24 Runs Out of Time

It's official. The current and eight season of 24 will be its last. I'm not exactly heartbroken about the show ending, but it will still be sad to say goodbye to some of these characters more notably 'Jack Bauer' as played by Kiefer Sutherland and 'Chloe O'Brien' as played by Mary Lynn Rajskub. They are two of three actors who have appeared in more than 100 episodes of the show. Carlos Bernard playing 'Tony Almeida' is the other.

No matter what anyone says, it really was one of the most important television programs of the past decade. Debuting only a few weeks after September 11th, many thought the show about terrorists would not find much footing. Luckily for the show, Americans found themselves a hero in Jack Bauer. Impervious to bullets and torture, he was seen as the Great American Hero saving America from the bad guys during the course of its worst day ever (times eight).

The format of the show was the hook, of course. The show would take place in one day and be shown in real time. To say it was new and ambitious would be understating it. This strength was also the show's weakness because more often than not, the weight of telling a 24-hour story would show with repetitive and/or filler story lines.

Critics, fans, and definitely non-fans have loved picking apart some of the more ridiculous aspects of the show. We never see Jack Bauer going to the bathroom. Cell phones work everywhere and anywhere and don't need to be charged. Jack is tortured one minute and running after the bad guys the next. That car/helicopter/subway/bus could not have reached that place in so-and-so minutes. There's ANOTHER mole working inside the government. Etc.

All in all, it's been a fun ride. I actually didn't start watching 24 until its second season and only caught up with the first season well into the show's run. I have since seen every single season and episode save for the last few episodes of the much maligned (and deservedly so) sixth season. At that point, it was refreshing to see the show switch it up a bit moving the locale from sunny Los Angeles to Washington D.C. last season and now in New York City.

This final season has been a mixed bag. It started out with some promise and then sort of leveled off with some story lines too stupid to endure (Dana, I'm looking at you). But with 11 episodes left, I'm hoping for the best. In fact, the past two episodes have actually been pretty good. So to Jack, Chloe, and the rest of the cast and crew, thanks for the past eight seasons. Looking forward to seeing some of y'all in the big screen.