NOTE: I would like to apologize in advance to Tebor for criticizing 24.


24 Totally Sucks Now
by Syd Lexia


This thread contains spoilers, but if you don't follow the show, you won't find it interesting anyway.


I originally wanted to bitch about this on the TV.com forum, but their forums are beyond shitty.

I am officially sick of 24. I'll watch this season through the end to see how far the idiocy goes, but I am done with the show after that. I was really enjoying this season, but it's gotten incredibly stupid recently. And I can pinpoint the exact moment when the show took a nosedive: right after the Sentox gas was released in CTU.

The release of the Sentox gas in the CTU building was the pinnacle of the season. It was a total "Holy Shit!" moment that made me want to see what would happen next. Unfortunately, they have completely and totally fucked up the show since then. The writing this scene is convuluted and insulting, the show has been reduced to nothing but a series of cheap string "What will happen next?" moments. There is no respect for the fans, no respect for the characters, and no respect for plausibility. Here are just a few of the ways in which they have fucked up the show.

1. Too Many Deaths
The season started off with the assassination of former president David Palmer. It was a shocking moment, but it made sense. They couldn't keep finding ways to write Palmer into the show and his death gave the show a strong opening. It was quickly followed by the death of Michelle Dessler-Almeida by a car bomb. Tony Almeida was also serious wounded by the bomb. This was rather disappointing to me, because Tony and Michelle have always been two of the show's best characters. Still, I was willing to overlook the death of Michelle because Tony was still alive. In following weeks, we saw the death of another fan favorite, Edgar Stiles, as well as tthe inevitable death of tragically inept Lynn McGill. Oh yeah, and like 60% of CTU's Los Angeles staff. Then came the big one.

Tony had survived the car bomb and was taken to CTU for treatment. He proceeded to lie around doing nothing. He eventually awoke, did nothing of consequence, and was killed by a man who was supposed under sedation. Tony was one of the show's most beloved characters and he was killed off in a cheesy death sequence that looked like it was stolen out of a B horror movie. It was sickening that a character who had been with the show for so long would get such a weak death scene. If the writers had nothing else for Tony to do, they should have killed him off with Michelle. Instead, they kept him alive a little bit longer just so they could get a cheap shock out of the audience.

Also, Evelyn and her young daughter are probably dead too. They didn't show it on the camera, but that doesn't make it any less sickening or uncalled for. The writers are completely out of ideas, they just keep piling more and more deaths on. You can bet that at least one other good guy will die before the end of the season. Aaron Pierce, Curtis Manning, Wayne Palmer, and Secretary Heller are all prime candidates.

2. The President Is The Bad Guy
At its core, 24, is in incredibly jingoistic show. Jack Bauer constantly circumvents protocol, American law, and international treaties in order to stop terrorist threats. This win at any cost attitude does not sit well with liberals, so you will never see them watching the show. Also, the show constantly uses the Fox News logo and liberals can't look at that without giggling. By making the president the bad guy, the writers are showing a total lack of understanding of who their viewers are.

Up until a few weeks ago, President Logan was a barely competent man incapable of making important decisions by himself. Now, he's suddenly the mastermind behind a conspiracy that was designed to allow America to increase its military presence overseas. This duality is absolutely incredulous, but it has its roots in fiery rhetoric of pundits like Al Franken and Michael Moore who constantly alternate between calling Bush a total idiotic who can't even chew properly and accusing him of masterminding a war for oil in Iraq.

24 has no real reason to play to the left like this, other than it makes for an unpredictable plot twist. And these days, 24 seems more far more interested in being unpredictable than in being good. Each week we crash haphazardly from shocker to shocker. It's pretty much become a soap opera, but even General Hospital has better writing than 24 these days. In fact, the only soap operas I can think of that have WORSE writing than 24 are the WWE's Raw Is War and Friday Night Smackdown programs.

3. Characters Disappear For No Reason
What the hell happened to Mike Novak? He just sort of disappeared for no reason. Kim Bauer showed up for a few episodes and did absolutely nothing worthwhile and then left. Elisha Cuthbert is damn hot, but her character tends to be poorly written for. Remember when she was stuck in the woods with Kevin Dillon? I rest my case.


Keifer Sutherland recently signed on for three more seasons of 24. Sorry, no thanks. I liked the show, but I feel it is becoming too Jack-centric. Jack is not an entirely likable character and he is more palatable when he surrounded by a supporting cast of more sympathetic characters. Characters like Edgar, Michelle, and Tony. Sure, we still have Chloe and potentially Bill, but that's little consolotion. Fuck the writers, and fuck 24.

Unless this season's mounting ridiculousness ends with either Victoria Principal, Patrick Duffy, or Jack Bauer waking to discover it was all a dream, they can take Seasons 6-8 and shove them up their ass.

Tebor wrote:

Man, Vaughn's alive again on "Alias"! I hope this means Tony will be alive again soon on "24".

I keep hoping that... a lot of people refuse to believe he's dead because his death scene was so lacking in awesomeness. I know they put him in a body bag and all, but in the wake of the whole Sentox fiasco, they didn't have a whole lot of medical staff on hand right away. It's possible that Tony still had a weak pulse and it wasn't discovered until they brought him to the morgue.

I know that's highly implausible, but it's not impossible. But I feel like the decision to kill off characters has been taken too lightly this season. They could have just as easily not used Tony and Michelle at all. The whole plot device where Henderson wanted to kill them because they knew Jack was still alive didn't even make that much sense. Henderson's men could have just as easily set him up without trying to kill Tony, Michellle, and Chloe. My feeling is that you shouldn't definitively kill off characters whenever you can help, especially popular characters. You should leave the door open possible returns because 1) it's cool to throw that kind of curveball every now and then 2) it boosts ratings. Even the decision to kill Nina was kinda depressing. Part of me took great satisfaction in seeing her die, but the other part thought she was a great villain for the show.

Tebor wrote:

With three more seasons and her appearance in the game, I kinda think they'll find some way for her to be back in either a clone or sister form. Will the show become completely wacky at that point? Yes, but who cares.

They could have an entire season called "26" which takes place in an alternate dimension where days have 26 hours and the exposure to radioactive elements turned George Mason into a superhero instead of killing him.

I demand a prequel of sorts... maybe something between Seasons 3 and 4. What's the point if I can't see Tony, Michelle, and Palmer on the big screen? I like Jack and all, but to me, 24 has always been an ensemble show.

Tebor wrote:

Doing something between seasons 2 and 3 would also be good. The game made me realize how much I loved the cast of that time period.

The only reason, I didn't suggest that is because the game already does it. But yeah, that would be awesome too.

Where are Audrey and her dad?

What about Carlos Bernard?

Oh wait...

MOTHERFUCKER!

I don't know what they're gonna do this season. They've already taken terrorist plots to ridiculous lengths, I don't see how they can top the previous seasons without being completely silly. Since the show already has a soap opera-ish feel, maybe Tony's twin brother Timmy could join the show. Or maybe Homeland Security could clone Tony or put his consciousness into a cybernetic orgasism that looks exactly lile him.