24: Live Another Day

24 Live Another Day is far exceeding previous series. Story develops with a breathtaking quickness. Succession of marvelous unexpected twists holds you in tense all along the scenes. Who is a real mastermind behind the every plot? What is his final purpose? You can’t take your eyes off even a second from the screen. Location in London and the existence of British Prime Minister gives fresh flavor to this episode. Meeting again scene of Audrey and Bauer is heartbreaking. End scene hints possibility of the sequel. Russian speaks to Bauer,” I would say you’re going to enjoy Moscow…But you’d know I was lying.” Chloe explains her feelings to Belcheck, “ I owe Jack. I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for him.” Belcheck says, ” Then we have that in common.” Episodes contain many talks about friend. Bauer replied to Belcheck he didn’t have any friends, when Belcheck asked Bauer about Chloe being Jack’s friend. Chloe talked to Bauer, “ You were my friend, if you wanted my help, you should’ve just asked.” On other time, Chloe pointed out she was the only friend he had left, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Bauer acknowledged, “ You were right about being my best friend.” Bauer expostulates with Kate on revenge. He took as much revenge as any man could possibly. He thought it would ease the pain, but it didn’t. Somewhere in our heart, we have to really accept that. And then we can begin to forgive ourselves. Bauer admonishes Chloe saying she can’t bring back the one she lost. But she can honor their lives by helping others. It’s the only way up forward…The privilege cuts are worth viewing.

Great show, I received the series on time and as described and am enjoying it.

Some ideas are just too good to die. That’s why, four years after 24 ticked out its final second, it came back. No, we didn’t get a full 24 hours (although a full day is still covered). Instead, 24: Live Another Day consisted of 12 episodes. This show still knows how to get your blood pumping. Just like it’s been four years for us, it’s been four years for Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). During all that time, he’s been in hiding, trying to avoid the Russians who are out to get revenge for his behavior in season 8. However, he resurfaces in London, and his first act is to break Chloe O’Brien (Mary Lynn Rajskub) out of CIA custody. Chloe has become a wanted hacker, disillusioned with the government and fighting to reveal the secrets they are trying to hide. Jack needs Chloe’s skills and her new friends in his effort to stop a terrorist plot. Yes, even on the run, Jack has managed to get intel about Margot Al-Harzi (Michelle Fairley, a terrorist who is plotting to take over drones and kill President Heller (William Devane). Heller is in London at the moment, to sign a drone treaty, along with his daughter Aubrey (Kim Raver), who Jack still loves, and Aubrey’s new husband Mark (Tate Donovan). Of course, breaking Chloe out of the CIA doesn’t go unnoticed (especially with Jack’s lack of subtly). Soon he has CIA location chief Steve Navarro (Benjamin Bratt) overseeing his capture with agent Kate Morgan (Yvonne Strahovski) hot on his trail. Only Kate isn’t so sure Jack is the man they should be hunting. Can he gain any allies in his efforts to stop the terrorists? What will happen before the last second ticks out? The producers claimed that this season was going to be different because it was shorter. Heck, they famously promised that the show was going to dump us in the middle of the action. I will admit the premier episode was definitely more ramped up than some of the old premiers, but they still took the time to explain all the new relationships and the set up for the season. There was just more action going on in the background. I will give the producers this – I don’t think there were any wasted sub-plots this season. You know, the sub-plots we never cared about but were there to fill up time as characters moved from one spot to another. While one or two sub-plots seemed unimportant, they eventually tied in better to the overall story than the sub-plots did in the full seasons. However, there are clichés on 24, and many of them were still evident. If you watched this without knowing there had been four years in real time between season 8 and this run of episodes, you wouldn’t know by any fresh plot twists. But you know what? That truly doesn’t matter. As the season progressed, I was on the edge of my seat multiple times with my heart racing and the blood pumping hoping Jack could manage to save the day yet again. The show has always been a thrill ride, and this season is absolutely no exception. And there were one or two twists I didn’t see coming. And the acting is still top notch. Four of the actors from the show returned (although it has been a couple of seasons since we’d seen now President Heller and Aubrey). They slipped right back into their characters as if no time had passed. The cast of new actors were absolutely wonderful as well. I do have to give a special shout out to Yvonne. I loved her on Chuck, and it was great to see here again here. This season is available on either DVD or Blu-Ray. Either way, you get all twelve episodes in wide screen and full surround. Both sets include deleted and extended scenes as well as a featurette on shooting in London, one on how they used headlines to shape the season, and finally one on filming while staying green. If you buy the Blu-Ray set, you also get an extension to the season. With the price difference between the two sets not being that great, if you have a Blu-Ray player, that’s definitely the set to go with. There are rumors that the producers are open to doing another event series like 24: Live Another Day. With how they left Jack, I’d say they absolutely need to do that. If it does happen, I’ll be back on the 24 roller coaster for every second.

You know, I had my doubts about this from the beginning, and I had a little trouble wrapping myself around Chloe's Goth look, but before long the old 24 magic was back! I got pulled into this series (on DVD-I couldn't stand to watch it on regular broadcast TV with all the commercials and then waiting for the following week to see what would happen) and once again, nobody does it better then Team Jack Bauer! If you're a fan, you're going to love this-Jack is anything but diplomatic, and I loved every second! As always there's plenty of twists and turns, and you'll be on the edge of your seat to see what happens next, and how it'll all play out. It's great to see William Devane back, this time as the president of United States, and of course his daughter Audrey. If you're an avid fan of espionage shows, like me, you'll be delighted to see supporting cast members from the series CHUCK and MI-5, along with a lot of other cool characters-both good and bad. There's the potential at the end for Jack to return, and I sure hope that happens! How does this stack up against the other seasons of 24? Even though it's a 12 hour "miniseries", I'd rate it up there with the best of them! Hopefully you'll purchase this, and if you do, be prepared to lose some sleep because, like the best of 24, you can't watch just one!

I was pleasantly surprised by this "event." Even though it did not depart much at all from the original formula, it was better than the last few seasons of the show. That's just fine with me because I loved the show for the first five seasons. I think Live Another Day proves that you don't necessarily have to change in order to be good. For example, I never believed that "Trek fatigue" was to blame for the decline of pre-J.J. Abrams Star Trek. That excuse is a convenient cop out for people like Brannon Braga who I think are still stuck In the realm of 90s era sci-fi. As long as you're producing interesting, quality material, it will be appreciated. I think back fondly on the days when 24 was at its best and I would wait for the season DVD set to come out and would devote a weekend to watching the whole thing. I'd like to do that a few more times if they go back to the 24 episode format. As a digression, let me say that when you think about it, 24 episodes was pretty generous to viewers for a while. I remember back when a television show woul produce over 30 episodes per season. Then it was cut down to about 27, then 24, and not, on network tv, the standard is usually 20 or 22, but only if they do well enough to get past an initial order of 13 episodes! Now on cable, a typical season of Walking Dead or Game of Thrones or something is 13 episodes, at the MOST. It could be as few as 10 or 12, or in the case of the first season of Da Vinci's Demons, 8 episodes! What in the world is going on?? And look at the prices for season sets; a 10 episode season of Game of Thrones costs more on DVD or Blu Ray than a 22 episode season of Person of Interest, another fantastic show. Somehow I feel like we're getting ripped off. And don't tell me that you'd have to sacrifice quality to make longer seasons. If you work hard, like most people in the world who, by the way, don't get to go to glitzy premiers and live in gated communities and usually only get a couple of weeks of vacation per year, and if you think creatively, then the material will still be good. And we schlubs who slave away at jobs no one will ever know about will be able to enjoy twice as much of the shows we like (and pay good money for) every year. Just sayin'. I'll be sorely disappointed if 24 settles into doing 12 episodes per season, since they've already proved they can make a quality season with 24 episodes. Also, I think the creative team though have though ahead better when they created the timeline of the show. If they want to re-start the show, chronologically, Jack Bauer will be a senior citizen soon. However, I don't have any problem with an aging Kiefer Sutherland continuing to play an action hero. Liam Neeson does it beautifully, and before we became so youth-obsessed there was a long tradition of older actors in action roles--Lee Marvin, John Wayne, Charles Bronson, Charleton Heston, Clint Eastwood... Bottom line, this mini-series of 24 was exciting and energetic. If you were not a fan of the original series, then you probably won't like it, but if you haven't seen it and are skeptical about its quality since the last few seasons of the show were pretty weak, I would say go ahead and check this out. You'll probabky be entertained.

I was a big fan of 24 while it ran and I have all of the other seasons. I was so excited when I heard it was coming back for 1 more season, although I'm sad it was actually only half a season long. I think considering the fact it was only half as long though, they did a great job with the plot and it all worked out nicely. It was interesting having it take place in London this time but it all worked out well. It was great that they worked in some of the old characters and finished their stories off as well. The twist at the end and the reveal of who was really behind everything was just as good as all other previous seasons, and I liked who the bad guy turned out to be and how everything got finished off. I heard rumors of future 24 seasons with somebody other than Jack though, so if that happens I will always consider this as the real final season. It isn't 24 with Jack as the main character.

For those of you who are 24 fanatics like myself, when you heard that season nine was being discussed a couple years ago, your heart skipped a beat and your pulse began to race. Then you heard the season was only going to be half as long, and your heart sank. You were downcast for the rest of the day. But there was no doubt in your mind that it was going to be in your possession as soon as sales began on Amazon.com. Well I am here to say that while I was still sadened, like some lovelorn puppy-dog, watching the episodes and knowing they would end all too soon,,I was never disappointed. The cast, crew, and behind the scenes producers, directors, and writers never strayed from the taught story line and sharp characterizations that has typified the series since its inception. In fact, I got the sense that they packed a little bit more into the 12 hours than they normally would have had the series been 24 hours instead. Sadness at its brevity aside, you will love it. Everyone is aging gracefully and with dignity. William Devane as President Heller gives an especially polished performance, a pinnacle to his career. The Bauer-O'Brian bond is challenged, bolstered, deepened. Scenes of the gritty parts of London are a special treat. You are left, of course, hoping for a season ten. You are even willing to accept another truncated production of 12 hours instead of 24, provided they don't wait too long to produce it. Please, please, please.

24 Season 9, will there be any more? Season 8 is even labeled as "the final season" of 24 but a few later and in 2014 a new, shorter, version of 24 was shown. 12 hours instead of 24 hours. I bought this DVD set to complete our complete series of 24 DVD collection, and yes I have it in digital backup copy now too! If you watch them as we are, one season right after the other, I think you see how well the writers kept the stories going, and how hard that must have been to do! I'm liking this season better watching it the second time, it was a good Jack Bauer story with all the twists and turns of the series plotlines. Terrorist and armed drones to start and then other stories get mixed in. All I get from all the seasons is you do NOT want to work in any secret government program! At least 1 person, if not more, will invariably be on the bad guys payroll as a "mole" in the organization! Oh yes. The title for the Amazon ad lists Dennis Haysbert still as a star in the show, nope. His character was killed off in season 5. Would I like to see a "new" 24 series? Sure!