Let's Play "How To Fix A TV Show?" - 24 Edition
 

I'm inspired by the Jerico thread. No major show took as big a hit in quality as 24 which burned through a ton of momentum and critical acclaim after a brilliant Emmy-winning season 5 with a been there-done that season 6 that really underwhelmed in every way. 24 is a tough show to fix because of the show's real-time structure. So many things can't be done because of the restraints of real-time and you can't really throw in a Lost-style "game-changer". If you're going to follow a story arc over 24 hours, it has to be some sort of crisis and frankly hasn't 24 done them all already?

I'm not sure at this point if it even IS fixable, but if it were what would you do?

And for the sake of argument, lets say we have to keep the 24 hr format as it's so integral to the show.

No more focus on the president. He/she can be a character, but no more political backstabbing, blah blah. Nothing takes me out of an episode more than the politics angle.

Stay out of CTU. Do not use it for a plot device, or a place Jack can crash for an hour. If you really want a frantic 24, leave him out in the field the entire time.

Those are 2 off the top of my head.

First and most importantly, more screentime for Kiefer Sutherland.

Don't rehash plots from previous seasons....24 fans aren't stupid.

No CTU!!......early reports indicate it's out of the picture for season 7.

No more overblown terrorist plots.......Bombs, Nukes, muslim extremists...enough is enough.

Write better dialogue...which I'm sure won't happen as that's one of the 24 writers biggest weaknesses.

Re-locate the show outside of Los Angeles....mentioned many times and it sounds like they are actually going to do this. But, I'll believe it when I see it on paper officially.

I don't envy the 24 writers/producers because there's almost no more original storylines left. Everything has already been used in previous seasons and that's why this past season was already a rehash.

The problem when you go with a smaller threat, is that people might not care. All really personal angles have already been used (Bauer's family/friends in danger).

I can't think of anything original for 24.

I hope they put the simpsons 24 spoof as an extra on the season 6 dvd, that would make me buy it.

I'd like them to at least attempt to stick to the real-time format. They've been playing exceptionally loose with that for many years now.

I think the show can be good again. Like many have said, a new locale and NO CTU would help a lot. Maybe something overseas. Or how about take a page from Die Hard and have just Jack the entire 24 hours taking place inside a building/boat/etc

I agree with just about all of those suggestions. Remember that story from a few years ago, when the producers were thinking about purchasing "The Da Vinci Code" for the second or third season of 24? I don't think a book like that would work for 24, but the idea is intriguing...a new premise that uses the 24-hour gimmick. And as much as I love the character Jack needs to die.

They've killed off every compelling character on the show. They need to build some more relationships without killing them off. Bring back the Connie Britton (obviously she couldn't play it now) from a couple of years ago. Was Nina's death a confirmed kill? I know everybody hates Kim but they should bring her and Chase back. The storylines need to be smaller and more family centric I think.

Bring in a new partner for Jack. I hear Ted McGinley is available.

I'd like to see Jack Bauer become second-in-command at a mid-level paper company in Scranton, PA.

OK...these are my ideas for a possible storyline:

1) Do a pre-quel. It'd be a way to bring back old cast members, and also show us what happened in between certain seasons, and give us more backstory. Operation Nightfall, pre-season 1, could be very interesting.

2) Have Jack and company go overseas to rescue some important leader that is expected/suspected of being executed by a militant group. Maybe the leader is in the USA for the day.

3) Since Jack has lost everything, yet ironically given everything for his country, I could see Jack Bauer in season 7 being lost. No point in living. Lost his girl. Daughter doesn't want him. Government betrayed him. Maybe in season 7, Jack has joined some patriotic group. They believe they are doing what's best for the country, but really they're more like domestic terrorists. They feel, though, that what they're doing needs to be done. Somehow, through their destruction (or before), Jack realizes what he's doing or aiding to do, and wants out. He could try and stop this cell from within, while the government is also trying to kill Jack because they realize how dangerous of a threat he is. Maybe while Jack is trying to stop this group and get in touch with the government, he also realizes this patriotic/terrorist group is much more dangerous and lethal than he ever could have suspected.

These are all three different ideas.

1. End the stupid and petty office bickering. When you're in the middle of a terrorist crisis, you don't need to be complaining about who stole your Twinkies. We don't need another incompetent Hobbit who brings the show to a grinding halt.

2. End the stupid and cringe-inducing political backstabbing conspiracies. Hell, you don't even need the president anymore.

3. Don't half-ass the real-time format and put some effort into it for the first time in a few seasons.

4. The crisis doesn't need to be bigger. You can make it smaller and more personal.

5. Plan out the entire season. Don't put in stupid twists for the sake of having them (that clearly don't work) like suddenly making Logan the bad guy. Or tacking on that godawful Chinese subplot in season six, that was a follow up on the Chinese subplot in season four which was one of the worst bits of writing ever.

6. Get rid of the torturing (which only works when Jack does it), the perimeter securing (which never works), the random snipers that come out of nowhere, the moles and every other cliche that's turned 24 into a parody of itself.

After the first season they should have kept the 24 hour concept and changed absolutely everything else. Each season would be a totally different show. Maybe season two would be a buddy cop comedy. Season three about a group of high school students putting the finishing touches on their solar racer project. Season four about the quirky residents of a retirement community. Etc.

Most people who watch the show are fans of Kiefer Sutherland and fans of the Jack Bauer character. Recasting the show and changing the plots from comedies to dramas to High school drama would not work at all....IMO it would make no sense. If you have a brand name like 24 and a character like Bauer, who's become a pop culture icon, you have to stick with it until the very end.

1. Bring back Kim.

2. Bring back the cougar, let it win.

3. Make Jack the focus of the show.

Not enough Jack Bauer! Lets have more of him torturing people, for chrissakes!

Nothing gives me the willies like Jack injecting stuff into peoples arms and having my ears blown off with the sound of the screaming.

1. I could go for this idea although I have a feeling a lot of people will hate it.

2. Interesting idea. But there needs to be more story to have a full season.

3. Bauer was already down and not caring to start this past season.

I would like to see two story arcs in a 24-hour time period. Something that gets resolved in the first 12 hours (so it doesn't get too stale) which leads to a second crisis in the last 12 hours.

I don't want to see the terrorists switch from Plan A to Plan B to Plan C, etc. like they did in Season 4. And it's got to make sense. (Russia going to war with the U.S. over a circuit board was the most ridiculous plotline I've ever seen this side of a B-movie.) And it can't be the exact same crisis repeated for another 12 hours like in Season 1. I kind of like how they did it in Season 2, although the second story arc was a little less interesting and lost some steam.

I think if the writers outline two plots at the beginning of the season rather than make it up as they go along, the show will benefit from this approach.

But if they do this, they need to keep in mind one important detail: Everyone is tired of terrorists always wanting to blow up Los Angeles. (My favorite is when Marwan can blow up any city in the U.S., but instead aims to blow up L.A. and escape in a helicopter just a few minutes before!) Curiously, New York City is never attacked. For crying out loud, change the location!

How about a take on "D.O.A." where the crisis is Jack Bauer trying to save himself from ingested poison? Would guarantee lots of Bauer time...

That would be great TV....Bauer would have 24 hours to find an antedote. Either that or a take on "The Most Dangerous Game" with Jack being hunted on some remote Island.

The problem is : Jack is indestructible and the absolute center of the show. His life is never really in jeopardy so how can we be riveted for 24 hours? What the show has done right over the years is made it so almost any other character could be killed off at a moment's notice, thus raising the stakes.

Jack's new partner: John McClane

Early on in the show's run, I remember hearing a rumor that they were considering doing something like this--keep the same cast members and the real-time concept, but change the premise and characters, where the next season would be a medical drama, or cop show, or whatever. Obviously, this was before 24 became a big hit and Jack Bauer became a pop culture icon, and I wonder how much truth was in this.

Most of what I'd change has already been mentioned, but I especially agree that they should move away from throwing in random plot twists and character deaths for shock value. I know that this is the whole backbone of 24, but most long-time viewers have become so jaded and uninvested in new characters that nothing is really surprising anymore. Nearly every major character over the course of the show has been killed off, so it's hard to form a connection with anyone, knowing that they're most likely living on borrowed time anyway.

they should just pull the plug, it`s stale. all new characters would have been nice, when it first came on we were all hurting about 911 and terrorists and this show was great medicine. but most people I know are burnt out about hearing of terrorists,Iraq, nuclear bombs and George Bush 7 years later. just human nature.