TNMC
This site’s design is only visible in a graphical browser that supports web standards, but its content is accessible to any browser or Internet device.
24
12:00 A.M. to 1:00 A.M.
Written by: Stephen Hopkins
Directed by: Stephen Hopkins
When I first saw a preview for the new show 24 at the movie theatre, I was intrigued. I also had to laugh that it starred Kiefer Sutherland. When you factor in Rob Lowe on The West Wing, Charlie Sheen on Spin City, and Lou Diamond Phillips on the now pulled Wolf Lake, it was an assault of the 80's actors. All we needed was Emilio Estevez to get his own show and the Young Guns would be dominating primetime.
Then the rave reviews started piling in, which piqued my curiosity even more. I have to admit that I really like the gimmick of it all. A show using real time, and all revolving around just one day. It could be unbelievably effective if done right, but it could also end up being little more than a pile of crap. How did it turn out?
Well after watching the premiere I'm pleased to say that it kicked epic amounts of butt. The story is quite gripping, and we are introduced to a host of elements. Dennis Haysbert plays David Palmer, an African American political figure who stands a real chance at becoming the next president of the United States. This doesn't sit so well with somebody, as a mysterious assassin is brought in to kill the character some time in the next twenty four hours. However, the CIA catches wind of the plot and is obviously going to try and thwart it.
Enter our hero, Jack Bauer. Jack is presented as the ultimate straight edge. His reputation for honesty comes from his busting of three agents for bribery, and why this has given him a reputation for honesty, it's also earned him the scorn of his fellow agents for being a traitor. However, his honesty makes him the perfect candidate for this operation, since it's believed that the assassins have a mole in the agency due to Palmer's promise to slash their budget if elected.
Jack's got other problems though. He's trying to piece together what appears to have been a rocky marriage with is wife Terri. And to make matters worse, he has a rebellious teenage daughter named Kimberly (do they come any other way?) who snuck out of the house right before he was called in to deal with the Palmer case.
That might seem like a lot of balls to juggle, but there's still quite a few left to be tossed in the air. Jack has had an affair with his right hand woman, Nina (Sarah Lively). So while he's trying to solve this case, he's also trying to work around the obvious sexual tension between the two characters. Than we find out in a brief scene that Palmer has some skeletons in his closet (and what politician doesn't?) that could break loose. And Terri has left to find Kimberly with the father of her daughter's best friend. And what seems to be a wild night out for a couple girls, ends up taking a sinister turn as the boys drug Kimberly's friend and kidnap her. It remains to be seen whether or not they're connected with the assassination attempt on Palmer.
Did I miss anything? Oh yes, the assassin. Well we're first led to believe that the assassin is a mysterious German sounding figure who is making plans to meet with Palmer with his assistant. Is she the one who's plotting against him? There's a chatty girl next to him who sounds shocked that he knows Palmer and asks him what he does. He claims he's a photographer and that he's there (and this is said with a healthy dose of wry irony) to "shoot" Palmer. Right. That would be that, except that we keep coming back to scenes with the photographer and chatty girl, and that's when the swerve light goes off in your head. To begin with, the chatty girl is played by Mia Kirshner (who is currently also working as Ruby on Wolf Lake), and if watching suspense movies has taught me anything, it's that if you recognize an actor in a bit part, it's not just a bit part. At the end it's revealed that chatty girl (who's name is Mandy) is actually the hired assassin, and after a roll in the hay with the photographer she has stolen his ID and press credentials. Then in a slick bit of business she parachutes out of the plane before blowing it up (which was edited out due to the 9/11 tragedy). Whoa. This is one chick you don't want to mess with.
The pacing of this show is really quite extraordinary. Some moments contain a sense of heightened urgency, why others are allowed to languidly build towards a greater plot. And it's ticking by in real time. While there are obviously some logic holes to this, such as the fact that it seems to take everybody all of three minutes to get wherever they're going, it gives the show a unique feel at a time when there's a glut of similar shows. (Alias, The Agency, UC Undercover, etc.) The frequent use of a split camera screen helps maintain this feeling, as it helps acclimate you to the fact that everything is going on at the same time, and there will be no flashbacks or impossibly long scenes that are supposed to take place in a manner of minutes. Tick (no not the superhero) for tick and tock for tock, this show unfolds in front of you at a gripping rate.
The strength of this show lies on its main character, and Kiefer Sutherland does a remarkable job of bringing Bauer to life. He seems to effortlessly slip into Bauer's skin, and there was a point where I forgot it was Kiefer Sutherland, and just looked at the character himself. That's saying something. Bauer is portrayed as a weary and tense person, walking the border between cynicism and optimism and trying to put his life together against the backdrop of what could be a great American tragedy. Not exactly the easiest attributes to embody, but something he does manage to pull off with style.
I hope this show can keep its pace, as similar shows this year have started off just as promising and then have quickly degenerated into less than enthralling viewing. 24 has the potential to be something remarkable, and I'll be here to let you know if fails or succeeds.
-- tjarvis
What do you think? Talk about it on the Forums
