Bauer’s black-sheep bro a brilliant bad guy

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/02/2007 (6790 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You’ve certainly got to hand it to Paul McCrane — as small-screen villains go, he’s probably the best in the biz these days. And as far as breathtakingly gruesome comeuppances are concerned, his nefarious TV characters take the cake.McCrane, of course, is the veteran character actor whose brief but spectacular run on 24 as Jack’s creepy brother came to an unceremonious but startlingly effective end this week when Graem Bauer was murdered by none other than his even-shadier pop, Phillip Bauer (James Cromwell). It was an unlikely and nearly unbelievable twist (even by 24’s over-the-top standards) to a likably logic-defying storyline.After being tortured nearly to death by good-guy sibling Jack, poor Graem had his brief moment of pride snuffed out by a father who didn’t believe his son would be able to hold his tongue under persistent CTU interrogation. It was almost — ALMOST — enough to make you feel sorry for the guy.Of course, that’s much like how it was almost enough to spark a moment of sympathy when McCrane’s ER character, the overbearing, officious and perpetually obnoxious Dr. Robert Romano, first had an arm chopped off by a helicopter blade and then had another plummeting chopper squash him like a wine-bound grape in the parking lot of County General.After starting his career playing wispy, sensitive guys, McCrane developed a knack for creating characters that we love to hate. He makes the good guys we cheer for seem easier to love just by being onscreen with them.Graem Bauer no doubt had it coming. But 24’s list of necessary evils got a little less imposing when McCrane’s character breathed his last.Got any thoughts on who else ranks among TV’s all-time classic cads?