“24” Season 8 starts with a two-hour premiere at 8 Central tonight (another two-hour block follows at 7 p.m. Central Monday). I haven’t been this NOT excited about a new season of “24” since the series began. The previews could be clips from previous seasons for all I know; that’s how much they have all blended together in my mind.
Among serial shows, I can’t think of another that seems so much the same from season to season as “24” does. All I know is Season 1 was good, Seasons 2-4 were silly but still good, and Season 5 (the show’s pop-culture pinnacle) was good partly as an intentional drama and partly as an unintentional comedy (that was the season of Edgar — the male answer to Chloe — and Sean Astin as the CTU director; both died — poignantly/hilariously, depending on your mindset — of a deadly gas leak inside CTU). And then Season 6 was forgettably bad and Season 7, unofficially subtitled “The Destruction of Tony Almeida’s Character,” was epically, offensively awful.
If ever there was evidence that we’re not supposed to take any of the events of “24” seriously, look at Season 7: Tony, who was dead the last time we saw him, came back to life. Jack was dying at the end of last season. Now he’s fine. This is why when a character “dies,” it has no emotional effect on me whatsoever. And yet, that still seems to be the signpost of “24” drama: Characters’ lives are on the line, and anyone could die at anytime. That tenet has been completely undercut.
There are a few reasons to be hopeful about Season 8. The New York setting could be cool. But then again, last season was set in D.C. and I never really felt the nation’s capital became a character — outside of a couple gratuitous shots in front of landmarks, the action could’ve taken place in L.A.
Freddie Prinze Jr. is one of those guys that we all agree is a generally poor actor, but there are certain roles in his wheelhouse. One was playing Fred in the “Scooby Doo” pictures. Another might be playing a “24” character. Also, I’ve heard a lot of good things about Katee Sackhoff, who played Starbuck in the popular “Battlestar Galactica” reboot.
Then again, “24” has always had good actors (maybe too good, because I often feel like some of the talent is slumming on “24”). The problem is that it hasn’t always had good writing, and I get the sense that the writing team has determined that fans want every season of “24” to be the same as previous seasons. I’m not sure why that is. For one, it’s not true — even die-hard “24” fans want to be surprised by something new — and for another, it’s gotta be creatively unfulfilling to write the same thing over and over again.
But I’ll give ’em chance, at least for two hours. If I’m not surprised by anything I see, I’m done, and “Make It or Break It” — a bad show, but at least it’s entertainingly bad — will get restored to its Monday slot in my DVR queue.
Does anyone think Season 8 might be good? Or has “24” been permanently erased from your DVR?
Comments
As always, I am still excited. As bad as a show might be there are not many that can keep my attention the way this show does. It puts me on edge from week to week and I still fall for the ‘bad ass’ role that Keifer plays so well. (then again I’m a suck for Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, Rambo, etc) – maybe its my desire to be the alpha male haha# Posted By Shaune | 1/17/10 7:13 PM
Shaune–
Good to hear from you; I thought maybe a negative “24” post could get you to respond. Anyway, we will know in a few hours if “24” still has anything left in the tank. Five out of seven isn’t a bad average, it’s just that the two most recent seasons are the bad ones. Hopefully, they can recapture the old magic.
I assume you are also checking out “Human Target”; that sounds like your type of show. It doesn’t look that good to me, but I might give it a try just to kill some time.
John# Posted By John Hansen | 1/17/10 8:23 PM
I didn’t despise the Season 8 premiere. Here are some good things and bad things I noticed.
Good thing: The environs and computer terminals and wall-size satellite imagery projectors at CTU NY look like they are slightly in the future. “24” has jumped ahead in time enough times (look how many presidents Jack Bauer has answered to since 2001) that we know it is set slightly in the future. It’s nice to see the show acknowledge that.
Good thing: Jack says, “I hate this place” after having his tip about who the real bad guy is rebuffed by the CTU NY director. Not in a quippy, insider-joke type of way, but in a genuine way. It’s a great line because of how Kiefer Sutherland delivers it. I really did feel like Jack wanted to retire and spend time with his family, and it’s great that “24” spent the time on this character thread.
Bad thing: The CTU NY director’s arrogance and idiocy. We’ve all worked for arrogant and idiotic bosses, but why do TV show bosses always have to fit this mold? If TV is an escape from reality, shouldn’t it be filled with great bosses? Besides, some of us have worked for good bosses, too. Ideally, you’ll work for both (bad boss first, then good boss) so you can appreciate the good ones. I’d like to see one season where it’s Jack vs. The Bad Guys rather than Jack vs. The Bad Guys AND The CTU Director.
Good thing: The “Who is Dana Walsh?” story line. Katee Sackhoff’s CTU agent is being pestered by someone from her past — her past when she was known as Jenny and presumably (judging by her white-trashy sister, who still has a land-line phone in the future) was not as well off as she is now, as a fashionably dressed, on-the-rise, government-employed go-getter.
Bad thing: The engagement between Walsh and Freddie Prinze Jr.’s fellow agent, Cole. The attractive male lead and the attractive female lead don’t have to be a couple. In fact, it would be better if they weren’t. This is part of why I like “Fringe” and the early “X-Files.”
Good thing: Chloe is in classic Chloe mode, just on the borderline of being insubordinate to her boss. Chloe continues to be a great (OK, maybe the only) TV role model for the socially challenged.
Bad thing: From the previews, it looks like that boring female version of Jack from last season is going to return. The writers should’ve stayed away from any references to Season 7 and just moved forward.
That’s what stood out for me after the first two hours; it’s a 4-3 edge for Good over Bad.# Posted By John Hansen | 1/18/10 2:10 AMJohn, I think your right on with your Good/Bad comments too for the most part. Especially the boss comment. How many times can we have a ‘bad’ CTU director. Leave it to our government to continue to appoint incompetent leaders haha.
I’m going to throw out a few other ‘bads’.
Bad:Hussan’s brother being the bad guy. Being a fan of the show this was obvious from the first minute of the show and I was dissapointed to find out I was right. It happens every season.
Bad: Jack’s life threatening condition is barely even mentioned in passing. Of course they can’t dwell on this and it is probably a boring thread but come on.. that was a MAJOR plot development last year. At least give me a bit more detail.
Bad: Freddie Prinze Jr. – enough said.Good: I also really felt that Jack didn’t want to be in CTU. He almost didn’t want to ‘do the right thing’ and that was refreshing.Overall I still love the show and am anxious to watch tonight.
On a side note, and maybe for a different blog – did you watch the Human Target?# Posted By Shaune | 1/18/10 12:55 PM
Hussan’s brother being the bad guy. Do we know that for sure already? Or are they just strongly hinting at it? When I watch “24,” I have a hard time keeping my mind from wandering regularly, so I must’ve missed this part. All I could think of was that he looked like an Indian Jason Schwartzman.
Also, Doug Hutchinson as the bad guy. He plays a great bad guy (ever since he was Tooms on “The X-Files”) — maybe too great; they really played it safe with that casting. His scenes make my mind wander.
Well, the Jack being deathly ill plot from last year was so stupid even when they were doing it that I don’t mind if they don’t dwell on it. Like I say, just focus on making Season 8 good. Besides, he may have been in recovery for three years, so there’d be no reason to still talk about it (they never told us how much time passed between seasons; we can only guess from the age of Kim’s kid, the unfortunately named Terri).
Give Freddie Prinze Jr. a chance. Sarah Michelle Gellar sees something in him, so he can’t be all bad. Once his character gets to do something (it’d be cool if he became Jack’s sidekick, but they don’t seem to be going there), you’ll get used to his lack of acting range, which really isn’t a big deal on (what should be) a plot-driven show.
I watched “Human Target,” and it was fine, but it’s not my type of show, just like it’s not my type of comic book. You can talk about it in my midseason TV shows post and maybe find some other fans there.# Posted By John Hansen | 1/18/10 2:22 PM
I liked episode three a lot, and I liked episode four up until Renee came in and killed all the momentum while also turning it into “The Renee Show.”
Good thing: The show looks like it takes place in New York. They are spending a bit of time on establishing shots of the city.
Bad thing: This whole thing with Dana/Jenny’s ex Kevin (I changed my mind after the first couple hours). He’s getting annoying. I don’t care if she killed the real Dana Walsh and stole her identity. She needs to make up some story and get a CTU team over to her apartment to take him out for good. Actually, Dana/Jenny should just take a long dinner break, make a stop by the CTU armory on the way out, shoot Kevin, dump the body in the East River and return to work. (Part of the problem might be that the actor is so good at playing an ass — he played a similar character on “Roswell” — that he leaves no room for us to sympathize with him. This is the kind of role where a viewer can only assume he must be a complete ass in real life because he’s way too good at playing one.)
Bad thing: The actress who plays Renee. People criticize Freddie Prinze Jr. and Elisha Cuthbert for being bad actors, so how in the world does Annie Wersching get a free pass? It would almost be fun to watch (assuming they hadn’t ruined his character last year) Tony Almeida go on a “I have nothing to lose” rampage through the bad guys, but not Renee. (Now that I think about it, this is totally the character arc they should’ve had for Tony — they could’ve explored his loose-cannon side without the over-the-top move of making him an enemy of the United States.) We don’t know enough about Renee’s backstory to sympathize with her, and she’s a bland, single-facial-expression actor. I have trouble staying awake when she’s on screen. I’m rooting for the Russians to take her out. Maybe Vladamir deserved to have his hand cut off, but we as viewers don’t know that because they never showed the story leading up to Renee’s hatred of the Russians. So instead, I hate Renee, which I assume wasn’t the intended goal of the writers. Jack needs to take her out with some friendly fire, then go back to SoCal for some R&R with his girls.
Bad thing: A few years ago, “24” mostly stopped using the names of real countries (I think there were some bad guys who were Iraqi or something, and there was controversy). That’s why this peace process, which is a stand-in for Israel and Palestine, uses fake countries, even though it would resonate a lot more if they used the real countries’ names. So why then are the bad guys Russians? Be consistent: Use all fake countries or all real ones — preferably the latter.
Good thing: The actor who plays President Hassan. Sometimes I expect him to suddenly say “Who wants to be a … MILLON-aire!?” But generally, I like the guy. It genuinely seems like if a struggling Middle East country got a leader like this, there might be hope for its future.
Good thing: Hastings acknowledging Chloe’s good work. He’s not a complete moron, and that will make him more tolerable as the season continues.
Three good things: In three separate instances during hours 3 and 4, I was pleasantly surprised by the writers going against the cliché. I expected Hassan to throw his mistress under the bus; instead, he admitted the affair. I expected the officer to give Jack a hard time, instead he let him call CTU and drove him to the U.N. (Of course, we had to deal with the moron cop beating the crap out of Jack for a while first, but I guess that’s what fast-forward buttons are for. They should call it the “24 Cliché Skipper Button.”) I expected Cole to allow the Russian to escape; instead, he was willing to sacrifice his life so the bad guy would be apprehended. There’s someone in the writers’ room saying, “Let’s give people some pleasant surprises, and let’s not always have the drama come from idiots getting in Jack’s way.” That’s awesome. I just wish that writer had enough influence to keep Renee off the show.
So I liked the first four hours quite a bit, but I don’t like where the plot is headed. I’ll stick with it for a bit, though.# Posted By John Hansen | 1/19/10 5:26 AM