Kiefer Sutherland
Leslie Hope
Sarah Clarke
Elisha Cuthbert
Dennis Haysbert
(Various Others)

Created by:
Joel Surnow
Robert Cochran

2001-2014
Action, Drama, Mystery
Fox
TV-14

“24” is a lean, clear counterterrorism-political-thriller series that switches between more moderately paced scenes and bursts of taut, faster-paced scenes. It’s a serial drama, meaning that it has a continuing plot from episode to episode. However, while everyone gets the job done, nothing really stands out besides the style … well, not right now, which is over a decade after its first episode aired.

The use of various kinds of split screens is a smart reminder that this show covers many angles and stories: some more interesting than others, and some more outlandish than others. Also, the split screens are an appropriate match for the revolutionary concept of “24”: One season will show what happens, hour to hour, in the same day.

The first episode isn’t riveting (maybe it was riveting when it premiered on TV and created a major stir throughout the country), but that episode does provide an appropriate introduction to its world. Plus, the creative team and cast seem to know what they’re doing, so I’ll go along with it for now. Hopefully, the tension will build from episode to episode until the season finale; I think that that’s the intention. …

Well, I’m sorry to say that “24” just isn’t the show for me. It’s pretty good, but I don’t care about any of these people or about the circumstances they’re in. I wish I liked it more.

Verdict: Good

About: (Source: 24)

Midnight. Jack Bauer, head of the CIA’s Los Angeles Counter Terrorism Unit, is suddenly thrust into a chaotic and exhausting 24 hour marathon of death, deception and terror as he struggles to prevent the assassination of a presidential candidate, find the traitor within his own organization, and save his kidnapped wife and daughter.