24: Season 8
All great TV shows are invariably known to sooner or later ājump the sharkā so to speak, so in many ways I guess we should be happy that not only did the greatest concept in TV history do so during its final season, it did so in its last few hours as well. Admittedly, the first 2/3rds of the season certainly revels (or rehashes if you will) in the things that made the show great: A neverending terrorist plot with one backup plan after another, a cast that proves that the show never had a bad actor on during its entire run, twists that run the gamut from sudden major character deaths to the old standby of there being a mole inside CTU, and action set pieces that rival anything in theatrical movies rocketed along by a blistering pace. The initial plot has the story take place in New York City for the first time ever, as President Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones) is about to sign an historic peace agreement with the leader of a major Middle Eastern country (Slumdog Millionaireās Anil Kapoor) until itās discovered that an assassination plot has arisen and certain parties are determined to not only kill the Middle Eastern leader but the peace process itself. The problem arises in the last 8 hours when the writers make a conscious decision to make Kiefer Sutherlandās legendary Jack Bauer essentially āsell his soulā and in turn practically become a terrorist himself as he goes on a rampage (prompted by the death of a woman he barely had a relationship with), literally SLAUGHTERING bad guys wholesale with a bloodlust that would make Jason Voorhees wince, turning against the President and even his dearly trusted best friend techie Chloe OāBrian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and setting himself on a path that may possibly trigger World War III itself, not to mention showing how much he really cares about his beloved daughter Kim and granddaughter Teri (who appear in the early episodes before hopping on a plane back to LA) by playing the key role in sinking the world into uncertain chaos out of little more reason than rage and revenge. It says something when during the final hours the viewer is actually hoping that Bauer (who if nothing else was always easy to root for) catches a bullet in the back of the head so that the damage he is causing to a potential peace process between America and other nations can be cleaned up. Alas, not the case, as the season (and series) end with unhappy fates for all involved, and the very real possibility that Jackās course of action could trigger a nuclear Armageddon. As said, the acting all around is still good, in addition to Sutherland and Rajskub we have Kapoor getting some great moments as the leader whose imperfections belie his nobility and honor; Annie Wersching coming back from Season 7 as tortured former FBI agent Renee Walker; Mykelti Williamson as the current head of CTU New York; Katee Sackhoff and John Boyd as our resident data analysts; Freddie Prinze Jr. as the hotshot field agent who looks up to the Bauer legend; and Jones herself as the female President who like she was in Season 7 is a nearly complete idiot, almost invariably making the wrong decisions and at one point when facing an imminent nuclear attack, doing nothing to stop it and actually preparing a post-disaster speech BEFORE the bomb actually goes off. Guest star roles includes Bob Gunton returning as the Chief Of Staff, Jurgen Prochnow modestly kicking some ass as a Russian crime boss; Michael Madsen as an old special ops buddy of Jackās who helps him out in a key crisis; Jennifer Westfeldt as a hot blonde reporter caught up in the mix; Stephen Root as a parole officer who comes sniffing around CTU over someoneās past; Rami Malek and Mare Winningham in the one touching bit as an American-born terrorist and his mom caught in a tense situation; D.B. Sweeney as a slimy private contractor brought in for some interrogation work; Eriq LaSalle in a nothing role as the UN Secretary General; and best of all Gregory Itzin being brought in late in the game (probably because the other villains up to that point were not very memorable) as duplicitous former President Charles Logan, looking to regain his standing in the political realm by giving Taylor some VERY bad advice. Sadly though, with the exception of Logan, the series fails in its final season (when it should be going all out) to give some acknowledgement to the fans by pulling out any real surprise characters from its illustrious past, choosing a bland, stodgy path to its conclusion that leaves the viewer wanting more but yet still disgusted with the direction that they have taken the Bauer character. Overall, recommended only for fans of the show that want to see how it endsā¦
5/10