So 你 Want to Watch 24...
Aside from the fact that 24 is the best 显示 any of us will watch in our time, what else do 你 need to know? There's so much, yet so little. I'm going to include the basics, and give 你 only so much detail to get 你 interested but not spoil you.
24 is a real-time 显示 (we'll get into that 更多 later) that stars Kiefer Sutherland as the main protagonist Jack Bauer (we'll also get 更多 into him later). The number '24' has meaning. It represents the 24 hours in a single day. Each season has 24 episodes, each episode representing a single 小时 of the 'day' in 24. The 显示 is extremely fast-paced and yes, 你 will have to actually pay attention. (And there goes half of my 文章 readers already.)
The 显示 in a nutshell, has to do with politics & terrorism. People who like to read too much into things will tell 你 that this 显示 is right-wing propaganda. Tell them to DIAF 或者 some other witty insult, and continue 阅读 this article. There are two major storylines that carry throughout the entire series run. We deal first hand with the terrorists, and CTU's (Counter Terrorist Unit) efforts to stop them. On the political side of things, we see the efforts made 由 the White House to stop 说 attacks. The White House & CTU have to work together sometimes - terrorists want immunity for talking, 或者 they want to negotiate, etc.
I 说 before the 显示 is very fast-paced and that it is. So much happens in an 小时 of the show, and in each season there are many different plot lines to follow. What starts off as maybe an innocent family eating breakfast could turn into them being suspects 或者 targets. Every storyline coincides with the major one of each season and the guys of 24 do it so wonderfully.
Who 你 Need to Know
Jack. Fucking. Bauer.
"The only reason you're still conscious is because I don't feel like carrying you."
Kiefer Sutherland plays the role of Jack Bauer perfectly. On the surface, Jack is just another sadist who tortures people because he "enjoys it". But deeper, there's a man struggling to do what HE sees is right for the good of his beloved country. People expect so much from just one man, and when that one man does what they want he gets punished for it. One thing is for sure, Jack is always right and he always gets his way. You'd think after 8 years of him putting his (hot) 屁股 on the line for the greater good, people would learn to listen to him but I guess having someone who defies Jack just makes for good television.
Jack is the kind of man 你 don't want to mess with. "Trust me, 你 don't want to go down this road with me." The fact that he's such a BAMF, and *not* a stereotypical cookie-cutter one at that, makes him (to me and anyone else who has a brain) the most fascinating character to be put on 电视 或者 in the movies, ever. I know that's probably being a big melodramatic but I don't care. There's SO much to this man. When he's in a relationship, he's a romantic. He loves his daughter 更多 than everything and all of his decisions revolve around her. He does what he has to do because he's a hero, 或者 an anti-hero if 你 will. He knows that what he does isn't socially acceptable 或者 morally right, but he does it because he knows it will save lives in the long run. He's willing to pay for his wrongdoings just like any other man. I 爱情 Jack Bauer. Did 你 figure that out yet?
Other Characters
24 has a strong cast of supporting characters. The strongest & most fascinating of any 显示 I've ever watched. The 显示 is admittedly not known for its principal cast throughout the entire series run. Kiefer Sutherland is the only cast member to appear in all 8 seasons, and every episode. Characters come and go like it's no big deal. Some die, some just leave. Some appear to have died, but come back miraculously later.
Jack is undoubtedly the most important character of the show, and the only one 你 absolutely HAVE to know. But there are other very important characters to the show. Watch out for these (sometimes) lovable characters.
Chloe O'Brian
David Palmer
Tony Almeida
Kim Bauer
Bill Buchanan
Michelle Dessler
Nina Myers
Charles Logan
Audrey Raines
Renee Walker
雪莉酒, 雪利酒 Palmer
Those are just some of many of the fascinating characters in the series run. Some 你 will love, some 你 will hate, some 你 will 爱情 to hate, but all of them have extremely vital roles and 你 will never forget them.
The Real-Time Aspect
Not to repeat much of anything I 说 earlier, but 24 is a real-time show. The use of 12-hour clocks are incorporated within the episodes. This is a very unique concept and one that 你 wouldn't expect to work, but it does. Boy, does it ever.
- Each episode starts with Kiefer!Jack narrating the 'The following takes place between ___ & ___.' Sometimes it is followed with 'Events occur in real time.'
- Clocks are used generously. They are used right before a commercial break, and the times within the 显示 are the exact 分钟 for how long the commercial was. So for example, 你 leave the 显示 at 10:40, and the commercials were 4 分钟 long, when 你 come back to the 显示 the clock will display in the center of the screen with 分裂, 拆分 screens 展示 what took place in the time 你 were gone. It would be 10:44.
- Every episode ends with a ticking clock. Silent clocks are a rare occurance in the land of 24, but they are used to signify either a death, a shocking cliffhanger, 或者 just a really emotional moment. The first silent clock was actually a glitch, but when 粉丝 thought it was done on purpose and loved the use of it, it became a recurring theme. *is know-it-all*
- Most of the time, episodes will end with a 分裂, 拆分 screen 展示 what the characters are up to right before the end. THIS IS FUCKING BRILLIANT and once 你 get involved in the show, these sequences at the end will give 你 funny tingly feelings in your heart. Because they are just that awesome. With some endings, 你 will see a 分裂, 拆分 screen and then it will go back to the last cliffhanger of the episode and end with a clock.
- 分裂, 拆分 screens are also shown mainly when 你 see two 或者 更多 characters on the phone with one another. This becomes such a habit, that when I talk to people on the phone irl, I expect to see a 分裂, 拆分 screen pop up only to be disappointed when it doesn't. *is lame*
A Unique Aspect
This is where I'm going to get all sentimental & preachy, so if 你 want to skip this chapter 你 go right ahead. I have discussed this at length with a fellow 24 fan, and it could be that we enable each other in that way, but I have a special attachment to the 显示 that 你 can't find anywhere else.
24 enforces an incredibly strong sense of loyalty. Loyalty is the best personality trait 你 can have imo, and I think I have learned to appreciate it largely in part thanks to this show. Not only does it boast a strong sense of patriotism for country, but for 老友记 as well. Two of the best relationships on the 显示 express this. Jack has two best 老友记 in the series run who have rarely (and I mean, RARELY) questioned him and just done what he's asked. To me, that is what 老友记 are. To have your back no matter what, and to sacrifice for one another.
I think this rubs off on 24 粉丝 as well, because we are truly a unique breed. Maybe I'm biased in this, but 24 truly has the one of the most loyal 电视 fanbases I've seen. We aren't as loud & brash as some other fandoms, but we know what we 爱情 and we 爱情 it to death. Upsetting a 24 粉丝 is like...well, it can't be compared. It's like upsetting a 24 fan. Don't mess with us 或者 we'll get Jack Bauer on you.
In Short...
- 24 is badass.
- Jack Bauer is God.
- 你 will become 冷却器 just 由 giving up a few weeks (shorter if 你 get addicted) of your time to experience the greatest thing ever.
- This 显示 is not for somebody with ADD. 你 have to pay attention, and 你 have to watch every single episode to get the full experience.
- Yes there's torture, yes there's gun porn, yes there's blood. Yes, it's all awesome.
- 8 seasons & a tv movie, with an actual theater-released movie on the way. Wanna get hooked now? :D
Any questions? Don't hesitate to ask! I 爱情 24 更多 than life itself and I am 更多 than willing to enable anybody who wants to start it.
Concerns for my mental health are nice in gesture, but really not necessary. Yes, I've got an "unhealthy" addiction to 24 but that's good for 你 potential 粉丝 because I get to share it with you!
