"24" returned last night after a long break for its 9 episode home stretch.

What a terrific episode! It immediately threw you back in the story with the revved up tension. The buildup to the hotel guests' panic was well done, with Michelle having to go to extremes to keep them contained.

I'd be interested about what you guys think about this. I don't watch 24 but I tape it for someone who can't see it. I've been hearing that this series has been pretty bad and that there's too many characters and no real focus on the plot. Also hearing that there isn't a main bad guy to hate. Any truth in this?


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I often wonder how I'm going to die. You don't want to embarrass friends.

Do you mean this season, hk? The show has its share of nasty villains and villainesses, some carrying over from season to season. It has had some of the most wicked females on TV. While each season has had some lulls in the narrative (especially Season 1 which didn't start out with a definite knowledge of a full season order), the show always manages to pick itself up and hook you. Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer is great as the central hero, with his no-nonsense, sometimes shockingly brutal approach. If anything, the show's 24-hour format makes Bauer seem almost impossibly superhuman, with some of the things he goes through and keeps on going. (Which is probably why people keep picking fights with Kiefer in bars.)

I recommend the show!

Thanks EPlayer, I hope that she sees it the same way you do. I'll know in the next couple of weeks as that's when she'll have the tape to watch.

As I said, I don't watch the show myself because I didn't really get anything from what I saw of it. Maybe I was expecting too much with everything I was hearing about it Stateside (from both reviews and friends) but I have to say that I didn't think it was anything special at all. Added to that was the fact that I don't think split-screen works on tv at all (never have and it really annoys me because it's rarely used well anyway) and the "real time" gimmick doesn't do anything for me. I don't get any feeling of increased tension from it. It's not the fault of the show, it's just that this too has never impressed me.


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I often wonder how I'm going to die. You don't want to embarrass friends.

This show is getting insane. The week long wait between episodes is sheer torture. It doesn't look good for Michelle and the rest of the folks trapped in the hotel

Hey, Chris, where've you been!?

I guess the key is that certain people may be immune, so Michelle could conceivably survive. She's sure holding up better than many of the guests who are already hemmorhaging.

I absolutely love this show.

The whole concept of it is great. Real time events, that alone makes the show uber1337.

I hope to own the seasons on DVD soon cuz I have been getting a bit lost in the episodes, due to some reasons I have missed a few episodes. So no more reason for me to follow it sadly enough.


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From now till kingdom come... the only thing you can count on... in your existence... is never understanding why.

Last night's ep of "24" was so great! Such drama! A lot of people must have forgotten about the special day, as it did poorly in the ratings. It's being repeated on FX, so make sure you catch it!

Last night's episode was definately one of the best. Poor Chapelle Just goes to show that no regular character is ever safe.

On 2004-04-07 13:16 , EPlayer Wrote:


Hey Liz....I started a new job about a month ago and its been keeping me way too busy.

Wooo! 24 is coming back and looking good! I liked last season quite a bit and this season is looking decent. The new promo (with terrible music) has some cool looking stuff, and some humor!


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Hello, fellow American. This you should vote me. I leave power. Good. Thank you. Thank you. If you vote me, I am hot. What? Taxes. They'll be lower, son. The democratic vote for me is the right thing to do, Philadelphia. So do.

I do like the change of venue and the older characters coming back. I like that they are keeping the cool female FBI agent from last season on the show. I think she worked really well with Jack. This starts in two weeks correct?

Yay, Jack is back!

Premieres 1/17 with 2 hours, and the next night has 2 more hours.

Ok I have only seen the first half of the "four hour premiere". It's fun to see CTU back in operation. Jack is awesome as usual.

However, I am super confused about Jack's ailment from last season... Wasn't he sprayed with that toxin that would permanently be in his system? I vaguely recall the mention of an experimental treatment utilizing his granddaughter, but I swear they did not show or say the results? Am I imagining this suggested treatment, or did they acknowledge it happening?


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Hello, fellow American. This you should vote me. I leave power. Good. Thank you. Thank you. If you vote me, I am hot. What? Taxes. They'll be lower, son. The democratic vote for me is the right thing to do, Philadelphia. So do.

Also, after catching up, I am now a little frustrated at the show. More than ever, this show is using stupid logic to make it difficult to accomplish anything.

Two examples:

Jack used a camera to zoom in on the taxi cab's tag to determine where it went, but he didn't zoom in on the bad guy's face? Didn't we just learn 20 minutes earlier that they have decent facial recognition software?

Second, what in the world was up with the bit scene in which Jack is held hostage by a belligerent cop? Jack didn't bother to utter one word to them prior to being tied up? Or he didn't urge them, while tied up, to just CTU and confirm it?

*shrug* I felt these two things were a bit lazy just for the sake of adding tension to the show.

That aside, I would like to add that I don't care that the show is in real time anymore. Anyone else agree? I never realize it's in real time, until the timer pops up. Every episode is packed with so much, it just feels like events are unraveling as they happen. I haven't felt like the show is in real time since the 3rd season at best.


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Hello, fellow American. This you should vote me. I leave power. Good. Thank you. Thank you. If you vote me, I am hot. What? Taxes. They'll be lower, son. The democratic vote for me is the right thing to do, Philadelphia. So do.

On 2010-01-22 05:45 , wd40 Wrote:


As I remember it, Jack had ordered Kim to not risk herself by taking part in the experimental treatment. She left, but she DID come back to help him out. So we ended last season with knowing Jack would get the treatment -- but of course, being in "real time", we could not know the result at the time.

When this season opened, Jack was playing with his granddaughter. One fleeting bit of dialogue seemed to indicate it was 2 weeks after the end of the previous season, but I could be wrong -- it was said so fast.

I think WD that they established what he looked like when the showed the picture of him entering or leaving the building. I guess we didn't need to know more than that. 24 has a habit of leaving things like that out there from time to time. I just go with it. 24 uses non-logic with a lot of things they do or the show would not last all 24 episodes. Things that I hope happen in the real world do not happen in 24 so they can keep things ramped up and add drama to the show.

I am pretty sure that Jack was cured last season. He had to undergo some treatment that had to use his daughter hence her being in NY with Jack. It seems he is all well, but I would not doubt complications popping up before this season ends.

They do always say it is in "real time" but I just take that to mean you get segments of time in each episode and you do not miss anything important going on. Different than an normal tv show but not exactly reality if that makes sense to you.

I do realize that 24 does have these side stories or scenes to drag out the show but the two cops interogation & whatever is going on with the blonde gal at CTU I do not need and hope they go away forever.

Oh no, I get the point of the real time. I was just saying the show doesn't feel like real time anymore.


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Hello, fellow American. This you should vote me. I leave power. Good. Thank you. Thank you. If you vote me, I am hot. What? Taxes. They'll be lower, son. The democratic vote for me is the right thing to do, Philadelphia. So do.

On 2010-01-25 10:18 , Kenage Wrote:


That blonde gal is my least favorite part of the show right now, though I know they always have the "side story" that impacts a character and it's necessary to stretch out the time. (Like the one season with the woman's addict daughter.)

Oh, and that was a super quick divorce for President Taylor!

And super quick for her daughter to be in jail for her crimes EP. How much time do they say has past? 3 months?