Actually, the torture thing and Joel Surnow aside, 24 has never been as right-wing as is made out. One of the other creators was a liberal, IIRC. And consider -
David Palmer was a sympathetic Democratic black President. They've fudged party allegiances since - logically, Taylor should be a Republican, Daniels a Democrat but her administration is to the left of his - , but in S1, he was declared to be a Dem. And his villainous wife berated him for his allegiance to bleeding heart causes. The first two Republican Presidents (Keeler and Logan) were duplicitous and a criminal respectively. The Palmer brothers' VPs were presumably Democrats too but were clearly to the right of their bosses. Daniels in particular was a shady character (Prescott probably acted in good faith when he attempted to oust David).
In S5, the declaration of Martial Law was clearly supposed to be viewed as A Bad Thing. S6 is surprisingly outspoken in favour of civil liberties, against internment, racial profiling and the like. As was Palmer's diatribe against anti-Arab attacks in S2.
The villains in S5 - shipping arms to terrorists to give them a pretext to attack a country for its oil - were clearly neo-cons. Ditto those in S2 looking for an excuse to attack the countries that were framed for the nuke attach on the US. Wayne Palmer was the target of assassination for being insufficiently aggressive. Indeed, from those guys to Jack's arms-boss dad, to Jonas Hodges and Will Patton's character in S7, the 'industrial-military-complex' types have frequently been a staple of 24 villainy. S6 had a Bin Laden type terrorist seeking peace with the US (sacrificing himself to save the President) and S8 has an Iran substitute making peace with the US.
Fair enough, the show isn't exactly to the left of Ken Loach but neither is it as uber-right as sometimes portrayed. Don't forget that the likes of Sutherland, James Cromwell, Jeanine Garafolo and Dennis Haysbert are Democrats and Liberals.
Back on topic, I'd include:
- Teri's death
- Nina being revealed as the mole
- Jack tranquilising Mason in S1 (we knew then he really was going to be a different-from-the-norm hero)
- Tony saving Teri in that house in S1 (up to then, we weren't sure of his allegiances)
- Jack killing & decapitating the protected informant in S2
- Mason's sacrifice in S2
- Jack dying under toture, then coming back and basically kicking ass (S2).
- Jack causing a prison break in S3 (I know a lot of people dislike that season but I think it was great fun)
- Jack appearing to be in league with the Salazars, then Tony rising from his sick bed & demanding to speak to the President, to explain their plan
- Jack having to kill Chappelle. Okay, a silly plot point, but so well done. Remember the poor fecker trying to flee CTU but being stopped by a security guard? And Chase, unaware of what was going on, berating poor Ryan as Jack led the condemned man to his fate?
- Jack having to cut off Chase's arm. Gloriously bonkers. As soon as you saw that axe in the background, you knew how that briefcase was coming off. The hard way.
- Palmer being blackmailed into resigning the presidency.
- Nina's death and Sherry's death.
- Jack rescuing Heller from the bad guys in S4. Preceded by Jack robbing a convenience store. Brilliant.
- The sheer audacity of Marwan's plot(s).
- Any scenes with Curtis in Seasons 4 & 5. What a badass. Even when Jack was throttling him outconscious.
Tony's return in S4. Best. Comeback. Ever.
- Two major characters assassinated in the opening scenes of S5. Though points off for having Tony spend virtually all his scenes in sickbed (yet again), then appearing to die.
- Wayne Palmer hunted by Henderson's assassins in S5.
Jack hijacking a plane (S5). Can't top this, can he?
- Yes he can. He hijacks the Presidential helicopter, with Logan on board.
- Jack escaping his torturers in S6, by biting a guy's neck out.
- Jack's two-footed kick to get that terrorist off the subway (S6)
- Jack shooting Curtis. Sob. Ridiculous, but brilliant.
- Milo's sacrifice. Sob.
- Jack killing that terrorist by hanging him with a chain (S6).
- Jack ringing the code Tony gave him and Bill Buchanan answering (S7). Faux CTU!
- Jack and Tony escaping from FBI HQ. The boys are back in town!
- The attack on the White House. Yes, probably the stupidest scene ever in 24 (which is saying something). But how well done was it? Bill Buchanan and Aaron Pierce AND Jack Bauer in action together?! The stuff of fanboy wet dreams!
Bill's sacrifice. Sob.
- Tony saving the day at Blackwater ... sorry, I forget the name of Hodges' company. What a shame they ruined his character by making him a villain in the end-up.
- S8's one entry (hopefully only to date): Jack pulling a knife out of his own stomach and throwing it into a Russian gangster's throat. Genius!
