Jolie RobersonMy Thoughts on Season Seven of Fox's 24 - The First Four Hours
January 14th 2009 00:22
Now I have been a fan of 24 since its inception, as I enjoy the action sub-genre of military and espionage super heroics, even with the anti-hero realism and potential realism of Jack Bauer's extremes. But, I will say that the last couple of seasons, five and six, were not at the pinnacle of the series' potential and this is after performing a marathon of Season Five and Six over the past few months before moving on to Season Seven. 24: Redemption was an okay prologue, it added the groundwork for this change in the series.
Now, at this point, fair warning that there will be some spoilers if you have not watched the first four hours of Season Seven of 24, if you continue past this point, right here, any spoilers are your own fault and I do not want to hear about it.
It is your choice to read on from here, no one is twisting your arm, all Bauer-like.
Now Season Seven of 24, known from this point on as S7-24, since I am tired of typing it, over and over, had the standard hype of this season turning everything on its head and being shocking. I mean, it is 24 and they like to do that, but S7-24 follows through, quite nicely, within the first four hours. Not only do they swerve the audience, twice, they do it quickly and logically, all while putting you in a place where you are even doubting the various good guys that are presented.
We start off with an unapologetic Jack Bauer testifying before a legislative committee about his actions in previous years with the now disbanded and defunct Counter Terrorism Unit of the Department of Homeland Security. Quickly Bauer is removed via an FBI subpoena, as it seems they need his assistance with an issue that is rapidly coming to a head. Initially this seems like the standard terrorism plot of previous seasons, however that quickly changes with the first twist of the supposedly slain Tony Almeda being behind a threat to our nation's infrastructure.
Add to this a subplot about the First Gentleman's inability to accept the suicide death of his son, supposedly slain to hide corruption within his mother's Presidential Administration, and we are off at a break neck pace of not trusting just about everyone on the screen. Our own trustable personage on the screen is Jack Bauer, himself, and even he is unsure of who he should trust. Quickly we are brought up to speed by the fact that Bill Buchanan turned Almeda from his separatist life as a domestic terrorist once it was learned that corrupt forces in our government, working to protect their wealth in a fictionalized African nation torn asunder by genocide and looming American intervention, and you got an exciting season of 24 developing.
Within the FBI is a singular agent that Jack seems to trust, the lovely, driven Agent Walker, who Jack had to choke out, so as to help Tony escape FBI custody, which he helped put Almeda in, and get him back undercover within a former SAS member's mercenary crew. Thus far, Jack trusts Bill and the erstwhile Chloe O'Brian, perhaps even Tony Almeda himself, and the unknown quantity of Agent Walker, but for how long?
Not only is Jack combating the undue and violent threat against American lives by criminal governments and mercenaries, but he is also fighting corruption within the serving government, all while being under the threat of an indictment that is coming from the very government that he seeks to protect. It is good starts like this that remind me of why I loved Season 1 of 24, S7-24 has a lot of potential for twist, turns, and the further exploration of the destruction of Jack Bauer, American Anti-Hero of questionable means, a man who seems capable of doing anything, hurting anyone, sacrificing his morals and soul to protect his country.
Damn, if moral ambivalence, questionable actions, and hard choices does not make for excellent television.
Now, at this point, fair warning that there will be some spoilers if you have not watched the first four hours of Season Seven of 24, if you continue past this point, right here, any spoilers are your own fault and I do not want to hear about it.
It is your choice to read on from here, no one is twisting your arm, all Bauer-like.
Now Season Seven of 24, known from this point on as S7-24, since I am tired of typing it, over and over, had the standard hype of this season turning everything on its head and being shocking. I mean, it is 24 and they like to do that, but S7-24 follows through, quite nicely, within the first four hours. Not only do they swerve the audience, twice, they do it quickly and logically, all while putting you in a place where you are even doubting the various good guys that are presented.
We start off with an unapologetic Jack Bauer testifying before a legislative committee about his actions in previous years with the now disbanded and defunct Counter Terrorism Unit of the Department of Homeland Security. Quickly Bauer is removed via an FBI subpoena, as it seems they need his assistance with an issue that is rapidly coming to a head. Initially this seems like the standard terrorism plot of previous seasons, however that quickly changes with the first twist of the supposedly slain Tony Almeda being behind a threat to our nation's infrastructure.
Add to this a subplot about the First Gentleman's inability to accept the suicide death of his son, supposedly slain to hide corruption within his mother's Presidential Administration, and we are off at a break neck pace of not trusting just about everyone on the screen. Our own trustable personage on the screen is Jack Bauer, himself, and even he is unsure of who he should trust. Quickly we are brought up to speed by the fact that Bill Buchanan turned Almeda from his separatist life as a domestic terrorist once it was learned that corrupt forces in our government, working to protect their wealth in a fictionalized African nation torn asunder by genocide and looming American intervention, and you got an exciting season of 24 developing.
Within the FBI is a singular agent that Jack seems to trust, the lovely, driven Agent Walker, who Jack had to choke out, so as to help Tony escape FBI custody, which he helped put Almeda in, and get him back undercover within a former SAS member's mercenary crew. Thus far, Jack trusts Bill and the erstwhile Chloe O'Brian, perhaps even Tony Almeda himself, and the unknown quantity of Agent Walker, but for how long?
Not only is Jack combating the undue and violent threat against American lives by criminal governments and mercenaries, but he is also fighting corruption within the serving government, all while being under the threat of an indictment that is coming from the very government that he seeks to protect. It is good starts like this that remind me of why I loved Season 1 of 24, S7-24 has a lot of potential for twist, turns, and the further exploration of the destruction of Jack Bauer, American Anti-Hero of questionable means, a man who seems capable of doing anything, hurting anyone, sacrificing his morals and soul to protect his country.
Damn, if moral ambivalence, questionable actions, and hard choices does not make for excellent television.
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Comment by Dougie
take took you a while
i watched season 5 and 6 all in the same week!!
2.5 days for season 5
3.5 days for season 6
LOVE 24! Season 7's taking quite a differnet turn in not having CTU!