TOYOTA TO THE RESCUE

Now that I've gotten my stance on promos and previews out of the way, it's clear that I'm coming into the season with a clean slate. All I know is that the last time we saw Jack, he was on a slow boat to China and basically screwed. My feelings at the end of last season still stand: I want the action to start in China but have no idea how they'd link that into a full day if the writers stick to the now-tired "LA is the point on which the Milky Way revolves" plot template. Of course, they could always set up a plot that takes place in China....

As a 25th birthday present to myself, I just watched the Day Six prequel from the DVDs (it also coincides nicely with one-week-to-go) and I have to say, improbable Toyota product placement aside (but keep financing these segments) it kicked serious ass. Day Five's prequel was a nice touch and made me happy thinking that Jack Bauer was stalking the streets of my city, but it didn't do a huge amount for the overall plot. Not so here!

Quick recap:

• Jack has been tortured for seven months (apparently with some whippings and electric shocks to the heart - didn't that "kill" him a few years back?)
  
• He has a man beard of epic proportions
• Evil Chinese Diplomat who should be sporting a mustache to twirl evilly wants to know the identity of an American agent in the Chinese government
• Jack gets rescued by American operatives, bodies pile up, and Toyota SUVs apparently kick Chinese military jeeps' asses
• It's all a setup by the Chinese to force Jack into identifying the spy - back to prison!
  

Verdict: Holy shit, that's so uncool / fantastically cool that it's mind boggling. They've gotta start in China, right? I guess they could always do a "One year later..." in the premiere, but I've got to hold out hope that America will send a team into China to rescue Jack / immediately get to work thwarting some crazy Chinese scheme. First four hours to deal with Jack's rescue and intro of the Day Six threat.

Ah, my first taste of Day Six dovetailing into my first prediction. We're keeping score on these, Johnny. May the best man win.