Day One, A Federal agent is torn between his duty to protect a Senator, and his duty to protect his family. That’s all Day One was. Try as you might you won’t be able to come up with a similar one sentence description for Day Eight. Certainly there are parts which have been just a simple, the most simple an idea was Jack’s fight for justice during the last 7 hours. Which is why these last 7 hours where the best of these last 24. Why certain parts of these last two where so touching, emotional and even moving, whilst others where simply plot.

Everything involving Jack and Chloe was terrific. Logan was mostly the usual delight to watch. The action, as so often in these final episodes was tense and dramatic. Unfortunately however a number of other moments either fell flat or where horribly guilty of missed opportunities.

The show almost tortured those final moments at the UN podium until Taylor pulled out. How much better, more dramatic and hopeful would it have been if Taylor, looking resolved, steely, but oddly calm walked up to the podium after the others had signed and made a speech mirroring her Inauguration speech seen in Redemption, declaring her values of openness, peace and understanding – those which had lead her to seek high office, and whilst the initial work done in forging this peace her guiding principles meant she would unfortunately not be able to sign the treaty.

However in the places that mattered there was very little too complain about. These two hours wrapped up the Day 8 story nicely and neatly. But why then do I still feel a little reserved in my judgement?. Perhaps this is why…

The end of 24 needs to deal with what happens to those who go down that road. Can they turn back? Can there be a happy ending? Or is there simply a dead end?

I wrote that 6 months ago when looking back on 7×24 and looking forward to Series 8. Previously i’d written how 7×24 should be the last we saw of Jack Bauer, (and possibly 24) as it was the most perfect closure and judgement Jack was ever going to receive. The viewer could decide whether Jack died quietly and peacefully with Kim by his side or if simply the Jack Bauer we knew died on that hospital bed and a different man woke. Nothing in the past 24 episodes has fundamentally changed that opinion, most especially because we are no nearer an answer to the key question I pose above.

Perhaps it is an unanswerable question, perhaps that is precisely the point.

Overall a very fine end to the day, if only a satisfactory end to the show as a whole.

Best then perhaps that 8×24 is not “goodbye”, but merely “fair well, for now”.

In the meantime, back to the boxsets it is, and I would like to salute everyone who has contributed to the show these last 9 years.

Thank you very much for so much fine entertainment.

The last few episodes really hadn’t done much for me, I still wasn’t getting excited, because of all the procedural rubbish that was going on around the edges I was finding it hard to get emotionally invested (or connected). But in 21 and 22, as we see just how far Jack is willing to go, and is going. Suddenly I get it, i’m with it. I’m edging ever so slightly towards the edge of my seat.

It’s all a bit more guilty pleasure than it was back in the good old days of Series One when you gained some satisfaction from deciphering the plot and perhaps guessing a plot twist no one else saw coming, the 2010 breed is a little more “detach the brain and enjoy the ride”, but hey, if the ride is this enjoyable then sure i’ll let a few plot holes (Novacovic gave the order to shoot Renee, not the Russian Pres.) the size of Manhattan flash by me. Same goes for a little repetition (Logan undone by a microphone after a rough and ready encounter with Jack).

Really is worth ignored when where treated to such gloriously scenes as Jacks full on assault whilst masked and in full body armour wielding an AK or something similar. Any encounter between Jack and Logan is worth watching and 22 didn’t disappoint. Truth be told any scene with Logan scheming, and twisting and being so Machiavellian and Nixon-esque is worth watching.

A lot of the problems of previous episodes was still present in these episodes, I just found myself not caring so much.

The show has set itself up for a very promising end, lets see if it delivers….

Wait, you already know if it delivers. Lets see if I think it delivers…. (yeah, thats better.)

The article linked to above now cites Howard Gordon stating that Jack might become a regular visitor to the big screen:

“Our idea is to make Jack Bauer someone we can revisit on a regular basis.”

I’ll leave you to judge for yourself whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I’m approaching it with mixed feelings. While I will probably miss the show on TV, I’m not sure how a show that fundamentally depended on real-time and a 24-hour time span can even successfully transition into 2 hours of screen time. Sure, we had “Redemption”, but I’m not a big fan of it, either. Redemption worked as a sort of a prequel to the following season, but a movie would be a stand-alone story and a whole different ball game.

The other reservation I have is about trying to raise Bauer to an indestructible status of James Bond, and that’s essentially what would happen if he became a serial movie killer. Is this really necessary? Won’t Jack become just another action  hero? Won’t the essence of “24″ get lost in the process? Knowing that Jack will come back for another movie would make any real tension impossible because you’d know he can’t die (once I stopped believing they’d ever kill Jack on screen, that seriously dampened my “thrill” watching the seasons). Kiefer Sutherland has been saying for quite some time that he believed that Jack could go on as a character even if someone else played him. I suppose this might be the beginning idea of that transition. Just like Bond.

Nothing is etched in stone yet, of course, as a “revisit” will likely depend on how well the first movie does. So we’ll see.

In the meantime, let’s try to look forward to the movie and the return of

“…some familiar faces”

in the (first) movie, notably Chloe O’Brian. I’m still hoping for Tony, too.

More details on the film include “cold war themes”, and Jack’s remaining status of a “fugitive from everyone”, at least at the start of the movie. So it’s probably safe to say that Jack still has it in for the Russians. Suwarow is still alive, after all.

I wanted to let you know that I hadn’t dropped out the picture. I will be posting my thoughts on the final hours of Series Eight just as soon as I’ve seen them, (i’ve got the last four episodes to watch) and while the urge to simply rush through them is very great, knowing that these are the final 4 hours I’m resisting that temptation and will wait to watch them when I can really savour them.

Looking forward, I also wanted to let people know that we’ll continue to cover 24 whatever form it now takes. Hopefully this will be a Movie in the not too distant future, or it may be that the Movie doesn’t happen straight away and we’ll have to amuse ourselves in the meantime with a look back at the show over the years.

The clock never stops.

How did this happen? Wasn’t I one of the advocates of the “It should have ended years ago” and “It’s time to stop the clock”-credos? Didn’t I firmly believe myself past my 24 addiction?

And why exactly am I crying?

There’s no easy answer to that. The simplest and most detached explanation would be “because Howard Gordon wrote a damn good script and the actors did a damn good job of acting it”. But that reply doesn’t tell you why it has made me cry. I can try to dissect things a little. I know that I’m sad over “24″ ending, despite everything, because it has been a part of my life and the best thing on TV for the last 9 years. I’m sad because back in 2001, when “24″ first happened, I felt like I’d been searching for that very TV show to come along for more than two decades of my life; never before had a TV show so completely and thoroughly consumed me, engaged me, made me wonder, fear, tremble with anticipation and want more like a junkie in desperate need of his next shot. Never before had a show (re-)awakened the writer in me and inspired me to write hundreds of pages of fanfiction, pushed me to create my own storylines, fill in the blanks for existing characters, spin the thread further, create my own world beyond the show. But most of all, it was so bloody entertaining to watch.

‘The moment of truth’, a friend just told me as I revealed to her that I had much more than just watery eyes when the yellow ticking clock counted the final three seconds of “24″ down to zero (sorry if you consider this a spoiler, but it was a really nice touch and I had to mention it). I suppose that’s what it is. The simple truth is: Yes, I’m still a fan. I admit it, no need for coersive interrogation.

And yes, I will go out and buy the season. In fact, I will go out and buy all the seasons again, even those that I already own (some of my DVDs are kaput, so that’s why). Whenever that S1-8 DVD box comes out, I’ll get it. Even though I might never watch S5 or S6 (which I haven’t hitherto owned), now that “24″’s clock has ticked and died away, it does not feel appropriate for a fan who’s shedding tears over the finale not to own the complete DVD set.

Do you consider my reaction hypocritical, taking into account that I have been criticizing a good part of the 8th season earlier? Have I been lying to myself when saying that “24″ was better off dead? Maybe. Or maybe I have been preparing myself for this, inevitable, painful moment that comes about when you finally realise that “Never again” has just gained a new meaning. But on the other hand, I think that my criticism was also a way of demanding that things get better. I do believe that true fans have the right to criticise; the only people who don’t are those who actually have no idea what they’re talking about. I myself have never really given up on the show, even though there were things I didn’t like. I watched each season as it aired, even when the show was at its worst, and I hoped that when it finally went away, it would go out with a bang.

And boy, did it do that.

No, fear not, nobody got blown to pieces in the final moments. But Gordon came awfully close to ending the show with something that I and other like-minded fans have believed from Day 1 would be the only real way, the only fitting way, of wrapping things up. If I hadn’t known about “24″’s plans for the future, I would really have gotten worried. But even so, it had gripped me. I was right there in the midst of it. I was anxious about Jack, Chloe, Cole, I was yelling at Taylor to finally do the right thing, I was wishing that Logan would just drop dead, and for Dalia Hassan to stand up to Taylor…

But even though I knew that the remainder of the season rested on Jack’s revenge spree (hell, he gave us Darth Bauer ©TheJackSack) and although I wanted Logan to finally die and pay not only for his role in this season, but also for what he’s done to David Palmer, Michelle Dessler and by proxy, Tony Almeida, I couldn’t make myself root for Jack to kill Logan, or President Suwarow. Ever since Renee was killed, the path that Jack took made me feel very ambiguous about him. He chose to race down this road to ruin, and as much as I sympathised with him, as much as I understood his anger and pain, I couldn’t in good conscience side with him. There are limits, Jack, even for you.

I won’t give away how things eventually played out, you’re going to have to watch the eps yourself if you want to find out. I’ll just say the ending has left me torn. Okay, I can’t end this without addressing a couple of things that are definitely considered spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the finale, DON’T READ the rest of this until you have.

Obviously, I’m torn on the Logan issue. While I couldn’t sanction Jack’s taking him out, I’m also not really happy with him potentially surviving the season, and possibly getting away with another slap on the wrist. However, kudos to him for finally having the balls to do ‘the right thing’, put that gun to his head and pull the trigger. That was the perfect way to give us all what we wanted, and keep Jack out of it.  Now, I don’t believe in suicide, but in Logan’s case, I had no problem with the death penalty – by his hand or the government’s. death was the just punishment. It was just fitting that he’d try to take the coward’s way out and kill himself rather than facing another public humiliation. But I was in fact surprised that he killed his watchdog. Not bad for a wuss! Funny, though, he blew his own brains out and the EMT’s were able to say just a couple of minutes later that he will probably survive (at least we got the mention of permanent brain damage). Way to go, Charles. You can’t even commit suicide right!

I’m also torn on the Jack issue, though. If there had been no movies planned, I would have really wanted to see Jack die on screen. I believed that it was the finality of Jack’s death that “24″ needed in order to really call it quits. We’d discussed the options numerous times in forums, and the finale almost got us there three times. It was almost as if Gordon was going through the possible death scenarios in his head and then decided to include them all: a) ‘killed by a friend’, b) ’suicide’, c) ‘killed by a foe’. But since neither Chloe, nor Jack himself, nor his executioner actually put a bullet in Jack’s brain, Jack survived. Now, I’m surprisingly okay with that – in fact it feels a little comforting to know he’s still out there and ready for a day at the movies. But he was also given yet another free pass – and that makes me feel a little betrayed.

I understand that Alison Taylor felt the need to give Jack a head start, and I applaud her for not just granting him a pardon. He was, after all, about to assassinate some very high-ranking politicians just minutes prior. But why is it that Bauer always gets to flee the country and go dark while Tony gets slapped over the head with the rule book and the law book and left to rot in a federal penitentiary? I know, because Jack is the star of the show. But it still doesn’t sit right with my Almeidaist heart. There, I had to say it.

However, I did love the episodes. They were so well written. Never, not for a moment before Jack and Chloe began to say their goodbyes, did it feel like we were heading towards the end of the series. It just moved on, pushed on, raced on, and made you wish there was more than just the 7, 6, 4, 2 minutes left. And I guess what really made me tear up in those final moments was Jack’s mention of Kim, and when he made Chloe promise him to protect her. His family has always been his soft spot. And now he’s once again left to run for his life and forced to disappear from Kim’s life after just having reconnected with her. Poor Kim, she must have gotten used to it by now. And Alison Taylor, she proved to be very much like David Palmer. Not only won’t she seek re-election, but she’s stepping down and turning herself in. Finally. I’m glad she’s found the way back to where she used to be before that snake Logan started slithering around.

Anyhow… I think I’d better stop. I think what I’m going through is no different from what the people on the set were going through when shooting that final ep. One more shot of Kiefer’s knee, another shot of his ankles, another shot of his elbow… Dragging it out just so that ‘the next one’ would be that last shot of the series. So… I will stop dragging things out on my end.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed the season. It has done what it had set out to do – entertain me. I hadn’t been as invested and as addicted to it as I had been in some earlier years, but at the end of the day (literally), it has managed to move me. And that is a good way to remember it. Thank you, all.

00:00:03 — 00:00:02 — 00:00:01 — 00:00:00

I feel no sadness about the demise of the sniper dude, but I am finding it increasingly difficult to stay on Bauer’s side and see him as a real good guy. I get the whole, “You killed Renee, so I’m gonna kill you” attitude, but with some of the things he’s done in this ep he crossed the line, and like his pal said, “This path you’re on, there ain’t no coming back from it.”

Of course, Jack wasn’t planning on coming back. He’s a man with a mission, a suicide mission, and wants only revenge. And so it makes you wonder, is Logan’s faithful underling all that wrong when he says the simple truth is that Bauer has lost it? I’m not sure how much I can support his eye-for-an-eye attitude at this point. As entertainment, what he’s doing is fun and finally gets me sort of excited. It’s great to watch. But when you think about it, what he’s doing  - going after Logan while shooting at Secret Service agents (although he “shot to wound”, not to kill) just gives you that bitter taste in your mouth where you ask yourself, where does the good end and the evil begin? And that’s regardless of what kind of a bastard that guy is, and how much he does deserve to die.

But this is just 24 doing what it’s’ been doing when it was at its best: making you think, making you wonder. How far would you be willing to go? How far can or should Bauer go?

If you’ve seen the ep, you’ve probably answered the questions yourself. Are you having trouble supporting Bauer’s doings?

I won’t go into the details of the ep, but there is one really good synopsis & review of it on TheJackSack. It’s a bit longish, but well written, and with a great sarcastic undertone. There’s really not much to add to it. Go and read, and chuckle.

Hope remains for those of us who’ll be left wanting MORE, as Howard Gordon hopes we will, as the movie is taking shape. But as far as the Series goes, the clock has tick-tocked for the last time.

Like you might have noticed in some of our previous posts, some of the 24 crew are present on Twitter. On “24″’s final day, they have shared their thoughts, too. At a guess, the atmosphere on the set must have been quite emotional. Below are some Tweets and two final-day images courtesy of Rodney Charters.

Annie Wersching (Renee Walker):

“9 years ago, in 2001 I had just moved to LA and started watching 24 in my beatup studio apt in Hollywood and became a forever Fan.  9 yrs later, after 3 years/2 seasons 24 has again truly changed my life forever…here’s to the end of an era and to truly one of of the most groundbreaking, original and kick ass shows of all time!”

James P Morrison (Bill Buchanan):

” Thinking about my 24 pals on their last day. I’m a better man having worked w/you all. Glad I’m not there tho. I cry best by myself ”

Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O’Brien):

“I’m going to miss all these damn people- 24 family…”

Jon Cassar:

“I’m sadder today about #24 coming to an end then when I left over a year ago. I guess there was comfort in knowing it was still being made.”

Rodney Charters:

“Last scene with ML; wow strange disjointed atmosphere on set.”

The Lights go out on New York:

The Good-Bye Cake:

A little Twitter exchange between Cassar and Charters:

“I’m a little emotional this morning looking at your final pictures from the set. We all knew it had to end, but it still smarts.”
“Back at you Jon you were missed but very present if you know what I mean.”
“Thanks for that. I feel sorry for the crews we work with in the future, because they’ll have to endure hundreds of #24 stories.”

And I’ll give the final word to Rodney:

“4:00am my body cannot believe there are No More Wake Ups to a day of work on the 24 set, its a new day and a song bird is warbling outside.
It was emotional and memorable, thought of Jon missing it in TO, cannot comprehend the friendships & joy of work we will all miss sharing. Huge thanx to all Peeps who follow us I will try and post images from the set as the final shows are aired. Buy the Blue Ray or use iPad. List of visitors: Gary Newman 2oth Chairman Joel Surnow Anil Kapoor Glen Morshower speeches choked back emotion lotta lovin. Bye Kiefer.”

The article does not really contain spoilers, so don’t be afraid to read it.

Below are a few excerpts from the article, answers to questions you might be asking yourself.

Q: When’s the soonest that fans could realistically expect a feature film?
A: … It could be as early as next year depending on how things come together.

Q: How do you want “24″ the series to be remembered?
A: We loved this show from the very first hour to the last hour, so I hope people think of it being consistently at that quality and that it’s never dipped too terribly – except for Season 6.

Q: Can you tease to the rest of the season?
A:  We’ve taken a risk in the last eight episodes. It was challenging to the writers [and] to the actors. [...] Without spoiling what’s to come, it’s pretty dark and complex and a place that was uncomfortable for us to write and for some of the actors to act. We really swung for the fences. [...]

Q: How has this decision creatively impacted the ending?
A: There have been a couple other season enders that would have been spectacular series enders – Season 4, Season 5 and last year [Season 7]. I was more aware this time of ending something that really felt surprising but not cheap; emotionally consistent. Some will throw their shoes at the screen, inevitably some will be angry, some will say they hated it the last three years. [...] I’m hoping the first feeling people have is, “Damn, I miss it, I want more.”

Read the full article at: hollywoodreporter.com

Below is an article that appeared a couple of days ago in the New York Times. It containes no spoilers, so feel free to take a look. The writer had been invited as a “consultant” on s8 and had spent a month with HoGo and his team of writers in Hollywood.

The article takes us inside The Writers’ Room (or building), in the early stages of planning Season 8 and depicts some of the difficulties the writers have been facing every single year. First of all: the real time format. Second, the fact that everything you could possibly think of has already been done, in one way or another. Thirdly, the continuity of the story. And finally, the sheer amount of writing necessary to write a whole season.

It always starts plain and simple: with a blank page. One minute of screen time requires a bit more than a page of script. One season means 24×42 minutes of screen time. That amounts to 1′100 pages per season. A tremendous task, indeed.

Brainstorming sessions don’t always come up with solutions, and the process is tedious and exhausting. In fact, when the writer of the article leaves the writers’ room after a whole month, not one line of the season has been written.

The real-time format and the mandatory continuity of the story make things increasingly difficult year after year for the writers… The article actually confirms the feeling that some of us have been getting from Season 8: that the storyline feels somewhat contrived, the writing isn’t flowing, that it seems like the writers had to – as opposed as wanted to – come up with a story arc. Indeed, seen from this angle, it comes as no surprise that Howard and his team have come to a “creative consensus” to end 24 after the 8th season. They probably would have, even if FOX hadn’t considered the cost/benefit factor. In closing, the writer of the article tells us:

“…when Howard told me a few months ago that he couldn’t imagine coming back for Season 9, I understood.”

I guess after 9 years of repeatedly sending Jack to hell and back, the writers really did get too exhausted to go on. It’s for the best. Though TV will definitely be less exciting without 24.

Read the full story here.

Stuff happened, y’know? Chloe  saved CTU, Renee saved Jack and heck, Jack got yet another chance at a Suicide Mission and then managed to cheat death by the skin of the teeth (or by the Bullet of Renee). Though I doubt that anyone watching truly believed that Jack would be offed by terrorists, I suppose it was nice to be reminded again of Jack’s willingness to Die For Something. Some might call it The Death Wish: one of Bauer’s character traits that have been following him since Day Two.

Ironically, it was in Day Two (episode 15, wasn’t it?), when George Mason took over the Cessna and Jack parachuted out of the Death Plane, that some of us stopped believing that Jack would ever die on screen, except, maybe, possibly when the clock tick-tocked for the very last time. And that, despite Kiefer Sutherland’s constant statements about how no one was safe on 24, that even Jack could die. But seriously: the moment the writers made Jack such a central figure that 24 couldn’t go on without him was the moment they decided they could never really kill him. And the fact that Bauer couldn’t die was part of the reason that tension and suspense have declined for me over the years. It’s not because I’m a blood-thirsty Bauer-hater or something equally annoying. No, it’s because the show’s suspense hinges on keeping you guessing, on putting people in peril and getting them out – or not. And the suspense lies in you actually believing that they might not get out.

With Bauer, it’s become increasingly clear that he’ll live to see the end of the show with all limbs and organs intact and his heart beating. So, at least for me, it’s come to the point where a Jack In Danger storyline just couldn’t get me to the edge of my seat anymore. What’s the point? I know that Jack will live. It’s everyone else around him that dies.

And so, as Jack offered Cole to draw fire so that Cole could get a chance to make his way to the landline and call CTU, I appreciated the gesture, but wasn’t really worried. Cole, on the other hand, might have bitten the bullet. Because, remember, this was episode 13 after all. The episode number that has cost us Tony Almeida (season 5), Bill Buchanan (season 7) and rung in Paul Raines’ death (Season 4) on the good guys’ side, and killed one of the show’s best villains, Ira Gaines (Season 1), got rid of  that annoying chap, Alan Milliken (season 3) and at least for now, done away with Charles Logan (Season 6). I’m saying “at least for now” because we have not really seen Logan die, the last I remember is him being rushed off to an ER, and so, technically, he could still be alive (not that I wouldn’t love to see him rot in hell!) Yeah, one could assume that he’s dead, but hey, stranger things have happened. For example, Christopher Henderson purposely missing Tony Almeida’s artery in the heat of the struggle . And if 24 has taught us anything, it’s not to assume anything. Right?

Anyhow, back to the ep. In many ways, it was a classic 24 episode.

We remember: In the 12th hour, the terrorists took out CTU with an ingenious, non-lethal, all-electronic-equipment-frying electromagnetic device called the EMP. (Allow me to mention that we saw the first use of the ElectroMagnetic Pulse Bomb in the 12th episode of Season 4. Coincidence?) Jack, having been-there-done-that, instantly understands what’s going on, and evokes a classic 24 element: the takeover of CTU by another agency. Since poor Ryan Chappelle is dead (and that bahstid Brad Hammond probably still in L.A.), CTU New York is subjected to a hostile takeover by the NSA.

As usual, the Other Agency boys come in with the often-seen attitude of “We’re here to clean up your mess, so get out of the way, shut up and let us work.” Are we to be surprised that everyone’s favorite techie, Chloe O’Brien, has a quicker way of restoring CTU? In ten minutes? Of course not. But the NSA won’t listen. Why would they? They don’t have agents in the field and the nuclear rods on their way into Downtown New York really aren’t all that pressing a matter.

However, Renee, on her way to find and save Jack from the real hostiles, disagrees. “Do what you have to do,” she tells Chloe and boom: Chloe’s got a gun! Although she “doesn’t even like guns”, she ushers the NSA dudes out at gunpoint, and starts to work her magic in the server room. More classic 24 follows as the CTU director finally puts his trust in the Magic Techie and Chloe restores CTU all by herself.

Another gal has got a gun, too: Renee. And lucky for Jack that she does. Cause if it hadn’t been for her, that evil sniper dude would have put a slug right into the defenceless Jack’s forehead. Saved by the gun. Thanks, Renee. Aww, that romance that’s building up between those two! The fear as she runs to Jack’s body on the ground, the relief as wakes up, as she sees that the armored vest had held, the gentle image of her cradling him while he struggles to breathe… (*sighs as memories return from ep 5×13… Tony… Jack… Brothers*). And let’s not forget that Jack had promised to be there for Renee “when this is all over.” That’s love, people! Jack has found a soul mate. We’ve known that since Season 7, haven’t we?

But how long will it last? Relationships with Bauer tend to be deadly to those who dare enter. “Everything you touch, one way or another, ends up dead.” Has Jack forgot James Heller’s words? Watch your back, Renee.

Finally, another classic 24 element: WE HAVE A MOLE! I don’t think I want to count how many there have been over the years, but Jennie a.k.a. Dana being in bed with the terrorists is one of the least surprising twists. The writers have basically done the same thing with her as with Sean Hillinger last year. From the start, Sean and Dana both had something to hide, and tried to make us believe it was just something personal, when in fact they were The Inside (Wo)Man, working with the bad guys. But at least now her story can finally become interesting. We’ll see!

In fact, the season just might get better as a whole from now on. It took forever to get to a place where I actually wanted to watch the episode again right after first seeing it – this 13th episode was the first that had that effect. But from interviews I’ve read in the past 48 hours, since the announcement of 24’s cancellation, it seems like Kiefer and Howard Gordon are actually proud of the second half of the season. One of them actually said that the remaining eps are up there with the best the show has ever done.

So we’ll see. At least now I’m interested again.

If HoGo proves right, and if, once those final seconds tick away, I do end up on the edge of my seat, wanting more, it will be what I’ve always wanted for the show. To go out with a bang.