# Just watched first 3 episodes of 24 -- does it get better? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2012, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720 "2012-06-20T05:27:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/41 "2012-06-21T13:38:29Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Interesting that the entire staff of the CTU, with the possible exception of Jack, are moles. Indeed. Much like the Miami police in Dexter, the CTU must be almost comically incompetent to keep the action moving forward. It’s like they never heard of background checks. ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/42 "2012-06-21T15:07:27Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I have very serious doubts I will get to season 7. > > I have doubts whether I will get through season 2. I can tell you’re hooked already. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/43 "2012-06-21T15:29:14Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Interesting that the entire staff of the CTU, with the possible exception of Jack, are moles. And Chloe. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/44 "2012-06-21T15:34:45Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I enjoyed the first three seasons for the ride, but then I got bored/fed up with the rampant dumbness and AMERICA FUCK YEAH. I’ve had a few people say over here in the uk: “I wouldn’t like it, it seems like right wing pro america propoganda”. I disagree. [spoiler]While it usually seems like a terrorist organisation is blowing things up etc, I’m not actually sure if any real terrorist organisation exists in the show. Pretty much every one of those are funded by right wing shadow governments/military industrial complex wanting to take over the government. The regular subject of torture comes up, and is certainly gets treated as a morally questionable subject. Then again Jack does seem keen to get his torture on all the time…[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/45 "2012-06-21T15:48:25Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Some things to bear in mind that you will see a lot over the course of the series: You forgot one. Seriously hot chicks that are new characters are assassins. Always. Do not have sex with these chicks! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/46 "2012-06-21T16:44:17Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Seriously hot chicks that are new characters are assassins. Always. Do not have sex with these chicks! Your definition of “seriously hot chicks” appears to omit Renee Walker and is thus too hopelessly flawed to allow serious consideration. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/47 "2012-06-21T17:23:02Z")
I have already hit my last episode watching this series. Season 2, episode 1, when Jack murders a helpless prisoner sitting in the CTU conference room, apparently to somehow establish credentials allowing him to infiltrate some group planning to set off a nuke in LA. If that’s how he rolls, I just don’t need to see any more. I had a pretty similar reaction a couple of years ago watching the series Shameless – I watched it up to the episode when Frank physically assaulted one of his children, and I decided I didn’t want to see any more of it either. I think it’s because they were both supposed to be protagonists that we root for, and I can’t root for them any longer. In contrast, I just watched the first 3 seasons of _Breaking Bad_ on Netflix, which is pretty graphically violent, and I’m waiting for season 4 to show up online so I can start watching again. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/48 "2012-06-21T17:27:36Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > How come Jack Bauer never has to take a dump? 😕 Because he never eats. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/49 "2012-06-21T17:45:52Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I have already hit my last episode watching this series. Season 2, episode 1, when Jack murders a helpless prisoner sitting in the CTU conference room, apparently to somehow establish credentials allowing him to infiltrate some group planning to set off a nuke in LA. > > If that’s how he rolls, I just don’t need to see any more. Fair enough. But that was the exact moment he went from being just Jack Bauer to being _Jack Motherfucking **Bauer**!_ That was a good thing for the show, IMO, but I don’t guess I can blame you for not agreeing. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/50 "2012-06-21T17:56:59Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Season 2, episode 1, when Jack murders a helpless prisoner sitting in the CTU conference room, apparently to somehow establish credentials allowing him to infiltrate some group planning to set off a nuke in LA. > > If that’s how he rolls, I just don’t need to see any more. You should at least stick with it until he’s forced to blow Ryan Chappelle’s brains out in the railroad yard… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/51 "2012-06-21T18:08:39Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > …While it usually seems like a terrorist organisation is blowing things up etc, I’m not actually sure if any real terrorist organisation exists in the show. Pretty much every one of those are funded by right wing shadow governments/military industrial complex wanting to take over the government… Since I’m not going to watch season 2, you all can spoil me – is this the way season 2 ends? Is the LA bomb plot being driven by some American group that wants to drive the US into war with the unnamed Middle East country that the President threatened in episode 1? There is also some slimy presidential adviser who’s already repeatedly tried to steer the president that way – I would imagine he’s the front man for the group. Am I right? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/52 "2012-06-21T18:26:13Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Your definition of “seriously hot chicks” appears to omit Renee Walker and is thus too hopelessly flawed to allow serious consideration. Wait until season 9. She’s a mole ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/53 "2012-06-21T19:22:09Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I have already hit my last episode watching this series. Season 2, episode 1, when Jack murders a helpless prisoner sitting in the CTU conference room, apparently to somehow establish credentials allowing him to infiltrate some group planning to set off a nuke in LA. > > If that’s how he rolls, I just don’t need to see any more. But the “helpless prisoner” is actually a notorious child pornographer who’s been granted complete immunity in exchange for testifying against the terrorist group Jack needs to infiltrate, so that makes it okay. Moral relativism is standard practice for this show. Jack’s a loose cannon who Breaks All The Rules for the sake of Bringing The Bad Guys To Justice, and many of his actions are indeed rather questionable. So if that doesn’t float your boat, then yeah, 24’s probably not for you. > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Since I’m not going to watch season 2, you all can spoil me – is this the way season 2 ends? Is the LA bomb plot being driven by some American group that wants to drive the US into war with the unnamed Middle East country that the President threatened in episode 1? There is also some slimy presidential adviser who’s already repeatedly tried to steer the president that way – I would imagine he’s the front man for the group. > > Am I right? In a nutshell, yes. However, Palmer’s slimy adviser “Mike” (who really only appears slimy due to his Dick Cheney resemblance) is actually one of the very few people completely loyal to the President; everyone else, including Palmer’s ex-wife, is basically plotting against him. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/54 "2012-06-21T22:10:30Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Even with all the dumbassedness, I have to admit I kinda like it. And that’s how the _Jackass_ guys can pay off their mortgages. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/55 "2012-06-22T00:33:00Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > The first half of the first season is as good as the show ever gets. So no. Curiously, the original plot iss essentially wrapped up in Episode 11 or 12 (clearly, producers weren’t certain they’d get approved for the entire season, so they wrote the series to be capable of being wrapped up at that point), so the story basically ends and then repeats with different villains for the last half. The only redeaming feature is the last twenty minutes or so of Episode 1.24. And yes, Kim Bauer is unquestionably the dumbest thing on two legs, anf that includes domestic turkeys. I don’t believe ere is a single episode in which she appears in which she doesn’t do something inhumanly idiotic. > [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](#): > > But do you take something like “Die Hard” or Schwarzenegger’s movies seriously? It’s dumb fun. _Die Hard_, while certainly implausible, is a veritable Swiss watch of plotting. Every single scene in that film sets up things that come after it, and there is not a wasted moment or dropped subplot in the entire movie. It is literally on of the best written and plotted films I have ever seen. _24_ is, by comparison, a junk vendor’s backyard of rusted parts that are haphazardly thrown about, held together only by Kiefer Sutherland’s compelling performance. The episodes eventually become also a series of random events, with the only constant bring that whatever lead Jack Bauer was pursuing through the episode will be located only to be killed or destoyed in some absurd fashion, my favorite being the guy Bauer kills in 1.11 by punching him in the heart. (I swear I did not make that up.). I was watching the second series of _24_ with friends in marathon style when the person loading the DVD skipped one. Although there were a couple of “WTF is she referring to?” moments, the basic continuity of the series was unbroken. I would contend that you could randomly mix all episodes between 2 and 23 of any series without losing any real coherence. It’s like an action movie written by 15 year old stoners on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/56 "2012-06-22T00:43:56Z")
Ah, why didn’t I think of this before? Have you seen Homeland? It has some 24 producer involvement but it’s the opposite of 24 in so many ways. There are a few cliches (informants getting killed constantly by ninja assassins who never get caught, overly intricate plot of the bad guys) but Homeland to me is the result of someone saying “let’s make a show like 24 but a lot more grounded in reality.” ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/57 "2012-06-22T01:03:05Z")
I loved 24 – at least the first few seasons. But I was totally caught up in the excitement and the thrill. So much so that at the end of every episode my pulse was racing. Total emotional reaction – intellectually I knew the show was ridiculous. If it’s not affecting you like that I can see why you don’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/58 "2012-06-22T03:01:28Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Ah, why didn’t I think of this before? > > Have you seen Homeland? It has some 24 producer involvement but it’s the opposite of 24 in so many ways. There are a few cliches (informants getting killed constantly by ninja assassins who never get caught, overly intricate plot of the bad guys) but Homeland to me is the result of someone saying “let’s make a show like 24 but a lot more grounded in reality.” Yes, I’m a big fan of Homeland, implausibility of a lot of stuff notwithstanding. I had no idea there was any connection between the two shows. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/59 "2012-06-22T03:09:20Z")
The wife and I watched all of _24_ on DVD and enjoyed it, so I don’t think it’s a case that you really need to see it at weekly intervals as has been suggested. Sure, we had to suspend disbelief, but that was to be expected. Seeing it once was enough though. We wouldn’t mind seeing more new ones, but revisiting old episodes … well, no, we’ve got other stuff to watch. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720/60 "2012-06-22T06:07:44Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Yes, I’m a big fan of Homeland, implausibility of a lot of stuff notwithstanding. I had no idea there was any connection between the two shows. If you watched Homeland first it’s no wonder 24 sucks by comparison! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-watched-first-3-episodes-of-24-does-it-get-better/625720.md?page=4)