Watching 24

In response to the controversy my last article, about the 24 season 6 prequel, caused I’d like to clarify a few things, and respond to a few of the comments.

Konig wrote:

So are you against ANY products being used in the show? I mean c’mon, how many times do you see black Chevy Suburbans/Tahoes being used during the season?

I’d like to respond to this comment by saying no I’m not against product placement. We’ve all pretty much grown accustomed to seeing a Cingular logo or Cisco phone on 24. What I had a problem with in the prequel was that the prequel itself didn’t add enough story to the overall 24 storyline to make me forget or dismiss the shiny new Rav 4 under the tarp.

During the season we end up seeing tons of Fords, RZR Phones, and countless Cingular logos when service is lost on Jack’s phone. But, for me I’m thinking more about the season than the product in front of me. Because of the prequel’s length and unwillingness to show us anything new or informational about the storyline it just seemed like an extended commercial to me.

Kilroy wrote:

This preview wasn’t all that bad…What I thought was worse was that the Chinese were willing to take out a handfull of guards all to make this believable to kill the agent. Wouldn’t it had been just easier to kill both suspects in the first place?

Kilroy brings up a great point. I was actually thinking about this, but decided to go with just the “commercial� angle. But, I guess it all ties in. The reason why the prequel wasn’t amazing was that it didn’t introduce anything new or useful. If you think about it the prequel was useless in that all it did was promote a Rav 4 instead of providing us with crucial information about the upcoming season.

I also wanted to respond to Jerome Brown’s comment:

Isn’t it an oxymoron to be a TV critic and like 24?

Jerome I would like to point you to the IMDB Awards section for 24. 24 has been nominated for and won multiple awards in various categories and years.

In short I don’t think that it’s an oxymoron to be a TV critic and like 24. 24 is a show that has revolutionized television to what it is today. With the success of 24 we’ve really seen the birth of the sophisticated serial drama. Things like the traditional sitcom are all but dead.

I would like to thank everyone for their comments on the last post, and would like to hear from you in the future. I’m a huge fan of 24 and by no means does the review of the prequel reflect my overall feelings of the show itself.