***SPOILER ALERT!***BA Roof:
To enjoy 24, I have to realize it’s just fantasy. I can easily do this with Lost, a show built around the supernatural, time travel and faith. But, 24 is supposed to be grounded in current day reality. In the first few seasons of 24, all the events seemed plausible. Then with every subsequent season, the writers felt they had to one-up the previous one in the disaster department. I’m not sure what else they can do after last night. In last night’s episode a small group of soldiers from a fictional African country overtook the White House. Let’s pause. The White House is probably the most heavily guarded building in the world. The only chance you have of overtaking it is probably completely destroying it in a covert coordinated effort. There is no “overtaking” it.
How did the writers of 24 get around this? They created an inside person, of course. A mystery person (John Voight) that appears to have access to all the security codes and White House information aiding the soldiers (Note: the soldiers wore camo military gear, not stealthy black clothing that one might wear at night when not in the jungle). I assume we will learn more about this man in the second half of the season. If you were not going to destroy the building, but simply take it over, I guess an underground attack would be the most vulnerable method. But, since it is the most vulnerable, don’t you think there are some pretty strong safeguards in that department? Not in the world of 24.
I could go off on a tangent about how the FBI could have prevented the underwater/underground attack by finding the boat from the location Agent Walker gave them. It was only going about 5 mph. But, it is the government we are talking about. Now, we have the proposition that only 10 to 15 soldiers are going to overtake the White House. God knows how many Secret Service, NSA agents, troops, etc. are guarding the White House (no idea what happened to them all). Plus you have Jack Bauer. Why did he seem so helpless? Why did everyone seem so helpless? Mr. Robinson makes some excellent points in his post about how the lock down room was supplied. But, why did the Secret Service agents look like they couldn’t even shoot a gun? There was probably a reason…the entire government mole issue that consumed the first half of the season and rendered every agency untrustworthy. But, the writers forgot to explain this fact.
Finally, in the conclusion of the show, you have a Vice President unwilling to go in and save the President, because he isn’t sure whether they have captured her. Um, I’m guessing the White House is bugged, wired, videotaped, more than you would want to know, so there is no way to monitor what is happening? Somehow an FBI desk agent can intercept cell phone calls and decode computer files in a matter of seconds from her desk, but no one can determine what happened to the President in the White House?
Now, while all these things bothered me last night, I did enjoy watching the show. I just pretended it was pure fantasy. After that, I was entertained and want to know what happens next week. So did I stop watching the show? No. Have I lost a lot of respect for it? Yes. But I can’t stop watching this train wreck, like I can’t stop watching the stock market drop on a daily basis. I give the two hour episode a Spork Rating of:
Christopher J. Robinson:
Once again, it’s the little things that bother me. As BA Roof has pointed out, the first step is recognizing that ‘24’ has become completely fantastical. At this point, I would not be surprised if Jon Voight’s character turned out to be a magic wizard or a shape shifter. Although a magic wizard would have been able to throw a bull’s-eye after exclaiming “Now, let’s throw some darts!”
So here are few of the little things that bothered me about last night’s episode of 24:
-General Juma’s knife was so dull that it didn’t even slice the cheek of the President’s daughter as he ran it across her face. Rather pathetic, Juma.
-Jack was quickly able tor recognize that Juma’s end game was killing the President and making a mockery of the United States, and that he was very willing to die to achieve this. Yet, not a single FBI or Secret Service Agent outside of the White House was able to come to this conclusion and storm the rebels.
-The only security system that Juma’s men had to get around was a short drainage tunnel that was protected by some lasers. I saw on Myth Busters once that no one even uses these anymore because they are so easy to get around. So why does the White House still use them? They weren’t even invisible.
-The “lock down room” in the White House has not been set up with a way to contact anyone outside of it? There wasn’t even anything cool in there. Only a small tool box. No guns, no explosives, no tear gas and gas masks, no teleportation devices.
-What happened to all of the US soldiers dressed in camo that were already inside the White House when they took down Jack?
-Why don’t characters in 24 feel pain when grabbed by the arm that has a bullet lodged in it?
There were countless other instances of very minor things that could have very easily been made to seem realistic. I can’t wait to see what happens in Season 8. Jack will probably have to diffuse a nuclear bomb that is in orbit around the Earth, or battle aliens that have infiltrated the CIA. I wouldn’t even be surprised if Season 8 was handed over to Disney’s Pixar studios.
However, in light of the fact that 24 in no longer grounded in reality, Monday's two hour block was rather entertaining, and as the other R points out, we will continue to watch. But that doesn't mean I am going to love it. The lazy writing will still frustrate me. 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm gets...
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