You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello (24 Edition pt. 1)

In honor of Fox's flagship drama coming to it's conclusion, I decided to actually start watching 24. From the beginning. I've managed to go eight-and-a-half years without a single spoiler, which might sound unlikely, but living in a cave has it's advantages. I also just saw The Usual Suspects for the first time three months ago. ...yeah, and I run a media blog, right?

I suppose this might be a good time to let you in on some of the methodology behind this site. My TV isn't plugged into anything but my computer. I watch Countdown With Keith Olbermann and Hardball with Chris Matthews in the kitchen while I cook or eat dinner (back living with my mom for a year before I move in with my fiance in November. LIKE A MEGA MAN,) I watch The Daily Show on my laptop, and aside from that, there's an army of harddrive lights illuminating my room at night. Prior to that it was DVDs of season, and before that VHS tapes of anime and episodes of mst3k. I do this so I don't know which chain restaurants to eat at or medications I should ask my doctor about. So, while I may sometimes be an hour or two behind the newest episodes, I also live a reasonably spoiler-free life.

So, 24 was always a show I found somewhat compelling, as horrifying as the idea of a 24-episode season of a serial drama may be. I mean, that's basically a 17 hour movie, and at this point I find 13 episodes of Dexter trying enough. Then again, that's Dexter, the biggest orgy of great acting and hack writing in the history of television. But, ya know, they can swear, so that's automatically six bonus points of realism. Anyway, 24. I found the concept really interesting, but something that'd get old really quick. I mean, and I'm sure this has been mentioned in a billion reviews over a decade, but there's really only so many interesting days a dude can have that mysteriously wrap up in a twenty-four hour period. Then again... I hadn't watched the show. Maybe there's two interesting events in a day. Maybe A day that took forty-eight hours. ...yeah yeah, there's an obvious flaw. But we're suspending disbelief. That's what we do.

Despite all the frightening aspects and obviously surface flaws, I went in with an open mind.

24 Season 1 (continued soon)