24 Hours in a Day

“24”, the two time “Golden Globe” award winning 6th season success is a suspense driven; expect the unexpected, action packed show that is based in Los Angeles, CA.  The show airs on the “Fox” network, drawing in massive viewers each week.  It is based on a man named Jack Bauer, CTU (counter terrorist unit) federal field agent. The show is based on one day of his life, and every episode is one hour of his life bringing the viewer to see it one hour at a time.  When the nation is in need of a hero to stop bombs, assassinations, viruses, terrorists, Jack Bauer is the “Go to” guy.  Jack, the diehard patriotic hero, goes out on the limb in each episode bringing action packed scenes to every show.  The show started off with a bang when Jack Bauer had to save his daughter from a kidnapping that led to bigger things; Leading every other season to have someone close to him in danger.  At the end of season one his wife dies from being killed by a terrorist.  This was the toughest day for Jack, only did he know in later days (seasons) he would be faced with many other tough scenarios involving loved ones.    

The CTU headquarters is ran by many different people, bringing character conflicts into the show.  When the CTU works together they can do wonders; sometimes it’s tracking a terrorist on a satellite and trying to catch them without bringing attention that they are following the terrorist.  Other times jack goes snooping around in a building known to be present of terrorists and gets into a gun sling and somehow kills 30 men in one building by himself.  Jack has back up but never really uses it, if he does his back up guys are the ones who usually get shot and die putting a sort of shadow over working with jack.  Jack Bauer is known to do things on his own, because he does things “His way”.  He is known to torture terrorist in anyway shape or form in order to get the information that is needed, and he is superb at it.   His questionable methods consist of:  Cutting off fingers and ears, shooting people in the knee caps, and injections causing extreme pain from the inside out, but in Jack’s eyes anything is justifiable when his country is at risk.  Jack has had to face many difficult decisions when his country is in jeopardy, such as having to shoot multiple co-workers killing two of them which was not what jack wanted to do in his heart, but had to do. It takes a special breed to do Jack Bauer’s job that’s why no matter how many times jack is released by the L.A. CTU or he looks like he is going to hang it up, they always bring him back into action.

            Other main characters that work at the L.A. Counter Terrorist Unit are crucial to Jack.  Chloe O’Brien is the computer specialists “Geek” at CTU, she and Jack have a very close bond and a unique friendship.  Chloe is the one person Jack always trusts and goes to in order to get information to do something that he is not supposed to do; or he is doing something under the radar from “Division”.  Another key person is Tony Almata, one of jack’s best friends.  He learns to trust and become close friends with Tony throughout the years only to find him supposedly killed in season 6, BUT with the new previews of season seven coming out Jack learns that he is not dead and that Tony is now on the other side of the legal system.  Curtis Foster is Jack’s go to guy in the field OPS.  Cutis is a top notch agent learning from Jack, but Jack is faced with a situation that leads him to shooting and unintentionally killing Curtis before he shoots a key witness based on the history with Curtis and the witness.    Jack’s loved ones are always at risk in his life; any female that he has an intimate relationship with or is close to ends up dying or he has to leave them because he is under a secret identity. He doesn’t ever get to spend time with his daughter Kim Bauer, leading him to miss out on much of her life because he is always committed to his time consuming job.  Every character’s plot throughout the season ends up coming together in the end and ties in with the main plot leading the viewers trying to figure out what is going to happen in the end.

Analysis:   

Many patterns run throughout this suspenseful show.  At the end of each season there are a few questions to the future of the show, Can they pull off another season?  Will Jack Bauer be reinstated into the CTU team?  At the end of most seasons Jack goes somewhere and it leaves the viewer wondering throughout the drought of the next season, what next?  The writers make the season finale seem like the show could end, but they always pull out another season, this is evidence that the show is suspenseful.  Another pattern throughout the seasons, the regular viewers seem to notice is that there is always a time during the season that Jack has to go out on his own behind the governments back and do things his way.  This makes the show even more action packed, because Jack is doing something he isn’t supposed to and the viewer knows that it is going to be a huge contribution to the plot.  Jack will go against his orders only if he feels it is in the nation’s best interest.  Going on to the next pattern, Jack throughout each season cannot keep anyone close to him, something bad always happens to them.  This creates drama through the season with his personal life.  Not having anyone close to him makes Jack look like he has nothing to live for and is willing to put his life on the line because he doesn’t care what happens to him.  In an aspect this feature gives Jack Bauer to have the “Bad Ass” side of him showing no mercy to anyone for any reason.  The Final and biggest pattern in the show “24” is that Jack Bauer no matter what saves his country.  Sure things do go wrong such as viruses being released in mass populated areas or bombs going off in key locations, but one man can only do so much.  In the end the bad guy is either killed or ends up going to prison under terroristic terms.  Jack Bauer has become a symbol to viewers as the most patriotic man that will do anything for his country, even if it does cost him his job, family, or life in the process.