Posted on 03/26/2010 5:35:32 PM PDT by Bigtigermike
Tick, tick, tick … and done.
After eight seasons, Fox’s “24” is coming to an end.
The groundbreaking action drama will air its final real-time episode in May, the victim of a confluence of circumstances: a swelling budget, declining ratings and creative fatigue.
Yet for fans of Jack Bauer, there remains hope. Studio 20th TV is developing a theatrical film that takes Bauer to Europe, and showrunner and executive producer Howard Gordon says other possibilities are being explored as well.
“There are other possible iterations of Jack Bauer and his world,” Gordon said (full Q&A with Gordon about series ending here).
The writing has been on the wall for the show all season, which Gordon said felt like “senior year of high school” to star Kiefer Sutherland.
Because of the constant upward spiral of cast and creative team salaries, any drama begins to carry serious financial weight after its fifth year. Fox paid a hefty $5 million per episode license fee to 20th TV.
Meanwhile, the show’s ratings dropped 16% this season to a 3.8 adults 18-49 rating including DVR — still healthy numbers for a scripted drama, yet not enough to overcome the program’s increasing cost, a budget that was set to climb once again since contracts for Sutherland, Gordon and other key players expire this season.
Then there’s the show’s creative struggle. How many times have “24” characters declared that a looming crisis will be addressed “within the hour,” or has Bauer struggled to gain the respect of the latest CTU chief? Gordon says the show’s writers felt they had exhausted the real-time possibilities for Bauer and never came up with a truly compelling idea for Day 9. “If one of the writers came up with a good idea, I’d happily pitch it to Kiefer and then happily pitch to a network, whether Fox or someone else,” Gordon said. “We just don’t have that idea, and that’s where everything has to start.”
Producers did sniff around at other networks, namely NBC, with 20th TV offering to lower its license fee to $3.5 million to keep the show going. NBC ran the numbers and passed.
As the weeks tick down to the show’s final hour, Gordon promises a strong finish coupled with the current New York-based storyline taking a dark and creatively risky turn for the final episodes.
For fans, the ending of “24,” along with ABC’s “Lost,” represents the departure of one of the few successful serialized action-driven shows on broadcast, leaving a suitcase-nuke-sized gap in the creative landscape. In addition to its unique real-time storytelling model, the drama pioneered the modern-day TV cliffhanger.
Even its scheduling was an innovation — a returning hit that airs in midseason without repeats.
“I’d like it to be remembered as a revolutionary concept,” Gordon said. “I hope the second thing is that we loved this show so much and never did anything less than our best and I hope we delivered to our fans like we feel we did to ourselves.
Season 5 was the best, it was a total reload of a season with emmy roles everywhere.
How in the heck can a person just drive their car into the CTU garage with out being stopped and searched, only to blow CTU up?
Or how in the heck can a CTU employee's old boy friend stop by for a chat and demand to see her. So she interrupts saving NYC from atomic holocost while he wanders around CTU with out essentially shopping mall cops keeping an eye on him???
Three words my friends. O. BOMB A.
Good riddance.
It’s been a politically correct liberal laden piece of crap for several seasons.
I think creative tiredness showed up in season 4. It got repetitive from then on.
Then season 7 with Jeanne Garbarfolo as a cast member turned the knife in the dead carcas. She's one of the worst actresses on the planet, was terrible in the role, and the whole thing reaked of hollywood liberals finding creative ways to take care of one of their own. I was also sick to death of histrionic freckles have cryfest breakdowns every episode. Everything now revolves around "we better check if someones human rights are being violated" before acting. The show was officially on life support. Shark was munching on the corpse. The show had been infected with liberalism virus and it became terminal.
Watching season 8, could see the death was near. The "days of our lives" muslim leaders family. The blonde Amazon whose gone from CTU analyst, to stalked exgirlfriend, to murdering terrorist. Easily one of the worst characters ever on the show, very close to Garbarfolo whose the worst.
And now Jack and Freckles cryfest wonderbra unstable ex-russian mob mole are about to hookup and you know she's going to end up sacrificing herself in one of the last episodes to save Jack. You know its coming. That's why my interest has run out with 24. None of the characters, even Jack or Chloe are likeable anymore.
That Garrafflo was definately a heaping tablespoon dose of saltpetre to cool down the hots for 24.
Most seasons followed the same pattern: Muslims or foreigners were the villains early in the season but US corporations or US military contractors would be the villains late in the season (and supposedly they were the worse ones because they were always introduced as somehow controlling the early villains).
Also they killed off most of the main characters except Jack and the incredibly annoying Chloe - why they kept bringing her back so many seasons is beyond me.
Well I take 24 for what it is...entertainment. It’s top of the DVR and we’ve watched every season. Jack makes the show, the rest of the characters are peripheral. We love to mock the plot holes and formulas—just last night I remarked that we haven’t caught the mole yet and it ended up being revealed.
I like this season and I’ll be sad to see 24 go!
ps If they want a good idea for next year, why don’t they have a socialist take over the USA? Art imitating life!
I’ve been a regular fan, but for some reason Jacks whispering, raspy voice really iritates me this season. I think they did the best thing to call it quits after this season, it’s run its course.
i SO AGREE WITH YOU!
all these whiners....we had them throughout the show..”That does it...I am never watching this show..its no good now...”( as they continue to post on the Live thread for the 8th season!ha)
Chloe was fabulous...Freckles was great...Jack is my relief from reality.
these whiners are the same ones ( with the exception tonite of two “New “ posters) who whine endlessly and BLAME BUSH posts or criticize every conservative who just said something today that makes them less than perfect.
I for one, will miss 24 terribly...THE ONLY SHOW I religiously watched and had fun with the Live thread ( uh, no other Live thread that ran so well). I do have the joy of cxling my “advanced” cable bill now! Will watch Fox news on the internet and maybe get some things done for a change!
ping
That's when I quit watching. I don't "support" lefty "stars" ... I'd rather go fishing ... (and they are biting!)
The beginning of the end. Perhaps her private intent. Her addition was a slap in the face to true 24 fans. When a negative person walks through the room...their presence lingers after...like a bad smell.
I thought Vince Flynn was a contributor.
Drat, who will save us with Jack Bauer gone??
Actually we started in season 3 or 4, and intended to watch the others but never got around to it. It was a tiny bit confusing right at first, but not for long.
Seems like many of my favorite shows are ending! :(
Yup, lots of “reality” shows when we have the Ultimate Reality show going in DC.
There is so little on I like. I miss Jericho and the 4400 and Dead Zone too. I hate Dancing with the Stars and American Idol etc. Bummer.
I will miss it. It’s gone downhill a bit, tho I thought last season was really good.
It’s still my favorite don’t miss show. Hope they manage to put together a good movie.
It’s probably time to go out on top, though.
Lost is really lost this season. I’m only watching because it’s the last season.
Hope Jack can ride off into the sunset with Renee and his daughter.
Good, maybe this means Human Target will get renewed.
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