djbrown

Ran across this today and thought some would enjoy it here...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...3/DD134945.DTL

das Monkey

They compared 24 to Hill Street Blues.

Anyway, just living in the 24 universe seems like a horrible idea to be. The setting really isn't that interesting to me outside of the "longest day of my life" aspect. And the writers really have destroyed most of the credibility they built in the early episodes.

Personally, I think the idea of telling another 24 hour story, completely independent of the current one, with the actors playing different characters is the best I've heard.

das

Jadzia

I don't think it would be that hard for the writers to come up with another "24 hour" storyline.

They should have it take place a year later, with Palmer as President. Bauer is now head of CTU and he uncovers a terrorist plot to attack some large American target. He has 24 hours to stop the bombing or whatever.

You wouldn't have to feature his family so much, but if they had to the plot could involve them. For instance, a cruise ship or plane is targeted and Kim is on her senior trip.

Or, hell, make all of LA a target so he's have to save his and everyone else's families.

Hey, if I can think of an idea of the top of my head, I'm sure the writer's could develop something.

das Monkey

Except replace Keifer with Jason Patric and recruit Willem Defoe as the bad guy? No offense, but I don't think I'd watch that show.

das

madcougar

I always thought that having a "catch up" show every four weeks would have helped keep people interested. Basically once a month, you would rehash what has happened. You didn't even have to run this on Tuesday. Lord knows that Fox has plenty of dead spots to fill. There are a few people I know who would miss an episode and then just give up on catching new ones, figuring they would be forever lost.

If FOX does stay with this premise, I hope they lose the family since they're being in trouble would just be silly.

PacMan2006

In the article, it stated FOX is thinking about keeping the same actors, but changing the characters....

I don't logically understand how a show can establish characters with specific backgrounds for 24 episodes, and then possibly bring it back the next season with the same actors playing different characters under the same show. Has this ever been done before? It almost sounds like a play, or a improv class. Why do it? Why lead fans down the line if you change the characters?

So, technically, next season Kiefer Sutherland could be the bad guy, and the guy who plays Tony could be the hero? The woman who plays Nina could be called Sally, a woman who has three kids and in the middle of a divorce? I just don't see the point. I understand this show is doing poor in the ratings, but how is changing characters going to help? If anything, move the time slot. It's hard to get good ratings when you are competing against 'The Guardian' and 'NYPD Blue,' a show that has established credibility for ten years straight. Not to mention "24" competes with 'Smallville,' 'Scrubs' and 'Fraiser.'

But, of course, it's the characters that need to be altered.

Jeremy517

I hope they let it die after this season. The first 13 or so episodes (whenever the cutoff was before Fox signed up for the remaning episodes) were great, but I've been let down by the episodes since. I'm hoping they can just finish off this season strong then leave us with a good feeling and not ruin it by making it something that its not. Jack and Tony are the only characters I would care about and have an interest in watching in the future but they couldn't carry the show for another full season.

shrike

I don't see why they couldn't just have the next season be 24 hours to find a nuclear weapon before it's detonated in a major city. Or 24 hours with a hijacked plane. With enough setup, backstory and side story there would certainly be enough to fill 24 episodes.

Jeremy517

Coming up with a main storyline isn't the problem. Coming up with subplots is. They're already struggling to find subplots. Amnesia? Stockholm Syndrome? Bleh.

bboisvert

I may be in the minority here, but I got bored with this show around episode 6 or 7 and gave up completely somewhere around 10. The storyline just started to seem really dragged out to me... almost like the show was just "spinning its wheels" in order to fill up the required 24 hours.

Great idea, but the execution of it didn't really work for me.

MrN

I hear this is done on Mexican Soaps all the time. Keeping the actors assures the viewers of the quality and changing the characters keeps the story fresh.

AJW

They'll have to have Kiefer Sutherland play another character in season two because Jack dies in the season one finale.

Just kidding.

Thanks for the link djbrown.

Michael T Hudson

Saw this at Aint it cool had to post it.


My name is Jack Bauer and this is going to be an even longer day than the one before, which I thought was going to be the longest day of my life, but it turns out I was wrong...dead wrong.

das Monkey

das

G. Noel Gross

Oh! I would!

ChrisHicks

Maybe they should just make each episode take place over 24 hrs. instead of the format they use now. That way we get 24 new stories instead of just 1.

Groucho

This is one of the proposed suggestions. If they do that, what seperates it from other dramas?

das Monkey

I'm sure the writers who came up with the amnesia angle could find a way ... like aliens could eat Kim, but see ... it won't be Kim ... it will be a clone.

das

ChrisHicks

Nothing. But isn't this what they do when a show is totally different from anything else on tv? They just turn it into a clone of something else.

ChrisHicks

That would be a great idea. That way they could give David Duchuvny some work.:

das Monkey

Right, but it would actually be Nina ... using his body ... to kill ... THE PRESIDENT!

das

Jadzia

How about this for an idea:

Create some sort of terrorist crisis for Jack to fight. But also introduce another character, perhaps a counterpart for Jack who works in Europe or something.

The show could still take place in real time, but while it's a certain time in California, you have this other person working in a completely different time zone. So instead of Jack running for 24 hours straight you could also spend time with the other main character working on the case in their time zone.

It would be more plausible and you wouldn't have to worry about developing a ton of sub-plots.

AJP

It's probably the only way to keep the core premise of the show-the real time concept. IMO putting Jack Bauer immediately into another 24 hr scenario will be even more strained than the last few episodes and probably isn't viable. But I also think continuing the show while ditching the core concept would be weak-it becomes a more generic TV show like the Agency.

Essentially, the show would be focused on its concept instead of continuing characters. It has been done successfully with even less character continuity-The Twilight Zone. I think it would be worth trying for 24 because IMO the real time crisis element is more indispensable to the show than the characters-they are primarily just there to serve the crisis/conspiracy plotline.

You wouldn't need to bring back the same actors playing different parts, but I think that it would be fun. You could see the versatility of a good cast and play with the expectations fans would have from previous seasons.

Static Cling

More evidence of the dumbing-down of America:

http://www.cinescape.com/0/editorial...5&obj_id=33928
HOLY CRAP! "Asking a lot of the viewer?!" Heaven frickin' forbid! After all, that's not what made Mission: Impossible a huge success!

Jadzia

I still don't understand why a Season 2 show would have to take place "immediately" after this one.

Why not have the next season take place a year or two later?

I'm pretty sure Jack will come out a hero after all this, and Palmer might eventually become President.

You could have Jack & Palmer working on a big terrorist crisis together.