Few things in life give me more comfort than the knowledge that I have multiple seasons of a good TV show on tap, that I will be able to watch them consecutively and that there is no immediate danger of running out. During my five year hiatus from watching American television, countless shows had the opportunity to pile up multiple seasons, and so I’ve had a steady supply of this particular warm, fuzzy sensation since I started playing catch-up this spring.
Watching 24, however, has provided a very specific sub-strand of this sensation, one that has – dare I say it – proven itself to be EXTRA satisfying.
Now, considering how ubiquitous 24 has become, pretty much everyone must now be aware of the central gimmick of the show: each of the twenty-four episodes in each season represents one hour, the full season forming a full day in the life of Jack Bauer, a counter-terrorist agent played by Kiefer Sutherland.
To be perfectly honest, when I first heard of this premise through the insane marketing campaign that accompanied the pilot episode, I thought it sounded downright irritating. I was also under the distinct impression that Kiefer Sutherland was some pale, slightly creepy dude who whispered all the time (not unlike David Caruso from CSI Miami). These fairly baseless early opinions were only confirmed by the show’s immense popularity (the plebeian masses clearly had no taste) and the few scenes I caught while flipping channels (Kiefer hissing creepily into a walkie-talkie, EVERY TIME). So about a month ago, when I found I’d exhausted my extensive TV archives for the time being, it was with a fairly resigned, stoic mindset that I finally turned to 24. (And no, you naysayers, NOT watching anything was never an option.)
The first season of 24 really is probably the most straightforward. In it, good ‘ol Kiefer has to foil a terrorist plot to assassinate the impossibly noble Senator Palmer, a scriptwriter’s wet-dream version of an ideal presidential candidate. He’s just so decent, so thoughtful and dignified, that I can only compare him to Mufasa, of Lion King fame. Don’t look at me like that. You know you cried when he fell off that cliff and Simba was all sad and nuzzling at his lifeless form.
Anyway, as you might imagine, poor Kiefer ends up having a seriously chaotic day, filled with kidnappings of family members, the willy-nilly killing-off of characters who actually seemed like they would be around for a while, totally unpredictable betrayals, and oodles of intense, walkie-talkie based whispering. And the twists, people! Oh, the twists!
Naturally, each progressive season is crazier and more twist-filled than the last. That said, I still think the overall quality is pretty consistent, and it’s kind of nice to break the tension with an absolutely ludicrous mountain lion vs. teenage girl faceoff every now and then.
I think the reason that 24 was so EXTRA satisfying, as I said at the beginning, is that each season stands alone: there’s a central issue, and, 24 hours later, a conclusion of some sort has been reached. At that point, wild-eyed and unkempt, surrounded by empty cartons of chinese takeout, you can relax, secure in the knowledge that all is well, that Kiefer has got it all under control, and hey, whispering can be kind of sexy, like, SOMEtimes. Then you can go to sleep. Sweet, sweet sleep.
DISCLAIMER: If you watch enough 24, then at some point you will think to yourself, YES, Goddammit, Due process be damned! Kiefer needs ANSWERS! Torture is the only option! Obviously, all other facets of morality are simply farcical in these desperate times! In fact, torture is justified whenever Kiefer deems it to be so! Just get out of his way, you asinine, by-the-book clowns! The end ALWAYS justifies the means, you IMBECILES! (And also: Hmmm. I wonder if the good guys ever actually get to the bomb with like, four hours to spare instead of four minutes, so there’s plenty of time to get the bomb experts in and evacuate the premises and maybe hang out and eat lunch, etc., or if it’s just a law of the universe that at some point, frantic activity during the final countdown MUST occur.)
Luckily, I am happy to report that most Machiavellian trains of logic start fading as soon as Kiefer disappears from the screen. Good ‘ol whispery Kiefer.
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