in his performance but incredibly mellow and laid-back. Certainly there was this great anarchistic streak to itjust getting dirtier than anybody’s envisioned the Joker before,” says Christian, adding that he hopes the film “will be an absolutely appropriate celebration of his work.”
The Dark Knight swoops into theaters July 18.