24 - Season Two (2003)

I have a high threshold for excitement

I have a high threshold for excitement. Most movies are slow moving, boring and predictable. Major league football puts me to sleep. Hockey only keeps me awake because of the noise. In short, it takes a lot to get my heart rate above 56. 24 can put me into fibbrillation. I dream about it after watching more than one episode.

My daughter comes down to see me literally on the edge of my seat during an episode. She laughed "Dad, now I know what they mean by edge of the seat thrills, every time I see you your're about to fall off the end of the chair."

The two spotlight reviews give a lot away. I really don't like to drop spoilers in a review so I will stay arms length from the plot. In 24 just about anything you say about classifies as a spoiler since so much happens and the plot is an intricate chain of events with just about everything linked. Just knowing who is recruited to help Jack can totally ruin the end of Season 1 for someone who hasn't seen it.

The public knowledge about this season is that Jack Bauer is no longer with CTU. George Mason is in charge. Jack is off the payroll recovering from the events of last few minutes of season 1. This is a year later. ( real time again) Tony Almeida ( great character and terrific work by Carlos Bernard) is back with a new CTU crew.

Word gets out, there is some sort of nuclear device in Los Angeles planted by a terrorist group called Second Wave. David Palmer is President. ( hell, I would vote for David Palmer! )

There is a link with a domestic terror group that flags Jack Bauer. He was undercover with this group and is the only guy with a half chance of infiltrating them again in order to track down the nuke.

Jack also has to ally with an old enemy - name witheld to prevent a spoiler. The plot starts in overdrive and picks up speed from there.

The plotting is intricate, all events relate to all others. The race is on to find the nuke and save LA. There are several more subplots with of course Kim, Jacks daughter in trouble again. I guess the family aspect helps add tension to Jacks mission, but that subplot is lame compared to whats happening at higher levels of the government with the conspiracy leading all the way to the uppermost echelons of government.

Like Season 1 the action is non-stop. There is at least one major shocker in each episode and each one ends in an irresistable cliffhanger that will have you cueing up the next one right away not even wanting to take a minute to review the "Previously on 24" spot. You want it NOW!

In any other show or movie the plot would climax after they find the bomb, or course trhe guys would cut the green wire and that would the that. Nothing so pedestrian would ever make a 24 Episode.

In 24 you can ever count on them finding and disarming the bomb. Maybe they do, then again maybe not - I won't say here. But whatever does happen with the bomb I will say that the plot INTENSIFIES from there!

Like with Season 1, I had an impossible time turning off the DVD player until the disk was finished.

I didn't expect S2 to have the thrills and excitement of Season 1 since I knew a little more of what to expect from the show but if anything I was even more out of breath after these episodes.

One thing though, 24 will spoil you for most other TV shows and movies. Get used to the real time format and everything else seems lame. The only other TV show with the edge of 24 is maybe the new Battlestar Galactica, but that isn't the same serial format and no where near as addicting as 24.

24 is addicting and beware. Once you start you won't want to put them away until you're done.

The producers, directors and writers do a marvelous job of hooking you into the plot and caring about the characters and even feeling their pain.

Watch this show. It is the best of the best. This is as good as TV gets folks.

I come up with a great idea for a 24 party. Get a bunch of hardcores together and watch it real time. Start at 8am and play the disks realtime with the clock. Only break to bathroom and eat during the commercial gaps. Cue them up and restart on time.

All news on this site are owned and copyrighted to their respective publishers. this is a non commercial website.