On 24

It’s back! Life makes sense again because Jack Bauer is running around a city screaming at people and holding them at gunpoint. Yes I am a 24 fan; I have been ever since the first season. It’s funny I went back and watched the first season again last year and I was surprised how well it held up. They really created a compelling story and some great characters to tell it with and in the center they put Kiefer Sutherland as super-agent Jack Bauer. Television changed because of this show, if it wasn’t for 24, shows like Lost and Heroes wouldn’t exist. It was one of the first shows to create a season long story line that required the viewer to tune in every week and keep up with what was going on. The only other show that really demanded that kind of devotion that I can think of is Twin Peaks and that was full of David Lynch weirdness so it really was it’s own thing.
I’m looking forward to this season; it’s been long coming. Due to the writers strike last year, and Sutherlands arrest for drunk driving they had to postpone the season for almost a year. This gave the writers a chance to really work out the episodes and see what needed fixing which is a good thing because as much as I like the show I have no problem saying season six sucked. Which was really disheartening because season five wasn’t only the best season of 24 but possibly one of the best seasons of television I’ve ever seen for any show. The suspense really held on to me and the twists and turns the show always takes all worked. Season six seemed like they were just trying to do season five over but bigger. More explosions, more secret villains, more crazy deaths. It’s started out ok but quickly lost steam, it’s why the main bad guys died about two thirds through the season and suddenly a new story began, you could just feel the writers going “I’ve got nothing.” So like I said, I’m hoping for the best because the show really can be great at times.
One of the things I like about the show is some of the issues it raises. Namely, homeland security and the price we’re willing to pay for it. The 24 universes isn’t exactly one I’d like to live in. There seems to be national tragedies every few years in it. So far in the show, three presidents have been assassinated, two while on the job, one after his term was up. A different president turned out to be evil. An entire hotel and its guests and staff were infected with a deadly virus. And a federal building, C.T.U. or Counter Terrorist Unit, where Jack works, has been infiltrated on three separate occasions (that actually got a little old). Despite all this doom and gloom Jack’s always stopped the really bad things from happening. Season one’s story line was about C.T.U. trying to stop the attempted assassination of the front-runner for the Democratic nomination (who happened to be black). In the season when the entire hotel ended up dyeing, Jack stopped the virus from getting into the water system.
In stopping these doomsday scenarios Jack always has to torture and kill people to get what he wants. He also has to make impossible choices that tend to mean sacrificing innocent lives. The best example of this is in season four when he forced doctors to mend the wounds of a terrorist so he could be questioned. In doing so it meant not treating an innocent man that had been shot, the man died. The man also happened to be the ex-husband of the woman Jack was dating at the time, who was in the room when Jack held the doctors at gunpoint. Understandably, she was upset. What’s great is that while Jack’s never apologized for the choices he makes from season to season you can see the toll it’s taken on him. When the show began he had a house in the suburbs with a wife and daughter, the last time we saw him he was living in Africa just trying to get away from the life he once lived. It’s pretty fascinating stuff.
So I’m going to try to throw my two cents in on each episode this season. Word of warning, I’ll be mentioning surprises so if you’re a fan of 24 but haven’t seen the episode I’m talking about I’d wait to after you watch it to read what I’ve written. Ok well time to get cracking, I’ve got the first four episodes waiting for me; I’ll let you know what I think.