24 - Season 4

The fourth season of 24 represents a big shift, as some characters are gone and lots of new ones take their place. It's almost a reboot. That feeling doesn't last too long though, as a lot of the missing faces resurface and by the end of the arc, it's like nothing's changed. The return of old friends sort of coincides with what seems to be a trend in 24; seasons stumbling out of the gate but ending up being as enjoyable as always. The troubles begin on bad footing, as writers try to use computers as a plot point and fail once again to not sound like retards. One doomed character's line will forever live in infamy in my mind: "Looks like someone's trying to corrupt the internet." What? About the first third of the season is infested with stupid, nonsense computer stuff, and it's not until that whole topic is left behind that the story picks up.

And pick up it does, as Jack does some good old fashioned hunting and shooting and the political intrigue continues in Washington. They upped the stakes as far as death count and danger to the US goes, and it's getting to the point where I wonder how much bigger it can get. This season also featured Jack's highest kill total to date, and some of them are among the best in the series. He's really transformed from a protagonist of a good show to a folk hero among his fans. They also expanded his emotional side this time, as a pretty contrived but still interesting moral dilemma is foisted upon him and his government girlfriend. The show always ends up feeling stretched by the end, because the central gimmick doesn't allow it to last fewer or more than twenty four episodes. I thought they had a pretty good villain this time, but he just keeps escaping and it gets a little tiring. The actual resolution of his character and plot is actually a bit anticlimactic, but the way the season ends is intriguing enough to keep me ready to jump into the next one.