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The Joy of 24
Mar. 18th, 2005 01:46 pm24 is one of those shows that tends to polarize people. Right now, it's popular. Critics and pop culture alike are singing its praises. It's got that 'buzz' that seems to make it pop up everywhere. If people like it, they really like it. And if they don't... well, lets just say there is no scorn like a fan who doesn't like (or doesn't get) the current 'must watch'. I understand that. I tend to stay away from shows that people promote as "the best thing ever", mostly because I hate being told what to do. I do tend to be the person who cuts off her nose to spite her face, that way. I don't, generally, feel the need to justify my dislike of a show, however. To people who write for a living, though, 24 is great fodder even if you hate it. Perhaps even more so if you hate it.
Perhaps it's just the fact that the show is so very different than anything else out there. My favorite description of it came from this article (archive copy) by John Kass. He called it a "soap opera for paranoids" and that's a fair description. Perhaps a better one, though, comes from a very uncomplimentary editorial (archive copy) in which it was said: This show is not one of those cookie-cutter cop/forensics shows. This show is like doing nine lines of cocaine and washing it down with a dozen Red Bulls. This show is like nothing else on television. This show makes no sense. Because, you know, everything else on television does make sense. Still, it's not a wrong description, even if it is melodramatic. The show is, after all, melodramatic and tends to make people want to respond in kind.
I absolutely love the show. ( For many, many reasons. )
But mostly I love the show because I can see shades of reality in it. It's a giant morality play on speed. It leaves me wondering where they are going next and caring about what happens. I love how the actors are allowed to carry the scenes and how so much of what people get out of the show comes from what isn't said. It pushes edges of reality and touches on the dark side of the soul, but it doesn't glorify that dark side. It allows me to think about all those philosophical questions that I adore thinking about. What more can you ask from a television show?
Perhaps it's just the fact that the show is so very different than anything else out there. My favorite description of it came from this article (archive copy) by John Kass. He called it a "soap opera for paranoids" and that's a fair description. Perhaps a better one, though, comes from a very uncomplimentary editorial (archive copy) in which it was said: This show is not one of those cookie-cutter cop/forensics shows. This show is like doing nine lines of cocaine and washing it down with a dozen Red Bulls. This show is like nothing else on television. This show makes no sense. Because, you know, everything else on television does make sense. Still, it's not a wrong description, even if it is melodramatic. The show is, after all, melodramatic and tends to make people want to respond in kind.
I absolutely love the show. ( For many, many reasons. )
But mostly I love the show because I can see shades of reality in it. It's a giant morality play on speed. It leaves me wondering where they are going next and caring about what happens. I love how the actors are allowed to carry the scenes and how so much of what people get out of the show comes from what isn't said. It pushes edges of reality and touches on the dark side of the soul, but it doesn't glorify that dark side. It allows me to think about all those philosophical questions that I adore thinking about. What more can you ask from a television show?
