pride (in the name of love)

The Fox Broadcasting Company celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday by presenting the two night premiere of "24." Part one aired last night on Dr. King's actual birthday. Part two will be on tonight, the national holiday in his honor.

As usual with my favorite shows, I read too much information before watching. Several TV critics had mentioned that the show starts off with a bang. Terry Morrow wrote in his review and on his blog that there were two surprising murders within the first fifteen minutes. When they put the words "Special Guest Star Reiko Aylesworth" on screen during the opening credits, I realized that Reiko's character, Michelle Dessler, would be one of the ones killed. That was followed by "Special Guest Appearance by Dennis Haysbert."

I knew that Haysbert already had another job (besides the Allstate commercials) in an upcoming series called "The Unit," so the words "special guest appearance" didn't immediately make me think that his character, former president David Palmer, would be killed. Moments later Palmer was gunned down by a sniper. The image of his brother crouching by his body was reminiscent of the famous tragic photograph of a Memphis motel balcony in April, 1968.