5 Signs the 24 Producers Loved the 80's

If you're a fan of 24, this will make sense to you. (If not, you'll think the rest of us are obsessive and crazy). After two years of madly trying to catch up to 24, I'm finally on Season 7, and hoping to finish it before Season 8 starts airing in January. The casting decisions have been interesting to watch, and in particular, Dave and I have loved the comings and goings of several 80's actors.

Someone behind 24 must have loved the 1980's, and given these actors roles on 24 as a shout-out! I love seeing them on the show now, even though it makes me feel old and sad for them because they are all clearly past their prime. Alas, much like their careers, their stints on 24 are short-lived:

1. Sean Astin
When he showed up as Lynn McGill for half of Season 5 before dying in the nerve gas attack, all I could think of was Samwise Gangee and his big hairy feet. Even though I loved him in the 80's in the pre-pudgy days, as Mikey in the Goonies, I didn't like this casting. How could this short, lispy man be running CTU?

2. Ricky Schroeder
Great casting, but WTF happened to his face? Silver Spoons was great as Agent Mike Doyle in Season 6, but instead of rolling him off onto a stretcher with his eyes blown out, they should've just killed him.

3. C. Thomas Howell
Hardly recognizable as Kim Bauer's creepy psychologist-slash-boyfriend Barry, he shows up for 2 episodes in Season 5. Lookin' a little rough, this was a bit part (hardly spoke!) for an actor that I will always regard as Ponyboy, and "stay gold" he did not. As well, this casting must have been some sort of favor, because this guy is the same age as Kiefer Sutherland and way too old to be Kim's boyfriend.


4. Chad Lowe
Looking the best out of all of these 80's actors, he has maintained some youth while living in the shadow of his brother Rob and his ex-wife Hilary Swank. He doesn't have the same screen presence as his brother, but his portrayal of Reed Pollock as the shifty deputy chief of staff was spot on in Season 6.

5. Other Randoms in Short (2-episode) Appearances

Sara Gilbert
From Roseanne fame, this actress hasn't shown up in anything regular since playing Darlene Connor in the late 80's. It's too bad her appearance in Season 2 was uneventful and passed pretty quickly... I guess they only had room for one female nerd at CTU.

Lou Diamond Philips
La Bamba shows up in Season 2 as the guard at the underground prison where Victor Drazen (Dennis Hopper) is being held. I think he called in a favor to his Young Guns co-star to get him this short gig on 24.

Kevin Dillon
OK, this isn't a big name from the 80's, but much like "Johnny Drama", I'm sure he's been trying to work since the '80s. When he appeared on 24 in Season 2 as the creepy loner living in the woods in the annoying Kim Bauer side-story of that season, he hadn't started playing Johnny Drama on Entourage yet. But by the time I saw Season 2 on DVD, I was already a fan of Entourage. So seeing him on 24 with the same voice, mannerisms and insecure personality, all I could think of was Johnny Drama.

Jesse Borrego
Remember him? He played Jesse in Fame in the 80's! In 24, he was Gael, the CTU agent in Season 3 that buggers with the skin-eating poison that ends up killing him.

Lukas Haas
Most people probably don't know who this is, but he played the little Amish kid (the witnesss) in the movie "Witness" in the 80's. A regular working actor without any big starring roles, for those that follow celeb gossip, he's probably now more known for being a member of Leonardo DiCaprio's personal entourage.

Top 5 Male Actors: Talent and Hotness

1. Leonardo DiCaprio

• Talent best displayed in: What's Eating Gilbert Grape
• Talent disappointment: Revolutionary Road
• Hottest in: The Departed and Blood Diamond (hello Seth Efricen accent!)
• Not hot in: Titanic (too clean, too blonde)
• Should really not: Slick back his hair for every awards show he shows up to

2. Colin Farrell

• Talent best displayed in: In Bruges?
• Talent disappointment: The stupid movie with Salma Hayek where he's a writer and she's a waitress
• Hottest in: Miami Vice (hello handlebar moustache!)
• Not hot in: a stupid fedora hat
• Should really not: Dirty hair is fine. Dirty long long hair is gross.

3. Kiefer Sutherland

• Talent best displayed in: 24
• Talent disappointment: Don't even remember his old movies...
• Hottest in: 24 Season 1 and 2; Ford Canada commercials
• Not hot in: Stand By Me
• Should really not: Do another season of 24. Move on to something else that leverages your talent and your hotness

4. Mark Wahlberg

• Talent best displayed in: The Departed (even though he was wearing too much clothes)
• Talent disappointment: When he wears too much clothes, or The Happening
• Hottest in: The Italian Job
• Not hot in: Too much clothes
• Should really not: Wear too much clothes

5. Ben Affleck

• Talent best displayed in: Boiler Room?
• Talent disappointment: Playing Jack Ryan in Sum of All Fears - it was handed to you on a silver platter passed down from Harrison Ford and you screwed it up
• Hottest in: Armageddon
• Not hot in: Standing next to J. Lo (blech!)
• Should really not: Have gotten married and had 2 children