Coming in late to "24" [SPOILERS!]

Cafe Society
1

I started watching “24” about 1/3 of the way through the second season (day 2). I got hooked almost instantly and have seen every ep since. I was describing the first episode I saw to a friend of mine, and he said, “I can’t believe that’s the one you started with! It ruins the entire first season!”

So I rented the first disc of the first season, and watched the first 2 episodes. It’s neat seeing the characters all weird and younger, and especially how the series is on such a smaller scale but still manages to be suspenseful. But, I keep thinking, I know that:

  1. Nina at some point turns out to be a bad guy.
  2. At some point, Nina kills or causes the death of Jack’s wife.
  3. Jack, Tony, and Kim survive, and I assume the other CTU agents shown so far are killed.
  4. Sherry Palmer somehow betrays David Palmer.
  5. I’m assuming that the Palmer’s son and daughter are killed, since I never saw them in later seasons.
  6. From reading SDMB threads, I know that Jack at some point uses a hacksaw on and/or kills one of the bad guys.
  7. At some point, a bomb explodes at CTU.

That’s all I know about the series before I started watching. My question is: is season 1 still worth watching, or am I completely spoiled? Are there enough surprises left for it to still be engaging? If it’s just a case of finding out what happened, I can always read recaps online – I want to know if the first season is still entertaining even if you know what’s going to happen.

2

Yes, the first season and the beginning of the second are definately worth watching. I highly reccomend doing so. Even though some of the surprises won’t be total surprises, the show is loads of fun. And you probably won’t see them coming, anyway.

Just to drive you crazy, I will note that.

  1. One of your predictions is incorrect.
  2. Some of them happen in season 2.
3

Yes, it’s definitely worth watching the first season. Friedo is correct - there are some surprises that you definitely know about already, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some in there that didn’t necessarily affect the second season. There’s enough in there to keep you interested.

4

I watched them when they came out, and they I watched them right before Season 2 started, and then once again right after Season 2 ended. I enjoyed each viewing and caught more and more each time. They really have done some intricate character development and it is nice to be reminded just how battle-hardened these cats are. Seeing Sherry at her evil bitchiest in season 1 is worth it alone. Jack’s finger-printing techniques, Palmer’s send-off to Sherry, Jack & Nina in the garage, Jack’s “handling” of Mason, Lesbian Sky-Diving Assasins, Car-“Jack”-ing, and naturally, the rape and murder of Jack’s wife are all worth seeing for yourself if you like this show . . .

DaLovin’ Dj