Posted on 09/21/2007 7:02:47 AM PDT by Watershed
Howard Gordon, executive producer of FOX's thriller "24," says actor Carlos Bernard acted "very cool about it" when Gordon called him in his car to tell him that his character, Counter Terrorist Unit operative Tony Almeida, was not dead after all and would be returning for the show's 7th season on Sunday, Jan. 13.
"But I know," Gordon says, "when I hung up the phone, I'm sure he did one of those 'Jerry Maguire' screams in the car."
The most frequently seen character in "24" aside from its hero, CTU super-agent Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland), Tony was introduced in season one and continued through season five, suffering personal, physical and professional ups and downs, culminating in being left for dead after a rogue former CTU agent (Peter Weller) gave him what appears now to have been a non-fatal drug overdose.
"That's something, obviously, we're going to have to explain away," Gordon says. "Hopefully, in the spirit of creating a good show and creating an interesting season, people will allow the fun [of '24']."
Gordon also sees Tony's resilience as the key to his return.
"It really ranks among Tony's other resurrections," he says. "I mean, he was blown up in a blast and was supposed to die there. He was shot in the neck in the third episode of season three, shot in the aorta at point-blank range, and he was basically back at the controls eight hours later.
"So in the nine lives of Tony Almeida, this is just another chapter, hopefully the most interesting of them."
Without spilling the beans about the details, Gordon says, "It's not the what of it, but the how, that's interesting."
But, as for Tony's apparently deceased ex-wife, CTU operative Michelle Dessler (Reiko Aylesworth), Gordon says, "No, she's definitely six feet under. Believe me, I know. We thought about that, too. Then we thought that everybody's dead except for Jack, and he's seeing ghosts."
This season, the show moves beyond the Los Angeles-based CTU to Washington, D.C, where Bauer is facing trial for his extreme actions in the pursuit of justice.
Although the show's primary shooting location remains a former pencil factory in Chatsworth, Calif., Gordon says, "We're also going to go to D.C. and shoot there, somewhere around the mid-October area."
Asked if he plans to get the usual D.C. exteriors with the Capitol and the Washington Monument looming in the background, Gordon says, "No, I thought we'd shoot a Wal-Mart in Maryland. What do you think it's going to be?"
In his writing career, Gordon has worked on many shows, including "The X-Files" -- during which he split with writing partner Alex Gansa, who has now joined the "24" team -- and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
Like those two shows, "24" has moved beyond being just a TV phenomenon into being a genuine cultural phenomenon, from inspiring college courses to having Jack Bauer's name invoked by pundits, politicians and presidential candidates.
"In many ways," Gordon says, "we never set out to do that. That said, we certainly enjoyed that access and that kind of influence, but it's something, in a way, that was thrust upon us. It's one, also, that bit us in the ass."
In particular, Gordon is referring to allegations that the show promotes torture (frequently used as a plot device) and/or a right-wing political philosophy.
"Anybody who's a reasonable person," Gordon says, "would really be insane to imagine that this show posits any sort of political point of view. It's utterly insane. You could draw equally from both sides of the aisle."
He continues, "We've always obfuscated the parties and, in fact, contradicted ourselves probably multiple times, willfully. This thing is more metaphor. It's not a documentary.
"It plays with a compressed version of reality, clearly, on so many fronts. Ultimately, its only agenda is to tell a good story."
But in February 2007, a New Yorker magazine profile of show co-creator (with Bob Cochran) Joel Surnow had him referring jokingly to himself as a "right-wing nut job" and talking about his conservative politics.
"When Joel came out," Gordon says, "and declared his politics, or allowed his politics to be declared, suddenly our show became this propaganda machine. And I do think it hurt us."
Asked if the reaction might have been different if the declared politics had leaned in the opposite direction, Gordon says, "Great question. I don't know the answer to that. I don't know. When, obviously, the clear irony is that there's Evan [executive producer Evan Katz] on the far left, and me somewhere in the middle, and Joel on the right.
"It's like a spectrum of views shared by the writers who work on the show. Didn't seem to help."
Good enough place to bump this thread.
I had not ever seen a full episode of ‘24’ until my wife checked out season 3 from the library. It was a fun weekend 24-marathon. Then we got season 2. So we’re going backwards. It’s a little bit like watching James Bond get out of all of his scrapes with Deux ex Machina outcomes, but it’s fun.
Um, guy.............it's a TV show. A drama. As in DRAMATIC. Reality TV it ain't.
Hooray! You found the silver lining! ;)
LOL!!! Too funny...and YAY!! Tony's back!! :)
Good drama requires plausibility. Dangerous terrorists that need to be stopped with 24 hours to go - plausible. Most of the first season - implausible. I believe in the end the woman who helped Jack throughout the season was actually an evil plant - so why didn’t she help her employers instead of Jack?
Answer: if she had moved a finger to help her employers in the first half of the season, there would have been no surprise when she was revealed as a bad person.
False suspense, false surprise. Low quality.
>> The only way a thinking person could like 24 is to watch it with a half-finished bottle of Jim Beam...
Though, apparently, “thinking people” are not above arrogance, immodesty, or condescension. At what point were you crowned the final arbiter of what “thinking people” can, and cannot, enjoy? If you don’t like it, that’s absolutely fine ... to each his own. That you feel the need to belittle anyone who does says more about you than it does anyone else.
Completely obnoxious.
In my experience, a “thinking person” need not remind people that he is a “thinking person” with every other statement.
H
I'm sorry. I can't think of a response as I'm laughing too hard.
Ok. Um plausible. You mean like James Bond? The Diehard movies? Rambo? THAT kind of plausible?
You're allowed an opinion. You didn't like it even if you saw very little of it. I'm just wondering why you're on the thread if you're not a fan.
OK, I have been duly corrected. Thanks. I will be ignoring any more respones to my original post.
I see. There are no standards by which we can judge something good or bad - only feelings. There is no literature - only books that cause us to feel good or bad, and all are equal.
Not a typical conservative position, but I suppose all that matters is that you have your feelings - and I have my thoughts.
BTW - I liked Gilligan’s Island, but I never claimed it was anything other than mindless time-killing...which can be what I want from a TV, sometimes.
Not only that--the world will manage somehow without Super-guy Bauer (s'cuse me, Kieffer; no offense intended)(I kinda like Kieffer), but without Chloe it'll fall apart for sure.
>> Ok. Um plausible. You mean like James Bond? The Diehard movies? Rambo? THAT kind of plausible?
No ... the kind of inherent plausibility that surrounds Star Wars, the Matrix, Heroes, Superman, Spiderman, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, 300, Smallville, the Presidential campaign of Ron Paul, etc.
H
I guess I missed the post where I claimed Rambo was fine drama.
Thank you for allowing me an opinion, but my opinion is based on thought. This makes it possible to discuss if a show is a good drama or not.
24 is not good drama. It MAY be entertainment that reaches the artistic heights of Rambo...
Good comeback. 24 is as good a drama as the Spiderman movie or 300.
BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh all right. You're probably not the only one.
But I love Chloe. I think she's hot just as she is. I've got a weakness for nerds.
And not only that--if Chloe and I ever got together, her nerdy self would blaze into gorgeousness under my...let's say skillful...influence. It wouldn't be the first time for such a phenomenon.
And furthermore--without Chloe, the world would collapse. She's the only one holding it together--f'cryin' out loud.
LOLOL!!!
So you are just on the thread to poke fans because............?
>> I see. There are no standards by which we can judge something good or bad - only feelings. There is no literature - only books that cause us to feel good or bad, and all are equal.
Please, spare me ... I never said “all are equal”, or “only feelings”. There is definitive “good and bad”, right and wrong ... and then there are simple personal preferences. It is the pinnacle of arrogance to think that your personal preferences in entertainment, music, television, movies, food, etc., have ANY bearing whatsoever on what is genuinely “good and bad”.
You don’t like 24 ... good for you. You think its implausible. Fine. You think its mindless. Great. You condemn anyone who enjoys it as unthinking, and proclaim that no “thinking person” could watch it ... you’re arrogant, obnoxious, apparently have delusions of grandeur, and certainly have little perspective on the value of your personal television preferences.
I don’t care for mayonnaise ... I think it’s a vile substance that I wouldn’t put anywhere near anything I was planning on eating. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is inherently bad, and that no truly sane, thinking individual could possibly enjoy it. It simply means I don’t like it.
>> Not a typical conservative position, but I suppose all that matters is that you have your feelings - and I have my thoughts.
Not a position I espoused, either. You’re arguing with nobody. Nice little jab there at the end, though. You have you’re thoughts ... and we all await your brilliant declarations of what we, as thinking people, are permitted to enjoy (24, no ... Gilligan, yes).
>> BTW - I liked Gilligan’s Island, but I never claimed it was anything other than mindless time-killing...which can be what I want from a TV, sometimes.
And, you’ve proven my point. Where did I claim 24 was “anything other than mindless timekilling”? Its a good show, I like it ... and apparently, because I enjoy it, I’m not a “thinking person” (which, given the apparent predilictions of thinking people, I think I might be OK with).
So - according to you - it simply isn’t possible that a “thinking person” could enjoy 24. However, you, a self-proclaimed “thinking person”, enjoyed Gilligan’s Island, with all its legendary mindlessness and implausibility.
Personally - I think Gilligan’s Island was drivel. I didn’t like it, I didn’t think it was particularly funny, it certainly wasn’t particularly plausible ... it was a dumb show. But, you enjoyed it. Good for you. Far be it from me to declare you a non-”thinking person” simply because you enjoyed a TV show that I thought was crap.
You are free to enjoy whatever you like ... thinking, or otherwise.
H
>> Good comeback. 24 is as good a drama as the Spiderman movie or 300.
And far superior to Gilligan’s Island.
The point wasn’t that those are great dramas ... but that plausibility isn’t a necessity for a good movie or TV show.
But, you liked Gilligan’s Island ... so you already know this.
>> BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
Laugh it up, professor.
H
24 is the first "real time" show on TV. That in itself presents problems with keeping a story going for 24 hours and keeping it interesting.
Secondly, Mr Rogers saw part of season 1. No show is stellar in it's debut season. Judging season 2 through 6 based on that does not indicate a "thinking person" as each season has been different and a self-contained story. It is not classic serial or episodic TV.
Hence, Mr Rogers opinion isn't based on much evidence and carries little weight.
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