Posted on 02/21/2006 2:46:51 PM PST by presidio9
I just finished watching an episode of "24" when the husband asked what I had going on for the week.
"You know I always feel rotten after '24'," I said.
"Oh, feeling worthless again?"
"'Extremely. Like a total slacker."
"24" is the television action-thriller featuring Counter Terrorism Unit agent Jack Bauer, who in only four television seasons and 96 hours has saved the world four times.
And what will I be doing tomorrow? I have a dental appointment. Big whoop.
Jack Bauer once survived a plane crash and pulled a chunk of a jetliner out of his thigh with his bare hands and didn't even scream.
Me? I let the world know when I need an ibuprofen for my carpal tunnel.
Jack Bauer once discovered that a cell phone was actually a bomb and hurled it out a window to save the president.
My cell phone rarely rings, let alone explodes.
Jack Bauer never sleeps, never blinks and has been killed twice. Even then he only stayed dead for an hour.
I need a minimum six hours of sleep a night or I can't form complete sentences the next day.
Who in their right mind would want to talk about their life after watching Jack Bauer live his?
The entire CTU staff is equally spellbinding. They are all of child-bearing age but you never see them bustling out of the office to attend a soccer game or a fielding phone call from a kid asking if there are any more Oreos.
They are constantly viewing grainy surveillance videos, slamming suspects up against walls, pounding on their desks and yelling, "Get me the president!" Oh yeah, and they all type 250 words a minute on the computer.
I've yet to see a one of them eating a tuna sandwich at their computer.
This doesn't mean it hasn't happened. What it really means is that "24" is so intense, I watch most of it with my eyes closed.
Just once I would like to see that touch of realism where a CTU agent spills a Diet Coke on a desk. Or does a Google search. Instead, they flash from computer screen to computer screen, effortlessly accessing bank statements and tracking Ken Lay-size deposits of suspected enemies.
Me? I don't have a clue how to crack into someone's bank account. I suppose you'd need some basic info like name, address and phone number to get started. Sure, I could search somebody on switchboard.com, but I'd get hung up on the site asking me if I wanted to use my credit card to pay $14.95 to get the unlisted phone number. I don't know, $12.95 maybe, but $14.95 sounds a little pricey. That would never happen to Jack Bauer. The computer would instantly spit out the unlisted phone number in order to avoid being shot.
Sure, by comparison my life is dull. But in all fairness, I am distracted by the basics that never seem to dog Jack Bauer. Things like eating and sleeping. How does Jack Bauer get clean socks? Anybody? Does he never go to an ATM? When does he get his haircut? Does the man ever check his credit card statement?
Silly me. That must be what he does during the commercial breaks.
Paragraphs are our friend.
Here's a nickle: Go buy an original comment.
Funny article -- good post.
Who do you think would win a fight between Jack Bauer and Chuck Norris?
Your going to get someone killed, asking foolish questions such as that!
"Sure, by comparison my life is dull. But in all fairness, I am distracted by the basics that never seem to dog Jack Bauer. Things like eating and sleeping. How does Jack Bauer get clean socks? Anybody? Does he never go to an ATM? When does he get his haircut? Does the man ever check his credit card statement?"
You have to understand that when Jack went to work this morning all he had was what he had. Since then, well, being militarilly trained is helping him deal with other things a little more important than if his socks are dirty or not...or if he has any money left in the bank...
All takes place in a 24 hour period...
:D I just started watching this show before Christmas...A & E started with the marathons...i've been hooked since.
One of the best tv shows i've ever seen...
24 is not real. Life is real. Don't feel bad.
Don't let presidio annoy you. You were right to point out the paragraph omission, and IMO "Paragraphs are our friend" is a nice way to do it.
Who do you think would win a fight between Jack Bauer and Chuck Norris?
in RL Chuck would kick Keifers ass...
in imagination mode?...Jack Bauer makes Chuck dead in 4 seconds.
Interesting. I had a lot of the same thoughts when I watched seasons 1-3 through the first time.
After being issued a gun, a badge, and a preferred customer account at Dunkin’ Donuts, I was ready to hit the streets. The adrenaline level was high. “Officer 42 from Northern dispatch,” crackled the radio. My first call! What would it be? Liquor store robbery? Bank heist at Holmes student center? Gun fight at McDonald’s?
“42, check on the rollerbladers skating down the stairs by Lowden Hall.”
Rollerbladers!?? What about all the danger and excitement I was promised?? What kind of benign, crime-free place was this? Disgusted, I responded to the scene of the “crime” and approached the young delinquents. I tapped one of the violators on the shoulder at the exact moment that his feet went out from under him and he landed on his tailbone with an audible thud. Luckily, a convention of news photographers was passing by just then so that the next day’s headlines could portray police/citizen relations in the best possible light. My supervisor was not amused when I proceeded to draw a chalk outline around the sprawled-out little hoodlum.
And Chuck is 25 years older in RL.
Hey, be easy with me.
I'm not a Jack Bauer ready to save the world.
I'm going home to a TV dinner and a load of dirty clothes to wash.
p.s. Thanks for the nickle.
When the two of you put together have been here half as long as I have (under this screen name) you'll probably get sick of hearing "paragraphs are our friends." Meanwhile, I saw that the article was incorrectly formatted, and posted it as the first response. A little lesson in FR ettiquette: The first rule of FR is "READ THE THREAD BEFORE RESPONDING DOPEY!"
Who do you think would win a fight between Jack Bauer and Chuck Norris?
"NO, that would destroy the Universe. Of course John Wayne would appear fix everything and tell Chuck & Jack, 'I crap bigger than you'."
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