24 - Season One Review

I wrote a review of Desperate Housewives Complete First Season. 24 is the second set of first seasons that my thoughtful son in law and daughter sent me while I've been in Florida tending to my mom who is in rehab for a fractured knee. I am now a die hard 24 fan.

A Closer View

Season One comes with 3 packs of two discs each. Each disc has 8 episodes. I not only never watched 24 but I didn't know the premise and didn't know I'd fall in love with Kiefer Sutherland who is famous in his own right but is the son of Donald Sutherland.

24 takes place over 24 hours in real time. Each episode is 60 minutes. I liked that each disc has the 4 hours listed separately so it was easy on my computer to go to the hour I finished.

24 is a thriller - that's an understatement. On more than one occasion I gasped out loud or said "Oh my gosh" or "Oh no."

The Stars

Kiefer Sutherland plays the star, Jack Bauer, a Federal agent for the Counter Terrorist Unit in Los Angeles. Bauer works and plays to the beat of his own drum. We soon learn that he and his wife, Teri Bauer, played by Leslie Hope, have had marital problems.

They have one daughter, Kim, played by Elisha Cuthbert. Kim and Terri are kidnapped very early in the show leading to the events of the day. However, the day is also one of electing the Democratic candidate for Presidency, Senator David Palmer (ironically an African American) played by Dennis Haysbert. He and his family have their own secrets and problems.

When we meet Jack Bauer he and his team have a lead that Palmer's life is seriously at stake. The assumption that this has something to do with his race is shot down when Bauer and Palmer realize that the actions against both families are personal rather than political which takes the Counter Terrorist Unit on yet another hairpin turn.

The actors and story line are terrific. This box set is rated PG13 but I want to warn you that there is quite a bit of violence.

I am new to watching first seasons in a few days so my perspective is a bit skewed. For example it seems that the words "Are you ok?" were said every 5 minutes but they may have been said every episode but if you are watching 4 episodes in 4 hours then it may seem like a lot. Another negative to watching it the way I did was the repeated "happenings." I don't want to say more because I don't like spoilers.

This is a fast paced thriller and I enjoyed it enormously. The ending is a cliffhanger but you can easily go online and find out what happens. One real positive to a boxed set like this is that I didn't have to wait a week to find out what was going to happen. One negative is that it is so fast paced if I had been watching it on television I may have gone back and watched a scene over again. The Season One of 24 is terrific. I'll catch up online to the current season and start watching it.

Jo's Viewpoint

I like it!