24 hours is a LONG time
As I review season seven of 24, I can’t help to think of what might have been. Back in 2000, I had the pleasure of being a promotions assistant for the local FOX affiliate here in Lexington. We received all the new shows sometime in the summer (maybe July) and in a batch of nearly 10, there was 24. Between it and Firefly (and Pasadena — cringe), I wasn’t sure of what Fox would retain. After watching the first season, I thought this was the most brilliant show in a while. A gimmick of 24 hours, in real time, was all that Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer had to find his daughter and save the president. That was cool. Even the surprise ending to the first season was cool. The main concern I had was longevity. Can you really repeat this show? Can that much national tragedy happen in another 24 hours? Apparently it can because the seventh season was released on Blu-ray and DVD, and the show itself is still pulling in ratings. What more can you ask for for the network that didn’t retain Firefly?
The general gist of the show is that Bauer is back and voluntarily put in front of a senate committee to answer for his past deeds. As you might expect, the meeting is interrupted by the FBI who needs Bauer to stop a terrorist plot that involves airlines and the D.C. area. The terrorist want the U.S. to pull out of a small African country named Sangala, which is having what could only be described as a genocide situation. If the U.S. doesn’t pull out then the country faces terroristic acts of massive proportions. Bauer must sacrifice his time and self to find out who is behind the plot and expose them to the U.S. authorities. The only problem is that the U.S. authorities might be involved it the plot. There are tons of twists and turns in this season, enough to keep you entertained throughout and certainly enough to keep you going through the season quickly.
My biggest fear going into the seventh season of the show, just like my first fear when I was going into the second, was that the gimmick would have worn thin. Thanks to a slew of brilliant writers and some fantastic acting from the cast, the show still seems really damn fresh. It moves faster than previous seasons and seems well-trained, like Bauer himself, to handle any kind of stumps or problems with the storytelling. Unlike previous seasons, where it generally drags in areas, there wasn’t a single episode that dragged down the storyline.
The pace of this show is something to be praised. While most continuous storylines tend to what to stop and go, this one clearly knows that it has 24 hours to complete its mission. That’s what is so brilliant about the ‘gimmick’ of the show; it forces the show to raise the pacing and keeps it running. For a show that is nearly a decade old, it moves like it has a strong purpose. I like the seventh season for this. Add that to the fact that maybe this could actually happen, though I’m sure the government has better computer security (actually, I know they do, but won’t tell you how). Anyway, the story is strong, it flows well and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Kudos to the actors and writers for this, though you will have to give the director some love.
If there are any problems with the season, I think that the shallow storyline of the president’s son’s death really doesn’t stand up when it comes to the rest of the storyline. Now, with that said, it does shape the character of the president and her husband. That type of extraneous storyline should be left out or resolved in a less obvious way. This show didn’t need a device or bridge to move the main story along, because this bridge is very weak and unfavorable for the pace. The writers, while very brilliant, are trying to shove two stories into one. That just doesn’t work for this type of story. Thankfully, you won’t concern your emotions to the secondary story as they will be fully engaged with Jack trying to right what the FBI and others have screwed up royally.
Yay for Blu-ray!
Unlike Burn Notice, which is just as new as 24: Season Seven, this show looks gorgeous on Blu-ray! In fact, this show looks so much better than some Fox Blu-ray movies. You’ll find no artifacts in the video, and the HD helps to bring you even closer to the action. For someone who has lived in D.C. before and has in-laws currently living there, it hasn’t looked so gorgeous before onscreen. As for audio, as I’ve always said, it’s 90% of a production and it reinforces everything the visuals are trying to portray. It sounds remarkable coming through a 5.1 and a 7.1 set-up. For an action show, with a tad bit of drama attached to it, you can’t ask for a better combo.
Now, for the features, I was a bit disappointed. Here’s what you’re looking at, though:
– Commentary on selected episodes
– Deleted Scenes
– The Fimucite Festive Presents: The Music of 24
– The Making of Season 7 Featurette
– Hour 19: The Ambush Featurette
It’s a small amount of features, but they do hold some quality. My main problem is that there could have been a bit more. For such a successful show, it deserved a bit more love. For goodness sakes, put some previous season previews on the BD. This just didn’t seem like enough. I think there’s plenty more to talk about, especially with a since the season was successful. I would have given my left (bleep) to see a pop-up video on this show. That would have given a different perspective. Nevertheless, you still get some decent quality here.