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Is 24 Series 1 worth a Blind Purchase? (1 Viewer)

Martin Fontaine

Supporting Actor
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Aug 15, 2001
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I saw the 24 Series 1 Boxset for about 60$ Cdn... For 24 Eps of an hour each, sounds like a good deal.

But what is this show about? I know that each episode = 1 hour of a particular day, but what happens during that day? If it's the kind of thing I like, I might buy it sight unseen...
 

James T

Screenwriter
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Aug 8, 1999
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I'll suggest against Michael on this. The site, as helpful, interactive and resourceful it is, it's only good after you've seen the show.

I rented the DVDs without watching one episode last year or any episode in Season two. Since the show is all about surprises, betrayal, deception, murder, coverup...you get the idea....I think it's best if you watch it avoiding anything related to 24. Some people avoid seeing previews of movies so that when they watch a movie, everything is fresh and new to them. It's the same case here, any knowledge of a future scene can spoil any surprise that the show intended to use.
 

LennyP

Supporting Actor
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Jun 20, 2002
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587
You kidding me?! If your house is on fire and your whole dvd collection is burning down, make sure you grab one thing, the 24 boxset!
Don't go to the official site though, it has detailed information about each episode, spoilers.
 

Mark ZA

Agent
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Dec 10, 2000
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34
Do not read anything about it....nothing!! and go buy it right now, then see how long you last without having to watch episode after episode.

Definitely worth a blind purchase.

Mark
 
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Jun 30, 1997
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Martin,

I bought 24 blindly about a month ago and after I watched the first episode I couldn't turn it off. My friend and I would watch 4 - 5 episodes in a row... we simply could not turn it off. At the end of each episode one of us would always comment, "Ok... let's just watch ONE more." In my opinion it's one of the best things ever put on TV.

But DO NOT read anything about it beforehand. Too much good stuff that could be spoiled. I unfortunately saw a commerical for the current season of 24 during a football game that gave away the great ending of season one. It would have been even better had I not known about it. I was pissed. I'm a few episodes into the current season and I'm now diligently trying to avoid all promos for 24 until I get caught up!

GO GET IT NOW!

I guess you can tell I like this show? :)

Bill
 

WayneG

Stunt Coordinator
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Oct 24, 2002
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237
I started watching Season 2 and realized I was missing plot points by not having watched Season 1. I've now seen the first 8 eps on DVD and am reloading for the rest. Even though I know a few things (like who dies/lives and who goes bad) because of my knowledge of the second season, it's actually made it more enjoyable. I know this person will go bad - but how and why.

I'm renting it since I can't justify $60 for any TV show. The only thing is that it's only a 2 day rental so I have to cram - but it's so hard to turn off it doesn't matter.
 

Michael Reuben

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Let me explain why I suggested the official site.
Over the years, I've seen many people ask whether they should buy this or that disc, sight unseen. In an almost predictable response, fans of the title jump in and say, "Buy it! It's great."
I've also seen many threads that begin like this: "I bought Title X because so many people here said it was great, and I couldn't make it past the first 15 minutes."
Martin said he'd buy 24 if it's "the kind of thing I like". Does anyone here feel qualified to opine on what Martin will or won't like? I certainly don't. Only he can judge, and the only way he can do that is to learn something about the show. That means spoiling it to some degree.
My recommendation is always the same: Never buy anything sight unseen unless you're prepared to accept the risk that you might hate it.
M.
 

Qui-Gon John

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I agree, buy it sight unseen. You can get it on Amazon with a $5 coupon, comes to $39.99.
 

John Berggren

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I'd definitely check out Ron's review, as suggested above. I myself find 24 to be the best show on commercial television. I generally don't make time to see most shows once in a while, but I'm glued to my seat every Tuesday at 9pm. I don't care what else I need to do.

You _CAN_ rent 24. Rent disc 1 and decide if you want to buy. I'm convinced that most who watch through hour 4 will make up their minds. Everyone I have forced to watch the first 4 hours has loved it.
 

Lew Crippen

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For many the series does not have much repeat value, even though its tremendous fun the first time around.

I’d suggest a rental, rather than a purchase.
 

Robert Ringwald

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I only saw the first 3 episodes when it first aired, and stopped.
The set was released, and I picked it up thinking it'd be a little entertainment. I was blown away at how good it was. I couldn't wait for season 2 to arrive. :)
 

Andy Anderson

Second Unit
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Dec 11, 2001
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317
Martin-

It was a complete blind purchase for me, and after my girlfriend and I completed watching it (we're now 24 junkies) it has been loaned out of my collection to various friends now for several weeks. It's an amazing show, and I think you'd enjoy it very much. A funny thing--I didn't particularly like Kiefer Sutherland before this show, but now I think he rocks!

I would tend to agree with James, Lenny, etc.---it's not a good idea to poke around the 24 website very much, honestly--it contains ridiculous spoilers that will take away a lot of the fun of the show.
 

Steven_Ma

Agent
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Aug 3, 2002
Messages
31
I bought 24 season 1 blind this last saterday from all the good word of mouth. I was done with it around 6pm monday. Best show since The Soprano's imo.
 

Jonathan Burk

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I would definitely recommend borrowing or renting the first disc, just to make sure you like it. By the end of the first disc, my wife and I agreed that we had wasted enough time, and were ready to move on with our lives (for more details, see my post at Ron's review). Basically, we found the gimmick of a "real time" show affected the pacing and structure of the story to make it more annoying than entertaining.

YMMV.
 

Qui-Gon John

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Can a mod change the thread title? It's SEASON 1 not SERIES 1. Why do so many people use series where season should go. I see this all the time on another forum I go to regarding the Sopranos. :rolleyes
 

Paul McElligott

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Can a mod change the thread title? It's SEASON 1 not SERIES 1. Why do so many people use series where season should go. I see this all the time on another forum I go to regarding the Sopranos.
Not everybody is an American. "Series" is used for "season" in the U.K. (and judging by the thread-starter here, in Canada, too).
 

Martin Fontaine

Supporting Actor
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626
Not everybody is an American. "Series" is used for "season" in the U.K. (and judging by the thread-starter here, in Canada, too).
Oups! Most of the people I chat with on the net (Other than here) are british so I tend to speak like them sometimes...

Why was this moved to the Software Section? My question was more about the TV Show's content than the specs of the DVDs.

But my question was not really answered, what happens during that day? Not going into details with spoilers or anything, but this show concentrates on one day in the life of who?

As for renting vs buying, it's more for convenience really, I can't watch more than 2 maybe 3 eps per night (Weekdays that is) so renting would be impractical and expensive since where I go they charge 5$ per rental. So 6 Disks @ 5$ each + the late fees because some of them would take me 2 nights to watch, I might as well buy it even if I only watch it once.

So if Ron reviewed it, I'll try to find his review then...
 

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