"Say hello to my knitted friend!"

Ryan: law student, blogger, official member of Team Zissou. Only one of those qualifications provides an awesome red toque, (I’m giving you a hint here, UBC Law…) That’s right, in their continuing efforts to atone for the Bright Eyes debacle, a certain Forward-thinking Shop offered Team Zissou toques to anyone who bought my favorite film of last year, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.



What’s funnier (or nerdier, depending on how well you know me), is that I’ve now become an accidental movie-toque collector. I once attended a premiere of some throwaway De Niro movie, 15 Minutes, and won a toque emblazoned with the movie title. I wonder how far this collection can go. Any chance Tony Montana wore a toque?

On to a show which should have commemorative toques, last night’s episode of the Jack Bauer Power Hour was a doozy. Marwan captured (due to the onset of daylight, no doubt), and a nuclear missile launches as the hour counts down. Best was the appearance of actor Tzi Ma, playing the head of security for the Chinese consulate. Ma was last seen delivering his only – but maybe the best – line in the hilarious film, The Ladykillers: “must float like leaf down river of life… and kill old lady.” (Just watch the movie.)

Ma’s arrival was great because he seems to be the only character on the show asking pertinent and valuable questions. He was able to see through the covert operation cover-up pretty fast, I just wish he didn’t stop there:

“And while I’m at it, how come you, you, and you don’t actually work here but seem to be running the entire operation? And Michelle, can’t you see that Tony still loves you? I can cut the sexual tension in here with a knife! And do any of you take a bathroom break around here?”

(Although, considering 24’s track record, the writers just usually kill off main characters before they have to use the bathroom - less messy that way.) Last night’s episode also added to the list of locations that are all within 5 minutes of CTU headquarters: now including several warehouses, downtown skyscrapers, residential communities and the desert. Obviously Los Angeles freeways have both a “carpool” and a “Jack Bauer” lane.