Does the show "24" NOT suck?

[jefferson_dem]

I hear people eagerly waiting for the season premier but i tried watching it once and thought it was awful. Lamely produced, over-hyped, melodramatics. Am i missing something?

[Neoma]

1. I've never seen it.

So my opinion on the subject isn't worth shit.

[ohiosmith]

2. I watched it the first season but the actress who played Jack's daughter

was so fucking annoying I gave up on it.

[grace0418]

29. She's not really on it anymore. It's safe to come back in the water.

She was annoying though for sure.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Same here.

I tried watching it once and it felt like I was watching this decade's version of The A-Team.

[Little Wing]

4. Yes

[ashling]

5. Didn't really care for any of the episodes

that I happened to see, but it doesn't such any more than most of the crap on TV.

[musiclawyer]

6. It's an acquired taste

read Tim Goodman's article in SF Chronicle. We watch it because it's so over the top and incredible, bad acting to boot. But it's unpredictable, and once your in, it's hard to pull away

[Little Wing]

8. WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?!

:rofl:

[SOteric]

7. I love the show

But to me it's the televised version of a comic book, with Jack Bauer as a kind of comic book hero. Taken in that context, overhyped melodramatics are appropriate.

[LTR]

9. Here's what I posted about it on another thread

I really wanted to like this show, and I tuned in a few times. Sure, I should have watched the entire season or at least started at the beginning. But I have to say, politics aside, it is a very overrated show. Too many cliches, too many people standing around in control rooms, too much cheesy writing, and a lot of bad acting. All in all, I was very underwhelmed.

Though I must say, it's not nearly as aggravating as "The Unit", which can't decide whether it wants to be "The Dirty Dozen" or "Desperate Housewives" (I was hoping for "Dirty Dozen"). Instead, it's all a distracting mess.

Go rent a Jason Bourne flick (or go see "Casino Royale") for spy thrillers done right.

[Little Wing]

13. You'd probably like MI-5, or as it's called in the UK "spooks"

For the obvious reason, it's called MI-5 here and not Spooks. It's a BBC series about (duh) MI-5 operatives doing counter-terrorism stuff in the UK, but it's MUCH darker than 24, and really does take all the 'sexiness' of 24 out of the picture and portrays the other side of the job. The miserableness, the boredom cut with frantic action, the difficulties at home which being a spy could create. It's a real class-act of a show, and they've really turned it up with Season 5.

[LTR]

26. I've heard that was good

I don't catch a lot of TV, but it's on there, along with crime shows like "The Wire" and "The Shield", which I've only caught bits and pieces of, but look pretty good.

[Little Wing]

27. I had to download it

but every time I was done with an episode, I was waiting for the next to finish download.

I'll say that the first 2 seasons were "OK", but they really ramped up the plot lines in seasons 3, 4, and 5. I can't wait till season 6, but they're filming it now, and it's not due until fall. Sigh.

[bigwillq]

10. Never watched it

But everyone I know, loves it.

[SPKrazy]

11. I Wanted To Watch It

but I started after the first episode and felt that I missed the last hour and thought, I'll watch it in reruns, but never have

[philosophie_en_rose]

12. No. It does not not suck.

:bounce:

[Nevernose]

14. I watch "Jericho" for the same reasons

It's lamely produced, over-hyped, and melodramatic. But once you KNOW that, and accept it, it's a good show. I haven't actually seen 24, but I assume it's the same thing.

Sometimes you just have to turn your brain off and enjoy the pulp fiction for what it is -- pulp.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

15. My favorite show.

I can't wait for the premiere. :D

[Danger Mouse]

16. If all else fails you can always place bets on what the next thing...

...to menace Elisha Cuthbert will be.
Will it be terrorists? Will it be a double-double agent? Will it be a crazed mountain man? Will it be the police? Will it be a cougar?
Every season of 24 is obligated to feature at least one (1) torture scene and about twenty (20) scenes of damsels in distress.

[GenDem]

17. I'm very late to the table...

but rented the first season for something to do just before the holidays...and Mr Gen and I were hooked after the first episode...we then marathoned through the whole first season, barely taking the time to eat and go to the bathroom.

Last weekend we did the same with season 2.

I find that the over the top, over acted, and over dramatic scenes are fun, fun, fun. What about when this :nuke: happened in season 2?

[jonnyblitz]

19. i am going through season 2. my sister has all 5 seasons

and i am at her house for about a week so I am watching them whenever i get a chance. I love this show. I dont watch many tv series and this is one of the best ones I have seen.

[GenDem]

21. May try to get through season 3

starting tomorrow night. It's very addicting.:hi:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

22. Season 5 is the best, trust me.

[AwakeAtLast]

25. My husband and I are doing that with "Lost"

I'm sure the experiences are similar. I would imagine "24" is very good watching it that way!

:hi:

[GenDem]

36. We did that with "Lost" - last winter.

These suspenseful dramas are fun to watch consecutively...I think.
:hi:

[bluethruandthru]

18. I love 24!

It's a great hour of total escapism. You know it's melodramatic but it's extremely fast moving and really has you on the edge of your seat. Best part..even though it takes 24 episodes to complete a story line...there's a payoff or feeling of satisfaction at the end of each episode.. Can't wait for Sunday!

[UTUSN]

20. LIMBOsevic just LEURVES it, like HITLER loved dogs. Not my DU ass thing n/t

[CactusJock]

23. i could never get into it either

i like the gimmick that it all happens in real time, and sure that should make it more realistic and all, but then I can't help thinking that after 5 seasons jack should have spotted the pattern that every time there's a real disaster in his career it happens over an exactly 24 hour period, during which he has a little mini-catastrophe at the end of each 60minutes. so much for realism!

I know that prolly sounds really pedantic and you're right I am pedantic and i probably have too much time on my hands...

also, hello, when does jack take a dump?

[Anarcho-Socialist]

35. To answer your question

It's part of the plot of season six. Terrorists drugged Jack Bauer back in season two to stop him from expelling faeces, this gradually builds up to season six where Bauer becomes a radioactive faecal bomb that could go off and destroy America at any moment.

[CactusJock]

42. ok that's pretty plausible actually

next time it comes on i'm going to give it a second chance!

[VelmaD]

24. I find it reprehensible

The "heroes" do all sorts of shit that is beyond unconstitutional and justify it with "we're fighting terrorists". It's jingoistic crap.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

28. Bought the first season for my one son Dec. '05

He (16 then) had shoulder surgery and was housebound over the holiday break ... we all got hooked! Bought Season 5 for hubby for Christmas and we sped through that to be ready for the season 6 premier this weekend. It's going to be way different waiting a whole week between episodes. since we watched the other seasons on DVD.

I agree that watching season1 I found myself rolling my eyes, after a point, at one crisis after another. There is definitely some predictability ... but, the delicious twists and turns that I don't see coming keep me interested.

I have been bothered by the fact that I KNOW there are freepers out there who don't get that this is a fictional TeeVee show; that it depicts actions and events that are most definitely illegal and unconstitutional. I felt some concern that it might reinforce some of the lesser evolved's view of acceptable behavior ... but, I've never been one to support the idea of playing to the lowest common denominator, and I doubt this show will make or break their deluded notions.

Without giving away the plot of season 5, I think they took a giant step away from the notion that their show might be considered supportive of the actions of recent years.

[grace0418]

30. It's preposterous, overblown and repetitious. But if you start from the beginning

it's strangely addictive. I can't explain it. Normally I couldn't be less interested in the action genre. I like indie films, comedies without laugh tracks, movies with subtitles, etc. But I got hooked on 24. For me it can be enjoyed on several levels.

1. Turn off your brain and get on the roller coaster. It is non-stop. And if you don't think too much about how implausible it all is, you can really enjoy the crazy twists and turns of the plots.

2. Try to guess what's going to happen next. It's like a game: who's going to be a bad guy (that you initially think is a good guy), who's going to start out an asshole but redeem himself/herself? What twist is going to come up when you least expect it? Who is going to die (regulars get killed off with alarming...regularity)? The discussions at the watercooler Tuesday are wildly entertaining. It's like all the conspiracy theories that get tossed around on DU. Then, at the end of the season, it's great to go back and see who was right, who was wrong, and what plot threads just never got tied up at all.

3. And last but not least, laugh your ass off at all the ridiculous things that happen. Whether it's another utterly impossible situation from which Jack manages to escape, or another perimeter that CTU manages to fuck up, or a totally hilarious relationship that develops out of nowhere over the course of a single day (when there are clearly a lot of other important things going on), or (conversely) a relationship squabble that occurs with Jack and his latest girlfriend over a cell phone while he's in the middle of trying to make one of those impossible escapes (seriously, sweetie, can it wait until the bad men stop shooting at me?), I absolutely love picking apart all the silliness. Even just imagining Jack being able to drive through morning traffic in LA and get to some location out in the desert in a manner of 20 minutes is worth a laugh.

[pokerfan]

31. It's darned addictive

Started watching it two seasons ago with the Rube Goldberg terrorist.

Spoilers:

Started off with a bombing of a commuter train which allowed the theft of a device that can remotely send all US nuclear power plants into loss of coolant (meltdown) which is a diversion so that the Secretary of Defense and his daughter can be kidnapped distracting CTU so that Rube can detonate an EMP device which wipes out all computers in the LA area and causes a blackout so that a Stealth fighter (which isn't realy a fighter so you have to suspend disbelief) so that they can shoot down Airforce One and its fighter escorts so that they can steal the nuclear football (the gold codes) so that they can command a nuclear missile (the slowest missile in the history of missiles) to turn LA into a giant mushroom cloud.

Despite all that, it's oddly addictive.

"You're just gonna have to trust me!"
--Jack Bauer

[Alexander]

32. The first season was REALLY GOOD....

By season 4, you really had to check your brain at the door in order to enjoy it. The terrorist "plot", if you can call it that, became more grandiose and ridiculous each hour. A single computer controlling every nuclear power plant in the United States? Terrorists stealing nuclear missiles off of US convoys? Air Force One being shot down???

Not only that, when a vacationing couple in the California desert gets their hands on the nuclear football, the terrorists are there within minutes, and the only guy quick enough to stop them is...Kiefer Sutherland. Flying via helicopter from Los Angeles.

I saw the season finale for closure, and even that was disappointing. The death of the lead terrorist resulted in some of the cheesiest graphics and anticlimactic scenes ever.

24 jumped the shark during Season 2.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

33. I liked the first half of season one

then it just got progressively sillier. I stayed with season one to its unsatisfactory end. I watched season two to hour 20 and then gave up. The bad acting, the bad accents, the torture scenes and violence, and the fact Kim Bauer should really stay home. Oh, and I lost count the amount of times that President Palmer can fly back and forth from Washington DC to Los Angeles in any one day.

[Hippo_Tron]

34. I'll excuse the fact that dumb people believe that's how we fight terror

And just say that I watched the show once or twice and didn't really care for it.

[EnviroBat]

37. Well it doesn't NOT not suck...

[QMPMom]

38. *GASP* Blasphemy!

"24" is the best show on TV. I can't wait until the new shows start. It's been marked on my calendar for months!

[babylonsister]

39. Me and DH are HUGE fans! It's fun and fiction; don't read more into

it than is there.

[jakefrep]

40. I've never been able to get into it

To me, I feel like I need to have seen all of the previous episodes to make sense of what's going on in the episode I'm watching. I don't find the show sufficiently compelling to make that investment.

[pokerfan]

47. Each season is pretty much stand alone

After the carnage at CTU last season, this season is starting with the fewest returning characters ever.

Plus last season ended with the Secret Service and Federal Marshals arresting the evil President at the behest of the Attormey General for crimes against the constitution.

[LSK]

41. it is the ONLY show I watch on Network TV

Its an addiction.

[atommom]

43. IMHO, it doesn't not suck.

DH bought some of the DVDs, since his dad kept raving about how great it was. I found it cheesy and melodramatic, and was disturbed by the mindset it seemed to be encouraging. The president is in on a lot of cloak-and-dagger activities, fighting evil terrorists, and he'd be in a lot of trouble if anyone found out, but he's very noble for being so involved. There are frequent torture scenes, always justified by "ticking bomb" situations, and of course the torture is justified because American lives are at stake. It almost seems to be deliberately numbing its audience to the concept of torture, and to the dangers of a police state. Just makes me really uncomfortable. Oh, and the writing sucks too. :)

[Zhade]

44. I hear it's great, if you like seeing people tortured.

NT!

[BlueIris]

45. It tanked after the third season, when FOX (for the second time)

censored a brilliant but horribly controversial plotline at the last second, forcing a wrap-up of that third year that a) made no sense and b) was pathetically anti-climactic and unenjoyable in every way. Especially for those of us who knew what we SHOULD have seen in that final hour. Oh, and there was that little matter of Kiefer Sutherland supporting the network's decision to yank the plotline (again) because it would have made his character permanently unlikeable, and made a fourth season of the series pretty much impossible. Because he is a shit like that.

[Arkham House]

49. ?????...could you give us a *SPOILER WARNING* and explain...?

...I watch the show, but am not an insider "fan"...what were they planning on doing? I always thought season 3 petered out a little at the end...there was a reason for that?

[springhill]

46. I agree with the award it received........

for best drama. It was the ONLY show last year that I did not want to miss.

[fujiyama]

48. The show feels like it's on crack

and the show itself IS crack - it's addictive as hell and like potato chips, you just keep watching episode after episode.

An interesting thing about the politics though - yes, they do justify torture at times (and made very blatant justifications in season 4 especially which was a very RW season - going as far as to implicate the gay leftist son of the DoD with terrorists, as well as have Amnesty International slow down the investigation into a terrorist suspect), but overall, it's difficult to pigeonhole the show into one particular ideaology. After all, corporate interests have been bad guys on several occassions (often oil and gas people and defense contractors) and in the last season the president was the villain having been behind a terrorist attack to take the US to war. Season 2 featured a run up to a war against a falsely accused country (just as the US was about to attack Iraq in real life)...

I heard the creator Joel Surnow is a real RW dude...hangs out with Limbaugh and wants to create a RW version of Jon Stewart (I'm sure that will be really funny :eyes:), but the other guy Cochran is supposed to be liberal.

The show is absolutely ridiculous, but very entertaining. As I was watching some episodes the other day with anticipation of the next season, I did realize how cheesy the script and acting was, but the plot twists make it all worth it in the end. It's just a lot of fun, but only if you get into it from the first episode of the season (or better yet all the way at the beginning of season 1).

[Crazy Dave]

50. I watched it one time and share your opinion

The script was so predictable. You knew what was going to happen and how it would happen five minutes to ten minutes ahead of time and how the show would end.

[okieinpain]

51. sorry, put me down as a jack head. I love fiction.....