More "24" Thoughts

It's *** spoiler filled *** and all below the fold.

Adam over at the "The Jack Sack" had some interesting comments about the "24" Season Six finale and the series in general that were really thought-provoking. Here's a bit of it:

But the show's best scene, probably of the whole season in fact, came courtesy of William Devane (SecDef James Heller) yet again. Devane and Sutherland own the screenwriters. Whatever crap those drunk bastards in the Writer's Room come up with gets shined to a gleaming piece of gold by these two professional actors. But the scene with Jack and Heller was a good reality-check for the show; folks, Jack Bauer is broken. It's fun to see the guy take out 30 Chinese dudes in 2 minutes flat, but the sad fact is that he is so far down a path of psychosis that he may not ever be truly normal ever again. This is interesting material. Now, I'm not asking that there be therapy sessions with Jack and Dr. Melfi on the show, but the occasional mention of Jack's mental state lends credibility to the show. And I like the nod to the end of season 3 where after everything dies down, Jack got into his car and started crying like a deranged mess of a man. But last night, in a similar set-up, all you saw was emptiness on Jack's face. And what James Heller said to Jack about needing to be in the game is completely true. Jack is made to do this-- and for at least two more seasons, we get to watch more life and humanity get sucked out of this tragic hero.

Adam, you're right. As much as the show is about fighting terrorism it's about Jack and how a human being can put himself through all of this for our enjoyment and still manage to hold it together, barely.

It was nice to see Jack really happy again at the start of Season Four. For about five minutes. The fact is (pardon the cliche) he doesn't have TIME for all of that. When he's happy, he's weakened. Jack Bauer wouldn't think twice about sacrificing himself. But when he's faced with having to sacrifice someone he loves, he thinks too much.

This is why Teri had to die at the end of Season One. This is why (as hot as she is) they needed to get Kim off the show. And this is why he had to let go of Audrey.

Twenty-four hours is not a lot of time and distractions crowd the plot.

Now the series can "reload" and start fresh. No distractions. No girlfriends (Marilyn?). No family members in danger. Now the focus can go back to "how f'd up a situation can we put Jack in and how does he get out of it?".

And just how did Jack impregate Chloe from over five thousand miles away?

What happened to Wayne Palmer?
What happened to Charles Logan?
What was the big brouhaha with Mike Doyle back in Denver?
Why did they let Martha Logan have access to knives?

But from what I understand, the show will be getting an almost brand new cast and will be operating out of New York. I'm not the only person who's observed that there seemed to be a lot less Jack Bauer in this season. As long as the writers remember what this show is really all about, I think we could be looking at an excellent season next January.