24

                                               

“My name is Jack Bauer and this is the longest day of my life”

Next week 24 returns in the form of a miniseries named 24: Live Another Day.  In light of this I wanted to offer a few comments on each season the old series, which I was a fan of from the day it first aired in 2001.  Please note, as always I will discuss some major spoilers so if you have not seen the series yet it may be best to read this after you have done so, for free if you have an Amazon Prime account (or you could even borrow the DVDs for free at a local library.

Season 1 (2001-2002)

I read the reviews of the pilot and knew, though I usually don’t watch a lot of television series, a real time thriller about a federal agent balancing a threat against an African American presidential candidate and searching for his missing daughter was too intriguing to pass up.  I decided to watch part of the pilot episode, bowing out if it did not grab me since I knew it would probably end on a cliffhanger.  The casting of Kiefer Sutherland, an excellent actor, but known more for villainous roles, promised a dark edge to the character.   The backstory for the season is fantastic.  Jack is rebuilding his marriage after a separation from his wife, during which he briefly had an affair with Nina.  Teri, Jack’s wife knows he was with someone but doesn’t know its Nina, even though she knows Nina.  24 has its first of many triangulated relationships.  Jack did not leave his wife for Nina (she asked him to leave because he was difficult to live with due to post traumatic stress of mission in Kosovo in which he lost his team) and became involved with her afterwards.  Jack probably left Nina to go back to Teri though I do not think this is implicitly stated.  Jack and Nina clearly feel something for each other but there is no question that Jack’s loyalties are with his wife, which add a fascinating dynamic when Nina is forced to take numerous risks with her career to help Jack save Teri and Kim, his daughter.  Nina’s involvement with Tony, who gradually earns the audience’s trust, adds another angle to the intrigue.  All of this takes on a new meaning when it is revealed late in the season that Nina is a traitor, assisting the Serbian villains of the piece (with an obscure German connection which is apparently dropped in the second season).  

The thriller angle, which of course, is the main thrust of the show, is a lot of fun, especially in the first 13 episodes.   The story of the presidential candidate David Palmer, a strong and noble man discovering his wife is overly ambitious for power and cunning, makes for a strong secondary story.  The behind the scenes look at the political process is involving and I especially enjoyed how Sherry, knowing that she no longer has David’s confidence, tries to trick him into a Clintonesque affair to be able to blackmail him.  

One other aspect, looking back now, is it is clear that the show had a much smaller budget.  Many episodes take place in one or two settings and there are many less gunfights than in later seasons.  But the story, especially the first half and then the last four episodes, is among the best of all of them.  The tragic end of episode 24 in which Jack defeats the villains but loses his wife (at the hands of Nina, who reluctantly has to kill her to facilitate her failed escape) set the tone for the series.  Jack’s final face off with Nina, often overlooked in the wake of the scene that follows, knowing she betrayed him but not knowing that she has killed Teri, is exciting and terrifically acted by Sutherland, playing Jack completely worn down physically and emotionally.  However Sutherland’s performance in the scene where he finds Teri is just utterly defeated and his apologies sets up his guilt in season 2. ****

Season 2  (2002-2003)

Jack begins the season as a shell of himself lost and estranged from his daughter who blames him, against her own better judgment, for the loss of her mother.  There is a painful scene in the first episode in which Jack opens a drawer and for a moment seems to contemplate grabbing a gun to kill himself and instead grabs a picture of his family in happier times and holds it to himself.  

The threat of the season, a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles, is simple on the surface but the series draws out the threat and the political and public reaction to it with great effect.  Palmer faces the first great threat of his presidency and faces a lot of infighting in his cabinet and inner circle in determining the response. 

Overall this season has some great highlights (the episode in which the bomb goes off is very powerful, and there is an extremely suspenseful conference call on an airplane between Jack, George, Michelle, Kim and Nina who is having a conversation nearby) but grows a bit repetitive in spots with Jack frequently barely getting scraps of information out of dying or tortured people.  The final bad guy, Kingsley, played by Tobin Bell, does not seem clever enough to have manipulated everything.  However the show is very entertaining and the whole section of episodes with Nina (for whom I have an admitted weakness) makes for a great contest.  I particularly like the moment in which Jack calmly describes to Nina a day with Teri so she, and the audience, could feel his loss.  I also liked seeing Jack facing off with Sherry, which is rare since they often occupy different storylines in the show.  Sherry’s attempts at manipulation don’t work too well with Jack who doesn’t care what she thinks of him, he is only interested in the mission.  ***

Season 3 (2003-2004)

At the start of Season 3 Jack is recovering from a heroin addiction he incurred while going undercover with a Mexican drug cartel run by the Salazar family, the head of which Jack put in jail.   The first few episodes are a smoke screen for Jack to get back undercover with them to gain control of a deadly virus.  Kim is involved with Jack’s younger partner and is working at CTU.  It is one of only two seasons in which starts with Jack working at CTU.  Chloe O’Brien debuts here as the top CTU programmer who lacks social skills.

The prison riot is thrilling and the relationship between Jack, Ramon Salazar, played by Joaquin Alameida (who plays a lot of Hispanic villains- see Clear and Present Danger, Desperado, Fast Five) is neat to watch.   Nina adds an extra level of intrigue to the proceedings as Jack fights to get the virus in situations he cannot control.  Nina’s final scenes are very well directed although looking back at the season it is clear that dramatically it was building up for Kim to kill her but at the last minute it was switched to Jack.  The episode in which Jack is forced to execute his boss, Ryan Chappelle, is daring.  The last few episodes as Jack tracks down Stephen Saunders, a former soldier who worked with Jack in the are pretty thrilling, especially a hostage trade with Michelle and Saunders daughter.  

The season is hurt a little by two weak subplots.  Palmer spends a lot of the season dealing with an uninteresting relationship and then battling a businessman who had supported him but whose wife had an affair with Palmer’s brother.  These developments have nothing to do with the main threat (Palmer’s story in season 2 was directly connected to the nuclear bomb) and I found myself bored.  If the Palmer story had to deviate I would have preferred it had focused more on his reelection campaign and the debate which is only shown briefly.  As it is most of Palmer’s story feels like filler.  

Jack finishes the season on a strong note.  After he is forced to execute his boss Chapelle, some of Jack’s soul seems to go away and he there are moments, especially during the crisis with Michelle’s kidnapping, where the audience may have rooted against him.  Jack severely threatens Saunders’ innocent daughter and is a little rough with Kim when she wants to go on a mission, though she stands up to him.  But at the end of the story Jack breaks down in his truck, due to the horrific things he has seen and been forced to do.  The interruption of the radio calling him back to work keeps him in the vicious cycle from which he can never escape. ***

Season 4 (2005)

Jack starts Season 4 working for the Secretary of Defense James Heller, played with strength and integrity by William Devane. Immediately I could see how the two of them could work well together as Heller shares many of Jack’s sensibilities and as a former military man appreciates Jack’s abilities in a combat situation.  Bill Buchanan first appears as a reasonable head of CTU.  Most notably Kim Raver is introduced as Heller’s daughter and a romantic partner for Jack, named Audrey.

Some people do not like Audrey and claim she cries too much in Season 4.  I think she has incredible chemistry with Jack and it is clear their relationship is deep.  Kim Raver conveys warmth that brings out the best in Jack but she becomes uncomfortable when she sees the darker sides of Jack’s personality.  The producers ratchet this up to maximum effect when Jack early on, tortures Audrey’s her ex-husband in front of her, and then later has to pull a doctor from operating on her ex-husband to save a terrorist who has crucial information.     

The season introduces several small threats instead of one larger one and the effect is a faster pace than in previous seasons.  It is not very plausible but works within the context of itself and as a result Season 4 is one of my favorite seasons.  The reintroduction of Palmer and his interactions with the slimy and cowardly new president Logan are well done.  I also developed an appreciation for Mike Novick, formerly Palmer’s chief of staff, who is always guiding his bosses through tricky waters and sometimes making unpopular, but well considered decisions on their behalf.  The subplot with the Chinese adds an extra level of tension.  The villain, Marwan, is strong, as is the sleeper cell family in the first half of the season.  The entire final episode is fantastic and ends similar to a Western with Jack walking into the sunrise (instead of a sunset) into an unknown future.  ****

Season 5 (2006)

24 won the Emmy for best dramatic television show and Sutherland won a long overdue one for best actor for Season 5.  Jack battles a series of villains leading up to Charles Logan while investigating the assassination of David Palmer, for which he is at first accused.  Palmer's death and its aftermath is handled very effectively. Audrey reappears, which I did not expect given how Season 4 ended, and she is stronger and their relationship seems to play at the core of all of Jack’s decisions.  Heller briefly appears as does Kim for two episodes dealing with the aftermath of Jack’s disappearance at the end of Season 4.  Some of the threats seems a little repetitive from earlier seasons but the development of Logan and his wife is well drawn out. Some of the many highlights include Jack's first confrontation Walt Cummings and with Logan, the attack on the limo with Martha inside, the nerve gas attack on CTU, the touching death of Edgar, Chloe's helping Jack in creative ways, the fastidious Lynn McGill, and the closing scenes with Jack ready to go off with Audrey only to be grabbed by the Chinese in revenge for the death of their consul in Season 4 is tragic. ****

Season 6 (2007)

Season 6 is much reviled by fans, though there are some positive its moments.  The tone goes extra dark, even for this show.  For example: Jack returns from China completely broken and immediately is turned over to Fayed, the main terrorist to be tortured more, Jack’s father and brother are involved in the threat and Jack has to torture his brother, twice, which seems excessive.  Jack is also led to believe halfway through the season that his love Audrey has died, and then she turns out to be alive but also held by the Chinese (in Los Angeles??) and when Jack is finally reunited with her she turns out to be catatonic, Jack is subsequently threatened by Audrey’s father Heller, with whom Jack had been close to but unfairly blames him for Audrey’s condition, there is an excess of torture.  Chloe, who often offered comic relief, is much more serious here.

Also, there are a lot of uninteresting sidebars with Morris O’Brien, an overly obnoxious character who spends far too much time on camera.  Milo (a CTU character from Season 1), Nadia and Mike Doyle don’t do much to attract interest and many of the White House scenes are slowly paced with a very dull assassination subplot.  Wayne Palmer could have been an interesting president but the writers don’t seem sure what to do with him so they keep contriving ways to shove him off-screen.  Rena Sofer plays Marilyn Bauer, Jack’s first love, now married to his scheming brother Graeham.  She is beautiful but I never believed that Jack was ever in love with her since he treats her more like an old friend, with no trace of what she must have once meant to him.  

Many ideas from previous seasons are recycled such as the Vice President trying to grab office using the 25^th Amendment to launch an attack on a Middle Eastern nation a President Palmer would never agree to.  The villains are once again Arabs who instead of launching nuclear bombs want to use suitcase nukes.  The plotting overall seems unfocused as Jack is prepared to sacrifice himself no less than about three times.

A couple of things that I liked are: Jack killing Curtis to save a former enemy, an idea originally written for Tony in Season 5 (which would have been too much), Sutherland’s performance as a broken down Jack, Jack’s relationship with his nephew, and his final confrontation with Heller sums up his pain and frustrations, and his final goodbye to Audrey, in which Jack acknowledges that as much as he loves her, he cannot help her directly. ***

24 Redemption (2008)

After  the Writer’s Strike of 2007/2008, the seventh season was delayed for a year (it had started shooting but had been forced to stop when they ran out of scripts).  An early idea for Season 7 had changed the format a bit and started with Jack in Africa searching for some kind of peace and gets caught in the middle of a revolution.  This idea was reworked into this movie which serves as a lead up into Season 7.  It is interesting to see Jack in a different environment and the location filming in South Africa adds to the atmosphere.  His relationship with Robert Carlyle’s character, who has a similar background to Jack, is excellent.  The Washington subplot occurs around the change in the presidency as Allison Taylor takes over the White House, highlighted by Taylor meeting with Daniels.  The use of the child soldiers is daring but authentic for the setting. ***

Season 7 (2009)

I think this is one of the strongest seasons, tying it with Season 4.  The Washington setting breathes new energy and all the supporting character plots are tied in well with the main storyline.  The extra time seems to have allowed the writers to strengthen the plot.  Tony’s reemergence and journey is fascinating.  The new president is a great character and Jack is given a strong storyline, coming to terms with his past actions and facing a literal judgment in a hearing and then preparing himself for death after he is exposed to the virus.  The villains (Dubaku, Juma, and Hodges) are all strong.  

One of the best new elements is the character of Renee Walker, an FBI agent, who admires Jack and is to some degree following in his footsteps.  Both Jack and her boss, Larry try to her guide her in their respective ways, which leads to a kind of emotional and semi romantic triangle since Renee has some past history with Larry but is attracted to Jack.  I was always curious what would become of her character and Renee takes a dark turn at the close of the season.

In the final episode, after the danger is over Jack has found some peace and his season ends with the hope that Kim’s stem cells will be able to save him.  If the series had ended here it would have a poignant finish. ****

Season 8 (2010)

The final season is a mixed bag.  Jack is pulled back into action in New York City at a shiny CTU branch filled with new characters and Chloe O’Brien to save a Middle Eastern president (Hassan) from assassination prior to the signing of a historic peace treaty.   The political plot seems a bit labored for the first two thirds of the season and far too much time is spent on a very dull subplot involving a CTU employee with a secret past.  The character, Dana Walsh, is played by the miscast Kate Sackhoff.   In a role which required a lot of sublety, she wears her anguish like a bad haircut.  There is an agent, similar to Chase from Season 3, named Cole, played by Freddie Prinze , Jr. who is unmemorable.  Mykleti Williamson plays Brian Hastings, the new head of CTU and he comes off ok.

Jack, who very reluctantly goes back to work after reestablishing his relationship with Kim, helps Renee, badly emotionally damaged by her actions at the end of Season 7, go undercover with Russian mobsters to track down the source of the threat against Hassan.  During this Renee accidentally stabs Jack in the gut but amazingly he does not seems to be badly hurt by it which seemed to be a stretch.

The last nine episodes are stronger with Jack’s failed attempt to save Hassan, the tragic death of Renee (after spending half the episode in bed with Jack), Jack’s subsequent rage (taking on a similar quality to Tony’s in the previous season, but Chloe talks Jack down right before he goes too far), and Charles Logan’s reappearance and manipulations of President Taylor. The final scene of Jack saying goodbye to Chloe via a drone video before taking off to live as a fugitive is touching. ***

For years it appeared there was going to be a movie of 24 but it never came together.  I wanted to see what came next but knew that 2 hours of 24 would feel shortened.  Part of the fun of watching 24 for me is seeing what happens, discussing it, and then looking forward to the next episode over the course of a week.  I had accepted that the movie was highly unlikely when suddenly in May 2013 it was announced that 24 would be returning in a 12 episode miniseries format which seems like a much better idea.  Some details have emerged:  Jack is still on the run and appears in London to stop a threat, apparently against now President Heller. Audrey is recovered, married to a member of Heller’s staff and working for her father again.  Chloe is in a different place emotionally with a goth look and appears to have become anti establishment.  I am not sure how it going to play out but I am excited to start watching next week.