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Jack Bauer saves the world one day at a time...
FOX's series, 24, has become a true television phenomenon. Without question, 24 packs more action, thrills, and suspense than any other show in history. It's a show that's so well-made, it puts big budget action flicks to shame. 24 is never afraid cross the line, and that's a big part of what makes the show so spectacular. The writers aren't afraid to have terrorists kill innocent people, have their heroes perform brutal acts of torture, or knock off a main character. The fact that 24 is willing to take the show to places that most other network series won't, allows it to escape from predictable, politically correct blandness and keep viewers on the edge of their seat. Hey, before they announced that Kiefer Sutherland signed a 3-year contract, I seriously entertained the idea each year that they were finally going to have Jack Bauer die.
And on that note, it's definitely time to talk about Jack Bauer. Has their ever been a character like him? The man is like a combination of Batman, McGuyver, Rambo, James Bond. And what's more amazing is that, somehow, Kiefer Sutherland manages to make this incredibly larger-than-life character seem completely plausible. I also can't forget to mention how incredible Jack Bauer's scream is.
"WHERE IS HABIB MARWAN!"
"TELL ME THE LOCATION OF THE SYNTOX NERVE GAS!"
That yell is simply one of a kind. And it's comedy potential is off the charts. Let's say you can't find your keys to your car. You ask your girlfriend if she's seen them, and she says she hasn't. How funny is it when you point your hands at her like a gun and start shouting, "WHERE ARE THE KEYS TO THE CHEVY!"???
And yet somehow, I'm not single. Surprising, but not nearly as unrealistic as some of 24's plotlines or Jack Bauer escapes. And it's that level of blatant cheesiness that makes the show so immensely enjoyable. For the most part, 24 toes the line of realism quite well. The stories are well thought out and they don't go cheap with lame special effects. But every now and then, the writer's will mix things up and create a scene so incredibly over the top, or a cameo by some ridiculously inappropriate actor that just shatters the realm of believability. These moments might anger some hard-core fans, but I'm just delighted by them. What other show provides such amazing suspense and drama while simultaneously giving us some high quality unintentional comedy?
There's simply nothing quite like 24. And that's why I'm bucking this site's trend of only covering shows from their beginning. I usually like to do a season by season review the entire way through. With 24 already in Season 6, I'm a little too late. But I'm not sure the normal "season review" format would've worked with 24 anyway. How do you even begin to remember the constantly shifting plot or keep track of all the notable characters to write a competent review? So that's why I'm breaking out the "24 Running Diary". It's going to be a minute-by-minute update of everything that's worth commenting on during the season, all wrapped up in one neat twenty-four hour package. We'll see how it goes.
"CLICK THE LINKS TO THE DIARY, NOW! TAKE YOUR HAND OFF YOUR MOUSE AND READ THE DIARY! READ IT! I WILL NOT ASK YOU AGAIN! CLICK THE LINK AND READ THE DIARY!"
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