A Tribute to 24.
March 30, 2010 2 Comments
So as you may or may not know, Fox confirmed what I’ve been thinking for the past few months: this season of 24 will be the last. While a movie has been greenlit and is currently in the works, at least via television, Jack Bauer’s reign of stopping terrorist from harming American lives is coming to a close.
I have made no secret of my dislike for this season. It feels hastily put together with bad actors and an even worse story and plot. However, I’d be remiss to mention how much I was obsessed with seasons 1 through 5. Season 6 was quite a let-down, and season 7 was a redemption of sorts, but season 8 has fallen far below season 6 in terms of sheer I-have-no-idea-why-this-sucks-so-much-ed-ness.
In the first 5 seasons of 24, Jack Bauer has saved countless lives by his quick decision-making, his screaming at Chloe to get him schematics, and his trust in David Palmer. We’ll miss the likes of Tony Almeida, Michelle Dessler, David Palmer, Chloe O’Brian, Bill Buchanan, Karen Hayes, Chase Edmunds, Curtis Manning, and perhaps, Renee Walker. I’m hoping for some sort of triumphant return for Tony to save this season, but I’m not keeping my fingers crossed or anything. They’ve killed too many of the main characters and attempted to make Jack the only reason to watch the show. The problem with that, however, is this isn’t the Jack Bauer we know and love. This is older, somewhat wiser, definitely grumpier Jack, and instead of being awesome, he just yells a lot.
We’ve seen a lot in these eight seasons. There have been nuclear bombs, Kim Bauer kidnappings, nerve gas killings, assassination attempts, Kim Bauer kidnappings, treason, viruses, heroin addictions, Kim Bauer kidnappings, Chinese, and a lot of females acting extremely crazy and emotionally unstable. And Kim Bauer kidnappings.
So while I may hate what it has become, I can’t deny how much I loved the first five seasons of one of the best shows ever. Instead of dwelling on the negative, I’ll focus on the positive. Jack Bauer will go down as one of — if not the — greatest fictional characters in history of television.
Jack may be everyone’s favorite character, but I kind of feel like that’s cheating. Sure, it’s easy to love the guy who the entire show is based around, but a true fan has a favorite other than Jack. My favorite character is, and always will be, Tony Almeida. I can say without a doubt that my favorite part of any episode in any season was when Tony saved a pinned down Jack and Audrey during Season 4. When Audrey asks Jack who he is calling earlier in the episode, he responds with, “The only person I can trust.”
I was watching that episode (7th episode of season 4, in case you wanted to go watch it again like I just did) for the first time alone in my apartment in Bellingham. It was 3am and I was on one of my 24 binges, where I would literally watch an entire season in one day. I would forego work, school, showering, and everything else. It sounds a lot more pathetic than I anticipated, but regret it I do not. I had no idea that Tony was the one Jack called, and I literally jumped up out of my seat and began to scream, “OH YES! I FUCKING LOVE TONY FUCKING ALMEIDA! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”. I’m fairly sure our neighbors below me hated us, but one of them was a fat, ugly girl, so their opinion really didn’t matter.
Tony loved this country, but loved his wife Michelle even more so. He has one of the better soul patches in recent memory, and is responsible for two of the best lines in the shows history:
(to Ryan Chappelle) “It’s like this…either fire me, or get out of my chair.”
(to Chloe O’Brian) “Chloe, I can’t deal with your personality right now.”
God I love that man.
So while I don’t want to make it seem like the other characters weren’t important or won’t be missed, I want to make it clear that the person that I’ll miss the most is Tony Almeida. David Palmer takes a very close 2nd and I want to change my insurance to All State just because of him.
So next time you’re drinking a 40 of Ol’ E, make sure to pour out a little in remembrance of one of the greatest shows in television history. Good 24, you will be missed.
As far as bad 24 goes, well, Jack Bauer and the rest of the season 8 cast are running out of time. (You see what I did there?)
That’s a hell of a clever ending, Kyle. Nice work. When I first heard the news, my first thought was, “What does this mean for the unblemished acting career of Freddie Prinze Jr.?” My second thought was, “Damn, I wrote a post called ’24, Presented by Jack Bauer’ on Sunday night. Monday morning, Fox confirms the cancellation. Coincidence? I think not.”
Yeah, I worry about Freddie’s career every day. I have a shrine to him. I mean, ever since She’s All That, he’s been the best actor in Hollywood, in my opinion.