Mythology: 24
By Martin Felipe
January 27, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com

There is a 99.7% chance that the helicopter blows up in the next five seconds.
I've done a lot of talking about my preference for the current wave of novelistic television over the more episodic approach most commonly exhibited in the current wave of procedural television. Not all serialized shows are created equal, though, and, though I hate to admit it, 24, a series which began with such promise, has now degenerated into similar redundant, wheel spinning filler as its CBS crime show counterparts.

I remember well 24's debut back in 2001. Starting weeks after the 9/11 attacks, viewers just weren't ready for a television program about terrorism. Despite positive notices, the entire first season remained on the brink of low ratings cancellation. The critics were right, though, in my estimation. I was riveted. I remember claiming, while trying to talk my friends into giving it a chance, "It's the best show in the history of shows." Hyberbolic, I admit, but it really is gripping in the first season.

Perhaps it was that the concept seemed so fresh. Everyone knows it today, but in 2001, the idea of a show in which each episode is an hour of a single day seemed pretty clever. And creator Joel Surnow sure knew how to explore the concept to its suspenseful fullest. Like "television crack" (I credit my friend for that apt description), the first season kept its tiny group of passionate viewers riveted as Jack Bauer, counter terrorist agent, American James Bond, complete badass, spends "the longest day of my life" saving Presidential candidate David Palmer from assassination, all the while keeping his wife and daughter safe.

The gods of television must have been in a good mood in 2002 when FOX, a network maligned for poor treatment of cult shows, granted 24 a second season. Critics and the minuscule yet devoted fan base were thrilled. Then FOX did something brilliant. The idea of season long DVD releases just prior to the next season was launched when FOX decided to provide the DVD audience an opportunity to catch up with Jack and his exploits before the second season debut. As with most serialized offerings, FOX was concerned that, if viewers felt that they couldn't join the party late, the ratings would continue to dwindle, making the second season renewal look like a complete disaster. Well, we now know it was anything but. The DVD plan worked and the second season came out swinging in the ratings and, over the years, 24 has become one of FOX's core programs.

Thing is, as early as that second season, the creative juices already seemed a little diluted. There are good story threads. George Mason's radiation poisoning, for example, is very well done, but we were already starting to see the spinning of the wheels Surnow and company need to keep things from getting resolved before the designated 24th hour. Jack's daughter Kim, whose story in season one is pretty compelling, became the face of the show's absurd stalling techniques with the now legendary and infamous cougar attack in the second season. Nevertheless, for the most part, it's pretty good.

Season three took a further step down. Ideas were recycled. What's Ryan Chapelle's death hour but just a twist on Mason's death the prior season, for example? Kim's stories continued their absurdity. Jack's torture techniques and oft repeated phrases-"I'm running out of time," "I give you my word," "holster your weapon," "Dammit!" were getting to drinking game level redundancy. There was a beacon of light in season three, however - the introduction of surly computer tech Chloe O'Brien. One thing 24 lacked at the time was comic relief, and Chloe's petulant sneering made her probably the fan favorite character, after Jack, of course.

Another once daring element of 24 became a cliché in the fourth season - the death of major characters. There are spoilers ahead, of course! When Jack failed to save his wife Terri in the first season, it hit like a lightening bolt. All bets were off. Anything could happen to any of our characters at any time. Surnow follows through on this dangerous promise in the next couple of seasons. By the fourth, is seemed pretty clear that only Jack and probably Chloe, were safe and everyone else was disposable in an ever revolving cast list. The shock and emotion of Terri's death was diluted over the years to the point where, in season seven, when Bill dies, I didn't really care all that much.

Season five saw a bit of a renaissance, and indeed, won the Emmy, but after that, 24 has evolved into a repetitive series of torturing, shouting, death, and last minute saves. Worst of all, it's just pretty dull. It's become a victim of its own success and, I hate to admit it but it's true, its limited premise.

Unlike other serials, the time span in which the action takes place is so limited, there's little room for character development, or anything but the most minuscule plot advancement. And they have to drag it all out each time to 24 installments, resulting in a circuitous series of events designed to fool the viewer into thinking something is happening to lead us to the climax, when all that's really going on is delaying the inevitable.

As a victim of its own success, Surnow's forced to repeat his formula year after year, highlighting the weaknesses, and diluting the strengths. I keep hoping for something revolutionary to happen in the life of Jack Bauer, but what I see instead, makes what comes before less impressive by comparison. I almost wish FOX had seen fit to let it die after the first year. Then we might have been left with a great season of television, with wasted potential, rather than the over tired war horse it's become.