Playing catch-up with 24...

After taping all four hours of this Sunday/Monday's 24 multi-episode marathon beginning to the new season, I finally got a chance to sit down and watch it all tonight, thanks to finally having a reasonably free evening, and with judicious use of the FF button on my VCR (not just during commercials, but during any sub-plots which are pretty obviously going nowhere). Here are a few quick thoughts so far (note, anyone who doesn't want to know anything, please skip all of the following):

-The show's "new direction" seems rather like its old (i.e. first season) direction, with Jack being the lone rogue agent trying to save someone he cares about from terrorists, while operating outside the authority of the government. But that's cool, since the character works best as a lone wolf, and Kiefer can definitely carry it off.

-For a show that I have been very impressed with in the past for its efforts to resist stereotypical characterizations of ethnic villains, this season's rogues gallery seems almost exclusively Arabic. At least, so far. With 24, we'll probably find out down the road that what we think we know ain't what we think we know and the real bad guys are someone else entirely. But for now, this is the first season where I'm kind of uncomfortable with the villains, simply because of their uniform ethnicity.

-The show has really lost something with the absence of David Palmer as president. The new prez (the guy who was trying to blackmail Dave last season) just ain't cutting it with me, and he's not sympathetic at all. In fact, the FF button was being used a lot during his scenes.

-One more gripe and I'll get to good stuff, I promise, but I feel that the show's political slant has taken a turn toward the right wing. A lot of story elements are just plain bugging me - the stereotypical villains, the implications of its main kidnapping plot, the Sec's peace-protesting son being portrayed as an arrogant and naive fool. Elements like these read like thinly veiled parables, and political commentary is NOT why I watch 24 - I watch it because it's damn entertaining television, incredibly well produced, exciting, fun, surprising. It has dealt with issues that have had very serious implications in the past, especially in this post 9/11 era, but thus far has dealt with them in such a way that any political ramifications therein were nicely defused and the show's overall value as escapist entertainment for people of any viewpoint was kept nicely intact. This is the first year I've felt that values were being brought into the equasion, as well, and that's distracting me from what I love about this show. Now, all this could change, and quickly - that's what makes 24 such compelling television - but for now, I'm keeping an eye out.

-Now, the good stuff. This remains the best produced show on television. At no time does it feel like we're watching just a TV show with budgetary limitations - as with previous seasons, it feels more like a flat-out action film, only the biggest and longest action film you've ever seen. The opening train crash was scarily convincing, and as always the show's fast pace and matter-of-fact yet convincing performances keep you involved.

-Kiefer Sutherland continues to be the rock this whole enterprise stands on. Most of the rest of the cast are gone (only Chloe and the new prez are carry-overs from last season - so far), so the audience would be mighty disoriented, and potentially disinterested, if Jack Bauer wasn't there. But his character has been so well established, and Sutherland's work in the role so dead-on, that the show can get away with such a complete turn-over, simply because we care so much about Jack. Kiefer's performance is so central, yet so straight-forward, that he often doesn't get the credit he deserves as its emotional center.

-Who (if anyone) will show up this season? The sudden absence of everyone else leaves plenty of doors open for surprising returns...except, of course, by the deceased. That's another thing in 24's episodic storytelling that deserves praise - so far, not a single character has "raised from the dead." When we see someone killed, they're killed. Period. This gives the show a more realistic feel, I think, than most other shows, since we know that it's the one card that this show plays that is, indeed, final.

-The rapid-fire nature of this season means we're already 1/6th of the way done, with new episodes every week until the finish. With all the starts and stops last season, I easily got distracted and had to play catch-up way later on. Maybe this time I'll stick with it till the end.

Well, so far, so okay. Here's hoping it gets better, though. But, as always, I'll try to be there every step of the way...