Save the world Jack!

[Neo]

Originally Posted by Null

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:

...

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) 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.