Has ‘24′ “Jumped the Shark?”
In this article I’m going to be as unbiased as possible. I’m just trying to present something which people can comment on.
Today “Jumped the Shark” has become quite a popular phrase around the TV folk. According to Wikipedia the phrase originated when the Fonz, in Happy Days, jumped over a shark on water skis (I always thought it had something to do with Lost and Sawyer actually jumping over a shark). Or in other words “Jumped the Shark” means at what point does a show lose all believability, or when has a good thing gone bad?
After finding out last night that Graham, the ‘bluetooth’ man that was behind the terrorist attacks in season 5, is now Jack’s brother have people begun to think that 24 has now jumped the shark? Is it too unbelievable that Jack’s brother could be Graham, or in other words is it just a ridiculous plot twist that was cultivated to woo the audience?
According to votes that people have placed at Jumptheshark.com (yes there is actually a website devoted to this phrase), 267 people think that 24 has never “Jumped the Shark.” While 109 believe it “Jumped the Shark” way back when Teri Bauer had amnesia.
What do you think? Has 24 “Jumped the Shark?” Is the plot of Graham being Jack’s brother too much for you to stomach? Or was it a welcome surprise that makes you think that 24 is the greatest TV show out there that continues to surprise you over and over?
Sound off in the comments.
January 24th, 2007 at 8:46 am
I think it is a nice thing for the show. It is not jusmping the shark but simply starting to link other characters int he show to Jack and really, I feel, will begin to give better background on Jack and why he does what he does and who he is.
January 24th, 2007 at 8:48 am
excuse my above misspelled words. i have fat fingers and sometimes i puch more than one key at a time.
January 24th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Since we know very little about Bauer and his life before CTU, if his brother and father are both evil terrorists and Jack chose the high path it might make for some interesting TV. One thing is for sure, when Jack finds out that Graham is responsible for Palmer’s death, Jack will kill his brother.
January 24th, 2007 at 9:50 am
how do you get to the old 24 countdowns?
January 24th, 2007 at 9:50 am
No, I don’t think 24 has jumped the shark with this plot twist. I think that maybe if you just told me before that the terrorists would be his brother and possibly his father, then maybe I’d consider it. But after seeing it happen, I feel that it is believable, at least up to this point. It will be fun to learn more about his past and why he works in anti-terrorism. The only thing is, why haven’t they mentioned them any other seasons? Does he hate them that much that he’d warn Kim about nuclear bombs but not his father or brother? I guess so.
January 24th, 2007 at 10:06 am
bret,
Good question, there are 2 ways to do it. On the side under CATEGORIES click on 24 Character Countdown and it’ll bring them all up.
Or go to Episode 5, right below this entry and i linked the 1st 4 under 1, 2, 3, & 4.
Thanks for asking bret.
Let me know if you have anymore questions.
Aaron.
January 24th, 2007 at 10:26 am
yes, without a doubt it has. I almost get the feeling this is something the writers came up with between seasons. “Hey how cool would it be to make bluetooth man Jack’s brother?” Ohh ohh and then well hint that there was some relationship between bluetooth man’s wife and Jack. Ohh Ohh and then lets indtroduce bluetooth’s son and show some weird dialogue with him.. (speculation).. and then we will reveal his is actually Jack’s son.
way too much. PLEASE just say this hour was a dream and move on.
January 24th, 2007 at 11:22 am
I’ve been waiting for this topic to come up since I watched the episode Monday night. My first reaction was surprise, then it was a feeling of being too contrived. On the other hand it is a good way to delve into Jack’s past, in the confines of a season that takes place in 24 hours. We’ve gotten snippets of things, like what happened on past missions, but nothing about his personal life, and why he is the way he is. So yeah, it is contrived, but I think it is for good reason, and not just to add yet another shocking moment to the show.
January 24th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Most of the outrage sems to be coming from fans who used the long break between seasons to transform Graham into an untouchable super-evil mastermind, when all we really saw was him talking on his bluetooth during a few episodes. We knew absolutely nothing about that guy, so nothing about this screams out “impossible” to me.
And about season 2. Maybe his dad and brother just lived outside the possible blast radius, like on the outskirts of LA or something.
January 24th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
I don’t know about ‘Jumping the Shark’ but I am starting to get a very comic book feel as the story unravels. Though I do think that writers have done a great job keeping it realistic.
January 24th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
Another vote for *not* jumped the shark. I think to say so gets away from the spirit of the expression. Graham Bauer is not *fantastically* unbelievable in a *ridiculous* guy-in-leather-jacket-and-shorts-on-waterskiis way that completely departs from the tone, reality and continuity that the show has previously established.
Another important aspect of “jumping the shark” is that it occurs as an act of desperation / publicity stunt to renew interest in a *struggling* show. Like it or not, 24 is *not* hurting when it comes to popularity. Just because something shocking or surprising happens on a show doesn’t mean it’s jumped the shark no matter how trendy the phrase has become.
January 24th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
I don’t know about shark jumpage, but I will say I’m finding this latest twist to be a challenge to my willing suspension of disbelief. It’s just a little too coincidental. Graem is the corporate anti-Jack? And, @Ken, for my 2 cents, I do feel they’ve set him up that way. If he wasn’t an untouchable super-evil mastermind, why was President Wimpy protecting him in the last season? I mean, that guy would have rolled over on anybody if he thought it would save his skin. The guy told the President of the United States, “Well, I guess you should kill yourself, then.” and POTUS said, “You’re probably right.” I don’t know… they’re going to need to explain Graem’s history to me, and they’re going to need to do it very carefully, or this is going to go up in my book as a pretty big black mark on the series.
/willy
January 24th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
I don’t think the show has jumped the shark. I agree with what Chris had to write and while I like this storyline and where it’s going, I also felt like perv90210 that this is something the writers came up with between seasons and was not necessarily in the works when we were first introduced to Graham’s character.
January 24th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
There’s got to be some inside joke about a name like “perv90120″.
January 24th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
er… or spelled right. you know what I mean.
January 24th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
I don’t think it matters when they thought of introducing the brother and father, i somehow think it has something to do with the current direction of the story….
There is an old truism in storywriting for a play that says (and I heavily paraphrase): If you introduce a sword in Act 1, Scene 2, you had better use it by Act 3, Scene 3…
In otherwords, don’t introduce the equivalent of a non-sequitur into the story, because people remember it and it distracts from the story.
24 is not immune from this issue totally, but I do think the introduction of the Graem character in Day 5 without any explanation was the introduction of the sword. What we have now is the explanation of the sword.
People also need to remember that we do not see-all and hear-all of what Jack thinks and does for the entire time sequences. Some suggest that we should have seen him call his family to warn them of the nuclear explosion in Day 2. Why? After 9/11, I never called my brother , who might very well have been in Manhattan that fateful day, simply because he doesn’t live there (he’s about 80 miles away) and because, well, sometimes you don’t worry about things like that because you are aware of the extent of the danger because you are somewhat familiar with the area in which the incident occurred. Jack’s brother obviously doesn’t live anywhere near Valencia (which, btw, is separated from even the Valley by a Mountain Range… LA “proper” has yet another set of hills insulating it from the blast…) so why worry?
No, I think this is an interesting twist in the story, one that surprised me and definitely provides plenty of promise and questions to glue me to this season.
Jack (my real name, btw… all of the Jack’s on TV and in Real Life are pretty quirky)
January 24th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
“contrived? – thank you Chris.
JackG your “truism in story writing? is one thing that attracts me to the show. 24 introduces these “swords? in a subtle manner that it doesn’t necessarily detract from the show. For example the German intelligence officer that Jack screwed over last year, I expect that he will back somepoint in the future. The return of the Chinese one season later, how great was that when they revealed themselves. I view this as a reward for the faithful followers. The more casual fan may not catch or appreciate these points in the same manner. Maybe this is too soon off the heels of meeting Jacks mentor last year who also worked for a high-tech agency (way too similar to the introduction of Jacks dad).
Speaking of the Chinese reveal last season, I thought that would have been a great way to breathe some freshness into the series. Lets see Jack out of his comfort zone, more of his Macgyver side. Little to no help from CTU, on his own in a foreign country where he must escape, of course there would be sub-plots at home. But that does leave design space there for the upcoming movie, but then again the season 6 prequel kind of messes that up.
I’ll quit hating on the show and attempt to enjoy the rest of the season.
January 25th, 2007 at 9:04 am
24 will jump the shark when Kim starts dating Wayne.
January 25th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
I would agree that 24 has not “jumped the shark” and is still far from that point. It makes sense that Jack’s family are also present/former members of the intelligence community (rogue or otherwise) as you don’t apply to be Jack Bauer. You are identified and recruited as a young adult; generally by other members of the intelligence community. Family ties are very common in that world.
January 25th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I think it’s to early to really tell, also i think with any show like this you have to have some type of “willfull suspension of disbelief”. of course it’s not going to be 100% realistic, and if you’re going to enjoy the show then you just have to let some things go.
January 26th, 2007 at 6:27 am
“Or was it a welcome surprise that makes you think that 24 is the greatest TV show out there that continues to surprise you over and over?”
That was me.
January 26th, 2007 at 10:55 am
@Ched, “24 will jump the shark when Kim starts dating Wayne.”
Chick-a Wow-wow…
/w