24
Moriah and I don’t usually spend all of our evening glued to the TV, but last week was an exception. Over the course of the week, we galloped through the whole first season of the TV show 24 at the rate of about four episodes an evening.
24 stars Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, who is in charge of a counter-terrorist unit. The season starts with Jack being called in to the office at midnight because there is a threat to the life of a presidential candidate, David Palmer, who happens to be black and who stands a very good chance of becoming the first black president. Jack’s mission is to keep Palmer safe. But the threat to Palmer is hardly the only danger Jack has to face during the twenty-four episodes of the show.
And the fact that there are twenty-four episodes is no coincidence. Each episode covers exactly one hour in a day. The first episode starts at midnight and ends at 1:00 AM, and everything in that episode happens in real time with no flashbacks and no condensing of time.
Moriah and I enjoyed the show. We were gripped from the beginning, and as soon as one episode ended we went on to the next.
But what may have impressed us the most was the way the show presented men. Jack Bauer and David Palmer were both solid examples of real men, men who take responsibility, men who stand up for what is right. There were other men who were immature but who grew toward mature manhood during the course of the show. Very impressive!