Tue, 6 Jul 2010
Television
After eight gut-wrenching, adrenaline-fuelled seasons, the television thrill ride that is 24 will come to an end on Friday, allowing beleaguered federal agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) to finally kick back and veg out.
Of course, that's assuming he survives his latest hellish day.
As we catch our breath, it's a good a time to ponder the legacy of pop culture's greatest post-9/11 hero - a guy who went mano a mano with a steady parade of scumbags and bailed the United States out of dire trouble more often than it had a right to ask.
Why did he hold us in thrall for so long?
Why do we love Jack?
The easy answer is that, during an era of high-anxiety, he represented the ultimate escapist fantasy: a dedicated, no-nonsense, mythic warrior who flipped the bird in the face of terror and delivered us from evil without ever taking a nap or getting bogged down in rush-hour traffic.
Throughout his glorious, bullet-riddled run, Jack prevented assassination attempts and nuclear explosions (oh, except for that one in Valencia).
He brought down a treasonous president and stopped deadly virus epidemics.
He even made a man purse look good.
He did it all while paying an incredible price.
Torture?
Jack got nearly as much as he dished out.
He was shot at countless times.
He was held captive for 20 months in a Chinese prison camp.
He was vilified and forced into heroin addiction.
His daughter was kidnapped, and his wife was killed.
He even died - and then lived to tell about it.
Yes, he took a licking and just kept on ticking.
As someone recently noted on a 24 fan site, if Jack Bauer was the real deal, Bin Laden would have been nabbed years ago (and toasted with a blow torch).
Nothing, after all, stops Jack Bauer from completing his mission.
Why?
Because he's driven.
Because he's relentless.
Because that's how he rolls.
"One of the things I admire about Jack Bauer is his incredible sense of responsibility," Sutherland once told TV Guide.
"He gives you everything he's got. I'd like to be more like that."
Wouldn't we all?
And wouldn't we like to see that kind of dedication in our political leaders? Our athletes? The people who work on our cars?
And wouldn't it be cool to weave some of Jack's other traits into our own lives?
Ah, if only we had his time-management skills, we'd rip through our daily planners in a breeze (as dramatic music plays in the background).
Even better: His take-no-guff attitude.
Stuck in an endless business meeting? Bolt to your feet and snarl, "I need the information NOW, dammit! You've got five seconds!"
Sick of a sluggish co-worker who isn't carrying his weight? Just squint at him and hiss, "The only reason you're conscious right now is because I don't want to carry you!"
For six seasons, Jack Bauer provided a slew of vicarious thrills, shunning life's bogus rules to say and do things we'd like to say and do.
Um, well, to a point: Let's hope we never feel the need to pry a cellphone SIM card from a man's stomach as Jack did in a ghastly torture session two weeks ago.
Scenes like that could be a real turn-off.
So could the preposterous plot lines and bombastic dialogue of 24, which was almost as ridiculous as it was riveting.
No wonder Jack Bauer became the new Chuck Norris and fuelled a litany of absurd one-liners.
Still, the series was a real rush - and so was Jack, who saved the world without rest and always looked good doing it.
That kind of selflessness deserves our respect.
It deserves to be rewarded.
That's why it was a little disheartening to recently hear 24 executive producer Howard Gordon warn fans that Jack won't exactly be skipping off into the sunset.
"This show is a tragedy, and so to give Jack a happy ending just didn't feel authentic," said Gordon, who reported that his writers mulled over a "couple of different" endings, but "one thing we tried and didn't work was a happily-ever-after for Jack".
But we can always hold out hope that Jack Bauer will find happiness down the line, perhaps in that much-discussed 24 movie.
Until then, you get the feeling he'll be spending many, many "real time" hours in therapy.
The final of 24 screens at 8.30pm on Friday on C4.
Source: OtagoDailyTimes
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