On Sunday, the sixth season (see note below) of 24 started. In typical fashion, things started very quickly, and there were the usual plot holes and logical inconsistencies (just how quickly can one shave one's own beard off, cut one's own hair (perfectly), shower, and dress? If you're Jack Bauer, in about 10 minutes, apparently!). Despite these issues, I'm already hooked on the new season, and eagerly anticipating each week's episode.
Note: Although this is the start of the sixth season of 24, Jack Bauer is now at least nine years older than he was at the start of season one--18 months passed after season one, 36 months after season two, and then 18 months after each of seasons three, four, and five. Add it all up, and that's 108 months, or exactly nine years.
Caution: There are spoilers below, both for the current season as well as past seasons. If you're not current with season six, or you're working your way through prior seasons, you may not wish to read on. No plot details are revealed, however if you keep reading, you will learn the fate of some of the characters on the show. You have been warned...
In doing some reading about the show (not looking for spoilers, just history), I stumbled onto IMDB.com's cast and crew page for 24. Having seen all the shows, I knew they had used a lot of actors...but I had no clue exactly how many. As you can see on that page, it's a lot. More than a lot. There are, in fact, 313 names listed. Wow. Excluding Jack, there are only two "still living" actors in the top five for most episodes--Elisha Cuthbert (Kim Bauer) with 72 episodes, and Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe O'Brian) with 70.
Assuming Kim Bauer stays away this season (will she?), Chloe will pass Kim in three weeks. However, if you're Mary Lynn Rajskub, that fact may not excite you very much, at least relative to your career stability. So why should she be worried? Because being anywhere near the top of the "most episodes" list seems to spell certain doom for your character, as seen here:
[Sorry, this movie went missing at some point in time and is nowhere to be found]
Of the twenty characters listed, the nine with red X's next to their name were killed off during what turned out to be their final appearance on the show. The only way they'll be making a return is via a dream sequence in Jack's head...but since nobody on 24 ever sleeps or even catnaps, the odds of that happening are quite low. And if you're in the top three, it seems you're toast unless your name is Jack Bauer. So Chloe's future may be short-lived, which would be a shame.
At first, I really disliked Chloe, but she's grown on me over the last couple of seasons. It'd be a shame to see her go soon, but it seems inevitable as she approaches the top of the list...
I\'ve been hooked on this show since I received the first season on DVD. My wife and I powered through that season in about three days...just couldn\'t stop watching.
In each season, you totally have to suspend disbelief on a lot of things....but despite that, the show is still the most non stop, action packed, entertaining show on TV.
We all know that Keifer has signed on to do a couple more season as Jack...so as you sit and watch, you KNOW he won\'t die...but somehow always feel relieved that he was able to escape death once again....
The \"24 hour\" premise just works week to week as there is none of that grey area that exists in other shows...everything somehow relates to everything else and the show just flows, and keeps moving. By the time the season ends, it\'s hard to think back to the 1st or 2nd episodes to remember what actually happened.
By the end of this season, I\'m sure it will be long forgotten that [blank blank blank blank...]
Great job Rob...long time reader, first time poster...
Edited by robg to remove a possible spoiler for folks!
You forgot to mention something: Glenn Morshower, who plays Aaron Pierce, is the _only_ recurring character who has been in every season since the beginning, other than Jack of course. He's credited as being in the second episode of season 6 (though I have to admit, I didn't see him), so will obviously be around more. He might be the next to go, since he's clearly treading on Jack's toes...
Kirk
24 is my favorite good bad TV, if that makes sense - sure, there are massive holes all over the place, but the adrenaline rush of the show is really entertaining.
I've always found Chloe really amusing, even if she is a bit of a negative geek stereotype. Snarkiness and egotism can be pretty entertaining in the right dosages.
I've wondered about the timeframe too - other than their image enhancement technology, they aren't really advancing at a pace appropriate to the real world. I realize that's not what 24 is about, but still.
Said tech presumably relies on time travel to go back and take a higher resolution picture than you had originally, or is possibly a vast analyst conspiracy in which they secretly downsample all image data in order to look like wizards when they extract some piece of information at full resolution.
I strongly dislike both O'Briens and the sooner they are eliminated the better.
I'm waiting to see some more Kim and Audrey in action, and maybe next year Jack's nephew is old enough, and not too traumatized about his family to be an agent. That could perhaps be a hit among the TeenBeat segment of viewers :)
Have you heard of the 24 tracker?
Quite fun.
Enjoy season 6 (and 7 and 8 are on their weay, yipee)
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