24: Live Another Day

[MUSC4EVER]

Thought id start a thread on the new series of 24 which start on Wednesday (in the UK) here is the lowdown on the new series...may contain spoilers!

How this series come about
After the end of Season 8 there had been discussion of a 24 movie, which several times came close to shooting until it was suggested that another TV series might a better way to tell a new story, also 24 isn't strictly 24 this time around, there are 12 episodes this time and they are not even calling it a season or a series, they are referring to it as a 'Limited event series'.

The Plot
It all takes place in London and it was shot in the capital, Jack is a wanted man by the US Government, his only option is to abandon his family and go permanently underground. Now he has resurfaced in London as a threat emerges of, what else, a terrorist attack on British soil that would kill the visiting US President and spark world war three. Jack is both suspected of being involved and the only man who can save the day

Characters
New series mean new characters and actors but one returning is Chloe O'Brien played by Mary Lynn Rajskub, who over the course of the previous six seasons grew from techy comic relief to Jack's one true ally and this time around she is very anti-Government and she works for an Edward Snowdon-type computer hacker, and Jack Bauer is of course once again played by Kiefer Sutherland..

And that's it, it starts on Wednesday on Sky1 at 9pm in the UK, I'm assuming it'll be on at least a say earlier in the US...so discuss..

 

[Caz]

Very excited for this.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I lost interest in 24 at 1:00pm on Day One. The revelation that Drazen was out for revenge was a big one, but by introducing his sons, the writers made the previous thirteen hours a complete waste of time. And that was the big problem with the series: the concept was good, but it was padded out with storylines that only served to make up twenty-four hours' worth of content. Like Terri and Kim running into every single bad person in the Greater Los Angeles Area, and then Terri getting amnesia.

That said, I have heard good things about Day Three and Day Five, and the trailers make Live Another Day look pretty decent, so I might tune in.

But I still think of Kiefer Sutherland as Naked Snake first and Jack Bauer second, probably because I played Ground Zeroes before Live Another Day was announced.

 

[Tornado]

How many Chinamen is he gonna be able to torture in this truncated season?

And that was the big problem with the series: the concept was good, but it was padded out with storylines that only served to make up twenty-four hours' worth of content. Like Terri and Kim running into every single bad person in the Greater Los Angeles Area, and then Terri getting amnesia.

Or Kim getting chased by a cougar.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Or Kim getting chased by a cougar.

And then somehow getting herself employed by an elite and classified government department when her only qualification is getting caught in sticky situations at the worst possible moment.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Tonight at 9pm on Sky1 with a double bill in the UK...

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I just noticed that the network showing the series has a twenty-four hour countdown to the premiere.

 

[Liquid]

@prisonermonkeys Watch Day Five. It's some of the best fiction ever recorded via any medium.

Easily the best season.

---

Enjoyed the first two episodes, looking forward to this series.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Watch Day Five. It's some of the best fiction ever recorded via any medium.

It's got stiff competition - right now, I reckon the Johanna Beckett storyline on "Castle" sits atop those lofty heights.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Just seen the third episode, is it me or didn't not a lot happen, weakest one of the three for me....

 

[Ibonibo]

After 4 years of pause, I really like a new 24. Though on the other seasons I always missed some episodes,thus having holes in the story. Also Yvonne is a HUGE plus in my books.
All in all I like it

 

[MUSC4EVER]

I've been enjoying it so far too 👍

 

[prisonermonkeys]

We're four episodes in down here, and I have enjoyed the series so far. It feels very streamlined and very structured, probably because the writers are telling a twelve-hour story in twelve hours, rather than trying to fit an eighteen-hour story into twenty-four episodes.

 

[Tornado]

Gotta say... I don't know what I was expecting going into this season, but it certainly wasn't two episodes that could pass for the best the series ever had back to back. It's also been a long time since I've been so compelled to see something first run.




And Jack's almost Murtaugh-esque behavior has only made him even more pragmatic than he used to be. Need a car? Just run up and deck the guy (with full body weight!) without saying anything. Then purposely blow it up.
How does that poor bastard file a claim?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I don't know what I was expecting going into this season, but it certainly wasn't two episodes that could pass for the best the series ever had back to back.

Probably because the reduced number of episodes forces the writers to keep everything humming along. From what I have seen of previous seasons, they had a tendency to stall for time and pad out episodes with complex sub-plots that didn't really contribute anything but runtime.

 

[Tornado]

Like cougars and how they will chase you in the woods on TV just like in Red Dead.

 

[Caz]

All caught up and wow. What a great season so far.
Best line for me up to this point is " the only blood on my hands is....."

Not sure how this will wrap up in 2 episodes, i sense a huge cliffhanger. Maybe we will finally get that movie.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

It has been a brilliant season!

 

[Tornado]

All caught up and wow. What a great season so far.
Best line for me up to this point is " the only blood on my hands is....."

"Immunity is not on the table" was better.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

I really wonder what'll happen with Mark since someone close might find out what he did. They found out what Navarro did; it won't shock me if Mark is next on the list of being discovered. To me, the quote of the season was "There is no time, Jack" before Heller went to the center of Wembley.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Not sure how this will wrap up in 2 episodes, i sense a huge cliffhanger. Maybe we will finally get that movie.

If they were to end on a cliffhanger, then I doubt it would be one that would demand a resolution in a follow-up season. More likely it would be something that leaves the future as an open question, but with all of the plot threads tied off.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Wow, that was a downbeat ending. Even by the series' standards. I remember Day 1 had a pretty morose ending, but this trumped that by a whole order of magnitude.

Overall, I enjoyed the series, but there was one thing I didn't like: the transition of the villain. In the space of about ninety minutes, we went from the al-Harazis being the Big Bad to Navarro and Cross to the Chinese to Sheng Zhi and the Russians. A little more foreshadowing as to their role in everything probably would have made it better.

Also, I wouldn't have killed Sheng Zhi. I'd have had Jack put him in the one prison he couldn't escape from - his own body, by breaking his neck, forcing him to live on, but unable to do anything.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Watched the last episode today, really enjoyed the series and there has too be another one now I feel!

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I'm not sure another one could happen. At least, not one featuring Bauer. The ending made it pretty clear that there is nothing left for him in the world, and that he has accepted whatever fate awaits him. He has no motivation to escape Russian custody, and if a rescue attempt was made, he would probably resist.

The only potential storyline would be if something happened to someone he cared about, and the Russians let him go to prove that they kept their end of the bargain on the condition that he willingly returned if he was satisfied that they were not involved.

It's more likely that the future of the series rests in another direction - probably with new characters in the same universe, and Jack Bauer officially missing and presumed to be dead.

 

[dhandeh]

... Jack Bauer officially missing and presumed to be dead.

Dammit.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

What do you think was happening in that final scene?