24 Series 4

WARNING
There may be spoilers ahead...
For while there's plot twists and music...
And love and dead characters...
Let's watch the series, and gasp...!

Prior to moving house and being stripped of any internet access for a few weeks, I embarked on a furious hoarding of entertainment in order to keep me distracted from the pressing matters of real life. As well as acuminating the first two series of the remake of Battlestar Galactica, the second Paradise Lost movie and as about as much Deadwood as one man can handle, I also got my grubby little mitts on the 4th series of serial violence advocater 24.

Lets get something straight, right off the bat. Jack Bauer, as angrily portrayed by Keifer Sutherland, is a sadist. A violent murderer, operating soley within his twisted moral guidelines and using his position as a government agent to justify this machochistical behaviour. His willingness to take the hardest route, the most violent method and the thorniest of legal proceedings would be admirable, were it not for the fact that he manages to kill an unprecedented number of people in the process.

As the series begins Jack is busy explaining to his new girlfriend, the daughter of the Secretary of State, that he no longer wants to be involved with the violent life that being a CTU agent brings. 3o minutes later and he is forcing his way into an interrogation room and shooting a prime suspect. This man thrives on excessive behaviour, and when he gets into a position of power he abuses it.

He does, though, have quite a day cut out for him; presidential attacks, nuclear meltdowns, defense cabinet kidnappings, suicide bombings and a staggering amount of torture. This is a neo-conservatives wet dream, and Jack Bauer is the poster child for American justice. The audacity of the shows creators is to be commended, this may well be pulp entertainment but it is done so well that you willfully and gleefully accept this catalogue of disasters.

It is, though, a drastic step down from the previous 3 series. The quality of the writing is at times dreadfull, and there are shocking gaps in logic and plotholes that even suspension of disbelief cannot cover. William Devane, a terrific character actor, vanishes half way through with only a cursory line of explanation, a 16 year old boy gets turned over to the terrorists and is then forgotten and, most amazingly, a hitman who steals a stealth bomber and shoots down Airforce One is NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN.

Despite these complaints, and they are noticeable because of 24's usual high quality, the show is still one of the best examples of popular dramatic adult entertainment. It is not afraid to blur the lines of good and evil, and has no problem with pointing long term blame at Western civilisations. The terrorists may be free of real-world motivations (their eloquent speeches talk of 'oppressors' and 'our God' but never go into details) but the root causes are explored, and the behaviour of the Americans is often as deplorable as the terrorists.

Keifer Sutherland may be the headline star but the series belongs to the supporting cast. Jack Bauer is now a caricature with almost-catchphrase dialogue, but the characters of Chloe, Edgar and particulary Nixon-esque Gregory Itzin make for compelling viewing and provide great subplots. 24s casting has always been spot-on, most noticeably in their revival of forgotten staright-to-video stars. Series 2 was a triumph when Lou Diamond Phillips cropped up, and in series 4 we get villain of The Mummy Arnold Vosloo who provides a credible nemesis.

After losing his wife, being hooked on heroin, dying, being tortured, setting off a nuclear weapon, holding up a gas station, shooting Dennis Hopper, saving the President and, according to the Guardian, killing 122 people (I swear it's more) it was entirely fitting that Jack Bauer end up dead at the end of the series. But of course he's not dead... no, he's just avoiding a Chinese prison sentence and he will be back to fight another day.

24 is great. It just is. Don't think about it too much and you'll be fine.