Save the world Jack!

[Neo]

Jack Bauer has spent the last 18 months in a Chinese prison. :distress: Now, a series of bombings has America on the brink of panic and Jack's services are needed once again. Is he nothing more than a broken, defeated shell of a man or is there still something left inside?

http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/070103/jackqa2_l.jpg

Watch the 4-hour season premier Sunday 7-9 CST and Monday 7-9 CST on FOX. Viewer discretion advised.

And while you're at it here's a dinner suggestion for you:

http://www.gametavern.net/Neo/24_pizza.JPG

[BreakABone]

I've got to say excited.

A little tired as well. I've had the first four episodes for over a week now. And its been driving me crazy to watch but did not find a single person who told me they thought it was a good idea.

So waiting for Sunday like the rest of you.

[thatmariolover]

I wish I liked this show, but I just don't. I'll have to give it another try at some point I suppose, but in the meanwhile I'll just stick to BSG.

[Typhoid]

I'm never ordering pizza online.

[Neo]

I've got to say excited.

A little tired as well. I've had the first four episodes for over a week now. And its been driving me crazy to watch but did not find a single person who told me they thought it was a good idea.

So waiting for Sunday like the rest of you.

I've been watching 24 on live TV since season 3, and I've never been as pumped for a premier as I am now. :rock:

[Happydude]

i've tried watching 24 and found it to be extremely boring...i watched about 6 episodes and i never watched it again...

[Neo]

i've tried watching 24 and found it to be extremely boring...i watched about 6 episodes and i never watched it again...

http://www.gametavern.net/Neo/towel.gif

[Swan]

He kicked a man out of a train and then the man exploded.






That is why Jack Bauer is the man!

[Xantar]

I don't care. I just really don't. I'm watching 24 now because my friends and I gather around every week to watch the latest episode and laugh at it. It's just impossible to take seriously now (although it's kind of interesting what they're doing with Jack's character so far. I wonder how long he'll have self-doubts before he just goes back to being Jack).

I don't even care who lives any more. Because they're all going to die. Sooner or later, the only question is when, how and whether they act like a dumbass in the process. And it doesn't help that I really don't care about any of the current characters (other than Chloe) because none of them have had enough time to develop any kind of persona unlike the characters from the first three seasons. But we can't have any of those characters back now because they're all dead. The writers of the show cannot just leave anyone be. It has become apparent that everybody has to die at some point to provide "dramatic shocks." It's kind of tiresome.

The suspense is just gone. The plots are becoming, unfortunately, predictable. And paradoxically, it's clear that they're making things up as they go along.

That said, it's still unintentionally hilarious because of how seriously everybody (fictional and non-fictional) takes it. Which is why my friends and I are still going to watch it and laugh our asses off.

[Null]

only thing i have to disagree about is that you say its clear they're making it up as they go along. which is really quite a stupid way to think about it. the season is written, they dont just make it up as they go along. theres a lot of shows people say that about, and it just sounds stupid every time they say it.


other then that. saying you watch it just to laugh sounds like an excuse to watch it and still seem like you dont want to.


i watch it because its still halfway decent. and better then most garbage on tv still.
your points are good tho. it is predictable, at times funny (DAMMIT!) each season tries to make like the threat is bigger then the last, i hate how every character dies.... but its a tv show, and as long as it doesnt totally fall about like other shows (like alias did after the first 3 seasons) then i'll keep watching.

[Neo]

No TV show can truly be taken seriously. If any of them could, none of us would watch them because they would be as boring as our daily lives. TV is a form of escapism. It's meant to be enjoyed and not disparaged for its unrealistic elements. If 24 were real Jack would have either been killed or thrown in prison before the end of day 1.

We all know that cell phones don't really connect faster than land lines, that not every terrorist hideout can be within a 10 min drive of CTU, and that you can't actually recover from a gunshot wound to the neck in just a few hours. Though speaking of realism, how realistic would it be if none of the main characters ever died? If no one was ever killed then people would just be saying the exact opposite - that it's sooo unlrealistic that none of the main characters are ever killed. Either way the writers can't win.

If they truly made it as realistic as possible then guess what..... nobody would watch!! In the end television is a business and businesses have to make money.

[Xantar]

only thing i have to disagree about is that you say its clear they're making it up as they go along. which is really quite a stupid way to think about it. the season is written, they dont just make it up as they go along. theres a lot of shows people say that about, and it just sounds stupid every time they say it.

The writers themselves have admitted that they make up a lot of things as they go along. For example, when they started out Season 4, they didn't know how it was going to end. They say it keeps things fresh. If you really want to, I'll find an interview for you to see for yourself, but it's been generally accepted among 24 fans that the writers don't plot out the entire season.

Though speaking of realism, how realistic would it be if none of the main characters ever died? If no one was ever killed then people would just be saying the exact opposite - that it's sooo unlrealistic that none of the main characters are ever killed.

And that's fine. But my criticism isn't that none of the main characters ever die in 24. My problem is every main character dies eventually. And that eventually kills suspense just as surely as if nobody ever died. It's no longer a question of, "Who's going to die?" and becomes simply "How and when are they going to die and how stupid are they going to look doing it?" It's no longer a surprise when someone dies.

[thatmariolover]

And that's fine. But my criticism isn't that none of the main characters ever die in 24. My problem is every main character dies eventually. And that eventually kills suspense just as surely as if nobody ever died. It's no longer a question of, "Who's going to die?" and becomes simply "How and when are they going to die and how stupid are they going to look doing it?" It's no longer a surprise when someone dies.

Yeah, I probably haven't given it as much of a chance as you have. My friend has it on DVD so I sat down and watched about six hours of it with him; but I still can't believe the show is so popular. I guess maybe it's just a love it or hate it sort of thing. Then again, I don't watch much on TV these days aside from Monk or Psych for the occasional laugh and Battlestar Galactica - which I admit to watching religiously.

I think there's a bad trend with TV shows though where people get hooked on the early seasons; then as the quality steadily declines the hardcore fans just refuse to let go. I'm really not saying that's necessarily happening here, but it's just something I see happening a lot.

What else does everybody watch on TV these days?

[Neo]

And that's fine. But my criticism isn't that none of the main characters ever die in 24. My problem is every main character dies eventually. And that eventually kills suspense just as surely as if nobody ever died. It's no longer a question of, "Who's going to die?" and becomes simply "How and when are they going to die and how stupid are they going to look doing it?" It's no longer a surprise when someone dies.

That's true enough. The only people who have survived since season 1 are Jack, Kim and Milo. I'm thinking Wayne didn't show up until s2 but I could be wrong.

[Null]

The writers themselves have admitted that they make up a lot of things as they go along. For example, when they started out Season 4, they didn't know how it was going to end. They say it keeps things fresh. If you really want to, I'll find an interview for you to see for yourself, but it's been generally accepted among 24 fans that the writers don't plot out the entire season.


i read the opposite. that the writers have said they fill in details as they go thro the season, but the main plot is always written well ahead of time.

and even if it wasnt written on paper yet. they have an idea of where they're going.


That's true enough. The only people who have survived since season 1 are Jack, Kim and Milo. I'm thinking Wayne didn't show up until s2 but I could be wrong.


Mike Novick isnt dead yet i dont believe :P

[Neo]

i read the opposite. that the writers have said they fill in details as they go thro the season, but the main plot is always written well ahead of time.

and even if it wasnt written on paper yet. they have an idea of where they're going.





Mike Novick isnt dead yet i dont believe :P

Oh yeah good point, neither is Aaron Pierce.

I think the writers have a general idea of the things they want to have happen, but they fill in the details as they go along. I know the big sting operation twist in season 3 wasn't decided on until partway into the season.

[Xantar]

I wouldn't say that the big sting operation twist in Season 3 is best characterized as a "detail."

And to further bolster my point, I direct you to this article (http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041226/news_1a26twenty.html):



...

It was all there, six episodes' worth, meticulously planned before the pilot was even broadcast: every exploding, collapsing, double-crossing, fate-of-the-nation, assassination-plot cliffhanger that would soon turn "24" into the most talked-about TV show of 2001.

Considering the complexities of the plots, and the fact that each season's 24 hour-long episodes (with a ticking countdown clock on screen at all times) sketch out a single crisis-filled day in the life of the nation, a precise outline would seem indispensable. Except, it didn't work out that way.

"That was the furthest ahead we were ever able to plan," Cochran says, wistfully, walking over to the first-season grid, touching it as if it were some kind of long-lost relic. "We were able to plan ahead maybe five or six episodes a couple of more times that season. In the second season, maybe three or four."

And this year?

He looks a little embarrassed. "This year, I would say . . . none."

Hard as it is to believe – and Cochran says no one from the outside ever believes it – the writers of "24" are pretty much making it up as they go along, this year more than ever...

This makes sense to me as Season 4 was basically incoherent. If the writers really did plan the whole season ahead of time and the best they could come up with was six mini-plots in rapid succession involving the main villain escaping from the authorities no less than five times, that would have been pathetic.

Also, an interview with Leslie Hope (Teri Bauer) (http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a27/) reveals that the writers hadn't decided who the mole was going to be until near the 20th episode (Sarah Clarke, who plays Nina, didn't even know which is why her character shift was kind of jarring).

So yeah, the writers are, in fact, making it up as they go along. It's just that in Season 1, they were making it up five or six episodes at a time and apparently in Season 4 they were making it up almost as they shot it. I can accept the sort of plotting that resulted from the way they wrote Season 1, but Season 4 was simply a mess.

[Neo]

I didn't mean to say it was a detail. I just left out the "however" or the "although" from that particular sentence.

[GameMaster]

I've never seen the show.

I've read nothing but good reviews about it though. So I just bought Seasons 1-5 off Amazon. It was a bundled package and I supposedly saved 47% by doing it that way. So, I'm looking forward to stepping into the world of Jack Bauer.

P.S. The Firefly series is currently 50% off. I bought that too just now for $25.

[Neo]

Welcome to the party. :)

Day 1 is slower compared to the other days, but it is still very good. They had a little more care for the real-time aspect of the show back then, and you actually see characters eating meals.

Day 2 can be described by one word: Cougar.

Day 3 is one of my faves because I have a sick obsession with the content.

Day 4 is a complete mess by most standards, though it does have its proponents

Day 5 is much better, though heart-wrenching

So for Day 6 has been extemely intense with one of the best performances by Kiefer that I have seen.

[GameMaster]

Haha, I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around each season representing a single day. They must be the most action-packed days humanely possible to experience.

Do all six days follow one right after another or is there some time between each day?

[Neo]

There is a length of time between each day. I think the longest gap was 3 years between Days 2 and 3. So yeah 24 is set 3 or 4 years into the future by the time we get to Day 6.

The dvd's have short season prequels as well.

[Xantar]

So they pulled the old "evil mastermind turns out to be hero's brother" trick, eh? And previously, we've had David and Wayne Palmer's sister who we never knew existed before. And next episode we're going to have Jack's father who has also never been mentioned before now.

I'm officially going to be disappointed if at some point today we don't get Tony's twin brother making an appearance.

[Neo]

Don't ruin it for GameMaster.