'24' is a Show Full of Surreal Life Lessons

Morning Call ^ | 4/9/06 | Renee A. James

[Dr. Scarpetta]

If you watch Kiefer Sutherland and "24," you learn to handle 60 minutes of tension, heartbreak and deception each week. And that's just between the characters of the president and the first lady.

But although fans love it, even the most ardent learn to overlook a lot regarding plot devices and characters.

Example: Jack Bauer, toughest guy on the planet and lead terrorist hunter, who can withstand torture, gunshots, drugs and severe mental anguish, found a pretty cool job for his annoying daughter, Kim.

After her stint as a runaway and a troubled teen in season one, she became an agent at the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU).

Kim, whose previous claim to heroic fame was escaping a wildcat while lost in the mountains of southern California, was now among the elite specialists who would save the lives of everyday Americans should the very worst take place. God help us.

[najida]

It's an excellent show....to me it's patriotic, postitive and Jack is a no BS kinda guy. If you sit on FR on Monday nights, be prepared to LYAO.

Chloe is fabulous and the FLOTUS, Martha, you want HER to be pres.

[DJ MacWoW]

Gulp. That's nearly a jump the shark sign, IMHO

Maybe but the Fox 24 site has interviews and clips of how scenes are filmed etc. I enjoyed the clip with the tech guys on how they filmed the motorcade attack. The S4 DVDs have interviews with the military guys that they actually used in S4. They use military jets and personnel all the time and seeing how it's co-ordinated and filmed is very interesting.

[DogByte6RER]

The first season of "24" was killer and I was hooked onto the series after the first season. I still remember my jaw dropping when Nina Myers was revealed as the mole, and my jaw dropped even further when Nina murdered Jack's wife at the season's final episode.

As much fun as "24" is to watch, it IS just brain candy for me. As someone who works for the federal government, there is just no way that any government agency could respond so quickly (like Jack Bauer does) to the show's rapidly changing crisis situations.

I say this by training and experience. However, I also do relate to the many turf battles and incompetencies that are also inherent within government bureaucracies on 24.

I suppose what makes the Jack Bauer character so fun to watch is his ability to cut through and disregard red tape and government regulations to get the job done to save America.

The simple truth is that the federal government is much like a locomotive engine. It is very slow to start and respond but once it has somebody or something (i.e., bank robbers, al-Qaida, Saddam Hussein, tobacco, taxpayers who mess up on their 1040s, etc.) in its target it is also virtually impossible to stop. Don't believe me? Try being audited by the IRS.

There is also a bit of irony because much of the public loves the cavalier way that Jack Bauer disregards protocol and procedures, yet in real life we would all cringe if the government hack at the local DMV, Social Security office or the tax collector were to also adopt Jack Bauer's techniques and efficiency.

Just think if we had a Jack Bauer on duty on Sept. 10, 2001 or if he were on duty taking charge after Hurricane Katrina? I think Jack Bauer represents America's fantasy of what everyone wishes the federal government could and would be. The truth is that the government will 99.9% of the time fall way short of Jack Bauer's high standards.

[Jack Hammer]

By the way... I rented one DVD of the first season, figuring I'd play five or ten minutes of it, and, if it was no good, remove the disk from the player, take the thing back to the rental shop, and forget the show forever. I watched the entire four hours straight through without a pause.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

[psjones]

Jack doesn't seem to drink water either, all that running around and I don't recall seeing him drink anything in season 2 (just got done watching season 2 last night)

[Wormwood]

There is also a bit of irony because much of the public loves the cavalier way that Jack Bauer disregards protocol and procedures, yet in real life we would all cringe if the government hack at the local DMV, Social Security office or the tax collector were to also adopt Jack Bauer's techniques and efficiency.

Many fictional heroes tap into our private fascist power fantasies.

I think that's just human nature.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

[najida]

He doesn't go to the bathroom either.

So after 24 hours, he's dehydrated, with a ruptured bladder, sleep deprived and HUNGRY!

Oh, and his cell phone is dead.

[DJ MacWoW]

Season 2 had the torture scene, don't recall seeing any tattoos on his body.

See post 59

[psjones]

There's that one episode in season 2 where Jack tells George Mason something along the lines of "the problem with you guys is that you want to get the job done but don't want to get your hands dirty".

[Dr. Eckleburg]

I came in late to the show this year and was hooked by the second episode of the season.

Surnow knows the secret to good writing -- something surprising happens every 5-10 minutes.

I knew this was a great show when Bauer was demanding and not getting answers from bad guy Christopher Henderson (Peter Weller), so he turned and shot Mrs. Henderson in the leg.

That's good writing.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Look for his interview on Bravo. He shows ALL his tats there.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

http://www.bravotv.com/Inside_the_Actors_Studio/videos/Kiefer_Sutherland.shtml

[Dr. Scarpetta]

I watched "Alias" only one time. It was about corruption within the CIA. For that reason, I watched it never again. The same thing happened with "24." It is about double-cross, spying, etc, within the gov't. Both programs cast a bad light on the gov't by commie Hollyweird and should be taken off of the air, directors, producers and writers, etc should be put into re-education camps and/or prison.

It's a TV SHOW!

[El Gran Salseron]

Yes, I know. I thought the humor in my post was obvious.

[llevrok]

and the FLOTUS, Martha, you want HER to be pres.

And she is a babe, too.

[eddie willers]

You MUST add "The Shield".

I put it with "Deadwood" as the best TV has to offer.

[Sender]

Neal Boortz has a hilarious page of Jack Bauer truths.

[SamAdams76]

Thanks for reminding my of "The Shield". That has always been on my wish list but I'm adding that to my Amazon.com order as I'm trying to get some good stuff to watch this coming summer.