24: Real Time, Real World

I try very hard to avoid political discussions in The Other Worlds; the point of this website is to discuss entertaining films, television shows, and books, not to put forth my own insignificant political leanings. However, 24 has become a lightning rod for political debate due to the real world debates regarding its subject matter. The show is extremely conservative; the heroes have been known to utilize torture and circumvent the law to get information that allows them to stop the terrorists at the last minute (usually).

There is a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg phenomenon going on with the show; many of the events in the show simultaneously occurred in real life, and it was hard to keep track which happened first. Or, I guess I should say that many things that did happen in the show were debated in real life. In Season 6, in response to a series of terrorist attacks, the government set up interment camps for people suspected of terrorism. This was similar to Guantanamo, except in the show, the people rounded up were actually American citizens. I remember when it was airing, I spoke to a professor of mine who was actually concerned that American citizens would soon be shipped to Gitmo. Throughout the show, characters have used torture to get information and justified it by preventing catastrophes. Torture was a big deal during the Bush Administration, and there were numerous debates about whether torture was justified. A few politicians actually cited 24 as a reason why we should torture terrorist suspects (I used to have a link to back up this allegation, but it is gone, so you will have to take my word for it). Apparently, these politicians are unaware that the show is fucking fiction. At the same time, members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the CIA have criticized the show for its depiction of torture and the use of the ticking time-bomb scenario.

One thing I think the show takes too much crap for is its depiction of Muslims. In Seasons 4 and 6, Muslim Awareness groups balked at the fact that the terrorists that year were Muslims. Sadly, the way Muslims have been treated in real life in America in the wake of the September, 11 attacks has been horrible. But to say that 24 has singled them out and continually used them as villains is (pretty much) bullshit. Yes, some of the terrorists in Seasons 2, 4, and 6 were Muslim. But the worst terrorists have always been white. In the first season, the terrorists were American mercenaries and Serbian warlords. In Season 2, there were American terrorists working below the Muslims and American and German terrorists working above them. In Season 3, a rogue British spy was pulling the strings of Mexican drug lords. In Seasons 5 and 6, the Russians were behind things. And in Seasons 4-6, the Chinese have made their presence known as villains. The bottom line: no one group of people has been singled out as "THE VILLAINS". In fact, in Season 2, there was a multi-episode story involving a Muslim special agent who was attacked by a bunch of rednecks (sorry), who had to be taught some manners by Jack Bauer.

I'm surprised that women aren't more up in arms about the show than Muslims. The show has consistently been straddling the line of mysogony. With few exceptions, every woman on the show is either crazy, clueless, or evil. Kim Bauer was kidnapped so often that fans would refer to the incidents as "Kimnappings", and most women who were in similar situations became basket cases. Then there were the evil ones. In Season 1, two very important female characters turned out to be evil (ok, one was more of a Lady MacBeth, but she was still pretty bad). I think that the only woman who was ever completely competent was Michelle Dessler. The other two "strong women" of the show are Chloe O'Brien and Martha Logan, but both of them were still pretty crazy.

I like this show because it is entertaining, but I sometimes have a hard time swallowing its politics. However, I think it would be much easier if so many of the deplorable things that happened in it weren't the subject of actual debates. But that would mean that our world was not complex, which it certainly is.

Up next: A few updates...

24: Days Go By

Around the time of its third season, 24 became a huge hit. It had amassed a good-sized following in its first two years, but it exploded on Day Three and became a cultural phenomenon. Suddenly, people were making the CTU phone chime their cell phone ringtones, politicians were referencing the show, and parodies were made. Many many parodies. As much as I love this show, there is a lot to parody, and this post is about both the triumphs and tragedies of the series (though all political discussions will be reserved for the next post).

As I've said, the real-time aspect allows the writers to tell very tight and very intense stories, and although it is in many ways a gimmick, it is a gimmick that works very well and achieved its goal. 24 effectively mixed action with political intrigue over the course of (most of) the days and the real-time element gave both sets of stories immediacy. The time constraints often required Bauer, his coworkers, and government officials to choose between two (or more) very undesirable situations in order to stop teh various terrorist threats. Jack once held up a convenience store in order to stall a person who likely had information on that day's terrorist plot. There was also a time when President Palmer, against his better judgment, allowed his (crazy) wife to try and "handle" a situation that could threaten his reelection campaign when it appeared as if there were no other options. Some spoilers below.

Unfortunately, because each season involves a terrorist plot and a political plot, there are only so many things that can happen before the show has to go back to the well for ideas. I can't even remember how many times there has been a mole in CTU or in the government. Granted, there was a mole plotline in Season 5 that was effective both because of who the mole was and that the identity revelation was also the revelation of the existence of the mole. But aside from that one, no other mole story has lived up to the Season 1 mole story. Also, being President in the 24 universe should come with the world's greatest life insurance policy, because there is a near-100% mortality rate. Finally, nuclear weapons are the most recurring threat used on the show. The best nuclear plotline was Season 2, but that was mainly because it was novel. The Season 4 nuclear storyline was very good, but it did not strike me the same way as the Season 2 story did because there were multiple small (relatively) threats in 4 as opposed to the single enormous threat in 2. And, um, let's not talk about the Season 6 nuclear storyline (or Season 6 at all, for that matter).

I'll admit that 24 tends to sacrifice character for story. I'm not saying that people act out of character in order to further the story (although I do believe that has happened once or twice); rather, the show is plot-driven, and often glosses over characterization because there either isn't time or it isn't warranted. Normally, I would not let a show off so easily for sacrificing character development, but on a show like 24 I'm willing to let it slide to a degree. We don't see much of the characters in a home setting (though there are some exceptions, and one of the earliest scenes in the series is one of them), so we don't always see how their home lives shape their work lives. The characters are so busy stopping terrorist threats that there is little time left over to delve deep into their personalities. Personalities show themselves in the characters' chocies, but we usually aren't privy to the events that made the various characters believe the things they believe.

Every now and then, we see a bit of the various characters' personal lives. The best examples are Jack's relationship with his wife Teri in Season 1 (which was integral to the plot) and Tony and Michelle's relationship. Tony and Michelle's courting and marriage was not integral to the plot, but it was an effective background story that helped give them a human side and affected some of the choices they made (especially in Season 3). Sadly, adding personal lives to the mix didn't always work. The best (or should I say worst?) example was Chloe's pregnancy in Season 6. I don't know if I just didn't find it compelling or if it was written like a soap opera storyline, but that story absolutely infuriated me (and I like Chloe). Also, because Kim was usually not associated with CTU, most of her storylines were rather silly.

Finally, I will end with something that will carry over into the next post. Jack seems to have only two tones of voice: gruff and loud. And torture is his answer for nearly any situation, even if the person he is about to torture is a civilian. This is probably the aspect of the series that is the most heavily parodied. This is partly because the torture aspect is at the center of the political debates about this show. But with the frequency and intensity of some of the scenes, they tend to be the ones that get ingrained in the fans' minds. Jack's humorless demeanor is heavily referenced when fans talk about the series. Often, they try and pull off their best Bauer impression as these videos will demonstrate (I'm the guy in the squirrel costume):





Up next: A rare political post...

24: Events Occur In Real Time

24 was set to premiere right around the 9/11 attacks, and while that horrible event likely had a short-term detrimental effect on the show (it pushed back its premiere and required some editing for sensitivity), I can't help but think how much the resulting cultural change in our country has fostered a show like 24. The series follows Jack Bauer, an agent of the CIA's (fictional) Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU). If you couldn't tell from the name, CTU's purpose is to monitor, intercept, and prevent terrorist activity and keep America safe. But this wasn't what the press reported on in the early days. The format got the attention.

Each season is comprised of 24 one-hour episodes, each representing one hour of one day in the life of Jack Bauer. Over the course of a single day, we Bauer and CTU as they learn of a terrorist plot, follow various leads, and attempt to stop said plot. The time constraint is both a strength and a weakness for the show; on one hand, it gives an immediacy to the threat at hand, and requires that Bauer and his team act as fast as possible to figure out and neutralize the threat. On the other hand (and let's not get into the logistical nightmare of having Bauer navigate Los Angeles as fast as he does in a car), the writers have to fill 24 hours, and sometimes we have to endure lulls in the main story or B stories we wish we could forget about (case in point: Teri's amnesia and almost anything having to do with Kim, with special mention going to the cougar). Still, in the first five seasons at least, the good far outweighs the bad, and 24 delivered some of the most action-packed and intense television in recent memory.

I still find it amazing how different the terrorists were in the first season, because it was written before the advent of Homeland Security and the color-coded terror alert system. But in Season 1, pretty much every villain was white (this did change, but even in the most recent seasons, the show isn't nearly as racist as some people make it out to be, but more on that in a subsequent post). The Season 1 villains included American mercenaries and Serbian nationalists who were intent on assassinating Senator David Palmer, who was likely going to become the first black Presidential candidate (sorry Barack). Season 1 followed Bauer trying to track down the assassins, who he and CTU initially thought were planning to kill Palmer for racial reasons, but as the season unfolded, a greater mystery was revealed regarding the motives. The first season also established the eventual friendship between Bauer and Palmer that would be mutually beneficial for the two characters, and set up the pivotal characters of Tony Almeida (a fan favorite) and Nina Myers.

Although I believe that the fifth season is the best because of the political story, Season 1 does have many of the best elements, everything was new (once again, more on this subject in a subsequent post), and the story was extremely personal to its two main characters. The next seasons involved various other terrorist plots, ranging from a nuclear bomb being brought to Los Angeles, biological warfare, and chemical warfare. The political storylines have also run the gamut from showing Palmer's first term as president, a rocky reelection campaign, and government corruption.

24 is nowhere near perfect, but for its first five seasons, it knew how to deliver thrills and twists extremely effectively.

Up next: Rise and fall...

The List: #4 24

#4
Number of Seasons (To Date): 6
Years Active: 2001 - Present
Network: FOX

It wasn't too long ago that 24 would have been at the top of this list. The series is exciting, has some great plot twists (sadly, there are a few not so great ones as well, but the good outweighs the bad) and amazing action. This was one of the first serialized dramas I started watching, and pretty much set the stage for my changing taste in TV. So why is this no longer #1? We'll get to it.

24 is presented in (almost) real-time; each hour (42.5 minute) long episode represented one hour of time in a day in the life of Jack Bauer. Each season is comprised of 24 episodes, and covers one full day. Bauer works for the Los Angeles division of the CIA's Counter Terrorist Unit, and every year (day), he has to diffuse a threatening situation. Over the course of the days, Bauer has to deal with double agents, "ticking clock" threats (great for drama, but not very realistic, no matter what Justice Scalia says) and saving his daughter from some outrageous situations (cougar attack!).

This series has plenty of strengths; most of the actors, especially Kiefer Sutherland (Bauer), are in top form. The terrorist plots are challenging to the protagonists, and there are plenty of times when the villains score major victories over Bauer and CTU. There is plenty of good drama that is derived not only from the CTU vs. terrorists stories, but also the internal politics in CTU AND the terrorist circles. Unfortunately, in later seasons, the writers tried to create some non-work-related drama (example: Chloe's pregnancy) that didn't really work well. I don't know if it was because a pregnancy doesn't really compare to a threat of a nuclear bomb going off in LA or if the dialogue relating to said plots just isn't written well, but these storylines just don't work as well.

24 is a cultural icon; the audience has grown by large amounts every year, and it has garnered significant critical acclaim. But in its position as such a prevalent aspect of society, it has become a lightning rod for controversy due to some of its subject matter. This is a subject that would work better in a post series devoted to the show, but let's just say that there is no shortage of debate over the morality of this show. I guess the only thing that I will say about it right now has to do with whether or not 24 endorses torture. There is plenty of it on the show, and it often leads to the heroes getting the required information just in time. However, it is clear that years of torture have taken their toll on Bauer, who slowly becomes more and more withdrawn over the course of the series.

Up next: #3...