24 - Season 5

Yay for the two hundredth post.

Season 5 embodies what 24 is as well as any other yet. Important characters start dropping like flies right from the outset, terrorists have captured special weapons to attack Los Angeles (again!), and some people in the government aren't as forthright as they should be. It starts with some missteps (again!) and just seems to be stretching itself out for the sake of its gimmick by the end (again!), but somewhere in the middle it hits that stride of highly entertaining action and political thrills.

There's not much new for me to say about 24. It's the same as it always was. Jack Bauer is a badass special agent who usually doesn't play by the rules. He tortures lots of people, and at some point, one is likely to be a supposed ally. He kills lots of bad guys, and at least a few per season are either too hilarious or too awesome to not rewind and watch again. By the end, the main bad guy, who has usually escaped four or five times by this point, is finally brought to justice, usually by Jack-related death. And something dramatic is likely to happen to him right before it ends. You either like the formula or you don't, and I happen to like it. There's always the chance it just gets too silly, and I've heard some bad things about the sixth season (although I like it so far), but what it is is a pretty enjoyable drama. What I like about it is how they have season-long story arcs (more rewarding than one-shot episodes) yet they're mostly self-contained (you can jump into the beginning of any season without problems, only missing why certain events with old characters are dramatic). It's a good time.