Review of 24: Season 4

Introduction

In 2001, Jack Bauer hit our screens and took the UK by storm. The first two series of 24 were on Auntie Beeb and this was the first programme that I was aware of that had supporting programmes on the BBC satellite channels. So each week, after Jack had killed some more people or uncovered the next piece of the puzzle, we`d switch over to 24: Confidential and get the opinions of a group of fans `interviewed` by Claudia Winkelman and maybe (if we were lucky) get to hear from some of the stars or production team.

Then Sky came along and spoiled the party, nabbing the series for itself and arguably less people watched it during transmission. Not sure if Sky do any of the supporting programmes still, but it was no longer a TV event. Season 3 seems generally to be regarded as pretty weak anyway, but I think all have sold well on the DVD format.

And now, here comes Season 4. Once more Jack is out of CTU, now working for Secretary of Defense James Heller (William Devane) and having an affair with his daughter Audrey Raines (Kim Raver), who also works at the Department of Defence.

Day 4 starts with a train crash and the kidnapping of Bauer`s employer and daughter, but soon escalates into one of the biggest crisis to face CTU and the US. Habib Marwan (Arnold Voslo) has been planning an attack on the United States for years and today is the day it goes into action.

24 uses a format that was rare at the time of conception. Each episode covers one hour of plot and the complete series covers one single day. 24 wasn`t the first to use this kind of format, Murder One beat them by 6 years, albeit it a series about a single case rather than a single day. But that was about a bald lawyer and not a super Government agent out to save the world from bad guys.

Video

Picture is as clear as it needs to be, and the series really has a distinctive look. Nice satellite image-type menu`s, but they do start to grate after a while if you`re watching this in as short a time as possible as I was (could`ve done with being able to skip it…).

Audio

Good soundtrack. This season is particularly action packed, so there`s plenty going on fx-wise. Just wish they`d turn the `beeps` down a little.

Features

Episode commentaries

Deleted scenes - a number of deleted scenes that were trimmed mainly for pacing issues.

The Longest Day (Sean Callery music video) - dance track of the theme tune remixed by Armin Van Buuren. Very European feel to it and the video is a mix of clips from the show interspersed with either Callery or Van Buuren DJing. Features a sample of Jack Bauer saying `This is the longest day of my life` over and over.

Breaking New Ground: Building The New CTU - 15 minute look at the creation of the new CTU set through the eyes of production designer Joseph Hodges.

Blood On The Tracks - 15 minute look at the first big plot point, the train crash. More focussed on the principal photography, obviously, but also a chance to see the 2nd Unit filming the aftermath that appears as news footage in the programme.

Lock And Load - 18 minute look at the technical aspects of the rescue scene of Bauer and Heller using Cobra attack helicopters and Marines rappelling from Huey choppers.

Nissan Shift: Original Drama - a sad and haunting (score-wise at least) short film featuring a man on a very personal mission and lots of Nissan cars. S`ok, but I had guessed what he was doing relatively quickly.

24: The Game - mini-featurette on the upcoming PS2 game hosted by Kiefer Sutherland.

Conclusion

Well, they really went to town on this one. The one thing you can`t say about this season is that nothing happens. Was I Jack Bauer, I`d have to sleep for a couple of weeks after this one.

The story line is quite complex with overlapping plotlines that make Marwan`s plan a really complex one as each incident inevitably leads to another one. This does build up the tension a bit, but also makes it a tad predictable as I was able to confidently guess what was going to happen from the halfway point, and I didn`t even have the first four episodes (no disc 1 to review). That said, it wasn`t boring and it kept me glued to my seat.

The biggest drawback in my eyes is that personal feelings get in the way a lot during this season. Normally this types of series shows personal problems before a crisis and normally things go on hold during the actual crisis as everyone gets professional. Not quite so here. We have family crises to distract people (and remove some of them slightly awkwardly), we have personal feelings that lead to either mistakes or outright incompetence, and then we have Audrey Raines slowly seeing the real Jack Bauer in times of crisis. The latter particularly annoyed me as Raines is supposed to be a professional in the Government and should have understood why Bauer carried out some of his actions, and on top of that her father who knew these things and encouraged some of them could have told his daughter to just `get a grip`.

As mentioned previously, some characters are removed awkwardly and then not heard from again. The latter is fine in my eyes as we`re talking of a plot line that lasts hours rather than days. It also allows the writers to bring back old friends who then form the core of the story. The first time this happened I was extremely surprised, but after that it was becoming more obvious, although with the tight storyline and good acting I was quite pleased with how it went.

Arnold Voslo, last seen in The Mummy franchise, is quite exceptional as the main villain. We see him early on, which shows how much confidence they had in the character. He is very believable and lights up the screen with his menace. Of course, I couldn`t mention the baddies without mentioning the Arviz parents (Nester Serrano and Shohreh Aghdashloo) and kickboxing gun-toting mini-skirt wearing Mandy (Mia Kirschner). Sutherland is as good as ever, although I did notice that he has one of the squarest jaws I`ve seen for a while. He`d fit right in if they ever decide to rectify the Stallone Judge Dredd abomination.

So much is packed into this story that I really don`t see how they can top it. We have train crashes, kidnappings, Marine rescues, nuclear emergencies, corporate espionage and crime, stealing of Air Force assets, nuclear code and equipment theft, looting, mercenaries, love triangles, major diplomatic incidents and an inept man at the top. And that`s just off the top of my head. It was almost a relief to be let off the pressure when it ended.

Although season 1 is where it all started, season 4 is the big daddy of them all. Not going to be easy to top this excellent (almost) 24 hours of viewing.