Today I came across this article on CNN.com about the future of the most exciting show on television. In addition to announcing that the show will continue for another two seasons, it was hinted that Jack Bauer and his friends on 24 will be in for some changes starting next season.
The upcoming re-invention of the series was something the producers have talked about for a while, [executive producer/showrunner Howard] Gordon said.
Aside from Sutherland, “24″ will return with a new cast (some old favorites might return in different roles) and a new, non-Los Angeles location, with the producers even contemplating telling the story from two locations.
I applaud the move from Los Angeles to almost anywhere else in the country. How many terrorist attacks can possibly originate from that one city? It was fine back when Jack was an actual employee of CTU Los Angeles (which hasn’t been the case since Season 3) but there’s no reason to keep the show there now. Plus you would think by now we would have had a serious threat in New York City, Chicago or Washington D.C. It would also be nice to get a brand new CTU set. Maybe they can make this one harder for terrorists to compromise.
I have conflicting thoughts about putting the show in two locations, mostly because of where those two locations will likely be. This season it’s working out just fine having the action split between Washington D.C. and Los Angeles, but the character interaction between the two locations has been limited to a few phone calls. But I believe next season we will see Jack in China looking for his nephew (son?) Josh and father Phillip while whoever manages to survive Day 6, plus an onslaught of new characters, will be dealing with something here in the States. I am hesitant to give this idea my full approval because it probably will mean a lot of cell phone time between Jack and whoever is stateside. Am I the only one who cringes every time Jack is on the phone? He’s so awkward. You can bet they aren’t going to stick a main character on an airplane for half the season, so whatever country that character starts in is where he or she will be all season. Call me old-fashioned, but I like character relationships to develop in person, not over the phone or through a text message or email.
Also, the time of day would be drastically different from one scene to the next, which would only be an issue if people started sleeping on 24. Hey, they did say they were going to reinvent the series.
After reading my initial perceptions I don’t feel like they will end up reinventing the show at all. They’re just telling a new story from new locales. They’re not going to mess with the 24-hour concept. They’re not going to mess with Jack. The world will still be going to hell in a handbasket. Chloe will still be pouting. If you ask me, the creators of the show should be less concerned with delivering something we haven’t seen before and more concerned with telling a captivating story. The newness of whatever they’re cooking up will wear off halfway through the season. But if the story is gripping like it was for Day 5 you’ll have people coming back in droves week after week. I like the fact that they’re willing to try new things, but let’s not forget there needs to be some substance behind all that flash.
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