I have to agree with Laura Miller who, some days ago, wrote a story in the LA Times that Jack Bauer (code perhaps for Jock Bore?) is just a humorless old toad. And that everyone at the CTU (which sounds like something you wouldn’t like to catch) is especially challenged in the fun department. The whole place is crawlilng with sour-faced ice queens who say they are women but can only be Cylons. Everyone works a 24-hour day in a windowless office doing glorified clerical work: answering phones, checking email, and Googling terrorists. Meanwhile the terrorists, making do with some cell phones, are able to nick a stealth bomber and shoot down the president! Hooray! (Especially after he got his 12-year-old son to write his speech for him.) So it came as a bit of a shock this morning to read Scott Collins in the LA Times this morning about how tasteless this all was. But I don’t think it’s tasteless. How tasteless – or just plain foolish – is it to have supreme faith in technology that we all know doesn’t work in reality and won’t save us from the enemy? Bring on the crack actress!

– Fenton Bailey