24

[Sapphire]

My father loves it. I think it's his favorite show in the world. My mom use to like it, but she doesn't anymore. It's okay for me.

[Cbriggs45]

jack bauer is a personal hero of mine.. if i could be like him i would.

he does what it takes to get the bad guy hes a sorta anti hero... i suppose.

i like the things in 24 i shouldnt like the knee capping and the ways well.. never mind.

[bookworm]

Is anyone here excited that there’s going to be a new season?

I’m really surprised I haven’t seen much buzz about it. As I recall this was a huge show when it was on and people were extremely upset when it ended. They hoped for years it would come back, but it seemed to definitely be over. Then came word that after all this time it was actually returning, an announcement I expected to shake the television world, but I’ve hardly seen any reaction at all.

[Shennifer]

Is anyone here excited that there’s going to be a new season?

I’m really surprised I haven’t seen much buzz about it. As I recall this was a huge show when it was on and people were extremely upset when it ended. They hoped for years it would come back, but it seemed to definitely be over. Then came word that after all this time it was actually returning, an announcement I expected to shake the television world, but I’ve hardly seen any reaction at all.

I think it did shake the world when it was first announced, and the first trailers started to air, but now that there have been a lot more trailers, maybe people are more impatient for it to hurry up and start instead of putting out all these extra TV spots, etc.

I definitely like this show, and I'm curious to see what it will be like this time around. Part of me saw maybe it was time to end, but who knows maybe this will restore the doubters' faith

[bookworm]

I’ve meant to check out the original series for years, a bunch of my friends were crazy about it and kept telling me I had to watch it because I would love it too, but I never got around to it for whatever reason. I’m finally doing it now because I do want to watch the new series when it comes.

On a superficially related note: I know someone named Jack Bauer

[Shennifer]

I’ve meant to check out the original series for years, a bunch of my friends were crazy about it and kept telling me I had to watch it because I would love it too, but I never got around to it for whatever reason. I’m finally doing it now because I do want to watch the new series when it comes.

On a superficially related note: I know someone named Jack Bauer

That's awesome. Are you sure they're not a government agent? lol

I rewatched some of it last summer with my sister and her boyfriend (who had seen all of it before, like me.) it was fun to have something to discuss

[bookworm]

I finished season one. I liked it overall, but there were a few particular things I had problems with.

Janet's dad being fake was too predictable. The way they kept reminding us that Jack didn't trust him, it made the twist expected instead of surprising. They should have left it entirely to the viewer, then if they suspected it fine, but it wasn't spelled out for them.
Same sort of thing with Tony. The way he seemed shady from the beginning made me pretty sure he wasn't really the traitor.
Nina on the other hand I never saw coming. But that was because there were no hints on that one way or the other, it was just dropped in.

I found it unrealistic that no one showed hardly any signs of being tired through any of this ordeal. Maybe the adrenaline of the situation kept them focused, but they still would have been at least drowsy from time to time, because remember that this started at midnight meaning they were still awake from the previous day. So by the end of this they had been awake for at least 36 hours straight.

It took me a long time to understand the assassination plot in relation to the photographer. I thought the photographer was the assassin all along, which made me really confused why they would blow up the plane to kill him and then switch one of their guys in. I finally realized that the original photographer was actually legit and they killed him to switch their guy, the assassin, in and that was the plan all along. But that makes me wonder why they didn't just pose their guy as a photographer from the beginning. Then they wouldn't have had to go through all the trouble of killing the original and all the plastic surgery to assume his identity. I suppose they needed someone with a reputation to secure the presidential event, but still it seems more elaborate than was necessary. And I never understood what happened to the fake photographer after the first assassination attempt failed; he just disappeared and was never thought of again.

I got the impression that a lot of what happened was done out of necessity for the format over necessity for the story. Like they needed to stick extra stuff in to make the real time events fit together. It ended up giving the storyline some skepticism, having so many major things breaking all at once.
Like, would all the stuff with Palmer's son really happen to happen at the same time as this? I guess maybe, because they wanted it to come out at the primary, but it seems like a stretch that everything would come to a head at once, especially since it turned out the assassination wasn't political after all it was for the anniversary of that raid, and that arbitrary date just happened to coincide with the primary.
And then the extra drama of the random amnesia incident, that really seemed like desperation in dragging out the Teri and Kim story because they were running out of ways to keep them involved in the events yet not involved with Jack because he was off on his own thing.

And man, talk about your abrupt endings! That's just terrible. Both what happened, and that it just ends on that.

[Shennifer]

Ah, season 1. Such humble beginnings.

I never saw Nina coming either. Also, I forget what episode but I remember legitimately thinking that Jack had shot Nina and that she was dead. At that point I thought she was dead for a minute.
My sis says (and I kinda agree with her) that if Nina hadn't told Jack that his daughter was dead, then he wouldn't have gone after the bad guys. There was no guarantee that Jack would die and not find out about Nina's deception. That kinda tipped off Jack that something was wrong.

You do have a point, bookworm, about all the events coming to a head at the same time. I think they were trying to keep the story interesting and try to not have too many boring moments. Though in my opinion if no action is happening, it doesn't have to be boring, just give us characters interacting.

[bookworm]

Oh yeah, I forgot about that moment somehow. (So much happened in here.) I also thought he shot her for real.

No he wouldn’t have, and that was the point. She needed him to go in there so they could finish him off, that’s why she told him that, knowing it would send him after them. And you’re right, that was what tipped him off once he found out the truth about Kim, which is why when she told the guys she would get him to go after them they had to be sure to kill him, since if he survived he would instantly know she lied and her cover would be blown.

I agree, it doesn’t have to be nonstop action to stay interesting. It really depends on the story they choose to tell though in a format like this. Once they set off on something they are fully committed, since the entire season shows nothing else. It’s not like a regular show where you can follow a story along for a while, then change to something completely different.

[Shennifer]

I guess Nina was confident in their abilities to kill one man. Still, I'm not sure I would've risked a scenario where my cover could be blown because it's too close. But of course, we all know he's the main character and wouldn't actually die

[bookworm]

What 24 may have looked like if it had been made just seven years earlier:



How technology changes.

[Shennifer]

hahaha that was great. All those old computers, Windows, AOL chat rooms. I love collegehumor

[bookworm]

Done with season two.

More skeptical timing this season.
All that abuse stuff Kim was dealing with really happened to come to a head on the same day the bomb plot was going down? Highly unlikely, the two were not connected in any way, even tangentially. The guy had issues, it was completely random when he would finally snap. The odds that it occurred on the bomb day were 1 in 365.
And then when she randomly got caught in that trap in the woods, it had the same feeling of desperation to draw out her part here as the amnesia thing in season one did. It was just such a chance event to drop in at that exact moment. Especially since it took her in a whole new direction from there. At least the amnesia was only a brief hold which eventually met back up with the original story.
Then the liquor store incident, another completely chance set of circumstances that happened to develop into a sidetrack just when she was finally being brought back into things.
The other storyline, the wedding, started out questionable as well, but when it was revealed that there was actually a connection then it made sense. I did still have one question though, why would the lady have her wedding be on this day if she knew what was going on?

I did not expect to see Nina back. This wasn't done by the people she was involved with, these other people approached her for the plans to do the CTU bombing as part of their nuke plot. Sort of seems like a stretch connection to have a reason to bring back the character, but then again where else would they have gotten the plans from, that's why she was there, to be a mole.

It's really terrible about Mason. Not just what happened, but because it shouldn't have been able to happen. He shouldn't have still been there, Palmer said he'd get him to Washington within the first month of his term. I guess it had to happen so he would end up flying the plane though.

Gosh Miguel is a total jerk! He was the one that insisted they pull that stunt in the police car, Kim told him not to! What the heck dude?

I'm a little disappointed Mike was the only person Palmer made resign. I totally get why he did it, but really I feel like he was the one that was actually the least traitory or however you want to put it. He wasn't on some power grab conspiracy or anything like that, he was honestly doing what he thought was the right thing solely for the sake of trying to do the right thing. It wasn't anything against Palmer, in fact it greatly pained him that it had to go down that way. It seemed to me if any of them were going to be given a second chance Mike would definitely be one of them.

And then talk about an abrupt ending! Wait, I said that last time. Are all the seasons going to be like this? This one seemed more like a cliffhanger though, is this story going to continue next time?

I noticed both seasons so far have had two part stories. The first one started with the assassination plot but transitioned into dealing with the people behind it. This one started with the bomb threat but transitioned into dealing with the response. This is due to the format, because the season is simply too long to stay on one thing the whole way through. It's all the same story, but there are different primary focuses in it as it goes along.
It makes for a really detailed plot, more than you would have if they tried to just stretch the initial premise the whole way. A season of only 'stop the assassination' or only 'find the bomb' could be done, but it would most likely run out of steam. And even if it didn't it just wouldn't be as compelling as these fuller stories are. I've been impressed so far and am excited to see what other kinds of tales they tell in the other seasons.

[Shennifer]

Of course events will coincidentally occur on the same day; it's a TV show, it's not always realistic. That twist with the girl who was getting married being part of the terrorist part took me by surprise when I first watched it. Also, it broke my heart because someone brainwashed her and she shouldn't have been a part of it.

The whole scene with the store and the shooting, etc. seems to me to show how people were starting to learn about the bomb and were growing desperate. That, in my opinion, is a realistic response.
I'm glad Jack didn't die, but I felt sad about Mason.
I suppose they could've ended Kim's story after that little girl was safe, or even after she thought her father was dead, or possibly have a moment where she finds out he's okay but not have her in as many episodes after her first and perhaps arguably the best storyline ended. But I'm okay that they didn't

I know Mike was trying to do the right thing, but I still think it went too far and he should've just talked to Palmer about what was going on (mind you, I forget some of the details about why he didn't, so maybe I'm missing something).

[bookworm]

You misunderstand. I have no problem with the sequence of events that went down at the store. As you say, plausible reaction to the bomb going off. What I didn’t like was that they happened to occur at the brief period when Kim was there. I know ‘it’s a tv show’ but still, it’s just too perfect timing. And also because it came after the bunker thing, so she had the gun, it was just too convenient. Too perfectly set up to go down like that. Because of the previous chance incident where she acquired a gun, it facilitated this chance incident to escalate into the standoff.

Mike did talk to Palmer, that was the thing. He didn’t give him warning the cabinet was going to out him, in so many words, but he urged him strongly and multiple times to give his decision serious thought and make absolutely sure it was the only one he could come to. Because if he had changed his mind it wouldn’t have happened. He didn’t want to help get Palmer out, what he wanted was to ensure the plan that cost the fewest American lives was followed, and everyone but Palmer agreed it was the other one. And with perfectly good reason. We the audience know Jack is always right, but there’s no reason for everyone else to take his word against the mountain of evidence they had. So Mike was genuinely doing the right thing in his situation, the only reason he helped move Palmer was because that was the only way they could go with what was believed to be the better plan.

[Shennifer]

Thanks for more clarity about the details, because it's been awhile.

I get what you're saying about it being too perfect as far as timing. That might be a case of trying to keep the story moving (particularly Kim's story). What comes to mind is that it might've been more interesting if Kim hadn't taken the gun, and then still encountered the situation at the store, and possibly end up regretting her decision. But that's just my opinion

It's definitely plausible that Palmer's people wouldn't necessarily have the same faith in Jack that he would. It's in these moments that I wish Palmer wasn't one of the only people who believed him. I definitely understand what Mike was trying to do; it's just too bad it ended up hurting someone

[bookworm]

That’s the thing though, if she hadn’t taken the gun, there wouldn’t have been an issue that developed there. The reason it turned into a hostage situation was because she pulled out the gun, and the guy ended up with it. That’s what I’m saying. This whole chance encounter was set up by the previous chance encounter, enabling her to just happen to have a gun later on in order to accelerate the store scene into something that gets dragged out instead of just being a brief sidetrack.

Yeah, I would hope that as the series goes on more people start putting faith in Jack. This early on I can understand Palmer and maybe Tony by now are the only ones that get him, but surely once he averts the next two or three disasters people will come around and realize they need to take notice when he says something. (I’m assuming Jack always wins, I think that’s the premise of the show.)

[Shennifer]

I guess what I was trying to say is that what if the situation had gotten out of hand without a gun present. And then Kim could wish that she could've taken that gun for protection, something along those lines.

You're pretty accurate in your premise of the show; it just gets harder and harder to win as the seasons roll on.

btw, I think we've taken over this thread

[bookworm]

CTU: "Jack, two forum members have hijacked a thread..."

[Shennifer]

Jack: I'm on my way

I know you have a long way to go before you finish all eight seasons, but the ninth one just started a couple weeks ago and I think it's pretty good