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"That's the man I killed two years ago.". As far as shockers go, few could match the startling discovery made in the previous episode: not only had Jack Bauer been risking his life all day because the evil Andre Drazen wanted revenge on him and David Palmer, he also found out Andre's father, Victor Drazen (Dennis Hopper), did not die, as it was believed, but was captured by the US government and hidden in a secret detention center.The twenty-first chapter of 24's first season begins with the storming of the aforementioned prison, with Jack taken hostage so that the Drazens might use him for negotiations before killing him. Presumably, they will also want to take out Palmer, who has just learned he is the most popular candidate in the California polls, an obvious sign of the citizens appreciating his honesty. And in case that wasn't enough, the car that's escorting Kim Bauer back to CTU is ambushed. Man, what a day!As the opening series reaches its conclusion, the real villain is finally let out in the open: previously, the conspirators, no matter how scary, were merely pawns in a much bigger game, and even the political characters who were plotting in the dark (Carl Webb and Sherry Palmer) look like amateurs next to the dread that emanates from Victor Drazen. Then again, he is played by Dennis Hopper, an excellent actor whose career has been dodgy to say the least: forever celebrated for Easy Rider, he then vanished for almost two decades (supporting roles in Coppola's Apocalypse Now and Rumble Fish notwithstanding) before revamping his career with his terrifying portrayal of rapist Frank Booth in Blue Velvet, which was followed by another fifteen years in the shadows; playing Drazen, a radically different evildoer from Booth (one is calm and calculating, the other more impulsive and openly psychotic) reignited his career one more time, leading to other recent triumphs like his Land of the Dead character. All icy looks and restrained contempt, Hopper is so naturally creepy he even gets away with occasionally clumsy chunks of dialogue ("Collapse the corridor immediately!"), stealing the entire episode his head held high.As perfect as small-screen thrillers can be, this show proved that TV isn't just smarter than the average movie; like the right film, the right series can also be a career-saver.
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