"24" seas 1: Naked Mandy, Pretty Jack and Eeeevil Nina!

[Hermiod]

Current 24 could do with more Naked Mandy, I agree.

However, season one had some great moments and because it was the first season I didn't get the feeling that a lot of them were just put in to top what they did last season.

For some reason, Teri Bauer "taking one for the team" to protect her daughter had a lot more impact than Jack randomly torturing people.

 

[Trekker4747]

But Kim seemed "stupid" in the rebellious teenager sort of way, more "forgivable" if you will. Later on, it was less excusable, because she was no longer that teenager.

Agreed.

She was still stupid, though. Chiefly in latching on to her fucking kidnapper like a puppy.

It's natural to latch onto one's kidnappers like a puppy. Capture bonding is the technical term for the psychological mechanism, it's commonly known as Stockholm Syndrome.

It's a survival mechanism. Connecting emotionally with your captors makes it more difficult for them to kill you. And it was fairly useful in the days when the only way to avoid incest was to kidnap spouses from a rival tribe, or get kidnapped.

Does Stockholm set-in after a few hours, though?

 

[Neroon]

I doubt that it would, but I am no psychologist. OTOH, Rick was somewhat sensitive and defensive for her... so that could have colored her perceptions.

 

[Trekker4747]

I doubt that it would, but I am no psychologist. OTOH, Rick was somewhat sensitive and defensive for her... so that could have colored her perceptions.

She was still a twit.

 

[Neroon]

A young twit, caught up in extraordinary circumstances.

 

[Hermiod]

^Plus there was a point to her being there, she was being used to enforce her father's compliance. From season two onwards she was just shoe-horned in to the story and menaced by Cougars for no reason.

 

[Trekker4747]

A young twit, caught up in extraordinary circumstances.

Well she was nearly as useless and dumb as she was in S2.

"Sure, honey. Set the officer driving the car at highway speeds on fire!"

 

[Temis the Vorta]

This year,

Spoiler: Your post

Tony was the villain for only 2-4 episodes

Spoiler: Current episodes

You sure about that?

Spoiler: about the current season

Tony will be the hero again in the final ep - it's the classic double-double-cross with a last-minute backflip. But he will die, most likely shot by Red, and only Jack will know the truth. By that time, Jack will be Mirror-Universe-Jack and nobody will believe him when he says Tony killed FBI Party Pooper only to insinuate himself back with the baddies and save the day.

 

[Base_Delta_Zero]

Nope. Tony's bad and has been all along. Rene will still kill him to save Jack, I think, but there'll be no last minute "I did it for the children" turn around. Tony is Jack if he hadn't gone on a walkabout. Freckles is pre-Jack, before he became the cynical at any cost agent. She's actually begun to turn him back from that. Course, look what it got him: a facefull of crippling disease. She'll end up nursing him back from that too, though, with hot Freckled love, so I guess he wins after all.

Spoiler: Potential spoilers for Season 8

As for the early seasons, I did like the more personal drama and tighter focus of 1 + 2, but I've enjoyed all the seasons, regardless. Hopefully Season 8: Jack waterboards the Big Apple will be a totally inwardly-focused one. Perhaps he follows Rene there as she's reassigned, she stumbles onto something deadly and dramatic, but small, centered wholy in NYC and reluctantly drags Jack out of retirement to help save American lives one last time.

Did 9/11 happen in the 24-verse? Are we going to get a shot of Jack at ground zero? It'd be really weird if they make no mention of the WTC with Jack in NYC, what with 24 being all about preventing just that sort of thing from happening.

And bring back Mandy, the naked assassin. She was in the first season, she survived, she should be in the (potential) last.

 

[Misfit Toy]

A young twit, caught up in extraordinary circumstances.

I think that was my old Mod Bio...

 

[Elemental]

Sounds almost like a "Karnak The Magnificent" answer:
"Name three things we don't see anymore in '24'" -

Anyhow, this past Saturday, my two sons and I hunkered down for a marathon session of watching the entirety of "24"s initial season. none of us had ever seen it before, and I recently picked up the boxed set of DVDs. We made sure were properly armed with pizza, Mt. Dew, beef jerky (seems like a Jack Link's, of course), etc.

It was a fascinating time comparing what we saw to what we'd seen in the later seasons. The pacing seemed very well-constructed. The premise itself just plain felt new, again even though I'd already seen seasons 2 - 7. It was easy to see why the show had become a success.



A few thoughts:

• - I had forgotten what a manipulative witch Lady McPalmer was!
• - the overall plot and its elements didn't seem as over-the-top as they do later in the series.
• - Jack's physical appearance was considerably less "weathered", hence the comment in the thread subject. After 6+ seasons of stopped heats, heroin usage, Chinese torture, being Kim's dad... it'd take a toll on Dorian Gray
• - Kim seemed less "stupid" and more just an average teenager who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
• - For all that Jack had to go through... I felt sorrier for Teri than anybody. She was so innocent in all of it.
• - There were several moments of REAL emotion in that season. I haven't quite felt that same level in seasons since.
• - Sen Palmer seemed noble yet very naive.
• - Funny how I had an instant revulsion to Andre Drazen, seeing as I'd already seen the actor in less-than-flattering light in "House" and "Heroes"
• - We actually see Jack close his eyes, get something to eat AND complain about his lack of sleep!
• - Never saw him go to the bathroom though.
• - Favorite line that I can think of right now: "I have killed two people since midnight. I haven't slept in over 24 hours. Maybe you should be a little more scared of me than you are right now."

There is little question in my mind that this was my favorite of all the seasons of "24".

I'll never forget watching that initial season for the first time. I had thought it was the most incredible show I'd ever seen at the time. I watched each episode about 3 times before the next one aired. While still predictable at times, and it did have a bit of a meandering plot in the second half, most of it was certainly a lot more believable than how things would evolve. I think the plot being on more a personal level (a vendetta against Jack and Palmer) made all the difference in terms of storytelling. Wanting to nuke the world gets a little old. I must have introduced that show to about a dozen people.

I'd be interested in hearing what parts you felt to be the "moments of true emotion" you refered to. I like reliving that sort of stuff. I'm also amazed you could sit through that much 24 after having already seen it.

 

[Trekker4747]

I think the greatest moment of "true emotion" that came for me is when Jack is holed up with the sassy waitress. Jack reflects on the terrible things he's done and has a "real" moment with the woman. He even drifts to sleep!

 

[Elemental]

This was the best season because the stakes were personal and not over the top, and this was also when the surprises were genuine, like when "The Sentinel" turned out not to be who he said he was. Mole #1 was a surprise (though Mole #2 was a sign of things to come).

I thought mole #1 was obvious. Nina had been mistaken for the mole so she was out. Tony was all too obviously not because he clashed with Jack all the time. But Jamie was the quiet innocent tech geek that tries not to draw too much attention that shows like this love to use. Allan York/Kevin Farrel was also obviously a baddie in my eyes. I saw the scene with Kim's friend coming a mile off. Mole #2/Nina was totally illogical and obviously made up on the fly as a last minute kool twist.