Wow. This is the final straw. Seriously, at this point it pretty much seems like 24’s writers deliberately have it out for Almeida fans.

Let’s review. Tony gets a grand total of 20 minutes of screentime, no real story thread and what was all in all a pretty weak death in Season 5. This is a character beloved by fans who has been around since Day 1 on the series. Literally 30 seconds after it happens, Tony’s best friend and sworn brother, who moments earlier had been weeping with Tony’s body in his arms, acts like nothing happened and is BACK IN ACTION. I get that Jack puts the job ahead of everything else, blah blah blah, but GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK. Jack Bauer isn’t human anymore? Human feeling is something he turns on and off like a switch? I mean, his eyes aren’t even still red! The only person with anything to say about the whole thing is Audrey, and her contribution is nothing more than “Jack, I’m so sorry.” despite the fact that TONY SAVED HER LIFE last season. Beyond that, no one notices or cares that Almeida is gone. After the white sheet is dropped callously over his face, no one so much as mentions his name again. As for the man responsible for killing Tony, apparently no one at CTU really cares anymore that he conspired with terrorists and murdered a former agent while escaping custody and is still at large (probably giving a shitload of information about CTU to their enemies), since Chloe was able to decrypt a file on his computer about some French Danger Slut after all. This is just unbelievable to me. Seriously, so ridiculous. An all-time, brand new low. This show has officially, without question, JUMPED THE SHARK and I have never been so disgusted.

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I would say Happy Holy Day, but really, without Almeida it’s just another day. Anyway, I have the results of last week’s poll. 46% of AIG readers were most shocked when it was revealed the Nina was the mole in CTU in the first season. Yes, this was the mother of all plot twists and we’re not at all surprised it is your number one choice for most shocking 24 plot twist. 17% of you selected the shocking twist of Marie Warner, blonde blue-eyed whitebread American girl next door, being the terrorist instead of her Arab fiance or her shify-eyed father in Season 2. Yes, an awesome moment. 11% of AIG readers chose the Kyle Singer virus hoax revelation of s3 as the most shocking plot twist, which was my personal choice as well. I mean fuck, that just came out of NOWHERE. The rest of the votes were pretty close, honourable mentions go to Nina being the second buyer in the virus exchange with 8% of the vote and Alan York being Fakeyork (just a hint of what was to come) with 7% of the vote.

I haven’t done the regular feature updates for last week’s episode. Truth be told, I haven’t even been able to bring myself to watch the episode since it aired, it’s just too fucking depressing. Updates will be forthcoming, sooner or later, but I make no promises as to when.

To everyone who has been writing me imploring me not to shut down the site. I’m sorry if you were confused by my last post, so just to clarify — I have no plans to shut down AIG. I’ve already prepaid for the domain through to January 2008, so the site will be around for at least that long. Basically, we at AIG saw Tony’s death as the final straw in a long-term decline in quality of 24 over Season 4 and Season 5 thus far, and a shift in focus of the show from characters, intrigue, twists and long-range payoffs for dedicated fans in intricate, slow-to-unfold, finely woven story threads to episodic, action-based, instant-gratification erratic plot threads and a growing graveyard of characters as a substitute for innovative writing. As a result, the interest of site staff in continued heavy analysis or daily updates or the level of commitment to being fans of the show we once felt has waned. We will still be doing stuff on the site, making tribute features for Almeida, having fun with 24, but our hearts are just not in it the way they once were. So you might not see the same level of dedication and activity from us through the rest of the series as you have up to this point. It really makes me sad, I have loved doing this site so much and all the well wishes from my readers and kind words mean so much to me. I poured my heart and soul into making this website great, and don’t worry, I have no plans to shut it down anytime soon.

In the meantime, here are a few more responses we’ve received from readers regarding Tony’s death.

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I don’t think there could be a better reason to get drunk on this St. Patrick’s Day than to drown our sorrows over the death of Tony Almeida. I know that I for one will be pouring beer into the metaphorical Cubs Mug and toasting the memory of the most amazing 24 character who ever existed.

Needless to say, the reaction of the general viewing public and our readers to the death of Tony has been, shall we say, less than favourable. It has ranged from sadness and disappointment to outright hostility and fierce anger. Our site has experienced unprecedented levels of daily traffic since the incident, averaging about 3 or 4 times the normal daily visitor traffic.

For your reading pleasure, here are a few choice words from AIG readers and Tony fans around the globe in reaction to the devastating and, in my opinion, very poor decision by 24’s creators to kill Tony Almeida. These comments come from our message forum, from e-mails we’ve received and from our guestbook. I honestly don’t think the death of any other character on this series ever has or ever will generate this kind of negative backlash. Everything this website predicted about what would happen if the creators killed off Tony has come to pass, most notably the major alienation of their longtime fans.

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Fellow Tony fans -

Last night was a dark night in our lives. There are no words that can express the loss that we have all suffered. Tony Almeida, former CTU agent, beloved husband, best friend, and Righteous Protector of All Things Awesome in the 24 Universe, has gone gentle into that good night. Murdered in the bowels of CTU Los Angeles by a crazed ex-Director, he passed away peacefully in the arms of his brother, Jack.

We at AIG are still in shock. Like Tony last week, our world has been turned upside-down and we must struggle to comprehend this senseless tragedy, to find a reason to go on. Right now it’s just too much to bear. I never thought I’d see the end of Almeida. My heart goes out to all of you, around the globe, who are as grief-stricken as I am. Find comfort in each other, and don’t be afraid to cry, or to sob, or to throw wine glasses into the fireplace in a drunken fit screaming “WHY??” at the top of your lungs. This is indeed the worst of times, so don’t make it worse by denying your emotions.

Tony was a great man who left us long before his time. I am sad to see him go, but I take comfort in the fact that he was written and played to perfection right until his final moments. He died because he couldn’t go against his character, his nature, and kill a defenseless man or risk the lives of the innocent, no matter how much he wanted revenge. He died because he didn’t have any reason to go on fighting.

I still can’t believe this has happened. Suffice it to say AIG will be paying tribute to the life and death of Tony Almeida over the coming days and weeks. But for now, we must mourn…

Be strong, and may Almeida be with you.

To all Tony fans — I am sorry I cannot write more. I’ve been fighting the stomach flu and was up all night throwing up. I’m sore and sick and depressed, but I want you to know that I am shocked and deeply saddened and I am with you all in your hour of need. This website will continue to support you all during this difficult time. More will be posted tomorrow, when I am better and in a more sane, less shellshocked frame of mind. Until then, Almeida Be With You, wherever he may be.

Happy Holy Eve, Tony fans! The results of this week’s poll are in. The majority of AIG readers, not surprisingly, selected the Tony/Michelle dynamic as the most interesting and affecting relationship on 24 at 52% of the vote. In second, with 23% of the vote, is the brotherhood of Jack and Tony. Jack/Nina action intrigues 12% of AIG readers more than any other 24 relationship. And finally, an honourable mention goes to the strong bond of loyalty and trust between Jack Bauer and David Palmer, which received 5% of the vote.

PRAISE ALMEIDA! At long last, I can say that THIS WEBSITE IS COMPLETELY AND 100% UP TO DATE!!!! Yes, the day I sometimes, in the dark still thick of night, believed would never come. All DVD screencaps and all episode content is posted, including the double-header aired this week. HOLY SHIT. Seriously, I can’t believe it’s done.

My next AIG-related project will involve customizing the interface of our message forum to match with the rest of the site, but frankly people, I need a bit of a break from AIG work for awhile. I have other important projects that require my attention, so aside from standard weekly updates and the weekly poll, I probably won’t get back to adding new fan features for a little while. I basically ignored everything else I have on the go to make the final push this week to get all the content here current, because having parts of it sitting unfinished was just driving me bonkers. So it’s done. THANK ALMEIDA. I hope you all enjoy reading the Season 5 debrief transcripts and the flurry of activity in the forum. Almeida Be With You All!!!

Greetings, Tony fans. Unfortunately I don’t have a whole ton of time right now to get esoteric about last night’s episode, but I have posted a few comments in our forum, if you’re interested. This is just a quick note to say that, except for the last 3 episodes of Season 4 and last night’s episode, all site content is completely up to date. You can find all backlogged AIG debrief transcripts for Season 5 thus far on their episode pages. Intense discussion of last night’s double-header is on the way post haste. All I can say right now is THANK ALMEIDA THAT ALMEIDA IS BACK. The season can only improve form this point on. I have to run right now, but I should have site content for s4 done by tomorrow morning. Almeida Be With You All.

Happy Holy Day to all. I was a bit slow on the draw with this week’s poll. I had a really jam packed weekend and a fucking horrible, monstrous evil freelance writing assignment that included writing more 400-word pieces on mortgages than I care to even remember. What a nightmare. I had NO TIME to work on AIG, which is sad. However, I will be going like crazy between now and tonight’s episode to get things up to speed. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Kat was actually supposed to help me with this by gathering the Famous Last Words for all the aired episodes of Season 5 up to this point, until we discovered that her husband committed serious treason and erased the Season 5 episodes she had taped! WHAT THE FUCK.

Without further ado, the results of this week’s poll. Your all-time favourite villain is of course the incomparable Black Queen Nina Myers, by a landslide. She received 49% of the total vote. In second place was the darkly complex and wonderfully accented Stephen Saunders, with 14% of all votes cast. In a solid third place, close behind Saunders, is everybody’s favourite DangerSlut Mandy, with 13% of the vote. An honourable mention, at 7% of the vote, is good old Habib Marwan. Yes, we can somewhat understand why some people like him, though site staff finds it difficult to endorse. The readers, however, have spoken. Check out our new poll, now posted!

All Season 4 Tony screencaps are now available in the Gallery.