Rachel Crow settles into Nickelodeon gig

Just last year, she was the spunky 13-year-old girl charming "The X Factor's" panel of judges with her sassy rendition of "Mercy." A few months later, she was the girl who fell to the floor sobbing and wailing after an earlier-than-expected elimination sent her packing from the reality competition. These days, she's being groomed to be Nickelodeon's next teen sensation.

"Tired is not really in my vocabulary anymore," said Rachel Crow. On a recent weekday, the Colorado native is seated in a chair inside the Nickelodeon offices in Santa Monica, her feet barely touching the floor. She's every bit the bubbly personality that she exuded during her "X Factor" debut as she speaks with aplomb about her new endeavors. She's almost a little too poised (as you may surmise from her answers) for her age, now 14. 

"It's amazing to think that a small town girl like me can find themselves on Nickelodeon," she said.

Crow, who is now a Sherman Oaks transplant, will star in her own show on the network in the near future. But before then, she's getting comfortable on the youth-centered network with a recurring role on "Fred: The Show"--she plays Starr, Fred’s (Lucas Cruikshank) spirited, yet awkward classmate who--fittingly--has ambitions to be a famous actress and singer. She made her debut last week, and in Friday's episode continues her arc.

Kiefer Sutherland says ‘Touch’ isn’t an effort to bury Jack Bauer

People, let's all just clear the air now: Kiefer Sutherland is not (I repeat, not) trying to escape the shadow of driven "24" hero Jack Bauer.

The actor, who appeared at the Television Critics Assn. press tour to promote his new series "Touch," was, understandably, peppered with numerous questions about his past life as the up-against-the clock special agent and whether his latest turn on Fox was an attempt to get audiences to forget about those eight years of adrenaline.

"Touch," created and written by Tim Kring ("Heroes"), centers around a father's relationship with his mute 11-year-old son, who has the ability to predict events and make connections.  In the process, the show often explores the relationship between spirituality and science.

When he was sent the script after playing Bauer for eight years, Sutherland was doing a theater production and wasn't ready to tackle another TV project, he recalled.  

"I really wanted to spend some time apart from the amazing experience I had on '24' and try some different things," he said. "I was at page 35 [of the script], and I went ... 'I’m in real trouble,' because it was just so beautifully written."

OK. Whatever. But is this an attempt to get away from Jack Bauer?

Sutherland offered this: "It's nice diversion from '24,' yes. But the choice, and reason I made the choice, was because it spoke to me."

"The one parallel I can bring from the two characters," he added, "is that Jack Bauer was asked to save the day, and there was always going to be casualties. And Mark [Bohm] is never going to have the perfect idyllic relationship with his son. They both never completely win. For whatever reason, it's something I’m drawn to as an actor."

Settled? Not quite. Later in the panel,  Sutherland would find himself , once more, uttering the words: "It's not because I wanted to get away from '24.' "

What a relief, because now we really want to know what the status is on the "24" movie!

"Hopefully, we will be shooting at end of April, beginning of May," he said.

A preview of "Touch" will air Jan. 25. The series premiere is March 19.

RELATED:

Fox cartoons will take on "Saturday Night Live"

'American Idol' stars rip 'X Factor' and 'The Voice'

J.J. Abrams won't get lost in 'Alcatraz'

-- Yvonne Villarreal

twitter.com/villarrealy

Photo: Kiefer Sutherland in a promo shot for 'Touch.' Credit: Fox.

'Awkward' creator discusses season finale and what lies ahead

 
Bella Swan had it so easy, choosing between a werewolf and a vampire. Jenna Hamilton has to choose between a nice guy (Matty) and a nice guy (Jake). And in Tuesday's season finale, she finally DTR'd (defined the relationship) with both.

But it was the unexpected revelation at the end of the episode — when viewers finally learn who wrote the curious letter to Jenna — that was even more gasp-worthy. (Caution: spoiler alert ahead) 

Matty, Sadie and Tamara have all been thought to be the one behind it. But Jenna (Ashley Rickards) discovers it was her own mother, Lacey (Nikki DeLoach), who penned the mean-spirited letter. The moment of discovery came after a heartfelt interaction between the two earlier in the finale in which Lacey's own mothering issues are revealed when she offers Jenna the chance to wear the very ruby red dress her Nana wore.

"She gives her daughter the dress that throughout her whole life she thought her mother coveted more than her," said creator Lauren Iungerich. "She realizes, here she is doing the same thing to her daugther in a weird way. Trying to make her daughter something that she isnt. Trying to make her daughter into what she thinks Jenna should be."

Fox gives series order to Kiefer Sutherland drama

 
For the folks still longing for the return of Jack Bauer, take this as compromise: Kiefer Sutherland will make a comeback to Fox in the new drama “Touch.”

Fox has ordered 13 episodes of the series, created and written by Tim Kring (“Heroes”), the network announced Thursday.

In the series, Sutherland plays, Martin Bohm,  a widower who discovers that his mute 11-year-old son Jake has a special ability to see things and patterns that connect seemingly unrelated events—and it’s up to Martin to find the meaning in all of it.

"Every once in a while, you encounter a piece of material that you just cannot say no to,” Sutherland said in a statement.

The series marks Sutherland’s return to TV post-“24,” which ended its run in 2010 after eight seasons.

 “Touch” will debut in the Spring.

--Yvonne Villarreal
twitter.com/villarrealy

ALSO:

Lifetime cancels 'Roseanne's Nuts'

"The X Factor" recap: Did the premiere live up to the hype?

Jerry Lewis' ouster from MDA telethon not in Starz documentary

Photo: In this May 12, 2009 file photo, actor Kiefer Sutherland arrives at the "24" Season 7 finale screening and panel discussion in Los Angeles. Credit: AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

'So You Think You Can Dance' recap: Slapped in the face?

Oy. I had to agree with Nigel Lythgoe: Wednesday night’s finale performance show was not all it could have or should have been. On a personal level,I was disappointed that my favorite, Sasha, didn’t have stronger dances but overall the night lacked many standout performances. I think the dancers were tired, but they also weren’t given too many finale-ready opportunities to shine. Even the guest judges were weaker than usual. Kenny Ortega wanted to cast everyone in everything and Katie Holmes just offered bland general reassurances that everyone was great.

It’s not like the show didn’t have its moments. I expected a lot from Sasha and Mark’s Sonya Tayeh-choreographed dance and I wasn’t disappointed. The dance was tailored to Sasha’s strengths, showing her struggling to overcome her obstacles (embodied, sexy-creepy as always, by Mark. Wasn’t it funny how everyone involved with that dance had a mohawk?). Strong and emotionally fierce, it was the perfect Sasha dance and I was so happy for her when Mary yelled that Sasha emulated that she was a “champion and a star.”  

I also thought Marko and Lauren had a really special moment in the finale as they performed a gorgeous Tessandra Chavez dance about a failed romance. I love Lauren for always slapping me in the face with how somehow-surprisingly great she is. Marko and Lauren both looked weightless in their performance and I loved how their hands pulled apart at the end. I thought, “Melanie wishes she was in this dance.”

As I’ve disclosed, I’m a full-on Sasha fan now, so I can't root for Melanie the way I used to (I think because I'm just assuming she's going to win.) I suppose her understated and delicate Stacey Tookey contemporary dance with Robert was good, but as always I was taken out of enjoying the dance by Nigel’s irritating habit of pitting the girls against each other. He had earlier said that Sasha threw down the gauntlet with her first dance, and then claimed that Melanie picked up the gauntlet and slapped Sasha in the face with it. Kind of rude, no?

But there were so many dances that were merely "eh" when I expected "wow!"  I wanted a lot more from Tadd and Joshua’s Lil’ C-choreographed routine (I especially just wished we had seen more from Joshua this season). The judges adored Tadd and Melanie’s sassy Ray Leeper routine but I found it a little cheesy (and that it relied too heavily on Tadd’s being nearly nude.)  I wanted to love Melanie and Sasha’s Stacey Tookey routine about the repressed housewives but thought it failed to make a moment (though Katie Holmes was right: The dresses were gorgeous). I thought Marko was hilariously adorable as a dorky uptight waiter in his Broadway routine but wished that it had been kinder to Sasha (who also suffered in a messily-executed cha-cha with Tadd.)  I thought Melanie and Marko’s disco was fun but unremarkable (compared to some of their previous dances together, anyway) and it seemed like Nigel didn’t even feel like criticizing Marko and Tadd after their step routine -- he just informed them that neither of them would win. Oh, OK.

Was it me? Did you love the finale and it’s not the dancers that are tired, it’s me? Who are you voting for to win? And who would you prefer to have had as the guest judge? (A: A thousand Lady Gagas and one Neil Patrick Harris.)

RELATED:

'So You Think You Can Dance': Worst season ever?

'So You Think You Can Dance': The edge of glory

'So You Think You Can Dance': Pick a favorite, already!

--Claire Zulkey

Follow me @Zulkey

Photo: Melanie Moore, left, and Sasha Mallory perform a contemporary routine to "Heart Asks Pleasure First," choreographed by Stacey Tookey. Credit: Adam Rose/Fox          

'Hel-lo, Mr. Wilson!' 'Dennis The Menace' makes DVD debut

    
Dennis Mitchell didn't mean to be bad. It just somehow worked out that way.

The title character of the classic TV series "Dennis The Menace" was actually a well-intentioned boy whose high energy and relentless curiousity always got him into trouble, particularly with his next-door neighbor, the grumpy Mr. Wilson.

After years of being only available on heavily -edited reruns and bootleg tapes, the first season of "Dennis The Menace, will make its official DVD debut March 29. The five-DVD set from Shout! Factory will contain all 32 original uncut episodes from 1959 and 1960 (the comedy ran for four years and ended in 1964). 

Included in the set are bonus features spotlighting new interviews with co-stars Gloria Henry and Jeannie Russell, who played Dennis' pesky neighbor Margaret. The series contained a lot of physical humor, typical of comedic TV fare in those days.

"I'm so glad the show is finally available," said Henry. "I remember everything about them. It's as if they just happened yesterday."

Added Russell, "I know it hasn't been on the air for a long time, but lately there's been this steady stream of fan mail from Europe, so I guess it's on there somewhere. Somehow this show is still beloved."

Based on the comic strip by Hank Ketchem, the show starred Jay North as Dennis, Herbert Anderson as Henry Mitchell and Henry as Alice Mitchell. Joseph Kernes played Mr. Wilson, the frequent victim of Dennis.

Though North, who did not participate in the DVD release, went on to do other TV shows ("Maya") and movies ("Zebra In The Kitchen") after the show ended, his career never matched the height of his "Dennis The Menace" phase. He left acting and is reportedly a corrections officer in Lake Butler, Fla. 

Henry, who said she still keeps in touch with North, remembered him as "this typical little guy who didn't have much of a chance to be a little boy. His uncle and aunt kept him in his dressing room, going over lines."

Russell, a chiropractor near Universal Studios, also recalled North as "this very sweet and senstive boy. He really liked me."

Henry noted that the character of Dennis evolved during the course of the series: "In the beginning he was very naughtly, and then he was changed to being not so naughtly."

Both actresses said working on the show was a pleasure. Said Henry: "It was like I had another family. Everyone really adored each other."

— Greg Braxton

Top photo: Herbert Anderson, left, Jay North and Gloria Henry in "Dennis The Menace."

Bottom: North and Jeannie Russell.

 

2010 Top Scripted TV Huh? Moments

We appreciate all of the hard work writers put into their TV shows. Here are some of the moments that left us wondering a bit.

1. "Lost": They're all dead and waiting to go to heaven. Depending on who you are, this was either a very good head-scratcher or a very bad one. We loved it, even though we're sad about what it means.

2. "The Walking Dead:" Zombies unseat vampires as the coolest non-humans on TV. It's not their fault they're zombies which makes us feel for them, though they freak us out.

3. "Mad Men:" Don Draper proposes to Megan. Whoa, Don! A little foreshadowing next time, please?

4. "Breaking Bad:" Walt goes from meek chemistry teacher to big-time drug dealer to murderer. Walter, you scare us. But you're never boring and for that we love you.

5. "Glee:" Mr. Schue kisses Coach Beiste. Enough said. 

6. "Sons of Anarchy:" Jackson and his half sister are discovered half-way down the incest road by their respective mothers. Double ick.

7. "True Blood:" Bill and Sookie break up. Again. Can't we all just get along?

8. "Dexter:" Someone accepts Dexter for all that he is. How nice. We like this one.

9.  "The Event:" Aliens. Really?  All that pre-game hype and they turned out to be aliens. Possible to start over?

10. "The Good Wife:" CBS goes all sexy on us in a surprising oral sex scene between Alicia and Peter. It sure made us blush -- and they didn't even show anything!

--Yvonne Villarreal and Maria Elena Fernandez

twitter.com/villarrealy

twitter.com/writerchica

Photo: A scene from the "Lost" series finale. The castaways are waiting to go to heaven. (L-R) Ian Somerhalder, Elizabeth Mitchell, Josh Holloway, John Terry, Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Sonya Walger, Henry Ian Cusick and Emilie de Ravin. Credit: ABC

2010 TV Characters We Lost: We'll Miss You

 

It proved impossible to rank the beloved characters that died on TV this year, so we are respectfully listing them in alphabetical order.

Amy (Emma Bell on "The Walking Dead"). Didn't you scream "Nooooo!" at the TV. We did.

David Hale (Taylor Sheridan on "Sons of Anarchy") Uh. That came out of nowhere.

Ida (Randee Heller on "Mad Men"). Bert Cooper said it best: "She was born in 1898 in a barn. She died on the 37th floor of a skyscraper. She was an astronaut." No one answered a phone quite like Miss Blankenship. 

Jin (Daniel Dae Kim on "Lost"). The most heart-breaking death on "Lost" of the year. Ultimate sacrifice.

Marlene (Phyllis Sommerville on "The Big C"). We were so upset when the show went there, but we understood the move later. Still, we will miss her very much.

Renee (Annie Wersching on "24"). Jack Bauer finally gets to have sex and minutes later his girlfriend is shot by a sniper. Man, it sucks to be Jack.

Sayid (Naveen Andrews on "Lost"). Another self-sacrificing moment but the romantic hero went out in a big way.

Sun (Yunjin Kim on "Lost"). Watching her drown with her husband still brings tears to our eyes.

Talbot (Theo Alexander on "True Blood"). Russell mourning Talbot is almost as sad as watching Talbot die. We liked that sexy vampire very much.

Tom (Tate Donovan on "Damages"). We knew that mess would not end well but we're sad you're gone.

Honorable Mention: He was, unfortunately, not a fictional character but we need to salute Capt. Phil Harris who died while filming "Deadliest Catch." We really miss you.

-- Maria Elena Fernandez and Yvonne Villarreal

Twitter.com/writerchica

Twitter.com/villarrealy

Video: The tragic "Lost" scene in which Jin and Sun died together. Credit: YouTube

The '24' Marathon will bring one viewer a different kind of torture and reward

Time may have finally caught up to Jack Bauer and Chloe and CTU and the rest, but there are still those superfans out there who will want to relive every moment of Fox's "24" when the DVDs are released Dec. 14.

Then there are those who want to watch them all. Right now. At one time. In a glass box.

One hundred participants who signed up for The "24" Marathon Fanfest will be put inside of a glass cube measuring 60-by-40 feet at the Hollywood and Highland complex in Hollywood starting Dec. 2, and will compete against one another by watching as many straight hours of the Fox action show as their bodies can handle. Not only will the last viewer left sitting/awake win $10,000 in cash, but they will also get bragging rights as the No. 1 "24" fan in the land. Further, if they can show Jack Bauer-like stamina, they could even become a Guinness World Record holder. Efraïm van Oeveren of the Netherlands currently holds the record for the longest time continuously watching television, at 86 hours.

Brett Hyman, president of Night Vision Entertainment, who are producing the event, said there are definitely some particular rules to follow, many mandated by the Guinness people. First, they have to stay awake the entire time. They do get a 5-minute break for every hour they complete watching, and they can accumulate time (i.e. 4 hours = 20-minute break). The watchers also get three meals a day from the Hard Rock (and 2 snacks) every four hours until midnight.

The attention that the "24" watchers will get may affect the outcome, too.  Hyman says there will be 120 people writing in logs and helping out with the participants, plus whoever walks by on one of the busiest corners in the county.

We'll check in on them this weekend to see how they are holding up and if a record can be broken. Maybe the custom video sent in by none other than Kiefer Sutherland can motivate them to go on. Counting down ...

[UPDATE: There's a meet-and-greet tonight at Hollywood and Highland where the public can also watch the contestants enter the viewing area.]

-- Jevon Phillips

Photo credit: Fox

10/10/10: TV's top 10 moments of the first 10 months of 2010

It's been a big year in television, and we still have 82 days to go. To mark the date -- 10/10/10 -- here are the biggest moments of the first 10 months of 2010:

January

There was no holiday lull this new year. 2010 began with two departures that are still resonating across the TV landscape.  Simon Cowell announced that he would leave "American Idol" in May. Cowell traded in the Fox talent show he helped shape into a juggernaut for his own British talent competition, "The X Factor," which will debut on Fox next fall.

That would have qualified for the month's top moment if it hadn't been for NBC's late-night debacle and its controversial treatment of Conan O'Brien, who hosted "The Tonight Show" for seven months before NBC's mishandling of the failed "Jay Leno Show" forced him to resign. On Jan. 22, the redheaded comic known affectionately to his fans as Coco gave up the job of his dreams in a very classy way.

"Despite this sense of loss, I really feel that this should be a happy moment," he said. "Every comedian dreams of hosting 'The Tonight Show,' and for seven months I got to do it." Addressing his viewers, and especially "young people," he said, "Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism ­-- for the record, it's my least favorite quality, and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."

O'Brien, who rebounded on Twitter and a live tour, has a new show, "Conan," which premieres on TBS on Nov. 8.


February

 Reality TV became really real on Feb. 9 when beloved Capt. Phil Harris of "Deadliest Catch" died from complications of a massive stroke that he suffered while off loading crab in Alaska and filming the Discovery Channel series' sixth season. The episode, which covered the Cornelia Marie captain's death, aired in July and drew 8.5 million viewers, a record for the series.

Known for his volatile but caring relationship with his two sons, Harris began fishing with his father as a boy and was one of the youngest captains of a crab fishing boat on the Bering Sea. He had been in charge of the Cornelia Marie for more than two decades when he died. His sons, Jake and Josh Harris, are at its helm now.


 March

The clock stopped ticking for Jack Bauer on a sad spring day when Fox announced that "24" would end its groundbreaking stint on television at the end of the season. The Kiefer Sutherland-led drama concluded at the end of its eighth day with an emotional but hopeful ending that let viewers know that someday we'll see Jack Bauer again. (Nice and big on a movie screen!)  The finale aired in May, but our mourning began in March.


April

"Come on! Vogue!"

Fox's Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe-winning "Glee" has been making news all year, with its chart-topping music, eye-opening guest stars (Britney Spears, hello!), but the musical comedy made its mark in April when it delved into the world of Madonna and delivered a memorable hour of television. Mashup of "Borderline" and "Open Your Heart" -- check. "Like a Prayer" -- good, even though it was performed by the enemy. Sue Sylvester voguing -- marvelous.

May

No more "Law & Order" ching-ching on the mother ship. No more Jack Bauer saving our day, "24"/7. No more Simon Cowell "If I'm being honest with you" scary moments on "American Idol."

But the winner on this sad, sad month of goodbyes is "Lost," simply because we waited six years to know what the smoke monster, time-jumping island was all about and living without this ABC series is harder than deciphering what the sideways flashes meant. Always hoping to see you in another life, "Lost" bruthas.

June
 
 Larry King announced he was retiring from his nightly CNN talk show, but is he also giving up his suspenders? For 25 years, King asked (questionable) questions of politicians, celebrities and everyone in between, and held the record for being the host of the longest-running show in the same time slot. King's last show will air in December. British tabloid editor Piers Morgan ("America's Got Talent") will take over sometime next year.

July

"Jersey Shore" returned for its second season, set in Miami, to chart-topping ratings. Seems like MTV viewers can't get enough of "The Situation's" abs, Snooki's drinking, Pauly D's "It's T-shirt tiiiime!" and Jenny's brawling.

But this month belonged to the behind-the-scenes chaos of "American Idol." When Simon Cowell left the show in May, no one expected the No. 1 show on television to be thrown into "utter and "complete" turmoil (to borrow a favorite phrase from the British judge). Ellen DeGeneres announced she was leaving after one year on the judge's panel. And rumors --which proved true last month -- that Kara DioGuardi would also leave to make room for Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler drove the entertainment media crazy for most of the summer.

August

ABC's freshman comedy "Modern Family" won the Emmy for outstanding comedy, making modern families everywhere very happy. The single-camera comedy not only made family sitcoms cool again but also gave CBS' competitors a reason to believe that they, too, could be in the comedy business. Five of the series' actors were also nominated, and Eric Stonestreet, who plays the lovable Cameron, took home his own trophy.


September

The TV critics were oh-so-wrong. The critical favorite among the fall season's newbies was the Fox drama "Lone Star," which also had the dubious distinction of being the first show to be canceled. Starring newcomer James Wolk, the show about a con man living two lives in Texas and loving two women, aired only twice before Fox had to throw in its white flag.


October

 CNN anchor Rick Sanchez imploded while promoting his new book, "Conventional Idiocy." The boisterous newsman may have been one of the first to embrace Tweeting while broadcasting, but that didn't help him when he called comic Jon Stewart a "bigot" and then insinuated that his CNN bosses are part of a Jewish group controlling the media. CNN promptly fired him, and on Friday Sanchez made his first attempt at atonement on "Good Morning America." "I screwed up," he said. Duh.

--Maria Elena Fernandez
twitter.com/writerchica

MORE 10/10/10

Photos: Ten films with '10' in the title

Culture Monster: Ten masterpieces for the decaphilic

Hero Complex: The Top 10 sidekicks of all-time

Photos: Ten stars by the age of 10

24 Frames: The 10 best movies of 2010 (so far) that you might have missed

Pop & Hiss: Ten great songs about drinking (and five others about sobering up)

Ministry of Gossip: Celebrity scandals from a spicy year so far

Jacket Copy: The 10 best 'Best of' books of 2010

 

Photos, from top to bottom:

Conan O Brien behind his "Tonight Show" desk when he took over the late-night show. Credit: Paul Drinkwater / NBC

Capt. Phil Harris of "Deadliest Catch" who died on Feb. 9. Credit: Blair Bunting / Discovery Channel

Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer in the "24" series finale. Credit: Ray Mickshaw / Fox

Chris Colfer and Amber Riley in "The Power of Madonna" episode of "Glee." Credit: Michael Yarish / Fox

One of the final scenes of "Lost." Credit: ABC

Larry King on June 29. Credit: CNN

Simon Cowell says goodbye to "American Idol" during the May season finale.  Credit: Vince Bucci / Fox / PictureGroup

The cast and producer of "Modern Family" accept the Emmy for outstanding comedy on Aug. 29. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

James Wok and Jon Voight in "Lone Star." Credit: Bill Matlock / Fox

Former CNN anchor Rick Sanchez. Credit: CNN

'24': Goodbye Jack Bauer ... for now

Spoiler alert: Do not read if you have not seen the series finale of "24."

The following took place between Nov.  6, 2001, and May 24, 2010.

HBO’s exclusive reign over complex, meaningful series that had the Big Screen’s production values ceased the moment Jack Bauer and his ticking clock were introduced to TV viewers.  An undercover government agent who fought terrorism at a time when that term had gained painful meaning in the United States, Jack Bauer easily became the action hero of the decade — in large part because of Kiefer Sutherland’s alternately vulnerable and ferocious performance.

That Sutherland even wanted to be on TV at the time was big news, but what he did with the role, transforming a federal agent into a TV icon while giving his own career a complete makeover, also inspired ambitious, serialized storytelling across the TV dial.

For that, I thank you very much, Jack/Kiefer Sutherland. But enough with the show-biz blah blah blah.

Dammit! “24” ended Monday night!

'24': Whatever happened here didn't happen here

Jack Bauer went out with a whimper, not a bang.

After spending the last three episodes killing everything in his path, Bauer was basically a second banana in a two-hour series finale that no doubt left hardcore fans of his style of justice wondering why the writers took us down this road only to wimp out in the end. 

First a little catch-up. Bauer is out to avenge the death of Renee Walker, a woman he loved for, oh, 10 minutes, earlier in the day, and to expose the Russians' involvement in the murder of Kamistan President Omar Hassan.

Unfortunately for Bauer, U.S. President Alison Taylor is more interested in a peace treaty built on deceptions and cover-ups than she is the truth. She has been seduced by former President Charles Logan, who is hoping to redeem his tattered reputation by salvaging the broken peace treaty. Bauer has escaped Taylor's efforts to keep him on ice while the treaty is signed. He's on the run and determined to bring the Russians to justice and take out Logan as well. Whether his murderous plans extend to Taylor as well is unclear, but as his pal Jim Ricker told him a few hours earlier, "This path you're on, there ain't no coming back from it."

Having learned that Russian President Yuri Suvarov was in on the murder of Kamistan's Hassan, Bauer sets his sights on him. While the writers also keep trying to sell us that Suvarov and the now-dead aide Mikhail Novakovich gave the order for Pavel to kill Renee, I'm not buying it. Pavel was told to follow Bauer and Renee, not kill them. He acted on his own. Whatever.

Now that we're all caught up, here's what went down in the final two hours of "24."