- Joined
- Jul 3, 1997
- Messages
- 66,681
- Real Name
- Ronald Epstein
The following review takes place between 12pm-2pm
It all began a year ago. I was reviewing DVD
product on this forum and had just received the
24 Season One boxed set from Fox Home Video.
I had never heard of the show, and it didn't help
the studio was sending me the DVD screeners in blank,
black generic cases that contained no description of
what I was receiving.
I could once again go into the entire story of
how I came to watch and fall in love with 24,
but perhaps the best thing for me to do is to point
you to the original DVD review that I posted late
last year. Read it first before you move on...
24: Season One DVD Review
By the time you get to this point, you have
hopefully read my initial review and now understand
how I find myself amongst the show's most die-hard
fans. In the past year, I have turned friends and
co-workers onto this show. Almost everyone I know
has purchased the 24 Season One boxed set,
and not one single person has regretted the investment.
The wait to finally watch this new season came
a little longer than I had anticipated. Since I
never have time to watch broadcast television, there
was no opportunity to watch the second season during
its original broadcast on FOX.
I actually prefer to watch this show on DVD over
broadcast TV because there are no commercials, and
I don't have to painstakingly wait an entire week
just to see how a cliffhanger resolves itself.
The most important piece of advice I can give
anyone about to watch 24 is that you must
be able to commit yourself to this show. Don't be too
surprised to be so immersed in the show that you
find yourself ignoring your daily/nightly routine.
I didn't initially plan on doing this, but I was
so completely involved with 24 Season Two that
I watched all 24 episodes within 4-5 days. There
were plenty of nights that I lost sleep because I
needed to get on to the next episode in order to
find out what was happening next.
24: Season Two
I suppose by now you have figured out that I
thoroughly loved 24 Season Two. I went
into this season believing that the events of
the first season couldn't be topped. Was I ever
wrong! Just as with the original first season, 24
Season Two pulled me in at the very first
episode, strapped me to a rollercoaster chair,
and refused to let me go for the next 24 hours
of programming.
No need to go into the plot here. Many of you
don't need this show spoiled for you. All I will
say is that this season greatly exceeds the
previous in its edge-of-your-seat storyline. It's
rather astonishing that as "unbelievable" as
these events can be, they still manage to remain
believable enough to the viewer that there's an
addiction in coming back for more week after week.
The show can best be described as an overblown
soap opera. Here is a cast of characters whose
every action we follow through a period of a
single day. Within that period, we learn their
innermost traits, fears and vulnerabilities.
It was The X Files that warned us to
trust no-one. In 24, expect to
mistrust everyone. This show thrives on
twists, turns and surprises and you never know
which side of the fence a certain character
resides upon.
If there's one character I have truly connected
with in this show, it is that of David Palmer
(Dennis Haysbert), my personal favorite player
of this entire series. First, I think it's
great that the show features an African-American
as President of The United States. Furthermore,
it's easy to reach out with your heart for his
strong-willed and sympathetic character because
it truly represents what all of us want our
President to be.
The show is purposely filmed with handheld
cameras in order to draw us into the action as
if we are actually there as a bystander. We are
drawn into the most intimate moments of these
character's lives. As a viewer, it's often easy
to feel the same emotional rush as the characters
themselves are feeling.
Sure, there a few timeline flaws here and there.....
(Run your mouse over spoiler and left click)
Jack Bauer assaults Tony Almeida at CTU which
results in a disturbing injury to Tony's leg.
We are forced to believe that within 11 minutes
the leg is looked at by a medic, bandaged up, and
Tony is now walking around on crutches.
And why Kim Bauer is even in this show other
than for comic relief is beyond me. Here's a
girl that should lock herself in a closet for
there is no-one that can be trusted in her world.
Fortunately, there's plenty of tight undershirt
scenes shot in cold rooms which gives plenty an
excuse to keep her in the show.
My ONE complaint to the people who
produced this DVD
The actual enjoment of watching 24 Season Two
on DVD was diminished because of the amount of
spoilers that the folks at Fox put into their
MENU screens.
I'm actually surprised the producers of this disc
didn't think about what they were doing. Here's
an example....
(Run your mouse over the spoilers ONLY if
you have already completed Season Two)
At the end of one episode, Jack Bauer and Nina
are in a plane together. Nina is in Jack's
custody, handcuffed to a chair. The plane is
shot at and goes down. The episode ends on a
cliffhanger as to what the fate of the crew will be.
Well, you go to the MENU of the next episode
and the first thing you see....
A picture of Nina on the ground pointing a
gun at Jack Bauer
So, without even watching the next episode the
viewer has already concluded that....
Both Bauer and Nina survive and somehow Nina
was able to pull a gun on Jack.
The photos on just about EVERY EPISODE MENU
give away a major plot point to the episode you
haven't even watched yet. It left me bitterly
frustrated throughout this entire set because
a single photo ruined the surprise element.
The folks at Fox Home Video should learn from
this mistake and not put plot-revealing photos
in their menus. Additionally, I don't recommend
anyone reading the booklet that came with the DVD
until AFTER you have watched the entire season.
That also comes with its share of plot spoilers.
The good points
Fox has put together a season boxed set that
should please the fanbase.
First, the transfers are terrific. Presented
in anamorphic widescreen, picture image is well
detailed with good color rendering. The 5.1
audio is most welcomed here in action sequences
where gunfire is used. In fact, I was nicely
surprised by how frequently I heard rear-channel
information during each episode.
There's a really interesting two-part documentary
on the 7th bonus disc that looks at the production
of the show as we tag along with Director/Producer
Jon Cassar. Just as the show itself manages to
do, we get pulled into high-profile events such
as some of the production's top-secret meetings
where plot lines are being revealed for the very
first time.
We also visit several of the outdoor locales
that were used as backdrops this season, as well
as the show's very familiar looking CTU set.
There are some interesting interviews with
Sarah Wynter (Kate Warner), Elisha Cuthbert (Kim
Bauer), Dennis Haysbert (David Palmer) and
most notably, Penny Johnson (Sherry Palmer) who
talks about the influence of the show's first
couple on African-Americans. It's rather touching
to see the kind of off-screen friendship and
support that both these actors show for each
other.
We get to visit the Los Angeles arena where
Producer/Director John Cassar begins mapping out
sequences with actor Keifer Sutherland. Later,
we watch Keifer train for the show's climatic
ending.
Why haven't you seen this show yet?
Everyone likes to be know what's current and
what's hot. Nothing could be hotter than 24.
In short, it's the most innovative TV series to
come out of Tinseletown in a long time. You are
probably on another planet if you haven't noticed
your friends and co-workers talking about this
show for the past two years. It's about to enter
it's third season, so if you haven't jumped on the
24 bandwagon yet, NOW is the time to do so.
Incidently, after watching the very last moments
of Season Two finale, it's sort of odd to find
out that the first episode of Season Three
(which airs commercial-free on October 28th) takes
place three years after those events. I don't
know why the present crisis at the end of Season
Two is not immediately resumed in Season Three --
but then again, when has this show ever
followed normality.
Let me sum it all up
24 is perhaps the best TV show you will
ever watch. If you can believe it, it's bigger
and better than the previous season.
There are more plot twists, edge-of-your-seat
cliffhangers and never-ending surprises with
every changing hour. Not bad for a day's work!
