[quote name='Kirin Lemon']Man, this really has been a paint-by-numbers season of 24. I'm not sure if it's worse than season six, but at best, it's only marginally better. Let's see...
Puh-lease, I've seen it all before. This is playing out just like seasons 4 and 6 in terms of silliness. It's like watching a "24's Greatest Hits" reel that's trying to pass itself off as a new season. I'm surprised we haven't seen Jack tortured by the bad guys yet, but I'm sure it's still coming. Yawn.[/quote]Just so you know: this kind of post has
flame-bait written all over it, especially since you are criticizing some of the core qualities of the show. I'm not attacking your post, I'm just pointing out reasons why your opinions could be wrong:
Bauer returns from exile to save the country? Check.
He didn't return from exile in this season. He was pulled out of a Senate sub-committee hearing.
An early seemingly-foreign threat? Check.
This plot line goes for every season of 24, not just 4-6. I don't understand what the problem with this is. Are you saying the early threat should be purely domestic involving a bunch of white guys?
Suspects who are killed right before divulging crucial information? Check.
Would you rather have every injured man/woman spill their guts and have every plan rendered obsolete 8 episodes into the season? No. It adds to the tension of the show, as well as providing a doorway into other storylines.
C'mon, you seriously can't hate on Jack Bauer going dark throughout each season can you? The times where he flies solo contribute to some of the best episodes I can think of across the entire series. Jack seems, at least to me, to be lone wolf by nature. It makes sense for his character to want to handle things his way and he can't always do that with the help/authorization of anyone else, because his methods usually bend and break the rules. If you seriously have a problem with Jack going rogue, I recommend you re-watch the episode in Season 4 where Jack rescues Senator Heller and his daughter at the terrorist compound.
The real threat is from within the government? Check.
I could understand the concern if the real bad guy/girl was the President again, but it's not. They probably use the idea of a corrupted government because, for any of these plans to work, there would need to be people on the inside (aka Government) to make it work. It just makes sense to have bad guys placed throughout different government levels/offices.
The good guys go after Jack for something he didn't do? Check.
The previous seasons have all been building up this idea that Jack is a sort of vigilante that may/may not be trusted. This was one of the reasons that he was in that Senate sub-committee at the beginning of the show. With that idea in mind, it's only natural for regular FBI agents and police officers to assume that Jack went overboard, especially when so many people around him end up dead. This, along with the "Rogue Jack" episodes, has Jack's back pushed up against the wall - where he performs at his best.
Bauer threatens to harm a suspect's family to get information? Check.
This is just a interrogation technique used often in the show. If it works, why not use it? It's the same thing as torture techniques that Jack utilizes throughout all the other seasons - it gets people to talk.
Only a handful of allies that can be trusted to help Jack save the day? Check.
It makes sense to use this in each season because there are only a handful of people that understand what Jack tries to accomplish and can agree to his methods that involve overstepping the boundaries placed before them. This ties back into the storyline where Jack is seen as a vigilante and untrustworthy by the government. The few that help are the few who know it's not right.
A ridiculous amount of sub-threats crammed into a 24-hour span? Check.
The show isn't about realism. If it were advertised as the most realistic show on TV, we'd be seeing Jack taking a shit once or twice per season, eating meals, etc. It's
supposed to be over-the-top, nonstop action revolving around a plethora of different threats/circumstances.
ed up when you have a mod telling you not to listen to another mod. Forums need clear rules and all mods should enforce the same rules the same way.
And more people live in the east.
