TV Show of the Week 24: 24

Mr E

The following was written between 12pm and 1pm.

The gimmick behind 24 is that one season (of 24 episodes) takes place in real time. 1 episode = 1 hour of the day in question. Before and after every ad break (and at key points in the show) a yellow LCD clock appears on the screen to tell you how much time has elapsed for this hour. Its a very clever mechanic to create a season-long continuous story.

The common thread behind all seven series so far is Jack Bauer. Jack, for most seasons, has worked for CTU, a Counter Terrorist Unit working out of Los Angeles. Each season deals with a threat (or series of threats) from a group (or various groups) of villains. We've had a few biological weapon threats, several assassination attempts, a few nuclear weapons, oh - and a cougar.

Season 1 revolved around an assassination attempt against David Palmer, a US Senator.
Season 2's focus was a threatened nuclear attack on LA.
Season 3's threat was a virus.
Season 4 was all about a terrorist's multiple attacks on US soil.
Season 5 had some high profile assassinations and a nerve gas threat.
Season 6 is back to some more nukes.
Season 7 is the one that is currently being aired.

12:25:13

Jacks problem is that he is the Jessica Fletcher of the 00s. He's a dangerous man to know, and the body count (of both heroes and villains) in each season is high. Its fair to say that 24 is action packed, and rarely dull. The twists and turns in each episode, and over the course of a season, keeps things interesting. However, some of the roadblocks used throughout the seasons are a bit contrived (how many times have they had moles now? I think there has been at least one per season at this stage).

I have to confess that I missed the boat when 24 started. I've heard that many consider Day 1 to be the best season, and hasn't been bettered (or equalled) in the 6 seasons that followed. I started with Day 2, and have been hooked ever since. I have the DVDs for season 1 gathering dust - I really have to give it a shot to see what the fuss was about. I'm a big fan of Day 5, and I think many will agree that after Day 6's slight misstep, Day 7 has been really strong so far (and we're about two thirds through the season).

And finally, the burning question that everyone wants to know the answer to - just how big is Jack Bauer's bladder??

So what are your favourite scenes from the first 6 Days?

Hang on... there's someone at the door....
sfff.,,..
ddffsd dfh dhhhfttytssd
dfsf##fdsdfs#;;=-=

12:59:57
12:59:58
12:59:59
13:00:00

aequinoctium

i've been watching day 7 since it started. this is the first i've watched of 24 as my housemate loves it. and i think it's fantastic. i can't believe nobody before now had me watch it. i am determined to watch the other series when i get a chance.

Xavi6

Been watching avidly since Day 3. I now have Day 1 on DVD so once the present series is over I'm gonna sit down and watch that.

Like every show it has it's flaws, and some bits are just quite frankly ridiculous, but it is top quality entertainment. It's great having characters that divide opinion (Chloe O'Brien for example) and there is a great amount of discussion to be had after each episode.

The break after the writer's strike was a killer, and when it does eventually cease to exist I will definitely miss my fix of 24.

Elmo

24: Concept

• Each series consists of 24 episodes
• Each episode consists of 1 hour (including advertising)
• Every episode is one hour of one very long day in Jack Bauer’s Life
• Events Occur in Real Time

24: Day 1

• Like many US Drama’s 24 is given a 10 – 13 week initial run
• If 24 hadn’t been successful only 10 – 13 episode would have been made.
• Hence by hour 13 many of the story lines of the past number of hours are finished
• Fortunately Keifer Sutherland won a Golden Globe, and FOX gave the go ahead for the final hours of 24: Day 1

24: Day 1

• Produced and written before 11/9/2001
• Begins at 12:00 am on the day of the Californian Presidential Primaries
• Senator Palmer is the first African American candidate, and he is contesting his party’s nomination for Presidential Candidate
• Jack Bauer is called in to CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit) to investigate a possible terrorist threat to assassinate Senator Palmer

The Bauer Family

• Jack, Terry and Kim
• Kim sneaks out of the house to party with a friend (Janet York)
• Jack & Terry start searching for their daughter
• Terry receives a phone call from Nina (CTU)
• Nina had an affair with Jack, Terry and Jack have got back together to sort out their problems
• Jack has to go to CTU
• Terry is not happy, she continues to look for Kim while Jack goes to CTU

The Palmer Family

• Senator David Palmer, Sherry (wife), Keith (son) and Nicole (daughter)
• Maureen Kingsley wants to run a story regarding Nicole’s rape a few years previously, she has found out that Keith killed Nicole’s boyfriend in revenge
• Sherry has covered up this incident, with the help of political friends, she insists she only did it for “David”

Counter Terrorism Unit

• Elite group of Government Agents who target Terrorist
• A Fictional Government Organisation
• The Police, FBI, CIA and NSA are all mentioned
• Day 5 see the introduction of Homeland Security, the show pre-dates this department.

CTU: Los Angels

1. Ryan Chappelle: Regional Director
2. Alberta Green: Assistant to Regional Director
3. Richard Walsh: Administrative Director
4. George Mason: District Director
5. Jack Bauer: Special Agent of CTU
6. Nina Myers: Second in Command
7. Tony Almeida: Second in Command
8. Jamey Farrell: IT Consultant

Palmer’s Staff

• Mike Novick: Chief of Staff
• Aaron Pierce: Head of Secret Service
• Patty Brooks: Campaign Manager

The Terrorists

• Day 1 is set before 9/11, the terrorist are not from the Middle East. America is a war with Eastern European (Balkan) Terrorists
• No real explanation of their roots
• The first half of the series deals with Terrorist for Hire
• The second reveals a plot to revenge Palmer's and Bauer's actions in the Balkans

American Terrorist

• Ira Gaines
• Kevin Carroll
• Mandy
• Bridgit
• Rick Allen
• Dan Mounts
• Eli Stram

Eastern European Terrorists

• Victor Drazen
• Andre Drazen
• Alexis Drazen
• Ted Cofell

Jumping the Shark

• A trope of 24
• Whatever about twist!
• By the end of episode 13 most storylines where tied up
• After seeing her daughter plummet to her death Terri Bauer gets Dissociative Amnesia, this allows the character to reunite with a man she recently had an affair with
• We need 11 more episodes

Day 1 – Day 6

• Day 1
• Day 2 = 18 months after Day 1
• Day 3 = 3 years after Day 2
• Day 4 = 18 months after Day 3
• Day 5 = 18 months after Day 4
• Day 6 = 20 months after Day 5
• 24: The Game is set between Day 2 and 3
• Two Hour prequel to day 7 will air in the Autumn
• Day 7: January 2009
• Day 8 is planned

24: Day 5

• Takes place on a visit by the Russian President to the United States of America
• It starts at 7:00am
• The American President is blackmailed into letting Terrorist Assassinate the Russian President
• Links with Day 1 as Christopher Henderson is looking for revenge

24: Day 5

• Keifer Sutherland wins an Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama Series
• Nominations for Jean Smart (First Lady Logan) and Gregory Itzin (President Logan)
• Highest Audience Rating so far

The Bauer Family

• Teri is Dead and
• Jack has faked his own death
• Kim believes Jack to be dead
• Jack lives under the alias Frank Flynn
• He is in a relationship with Diane Huxley
• Her son Derek does not trust Frank (AKA Special Agent Jack Bauer)

The Palmer Family
[*]Sherry is also Dead
[*]Neither Keith or Nicole feature
[*]President Palmer is assassinated in the first hour
[*]His brother Wayne Palmer, is with him at the time
[*]Jack Bauer is framed for his murder


Counter Terrorism Unit

• Jack has not been back to CTU since his “death”
• Tony Almeida does not work there anymore, having set up a private security firm with his wife Michelle Dessler (Former Head of CTU)
• During this Day Homeland Security will try to takeover CTU

Homeland Security

• Homeland security is the only actual US Government Department to be given a major role in 24
• In Day 4 Jack work with the Defence Sectary Heller
• Homeland security are sent to CTU by President Logan, in a bid to control their flow of information

The Logans
[*]After the shooting down of Air Force One in Day 4 Vice President Logan is signed into office
[*]Martha Logan his wife suffers from Depression and was a good Friend to President Palmer
[*]The First Lady is made to believe her conspiracy theories are not helping with the visit of the Russian President and is blackmailed into keeping quiet with the fear that she will be put in a mental home


The Logan’s Staff

• Aaron Peirce: Chief of Secret Service
• Evelyn Martin: PA to the First Lady
• Walt Cummings: Chief of Staff
• James Heller: Secretary of Defence
• Vice President Hal Gardner
• Mike Novick

CTU Staff

• Bill Buchanan
• Audrey Raines
• Chloe O’Brian
• Edgar Stiles
• Curtis Manning
• Lynn McGill

Dawn Brigade

• Russian Separatist
• First Cell
• Second Cell
• Primary Cell
• US Terrorist
• Graem
• Collette Stenger

Jumping the Shark

• Kim is reunited with her father in CTU, which happens to be attacked while she is there
• Linking of this series with Day 6 and introduction of Jack’s nephew, brother, sister-in-law and father

Politics
Democrats
David Palmer
Mike Hodges
James Prescott
Wayne Palmer
Martha Logan
Sandra Palmer



Republicans
James Heller
Charles Logan
President Keeler
Hal Gardner
Nadia Yassir


24 and The World

• AMERICA IS A VERY BIG COUNTRY
• AMERICA IS A PROUD NATION
• AMERICA WILL NOT BE DEFEATED
• AMERICA IS UNDER THREAT ALWAYS
• China and Russia are the only countries to be mentioned in the series formally

Changes

Day 1

• Lower budget, opening sequence of a satellite is borrowed from Enemy of the State
• Greater use of split screens
• Not as right wing
• Not as politically motivated

Day 5

• Bigger Budget
• Split screens only used for phone calls and to finish episodes with tension
• More critical of US policies and the infalitablity of the president

Critical Reaction
Muslims
Muslim Depictions Day 4
Fox announcer before each episode: -
“the American Muslim community stands firmly beside their fellow Americans in denouncing and resisting all forms of terrorism. So in watching ‘24,' please bear that in mind”

Fox Executives to THE Council on American-Islamic Relations Day 6
“Over the past several seasons, the villains have included shadowy Anglo businessmen, Baltic Europeans, Germans, Russians, Islamic fundamentalists, and even the (Anglo-American) president of the United States. Over the course of the series, no ethnic group has been singled out for persecution or blame”

Torture
Stephen King wrote,
“There's also a queasily gleeful subtext to 24 that suggests, 'If things are this bad, why, I guess we can torture anybody we want! In fact, we have an obligation to torture in order to protect the country! Hooray!' Yet Jack Bauer's face — increasingly lined, increasingly haggard — suggests that extreme measures eventually catch up with the human soul.”


James Cromwell talks on the panel about his regret on working on 24
Due to U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan's assertions that young recruits think torturer will work and use it because Jack uses it in nearly every episode, He asks that it be toned down and not used at all.



Is 24 just a TV show or right-wing propaganda?
Overtly Conservative or Mindfully Liberal
Joel Surnow Co-creator is a republican, admired the Regan Years
On the show and it’s fans in the government and military
“People in the Administration love the series, too, It’s a patriotic show. They should love it.”
The series, Surnow told me, is “ripped out of the Zeitgeist of what people’s fears are—their paranoia that we’re going to be attacked,” and it “makes people look at what we’re dealing with” in terms of threats to national security. “There are not a lot of measures short of extreme measures that will get it done,” he said, adding, “America wants the war on terror fought by Jack Bauer. He’s a patriot.”
TIME magazine: "24's ideology--Jack Bauerism, if you will--is not so much in between left and right as it is outside them, impatient with both A.C.L.U. niceties and Bushian moral absolutes."
The Left Takeover
Surnow, for his part, revels in his minority status inside the left-leaning entertainment industry. “Conservatives are the new oppressed class,” he joked in his office. “Isn’t it bizarre that in Hollywood it’s easier to come out as gay than as conservative?”
“Except for Ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism & Communism, War Has Never Solved Anything.”
A year and a half ago, Surnow and Manny Coto, a “24” writer with similar political views, talked about starting a conservative television network. “There’s a gay network, a black network—there should be a conservative network,”

Day 6
The worst day of Jack Bauer’s Life
My Theory
Linking Day 5 announcing that Graem is Jack’s Brother!!!!
Rather then having President Logan be impeached Day 6 should have kept him in the oval office, His return to 24 saw him under house arrest.

Charlie Brooker on Day 6
“So it's the finale of 24 tomorrow night, and - wait! Come back! I know, I know, it bores you senseless now. I agree. This season has been so dreadful, I'm not going to watch the climax. I don't have to. I've saved myself the time by reading the episode synopsis on Wikipedia. That's how bad this once-unmissable show has become: I'm willingly seeking out spoilers just to get it over with.”

Elmo

Elmo

Elmo

Best scene for me generally come from Day 1 or Day 5

Opening episode as Mandy blows up the Airplane over the Mohovie desert and parachutes to safety. (Mandy should be given her own series )

Day 4 gets good when Mandy arrives towards the end

Only clip I could find of Mandy on YouTube from Day 4:-

Evil psychopathic bitch good stuff.

ixoy

I liked the first two days, thought the third had good elements as did 4, thought Day 5 was great fun (if only for Logan) and thought Day 6 was so awful that I stopped watching and haven't watched since...

Concept wise it's fine but it does stretch believability with trying to condense it into a 24-hour time period (the speed at which they get between destinations). Nonetheless it pulls off the ridiculous quite well and probably slaughters more of its cast than any other show.

There's a fair few highlights over the years (although that moment from S1's end was spoilt on me!) although I kinda want to nominate Chloe O'Brien wielding a sub-machine gun as the all-time highlight...

May try and finish off Day 6 to get back into the show if Day 7 is supposed to be good.

That_Guy

Been watching 24 since day one. Absolutely amazing program. This season has been incredible so far with the exception of maybe one or two episodes.

Can't wait for Monday night for more.

Queen-Mise

I adore 24, absolutely adore it. It is hands down my favourite TV show at the moment. Absolutely loving the new series. We record a few weeks worth on Sky+, so we watch 2 or 3 togother - its more of a treat.
I loved the bit on last weeks show, when the medic was looking at all his scars - from his time with the Chinese.
I really didn't expect that ending to the (?) series, I was heartbroken at Jack being tortured (one would think it was real) by the Chinese.

Although I did go down to Xtravision at the weekend and rented out 24 - Day One - I just can't get enough of Jack Bauer. I thought I watched them all, hadn't watched this one though - must have started with Day 2.

I am going to get the CTU ringtone for the phone too - *off to search google*

aequinoctium

Queen-Mise wrote: »

I am going to get the CTU ringtone for the phone too - *off to search google*

give us all a link to it if you find it

Queen-Mise

Here you go You-Tube links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH7EqDIPfpA
ringtone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4nAroclFlI&feature=related
the ticking clock

On the first you-tube link, they are instructions on how to turn it into an mp3 file.

One of my favourite shows of all time. While recent seasons have seen a dip in quality overall it has been one of the most constantly enjoyable shows to air in a long long time. There's a certain glee to be derived from watching Jack stumble about from location to location blowing seven shades of crap out of everything that moves.

qwertplaywert

Very enjoyable show, once you don't take any of it seriously. It suffered a series dip in quality in seasons 5[for the most part, some was good] and 6, but season 7 has been a great return to form, what with agent freckles and the like.

Elmo

qwertplaywert wrote: »

Very enjoyable show, once you don't take any of it seriously. It suffered a series dip in quality in seasons 5[for the most part, some was good] and 6, but season 7 has been a great return to form, what with agent freckles and the like.

DAY 5 was the best season especially after the piss poor DAY 4. Remember the CGI :eek:

aequinoctium

John Voight has be great in it!!!

Armin_Tamzarian

My favourite Jack Baur moment has to be from Season 2.

Jack's in a rush to infiltrate some terrorist types.
To make things more complicated, it's not been too long since he went undercover in the same gang
and had a load of these fellas mates brought to justice (i.e. shot by Jack).

So what does Jack do?
Well there's only one thing he can do.

Storm into a CTU office.
Shoot a protected state witness dead in cold blood.
Cut off said witnesses head with a hacksaw.
Pop the head in a bag and take it to the terrorists who
now let him back into their gang.

I mean, it was one thing to shoot the guy dead but was the
head removal really necessary?
Couldn't he have just put the corpse in the boot of the car?

danh789

Without doubt the best show currently on TV and very possibly the greatest TV show ever

AdMMM

If there's one thing I learnt from 24, it's that it typically takes around 40 minutes for you to find any person in a large city, and around 2 minutes of interrogation to discover that you must now find someone else that it will also take 40 minutes for you to find. This Secret Agent business seems easy!

Queen-Mise

danh789 wrote: »

Without doubt the best show currently on TV and very possibly the greatest TV show ever

So so agree - it really is a 16 hour movie isn't it.

AdMMM wrote: »

If there's one thing I learnt from 24, it's that it typically takes around 40 minutes for you to find any person in a large city, and around 2 minutes of interrogation to discover that you must now find someone else that it will also take 40 minutes for you to find. This Secret Agent business seems easy!

They won't be bringing it to Dublin then, will they :p:p

That_Guy

Armin_Tamzarian wrote: »

My favourite Jack Baur moment has to be from Season 2.

Jack's in a rush to infiltrate some terrorist types.
To make things more complicated, it's not been too long since he went undercover in the same gang
and had a load of these fellas mates brought to justice (i.e. shot by Jack).

So what does Jack do?
Well there's only one thing he can do.

Storm into a CTU office.
Shoot a protected state witness dead in cold blood.
Cut off said witnesses head with a hacksaw.
Pop the head in a bag and take it to the terrorists who
now let him back into their gang.

I mean, it was one thing to shoot the guy dead but was the
head removal really necessary?
Couldn't he have just put the corpse in the boot of the car?

A head is smaller and less heavy. You can fit it in a cooler box for easier transportation purposes. Jack's not stupid you know.