I've been a pretty loyal fan of 24 over the years. Watching Jack Bauer crack skulls and foil terrorist plots has always been good, quality entertainment. But as I've been watching this season unfold, I've reluctantly come to realize that it's about time to wrap up the show and move on. This season hasn't been a terrible one by any means, but watching it has revealed a few problems with the show that are fairly incurable. It's worth noting that there's at least one more season of 24 coming, and then potentially a movie which would most likely mark the end of the series, so apparently the creators of the show are feeling the same way. Anyway, all that being said, here are my four main reasons why it's time to wind down 24 :
1. Every single season is pretty much the same. For the critics of 24, this is one of their primary arguments against the show. For years I defended against this claim, arguing that it's a different organization/terrorist coalition/ethnic group every season, the specific threat each time is something new, and Jack's motives are always unique. But let's be real: it's pretty much the same thing. These are some elements that are common every single year: a huge terrorist threat, traitors inside the organization, the government never believing that Jack is right, Jack turning out to be right, and Jack torturing terrorists (which actually never gets old). And it's not the fault of the writers for not being more creative; it can't be easy to create a completely unique (and plausible) terrorist plot one season to the next. It's just that at this point, they've pretty much exhausted their creative capabilities.
(On a side note, I think Heroes has already fallen into this trap. They've essentially written the same story now three seasons in a row: some super threat is coming, the heroes have to use their powers to find some way to stop it, there's tons of moral/social dilemmas, and everyone keeps switching sides between good and evil. Plus, wasn't it gross when Hayden Panettiere was dating Milo Ventimigilia? I guess they're broken up now, but she was 18 and he was like 30. Come on, dude. Cradle-robbing isn't cool.)
2. Nearly every single main character that was ever on the show has died. Most shows kill off a main character for dramatic effect and to keep the viewers guessing. 24, on the other hand, has a different approach. Rather than randomly kill off characters, the show kills everyone. The game for the audience is no longer trying to figure out who's going to die; it's about who's going to live. I'm almost numb to it now. When characters die, it doesn't even surprise me anymore. And that sucks, dude. You want a cast of characters that you can relate to and either like or not like, not just the main dude. And what's worse, the characters that you kind of want to die don't. Exhibit A: Kim Bauer. Kim is arguably the most annoying character on the show. She always gets in Jack's way when he's trying to save the world and nearly screws everything up for him. Thank God Jack Bauer is Jack Bauer and can still destroy terrorism in spite of his dumb daughter. But I will say this -- Elisha Cuthbert is pretty hot.
3. No one ever listens to Jack. You would think that serving his country loyally and saving the world from potential epic disaster six times (going on seven) would earn a man some respect. Instead, the government just tries to bury the guy and assumes he's always wrong about everything. This includes his theories of what's being conspired by terrorists, what course of action the government should take, and especially his torturing of suspects. (I know that torturing is a touchy subject right now, and I'm not supporting it by any means. But, man, Jack's such a badass when he does it. If pro-torture people ever need an ad to get people on their side, they should just show an episode of 24.) Now I realize that if everyone just listened to Jack, the show would probably be over in about three episodes. But watching everyone ignore Jack is getting old and it's frustrating as hell to watch.
4. 24 needs to go out on top. For whatever reason, trying to show that you can still do it and still perform even when you're past your prime is the "in" thing. (Brett Favre, anyone?) But in terms of TV, you never want to see a show to get to a point where it's obvious that it's not going to get any better, because then the show starts getting desperate and doing really stupid things. 24 isn't at this point yet, but hopefully the producers realize that there's not much further up that the show can go. Let's go out on top. No need to jump the shark.
In spite of everything I've said here, don't let my rant deter you from watching 24. It's still good entertainment and, quite frankly, there's no other show out there that's like it. If there's one thing that 24 has done really well, it's created a show formula that's nearly impossible to duplicate. The real-time format has worked better than most could have imagined and they've created a legendary character in Jack Bauer. I mean, if you were going into a fight, wouldn't you want this guy on your side?
Long live, Jack.
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