As I’ve said before, this season of 24 has been disappointing in many ways. That said, it remains one of only three programs that were on my must-see/must-TiVo list this year. The other two being Battlestar Galactica and the now-cancelled Jericho. Therefore, it was good to hear that Jack will be back for at least two more years:
LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) — The clock on “24″ will keep ticking for two more seasons
Fox’s unusually late renewal for the Emmy-winning thriller will allow Jack Bauer to keep saving the day through the 2008-09 season, which will be the series’ eighth.
Series star Kiefer Sutherland already is locked to stay with the show through May 2009.
And, this time, the producers are promising what looks like a completely new direction for the show:
“We’re re-creating the series,” executive producer/showrunner Howard Gordon said. “It is going to be a real-time thriller. Beyond that, it’s an open book.
(…)
The upcoming re-invention of the series was something the producers have talked about for a while, Gordon said.
Aside from Sutherland, “24″ will return with a new cast (some old favorites might return in different roles) and a new, non-Los Angeles location, with the producers even contemplating telling the story from two locations.
There has been talk about moving out of Los Angeles in the past, but it’s never come to fruition. Frankly, after six seasons I think they’ve done everything they can in L.A. to the point that it’s seemed like 24’s Los Angeles has a big target on it’s back and a “Kick Me” sign inviting terrorists to do their thing. At the same time, I’ve read in several places that one advantage of filming 24 in L.A. is that it has a relatively stable climate, making it easier to maintain the idea that the entire season is taking place over a single day. It would be hard to pull that off in a place where the climate (or even the color of the leaves on the trees) changes significantly from season to season.
Next week is the season finale and, on some level it will be good to see this one end and see where things go from here. Among other things, there are rumors of an ending that will shock long-time fans of the show. We shall see.
I’ve been screaming for weeks “forget Audrey! Save the show!” I hope they can.
I’d love to have a season with ONE president, ONE CTU director and NO compromise of CTU security. That would be novel.
As for the end of the season. They can pretty much take out anybody but Jack and Chloe. And I ain’t so sure about Jack.
I’ve actually been wondering for awhile if they’re going to have Doyle kind of be the “new Jack” during the next season and maybe move Jack to an administrative position where he gets to use some of his negotiation tactics to make sure his point of view is what is actually used.
Didn’t you know? He grabs a bite during commercials.
Bryan,
No, no a thousand times no.
I will not accept Ricky Schroeder as the new Jack Bauer.
There were two good characters who could’ve been developed into such a thing —- Chase Edmunds (Season Three) and Curtis Manning (who was killed by Jack at the beginning of this season when he tried to kill a former terrorist who was helping find the nukes) — but one lost his hand and the other is dead.
And if the stories about taking the show in a new direction are true, then Doyle may not be coming back. Fine with me. Other than Jack, the only other characters I think deserve to come back next season are Chloe (because she’s Chloe) and Bill Buchanan.
Chase apparently had his hand reattached and was transferred because he couldn’t be close to Kim and a field agent. I think that was briefly mentioned at the beginning of Season 4.