Goldberg74

I haven't seen an episode of it until I watched the first four eps of Season Six and I'm intrigued.

I can get the first 3 seasons of '24' at Costco for $20 a pop, but I had a friend tell me that I can skip Season One and just start with Season Two and not be lost.

Would you agree?

UPDATE: I finished watching Season 1 today (12/19/07).

Birrman54

It seems like there'd be some Nina Myers confusion...

I'm not sure why he'd recommend skipping season 1

clckworang

I don't know why he would recommend skipping it either. I think -- and probably most people would agree -- that season 1 was the show's best season. You could get by without watching it, but there would be a lot of things that would make a lot more sense if you watched the first season, especially something that happens at the end:

TheBigDave

You could probably start with any season of 24 without being totally lost.

But I wouldn't skip season one. It lays the foundation for so many characters that are very important in future seasons.

HE Pennypacker

Considering the first season was BY FAR the greatest season of 24, it would be wise to ignore your friend’s advice.

Nth Power

Watch it! Season One is great. It even has a decent Kim storyline which can't be said of later seasons.

tasha99

The first 12 episodes of season one were fantastic, then it slid a little but was still very entertaining. But season 1 is much better than many of the later seasons--not sure why you'd skip it.

Tommy Ceez

Watch it just to see the show back when they actually tried to keep a realistic timeline on the show...and re-watching the shows intro of Jack Bauer's life THEN as compared to what it has become is important, especially in light of his breakdowns starting this season

wendersfan

A few years ago I watched most of S1 on DVD. I hated it and eventually gave up on it. Then a couple of weeks ago I decided to give the show another try, starting with S2. I may end up hating it, too, but so far I'm enjoying it a lot more than S1.

brainee

Couldn't disagree more strongly. While you wouldn't be lost starting at Season 2, most "24" fans (wendersfan excluded) consider Season 1 to be one of the best, if not THE best, season of the show. Like others have said, it lays some really important information about major characters. While being able to follow the story in the next couple of seasons, you'd have missed on important character information and events that have much emotional power with future storylines. Palmer and his family, Jack and his family, Jack and Palmer, Tony and Jack.

I guess if people prefer "24" for the biggest terrorist threats and body counts then Season 1 might seem a bit small scale. But if you're going to go back, why not start from the start and judge for yourself?

Michael Corvin

Agreed. Your friend is an idiot.

Season 5 was spectacular, and 6 has a great start, but I wish they would get back to the simpler-small scale threats like the first season brought us. Unfortunately the writers are stuck in this "bigger = better" mentality.

Boondock Saint

Definitely watch it.

superdeluxe

Maybe, but why would you lose yourself one season of great tv?

Snowmaker

Friends don't let friends skip seasons of 24.

Ketamine

Get a new friend as he is either 1) trying to screw up your 24 experience, or 2) he is just a dumbass. Either way he doesn't sound like someone you should be friends with. Except for a stupid 3-4 episodes in the middle, season 1 is on par with any great movie out there.

Cartload

Season 1 was the best so far, although there was one VERY stupid plotline.

Goldberg74

Looks like I'll start from the beginning and get Season One.

Thanks.

hardercore

Don't skip Season One. Seasons Two, Three, Four, Five, and what I've seen of Six so far have failed to live up to the level of Season One. By far the best and most believeable (from a real-time perspective) Season of 24.

brainee

Good call 93% of DVDTalkers > the opinion of your friend (as far as 24 is concerned)

Be really careful about avoiding spoilers (at least if you want to get the full emotional impact that made things as great as it was for everyone). That means don't read the print on later box sets (if you buy a bunch of them for $20@). And try to stay out of "24" discussion on the net. I notice people casually throw massive early season spoilers around, even if the topic is this season. Like "Yeah, that was good ... but not as good as when Jack figured out Billy was a mole in Season 1 and had to gun him down" ... and I just made that last bit up BTW

Goldberg74

Being an avid reader of entertainment mags, I know alot of the spoilers about

brainee

Actually (if I'm reading the statement correctly), your spoiler is not completely accurate. I won't say which part is wrong, so maybe there can be some surprises

Baron Of Hell

Good call. Note that your friend is really not your friend at all. Lots of women dig S1 the most. Your so called friend knew if you watched S1 first your lady would get hooked and watch it with you. So he wanted you to skip it there by making sure your girlfriend wouldn't get hooked and be out of your sight for a few hours a day. Then he could put the moves on her most likely inviting her over to watch S1 with him.

You should keep your eye on that dirty bastard.

HE Pennypacker

The disc menus from the first edition are themselves often oozing with spoilers. It's hard to avoid those, but do the best you can to keep the surprises going.

DJariya

Yes by all means watch season 1. It sets the foundation of who Bauer is today. I do remember Kiefer saying that Season 1 was originally designed as a 13-part mini-series, but then FOX decided to order a full 24-episode season, so the writers really had to scramble creating filler episodes. But, overall it was a solid season and then final hour was some of the best TV I have ever watched.

Michael Corvin

I was going to say the same thing. I think every season has spoilers on the menus.