24: Season One
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Movie Reviews of 24: Season One
Movie Review: 24; You don't know Jack
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm here to set the record straight on past and future seasons of 24; no one here understands the life of Jack Bauer. In the fall of 2001, 24 aired with a pilot that had been receiving rave reviews from critics, months before it was shown on television. It had been a teaser of what was to come and what fans would later expect from the amazing drama. The show is the biggest thrill rides on television and is easily one of the next cult hits.
SEASON ONE: On the day of the California Presidential Primary (Super Tuesday), the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) is informed of an assassination threat against Presidential Candidate; Senator David Palmer, there are agents who are supporting the hit. Minutes after discovering that his daughter is missing and his wife goes in search of her, Agent Jack Bauer is called into CTU to lead the investigation in order to save the senator's life. Little does Jack know, that in the next twenty-four hours; his wife and daughter will be taken hostage by the assassins and two of the most important people from his past and present will be involved.
This season was backed up with a powerful all-star cast, amazing writers, and a perfect score. The story line had the right number of twists and blows the viewer away. There were a few falters within the show dealing with the daughter and mother who kept making dumb but reasonable mistakes. The pilot and the finale left the viewer asking for more. It's clear why the show was nominated for eleven golden globes. If it had been made into a film, with all of its violence, gore, and drug content, it would have been given a reasonable R rating.
SEASON TWO: A retired and grieving Jack Bauer is called back into active duty by the President of the United States in order to aide CTU in stopping the detonation of a terrorist nuclear bomb in Los Angeles. Knowing what to expect, Jack asks for the guarded transportation of his daughter outside of the blast radius. Only the bombing of CTU throws everyone and everything into a twenty-four hour hell, revealing returning threats from everyone's past.
In this season, not only does Kiefer Sutherland return as Jack Bauer, but he also assumes the role of executive producer. This seemed like a big mistake for this was the worst season of all, anyone who says otherwise is drunk or on drugs. There was no big stars, no twenty-four hour references, no drug dealings, and not even a new score to go along. And sadly, Elisha Cuthbert returns as the dumb and stupid Kim Bauer who keeps making the most dumbest and stupidest unneeded mistakes. This character should have been written out of the show and would be believable with the show's real-time format. The idea of a rouge nuclear bomb was a good one, but the show takes forever to get into important dealings of the bomb and is abandoned a little over halfway through the season. Smaller plots which should have been covered in the season premiere, is covered in the first five slow and mostly dull episodes of the season. The show should have started with episode six and ended with episode thirteen, and is beyond me why it was nominated for any golden globes. As a show, it was still one of the best out there, but sucked as part of the 24 series.
SEASON THREE: After dropping off a contaminated body with a deadly virus, a drug dealer demands CTU's release of his brother from prison or will release the virus in Los Angeles that will result in death of the infected within twenty-four hours. Involvement includes returning rising threats from everyone's past.
An all-star cast returns, along with heavy drug content, and an all new score to back up the amazing season. Once again Kim Bauer returns dumb as ever with a boyfriend who is a field agent only to complicate things. It was cool to make her a CTU employee, but once again, she makes unneeded mistakes and should have been written out of the show. The story line is perfect and returns with amazing twists and turns showing that the writers have redeemed themselves. The season is amazing and has redeemed itself and is worthy to be called 24, it still is not better than season one, but just as good.
SEASON FOUR: All that can be said is; the show returns in January along with its real-time format.
Kiefer Sutherland will return as the notorious Jack Bauer, other returning characters are unknown. With any luck Kim Bauer will be written out of the show forever. (That's probably asking too much though isn't it?) The writers don't understand that fans and viewers tune in for Jack Bauer, no one else matters. Nina and Sherry would have made perfect villains for future seasons, but one after another was too much. Besides, I keep waiting for a season to be about the assassin Mandy. Here's another idea pitch for the writers, a film dealing with the tragedies of Operation Nightfall. And for a future season, how about seeing Jack carry out mission that is suppose to last and hour but goes horribly wrong and lasts twenty-four hours? Bauer is the reason why twenty-four exists, and why it's done so well.
Be it;
- Tranquilize and blackmail a district director
- Cut off a suspect's thumb
- Beat up a fellow agent to avoid questioning
- Break a suspect out of jail
- Take his second in command hostage and shoot her
- Deliver a weapon to an assassin
- Be detained by secret service, escape, and become a fugitive
- Take a waitress hostage
- Detain a mother's son to gain information
- Take a machine tool businessman hostage
- Sneak into assassins' layer
- Assume the identity of an assassin
- Be captured by a secret government prison
- Be taken hostage by a terrorist lord
- Deliver a terrorist bomb
- Shoot a witness dead, cut off his head, and carry it in a duffel bag
- Aide in a terrorist bombing
- Be taken hostage again by terrorist
- Deliver a witness to a rouge military soldier
- Cut a computer chip out of a man's shoulder
- Be captured and tortured by terrorists
- Have a heart attack during a stand-off with terrorists
- Shoot heroin
- Once again become a fugitive from his government
- Knock out and tie up his partner
- Be involved in a game of Russian Roulette
- Break a drug dealer out of prison
- Be captured by drug dealers
- Plan and head a secret government sting operation
- Make out with a terrorist
- Detain a terrorist's daughter and threaten to expose her to a deadly virus
- Cut his partner's hand off
- And finally break down emotionally
He's done it all and I wait to see what happens in Jack Bauer's next day.
Movie Review: Fascinating premise and absolutely stellar execution
Summary: 5 Stars
The idea behind 24 was one of the best in the history of television -- that of having a single season take place in real time over the course of 24 hours, each episode representing one hour of the ordeal -- but that would have been meaningless had the show not been done so superbly well. 24 was probably the most innovative show in what in retrospect has to be one of the great seasons in the history of television. Today, with television tremendously harmed by the ubiquitous reality shows, scripted TV--especially scripted TV with long story arcs--has suffered a tremendous decline. But in the 2001-2002 television season we had such stellar shows as BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, 24, ANGEL, FARSCAPE, ALIAS, THE SOPRANOS, THE WEST WING, and DARK ANGEL all showing at once. Contrast that to the fall 2004 season, where I have been tempted to watch only two shows: the last half of the 2004 season of DEAD LIKE ME and the stellar new series LOST, created by ALIAS creator J. J. Abrams.
24 was great when it came out, but it is much better to watch it on DVD. There is something inherently unsettling about a story that is supposed to take place in 24 hours, but which gradually unfolds on television over the course of nine months. Ideally one would watch all twenty-four episodes straight through (I'm sure someone, somewhere has done that), but doing so over the course of several evenings is a vast improvement over the original. Indeed, I think that the widespread availability of television shows on DVD has done more to enhance the appreciation for quality TV and for the enjoyment of its strengths (namely, narrative, something that television does vastly better than the movies, for the simple reason that it has narrative space that movies, with their two hour limit, will always suffer from). To use an imperfect metaphor, movies are short stories; television at its best (as in BUFFY or 24) can be a novel. Being able to watch the show without commercials also does a great deal to improve the experience. I am very near the position that commercials are not merely a necessary evil, but merely evil. But that is a different debate (scan my other reviews for that hobby horse).
The cast is good but inconsistent. I'm not sure quite what happened, but some of the actors are absolutely perfect for the show, others are not quite up to their level. First and foremost, you have to recognize the brilliance of the two main performers, Kiefer Sutherland and Dennis Haysbert. Sutherland in particular was a revelation. We had seen him in a host of shows and movies over the years, and while often a strong presences, especially when playing heavies (my first memory of him was as one of the punk older kids in STAND BY ME), nothing had every indicated that he could take an entire series on his shoulders and make it work. He is so superb as Jack Bauer that it is simply impossible to imagine anyone else playing the character. Dennis Haysbert as Sen. David Palmer was so good in his role as to be shocking. To be honest, when I first saw him, he was one of these actors who seems vaguely familiar, but when you check his resume you can remember having been in a host of shows and films. For instance, he played the voodoo-using Pedro Cerrano in the MAJOR LEAGUE films (I seem to remember a scene where guys on the team are trying to find a chicken to sacrifice in order to bless his bats). At the same time he was doing the first season of 24 he was also filming the exceptionally fine film FAR FROM HEAVEN, in which he was very memorable. Sutherland and Haysbert give the show its backbone, and they jointly give it a strength it might not otherwise have possessed. There are a host of other strong performances as well, but I've been impressed in talking with a number of friends at how unimpressive some are by some of the other performers. I'm still not certain how I feel about Sarah Clarke as Nina. In part, this is not entirely her fault. Unlike the other performers, she constantly has to play two roles; her actual character, and the role that her character is playing. If you rewatch a lot of episodes, it is clear that the directors cheat a bit by deflecting suspicion from her character. Her true nature is hidden a bit too well, clearly so that there would be a big shock in the final episode (though there is, of course, a hint in the opening voiceovers for most of the episodes), but I'm not convinced that they played fair with her in Season One. I'm also not too thrilled with Elisa Cuthbert as Jack's daughter Kim. I am not maintaining that these people were necessarily bad, merely that I'm not sure they did as good a job of casting with them as they might have. Luckily Sutherland and Haysbert, the two who actually need to be outstanding, actually are outstanding. I should also note that Penny Johnson, whom I had primarily known previously from STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE, is appropriately reprehensible as Palmer's power-obsessed wife. Dennis Hopper does his usual turn as a bad guy, though I have to say that at this point I find him a bit overused in such roles. He is a great actor, but I would rather see him do other things.
There are some minor criticisms that one could make. The way that Kim keeps getting into trouble over and over and over strains credulity. The fact that no one seems to be suffering from severe sleep deprivation seems a bit improbable. The way they use the satellites near the beginning of the show to track Jack Bauer's path makes you wonder why they don't do the same thing on innumerable occasions later in the season is troubling. But all in all this are trivial complaints. All in all, this is a riveting season of television with at least two superb performances, a lot of tension, and a lot of thrills. One can only hope that this kind of television, and not the seemingly endless reality shows, is the future of the medium.
Movie Review: The movie that keeps on going
Summary: 5 Stars
Being an action movie junkie, I thought I'd take a look at some of the newer TV programs out these days. When I was younger, action TV shows, due to low budgets, generally featured everything BUT action (A-Team and Airwolf come to mind), but today's shows come off like big-budget films. Content is also a lot more liberal than it once was, which is a great plus, as these programs no longer insult the viewer's intelligence.It came down to a decision between two shows, 24 or Alias. I checked out both, and although Alias seemed to feature more of the things you'd expect from an action show (ie explosions, lots of gunfights), 24 was the better show. In fact, when Alias premiered, its detractors dubbed it "24 for teenagers." I hate to bash away, but I agree. Alias is sort of like a WB show, it has all of the things I hate in TV action programs. For one, romantic subplots take precedence over the action; there are inane comedic bits; puppy dog eyes between the lead female and male characters; quick build-ups and even quicker resolutions to the action scenes - so that the story may return to the aforementioned romantic subplots.
Now, I don't mean to trample on Alias, and I hope those Alias fans out there reserve judgment of my review until they get to the end. All I'm saying is, the decision between 24 or Alias comes down to what you look for in your action entertainment. Alias is along the lines of shows like Smallville or Buffy, save for a bit more of a big budget look. 24, though, is more along the lines of the Sopranos or The Shield; there are no romantic subplots, puppy dog eyes, goofy humor. There's no time for any of that. Actually, I can make a better comparison. If you like action movies like Charlie's Angels or XXX, then Alias is for you. But if you're more into Die Hard or the first two Lethal Weapons, then 24 is the show for you.
The comparison is apt, because I would rank Kiefer Sutherland's character Jack Bauer up there with the best of the action movie heroes. Like Die Hard's John McClane, he's an everyman caught up in a crazy situation. And like Lethal Weapon's Riggs, he's also a very dangerous man, who can get even more dangerous when pushed. The Bauer character is an interesting spin on the action hero archetype. Generally there are two types, the Everyman (such as McClane, or the Matrix's Neo), or the Superhero (such as James Bond, or most of Arnold Schwarzenegger's early characters). Bauer is a mixture of the two. He's a regular guy as far as his family life and fears are concerned, but when the going gets tough, you start to feel sorry for the bad guys.
Most people probably know that 24 was originally greenlit by Fox for 12 episodes. Halfway through the season, though, Fox greenlit an entire season's worth, which meant that the producers had to begin spinning new webs out of the threads they were in the process of closing. This means that the first twelve (actually, thirteen) episodes come off like a first-class action movie, with building suspense and reversals that will surprise even the most jaded viewer. Episode 14, however, begins a downward spiral (amnesia subplots, domestic disputes, etc) that the show struggles for a bit to get out of. Luckily, things significantly pick up in the final episodes, particularly with episode 20, which is the first appearance of the main villain behind everything. The final episode especially comes off like a great action film, with the tension and suspense stretched to the breaking point.
The wishy-washy episodes don't take away from the first 13, not at all. In fact, episodes 1-13 of Season One are some of the best TV I've seen. You won't believe many of the things that happen, and the television boundaries that are pushed. People are killed in violent shootouts, mutilated corpses discovered in abandoned cars, heroin used as a painkiller (!), reversals and betrayals galore. The final episodes pack a wallop too, with a few surprise guest stars.
Everything is great about the production. The cinematography is great, movie quality for sure. There are hardly any of those annoying, documentary-style zooms and pans you get in most other TV shows. And unlike Alias and CSI, there is a healthy lack of dependence upon computer graphics. Acting is great throughout; none of the campy hamming up you'll get in your average WB-type show. (Okay, maybe one actor in particular hams it up; of course, I'm talking about Dennis Hopper, but what can you expect? That's what he does best!) A lot of money obviously went into the show, but instead of using the money to make soulless eye candy, the producers instead used it to create a quality program with great writing, great characters, and great actors.
The DVD presentation is fine, but I would have liked more extra features. There's only one deleted scene, from the final episode, and while the video/audio presentation is good, it isn't great. Most reviewers mention this lack of extras, but most reviewers don't have the heart to tell you this: there are no chapter stops on this DVD! I have no idea what the producers were thinking. It's a minor complaint, but it would be nice to access scenes in each show. At least this was rectified (as well as the extras department) in the Season 2 DVD set.
In short, 24 is boundary-breaking television, up there with the Simpsons, Band of Brothers, and the Sopranos. Whatever reservations you might have of Kiefer Sutherland in a role like this, get ready to have those reservations blown out of the water. Sutherland is ON in every episode; he becomes his character in one of the most memorable performances I've seen. 24 is an action fan's dream: a high-quality movie that just keeps going and going.
Movie Review: 24: Season One (2001-2002)
Summary: 5 Stars
Kiefer Sutherland, Hollywood's greatest actor (in my opinion) has never gotten a role this incredible. 24 is a show about a counter terrorist office that tries to stop the attempts of attacks within a whole 24 hours.
JACK BAUER (played by Kiefer Sutherland) is head of the Los Angeles branch of CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit). Jack lives with his wife, TERI BAUER (played by Leslie Hope), and their teenage daughter, KIM BAUER (played by the beautiful Elisha Cuthbert). Jack and Teri had been separated for six months, whereas Jack has finally moved back in to work out his marriage with Teri. It is now 12:00am, midnight, where Kim has snuck out of the house to meet with her friend, JANET YORK, where the meet with two guys named, DAN and RICK. But this meeting goes awry, for the girls find they have been kidnapped. As Jack heads out to find Kim, he is stopped when he gets a call from his office, telling him to come into work, for an assination attempt has been made on a presidential candidate.
That presidential candidate is SEN. DAVID PALMER (played by Dennis Haysbert). He is in L.A. with his lovely wife, SHERRY PALMER (played by Penny Johnson Jerald) and their two kids, KEITH and NICOLE, where David will be entering the eleventh and final primary, wh ere he had already won the first ten.
Jack arrives at CTU and is given a heads up by NINA MYERS (played by Sarah Clarke). Nina's position at CTU is one step below Jack's sort of making her the sub-boss to the company. Nina's assistant is TONY ALMEIDA (played by Carlos Bernard). With the help of GEORGE MASON (played by Xander Berkeley), Jack, Nina, Tony, and the rest of CTU begin tracking down the evidence leading them to the terrorists who want David Palmer dead. In the midst of their findings, Nina and Tony discover a traitor within the office. The traitor is killed as Jack arrives at the Presidential breakfast, where he prevents the assination, saving Palmer's life.
Throughtout the course of the day, Teri searches desperately for Kim. Kim has been kidnapped by a man named IRA GAINES. He has Kim kept in an isolated barn, where Rick, every now and then, checks on her, for he cares for Kim, as she does for him. Teri is kidnapped and thrown into the barn with Kim, until Nina and Tony help Jack find them. Jack helps them escape, where they are taken to a safehouse, where Nina asks Teri and Kim of how this has happened, until Teri realizes that, while she and Jack were serparated for six months, Jack and Nina had an affair. But Teri, through some rough thoughts, sucks it up. The safe house is hit by the three assassins, who planned the threat. One of them is a man named ALEXIS DRAZIN, who keeps in contact, with his brother, ANDRE. Kim wanders off, searching for Teri, who has amnesia. Kim heads to Rick's house, but trouble sparks as Dan's brother, Frank tries to make a drug deal, until everybody, including Kim, is arrested.
Teri gets her memory back, as Tony saves her from one of the assassins. He brings her into CTU. Palmer and Jack, together, realize that Andre and Alexis are doing this for, Jack had killed their father, two years earlier, while Jack was on a mission in Belgrade and Kosovo, which makes Jack a second target. Palmer is a traget, for he authorized the mission. Jack finds out at an underground prison facility that their new prisoner is VICTOR DRAZEN (Dennis Hopper), the man Jack supposedly killed.
Throughout the day, David tries to comeforth with a confession that Sherry has hidden: the death of a man, who had raped David's daughter, Nicole. His son, Keith, had accidentally killed the rapist, forcing Sherry to finally tell David that she covered it up, but David's forthcoming of the incident, only helps him win more votes for his honesty. But Sherry tries everything this can to take that away, for she only wants to be come the first lady. More lies and more defiancies from Sherry lead David into filing for divorce, after their 25-year marriage.
At this time, CTU discovers that a second traitor is within their midst. As it would turn out, Nina turns out to be the traitor. She is helping the Drazen's in this whole ordeal, where they tell her to Jack that Kim was killed, leading him into violently killing Alexis, Andre, and Victor. He finds that Kim was never killed and is on her way to CTU, after the police find out of her innocence. Jack and Kim hug passionately, but they find that Nina has killed Teri in the CTU office.
This show is an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride and the best way to start off with this show is this brilliant first season. Some heartbreaking moments, yes, but this first season is outstanding. Kiefer Sutherland has always been a talented actor, but this time, he has really proved that he is the best actor out there. This role was made for Kiefer and for Kiefer only! This is one hell of a first season.
EPISODE LIST (24 Season One)
12am-1am
1am-2am
3am-4am
4am-5am
5am-6am
6am-7am
7am-8am
8am-9am
9am-10am
10am-11am
11am-12pm
12pm-1pm
1pm-2pm
2pm-3pm
3pm-4pm
4pm-5pm
5pm-6pm
6pm-7pm
7pm-8pm
8pm-9pm
9pm-10pm
10pm-11pm
11pm-12am
24: Season One Castlist
Kiefer Sutherland: JACK BAUER
Leslie Hope: TERI BAUER
Elisha Cuthbert: KIM BAUER
Sarah Clarke: NINA MYERS
Carlos Bernard: TONY ALMEIDA
Xander Berkeley: GEORGE MASON
Penny Johnson Jerald: SHERRY PALMER
Dennis Haysbert: SENATOR DAVID PALMER
Movie Review: One of my TV favorites...
Summary: 5 Stars
Every television series has a dud episode every season. Whenever The X-Files focused on its central alien conspiracy plot, doldrums set in. Whenever The Simpsons made Abe Simpson the lead in an episode, there were more yawns than laughter (thankfully, this only happens maybe once a season). And majority of shows also have had their share of dull episodes that exist only as a filler for an entire season.But with 24, the case is different. Yes, a subplot that's introduced late in the season is there just for filler and it comes across as rather unlikely, but even at its weakest, 24 is still always thrilling and breakneck paced. Put it this way, this show offers every bit of the same adrenaline rush cinematic actioners such as Speed and Face/Off provided, but improves upon such films because of its great characters, complex script, and director Stephen Hopkins' surprisingly adept eye at mixing high-octane thrills and touching drama.
In case you haven't heard much about 24, the plot revolves around CIA agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland, making a career resurgence) who, specifically, is one of the heads of CTU (counter terrorist unit). He's having a little trouble at home around midnight, when he finds that his somewhat estranged daughter, Kim (Elisha Cuthbert), has run off for the night. Before he and his wife, Teri (Leslie Hope), can search for her, he's urgently called to work, as it's believed within the next 24 hours there will be an assasination attempt on Senator David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), a black presidential candidate who stands a good chance at becoming the next leader of the free world.
Plot-wise that's all you really need to know. The joy of the series comes from the unexpected plot twists, the nail-biting situations and the ways Jack Bauer improvises upon these numerous dilemmas. Unlike most thrillers, 24 doesn't cop out; the clever script adds little nuances that'll put a smile on your face (when Bauer is desperate to interview a henchman alone, watch what he does). The central plot holds together amazingly well, and never bogs down in confusion. The final plot twist is a doozy, and while it might be a little puzzling at first, it makes sense after some careful thought.
As stated before, the only time the script really stumbles is in that one subplot, but othewise, this is an unexpectedly well-written thriller that's both intelligent and thought-provoking. There's a lot of attention paid to characters (the villains aren't one-dimensional thugs) and detail, examining the interesting political structure behind a candidacy, as well as the people that make it happen.
24 is directed like a movie, meaning we get very crisp, often brilliant editing and outstanding cameawork. On a technical level, it's hard to fault the show, all the more impressive when you realize the series is in real-time. Such seemingly minor details as traffic lights are not ignored, and these little additions add extra tension, building upon an already unbearably suspenseful storyline. The musical score also adds another layer of suspense, and unlike most TV series, doesn't rely on a repeating theme that gets tiresome and annoying.
As a thriller, 24 delivers an abundance of exciting action sequences. There are shootouts, chases, and nail-biting games of cat-and-mouse that that are set-up magnficently and feature equally satisfying pay-offs. The final episode is perhaps 24's most thrilling segment, featuring an intense gunfight that actually resonates dramatically. There's also an awe-inspiring, heart-pounding game of chicken between two passing cars that possibly represents the series' most compelling confrontation (and believe me, that's saying a lot). These action scenes work not only because of how well-choreographed they are, but because you actually care about the situations and the outcomes.
Unlike most films about assasination attempts, the candidate whose life is at stake is a superbly developed character. As played by Dennis Haysbert in a compelling performance, we actually care about what happens to this man because he's a likeable, flesh-and-blood individual and not just some macguffin that drives the plot forward. A dilemma within this character's own family and campaign adds an intriguing extra dimension that a lesser film or series would have ignored.
But the actor who truly makes the series gel is Kiefer Sutherland. The man has always been an underrated actor, delivering solid performances on a consistent basis. But this his best work to date. As Jack Bauer, Sutherland is riveting, creating a character that works as both a family man and as a tough man of action. With a magnetic presence and dramatic range, this is a wonderful performance that was entirely deserving of the Golden Globe Sutherland received. Leslie Hope, as his wife, adds warmth to the series in a performance that's often touching, and always believable. It's nice to see she's no damsel in distress, either. The rest of the cast is quite good, I especially loved the adding of Dennis Hopper as a villian, but honestly? What's NEW? HE IS The VILLIN ("Speed")
The season ends on a surprisingly powerful note, as if though the creators made certain conclude the story with a bang and not a whimper. They certainly succeeded. The main story arcs are resolved, but each character has a price to pay. It's in the final scenes you realize 24 has transcended beyond the realm of great entertainment and into the pantheon of genuine masterpiece. Believe me, there's no better show on television today.