# 24's great marketing plan **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 11, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24s-great-marketing-plan/339533 "2006-01-11T19:26:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24s-great-marketing-plan/339533/21 "2006-01-12T00:00:52Z")
No, **Big Bad Voodoo Lou** , I wasn’t really joking. Maybe a little half-serious. But if I read _The Sopranos_ episode-to-episode continuity correctly, they tend to refer to things in the previous episode as “last week.” The previous season gets dealt with a little more obliquely but it’s still further back in the past. Has anybody sat through 24 consecutive _24_ episodes in real time? Can that “speeded up” view of the way things develop shed any light on how many games the writers play with the audience? I have thought of doing such a thing, and have actually watched an entire _Sopranos_ season back-to-back. But I just can’t imagine the _24_ experience. Even when the “seasons” were longer on the older shows, I can’t think of any that attempted to persuade the audience that this was an ongoing consecutive sequence of stuff. That comic idea sounds like a real undertaking! ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24s-great-marketing-plan/339533/22 "2006-01-12T00:23:12Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > For those who like being spoiled, in the first episode ex President Palmer is assassinated by a sniper, while Michelle and Tony’s car is blown up, killing her and leaving him in critical condition. Apparently someone is trying to kill EVERYONE that knows Jack is alive. :eek: :eek: :eek: I guess that explains the bit in Entertainment Weekly about the “need to pop a Valium” in order to watch the first 10 minutes. Wow. Also, to the Chloe-fans (spoiler from Entertainment Weekly): Chloe has a hot in-office romance with a new tech guy ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24s-great-marketing-plan/339533/23 "2006-01-12T00:27:00Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > For those who like being spoiled, in the first episode ex President Palmer is assassinated by a sniper, while Michelle and Tony’s car is blown up, killing her and leaving him in critical condition. Apparently someone is trying to kill EVERYONE that knows Jack is alive. Damn me for oh so casually clicking on that spoiler box! I’m sticking my fingers in my ears and singing la-la-la now. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24s-great-marketing-plan/339533/24 "2006-01-12T00:50:05Z")
So, once everyone realizes that Jack is still alive … what are the Chinese gonna do? Something like that doesn’t just go away… ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24s-great-marketing-plan/339533/25 "2006-01-12T01:15:11Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Has anybody sat through 24 consecutive _24_ episodes in real time? I did twelve or sixteen on A&E. Mrs. Plant pulled me away from the TV when my eyes began to melt. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24s-great-marketing-plan/339533/26 "2006-01-12T01:33:24Z")
> [@PastAllReason](#): > > Damn me for oh so casually clicking on that spoiler box! I’m sticking my fingers in my ears and singing la-la-la now. WARNING… WARNING… _klaxons blaring_ WARNING…! To all those new to “24” threads… WARNING… unless you are the type to read the last page of the book first, never, I repeat NEVER, click on **RikWriter** ’s spoiler boxes. This has been a Public Service Announcement from the Monstre[sup]TM[/sup]. ::: exerting strenuous willpower and NOT clicking on that spoiler box, for a change… ::: ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24s-great-marketing-plan/339533/27 "2006-01-12T01:50:55Z")
> [@Monstre](#): > > ::: exerting strenuous willpower and NOT clicking on that spoiler box, for a change… ::: All it says is that Serbo Croatian terrorists have stolen a Soyuz of the former Soviet Union in Kahzakistan and sent an asteroid to crash into Los Angeles. The terrorist’s daughter went out with Jack in High School and he is crazed to get even. Edgar changes the orbit of a space shuttle and Jack rides on the outside with a nuclear weapon to destroy the asteroid. Tony takes over NASA to guide him on his way. “IF YOU DON’T LET ME CONTROL THE SHUTTLE, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL DIE!” It is a ploy, however, and the real plan is to send Jupiter into the Sun. “IF WE DON’T STOP IT, BILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL DIE!” President Palmer who has run for a second term gives Jack the US super top secret star ship to foil the plot. Chole, Edgar and Tony are on the bridge crew, but I’ve said too much already. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24s-great-marketing-plan/339533/28 "2006-01-12T03:06:45Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > All it says is that Serbo Croatian terrorists have stolen a Soyuz of the former Soviet Union in Kahzakistan and sent an asteroid to crash into Los Angeles. > The terrorist’s daughter went out with Jack in High School and he is crazed to get even. > Edgar changes the orbit of a space shuttle and Jack rides on the outside with a nuclear weapon to destroy the asteroid. > Tony takes over NASA to guide him on his way. “IF YOU DON’T LET ME CONTROL THE SHUTTLE, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL DIE!” > It is a ploy, however, and the real plan is to send Jupiter into the Sun. “IF WE DON’T STOP IT, BILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL DIE!” > President Palmer who has run for a second term gives Jack the US super top secret star ship to foil the plot. Chole, Edgar and Tony are on the bridge crew, but I’ve said too much already. Oh, you _are_ evil. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24s-great-marketing-plan/339533/29 "2006-01-12T07:35:01Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Has anybody sat through 24 consecutive _24_ episodes in real time? Can that “speeded up” view of the way things develop shed any light on how many games the writers play with the audience? I have thought of doing such a thing, and have actually watched an entire _Sopranos_ season back-to-back. But I just can’t imagine the _24_ experience. Yeah, I watched Season 1 & 2 straight through in two different sittings. All in all I thought that the timelines held up pretty well. The only real flaws that are exaggerated are the magical travel times and how unbelievably stupid Jacks wife and daughter were. Basically they’d make horrible decision after horrible decision which is comical in itself, but when seen in realtime you notice that they are doing really dumb things within the span of about 90 minutes. Short term memory issues perhaps. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/24s-great-marketing-plan/339533.md?page=1)