If you have read my review on the first season of 24 then you will fully understand the love i have for this show and its characters. Love is a strong word but i'll use it anyway! Another £50 given over to the nice people at HMV and season 2 was purchased. After the experience i had with season 1, i thought it best to try and miss the episodes on TV and wait for the dvd to come out so i could watch 4/5 episodes in a row if i wanted to. It was hard work as my buddies were watching it on a weekly basis and were desperate to tell me what was going on, i was strong and managed to stay clear of 24 chats! This season in my opinion was better than the first which was hard to do but the writers, cast and directors did an amazing job in keeping people on the edge of their seat.
PLOT -
As mentioned in my season 1 review, its quite tricky to give you a definitive plot for the whole days events due to the multiple subplots and continued progression of the stories throughout the day, however i will give you a run down of what is happening - I will try not to give too much away from the first season but some bits will be leaked as we continue on through the seasons.
We are bought forward 18 months from day 1 and start at 8am but midnight in Seoul as we see a man getting tortured by an american agent. The individual being tortured finally breaks and informs the agents that there is a nuclear bomb somewhere in LA and its due to
be detinated today. President David Palmer gets wind of this and gets straight into contact with the counter terrorist unti (CTU) giving them the objective of finding and disarming the bomb.
Jack Bauer is now out of CTU as he comes to terms with the effects of season 1, he has a full beard and everything! His daughter Kim has also moved away from him to try and get over the loss of someone very close to them, she is currently working as a live in nanny. Staff at CTU uncover there may be a link to individuals who Jack did undercover work against in the past and a desperate call is made from the president to get him to go back to CTU and become an agent again.
Meanwhile, Kim has discovered that the girl she is looking after is part of a abusive home and attempts to take her away to safety, new character Kate Warner is preparing for her sisters wedding but something arises and she discovers information that her husband to be may be a terrorist.
All interesting stuff right!?
CHARACTERS -
Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland, Young Guns) has been retired for 18 months since the death of his wife but is asked to go back to field work by President Palmer after CTU discover Jack has done undercover work with individuals linked to a potential nuclear bombing
Kim Bauer (Elisha Cuthbert, Old School) has had to move away from her dad, Jack, so she can continue with her healing process of getting over her mothers death. She is currently caring for a small child but feels the parents are not as they seem
David Palmer (Dennis Haysburt, The Unit) is the newly elected President of the USA and has been made aware of the nuclear bomb. His relationship with Jack allows him to call personally and request his activity in bringing the bad guys down
Kate Warner (Sarah Wynter, The Dead Zone) is preparing for her sisters wedding but discovers her husband to be may be a terrorist. She has no direct link to any previous characters
Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard, Alien Raiders) is still working in CTU and has moved up the ladder since Jacks retirement.
Sherry Palmer (Penny Johnson Jerald, Star Trek Deep Space Nine) is still part of David's life and has a big role to play in his presidency
George Mason (Xander Berkley, Year One) is now Director at CTU and is very career driven. We find this out mostly in season 1 but his continued discipline on his staff is critisised by those close to him
Many other characters make appearances during the day and have an effect on the outcome. The introduction of Reiko Aylesworth as Michelle Dessler, CTU analyst brings some sort of calm to the proceedings and its good to see a woman giving calm in the midst of a male dominated enviroment
PERFORMANCES -
Once again the performance of Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer is far and above anything else in the show. As he is the main character we get to know him better than anyone else, this is not taking away from other performances but it is all about him and he pulls it off well.
DIFFERENCES FROM SEASON 1 -
- Season 1 began and ended at midnight where as this season has chosen to start and end at 8am.
- Jack has now inserted the word 'God' when he says 'Damn It' - 'God Damn It!' - When he says this you know he's really pissed!
- Kim has grown up from the first season and her decision making has improved, not too much though!
- Only 24 geeks such as myself will know that the clock and clicks to go with it have changed. Not really interesting was it!?
24: THE GAME -
A 24 game was released to make a bridge between season 2 and 3, i will provide a seperate review for this but various actors fom the show lent their voices to contribute to the realism of the game
TECHNICAL STUFF -
There was a lot made of the season one dvd bonus material and the lack of it so this time round the director and producers included a lot more and is probably the best season in the series for bonus stuff. DVD extras include 45 deleted scenes which can be seen with or without commentary and in the actual episode itself, 24 exposed documentary over 2 parts, on the button destruction of CTU featurette, episode commentaries from cast and crew plus interactive menu and chapter selection.
Once again the direction of the episodes is shared with Jon Cassar making a return to direct the majority of the episodes. Some of his previous work includes an episode on Fringe and the film Queen of Swords. He is assisted mainly by fellow directors James Whitmore Jnr and Ian Toynton with writing credits going majorly to the creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran.
OVERALL -
Once again 24 delivers a season which is full of plot twists, drama and excitement to keep the story going. In my opinion, better than season one with a good set of characters and a bigger threat to the country. It may be a tad bit unrealistic at times but we all believe in what Jack is doing and Kiefer's performance in every episode is brilliant. The quality of the show overshadows the little annoyances but viewer will no doubt look to see more and the ending just like in the first season leave you wanting more and wanting it now! A friend of mine has just started watching season 2 and is amazed that he never watched 24 before, my reply - I told you so!
Hope you enjoyed reading and live the dream.
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Jack Bauer is having another one of his "very bad days" in the second series of the ... more
ground-breaking real-time thriller24. Once again the hours are ticking by with more guaranteed cliffhangers than a convention of mountain climbers. Holed up in a Los An...
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Jack Bauer is having another one of his "very bad days" in the second series of the ... more
ground-breaking real-time thriller24. Once again the hours are ticking by with more guaranteed cliffhangers than a convention of mountain climbers. Holed up in a Los An...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 2 to 4 weeks...
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