Support NeoGAF

[Baron Aloha]

its definitely the kind of show that works best in small doses. Let me explain...

I have been a fan of the show since it came out but its often very difficult for me to watch it because of my schedule. I think I may have watched 4-5 episodes from each of the previous seasons and I'm 5-for-5 on the current season.

Best Buy had the 1st season on sale for $25 and I knew we were going to get a big snow storm and I'd be trapped in my house with nothing to do so I bought it and watched all six discs over the weekend (8 episdoes a day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday).

I guess when you have a week between each episode it is easier to miss some of the mistakes or forgive some of the goings on in the show but watching them all back-to-back made them very apparent.

For instance...

1) Many times two people would be talking at the end of an episode and the conversation would end with something along the lines of "get back to me when you find out more about so-and-so". Then when the next episode starts the person requesting the information would call the other person back and be like "so what did you find out?" and the other person would be like "nothing yet". Well no wonder.... you just spoke with them 5 minutes ago!! Why are you calling back so soon? This happened a lot and it drove me crazy.

2) The whole Sherry/David Palmer marriage dissolving over a period of 24 hours was kind of unbelievable. I mean, heres a guy who has been clueless about his wife for years and years and then all of the sudden he keeps catching her doing all these bad acts in a single day? On the same note, here is a woman who has managed to successfully deceive her husband for years and years and now all of the sudden she sucks at it and she gets caught left and right?

3) How many times can someone be kidnapped in 24 hours. Come on!

4) The body count in the show is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure at least 1 person died in every episode and in several episodes the body count is astronomical. After a while the deaths start to have very little impact dramatically speaking. But with one show a week I can see this not happening.

5) The whole thing where Nina turned bad towards the end of the 23rd episode made no sense whatsoever. It felt completely ill-conceived and tacked on. Just a few episodes earlier she was with Teri and Kim at the hospital and she noticed a man posing as an FBI agent. She was the only person who saw him and she went through a lot of trouble to call CTU and get the phone that the imposter was using finger printed because she was concerned about Teri and Kim's safety. Why would she care about their safety if she was working for the bad guys? There are several other minor instances like this during the season but this one is by far the most glaring.

Is there anyone else who feels the way I do? I'm still a fan of the show and I plan on buying seasons 2 and 3 shortly but I wanted to talk about this stuff with someone and I know there are a lot of fans on this forum.

 

[Prospero]

The bit where Teri gets a brutal case of amnesia for all of three hours should be added to your list.

EDIT: though there are some reasons that I prefer season 1 to season 2, season 2 holds up much better in a marathon viewing than season 1 (if you forget about the silly Kim subplot).

 

[DarienA]

Negative posts about 24 = BANDED... you've been warned.

 

[jenov4]

3) How many times can someone be kidnapped in 24 hours. Come on!

:lol, wait till you watch Season 2. FEAR DEM COUGARS!

 

[Baron Aloha]

The bit where Teri gets a brutal case of amnesia for all of three hours should be added to your list.

Ah yes...when it happened my dad was like "watch her have amnesia (he never watched the show so he didn't know beforehand) and I was like... "there's no way they'd stoop that low". Low and behold they did. I was like "Give me a freaking break!!"

 

[Memles]

The Nina thing made sense, although there were some inconsistencies. Also of note is how Nina ended up being the one who spoke with them at the safehouse...and then the safehouse was attacked. THAT made a whole lot of sense afterwards. I've heard some people who can't stand watching it week by week because of the waiting, but I guess it goes both ways, as it likely isn't meant to be watched back to back for the obvious reasons.

Season Two's ENTIRE plot spiralled in the second half, whereas the first season's basic plot actually got a little better in the second half (The Drazens) even if the Teri bullshit was just that.

 

[goodcow]

The Nina thing made sense, although there were some inconsistencies. Also of note is how Nina ended up being the one who spoke with them at the safehouse...and then the safehouse was attacked. THAT made a whole lot of sense afterwards. I've heard some people who can't stand watching it week by week because of the waiting, but I guess it goes both ways, as it likely isn't meant to be watched back to back for the obvious reasons.

Season Two's ENTIRE plot spiralled in the second half, whereas the first season's basic plot actually got a little better in the second half (The Drazens) even if the Teri bullshit was just that.

The producers have said on many occasions that they just write the show as they go along, only planning out the next two to four hours. Nina being the mole was something that was decided last minute, so the safehouse being attacked really had nothing to do with her.

 

[Ristamar]

Astronomical body count = a good thing. In my book, at least. Espeically in Season 3. It was like they were throwing darts at a board of cast pictures every hour to see who they'd kill off next.

 

[Ristamar]

The producers have said on many occasions that they just write the show as they go along, only planning out the next two to four hours. Nina being the mole was something that was decided last minute, so the safehouse being attacked really had nothing to do with her.

Or did it? Perhaps that influenced their decision to make her the mole. While their story writing is a bit impromptu and imperfect, they do try to maintain a certain level of consistency.

 

[Wario64]

One thing that still bothers me is when Nina is at the hospital protecting Teri and Kim from the bad dude. Why the hell did she care so much about protecting them if she's one of them?

But yeah, the writers just make up shit as they go along. Remember when that chick supposedly killed herself but cutting her arm? There were no cameras in that room, but apparantly there was a conveniently hidden camera that captured Nina murdering her...yea...

 

[shantyman]

The producers have said on many occasions that they just write the show as they go along, only planning out the next two to four hours. Nina being the mole was something that was decided last minute, so the safehouse being attacked really had nothing to do with her.

So now we have to assess the creators' methods? The final product is what matters, not how they got there.

Why would Nina not try to protect Kim and Teri? She was undercover for christ's sake! They presented no immediate threat to her at that time.

 

[IAmtheFMan]

I'm as big of a fan of 24 as anyone else, but I think it goes without saying that a great bit of suspension of belief is required to watch it. If you just pick at a thread, the whole damn thing's gonna unravel.

 

[Prospero]

If you just pick at a thread, the whole damn thing's gonna unravel.

Why is it that Jack Bauer never sleeps and can go for 24 hours without showing signs of exhaustion?

 

[Baron Aloha]

Well one thing I forgot to mention that I liked was how Nina got Teri at the end. Teri was annoying as hell. I don't know which is more.... the number of times someone got killed or the number of times Teri broke down into tears.

 

[CloudNL]

Why is it that Jack Bauer never sleeps and can go for 24 hours without showing signs of exhaustion?

He did sleep in season 1! For a couple of minutes! :lol

But you can't stay up for 24 hours? I can!

 

[Hollywood]

Wasn't there two alternate endings for season one shown on the DVD? What were they? I never heard about what they were.

 

[Wario64]

Wasn't there two alternate endings for season one shown on the DVD? What were they? I never heard about what they were.

Real ending: Teri dies

Alternate ending #1: Teri doesn't die

Alternate ending #2: Teri gets shot, but still lives




Season 1 is still great...I think it's the best season that portrays the 'events occur in real time' line. The cell phone batteries dying out, Jack's sleep deprivation, the 20 second camera loop at CTU, 'Jack vs. elevator', ACTUAL L.A. traffic in the morning....good stuff

 

[En-ou]

Why is it that Jack Bauer never sleeps and can go for 24 hours without showing signs of exhaustion?

you dunno bauer very well, do you?

 

[suaveric]

Another problem with the show's format is the time it seems to take to get places. Sometimes is takes almost a whole show, other times characters are back from places in the three minute commercial breaks.

 

[Wario64]

Another problem with the show's format is the time it seems to take to get places. Sometimes is takes almost a whole show, other times characters are back from places in the three minute commercial breaks.

Haha yeah. I sure like how Tony went from CTU to Teri's house in like 5 minutes, all during rush hour. I don't even think there was a commercial break in that timeline too

 

[Teddman]

The formula is definitely starting to show big time as we enter Season Four. So I decided that I don't care about a believeable timeline any more or repetitive elements re-used from previous seasons, now I just want to see Jack kick ass.