The first season of 24, Kiefer Sutherland's mega thriller hit, debuted nearly 24 years ago, so I thought it was time for a rewatch to see if it still kicked butt.
I was scared it would feel dated and corny, but fear not, Kiefer’s Counter Terrorism Unit agent Jack Bauer still has it. He remains one of TV’s truly great characters.
For anyone who missed 24 the first time around, 24 was a show everyone was seriously excited about. It was groundbreaking. No one had seen anything quite like it.
It came up with the novel idea of showing the events in real time, with each episode occurring over one hour.
The terrifying thumping digital clock became its defining tune, and in case you forgot, a gravely-voiced Jack would tell you at the start of each episode that "the following takes place between...". Also excitingly, the story would at times be told over split screens, giving you an even greater sense of angst.
Twenty-four years on, there are admittedly things that are dated, like telephone boxes being everywhere and everyone having gigantic cell phones. But it’s still an enjoyable ride, and I’d helpfully forgotten most of the twists as Jack’s longest day of his life goes from bad to worse as he tries to stop a planned assassination attempt on presidential hopeful David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert).
Looking back, Sutherland has a touch of Daniel Craig's 007 about him as he icily dispatches threats. Was Craig inspired by Sutherland’s performance? Who knows, but it was still five years before Craig’s debut in Casino Royale would come out.
Unlike Bond, Jack does have a family, and part of the subplot is his daughter Kim getting kidnapped after being under strict instructions not to go out and party. Yep, Kim's still a bit annoying! So, as well as trying to stop an assassination attempt, Jack has to try to find his daughter. To add to his woes, someone within CTU is a rat who's leaking information to the baddies. But poor Jack doesn’t even know who the baddies are.
The whole who is the mole is a great plot device and means you're forever trying to work out who among Jack’s colleagues is looking a bit shifty.
There’s actually more humor in the show than I remember. There are some great lines, a personal favorite is a baddie shooting dead a minion in front of another minion and telling him: "You've just been promoted, congratulations".
I’ve rewatched shows from years ago I’ve loved before, and many of them now seem rather slow, not 24. It keeps a relentless pace going throughout and expertly weaves together all the different plot threads into one great conclusion. This was and remains gripping TV.
It eventually ran throughout the Noughties, arguably becoming the defining show of the decade. But to most fans, season 1 will always be the best, as you had no idea where it was going next. Absolutely everyone wanted the distinctive CTU alert ringtone!
If you’ve never seen 24 and wonder what the fuss is about, it’s well worth a watch. And if, like me, you’re feeling a little nostalgic for Jack Bauer and co, then it’s well worth a rewatch. It’s certainly more than worthy of its place in our Top 100 shows of all time list.
24 is available on Hulu in the US and Disney Plus in the UK.
