January 12, 2007
TURN ON THE TEE VEE......NOW!!!
I confess I've never seen a single episode of "24".
But with all these people drooling over the prospect of the new season's start this weekend, I'm wondering........Should I give it a try?
Don't get me wrong. It's not that I fear disliking the show. Rayther, my fear is that I'll like it too much. Once I clap eyeballs on it, I'm afraid my usual obsessive-compulsiveness will kick in. It won't be enough to clear my schedule to watch each new episode. No, I'll have to go back and watch all the previous seasons, not once but several times. And figure out all those complicated relationships - who's loyal, who's treacherous, who's safe, who gets people killed. And catch up on all the gadgets and doohikies. And learn all the cliches. And I'll have to start reading more Jack Bauer blogs. And including more Jack Bauer jokes, quotes and allusions in my own writing. Scary thoughts, indeed.
The last time I let myself get caught up in the enthusiasm was with Firefly. But that's only, what, thirteen episodes altogether and quite manageable. Bauermania is something on a wholly different scale.
So.....do I drink the kool-aid?
YIPS from Steve-O: Drink the damn Kool Aid or I'm going to have Chloe perform a protocol to download the schematics to my PDA NOW! Or something.
UPDATE: For your Season 6 viewing pleasure, it's the Blogs4Bauer Kill Counter Challenge. Here's a sample of the point system:
Point System: Jack Bauer with a gun (1 point) Jack Bauer with a knife (1 point) Jack Bauer with explosives (1 point) Jack Bauer with his head (4 points) Jack Bauer with his manpurse (5 points) Jack Bauer with his upper body (2 points) Jack Bauer with his lower body (3 points) Jack Bauer's cell phone kills someone (0.5 point) Jack Bauer kills CTU agent Jason Blaine (2 points) Jack Bauer kills another member of CTU (-1 point)Bonus Points:
Jack Bauer tortures someone before killing them (+1 point)
Jack Bauer says something cool before killing them (+1 point)
Jack Bauer says something cool and tortures someone before killing them (+3 points)
If Jack Bauer utters a "dammit" in the process of killing someone (+1 point/each)
If Jack Bauer wears aviators while killing someone (+1 point)
If Jack Bauer sports his manpurse while killing someone (+1 point)
See what I mean? Has anybody yet published a "Jack Bauer for Dummies" guide? Might help me....
Drink, drink, drink, drink, drink!
Posted by: Babs at January 12, 2007 11:08 AMdrink it..... it's yummy.....
Honestly, give it a chance. And you have 5 back seasons to watch later on.
Posted by: caltechgirl at January 12, 2007 11:08 AMRobbo - to quote the big fat green witch in that Bugs Bunny cartoon:
"C'mon, c'mon! Drink it! Drink it!"
Watched seasons 1-5 starting last spring and I haven't waited with such excruciating anticipation for anything since I was twelve years old and "The Empire Strikes Back" was due in theaters.
Posted by: Gary at January 12, 2007 11:09 AMIt's more of a "carpe diem" situation, than a "drink it" deal.
Posted by: The Commissar at January 12, 2007 11:13 AMDON'T drink the Kool Aid this weekend. You need to start with the Season 1 DVDs and work your way forward.
BEWARE - you will find yourself turning off the TV at 2:00 AM for the third day in a row saying, "I don't have a problem; I can quit anytime I want to. Yeah. That's it. I can quit...."
Posted by: JohnL at January 12, 2007 11:16 AMJust to clarify. There's too much backstory leading up to the new season for you to fully enjoy it without first viewing the previous seasons.
Think of Serenity versus Firefly. A random viewer could technically appreciate and enjoy the Serenity movie without having seen the series ahead of time, but they would certainly have understood and appreciated much more had they seen the Firefly series first.
Posted by: JohnL at January 12, 2007 11:19 AMMrs. C. and I watched all 5 seasons on DVD in preparation for this Sunday.
It's like the Superbowl of terrorist killing. Not watching it means the terrorists have already won.
Posted by: The Colossus at January 12, 2007 11:29 AMIf you're looking for company, I haven't watched 24 at all. Not out of hatred or anything like that -- I just decided years ago that when my favorite shows went off the air I wasn't going to replace them. I wanted more free time. Although, I have made an exception for Battlestar Galactica.
Posted by: rbj at January 12, 2007 12:25 PMIt is addictive, worse than heroin--or tobacco.
Posted by: Rachel at January 12, 2007 12:43 PMWell....I haven't seen it, either.
Posted by: GroovyVic at January 12, 2007 12:55 PMThe manpurse:
http://www.24fanclub.com/productDetails.do?productID=732&categoryID=17
Basically, it's a place for Jack to carry things that won't fit in his pockets. But it's more than just a courier bag -- it has in it whatever Jack needs at the moment. It's like a magical "bag of holding" in Dungeons and Dragons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bag_of_holding
Except it kills people.
Posted by: The Colossus at January 12, 2007 02:35 PMDrink up, man. 24 is literally the only thing on network television that I watch on a weekly basis, and this season promises to be better than ever: more terrorist attacks, more torture, and actual Muslim bad guys. Oh, yes: the President is the younger brother of the former President who was assassinated at the beginning of Season 5. So there's quite a lot of back story. Might as well accept your fate and get the previous five seasons on DVD now.
Posted by: utron at January 12, 2007 03:21 PMDrink up, Robbo!
You honestly would be ok starting with this season - even though there's backstory, you'll catch on. Tim & didn't drink until season 4 and while there were moments where we said, "Huh?" A quick google fixed that - then we could catch up during the long dark hours when Jack is not currently on air.
Whatever you do, don't try to catch up AND watch the current season at the same time. That was a bad, bad idea. :)
Posted by: beth at January 12, 2007 03:48 PMOnce you watch, you're hooked.
Posted by: Barry at January 12, 2007 07:35 PMIf you watch the first season, you will get the gist of Jack's background, and why Nina will always be worst than the Antichrist in his mind.
Posted by: Barry at January 13, 2007 08:56 AM...my fear is that I'll like it too much.
The last time I let myself get caught up in the enthusiasm was with Firefly.
Heaven forbid you watch something that makes you feel enthusiasm. Far better to live a dull, joyless life. Instead you should consider a soulless existence, perhaps as some sort of automaton?
Posted by: dorkafork at January 14, 2007 03:25 PM
Image courtesy of the lovely and talented 