'30' for '24'
The saga of Jack Bauer comes to a crowd-pleasing conclusion.
May 24, 2010
 Jack Bauer prepares to sign off on Monday night. (Fox, courtesy / May 24, 2010) |
"24"'s place in pop culture far exceeds it's middle-of-the-pack ratings. People who have never watched a real-time minute know who Jack Bauer is and what he represents.
Jack is an old-fashioned, unambiguous American hero, a patriot willing to kill or be killed on behalf of his country. Whether you are a radical Islamist terrorist or a popular president of the United States, you take on America, you take on Jack Bauer. And Jack doesn't lose.
This is what tonight's two-hour wrapup emphasizes for the last time on TV. As finales go, it is one of the most satisfying in years.
Executive producer Howard Gordon says he obsessed about how he would end the series, what the punctuation mark, the final period, would be. (There will be no spoilers here, not even subtle hints.)
Excess has been "24"'s forte but Gordon went minimalist. "We tried on a couple of very different endings for size and the one we came to is the one that felt just right. We knew when we saw it, this was the right way to do it." Dissenting opinions are unlikely.
Almost every element of the two farewell episodes, bundled as one, hit exactly the right notes, including some extraordinary performances.
Cherry Jones came to the series as President Allison Taylor with a reputation for being one of the most accomplished actresses in the business. However, even though she won a supporting actress Emmy for last season, her performances lacked — to use a term in vogue on "American Idol" — a wow factor. Tonight she knocks it out of the park.
Mary Lynn Rajskub's range as Chloe has seemed to be limited to a look of overwrought concern or that of a petulant pout. Finally unleashed and given meaty material, she blossoms into a bona-fide actress worthy of awards consideration.
"24" has featured a rogue's gallery of dastardly villains but Gregory Itzin retires the trophy as disgraced former president Charles Logan, whose eerie resemblance to Richard Nixon enhances his character's reprehensible ways.
Most of all, it is a final tour de force for Kiefer Sutherland, whose body language and facial expressions exude all the pain and loss Jack has had to endure.
Given this, there could be no happily ever after conclusion, Gordon said. "What he has done, forget about the last eight seasons, in these last six episodes, leaves him once again in a very complicated place morally, ethically and emotionally. This show is a tragedy. So to give Jack a happy ending didn't feel authentic."
In so doing, "24" has delivered an ending that feels very authentic and will leave loyalists feeling respected.
Tom Jicha can be reached at tjicha@sunsentinel.com
Jack is an old-fashioned, unambiguous American hero, a patriot willing to kill or be killed on behalf of his country. Whether you are a radical Islamist terrorist or a popular president of the United States, you take on America, you take on Jack Bauer. And Jack doesn't lose.
This is what tonight's two-hour wrapup emphasizes for the last time on TV. As finales go, it is one of the most satisfying in years.
Executive producer Howard Gordon says he obsessed about how he would end the series, what the punctuation mark, the final period, would be. (There will be no spoilers here, not even subtle hints.)
Excess has been "24"'s forte but Gordon went minimalist. "We tried on a couple of very different endings for size and the one we came to is the one that felt just right. We knew when we saw it, this was the right way to do it." Dissenting opinions are unlikely.
Almost every element of the two farewell episodes, bundled as one, hit exactly the right notes, including some extraordinary performances.
Cherry Jones came to the series as President Allison Taylor with a reputation for being one of the most accomplished actresses in the business. However, even though she won a supporting actress Emmy for last season, her performances lacked — to use a term in vogue on "American Idol" — a wow factor. Tonight she knocks it out of the park.
Mary Lynn Rajskub's range as Chloe has seemed to be limited to a look of overwrought concern or that of a petulant pout. Finally unleashed and given meaty material, she blossoms into a bona-fide actress worthy of awards consideration.
"24" has featured a rogue's gallery of dastardly villains but Gregory Itzin retires the trophy as disgraced former president Charles Logan, whose eerie resemblance to Richard Nixon enhances his character's reprehensible ways.
Most of all, it is a final tour de force for Kiefer Sutherland, whose body language and facial expressions exude all the pain and loss Jack has had to endure.
Given this, there could be no happily ever after conclusion, Gordon said. "What he has done, forget about the last eight seasons, in these last six episodes, leaves him once again in a very complicated place morally, ethically and emotionally. This show is a tragedy. So to give Jack a happy ending didn't feel authentic."
In so doing, "24" has delivered an ending that feels very authentic and will leave loyalists feeling respected.
Tom Jicha can be reached at tjicha@sunsentinel.com
Source: SunSentinel
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.