Has '24' jumped the shark? (spoilerific)
 

I love 24. I think it is exciting, surprising and always enjoyable. As the years have gone on although they have stretched and stretched the real time element (season one being the only one really close to realistic), they have demonstrated the ability to shock, confuse, entertain and reward viewers consistently. It is great fun to watch.

No character is ever 100% safe, except Jack. In the lesser ratings 2nd or 3rd seasons I think they could have killed Jack, but not now.

The other principle was always that ultimately the terrorists LOSE. And I think that is very important.

But this year, the terrorists have managed to detonate a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles. It's small, but it is a nuclear bomb.

By letting that happen, in the "Jack Bauer" universe, the terrorists have won. It does not matter if Jack finds all the rest, and he will, the Bauer world now has a terrorist detonated bomb in LA. Yes, there was one in season 2 as well but that was detonated in the desert. The second principle was upheld, albeit shakily.

Regardless of what happens the rest of the season, CTU will never be viewed as a successfull organization again, President Palmer would be forced to resign, and all terrorist organizations would be emboldened and could rally around a successfull nuclear detonation in the US.

Maybe there will be some long lasting plot elements in the show over this and future seasons to relate to this, but by allowing this to happen the show has violated the one principle that it should not violate, and may have "jumped the shark" never to be the same again.

Thoughts?

Oh, it jumped the shark WAY BACK when Kim encountered the cougar.

This already happened A LONG time ago. The only question now: how many times has 24 jumped the shark?

I have a lot of issues with "24" but still really like it. However, your arguement, to me, is actually why I enjoy the show. The terrorists actually win in every single season--it's just to the degree of how much. Season 1 was more personal, but in season two, the set off a bomb inside of CTU. Season three, a bio weapon was unleashed within different areas of the city, including a hotel. Season four, they kidnapped the sec of defense and SHOT DOWN Air Force One.

Last season, they assasintated President Palmer.

The terrorists win every single season, which to me is ironically a good thing. It's realistic. You cannot stop everything, and in "24," the same is true.

You could also argue the terrorists won in episode 4. Who cares if phase J of their master plan failed when they were able to (1) meltdown a nuclear reactor, (2) create mass mayhem which resulted in others setting off an EMP (which, along with a riot, destroyed a section of Los Angeles), (3) shoot down Airforce One, and, (4) permanently disable the President of the United States. (By the way, I'm not sure why the writers bothered to let the President live, since that's the last we ever saw of him.)

With 24, my philosophy is...the more shark jumping the better. To paraphrase a classic:

"The trick, johnnysd, is not minding that it jumped the shark."

We never did find out the body count of Season 4. Season 6 so far has likely already topped that number, but you could argue Season 4's terrorists did the most damage. Taking out the President is about as big a victory there is in terrorism. Especially when you consider what his successor did the following season.

As for why Keeler lived, it's because Fox wouldn't allow 24's writers to kill him off. That was their original intent.

On a side note, that EMP in Season 4 obviously wasn't that big a deal since a few hours later Marwan went to a nightclub in the same area and all the power downtown had been restored.:)

24 became a parody of itself long ago. The miracle is that the show works just as well that way.

Sutherland stated in an interview that FOX wouldn't let them actually claim that an active President had been killed. That's why we never had "definitive" proof that he died in season 4.

still the best show on tv

When I am able to create a parody for the Otter elections last year, you know it most certainly jumped the shark.

Does it still count when you know Jack would shoot the shark dead while he was flying over it?

I always thought this show seemed more like FUD-mongering than actual entertainment. But then, what the hell do I know?

This is the first season I have watched, so I'm a poor judge. But it is a fun ride.

I've been a huge fan of 24 all this time, but when I saw the season premiere last week, it was the first time that the show started to feel played out to me. Aside from the "America is now under constant attack" premise, I got a big sense of "been there, done that". The nuclear bomb was an exciting moment, but after the nuclear plant meltdown & Air Force One shootdown in season 4, 24 showing a nuke going off in a populated area was inevitable. Likewise, Jack killing Curtis was also a big moment, but after we saw him blow away Chappelle, combined with the way this show has trained me to expect everyone (except Jack) to die eventually, it didn't have much impact on me.

I'll undoubtedly still enjoy this show on some level, but I think this may the season where it finally jumps the shark for me.

24 jumped the shark when Jack's wife got amnesia. But I still enjoy it, and I LIKE it that Jack doesn't always succeed. Letting the bomb go off in LA was probably better plotwise than having him stop it.

I like when the terrorists set off a bomb or something like that. It makes it better to root for them to get what they deserve, and it doesn't fall into the cliche 'everything's saved at the last possible moment!' that I hate.

who cares. it's amazing television.

I want Jack to torture the shark so he can find out " who are you working for?"

Still love the show.

I agree with another poster in the season premiere thread that said they have to stop trying to top themselves with big disasters, or pretty soon we'll have another Jericho on our hands.

As for the failures themselves, I think they do add to the realism, but I don't think the show has really addressed the consequences of these events. Just look at all the civil rights/fighting terrorism debate in season 5 so far. I'm sorry bit at the very minimum 24 Land has had a nuclear bomb was detonated in the US, a nuclear missile destroyed en route over LA, a forced nuclear meltdown kill thousands, a weaponized virus released, nerve gas released, 2 presidents assassinated and the Sec of Def kidnapped and nearly killed live on the web. If these events happened in the real world the only civil rights debate would be how many fingers are really needed for the rectal probes everyone receives when entering the subway.

I think it's necessary to have the terrorists succeed on some level because otherwise there would be no suspense. If we know they NEVER succeed in any way, then why watch? There has to be some sense of jeopardy. Plus, as others have said, it's more realistic that CTU isn't perfect. The real FBI and CIA certainly aren't.

Yeah, I'm not buying the "terrorists have won" angle either. I read it in the other thread and just ignored it. It makes things interesting. Jack already wins every time, how boring would it be if he foiled their plans in every episode. The terrorist won the battle, but in the end it is who wins the war.

:lol:

We quit watching a few episodes into season three. I did watch the first EP of this season and won't watch anymore. Just too samey to me.

No. The show has not jumped the shark.


Because while yes a nuclear suit case bomb was detonated, I believe I saw the casualty figure at 12k, that is beside the point, the point is, there has always been other big events that terrorists have accomplished on US territory. They shot down Air force one, They blew up a Nuclear plant that killed hundreds/thousands, They released a plague that killed many at a mall/hotel.

So the suitcase nuke is not the first time the terrorists succeeded. In fact the show could not go on, if there was not a 'real' threat from the terrorists.

So no, the show has not jumped the shark.