It's not you, Jack. It's me ... or maybe it's you. Hey, they brought it up by putting Jack in front of a Senate subcommittee in the first place for his methodology, and then partnering him with an FBI agent who's not comfortable with his aggressive tactics. It's just interesting to me as a long-time faithful that I find myself viewing Jack differently, too. Maybe it's because he skipped a year, but he just comes across as more extreme to me than in the past. But, as I said, it could be me. Maybe Jack is the picture of consistency and I've changed.
When Jack asks for something, if there's any resistance he immediately screams "Now!" or repeats the question in a roar. When Renee or anyone second guesses any of his suggestions he tells them that they're out of options and that they don't have time to do anything but his idea. Don't get me wrong, this season is one of the most exciting yet, but you have to wonder. Do we really need someone like Jack Bauer running around torturing people and sending innocent girls to their deaths to bring in the bad guy? Is it worth it?
When 24 started, it was two months after the September 11 attacks. We, as a nation, were pissed and we wanted answers. Jack gets answers. I think he was the perfect salve for what ailed us at the time. He went Guantanamo Bay on bad guys and we loved it. Terrorists weren't going to get away with any nonsense with Jack Bauer on the job. But I think we're in a different world in 2009.
Yes, the terrorists are still out there, but the attacks aren't nearly as raw. The nation has changed the party of power in Congress and the White House. We have new concerns and problems we're dealing with. Jack Bauer was the Patriot Act at a time when there wasn't time to wait for the proper channels and red tape to do things the right way. And he still is on television, but we're not so gung ho about it anymore in the real world. And it feels different watching him. And I'm just not sure why.
I actually get a little uncomfortable seeing him scream and yell at everyone, demanding they do things his way RIGHT NOW! I know he's usually right and he's a superhero and I get that. I really do. But it's just coming across a little douchey this year. Maybe it's Renee Walker being right there and every time he goes all Jack we get to see her react to it. Maybe it's residuals from the Subcommittee and what they said. And we have Moss absolutely appalled at his behavior, regardless of the sterling results.
The writers wouldn't be putting this stuff in there if they didn't want us to think about it. Maybe they're asking us if we still want our Jack Bauer the same way, or if we'd like him shaken up a bit. Personally, I can't imagine him any other way. Can you picture Jack taking the time to explain to the paramedic why he needed them to cut into Dubaku's abdomen? Of course not, that might take an extra four or five seconds. Better to yell and pull a gun on the guy.
I really need to go back and peruse my old DVDs to see if Jack has always been quite this extreme. Are they ratcheting him up a bit to make us think about his methods versus working within the system, as represented by Renee (at first) and Moss? The ratings are strong so it doesn't seem like we mind Jack being Jack much at all if you go by the numbers.
Jack will always do what needs to be done in the most expedient manner possible. Death and destruction will follow in his wake, along with bruised egos and ringing ear drums. It's just the way he is. But is that the Jack Bauer America wants and needs still? Or could we even handle a different Jack? Or maybe it's just me.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
2-25-2009 @ 7:31PM
Malren said...
You have GOT to be kidding me.
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2-26-2009 @ 12:40AM
Malren said...
The most amusing this about this article is this is the same guy wrote a Serious Business article about reality dance competition crews and thinks *that* is relevant, but Hope & Change makes 24 no longer worthy of airtime.
It'd be embarrassing if it weren't...no, wait it's just embarrassing.
2-26-2009 @ 12:59AM
Jason Hughes said...
What are you talking about? Television is a reflection of our times, it always has been. All in the Family and M*A*S*H spoke about the turbulent times they were on the air. I proposed the notion that maybe 24 was a reflection of the post-9/11 time in which it began and that Jack Bauer was the hero of that time.
I never said the show wasn't worthy of airtime; I praised the quality of this season (did you read the article?). My intention was to try and spark a discussion about it. As others have picked up, the writers of the show seem to be wanting Jack's methods debated as well. As it stands there is a lot of good back-and-forth on the topic so people do seem to think it's valid.
Just as there was a lot of discussion about the dance article, as there are people who thought it was valid as well. That you do not does not mean you speak for all television viewers.
2-25-2009 @ 7:36PM
Dan S said...
Jack Bauer was relevant?
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2-25-2009 @ 7:49PM
Edward said...
I blame Brannon Braga that you feel this way.
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2-25-2009 @ 7:59PM
Joe Brooks said...
The Brannon Braga effect is very relevant.
2-26-2009 @ 8:42AM
tcc3 said...
Its always appropriate to blame Brannon Braga.
2-25-2009 @ 8:09PM
0megapart!cle said...
I like 24. It is a fun show. It is a deeply and profoundly fictional show in more ways than BSG or Lost. As long as you keep that in mind, then there's nothing to worry about. Just enjoy the ride.
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2-25-2009 @ 8:20PM
Matt said...
It's amazing that how much discussion Jack Bauer's methods get, and how republican's often use him as proof that extreme methods work.
That being said, I tend to agree that this season seems more extreme, but to me it feels like the last gasp of a dying ideology. As if this were the producer's last chance to convince us that they're Right and we're Wrong about torture and what it will take to beat The Bad Guys. That's why they keep setting up these false scenarios to try to make the FBI, Senate, and state department characters so ridiculous. I mean when Jeanine Garafolo's character asked Tony, "Are you comfortable..." I mean really... a mani/pedi during interrogation is not the alternative to torture.
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2-26-2009 @ 12:33AM
Malren said...
"and how republican's often use him as proof that extreme methods work."
That only happens in your mind and on Daily Kos.
2-26-2009 @ 12:37AM
Pinwiz said...
It's a serial. It's a fun thriller. I enjoy it.
Is this post relevant? I think not.
2-25-2009 @ 8:14PM
Jimmy said...
I completely agree with you, but I don't think has anything to do with the political change this year. I'm a liberal guy but I've been a fan of 24 since Day 1 and I even thought the last season was alright, if not great. If we really looked a this series I think we could all agree 24 hit its peak with Season 5, thanks in no small part to the great performances of Gregory Itzin and Jean Smart as the first couple.
I never expect Jack to be any different than he's always been. For him the ends will ALWAYS justify the means. In his world the death of innocents is necessary and torture always works. We know it's not real life -- viewers aren't stupid. That being said, I often find myself tuning episodes out because it's become so farcical. To quote Battlestar Galactica, "This has all happened before and will happen again." To save this series, I think they need to get Jack out of the United States, maybe as a consultant for a foreign country. Britain would be a perfect fit for Jack since you can fart without CCTV catching you do it with half a dozen different angles.
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2-25-2009 @ 8:15PM
Steve B said...
There's no doubt that the writers form the plot as a reflection of the stories of the day. With all of the controversy and criticism of the techniques used in the actual "war on terror" coming to light in recent years, it is only logical that the plot include characters and scenarios that reflect those criticisms.
It definitely does make us look at Jack in a different light. I haven't seen the older episodes recently either, but iirc in most cases the plot was framed in such a way that jack's techniques seemed justified because we already knew without a doubt that those he was torturing were guilty or that his decision always worked out in the end without any credible dissenting opinion represented. Though how can you forget Jack's ethical dilemma over the fate of Audrey's ex-husband Paul.
In this season we are shown a lot more consistent debate over the ethics of Jack's decisions. I'm really enjoying it. The ethical scenarios are more consistently sensational and emotional and reflects Jack's very utilitarian point of view that the suffering and/or sacrifice of a few is necessary for the greater good. But much like the short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas", when you put an emotionally stimulating innocent human face on the person or small group of people being sacrificed, it makes us think more carefully about what Jack is doing.
Others may disagree, but I think making us think about what Jack is doing from an ethical standpoint, sensationalist or not, is one of the best things that the show has done this season so far.
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2-25-2009 @ 8:19PM
Max said...
That's a silly thing to say. Is Jack Bauer still relevant? Just because there hasn't been a terrorist attack in eight years doesn't mean that everything is OK and lovey-dovy.
About Jack, don't you think that he has a right to yell at people and have things done his way? You would think after all Jack has done for this country and prevented so many disasters that people would give him some respect and trust him? After eight years of this and now the country that he's helped to protect are trying to throw him in jail, he's not going to be patient and go around and saying "pretty please" after every request.
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2-26-2009 @ 1:01AM
Jason Hughes said...
There's an area between pretty please after a request and pulling a gun on a paramedic. Jack just doesn't seem be using it. Nowhere in the article did I say that things are OK or lovey-dovey; obviously we know that's not the case. But things are different then they were. The wounds are not as raw, there are other issues on the table that are pretty dire as well and the nation as a whole is shifting our focus.
2-25-2009 @ 8:24PM
chrissthomas said...
Personally I think that all of this is intentional. One; Jack has been through a lot. The emotional toll on him has got to be enormous. He has nothing and therefore nothing to loose anymore. Previous seasons he always had something that kept him going personally but not this season. Renee is a joke because in reality she doesn't really care she is just afraid that what Jack is she will become or may be already there. She is willing to go just as far as Jack and it is not affecting her because of the things that come of it but because she truly see who she is in Jack and is afraid of it. I think the shows writers are setting up the end, since they have already announced that next season is the last and it will not end well for Jack. They are showing this season that Jack really has lost everything and is only a shell of a man at this point. I don't think he was quite as extreme in previous seasons because he always had something grounding him in the real world (his wife, daughter, girlfriend, etc). So get ready for more crazy Jack because I think it will only get worse.
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2-25-2009 @ 8:24PM
Dorv said...
As I'm a conservative, this may sound weird coming from me:
Bauer is relevant if for no other reason than as a counterpoint to Renee and to be the tapestry in which we ask the question "Is torture relevant?"
(I think its safer if we stay on the point that the question is relevant, and not try to answer it in a TV blog).
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2-25-2009 @ 9:07PM
Malfoy Roark said...
jack has earned the right to do whatever he wants to get the job done. If jack says jump, you ask "how high?".
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2-25-2009 @ 9:29PM
RT said...
What a ridiculous article. Yes, all the terrorists in the world have gone away. Let's all hold hands and sing Kumbaya.
Meanwhile, get Brannon Braga off the show.
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2-25-2009 @ 9:34PM
jffm said...
People have short memories. Jack has made mistakes and torture has not always worked. Jack tortured Audrey's husband who turned out to be innocent, and then when Jack commandeered the operating theater at CTU later, Audrey's husband died. Neither Jack nor his methods have been portrayed as inevitably right.
This season one of the themes is 'how far is too far?' and they have been portraying Jack differently (I'd say somewhat out of character) than in the past and in ways that aren't really explained by the character's history. The Jack shown in the past wouldn't have objected to Renee giving Marika a way to signal if she was in trouble and he definitely would not have tried to prevent Renee from at least trying to save Marika for the wreckage of the car; more likely he would have risked his own life trying to save her. Those are both sharp departures from the character's past behavior. Jack has never been cavalier with the lives of innocents.
But the writers are taking a degree of creative license with the character to make their overall point. Probably a little too much, though they probably could have pulled it off with a slightly different approach to the story.
'Is Jack Bauer still relevant?' is okay as far a navel gazing exercises go, but doesn't have a whole lot to do with the price of beans as far as I'm concerned. 24 is still one hell of an entertaining show, and that's why I'm watching. If others find meaning in their bellybutton lint, so be it.
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