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Underground > Film, TV & Theatre >

Fuck naysayers: The return of 24

  
  

Page: 1234(5)6

 
 
Keith, like a scientist
16:13 / 22.02.07
I liked the Saunders arc, too. The daughter was a bit much, yeah...seems like it was there to give Kim some action time.

The personal connection thing.... yeah, it's kind of ridiculous. IT worked perfectly for Season 1, since that was a small, personal story, but these subsequent seasons are kind of varying degrees of ridiculousness.

I still like it when Jack goes mental.
 
 
Mistoffelees
08:58 / 23.02.07
I liked his disgusted look at Morris, when he told Jack he helped the terrorists to get their bomb mcguffin. If they go any further with his hard-as-nails attitude he´ll turn into the knight that fought king Arthur: "It´s just a flesh wound!"
 
 
FinderWolf
14:07 / 28.02.07
I posted this over in the thread about '24' creator Joel Surnow's new attempt at a conservative comedy "Daily Show"-type show, and then realized it might be better served here...

I really love 24, but then I learned that the writers/producers and creator of 24 are mostly hard-core conservatives, and that scared me a bit. Then I read lots of mainstream news articles discussing how the show's frequent use of torture is starting to have an effect on our real-life military - apparently young soliders over in Iraq are trying techniques that Jack Bauer used on the show on their helpless captives, to obtain info. on insurgent activities and so forth. 24 creator Joel Surnow describes himself as a conservative but one who does not like the Bush administration's policies overmuch in general... Kiefer Sutherland was asked about the pro-torture effect the show might having on American society, and he was sort of aghast at the idea, being a leftie himself. Most people interviewed said 'It's a TV show; it's not meant to be real life, it's entertainment and it's a fantasy' and left it at that.
 
 
Keith, like a scientist
14:27 / 28.02.07
My thing about 24 and politics boils down to the fact that the constant thread of the show is that the ultimate bad guys behind everything are white, rich, conservatives, usually (I'm ignoring season 1, which is very non-political). It constantly shows a plot arc of "you think it's terrorists, but they are being manipulated by oil tycoons and conservate military guys in the government." American greed and corruption using others as patsies, etc.

Torture... is a tough situation. I can't say I condone it, but I've never been in a situation where someone knows something that will costs hundreds/thousands/millions of lives unless they reveal it... I feel like I can't judge it in general. As far as 24 goes... the torture is sometimes extreme, sometimes unjustified. Unfortunately, they have written themselves into this situation where they need in a answer by the next commerical break to keep the plot moving... so they go right to the torture instead of more pacifistic methods...

I do feel guilty watching 24 once in awhile... but the long story arcs and developments are just so compelling. It's basically a soap opera with guns.
 
 
Spaniel
14:31 / 28.02.07
I feel like I can't judge it in general

Strangely I feel that I can.
 
 
Keith, like a scientist
14:57 / 28.02.07
Which is a perfectly valid, and possibly more correct, opinion.
 
 
Make me Uncomfortable
04:00 / 15.03.07
Spoilers...




Former Presendent Logan.... will he die? Do you care?

And how come victory in 24 always seems so bittersweet?
 
 
Mistoffelees
10:25 / 15.03.07
I got an inkling something like that might happen, when I saw Martha chop those kiwis, and especially when Aaron asked Logan, if he wouldn´t rather wait outside.

I don´t think he will die. They´ve only just reintroduced him, Martha and Aaron, and it smells of a developing love triangle. Maybe Martha will go back to her Charles, now that she has sufficiently expressed he anger, and Aaron will be on some important mission, helping Jack, who will go undercover/renegade for the umpteenth time.

Also, they just can´t go on killing their (former) presidents. It´s getting ridiculous even for 24. Poisoned handshakes, Airforce one being shot down, snipers, bombs inside the white house bunker, etc. And if a 24-president™ can survive being shot out of the sky, Logan should be just fine being stabbed by a kitchen knife.

***

So anyone want to bet, they´ll let another one of those visitors go off? And what would be the target? Only Californian cities, or could those drones fly further? Another explosion would be the evil vice president´s wet dream, since he could implement all the chief of staff´s plans plus attack that duped ambassador´s country. I have no idea, how Palmer will return and undo that looming fiasco.
 
 
Make me Uncomfortable
05:25 / 16.03.07
Here's a thought: what if he doesn't? What if the writers let Evil VP turn America into a totolitarian, warmonger state? What if this season becomes a horrible downer, and season seven wraps up the series by having jack fight his own country, only to die in the end?

How cool would that be?
 
 
buttergun
15:09 / 20.03.07
Well, I'm free of the show. Last night I made the decision to turn the TV off while 24 was on. And let me tell you, I felt an immense weight immediately lift from my shoulders.

A year ago this would've been unthinkable. Season 5 I think was the pinnacle of the show. I wondered how they'd top it, and now I know they can't. This season has been the worst so far...obviously, as I've never once in the past even considered ditching 24.

Anyway, for other longtimers like myself who are disgusted with the direction this season has taken...just take my advice and turn away. You'll feel much better!
 
 
Mysterious Transfer Student
16:10 / 24.03.07
I couldn't agree more. I sacked both this and Lost a few weeks ago in favour of alternating, unending marathons of Final Fantasy XII and fansubbed anime and have had absolutely no cause to regret the decision.

Now we must turn our faces to the future, and pray that the day does not too soon come when we're saying the same damn thing about Heroes, BSG or, heaven help us, The Wire.
 
 
Make me Uncomfortable
04:51 / 12.04.07
So... has it officially gone off the deep end? Looks like the season already wrapped up, but there's still 7 episodes left. Seven episodes of killin' chinese peope looking for a cute girl? Boring.

But... I hope not.

Thoughts?
 
 
Mistoffelees
09:09 / 12.04.07
That last episode was a breath of fresh air after the staleness of the last couple of flops. They kept the CTU kindergarten to a minimum, Wayne´s annoying sister left, Wayne taking a leaf or two out of his vice president´s book was interesting, the bomb McGuffin finally wrapped up and there was lots of Jack. Those last minutes were very well done. This mix of routine and being fed up in how Jack "disposed of the terrorist threat" was a nice touch. And I liked Doyle´s reaction when he arrived at the scene.

Looks as if the next episodes will be Jack once again going rogue. The problem is, I am not interested at all about Audrey´s fate. But I´m curious how he´s going to get his revenge. He can´t just kill the chinese bad guys. How would that stop the chinese government to come after him again? So there must be something more (please?).

What I really hope for, is the return of Jack´s father. I have no idea what he´ll be up to, but I have a faint hope it could redeem this season. Apparently some people have already been spoilt about the season´s finish and there was much approval for the end episodes. 24´s problem right now is the same as many other tv series (like BSG for example): there´s not enough story to spread over so many episodes. Let´s hope they finally try something else next season, and at least drop the whole CTU and LA fixation.
 
 
H3ct0r L1m4
12:35 / 03.05.07
we're as far as ep. 4 in brazil and i have to join the crowd: one of the worst seasons yet.

even trying the 'Captain America sans spandex' angle is not making it work for me as it used to.

it's no news they've dropped the real time narrative; the amount of things Jack does in ep. 1 managed to top even last season's premiere and fr me they could change the show's name to THE FLASH SAVES AMERICA.

you can see Kiefer [as both an actor and producer] is trying to show how broken the character is now: he makes Jack twitches, be unable to torture suspects as he used to [a clear shoutout to the real military situation], refuses a presidential call to action and tells Buchanan Fury he's quitting. I suppose the bomb going off is a reason to make him keep going - too early for me to tell, you guys already know this.

[they mention a mini-nuke like this being able to contaminate a large area with the help of winds; and as far as ep. goes nobody has even mentioned evacuating the city.]

the other producers and writer i think are having a hard time with the stories. I read somewhere in an interview with one of them that Jack's father was supposed to appear in season 5 but was changed into Henderson [and that they tried to get Donal Sutherland for season 6]. I wonder if Jack'd be the one to kill him in the submarine...

anyway, the worst thing for them seems to be how to keep Jack in this game in terms of motivated. he had much more reasons to become a rogue agent/terrorist like season 3's Saunders:

family kidnapped \ wife killed in s1, daughter put in danger many times, forced into addiction for a cover ops. and FIRED FOR IT FROM HIS POST [this had to be one of he most ridiculous CTU-related mini-storyline, even more than the 'traitor of the season'], had to fake death and stay away from loved ones or the government he just saved would hand him to China; a lot of friends died - including the President he fought so hard to keep alive in previous years [and his own brother plus corrupt new Prez put the blame on him] - was finally taken by the Chinese FOR 18 MONTHS and only brought back when it was convenient, broken, tortured, scarred mentally and physically. then nobody let's him go and he has to kill another colleague [Curtis, in one of the most forced set-ups of the whole series].

i mean, for the first 3 items alone I'D turn into Osama Bin Laden myself. how cool would be a last season of JACK VERSUS AMERICA for good? of course, of course, Jack's not that kind of man: he's pure of heart [despite his dubious methods to deliver the good deeds] and will do anything to make his home country a land of Freedom, even if he doubts those who now fight for its name.

well, i'm a sucker for this series and will probably watch it to the very last ep. of the last season...
 
 
buttergun
12:51 / 03.05.07
I quit several episodes ago and never looked back. I check out the reviews on EW.com to see if I've missed anything, and apparently I haven't. Sounds like there was an episode a few weeks back where it looked like the season was going to improve, but then it was downhill after that.

I've been wanting Jack to go bad since Season 4. Especially after he realized the gov't he gave so much for was run by corrupt men who'd sell him out for nothing! One of my longtime 24 dreams was for Jack and super-terrorist Mandy to hook up and spend a full season Natural Born Killers style.
 
 
Mysterious Transfer Student
13:08 / 03.05.07
Or... or... they could do it the other way around, have Kiefer come over to The L-Word and play one of the undependable, button-down shirt-wearing surplus Y-chromosome carriers they have on that show. Hacksaw to be left at home.
 
 
Jackie Susann
08:39 / 07.11.07
I just finished watching season six and yeah, it was real bad, but how funny was it when Doyle mentioned having read the Upanishads?
 
 
H3ct0r L1m4
13:53 / 07.11.07
probably not as funny as this preview of 24 day 7... lookout for the villain!

looks like it's season 3 all over again. i'll refrain from commenting more until i've seen it, otherwise i'll sound repetitive.

* watching the last eps of the trainwreck that was day 6...
 
 
Mug Chum
14:14 / 07.11.07
He appears so thirsty to torture that dude that I'd wished at the time the lady's line would be replaced with "your paycheck now is in the form of S&M sessions" and the guy sitting is Mel Gibson from his many tortured scenes.

He looks actually horny with the dude's worried face it seems he's unzipping. "This season we go beyond subtexts".
 
 
H3ct0r L1m4
15:10 / 07.11.07
this is interesting...

at that point probably torturing and being tortured is the only left for Jack in regards to direct physical contact with a human being. the guy's been brutalized throughout the years into becoming a hollow shell, and yet he still does "what he's supposed to" in order to mantain the country's sovereingty.

by now he's not that much different from a suicide bomber in that sense. at least THIS has been coherent with the character in the past 3 seasons: he won't chicken out from a chance to save the day while getting himself killed in the proccess.
 
 
buttergun
16:18 / 07.11.07
Thanks for the Youtube clip...funny, I've never heard Keifer's voice in PAL before. I'd heard voices come out a bit higher in that format...you guys in the UK are really missing out on the grizzle in his voice. I can't imagine what Jack Bauer's trademark snarls sound like in PAL...they must lose half their power.
 
 
buttergun
16:21 / 07.11.07
So it's official...24 has become the new "Alias." Last season was clue enough...but now, just like that hateable JJ Abrams show, previously-dead characters are coming back to life. We all saw Tony die in Season 5; it's ridiculous they've brought him back...as a villain, no less. What's next? Nina's going to crawl her way out of the grave?
 
 
Mug Chum
16:39 / 07.11.07
Having watched only the first 3 seasons, I'd think at least Nina would be far more interesting -- even if still idiotic. You can't really escape the soap-opera anymore. This is Days of Our Lives with guns and shaky camera (or like butter said, Alias).

You know it should have been Nina. The american ninja Bin 007 Laden who killed the hero's wife and took his only safe harbour. She was far more bad-ass-fuck-yeah in what 24 asks of a character than republican wetdream Jacking Power or Tony. Nina would be stupid awesome for who's still watching while Tony is just stupid meh.
 
 
Jackie Susann
18:13 / 07.11.07
It could still turn out to be awesome if every major character who died since series two is still alive, and it has been all part of a huge secret plan all along to take down the REAL bad guy - Terri Bauer!
 
 
H3ct0r L1m4
02:56 / 08.11.07
marvel zombies in the 24 universe! lol

i agree with the 'DAYS OF OUR LIVES with guns' angle. it started at David Palmer's oval office and crept to the rest of the series.

cheese is more dangerous than terrorists.
 
 
Keith, like a scientist
16:55 / 08.11.07
it was kind of obvious Tony would be back, though. They never gave him the silent countdown thingie... and just kind of wheeled him out of the room. That doesn't excuse it, I suppose, but it does make it a lot less unbelievable.

Mandy should be inhabited by the ghost of Nina, though. They could have wicked good internal arguments about how evil they are. The show would basically write itself, completely the goal of a major network show. All profit!
 
 
Jackie Susann
19:03 / 08.11.07
If we're just throwing out totally random ideas now, I got really excited when I saw the actress who played Michelle is in Alien vs Predator 2, so I would like season seven to be Alien vs Predator vs Jack Bauer. Now if that doesn't write itself, nothing does.
 
 
Mug Chum
19:53 / 08.11.07
Doesn't write itself as much as "VS Tony...

... STARK!" (i.e. the sound of your head exploding!)
 
 
H3ct0r L1m4
23:34 / 08.11.07
Keith, he didn't get the 'silent clock' homage, and some other deceased characters didn't as well.

but i remember clearly [although i can't prove with a video or screencap] jack crying while holding an unconscious tony and in the following scene almeida being taken out of sickbay in a bodybag...

or was that just a warming plastic blanket? would jack cry power tears of adrenaline for a wounded agent? i guess he would for a dead friend, though.
 
 
Jackie Susann
00:56 / 09.11.07
They could do the Thunderball-style 'bad guy has plastic surgery to look identical to someone else' gambit to explain Tony - God, how annoyed would you be if you went to all that trouble and then the dude you were trying to impersonate died? It would totally annoy you enough to try to destroy the world.

(Wait did they already do this in season 4 with the stealth pilot or am I crazy?)
 
 
Mug Chum
01:26 / 09.11.07
Jackie, those writers are in strike no? Just send that idea (Please!).

Send also a suggestion that Jack's moments where he's crying are either off-continuity or that he was an Earth2 Bauer (for pussy audiences). And tell them it was your idea so at least they'll think it might be in the same field of Tony's.

Should we have a bet or something on how (or wheter) they're going to kill Janeane Garofalo? Or how (or whether) she'll be at some level a traitor or underminer (similar to the senator's son that was a gay traitor for terrorists)?
(perhaps not specifically on details of her possible killing, but the amount of indirect sadism followed by "ermm, that was a wrong thing that terrorists-villains do, she and others will be avenged and done right by Jack")
 
 
Jackie Susann
05:01 / 09.11.07
But he cried at the end of season 3! It's totally in continuity.
 
 
H3ct0r L1m4
11:49 / 09.11.07
writers' strike has season 7 production halted after one third of the episodes shot.

nice article. in any case, we always knew 24's writers were the real villains pulling the strings. jack will break all of their necks, and then cry some more.
 
 
Janean Patience
11:56 / 09.11.07
I got really excited when I saw the actress who played Michelle is in Alien vs Predator 2, so I would like season seven to be Alien vs Predator vs Jack Bauer.

Threadrot, but I always thought Predator 2 should have been Lethal Weapon vs Predator. Danny Glover was already in it, and Crazy Riggs is one of the few men on the planet who could take one of those cube-mouthed fuckers down bare-handed.
 
 
Mug Chum
12:01 / 09.11.07
jack will break all of their necks, and then cry some more

Jack. Doesn't. Cry.

An insider source told me so. It's either off-continuity or it was his Earth2 doppelganger, Libby Rawl Buzzy.
 
  

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