Tonight my wife and I watched what was labeled as a "prequel" to the upcoming season of Fox's 24 (one of the best shows on television in my opinion).

The "prequel" began with a "PRESENTED BY TOYOTA" screen - which is perfectly fine (someone has got to pay the bills)... but from there it all went downhill...

The video (about 11 and a half minutes) told nothing really of the upcoming story, and nothing of what Jack has been up to - instead, it was a commercial for Toyota.

At first I thought it was funny that two characters drove Toyota cars, and not only that, but how the camera made darn sure that we knew that they were driving Toyota cars. But then the chase seen started, and it was just horrible.

To set the scene... Jack was in a Toyota (I think an Avalon), the faceless bad guy was in a black BMW (not sure on the model). The chase lasted maybe 2 and a half minutes, during which: Jack was able out perform the BMW while driven the Avalon in reverse. Jack flawlessly executed every turn along the path (due to the excellent handling of the Avalon no doubt), the BMW however had a horrible time (I think they are known for their poor performance, right?), he slid out in the dirt on the shoulder after being unable to maneuver around other cars on the road, he wasn't able to make the same sharp turn around a corner as the Toyota - but instead spun out. The Toyota continued to corner tightly while the BMW just couldn't handle, thus causing crashes in wooden pallets stacked in an alley and into a forklift (which ended the pursuit).

So several things were wrong here, besides the whole selling out/totally obvious product placement. I can except that the "good guys" will drive Toyotas (when paid to do so), and I am OK with that. But I still want the bad guys in their BMW (or whatever non-Toyota (or Toyota) vehicles) to be a challenge! Isnt that what makes it suspenseful and thrilling?

Oh, and I left out the cheese-factor: When Jack saw his move that would ultimately end the chase he exclaimed, "I got you now", as if he knew that there was no way the BMW could pull this move he was about to unleash. It was a total joke.

I really hope that this prequel was written by some Toyota shmucks and not by the 24 writers, cause if so, Season 5 may be in trouble, and I am worried.

You can view still shots and download the prequel yourself here: http://24natic.atspace.com/Season5/prequel.htm