24

jack is back and the clock is ticking…
in the pat’s pantheon of tv there are a few programmes that stand head and shoulders above the rest.
there are the programmes of steven bochco, there are the programmes of glen a larson, there is “game on” and there is “24”.
24 is a whirlwind, edge of your seat 45 minutes of action packed tv.
jack bauer is the man who will save the day.
jack is the rugged do or die guy we all want to be. just as happy to shoot someone in the kneecap in order to get information, as he is to confess to his girlfriend that he loves her. jack is willing to do the right thing no matter what the cost is to him or those he loves. jack knows that sometimes sacrifice is necessary.
over the course of the series jack has been to hell and back in order to protect the united states of america. all he gets in return is the chance to kill lots of bad guys, torture some lowlifes and whisper menacingly “just trust me”.

the new season has started. already it is at a fever pitch and i know that over the next 24 weeks i am just going to be thinking about the show.
it is a show that is totally engrossing and when you step back from it can be very silly. but guess what that is what makes it so special.

jack returns to the usa after nearly two years of being tortured in a chinese prison. the president and his advisors have negotiated his release (which implies that for the bulk of the time they were happy to let him have his short and curlies singed) in order to sacrifice him in order to catch the leader of a suicide bombing ring.
the situation is explained to jack.
does he say fuck off?
no on your nellie.
he says can i get cleaned up before you ship me off to get tortured some more before they kill me.
everyone tries to find the words to express their gratitude to jack. he just shrugs it off. eventually he tells one of them it is the difference between dying for nothing and dying for something. and that at least this way he is going out for a reason.
wotta man.
as he is getting tortured he discovers that everyone is barking up the wrong tree, and that his death would be meaningless. not only that it also means the bad guys get to wreak havoc. and that’s something jack can’t have.
so what does he do.
he makes like a zombie and bites a chunk out of a bad guy. escapes. warns the president and his team that their plan is wrong.
what do they do? considering jack has saved the day 5 times before this, they say shut up jack what do you know? and continue with their plan.

i tell you what jack knows. jack knows how to do the right thing. and he does it.

it is awesome tv.
and the president is right the situation is going to get worse, but we know jack is there to save the day.
jack is back, the clock is ticking and i am hooked (again).