Ugh, Twenty More Hours to Go!

I just started to watch the first season of "24", a show I'd never seen any of because of (a) my disinterest in dramas that don't involve islands and time travel, and (b) the gimmick of showing each episode covering an hour of Jack Bauer's life would be pretty boring during the parts where he's sleeping or making himself cereal. Besides, what if the show were cancelled mid-season? They'd have to change the show to "8" or "12" or something like that. And if there's one thing this guy can't stand, it's confusion!

The show starts out promising enough, making Bauer an agent in some counterterrorism unit. A black presidential candidate is targeted for assassination which seems pretty silly to me because if you want to stop a presidential candidate you don't kill him--you put out a raunchy YouTube clip of him with a rodeo clown and before you know it he's out of the race. No brainer, folks! But in the midst of all this, Bauer's teenage daughter gets kidnapped.

Now, I've only gotten through episode 4, but I already can't stand the daughter and sort of hope something bad will happen to her, like maybe someone will slap the smug right off of her bratty face. (She was being a real pill to Bauer and his estranged wife back in episode one) And of course Bauer is all distraught about her kidnapping. Now, call me a cold hearted automaton, but if I had a daughter that lousy--sneaking out of the house, sassing back--I'd have reacted to the news of her kidnapping much differently. I'd have said to the kidnappers "ha, good luck, you'll need it! You try getting her to listen to you." Then I'd turn her bedroom into a den before she's been missing six hours.

I think this is a major failing with TV and film dramas--they just assume parents are going to do anything possible to save their kids or spouses, without establishing first that the kids or spouses don't actually suck. As an audience member, I can only think "geez, the kidnapping sort of solved this action hero's problems! He should go get lunch".

And of course there's the part where the bad guy has one of the good guys (or girl in this case) held at gunpoint, and the bad guy shouts to the unseen Jack Bauer "I have a hostage! Come out and drop your gun" Of course, the good guy (girl) shouts "don't do it, he'll kill us both" which I think is a bit unrealistic. I mean, sure it's likely that the armed good guy is going to accidently shoot you, or you'll get shot by the bad guy when the armed good guy shows himself, but seriously, you're probably going to get shot anyway. Give Jack Bauer a chance to take a head shot! You have a 50/50 chance that it's not your head that'll get shot.

We'll see how the rest of the season goes--I'm guessing the black president guy goes on to win the election, only to have to deal with a tea party movement afterwards.