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Greg1138

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ALL these damn reboots are getting very monotonous and if the real Jack Bauer (Keifer Sutherland) won't have any part in this reboot then neither will I!  

Kiefer was the main star of the series...doubt anyone else could pull off the role like he did.

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Well, HOMELAND pretty much picked up where 24 left off, but hey -- I'm game for more. 

 

I've never understood why some people always say "oh, they should have stopped after the first film" or "first season" or whatever. If I'm truly in love with a series -- including the characters that occupy it and the general ambiance and universe it draws up -- I really can't get enough of it. I want it to go on and on and on.

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24 was fantastic for its first 5 seasons (4 was a bit shaky, but 5 was right back on form), and then season 6 was where it all started going wrong.

 

You can be truly in love with a show, but also have to accept when it's running out of ideas and needs to call it a day. I've seen several shows which had very clear points at which they should have ended, but they continued due to ratings, and the quality degraded.

 

I watched the first two seasons of Homeland, but I largely lost interest after a few episodes of season 3. With Damian Lewis no longer in it, the personal connection to his character and family is gone.

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I agree, 24 Season 5 was remarkable. The way Gregory Itzen played President Charles Logan was so impressive. I haven't read through this entire thread because it goes back ten years, but Sean Callery's music during that season was top notch as well. Chloe O'Brian Bond-ish theme and the cue "Lynn's McGill's Sacrifice" stand out.

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I say season 7 was alright, if not way too fastpaced and ridiculous at times

season 8 started out so boringly, but it recovered around episode 11/12 and then it ended on kept building up steam to end on a pretty good note

 

but yeah season 5 was the peak

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Callery was at his best in season 5, probably a reflection of the season itself. It deservedly won the Best Drama Emmy and Itzin should've won Best Supporting Actor. He was absolutely brilliant as the spineless, cowardly President.

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There's (just) one huge drawback to Season 5 which the series in my eyes never recovered from, killing off áll the other main characters, and then resurrecting one of them as the bad guy later.

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17 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

24 was fantastic for its first 5 seasons (4 was a bit shaky, but 5 was right back on form), and then season 6 was where it all started going wrong.

 

You can be truly in love with a show, but also have to accept when it's running out of ideas and needs to call it a day. I've seen several shows which had very clear points at which they should have ended, but they continued due to ratings, and the quality degraded.

 

I watched the first two seasons of Homeland, but I largely lost interest after a few episodes of season 3. With Damian Lewis no longer in it, the personal connection to his character and family is gone.

 

I'm not denying that there can ebb and flow in quality within seasons, and even -- perhaps -- seasons overall, but that doesn't really detract from the pleasure of coming back. I think both 24 and now HOMELAND are keeping top form overall!

 

A better example is SUPERNATURAL, which is now into its, what, 12th season? I've seen all the episodes, and I still tune in every week even if I'm not as interested in the storylines as I was some 4-5 seasons ago (up to and including the leviathans). It's about absorbing the place and characters and atmosphere. Heck, that's even why I like certain sitcoms, like CHEERS. An interest in storylines or originality or whatever was not what kept me coming back for 14 seasons. It's coming into that bar "where everybody knows your name". I'm surprised so few others get that out watching series. It's mostly just 'story, story, story'.

 

I think I'm one of the three people who actually think TWIN PEAKS got better in season 2! :D

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I've watched the first two episodes of 24: Legacy and it's still as bonkers as 24 ever was.

 

Unfortunately, that's both good and bad.

 

The pace is still as high as it was in the show's heyday and the first episode features two cool action setpieces. But it also means characters are still reduced to stereotypes and archetypes with motivations and actions that only exist to move the plot along and the show's politics are still stuck in the Bush era (no on-screen torture so far, though).

 

If the season turns out to be good, it'll be a nice 12 hours, but I don't expect this to be a standout show (the first two episodes also offer nothing to make me believe it will be). If it turns out shit, at least it'll only be for half a day.

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It never recovered after the gargantuan drop-off from season 5 to 6.

 

I want surprises, well-formed characters, and no last-minute saves conveniently positioned at 0:57 past every hour.

 

I don't think we're going to get that ever again.

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Even from the beginning, 24 really stretched itself thin to fit the format.  Season 1 was written to wrap up in 12 episodes (in case it didn't get a full season pick-up), so everything basically resolved at the twelfth hour - Jack saves his family.  When they got the season pick-up, they had to throw stuff in about amnesia, and a new villain, etc.

 

Even though they were planned for 24 hours, most seasons pretty predictably saw a swerve somewhere around hour 12 to a different storyline/villain.  The original threat was thought to be X, but it's actually Y!  This bad guy is actually working for this other shady cabal.  Etc etc  

 

 

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30 minutes ago, Richard Penna said:

It never recovered after the gargantuan drop-off from season 5 to 6.

 

I want surprises, well-formed characters, and no last-minute saves conveniently positioned at 0:57 past every hour.

 

I don't think we're going to get that ever again.

 

Agreed.

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If they really wanted to be bold, they should make a season but not tell us how many episodes.

 

If we were 5 hours from the end and the threat was resolved, you knew damn well that after the multi-split-screen bit they always had at the end, something else was coming. Hence, if we didn't know that the season was only, say, 10 episodes then they could shock us with a surprise ending.

 

It would be problematic for scheduling, but making great TV is difficult.

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2 hours ago, Richard Penna said:

It never recovered after the gargantuan drop-off from season 5 to 6.

 

I thought season 7 had some good bits and a great new character.

 

But all the goodwill was completely squandered in season 8 (in which they also ruined said great new character).

 

To make it worse, the (then) series finale tried to set up the movie we never got and the opportunity to tell that story in Live Another Day was wasted again!

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24 has always been one of my favorite shows, also the later seasons 7 and 8. Of course you have to switch off the brain from times to times (like in virtually all action movies).

 

For me, 24 always had a unique mix of thriller, action, drama and politics sprinkled with honest and true family dynamics mainly between Jack and his loved ones (His wife, daughter and girlfriends). Then you also have the equally unique realtime aspect.

It's true that in later seasons there is a lot of repetition and seasoned 24 viewers couldn't be surprised that easily anymore. You just anticipate certain plot twists.

Nevertheless, the enjoyment for me was and is still there, because the mix of all these elements is still just so damn good. Of course i don't overanalyze and accept certain weaknesses and stupid plot holes. 

 

Also honestly the music of 24 is a real highlight, at least in the first eight seasons. Sadly it's about 90% library and electronic and only 10% real instruments. Sean Callery really did a great job to create a number of themes and action riffs/motifs and be creative, even though he had limited budget and time.

In terms of impact, his music elevates many scenes from good to great and also creates highly emotional moments in combination with Kiefer Sutherlands fantastic acting.

Take for example his "family theme", which is used to great effect in many moments of Jack and his Daughter and/or Jack and his Wife. 

 

He dropped the ball a bit for season 9 with only one significant new theme for Heller in the stadium and a bit too much undescript action music. This sadly continues at least in the first two 24 legacy episodes. Proper action riffs/motifs are missing so far and also the new "main theme" is too generic for my taste.

 

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Did anyone else notice how the pilot was likely shot to take place earlier in the morning? Think about it:

 

- Carter comes home after what is presumably a night shift

- His wife is in the shower, getting ready to start another working day

- He offers to make her breakfast

- The light coming through most windows comes at a relatively low angle (particularly if this is supposed to be noon)

- It features a busy bus terminal, with commuters milling about

- The very opening shot of the episode is of someone's unfinished breakfast

 

Didn't spot any clocks on screen, though.

 

Oh, and the little clock at the bottom of the screen turned 12:30 twice.

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1 hour ago, Mr. Breathmask said:

Oh, and the little clock at the bottom of the screen turned 12:30 twice.

 

Turns out this only happened on the version that Fox is streaming online. The second 12:30 clock showed 12:44 in the broadcast version.

 

Web release:

 photo 24_clock_WEB.jpg

 

HDTV broadcast:

 photo 24_clock_HDTV.jpg

 

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I watched the first, I dunno, 5 or 6 seasons, I guess up until the writer's strike that made that tv movie thingy happen instead, and haven't seen a minute of it since.  The quality dropoff was pretty big as the years went on.  

 

Chloe is still one of the greatest tv characters of all time, though, and I am mildly curious to see the later years just for her

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19 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

You peeps are still into 24? Really?

 

It's being produced again. Folks watch it because it is there.

 

10 minutes ago, Alexcremers said:

Who is Chloe?

 

A character on 24. You wasted the same amount of time asking that it would have taken to do a Google search, Steef.

 

 The actress is actually a comedian and quite funny with a diverse portfolio. I only know her from 24 and a recent @Midnight appearance. 

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