Besides "LOST", "24" (before this year) was the only other TV drama I had been able to give 5-stars for every season. Unfortunately, Season Eight didn't quite live up to that billing, what with a prolonged stretch of dry episodes to start the season and a resolution that seemed more of a film set-up than anything else. This final season is still entertaining television, and at its best is equal to any of the previous efforts, but it started to show some serious cracks in the veneer this time around.
Without spoiling too much of the story arcs for season eight, this cycle begins with "Grandpa" Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) once again being sucked into government/political espionage. Once fully on board, Jack is saddled with such priorities as preventing the assassination of a crucial foreign dignitary, tracking down a shipment of nuclear fuel rods, and finally undermining a government conspiracy that just may prove to be his ultimate undoing.
What really hurt this season right from the get-go was two-fold: 1. Uninteresting use of Bauer for the first 12-15 episodes or so (little palpable drama; instead just fights or shoot-outs); and 2. Two new characters, Cole Ortiz (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and Dana Walsh (Katee Sackhoff), fail to invigorate the proceedings, and instead actually bog things down with an inane side-plot that doesn't really lead anywhere.
Only about half way through the season, when the primary plotline emerges and an "old friend" (a very popular recurring cast member from previous seasons) adds some much-needed plot intrigue, does the season really start to take off. Plus, Jack's relationship with Renee Walker (Annie Wersching) is also fleshed-out quite a bit, leading to some tense emotional drama that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Unfortunately, the season comes to a head an episode or so before the big finale, and thus goes out with a bit of a whimper instead of the much-anticipated bang. Perhaps the writers/producers can't be crucified too heavily for this, as a feature film was already announced to be in the works, but it seemed as if the goal was more "wrap up this sub-par storyline" than "provided a whizz-bang ending to an incredible show".
On a side note, the acting this season is still as compelling as ever. Prinze Jr. and Sackhoff's characters got a little annoying, but other than that it was one incredible performance after another from such vets as Mary Lynn Rajskub, Cherry Jones, and the "late-season special guest". The on-screen chemistry between Sutherland and Wersching is inspiring as well.
Thus, although I am saddened to see "24" leave the airwaves after eight grueling, emotional seasons, I am glad that it is getting out of the game now that some serious cracks formed in the structure of the show. This eighth season, when really rolling, was as good as anything previous, but too often it lacked that "punch" that characterized the earlier material. I will look forward to a potential motion picture (or franchise) to give the Jack Bauer character a much more deserving send-off.
Without spoiling too much of the story arcs for season eight, this cycle begins with "Grandpa" Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) once again being sucked into government/political espionage. Once fully on board, Jack is saddled with such priorities as preventing the assassination of a crucial foreign dignitary, tracking down a shipment of nuclear fuel rods, and finally undermining a government conspiracy that just may prove to be his ultimate undoing.
What really hurt this season right from the get-go was two-fold: 1. Uninteresting use of Bauer for the first 12-15 episodes or so (little palpable drama; instead just fights or shoot-outs); and 2. Two new characters, Cole Ortiz (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and Dana Walsh (Katee Sackhoff), fail to invigorate the proceedings, and instead actually bog things down with an inane side-plot that doesn't really lead anywhere.
Only about half way through the season, when the primary plotline emerges and an "old friend" (a very popular recurring cast member from previous seasons) adds some much-needed plot intrigue, does the season really start to take off. Plus, Jack's relationship with Renee Walker (Annie Wersching) is also fleshed-out quite a bit, leading to some tense emotional drama that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Unfortunately, the season comes to a head an episode or so before the big finale, and thus goes out with a bit of a whimper instead of the much-anticipated bang. Perhaps the writers/producers can't be crucified too heavily for this, as a feature film was already announced to be in the works, but it seemed as if the goal was more "wrap up this sub-par storyline" than "provided a whizz-bang ending to an incredible show".
On a side note, the acting this season is still as compelling as ever. Prinze Jr. and Sackhoff's characters got a little annoying, but other than that it was one incredible performance after another from such vets as Mary Lynn Rajskub, Cherry Jones, and the "late-season special guest". The on-screen chemistry between Sutherland and Wersching is inspiring as well.
Thus, although I am saddened to see "24" leave the airwaves after eight grueling, emotional seasons, I am glad that it is getting out of the game now that some serious cracks formed in the structure of the show. This eighth season, when really rolling, was as good as anything previous, but too often it lacked that "punch" that characterized the earlier material. I will look forward to a potential motion picture (or franchise) to give the Jack Bauer character a much more deserving send-off.