News and Views

24 as a significant –- if occasionally bizarre -- touchstone to our politics and culture, continued….

Two items in the news caught our attention recently. First, as referenced a number of ways in our book, politics and politicians continue to use the mantle of 24 to lend the cloak of toughness to their policy positions. But check out the video clip on http://gop.gov/web/guest/home, the website for the House Republican Caucus. It’s wholesale use of the show’s graphics and anti-terrorism themes in their attack on the Democrats for “letting the “Protect America Act” expire get a workout here that surely earn CTU’s equivalent of an Academy Award.

And then there are the ‘civilians’ out there who like to cloak themselves in Jack Bauer’s glory. Here’s a wire story that broke in late February:

Man gets probation after claiming to be Jack Bauer

BALTIMORE (AP) — A college student was given probation for repeatedly ramming his car into another man’s vehicle, claiming the man was a terrorist and he was the character Jack Bauer, a federal agent on the Fox television show “24.”

According to charging documents, Sullivan was driving his Ford Escape on Interstate 95 last February when he struck Marlon Cantoral’s van. Cantoral left the highway and was struck a second time before he drove over a grass median strip and fled on foot into the lobby of the Patuxent Institution Correctional Facility.

Sullivan followed Cantoral inside and tried to assault him, shouting “he’s a terrorist,” according to charging documents. “My name is Jack Bowers (Bauer) and I work for the FBI and the Secret Service. My wife and family was kidnapped by the president and terrorist,” Sullivan continued, The (Baltimore) Examiner reported Friday, citing charging documents.

Sullivan, a student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County who pleaded guilty in September to drunken driving, smiled but did not speak as he left the courthouse with his parents.

“This is rather embarrassing for him,” Sullivan’s attorney Charles Broida said after the court appearance. “It was bizarre, but he doesn’t remember it.”

--Associated Press dispatch, February 22, 2008

top

Time's up for 24's Joel Surnow

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

 

With his contract up at 20th Century Fox TV, Surnow has opted to depart the Kiefer Sutherland thriller.

On 24 Surnow had already stepped back from day-to-day operations, as Howard Gordon has been running the hit Fox skein for some time. But Surnow said he's been looking to move on to other things, and the writers' strike provided a natural break.

"I've done seven years, almost eight years at the same place with the same great group of people," Surnow said. "During the strike I started thinking about different things I'd like to do independently, and decided it was time to see if there were other opportunities I wanted to pursue."

Meanwhile, Surnow's deal was set to expire at the end of April. Rather than renew, both sides agreed to part ways.

Insiders close to Surnow said 24's grueling schedule -- it's a difficult show to write and produce, given the real-time format -- played a big role in his decision to move on as well. But as Surnow noted, as co-creator (with Bob Cochran), he'll still tangentially be a part of the show.

"I'll always stay close to the show as long as 24 is on the air," Surnow said. "Howard Gordon is one of my best friends in the business. He and I will continue to talk about it."

Not only does the strike provide an obvious segue, but Surnow's departure also comes as 24 shakes things up in its seventh season (which will now be delayed until January 2009), including a move in locale to Washington, D.C.

"That started before the strike," Surnow noted. "I was part of that conceptual left turn. The quality of the show week-to-week will be maintained to a very high standard."

In a statement, 20th Century Fox TV said Surnow "created one of the landmark series of this decade in 24 and his contribution to its creative excellence over the years has been immeasurable. While he leaves the show in the incredibly capable hands of the talented Howard Gordon, his input will always be welcome."

As a side project, Surnow last year created the conservative-leaning news satire The 1⁄2 Hour News Hour for Fox News Channel. But Surnow said he'll probably stick to hourlong drama for his next pursuit.

"It's what I love," Surnow said. "I'd love to come up with another show that has some of the qualities that 24 has, in terms of being unique... I'm going to look around for some of the passion projects that I have and start meeting some people in town."

--“Variety,” February 13, 2008

top

More 24 and the 2008 Election

We were reminded by a fan that there is an additional pair of faces at the nexus of real-world politics and the hyper-fiction of 24. This time it falls under the heading of "separated at birth": Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee and the fictitious president Charles Logan of Days 4, 5, and 6.

top

24 Things To Do While You’re Missing 24

Now that the would-have-been debut of Season 7 has come and gone, fans are trying to figure out how to cope with their 24 withdrawal symptoms. Katherine Goldstein and Paul Berger, fans of 24, writers on media, technology, and culture, and contributing editors to Secrets of 24 have come up with this check-list:

1. Put digital countdown clocks all over your house and office and feel elated every time you survive another hour.
2. Include the words "protocol" and "secure" in everyday conversation. For example, when your girlfriend asks if you have plans for the Superbowl, tell her NFL protocol bars visitors from secure areas.
3. Buy an over the shoulder bag and stuff it with a couple of bedsheets. Then practice running across parking lots, ducking behind cars and sprinting up stairwells.
4. While going about your daily life, call a friend and ask them to email you the schematic. If they don't know what a schematic is, say: "It's a map, Goddamit. Send me the subway map." Then hang up.
5. Shed a few tears when you see Dennis Haysbert in an All State commercial.
6. Set up webcams around the perimeter of your home and get a friend to monitor the video from a laptop at his house.
7. Check out the music on Kiefer’s Ironworks label and tell yourself they’re Jack’s favorite bands, and listening is what he would want you to do.
8. Practice not eating, sleeping or going to the bathroom for 24 hours.
9. Run away for a week to a rural community. Change your name to Frank Flynn and see how long you can go before anyone starts asking difficult questions.
10. Run a Google image search for Elisha Cuthbert and say, “Thank God she’s not my daughter.”
11. Try to commandeer at least one vehicle each week. Start with work colleagues. Wait until they have gotten into their car, then approach the driver's door, tap on the window and say, in a firm but calm voice, "I'm commandeering this vehicle." If they laugh, open the driver's door and start shouting. "I don't have time for this Damnit, I need you to exit the vehicle, now."
12. Develop a close, sexually ambiguous relationship with a quirky female friend.
13. Release you inner Magic card freak by playing the new 24 trading card game.
14. Help life imitate art by supporting a female or a black candidate for President.
15. If ANYTHING goes wrong (late for work; didn't answer the phone when girlfriend called four times last night) blame it on a complex plot by terrorists trying to bring down the US government.
16. When going to an unfamiliar place, insist that the only way you can get there is having a friend instruct you step by step using your Bluetooth headset.
17. If a stranger asks who you are, give them the hundred yard stare and say: “Someone who’s not supposed to still be alive.”
18. Start a support group and hold a vigil every Monday night that the strike continues.
19. When family members start to annoy you, make veiled references to Jack torturing his younger brother Philip in Season 6.
20. Watch Kiefer in A Few Good Men and reminisce about a time where we were all so young.
21. Write a letter to Amnesty International accusing Fox of sensory deprivation torture for postponing the season.
22. Be sure to have at least one good argument with a friend, colleague or family member every few hours. Then apologize to them in a low, tense voice, stating that you have been under a lot of pressure that you couldn't even began to explain.
23. Argue about and take bets on this question: “Will there be one or two female presidents appearing on television next January?”
24. Do not actually torture anybody. Only Jack Bauer can get away with this.

-- Paul Berger is the co-author of several books on culture, media and technology, and a regular contributor to the New York Times. Katherine Goldstein is a freelance writer and researcher who contributes regularly to BUST Magazine. 

top

24 and the 2008 Election

Not even a hiatus and writer's strike can stop politicians from talking about Jack Bauer and 24. The show has reached a level of popularity where multiple Republican candidates have publicly mentioned Jack Bauer in a way that assumes all voters would know who he is and what he stands for. One of the first major comments came this May when Tom Tancredo answered a question during a Republican debate about the interrogation of terror suspects by saying,

 

"You say that nuclear devices have gone off in the United States, more are planned, and we're wondering about whether waterboarding would be a bad thing to do. I'm looking for Jack Bauer at that time, let me tell you."

 

LA Times columnist Rosa Brooks described this debate in an op-ed (which is reprinted in Secrets of 24) as:

 

"It wasn't an edifying spectacle: a group of middle-aged white guys competing with one another to see who could do the best impersonation of Jack Bauer.." Alternately, John McCain, who was tortured as a POW in Vietnam, often finds himself at odds with the White House and his Republican presidential rivals about what constitutes torture. On a recent campaign stop, he found himself defending his position by saying, "It's not Jack Bauer. It's not 24." But at the same time, McCain is a big fan of the show and even made a cameo in Season 5. It seems that Sen. McCain appreciates the show for its fictional entertainment value, not as a model for policy.

 

To step back and examine this, it’s perhaps unprecedented that serious hot-button issues of national security in a presidential race are being framed within the context of a TV show. Jack Bauer’s name is being used in the political sphere as if he were a real person or a defined policy term, not a complicated fictional (anti-?) hero.

 

As for the Democrats, 24’s popularity may have a different impact. In Secrets of 24, we have a piece with Dennis Haysbert who says he believes the beloved character of President David Palmer actually helped to pave the way for the public accepting and embracing the possibility of an African-American president. Unfortunately, since Season 7 is postponed, we will have to wait to see if Cherry Jones’ portrayal of a female commander-in-chief has any subtle or not-so–subtle messages about Hillary Clinton’s run for office. If Jones’ character is smart, effective and beloved, or alternately, weak and corrupt, might that actually change how voters think about a female president?

 

But regardless of when Season 7 airs, a theme throughout the book is that 24 has become an inextricable part of the political landscape. This pop culture phenomenon is on the tongues of our leaders, and perhaps on the minds of voters.

 

top

Giving Season 6 Another Chance

 

Tuesday December 4th marks the release of season 6 on DVD. With the writer's strike drudging on, this may offer a little solace for 24 fans who are heartbroken over season 7's indefinite postponement. But for some, getting to relive Day 6 may not be priority #1. Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker may have been in the majority when his review declared that Season 6 "ain't cuttin' the mustard." Some critics said the family melodrama got too unbelievable, some thought because major plot points got resolved halfway through the show, the final episodes lacked drama and urgency.

However, at least one critic believes Season 6 deserves a second chance, and actually is much better on DVD than it was when it aired.

Kelly West of Cinemablend writes,

"I'm being completely honest when I say that I wasn't overly impressed with season 6 when I watched it as it aired earlier this year...After rewatching the season as a whole, marathon-style, my opinion of this season has greatly improved. So much happens in the season that, when added to the suspense and intensity fueled by the terrorist threat story arc, it becomes impossible to truly assess the season as a whole having only seen it once all the way through. One might suggest that this is a flaw, and that a season of a TV series should be able to be weighed and balanced after viewing it only once, but as I'm a fan of watching and rewatching TV shows multiple times and really exploring the depths of the writing, I consider this aspect of 24 (especially as it applies to season 6) to be one of its best attributes." [Cinemablend]

 

top

The Curriculum According to Jack Bauer

 

It’s a TV series, it’s a political football, it’s a cultural touchstone … and now it’s the first-ever law-school course based on a TV show.

Georgetown Law, the law school at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, is offering “The Law of 24.” According to the course description, students will evaluate “America’s response to international terrorism through the eyes of Jack Bauer….in the context of the utilitarian and sometimes desperate responses to terrorism raised by the plot of 24.”

The course, which was instantly oversubscribed, is being taught by Adjunct Professor of Law Walter Sharp, whose day job—Heemp! Heemp! Heemp!—is Associate Deputy General Counsel for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Defense, where he is responsible for providing advice on international law issues related to the worldwide activities and operations of the U.S. Armed Forces.

The press can’t resist the irony. “This is not a joke,” blogs Diana on 24 Headquarters. “Will Justice Scalia Guest Lecture?” asks The Wall Street Journal. “I can’t wait for the weeks when Professor Sharp covers ‘Truth Serums and When to Administer Them’ writes Greg David in TV Guide.

 

top

Joel Surnow on Jack Bauer

(posted on the 24headquarters.com blog)

 

top