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24 : Complete Season 1
Creator Robert Cochran and his team of writers and directors have done a pretty impressive job in putting the jigsaw together and keeping the tension ratcheted up high, as Federal Agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) hares around LA trying to stall an assassination attempt on a black Presidential candidate and rescue his wife and daughter from the clutches of the Balkan baddies. Twists, turns, revelations and cliffhangers are tossed at us with satisfying regularity. It's not perfect: we get some hokey plot devices (instant amnesia, anybody?) and the final twist, once you start thinking back, makes no sense whatsoever. There are altogether too many huggy family moments ("I love you, Dad." "I love you, son"); and as for überbaddie Dennis Hopper's "Serbian" accent… Even so, this is undeniably mould-breaking TV. Sutherland, rescuing his career from the doldrums in one heroic leap, fully deserves his Golden Globe. Sets and locations are artfully deployed--we gain a real sense of LA's splayed-out geography--and Sean Callery's score is a powerful, brooding presence. Like Murder One and The Sopranos, 24 is one of those series future TV thrillers will have to measure themselves against. On the DVDs: 24 is released in a six-disc box set. On discs 1- 5 there are no extras, but disc 6 includes the "alternative" ending and a preview of Series 2, presented by an urbane Kiefer Sutherland, that tells us precisely nothing. The transfer, in 16x9 widescreen and 2.0 Dolby Digital sound, does the high production values of the original every justice.--Philip Kemp
RRP: £44.99
Our Price: £19.99 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Such a simple idea--yet so fiendishly complex in the execution. 24, as surely everyone knows by now, is a thriller that takes place over 24 hours, midnight to midnight, in 24 one-hour episodes (well, 45-minute episodes if you extract the ad breaks). Everything to take place in real time--on-screen and off-screen time the same--which means no flash-backs, no flash-forwards, no nice handy time-dissolves. Every strand of the plot has to be dovetailed and interlocked to make sure that things happen just when they should, in the right amount of time. Not that easy.
Fatuous Ending
Review date: 2008-01-24 Rating: 4 out of 10
I watched this avidly, all the episodes, and concluded that the ending was written by someone who just did not see or read the scripts for the previous episodes. Nobody who watched the whole show had any chance of working out who the mole was.
I was so disappointed with this that I have not watched it since and am amazed that it got a second let alone a third series.
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Reviews
Great concept, just loses some steam in the middle
Review date: 2008-01-07 Rating: 8 out of 10
24 is a thrilling tv series, set over 24 episodes, each representing an hour within one day. It stars Kiefer Sutherland who excels in his role as Jack Bauwer.
The story follows Jack, who works for CTU (the Counter Terrorist Unit) as he tries to stop an assasination attempt on a presidential candidate. What follows are twists and turns as Jack's family are caught up in the action.
The series, on the whole, is excellent. It has many great aspects, the Palmer political story is captivating, as is the Jack Bauwer thread. I felt the mother / daughter side was the weakest. It really was short on ideas and treads a lot of the same ground and reaches absurdness with the events following the car on the cliff.
From there on it picks up to a great climax.
You have to invest a lot of time into this series, many episodes will pass where you learn little, or few significant events happen. On the whole I think it's worth it. If your a fan of thrillers or Kiefer, this is a must.
Ground breaking television
Review date: 2007-12-25 Rating: 10 out of 10
without doubt 24 is one of the most gripping concepts in television - i cant really see how anyone can give this 1 star - yes after 12 hours it gets a bit silly with mrs bauer getting amnesia - is laughable and frustrating, but apart from this and one or two other imperfections, season 1 of 24 is essential viewing. Ive just watched season 2 which imo is better than season one - feels more solid and less silly bits in it.
i missed the original tv broadcast of this, this is essential. buy it now, jack knows where u live if u dont!
The finest series ever created for television
Review date: 2007-11-16 Rating: 10 out of 10
There is no doubt that the original series of "24" is by far the most gripping and addictive series ever created for television. Following the life of Kiefer Sutherland's fantastic character Jack Baure is extrodinary and terrifying. Of course there are others, there is the presidential candidate David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) who is attempting to become the first black American President, and also has a Serbian assassination attempt in the next twenty-four hours of the day. It is Baure's task to stop the terrorists with help of the CTU, but in the mean time, he must try and save his daughter, Kimberly (Elisha Cuthbert) - and eventually his wife, Teri - from the assassins.
It works as a quid-pro-quo. The terrorists want Jack's help to get information on the candidate, for exchange of his wife and daughter's life. Helping Jack Baure along the way are Nina Myers (Sarah Clarke) and Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), among the whole CTU team. But it is made clear that some of the people that Jack is working with, have connections with the terrorist group and are feeding them information. Baure cannot trust anybody, not even the people he works with, in order to find his wife and daughter, plus save a near-President.
It is a unique series. And it's so gripping, unbelieveably gripping. I found myself watching 4-5 episodes a day with the boxset, and could literally not get enough of the action-filled series. It is by far the greatest of all the "24" series', and with a fantastic price here on Amazon.co.uk, I would fully reccommend buying this.
The clock is ticking....
Review date: 2007-10-30 Rating: 10 out of 10
Whether we like it or not, there's no escaping american tv nowadays. American Tv is now gradually taking over the known world, and you'd better watch out...
Yes.. you'd better watch out, because if you miss a glimpse of it, you'll miss a LOT. That's the mistake I took, when I decided not to watch 24 on television. Fortunately though, I made a very smart move a couple of weeks ago to watch it, since I made the stupid decision of ignoring it.
24 is definately one of the greatest american imports of recent years (and that's quite an achievment, trust me) and is no doubt THE most insane and thrilling thing I've ever seen.
Each episode has it's basic plotlines. Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) plans to prevent senetor David Palmer from being assasinated while at the same time, tries to rescue his kidnapped wife and daughter. This is probably a spoiler, but yes, Jack Bauer becomes the hero and saves the day but makes some tough sacrifices along the way. Each episode also has it's increasingly important plot twists or big events. These add up to the factor of wanting more.
The style of the show is unique and eduring also, as are the characters. The characters could have been a big flop, if it weren't for strong lead casting and strong guest casting (even if Kim Bauer is undeniably irritating). Kiefer Sutherland makes an outstanding job as Jack Bauer and could well be the best actor in television.
24 always remains at it's top quality and never decreases it's tension. It keeps you hooked and both thrilled and entertained throughout, until it reaches it's dramatic and unbearable climax.
It might not be as emotional and dramatic as such greats like Six Feet Under, but damn is it good. No, it's better than good, it's no doubt THE BEST ACTION DRAMA IN THE WORLD!
If you haven't done it yet, BUY IT.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Sarah Clarke
Daniel Bess
Kiefer Sutherland
Elisha Cuthbert
Leslie Hope
Director(s):
Recording label: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
EAN: 5039036010047
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 6
Format: Box set, Colour, Letterboxed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2002-10-14
Number of discs: 6
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 1106 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2001-11-06
Language: English (Original Language)