24 10.3 The storyline with Isaac, Nicole and Aisha is terrible….

24 10.3

• The storyline with Isaac, Nicole and Aisha is terrible. The part where he was leaving and Aisha called him back (as if she was having second thoughts about betraying him) was cliched and painful to watch. The season is sinking fast.
• The Nilaa story was doing very well up until the did a big reveal on the identity of the real mastermind. And it, too, was painfully cliched. In fact, earlier in the episode I had been looking at that particular character and thinking: “Gosh, I hope it doesn’t turn out to be X at the end, that would be lame.” And then they do exactly that. Sigh.
• However, the storyline at the school picked up considerably when the ‘hero’ of
  the piece turned out to not be dead after all, and made his daring escape. Not
  bad. Keen to see what happens next.

• Meanwhile, Eric Carter runs around a lot, gets hit by a car and accomplishes very little. Seriously dude, avoiding oncoming traffic is a pretty basic skill! And we’re supposed to like this guy?!

7/10

24 10.2 The storyline with Carter’s brother Isaac, Nicole and…

24 10.2

• The storyline with Carter’s brother Isaac, Nicole and Aisha is bad and just drags the episode down. My heart sinks when we return to them.
• The John Donovan storyline picked up considerably with the arrival of Gerald McRaney and the revelation of a traitor in the camp. Definitely keen to see where this goes.
• My interest in the school storyline has diminished now that the ‘hero’ of the piece has been killed. Why do we care now?
• He doesn’t have much to do here but Bailey Chase really impresses in his scenes as Tom Locke. What’s the story with this guy? Will he become one of the heroes of the new show?
• Carter’s plan to rob the police station is ludicrous and very entertaining. Perfect 24, basically.
• Best moment: Carter remarking on how easy it is for a black man to get arrested on the street. That was wonderful social commentary.

8/10

The Incredible Hulk 2.15

Rick Springfield, Gerald McRaney.

• Great cast. Two of my favourite actors as brothers: one a cop, and one a private eye with martial arts skills.
• It fails to work as the pilot for a new series because, despite the great cast, too much is left unexplained. We are never really told why Michael is so good at martial arts. He just is. And it’s not clear why/how he arrived at Li Sung’s school at the start of the episode, when badly shot. Was he close by? Did he travel a great distance like that? What was his purpose in going there, seeing as the episode would have us believe he was never open to these ‘powers’ before.
• It fails as an episode of TIH because, being a spin-off attempt, both David and the Hulk are sidelined. They appear, yes, but have no great impact on the story. And Michael seeing David transform is never addressed by the characters. They just never mention it again. Plus, it seems crazy that David would want to go along to catch the bad guy at the end. Or that Michael would let him.
• On the plus side… the fight scene in the alleyway is very cool. Well filmed, and with great sound effects.
• It’s nice to see someone protect the Hulk for a change. Pity it wasn’t in a better episode.
• Honestly, despite the weaknesses in the pilot one can’t help but feel that a series about these characters would have very good and very enjoyable.

4/10