The TV show 24 starts tonight, Sunday, January 17 at 9 pm on DC Fox 5. The season premiere will be a 2 night 4 hour show. 24 star Kiefer Sutherland will again spend a season going through 24 hours of incredible espionage, terrorism attack, counter terrorism, an arsenal of weapons and probably torture. This season’s 24 will take place in New York City.
Jack Bauer, the hero of the show, has seen more lives than a cat. A grandfather, he is beaten, shot, tortured, kidnapped, drowned, imprisoned, poisoned, drug injected, and just about anything else you can lay on the human soul, and he lives to fight another day. He continues to be fired and brought back in to government service. 24 has had both a black president and a woman president. In that respect, it is quite futuristic.
It is also that time of year when Elena and I have to square off over the reality of 24. I say art imitates life. She feels 24 is pure fiction. I justify some torture using the TV show 24. Elena rejects torture under any circumstances. So, there’s the trailer for the Moon-howler/Elena segment of 24 also. Hopefully, our readers know that while we disagree on some issues, we can agree to disagree. We just wanted to include you all in our annual tiff over the show.
(P.S. We also disagree on PETA. We will do that one in the spring, in time for the Kentucky Derby.)
Actually, I pretty much agree with Elena that as a nation, we do not torture. However, I always want a caveat in the law, a safety net of sorts. If some terrorist like on 24 is going to drop something horrible on an entire city, I want someone to be able to torture the stuffing out of the perp. In other words, I want a no torture law with a nice big BUT in there.
I think the real answer is we really would rather not know about torture. It’s sort of not thinking about how hot dogs, sausage or lunch meat is made… we “sort of know” its a really messy process; however, we don’t dwell upon it… and enjoy the fruits of the process.
In the “Rodriguez” household, we’re more excited about the premier tomorrow of “Chuggington” on the Disney Channel. Jack Bauer, eat your heart out!
You know, in a well organized organization most people really don’t know that much. It’s called “compartmentalization” and protects an organization (ours and theirs) from any one person knowing more than he or she really needs to carry out his or her part of the mission. Terrorist cells have figured this out. That’s one of the more pragmatic reasons why torture isn’t really that effective a tool.
The joke used to be if they actually captured and tortured us, we would have to make things up. In retrospect, that really wasn’t a joke.
Nothing beats proactive human intelligence (feet on the ground – “listening”).
Jack Bauer always gets his man (or woman). Should we have a caveat that allows us to do what is necessary in extreme situations? I say yes. Do I think 24 is real? Of course not. Do I think that there have been situations in that series that could happen? Yes. I just do not like to seal off all options.
The minute you make laws that say absolutely no, we will not torture anyone in any way, then it is immediately used against us as a nation. I want some slippery slope language in there that allows for the extreme.
Slowpoke, I am glad that on most days, Chuggington is not even a glimmer in the eyes of the senior Howlers. Every once in a while though, a young Howler stops by and demands the main set. If that happens tonight, they well be relegated to the cold downstairs. Jack Bauer rules supreme.
Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? Is it John Grisham who has been imitated several times?
“Brothers and Sisters” is my sleeping pill show on Sunday nights.
Never heard of Chuggington.
I like that action! 24 Rules.
Ok, Slowpoke, I’ll bite. What channel is Chuggington on? I am watching Father Bear right now. How sad is that?
I’d rather get caught up in the polygamous unreality of “Big Love” at 9 pm. If I want a fictionalized account of weapons, spying, torture and terrorism, I’ll read the Washington Post.
I will put Big love on the dvr. Love Big Love. Or maybe 24 will nhave to be on delay. So many decisions!
It’s as ridiculous for civilians to armchair quarterback torture as it is for a bunch of politicians to examine, understand and recommend health care. How many people, including congress read and understand their “explanation of benefits” letters when they arrive??
I am a Big Love fan, but will watch all the entertaining fiction of weapons, spying torture and terrorism that 24 has to offer. Sure beats James Patterson’s latest pulp products. Big Love is available “on demand” 24 is not!
Forget Jack Bauer…The Henderson’s will be on the tv here. We’ve never watched an episode of 24. My husband and I have hated the commercials with Jack always screaming and we’ve refused to watch.
Moon, DVR JB!! You should’ve something like this last week for Big Love. 🙂
Chuggington premieres on the Disney Channel tomorrow. It’s a train-based cartoon.
Elena and I don’t quarrel over Big Love. Feel free to write whatever you want about Big Love here.
Slow, you can get reruns of Chuggington online. I looked it up to see what you were talking about.
24 won’t be juxtapostion Big Love but this one time. It is very manageable. 24 will probably be on Monday nights so I have other problems.
In real life, “Jack Bauer” wouldn’t have lasted a month. “James Bond” far less. They both would have been either in jail or dead.
That’s what makes it high adventure. Scully and Mulder would be dead or in jail also.
Reporting in…so far so good. Jack is alive and kicking and a grandpa. Cute kid.
Big Love?
Is that the one with Rosie O’Donnell?
};-)
@Moon-howler
>>> Scully and MOlder would be dead or in jail also.
Molder would be in a nut house. Scully would be a dream-date. 😉
Ring, you are probably right.
No, Big Love is Polygamist Mafia. Seems to be a chick show.
Part 2 of 24 begins tomorrow night at 8 pm. 2 hour show.
Big Love repeated at 11 pm. You don’t have to wait until the next day like last year.
Love those polygamists!
What is the deal with Nikki? Is she confused, conflicted, or just plain crazy?
Best “Big Love” line so far this season was from that disgusting Frank: “I don’t want to hurt you, Lois. I just want to kill you.”
Raised in a cult? Nuts. She is just one of those people who is deceiptful and sneaky.
Frank is disgusting for sure. Actually Bill and wives’ sex life just grosses me out. Tonight was no exception. Maybe he choke on his viagra.
I am disappointed that Bill and Barb are such liars. Margine is probably the most honest adult out of all of them.
How are they going to deal with the fact that Jack’s granddaughter will age 365 times faster than the show’s coverage interval of 24 hours? Come to think about it, 8 days at CTU can really age a person!
That’s what’s so twisted about a lot of these HBO miniseries. They have you cheering for some of the most morally bankrupt characters, like Tony Soprano.
Margine comes off as sweet and innocent, but she’s a big liar, too. Why is she hiding her income from Bill?
To keep the other jackals off her money I expect. She is doing the sin of omission rather than directly lying.
I don’t think I ever cheered for Tony Soprano…at least I can’t remember doing it. I guess I cheered for the new improved Tony after he was shot.
SA, good point. Are you a 24 fan? I thought the show started off better than the past couple of years.
Juturna, welcome back. Sorry you got stuck in moderation. Not sure why. But you are now free.
Yes, Big Love is on demand. You don’t have to wait until the next day now. I watched last night at 11 pm.
I think Nikki is nuts and in love with her boss during the trial to boot. I really am beginning to not like Barb at all this season. Margine is the most “normal” one of the bunch. Then there’s Bill, and am just not sure what to make of his next “venture”. I think it’s going to be the best season so far.
Lafayette, I agree. Margine is coming out the hero and Barb is just as bad as Bill. Nicky probably doesn’t know what it is like to be in love. Her every move since birth has probably been some part of being manipulated by someone in her life. Very little of what has happened to her has been her own free will. Maybe she is beginning to think for herself. I expect her ‘marriage’ to Bill was for religious/political purposes.
Bill is a crook I suppose. Fundamentalist religious mafia who justifies his behavior by indicating God talks to him.
Is art imitating life? How much of what we watch on Sundays really happens with the Fundamentalist LDS?
Truth be told, I think we see the more moderate side of the FLDS as depicted on HBO. We can’t forget all of those young girls a few years back in Texas. Also, did you know you can order FLDS fashions?
You mean the 12 year olds who were married off to their uncles? shudder.
Yes, I knew we could order FLDS clothes. Enterprising of those women to make money off of those prairie dresses.
When I went through Hurricane Utah, those women must have been on their compound. I never saw any of them. They were sequestered away.
There is no ethical difference between omission and lying. One is comission the other omission. Personnally, I find omission more insidious…people do it while they are smiling.
I don’t blame Margine for squirreling it away. She has no legal standing with Bill should he croak – she’d have to rely on Barb who is willing to sell her soul to prove a moral point. Yikes….!!!!
So do you think Margine is equally as unethical as Barb? Not sure I am willing to agree with that one.
Margine ought to take her money and get away from all those crackpot zealots. Not sure about Barb. I think she might want to just hang on to her man. She should have Bobbitted him when this ‘principle talk’ started.
I think I understood the Sopranoes better…motivation and all.
Who is watching 24 tonight? It is much better than it was last year. Sort of like 24 early on.
I agree, Moon. Margine should take her money and run. Run far, far away! Margine can’t hold a candle to Barb. Barb is loosin’ it this season.imho
Nikki nuts as ever and clearly has never made a decision for herself in her entire life. I’ve always thought she wanted Bill for the simple fact she believed he was the next prophet.
Barb is quite comfortable in her role as #1, but I think Nikki and Margine have yet to “find themselves”.
The ‘family’dynamics are unbelievable. Throw in some wacko religion and I am glued to the screen.
At a certain point in his early life, author Mark Twain traveled and lived for awhile in the western U.S. Part of his travels included a visit with the then almost new Mormon community in Salt Lake City. He recorded some of that visit in one of his books — “Innocents Abroad”, I believe. Twain’s account of the complications faced by a Mormon husband with many wives and children is absolutely hilarious.