24 (TV Series) Day 3: 9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. (2004) User Reviews

This Is One Diabolical Ex-First Lady!

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 25 May 2007]

Boy, they have a couple of diabolical women on this show! There was Nina Myers and now Sherrie Palmer, ex-wife of the President. To those of you who saw the first two years, she is no stranger, but this is my first year of viewing this....and I am stunned the brutal mental state of this woman. This female obviously has no conscience and Penny Johnson does a nice job playing her.

Now, she goes to Palmer's Presidential opponent and offers her services, telling Sen. John Keeler what happened regarding Milliken's death and that the President is an accessory. Tell him that, she says, and he will have to bow out of the race.

Meanwhile, the head of the C. T. U. Sabotages the efforts to capture Stephen Saunders, the man who still has 11 vials of a deadly virus. Told his wife was being held hostage, he aids Saunders in his escape and is now trying to get the killer's daughter loose for an even swap for his wife. Nice spousal dedication but we are talking about millions of lives in the balance, so I am curious when Tony Almeida will pay for this well-intentioned but stupid and treasonous move. Slowly, the rest of the C. T. U. - mainly Jack, Adam and Chole - are figuring out somebody at C. T. U. Is putting a monkey-wrench into this critical situation.

Well, near the end they do, in a big way as Almeida literally breaks Jane Saunders out of the building. What else could possibly happen to this group of employees at the C. T. U? This has gone from a solid to a very unstable group of employees! The same could be said for the Palmer brothers!

Keep it up, Sherry!

[MaxBorg89 · 9/10 · 10 September 2008]

After showing up briefly halfway through the season and then disappearing, Penny Johnson returns one more time, this time playing Sherry Palmer the way we like her: manipulative and ice-cold.

Despite her attempt to help the President in earlier episodes, Sherry seems to have reverted to old habits as she offers Senator John Keeler (Geoff Pierson), Palmer's opponent in the next election, the chance to crush him by revealing what really happened to Alan Milliken. While the political situation escalates in the worst fashion, things don't go too well for the CTU either, since Saunders managed to escape, presumably with help from the inside. In fact, he has captured Michelle and is using her to force Tony to set his daughter free. How that will happen remains to be seen.

The classic blackmail scenario is brought back to the series in two different incarnations: on one side there's Saunders manipulating Tony, which foreshadows serious repercussions by the end of Day 3, on the other there's Sherry and Keeler allied against the Commander in Chief. It's a sign of the writing team's cleverness, the fact that they have managed to give a fresh angle to the traditional "political conspiracy" subplot in every season. Of course, when you've got Penny Johnson playing the conspirator, why not use whatever good ideas one might have?

Tony betrays his country for his wife

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 21 November 2012]

Following on from helping Saunders escape Tony is desperately trying to cover his tracks... the fact that Saunders is threatening his wife is unlikely to be considered a mitigating factor given the fact that Saunders is threatening to release a deadly virus. Saunders demands that his daughter is returned to him so Tony must act fast to get her out of the building before he is caught. It won't be easy as Jack has relieved him of command following the debacle when Tony instructed everybody to move to the front of the building... of course Jack thinks it is a mistake rather than a deliberate act on Tony's part. Away from CTU Sherry Palmer, the president's ex-wife, is up to her old tricks again; this time helping her former husband's rival by telling him what happened to Milliken and his part in the cover up; of course she wants something in return.

As the series starts to approach its conclusion more surprises arise; the biggest of which is obviously the way Tony has helped a man in possession of weapons of mass destruction evade capture... he may be doing it to save his wife but given just how dangerous Saunders is it wasn't expected. Carlos Bernard does a fine job as Tony; a good man in an impossible situation. It was fun to see Penny Johnson return as the devious Sherry Palmer; she is a great character. While it wasn't a major part of the episode we were reminded that the outbreak in Los Angeles is still ongoing; no doubt it will be dealt with soon though... they only have three hours left!

Tony the Traitor/Sherry the B........

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 21 January 2019]

This is a pivotal episode. Tony has pretty much blown his life. First of all, Saunders has Michelle. To think that there would be aa quid pro quo is ludicrous. Tony has been a loose cannon forever. His injury and fatigue have nothing to do with his actions. He is willing to trade his wife for the destruction of the U.S. His character has always had its limitations and this finally shows it all. The second plot line is the reappearance of Sherry Palmer who has decided to go over to David's opponent and sell David out. She wants a position in his administration, should he win. This will be quite a deal when the series concludes.

Thus begins Tony's downfall

[Mr-Fusion · 8/10 · 8 May 2017]

There's nothing like a good mole at CTU, it's classic "24"; but in this case, it's a sad state of affairs. In order to get his daughter back, Saunders leverages Michelle; and seeing Tony burn the agency's efforts from within is witnessing a slow march to ruin. There's no focus on action here so much as seeing Jack and Tony battling each other to get control of this thing.

The real shocker happens early on, with Sherri Palmer actively selling out her ex-husband's presidency. It's a stunning turn that falls somewhere between survivalist and duplicitous snake. Say what you will about the writers trying to give her something to do, this one's downright villainous.

8/10