Rating: 
Summary: Nice Long Day Leads To Lackluster Ending
Review: The third season of 24 had an awesome premiere; here is this drug lord in jail, whose brother is in possession of a deadly virus, and to top it all off, Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) now has a heroin addiction. Too bad the season never quite lived up to the premiere. All in all, the season wasn't bad, but it didn't really live up to previous 24 standards. Anyway, the Salazaar brothers are drug lords who were infiltrated by Jack during the three year interim between Day 2 and Day 3. One of them is in jail due to Jack and the other now threatens to release a deadly virus if his brother is not let out of prison. Furthermore, President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) is running for reelection, and it turns out that his new love interest may be an obstacle to the White House.
This season, nothing and no one is what or who they seem to be. There are more plot twists than ever this year, many of which are good, but a select few a big yawners. For example, there was a baby who turned out to be the child of Jack's partner, Chase Edmunds (James Badge Dale), but when fans reacted negatively to the idea, the baby was completely written out, never heard from again until the very end. Also, more major characters died this season than in the two previous seasons combined! All of the characters that died had love/hate relationships with fans. They were questionable characters, but fans loved them for the controversy they created.
I guess the biggest problem that I had for this season was how little it addressed the events from Day 2. Kate Warner (Sarah Wynter) was written out in five minutes, the near-death of the President was barely addressed, and the mysterious Max was nowhere to be found. Also, now we may never know who Nina Myers (Sarah Clarke Berkeley) was working for.
Finally, the end of this season was the worst yet. The season finale started out great, but kept spiraling downward until the final clock. Oh well. This season had many awesome moments as well. So far, this is the worst season of 24, but you have to keep in mind that I am comparing it to the other seasons of 24, so it is still a great show.P.S.
Pray for Tony (Carlos Bernard)!
Rating: 
Summary: 24 Stays Strong In It's 3rd Season
Review: The third season of the hit Fox drama "24" opens with an ultimatum made to the LA Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) to free a prisoned drug dealer (Ramon Salazar, played by Joaquim de-Almeida) or else his brother, who has terrorist ties, will infect Los Angeles with a deadly virus.
Once again, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), who went undercover between the 2nd and 3rd season to arrest Salazar, co-siding with Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), lead CTU to try to stop this virus. The tradition for office-affairs continue at CTU, as Kimberly Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert), who joined CTU as a computer analyst, has been dating her father's new partner Chase Edmunds (James Badge Dale). Also, during the 3-year time-frame Tony and Michelle Dessler (the magnificent Reiko Aylesworth) got married. President David Palmer (Dennis Hasbert) survived the failed assasination attempt, and is now campaigning for re-election. In the beginning of the season, it appears the format of the "day" will be similar to that of Season 2: trying to stop a deadly weapon before it's too late. Only this time the story is much more complex, and the plot thickens with each hour, with 24's famous surprising twists. The season's not perfect (as witnessed in the the baby sub-plot, and the Anne sub-plot), but I truly believe that as a whole, this season is the best one yet. The arc of episodes from the 15th episode up until the fantastic 18th episode, are all top-notch, with amazing performences from all actors, especially Reiko Aylesworth. The DVD features (commentaries by Kiefer, Carlos & co, deleted/extended scenes and 3 featurettes) look very promising, and so is the box cover, so there's no reason not to purchase this box-set.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but not perfect
Review: This season was entertaining and compelling viewing. Chase and Chloe were interesting new additions. I am so glad Sherrie Palmer and Nina were killed off. They were getting old. Will miss President Palmer next season, although his story lines weren't the best this year. With Tony in jail and Chapelle killed (by Jack), next year will offer almost a totally new cast. I think this is a good thing and might reinvigorate the series.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting! The Terror is Contagious!
Review: Thus reads the back of the boxed DVD set. And so it is.
Fox's primetime hit series =24= has peaked new heights in edge-of-your-seat storytelling with its third - and best - season. Commercials provide the only pause, the only letup, in this colossally suspenseful terror-trip.
For those who would do so, there is no need to bash it for being less than perfect - nobody could expect absolute flawlessness from 980 minutes of television drama, no matter how refined. I will briefly mention the two foremost problems. (1) That so many events of such large and interrelated significance would take place, all within twenty-four hours, stretches probability way beyond the breaking point. (2) I have had the privilege of working occasionally with a substantial number of Spanish speakers; consequently, I can say that, for the show, the Mexicans should have spoken to and among each other always in Spanish, very nearly never in English (a problem with the Czecks in the first season as well). But the handling of the story is so very good that, understanding and accepting these and other minor flaws, most of us can suspend our disbelief.
Jack is back! - this time to stop terrorists from unleashing a weaponized virus into the American public. The quest to capture it takes him through twists and turns, to a Los Angeles prison, northern Mexico, run-down neighborhoods, a hotel, subway, and an elementary school. This time the threat is biological ... on a virtually unimaginable scale.
Since the series began in the fall of 2001, coinciding, as it would, with the awful tragedy of 9/11, the characters have become quite distinguishable, possessing interesting personalities, and colorful - if in some cases annoying - subtleties. Most of the acting appears quite convincing; as network dramas go, there is minimal contrivance. I shall go quickly through those at CTU and the president's company, first; followed by the terrorists, second. Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) has a secret this time, and he seems genuinely fearful of being exposed. We have a Tony (Carlos Bernard) who, not suprisingly, is down-to-earth, sometimes rigidly so, yet every now and then we see that he carries at his side a sense of compassion. Michelle (Reiko Aylesworth) has married, and though occasionally it doesn't look like she's handling things splendidly at first, we see quite the turnaround later. Kim Baeur works at CTU, not far removed from boyfriend Chase Edmunds, a newbie to the team. Those who like having Kim remain in the series but dislike the idea of her working for CTU should consider the alternative: Kim, on the outside, getting herself into further trouble. We watched this during Season One, then we were thrown the same KIND of thing in Season Two. Chase Edmunds is a tough guy; the more we see of him, the more we think, `Here is a would-be Jack'. Chloe (a quirky, annoying, protocol-wary technician), Adam (efficiency-loving), and Gaiel (cautious, ostensibly a mole) are new sign-ons as well. Finally, getting much more screen time than in Season Two, Regional Director Ryan Chappelle - a no-nonsense, give-it-to-me-straight boss. President David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) remains the strong moral compass we grew to admire in the first two seasons. But this time, it's not just him dealing with interpersonal problems within his own campaign and the ensuing damage to the outside world. Here we see how he responds to new situations, posed by the competing political party (Republicans, we may say, given Sherry's Season One statement to that effect) toward his own campaign, as opposed to the press and personal staff adversaries of the earlier seasons. And later in the third, we come upon a nasty and inevitable dirty struggle between the president and his much-needed contributor, Alan, who tries to extort him. In the middle is Alan's wife, Julia, not wanting to get involved but eventually forced to. How will David deal with new problems that tempt new compromises, as his steadfast morality goes head to head with the convenience of relativism? Taking Mike's place as chief advisor is his brother Wayne, whose broader philosophy is at least faintly like, however much less devious than, Sherry's. She, too, is back ... with intent more malicious than anything we've seen from her yet.
Now, for the terrorists. In particular, Joaquim de Almeida does a terrific job portraying Ramon Salazar, the initially incarcerated leader of a north Mexican drug cartel. He looks, feels, and smells like a bad guy in every conventional way. His younger brother Hector is believable as a second-man in charge (even if the director should not have cast them as brothers; they don't `look' at all like family). Nina returns, escaping confinement in North Africa, and as we've seen what she is capable of in One and Two, it is not that difficult to imagine. Former CTU mole, conspirator in a domestic nuclear attack, and now buyer of a biological superweapon, Nina is more of a matter-of-fact `bad guy': a cold, sinister, `I-just-enjoy-this'-type killer. Michael Amador is an arms dealer, reserved in nature, and we think we know his intentions .... Alvers is a loyal agent in Stephen Saunders' plan, sent to distribute the virus in L.A. Saunders himself is the worst terrorist - a man with a single weakness - as he sets into motion a diabolical arrangement that more terrible than anything that's come before it. A final note: a teenager named Kyle Singer, while not a terrorist per se, constitutes part of the plan to deliver the package.
Several hours into the season, a drastic plot shift will hit most first-time viewers more or less like a freight train. As in One and Two, perhaps the best reason the bad guys keep falling is, well, they underestimate Jack. Consistently: from Hector to Jack's airplane guard to Ramon to Amador to Alvers and even Saunders. Nina seems to be the only exception ... which makes sense enough, given their past. (Sorry, I can't reveal what happens to her.)
I don't think I've ever seen one other network series attempt what =24= has. It would not be exaggerating, nor employing hyperbole, to say that if enough things went wrong over the course of trying to take and contain the virus, it is entirely possible that the vast majority of the WORLD's population might have perished, probably within several weeks. In no other show have I witnessed TV drama so carefully weave together a tapestry of plot and subplot, push the limits of suspense, raise the stakes as high - with so very, very many lives caught in the balance - or represent so tenacious, so persistent, or so deadly-serious a counter-terrorist agent as Jack Baeur.
The DVD set contains six episode discs, and a seventh for commentary, deleted scenes, and other extras.
Rating:
Summary: Stellar season from the most busy CTU agent in the west
Review: While some of the threats faced by CTU, Jack Bauer and his daughter Kim during the second season might have seemed hokey, it added a soap opera quality that enlivened the series a bit considering the glum situations they faced. With nuclear devices out of the way and assassination already addressed, this time Jack, Kim (who now works full time at CTU) and CTU face a bioterrorist. Jack infiltrates a drug lord's business operation to try and arrange a deal to purchase the virus in hopes of finding and stopping the terrorist. The only problem is that to convincingly work his way into the organization, Jack became a heroin addict.
While the situations faced in season two might be more mundane (Jack and a drug lord?) the sharp writing makes it all worthwhile to still through the entire run. There's a number of twists and turns that will keep fans guessing as to the final outcome of the series. Luckily a number of "24" regulars return including Jack's nemesis and former lover/co-worker Nina Meyers (Sarah Clarke) and the blunt political black widow former First Lady Sherry Palmer (Penny Johnson Jerald) continues to spin her webs. With a largely new cast working at CTU, it's nice to have some familiar faces and some nasty villains return to keep Bauer from appearing too heroic. Likewise Tony and Michelle return from last season giving a sense of continuity to the series.
Like the previous two sets, Fox has done a very good job in transferring this to DVD. With an anamorphic transfer, the higher resolution looks much better than conventional TV with richer colors, better clarity and solid deep blacks. The crisp, inventive soundtrack also keeps things lively here as well.
A number of great extras include a number of behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes and alternate takes. Additionally, we get the original extended version of the premiere episode which is a big plus for fans of the series. "Boys and Their Toys" focuses on some of the devices Jack uses to aid his efforts to prevent the destruction of the world. There's also, for the first time, a multi-angle study of one of the action sequences and a discussion (albeit pretty superficial) of the real threat from bioterrorist to the United States and other countries. Finally we get a season four prequel that runs about 6 minutes on disc 7.
We get a number of great commentary tracks on this set. Writer Howard Gordon and actor Kiefer Sutherland provide commentary on the fourth episode on the first disc. Writer and co-executive producer Evan Katz and actress Kyle Singer provide a commentary on the first episode on the second disc and -JOY!- Sarah Clarke and Howard Gordon provide commentary on the the 10pm to 11 pm episode on disc three. There are three other commentary tracks with one on each disc. Additionally, there's also all the deleted scenes with optional commentary as well.
A winning boxed set for the third season, Fox continues to set the pace with some of the best DVD boxed sets out there. With a total of six commentary tracks, a number of very interesting featurettes and a sneak peak at the fourth season (which premieres in January 2005), season four of "24" will be everything that fans will want.
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