Read the first two parts here.
Part 1
Part 2
I thought I’d finish the review in the previous post, but it was late and I got tired, plus the post was too long.
Season 8
Storyline
This is the season most people thought would be the last, including the producers, I think. It centers on a President of an unnamed Mid-East country trying to sign a peace treaty in the UN, but is betrayed by his own brother and men. President Taylor has problems of her own, as she gets manipulated by Charles Logan. Renee Walker returns, gets killed and Jack goes ballistic, killing spree. there’s some side story starring Freddie Prinze, Jr. and that girl from Battlestar Galactica.
My thoughts
i’ll remember this as the Anil Kapoor season. Wow, what a hairdo. His hair deserves an Emmy all by itself. He did okay, (Anil Kapoor, not his hair) but the it was obvious that the overall production value of this season seems better, move movie like. Gone we the dark, grainy look of earlier seasons. the final part where Jack exacts revenge was a little over the top, but enjoyable nonetheless. Re Agent Walker, what a basketcase. Glad to see her gone. Had the show ended here, it would have okay for me, despite Jack disappearing into sunset incognito again. But no… they made ANOTHER season…
24: Live Another Day
Storyline
And so we come to the last season to date, and probably the last in the series, unless Kiefer Sutherland wants to make another USD$20 million. The good thing was that this was only 12 episodes / hours, making it very compact and focused. Heller is now President, Audrey is back, both in London. Stephen Frey plays the PM, can’t take the comedian seriously as a drama actor. A family of terrorist take over US drones and threaten to blow up targets in London. And Jack saves the day again.
My thoughts
While this was a consistent season, the whole thing felt like it was made to capitalize on the UK market. this season stands out for 3 reasons – Jack tossing Margot Al-Harazi out the window (good way to make sure villains never come back again), beheading Cheng Zhi (ditto about coming back) and the resolution of Audrey Raines. Finally! Jack, that woman is bad for you, k?
So it comes to an end. Browsing the Net, 24 is consistently listed in the Top 10 or 20 Greatest TV shows of All time, but of course not near the top. I’d say, yeah, it deserves to be up there, its compelling storytelling is groundbreaking. But being on terrestrial TV restricts it in ways compared to cable networks like HBO or Showtime. Also the nature of the realtime gimmick limits the plot, we can see that some storylines are repeating throughout the seasons. Considering that this show started more than 12 years ago, I guess a lot of you wont remember much of the details of the earlier season. Even for me, watching it all in 5 months, the storylines blurs together at times.
So, done and dusted. What’s next? I’m starting on West Wing. Until then, Merry Christmas.