Those of you depressed over the delay of the 24 movie got a little solace this week: Kiefer Sutherland‘s new show Touch reunited him with 24 semi-regular Jude Ciccolella (who played Mike Novick, right-hand man to Senator, later President, David Palmer).
Their roles couldn’t have been any different from their previous ones, though. Martin got himself hurt yet again, this time in a struggle with a would-be robber (Blake Shields), and nearly got beaten up a second time when he was mistaken for a burglar. Ciccolella played Arnie, a pawn-shop owner dying of cancer, who had paid off the robber to kill him so that his estranged daughter could receive money from his life insurance. By episode’s end, with help from Jake, Martin had kept Arnie from jumping off a bridge and reunited him with his daughter.
The other pieces of the puzzle were equally touching: before the reunion, Arnie’s daughter, now a flight attendant, went with a young man in his quest to scatter his disapproving father’s ashes at a baseball stadium. The would-be robber was revealed as a former peanut vendor at the stadium, whose life had taken a downturn after he caught a valued home run ball. He eventually returned it to the player who’d hit it, getting a second chance in his life after the Russian mobster he owed money to decided not to harm him, thanks to a tearful phone call from the mobster’s son.
Make no mistake about it, Touch is an ambitious show and not necessarily an easy one to follow. The way it bounces between plotlines keeps the audience guessing as to how all the different people are connected, and I found myself pausing at each commercial break to make sure I had all my facts straight. But I also found that rewarding: when all those pieces came together at the end, I got an honestly warm, fuzzy feeling, and that’s something I can appreciate.
And as a 24 fan, count me among the many that enjoy the opportunity to see Kiefer Sutherland back on a weekly series. While I will always love Jack Bauer, Touch looks to be a great next project for Sutherland, something that moves in a different direction and allows him to show a different skill set as an actor. People who only know him from 24 will get a chance to see the wider scope of his talent. I’d argue that he’s still a hero, just in a different fashion.
If it keeps up, Touch just might be my favorite new TV show of the season.
Clacked by Brittany Frederick 
on Mar 23, 2012 @ 02:21 EST5EDT
