January 16, 2007 -- '24' dropped a real bomb last night.
Fox's adrenaline-rush series ended last night's two-hour episode with the detonation of a mini-nuclear device in an L.A. suburb - destined to kill hundreds of thousands and throw the country into chaos.
In the thick of it all, of course, was crack CTU agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), who recoiled in shock and horror as a nuclear mushroom cloud enveloped the daytime sky.
Fans of "24" are used to shocks - the show killed off several high-profile characters last season - but this episode raised the bar even higher.
"24" executive producer Howard Gordon said last week that the show's topicality this season "is a real concern."
"This season threatens to be too real," he said. "We live in a parallel universe . . . and the details of this season, especially, are frightening because they feel so real and plausible.
"We hope people embrace these concerns, and this ['24'] becomes compelling TV."
Internet gossip Matt Drudge quoted a Fox exec as saying the network is prepared for any "fallout" from last night's episode from cities which might be targeted in future nuclear explosions on "24."
The episode made it clear that there are four more nuclear devices possessed by the Arab terrorists featured in this season's plot.
Drudge also draws a parallel between last night's "24" and a recent CIA report outlining possible explosions using "low charge nuclear weapons" - like the bomb detonated in L.A.
"Time to wake the country up!" Drudge quoted an unidentified Fox exec as saying.
Link