I would consider 24 one of my favorite shows of all times, as well as a competent, effective introduction to serialized television (sorry, LOST, you LOST that title once we got past season 3 or so. Don’t be angry!). A show that only could emerge out of an era of terrorism, it presented us with a character who represents both the ultimate pragmatist and a man with an unwavering moral compass who literally wrecks everything to save America from its foes. It is, in a way, the clearest depiction of good versus evil that you could possibly witness…from a certain perspective.
See, Jack Bauer isn’t a likable guy. He does his job out of a love of country and for the people in general, which might sound good until you see the actions he performs to achieve that very end. Possible spoiler ahead: only a person like Jack would ask a suspected child molester if he did the deed or not, make him confess, shoot him in the head in front of a bunch of other people, and then cut the victim’s head off with a hacksaw for the purpose of saving other lives. Jack exists as judge, jury, and prosecutor when the story lets him. You can view this as a depiction of the cost necessary to defend the population, or simply the logical end of the “War on Terror” concept.
That’s what made the show brilliant – it worked for you on both sides of the political aisle, whether you felt kinship with the man or a sense of disgust. It captivated through shock value, surprising events (mostly due to the fact that no person is safe from death) and plot twists and a character who continually produced situations of compelling television with a time-limit gimmick strapped on top for good measure. Heck, I can’t imagine watching this show from week to week; a Netflix binge helped me out a whole lot.
Of course, 8 seasons means you start seeing all the little details they always put into the show. The obstructions to Jack’s ability to save the day often come down to a few different things. First, people decide not to believe him, and people not believing Jack when Jack is always right means that this trope becomes unbelievably frustrating, I can’t remember a single time he made a grievous, terrible mistake (well, I mean from a story perspective – gutting a man is fine in the world of 24). The reasons for NOT believing him turn more and more irrational as time progresses.
Second, the story will incapacitate Jack so that they can fill the other hours of 24 with weird or dumb subplots to fill time and keep in with the central gimmick. The first season, for me, does this through Jack’s family wandering around for no reason, and although it did fill time, it made me yell at the screen at how dumb these people were. Who knows what they were thinking? And yet, that stuff crops up ALL the time in this show.
If you don’t need to fill 24 hour-long episodes, however, you can avoid the second problem and, perhaps, mitigate the first. 24: Live Another Day does precisely that. Without the burden of filling time, we can focus on the actual threat to London and the circumstances surrounding it, rather than a stupid irrelevant subplot. I’ve yet to see any strange plot holes (such as season 4’s atomic weapon detonation that entertained barely a mention mere hours after it went off), and the obstructions arise out of honest misunderstandings and people generally NOT trusting Jack for real, rational reasons. That stuff is quite a relief, and I’m glad the limitations of twelve episodes actually fixed things!
For being a four year hiatus, it doesn’t feel like they skipped a beat. Heck, even the current villains (because, you know, 24 always contains a BIG BAD behind the current BAD, and conspiracies abound) fit right into the “Islamic terrorist cell” mold they already used in previous seasons. In that way, 24: Live Another Day is really just more 24. But is that necessarily a bad thing? Not really! If you’re a fan of the show already, then this just feels like a natural progression from the last season (which most people hated, but I didn’t mind at all).
At some level, though, you need to know this: 24 works best when you just let the tension and excitement surround and overwhelm you. If you try to think about every individual detail and problem that arises, you may find yourself with some continuity headaches and issues regarding whether or not things make sense. Stop it right there! This isn’t the most in-depth character drama in the world; 24 wants to entertain you with such intensity that you don’t much care to see anything other than Jack succeeding. The show makes you believe in a true, distinct notion of good and evil…at least when you’re watching it!
It should also be noted that I detect a strange metaphysical sense of justice whenever I watch 24. Everyone gets their comeuppance; if you opposed Jack, something bad inevitably happens to you. Jack always wins in the sense of saving the day, but his decisions and the horrible things he must do force the sacrifice of having no real family, friends, or anything approaching a normal life. He’s strangely motivated even as his life falls completely apart to save a country and a president which long abandoned him to the underground criminal world, and there’s something to be said for that.
If any of this sounds interesting, by all means start with the first season because you’ll feel completely and utterly lost with this new one otherwise. I could literally call it the 9th season because…well, it is, and don’t let a fancy subtitle fool you. I can imagine some people who couldn’t enjoy this show very much, but it’s always worth a shot, right?
