(S04E23) This was kind of a confusing episode to me. Not that the story was hard to follow, just that it seemed poorly conceived. I thought the case of the week was well done, but kind of out of place. With it being the end of the season, and the plan already in place to make this a two parter, I would have rather seen something that focused in on the big stories.

It almost felt like flipping the channels between two episodes that were running at the same time. The brief phone conversations between Gibbs and Shepard kind of tied the two stories together, but more than anything, they just pointed out that the story of the week was taking up time that could have been spent on La Grenouille. Maybe I'm just a little impatient, having caught a bit of the finale fever, but it just didn't all fit together for me.

Look at me. I'm gettin' all literary lately. Yesterday I was writing about The Third Policeman, which was featured in an episode of Lost way back in October, and today I'm still talkin' books.

First off, let's be clear: I'm addicted to any and all things 24. So when I was given copies of the new 24 prequel novels last night, I nearly wet myself I was so giddy. Right now there are three of them. First up is Operation Hell Gate, then Veto Power, and last is Trojan Horse. A fourth installment, Cat's Claw, comes out on July 1.

The books are set up just like a season of 24. Each novel is 24 chapters, each one encompassing a full hour. I had a chance to read a few chapters of Operation Hell Gate last night and it's pretty good stuff. What I found cool is that, since they're prequels, characters from the first season play a big role. Remember Walsh and Milo? They're around, with many others. The writing isn't confusing, but it's not light in the sense that "cultured folks" certainly won't find themselves bored. I don't think they will... I didn't, but then again who knows? I may have the brain of an eight year old. An eight year old who wants to grow up and be Jack Bauer.