24: Live Another Day

A necessary disclaimer: I've seen the first two seasons of 24 so I was essentially watching this as a first-time viewer.  I mean I understood how 24 worked, but I knew none of the non-Jack Bauer characters, not even Chloe.

24 has always been the type of show that would obviously benefit from not having to write 24 episodes.  Invariably, there are always going to be one or two storylines that are clearly filler, a way to fill up time for a character that has nothing to do.  Shortening it to 12 episodes makes writers have tighter plots and tighter stories.

This season was not perfect, but it was probably one of the best seasons.  I personally liked it better than 1 or 2, although my indication is that 5 was the undisputed best season.  It remains to be seen for myself, but 24: Live Another Day will definitely be at the top of my list, because there's no useless filler.  Everything presented is absolutely pertinent to the story.

If you think too hard about certain things that happen, it starts to become pretty clearly implausible.  But what the writers did with these events is what mattered.  They led to some surprisingly emotional moments that a show like 24 has no obligation to do.  The last few episodes provided some successful emotional moments even as I had no Audrey-Jack history in my mind.

The one disappointing thing for me is that this season relied a lot on callbacks to previous seasons.  That's actually a great thing, but I never met Chloe, President Heller, Audrey, or the surprise villain at the end.  It didn't matter a whole lot - the show was kind enough to indicate connections where there was one and it's not like I missed much.  It's just there's a certain value to seeing characters as early as the show wants you to and I missed that opportunity.

William Devane stands out this season for his excellent acting as President Heller, who tries to manage a country through a national crisis with oncoming Alzheimer's.  Kiefer Sutherland is his usual "grab you by the throat and force you to accept everything's happening" self and I mean that as a compliment.  Yvonne Strahovski plays a great female Jack (cause that's what she is).  Lastly, Kim Raver manages to gain my affection for her and Jack's relationship despite me seeing none of their previous encounters.  (As accomplished as Benjamin Bratt, Tate Donovan, and Gbenga Akinnagbe are, they don't get much to do, acting-wise)

The plot is pretty airtight, although the fact that the Russians and Chinese were working together is a little too tidy in my opinion.  They could have made it a little more messy with the Russians simply going after Jack Bauer while the Chinese did their own thing.  That's a small complaint though.

Overall, 24: Live Another Day proved to be one of the best seasons the series has ever done, which is kind of surprising since a rejuvenation of a series that ended on such a low note would appear to be a poor decision.  No matter, they used those four years wisely and created 12 beautifully done episodes.

Grade - A-

Playlist
1. "Big Pimpin'" - Jay-Z feat. UGK
2. "Collard Greens" - Schoolboy Q feat. Kendrick Lamar
3. "Don't Save Me" - Haim
4. "I Can't Get Next to You" - The Temptations
5. "Dosas & Mimosas" - Cherub