This will be the last 24 hours/season for Jack Bauer. The modern-day MacGyver and terrorist fighter has gotten his burn notice from Fox Television – the victim of a confluence of factors: rising costs, creative stumbles and descending ratings.
While a movie is in the planning stages, and Bauer’s adventures are such that they really don’t need to be tied to the [kinda] real time format of the series, I’m sad to see it go because it gave us a fictional philosophical debate on the ways and means that could/should be used in defence of one’s country – and placed it squarely in the middle of a fast-paced, frequently shocking and very entertaining package.
Plus, it gave us a world, however heightened, in which people weren’t always what they seemed: friends could be traitors and enemies could be patriots; characters died – even [or maybe especially] the ones we really liked [with the exception of Bauer – which may have been a mistake], and where characters who survived frequently grew from their experiences [as when dumber-than-a-post Kim Bauer grew up and became a computer wizard for the CTU]. Heck, even the President of the United States could be a traitor!
In 24, we got philosophy, character growth, action and stuff getting blowed up real good – not to mention conspiracies, sacrifice and, occasionally, Commando Chloe. And now we’re down to the show’s final tick…tick…tick…
BOOM! And goodbye!
I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand I really enjoy the format of 24 and the edge-of-your-seat stories on a weekly basis (no matter how unprobable some may be) and on the other, perhaps it IS time to say goodbye while the series is currently experiencing more highs than lows. My only concern is that 24 is written and filmed so far in advance of any renewal announcement, that I would hate for the series to end their season/series in any type of cliffhanger rather than a satisfying conclusion. 24 has been a fun and entertaining ride, and it will sad to see this one go.