42 posts tagged “tv”

Fast Company has a profile of Lifetime CEO, Andrea Wong. You might remember her as the visionary that brought UK sensation, Strictly Come Dancing, to the U.S. and ABC in the form of Dancing With The Stars. She's smart, connects with consumers and has a great eye and intuitive sense for what attract viewers.

A couple of interesting facts in this article tell me a lot about why Project Runway feels different on Lifetime than it did on Bravo despite no major obvious changes in the format of the show. It's all about the production. It's why a wearable-by-real-women design by Shirin won and good television, obviously-should-go-home-but-totally-would-have-stayed-on-Bravo characters like too-conceptual-for-America Malvin and I-want-a-partner-who-can-carry-me Mitchell were Auf'ed.

First fact is that (I had forgotten) original producers Magical Elves have been replaced by Real World creators and spawners of much of contemporary reality television Bunim-Murray. Project Runway has always reeked of the heavy hand of producers in its decision making (along with the judges "would I wear it?" tastes). But new producers appears to equal outcomes that will better appeal to the demographics of the Lifetime audience than the Bravo audience, i.e. wearable vs. drama.

Second fact has to do with those audience demographics. I would have guessed they would be substantially different but wow, I wouldn't have guessed the differences would be this vast:

It won't be easy for Lifetime to make the Runway halo effect work. ["O]nly 4% of Lifetime viewers are cognizant of Runway," says Lifetime marketing head Bob Bibb.

I guess the subtle changes are evidence of Project Runway and Lifetime making it work. Carry on.

Tony Soprano and Omar Little

Salon has an interesting duel of sorts.  Not really a head-to-head competition because the authors are not arguing one the superiority of one show to the other but rather each author argues the reasons for the greatness of each show.

From Laura Miller's essay on The Wire:

In a way, it doesn't make sense to talk of "The Wire" as the best American television show because it's not very American. The characters in American popular culture are rarely shown to be subject to forces completely beyond their control. American culture is fundamentally Romantic, individualistic and Christian; when it's not exhorting you to "follow your dream" it's reassuring us that in the eleventh hour, we will be saved. American culture is a perpetual pep talk, trafficking in tales of personal redemption and the ultimate triumph of good over evil. We don't do doom. "The Wire" is not Romantic but classical; what matters most in its universe is fulfilling your duty and facing the inexorable with dignity.

I can't argue that the classical view is superior to the Romantic one; to even introduce the idea that art is meant to nudge us toward moral improvement and social awareness is to concede to Romantic hope. But for some people, in some places, the classical view is more true, and in such cases, the artist's duty is to show us that these lives are no smaller for that. And it is -- as we always, always seem to forget -- not depressing but strangely exhilarating to see this truth about humanity acknowledged for once. It may not be the only truth, but it's a truth all the same.

I think the line "fulfilling your duty and facing the inexorable with dignity" could well apply to my other favorite show of all time - Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  (In fact, Salon awarded their inaugural  "Buffy" award for most underappreciated show on television to The Wire.)

What is your favorite show of all time and why?

Wow!  I enjoy watching realtity TV shows but rarely do I agree with the outcome.  This season of So You Think You Can Dance is a rare exception.

I've been rooting for Sabra from the beginning.  She's totally adorable and as the judges kept stressing it's America's favorite not best dancer they're choosing.  So although Danny is clearly the best, he already has an acclaimed career in the dance world and by coming in second he's more than elevated his profile enough for the show to be the extra boost he needs to burnish his brand.

I'm glad that Sabra gets a quarter of a million bucks and that she doesn't have to dance in Celine Dion's Vegas show.

If you missed it, catch this episode at ABC.com

Although this episode was an emotional roller coaster for most of the characters, Ugly Betty is steadfast in its love for the musical.

Betty dreams (or is it has nightmares) of Claire Meade threatening to kill her and then of Henry and his (as Betty imagines) slutty girlfriend. As Betty realizes, since it's only 11:11, it's going to be a long night.

At the office the next morning, bundle of nerves Betty blurts out Claire's confession to Daniel and the UPS driver who quickly decides to forego Betty's signature for the package he's delivering.

Over at Wilhelmina's office, Wil is still trying to decipher the bonding moment between Alexis and Daniel that she witnessed on her spy-orchid cam. Marc puts out a "Gay PB" for Wil to find out what's going on while Christina arrives in time for them to collectively rhyme "snitch," "stitch" and "bitch."

Daniel visits Bradford at Rikers to see if Pa thinks Ma could have actually murdered Fey. Bradford wants the best lawyer on his case and orders Daniel to get him "The Chin." Back at the office Daniel reveals to Becks that Grace Chin will never work for Bradford because Daniel stood her up in college. Looking at their yearbook, we see that Grace looked much like Betty as Becks rudely disparages her.

Christina gets her first fashion client courtesy of her role in the Mode Ten Designers to Watch show - Sarah Jessica Parker - who needs a dress for the Oscars by the next day.

In the cafeteria Betty meets a sweet, charming young woman named Charlie who is very much like Betty herself. As they sit down to lunch and bond Betty impulsively invites Charlie to join her at the (famous vegetarian designer) Stella McCartney party to which Daniel has given Betty an invitation. Just as Charlie accepts, Henry arrives to reveal that Charlie is his girlfriend from back home.

At Casa Suarez, Justin hurries Hilda to get ready so that they can get to the musical Hairspray in time in the face of the impending blizzard.

Alexis finds that her former friends are a bit unforgiving of her fake death so Wil siezes the opportunity to fill the hole. Wil tells Alexis that Alexis needs only one friend and Wil is there to be that friend.

Betty denies to Henry that there is a "vibe" between them and that it won't be at all wierd for her to hang out with Charlie. Amanda witnessing Betty's pathetic attempt to deny her feelings tells Betty to "seize your inner Mode girl and fight for your little dweeb!"

Santos protests going to the musical but Hilda lets him know that if he wants to spend more time with his son then he'll share what his son enjoys.

"The Chin" (Lucy Liu) shows up and pretends not to remember Daniel but then informs him that she will not take the case because he scarred her for life and that she showed up only to reject him.

Marc, on Wil's orders, goes to befriend Christina to keep her on Wil's team. Even though Christina tells him that he is the "one gay [she] doesn't like" he helps her work on the SJP dress because the city is closed due to the blizzard and "sometimes it's good to be on a team."

Betty and Charlie meet up and head to the subway. Amanda appears to Betty in the face of several straphangers encouraging her to ditch Charlie. Charlie is scared when the train arrives and everyone starts pushing into the car and grabs Betty's hand but they are separated in the rush of the crowd.

Betty calls Henry to help her find Charlie and Betty claims that she lost Charlie on purpose.

Wil and Alexis are on the way to the Metropolitan Opera for a girl's night out when they get stuck because their limo lacks snow tires and they pop into a sports bar while they wait for a new car. As Justin freaks out because their subway car has suddenly stopped, Marc tries to calm Christina down as she freaks out because there is no fabric in the building and nothing's open due to the storm. Marc channels Project Runway and Tim Gunn and tells Christina to "make it work" with office supplies because SJP is the "holy grail of fashion" and so that Marc can meet her husband "Ferris Bueller Parker."

Meanwhile in Daniel's office, he is trying to smooth thing over with The Chin by giving her the New Year's Eve he denied to her in college. Grace has brought files with information about all the women Daniel hurt in college and she wants Daniel to appologize to each of them before she will consider taking Bradford's case.

Wil checks in with Marc and he confirms that he's ordered her a new car and that he and "Christie" are now "besties." While Wil is chatting, Alexis is shooting hoops and flirting with Joel (her real-life fiancé Jerry O'Connell) and tries to convince Wil to join in by roping her into shooting a basket. When she does so, badly, the guys all laugh at her.

Justin is disappointed that Santos is missing Hairspray that he recreates it for his father and everyone else stuck in their subway car.

Betty confesses her true feelings to Henry and claims that she broke up with Walter for him - pressure much, Betty?

As Daniel works his way through Grace's list, The Chin is suddenly hot for the remorseful Daniel. It turns out that Daniel has actually been making the calls to Becks but Grace is none the wiser as she rips open Daniels shirt.

When a new town car arrives at the sports bar Alexis begs off going to the opera. Joel seizes the moment and asks Alexis for her number then waves the cocktail napkin to his friends and then cruelly turns on Alexis and informs her that he knows exactly who she is and that he bet his friends he could get the number of the "freak." Wil in a show of Mode girl power, clocks Joel.

On the subway a bully demands that Justin shut up with the Hairspray and Santos defends Justin and shuts the bully down. As the subway car erupts into applause Justin continues his show at Santos' urging.

Riding in their new car, Alexis admits to Wil that she has been a good friend but that so has Daniel by not rejecting her as she feared. Alexis tells Wil that she is not going to fire Daniel and Wil jumps out of the car.

Betty leaves the hunt for Charlie to Henry and he chases after Betty. Betty relents and tells Henry that she really broke up with Walter because she didn't love him, not for Henry. Henry lists all of Betty's wonderful qualities and, as he leans in for a kiss, Charlie emerges triumphant from conquering the NYC subway system.

Marc and Christina admire her completed office supply dress (the winning design from the "design a dress" contest). Wil arrives to share her bad news and informs Christina that, like it or not, she's on their team.

In a little pillow talk The Chin reveals to Daniel that a blue Aston Martin (Claire's ride) on the side of the road across from the accident but that the witness can't be found. It dawns on Daniel that Betty is right about Claire's confession which he had written off to his mother's drunkeness.

Claire visits Bradford and tells him that she is going to turn herself in.

Meanwhile Christina finds out that as Wil giveth, Wil can taketh away. In case Christina is not sure just how much she is now on Wil's team, she gets a call from SJP's people and, as Marc surmises, Wil works quickly and they're going with a different designer. Marc shows Christina a bit of sympathy and tells her that it gets easier.

As a Justin Timberlake song with the lyrics "what goes around" plays we see Daniel, Claire, Wil and Betty wrestling with their disappointments.

All in all, a nice episode of character development. However, I hope that the writers realize we've got the message about Justin. People who don't know Justin want to disparage him as a "fairy" and though Santos is struggling with the fact that his son doesn't fit his image of masculinity, he loves him nonetheless and Hilda is content to just let Justin be who he is. Messages received - now just let Justin be his fabulous self because he lights up the screen whenever he's on. Good Morning Baltimore, indeed.

If you missed it, catch this episode at ABC.com

This was a bit more of a somber, less quippy episode of Ugly Betty. And, although nobody broke out into song, this episode was also a bit of a tribute to musicals. Read on to learn what happened in this episode...

Tim Gunn is back reporting for Fashion Television on the wild events surrounding the Meade family.

At the Suarez home, Walter waits for Betty but she brushes him off as she heads to work to see if she still has a job now that the head of the company is in jail.

Wilhelmina examines her new Editor-in-Chief business cards, Alexis make her triumphant entrance into Meade Publications and Daniel visits Bradford in jail.

Betty ends up sharing an elevator with Alexis who explains gender reassignment surgery 101 and Betty bonds with Alexis over mustache removal difficulties.

Henry shows up to invite Betty to see the musical, Wicked. Betty is thrilled because she is dying to see the story of a "green girl [who] feels like an outsider." Henry says "it's a date!" but Betty reluctantly reminds him that she and Walter are still a couple. Henry sulks away muttering, "great, another friend."

Daniel calls a staff meeting so the Mode team can finish the swimsuit issue. Alexis breaks in and reads the not-yet-updated charter which gives Alexander Spencer Meade control, announces Wil as the new editor-in-chief and fires Daniel.

Daniel gets an injunction to put Alexis' takeover on hold. Betty suggest that Daniel try working with Alexis. When Daniel points out that "he" fired Daniel, Betty responds that she fired Hilda but they're still speaking because it's what families do.

Wil and Marc use the "out" Polaroids to go on a firing spree until Alexis informs them of the injunction and that Wil's new promotion is on hold. Wil storms off saying she won't return until she rules Mode.

Ignacio arrives at Mode to tell Betty that Walter is turning down an out-of-state promotion for his love of Betty, so unless she's going to marry Walter she has to break up with him.

Justin's father, Santos, brings him home from school after Justin gets into a fight. Meanwhile, Claire, Daniel's mother arrives at his office giddy with joy because her child, boy or girl, is alive. When Walter shows up to take Betty to lunch, Betty quickly offers to take Claire to a spa in order to continue avoiding Walter.

After storming off, Wil returns home and surveys the contents of her giant Sub-Zero fridge. Contents? Capers, pearl onions and caviar. And, really, who needs capers when you've got caviar and martini fixings? As Wil scoops the caviar out with her fingers she meets for the first time her cleaning lady of the past 13 years, Emily.

Hilda and Santos discuss Justin's fight. Santos says it was because Justin was twirling a flag at school and that the ice skating lessons, Jazzercise and The Music Man tryouts aren't helping. Hilda responds, "I know - it's my fault for letting him be who he is."

At the spa, Claire, who is soaking in rose petals, answers Betty's phone for her as Betty is soaking in mud. Walter sends several lovey-dovey messages and Claire advises Betty to break up with him Betty explains that she holds on to him because one of the last things her mother told her was to find someone who loves her and hold on no matter what(probably thinking of Ignacio and his legal woes). Claire tells Betty that if her mother were still here all she would want if for Betty to be happy (probably thinking of how she feels about Alexis not being dead) and Betty is not happy.

Alexis and Daniel hold dueling press conferences in the Meade lobby.

While receiving massages (first time spa-goer Betty once again chooses her treatments poorly and is being beaten with switches and stretched like silly putty by her burly masseuse)Claire reminisces about fun times with her kids at Coney Island.

Emily explains telanovellas to Wil and Wil caves and calls Marc to check on the progress of the swimsuit issue. In order to observe without returning to Mode with her tail between her legs, Wil shares with Marc the secret of her spy-camera-Orchid which sits on Marc's desk.

Betty breaks up the childish bickering between Alexis and Daniel and drags them off to find their missing mother. After Betty drops several hints, Daniel and Alexis realize that their mother might be reliving fond memories of their childhood at Coney Island.

Back at home, Justin is listening to Annie Santos dejectedly remarks "something tells me he ain't going to knock someone up on his prom night." Ah, so bittersweet that Justin won't likely follow in his father's footsteps.

Bobby, the kid Justin beat up, and his mother arrive at the Suarez home to have it out with Hilda. Hilda appears confused because it looks as if Bobby has about 50 pounds on Justin.

As Marc carries the spy-orchid through the Mode offices, Wil learns that the staff is having a party to celebrate a birthday and Wil's absence, and that Daniel and Alexis are MIA.

At Coney Island Daniel and Alexis find Claire riding a bumper car. Daniel and Alexis join in and Claire and Betty double team them to force them to talk.

Wil triumphantly storms back into Mode and tells everyone (as they line up to fax resumes)to stop thinking about the future and to focus on the now (which is a lesson I think she learned while at home being forced, as she puts it, to watch Mork & Mindy in Spanish).

Bobby's mom angrily informs Hilda that just because Bobby called her a "slut mom" he did not deserve the beat down Justin administered. Santos then kicks Bobby and his mom out and on the way out Bobby's mom suggest to Hilda that she consider dressing like a mom. Hilda and Santos assure Justin that they are not mad at him but proud that he defended his mother.

I must say, it was nice to see that standing up for family that seemingly satisfied Justin's father's concerns that his son wasn't butch enough. It's a popular sitcom trope but is generally resolved with the boy showing some sexual attention towards girls in order to satisfy the disappointed dad. In the "Richie Scores" episode of generaly enjoyable sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine the father was disappointed that his son skipped (literally) to the beat of his own drummer so he pushed his son to join the soccer team. The soccer team was co-ed and rather than hanging with his male teammates, the son brough home the girls. And then is caught kissing his "three wives" and thus making his father deliriously happy. Nothing like a little play polygamy and, possibly sexual assault, to assuage your fears that your son might be gay. OK, rant over.

Back at Coney Island, Daniel and Alexis fight it out in bumper cars. Alexis reveals that Bradford guessed her trangender secret and spent so much time with Alex as a boy doing sports, scouts and such in hopes that he could "cure' her (Not unlike Santos and Justin). Alexis tells Daniel that she told Bradford about her plans to have surgery and that dad told her that she's lose the company, the money and their family. Plus, if she went through with the surgery Bradford would rather that she were dead. Daniel asks why she didn't confide in him and Alexis says it was because she was afraid of a second rejection.

Betty and Daniel ride back from Coney Island and Daniel is sad that Alex didn't confide in him. Betty suggests that Alexis just didn't know how Daniel has changed. As the car pulls up to Betty's house, Walter waits. Betty suggests going back to Coney Island but Daniel wisely points out that it is harder to avoid rather than face someone. Everyone is learning their lessons and offering them to others this episode aren't they?

Betty apologizes to Walter about being distant and unavailable lately. Walter surprises her by giving her a kiss and then telling her that he has seen the writing on the wall for a while and that he just wanted one last kiss before heading off for his promotion. As Walter graciously bows out, I'm a little sad. Though I'm a Henry-Betty 'shiper like everyone else, Walter always manages to show moments of genuine love for Betty that will make me miss him. OK, now, Walter be gone so Betty can get with Henry!

Henry leaves a Wicked T-shirt on Betty's desk with a note reading "Can't wait Green Girl." Then he runs into a mystery woman in the elevator.

The next morning, Hilda comes downstairs to take Justin to school in a "mom" outfit and, following the advice turn about is fair play theme, Justin tells Hilda "You are the mom who always tells me to be who I am and not to care what other people think - you have to do that, too."

At Mode, Betty bumps into Henry and he tells her that his ex-girlfriend is in town wanting to re-kindle their romance and since Betty is still with Walter, he hands her the tickets and tells her to have a good time with Walter. Betty is clearly devastated but just meekly says, "we will."

Alexis and Daniel agree to try to work together and Wil witnesses their handshake via her spy-orchid.

Daniel sends Betty to take a credit card to Claire who is drunk at 10:00 am and confesses to Betty that she knows Bradford didn't kill Fey Sommers because she did! Duh-duh-duh.

Actually I didn't find that one much of a surprise because of the music box episode. But what did you think? Too much drama, not enough comedy? Find this week's revelations surprising or did you guess weeks ago?

If you missed this episode you can view it at My Space

I continue to try really, really hard not to compare this season to the last. And, given how awesome last season was, I suppose it is not fair to expect that this season could live up to the peak previously established. But I'm growing weary of this slow season. I keep waiting for a turning point like last season when Logan revealed himself to be not a wuss but rather an evil mastermind thus cementing season 5 as the best season ever. Alright I'll quit whining but just wanted to acknowledge the general ennui many are feeling.

Spoiler alert! Read on if you want to learn what happened in this episode of 24.

1:00 - 2:00

Bill Buchanan has his hands full at CTU first having to tell Jack that Graem is dead and then pulling Chloe off the hunt for Morris because her concern is ruining her performance.

As Rita drives while being chased by CTU it's apparent that she is more than just a whiny sidekick to McCarthy as she has a natural talent for stunt driving.

McCarthy has Rita park the car under an overpass to hide from Jack's prying eyes and while he is stealing a truck, Morris attempts to convince Rita to release him by telling her that CTU only knows about McCarthy. Rita responds by killing McCarthy and delivering Morris to Fayed so she can keep the $7 million for herself which she will be able to spend because CTU doesn't know about her. Oh dear, sweet deluded Rita, it's not CTU knowing about you that's going to prevent you from spending the $7 million.

At the White House, 2.0 reveals that Thom convinced him to run and managed his campaign which is why 2.0 keeps him around even though they fundamentally disagree on how to handle terrorists (and given that in 24 world the country has been under constant terrorist attacks for a decade, you'd think they'd have figured out if they were on the same page before the election but then we wouldn't have the White House traitor de jour plot, would we?)

Assad arrives at the White House (about four 1/2 hours after leaving CTU so believable - good job writers)to have a private chat with 2.0. This pushes Thom over the edge and he directs his lackey, Reed, to draft a resignation letter for Thom to sign. So Thom can write up a devious plan but can't write a letter for himself.

Reed calls a shady dude (Carson) and says that their shady plan is a go and they discuss possibly letting Thom in on the shady plan so that he wont resign and they wont lose White House access.

Marilyn and the love-child arrive at CTU and Bill continues his fun day of getting to pull people off jobs and tell them that their loved ones are dead.

Meanwhile, clearly, despite his employment at CTU and love of Chloe, Morris is just a clueless as Rita when it comes to the way of terrorists. Instead of just attacking Rita and running away (since she's not going to shoot him because without him she gets no $7 million) he allows her to drag him into Fayed's lair. And, surprise!, Fayed doesn't just hand her $7 million. He tells Rita she'll have to wait until Morris does his business. Fayed then proceeds to torture and beat Morris (with Rita watching) until he relents and agrees to program a detonator for Fayed. I'm wondering how they can expect Morris to program with a concussion but the pistol whip him about the head and ears nonetheless.

Meanwhile CTU locates Fayed's building and they set up a perimeter. Despite meeting him an hour ago at the perimeter set up around Graem's house, Jack clearly cannot fathom that another agent could survive a CTU perimeter so he asks Agent Turner to introduce him again. Jack suits up and has Chloe trigger a fire alarm to empty the building.

Fayed quickly figures out what CTU is up to and drills into Morris' arm in order to speed him along towards programming the trigger. Given the choice between death by drill or programming the trigger, Morris chooses a few more minutes of life programming the trigger and finishes the task just as CTU storms the apartment and Fayed escapes down the hole into the sewers. Jack is disgusted by Morris's lame inability to withstand torture and that not only did he create a working trigger for Fayed, he armed one of the suitcase nukes which Fayed has left behind as a lovely parting gift for Jack. Jack calls CTU, informs Chloe that Morris is alive and Chloe is put back on the case. As Chloe talks Jack through disarming the bomb she gives him incorrect schematics and Jack mutters a soft, "damnit!" [Drink]. Jack asks Chloe if she's sure she's got it right the second time and Chloe snarkily replies "I'm about as sure as I'm going to be before the bomb goes off." Yay, scowly Chloe is back!

At the White House, Reed intimates (just musing as he calls it) that 2.0 might be taken out so that those who side with Thom might soon be in charge. At first Thom directs Reed again to write his resignation letter but when he then learns of Fayed's escape he reconsiders, decides to not to resign and tells Reed that he's interested in learning more about the plan to off 2.0.

2:00 - 3:00

After escaping, Fayed contacts Gredenko whom I'm guessing is "the man."

At CTU, Chloe rushes to Morris's side as they escort him to CTU's infirmary of doom.

Jack arrives at CTU and staffers all gawk and stare upon actually seeing him alive.

Jack and Chloe share a moment over her happiness that Fayed didn't manage to kill Jack earlier that morning.

Papa B. cleans up after Graem and erases contacts from his cell phone while Chloe tries to pep talk Morris as he beats himself up over giving Fayed a working trigger.

Papa B. continues to worry about losing the only thing that apparently matters to him, his company, and calls a henchman and orders the henchman to find and kill Gredenko.

Bill has a little chat with Jack and chides him for giving Graem too much pain serum. Jack pushes back and says that although he wanted Graem dead because of Palmer 1.0, he did not kill Graem. Bill offers to cover up what Jack did because he doesn't want to slow things down with an internal affairs investigation which of course they would do in the middle of hunting Fayed and hours after Jack is back from years of captivity and dismantling a nuclear bomb because CTU is stupid like that.

Assad presciently advises 2.0 to tread lightly after taking an unpopular position because "they will come after you."

Marilyn sets out with Jack and Milo to try and remember any Graem/Gredenko encounters and sends love-child off with Papa Bauer. Josh is just as an annoyingly whiny, demanding child as Kim so clearly he is Jack's love child.

Chloe fights with Morris while trying to convince Morris to get back to work and Marilyn start to re-live her past with Jack. Marilyn's trip down memory lane is interrupted when Papa B. calls her to inform her that he killed Graem and that he will kill Josh, too, if she doesn't steer Jack to a different house than the one where Graem met with Gredenko.

Morris, inspired by Chloe's guilt-inducing pep talk, heads back to work as if he didn't just program a nuclear bomb trigger for terrorists. Internal affairs investigation for Jack because they think he might have killed his shady brother and a cheery "welcome back" for Morris the traitor. CTU - top of Fortune's "Worst Place in America to Work" issue.

Jack arrives at the set-up house and informs the team that he needs Gredenko alive for questioning (perhaps this is why Papa B. wants to throw Jack off Gredenko's scent - he won't kill him, will question him and will find out about his relationship to Papa B.?). The set-up house is empty save for a bomb that explodes. In the chaos of the explosion, Milo pulls Marilyn into the van and drives off with Papa B. henchmen following - they shoot up the van but Milo and Marilyn escape as the van also explodes.

Meh. There are reveals but they aren't surprising. There's action but it isn't heart pounding. I mean, Reed and Thom and probably the VP want 2.0 out - duh! Jack dismantles the nuke at the last second - did anyone ever think for a moment that it was going to explode in Jack's face? I'm holding on but 24 - throw me a bone soon, OK?