Commentary
'24' Still A Broadcast Boundary-Buster
- by Ed Martin , May 13, 2010
If "24" were still in top form, the media would have been all over this. Here was a beloved television action-hero, a character with whom viewers have bonded during eight seasons as they watched him save the country from numerous terrorist attacks, pushed beyond the brink by the brutal murder of yet another person he loved (fellow agent Renee Walker) and doing unspeakable things to the killer, a Russian operative named Pavel.
On the surface, Jack was determined to extract from his torture target vital information about an international crisis that has already resulted in countless atrocities. But as far as his true motivation was concerned, the need to access this information seemed to be secondary to the execution of bloodthirsty revenge. He literally destroyed the screaming Pavel, first tearing skin from his chest with pliers, then pummeling his face and torso into hamburger, then taking a knife to his abdomen and making several nasty slices, and then spraying alcohol into Pavel's fresh wounds. Then he produced a blow torch! (As smoke drifted up from Pavel's burning belly I could smell his cooked flesh.)
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Jack then realized that he could get the information he needed from Pavel's cell phone, but he needed its SIM card. Turns out Pavel had swallowed it, prompting Jack to gut him like a fish and claim his prize. By that point Pavel was history. So was the Jack we have come to know since September, 2001.
Joel Bissonnette, the actor who played Pavel, will never get an Emmy nomination for this role, but damn, was he ever convincing as a man dying a thousand deaths. For his part, series star Kiefer Sutherland seemed to relish letting his character finally cut loose after years of relative restraint. A lesser man would have snapped many hardships ago.
This being the last season for "24," I suppose its executive producers are feeling free to do just about anything they want. But as I watched Jack go mercilessly medieval on Pavel's ass, I couldn't help but wonder if Fox would have allowed so potentially controversial a scene to be telecast were the series going to continue for several more seasons. In today's world, could any broadcast network move forward with a series that revolved around a heroic torturer? Jack has done terrible things in the past, including shooting one friend and one colleague point-blank (for very different reasons), but this was something else entirely.
There has been much talk about continuing the "24" franchise in a series of theatrical movies. Perhaps the idea in play here is to use the final hours of the show to transform a PG-13 television hero into an R-rated box-office anti-hero. A rougher, tougher, bloodthirsty Bauer would likely do very well in theaters and on DVD. Certainly, the kids would love him.
Ed Martin is a well known media critic who has written for the Myers Media Business Report, TV Worth Watching,The Huffington Post, Inside Media, USA Today, Advertising Age, Broadcasting & Cable and TV Guide .
Really found this episode beyond the pale. No matter what the implications are for the Bauer character or what's going to happen to the franchise as it moves from small screen to big, what was depicted Monday night bore no relationship to anything that could pass for entertainment, and has everything to say about what kind of country we live in today.
As a long time viewer/fan of "24" I was really unsettled and very disappointed w/the recent episode. The violence was too graphic and really unnecessary. Whatever Fox's motive, it was uncalled for.
Really? This is shocking? Why would a torture storyline shock anyone when (a) it has been a front page story for years; (b) a majority of Americans polled said torture is a valid means of fighting the "war on terror"; and (c) the leader of the free world defended such use? Art imitates life....even when it is ugly.
Moreover, while I know things are all a matter of degree, is there really a difference between this and showing bodies and blood stained floors each week on the Dateline "dead body of the week" starring the appropriately ghoulish Chris Hanson (I think that is his name, though I often confuse him with the late John Carradine)? ABC's "Happy Town" just featured a guy getting a hole hammered completely through his head. Worse yet, the access shows like Extra have been wall to wall with that image of Larry King and his junior-by-83 years wife kissing. Sheesh.
Yep. Times have changed. I can recall many arguments with S&P on my shows over things arguably less severe. Then again, the nets aren't stupid. Their future 18-34 crowd is, as I type, eviscerating and beheading tons of increasingly photo real humans on their XBox and handhelds. They know what Gen XYZ, or whatever they are called these days, has grown accustomed to.
If we vote for folks who condone horrific acts in the purported defense of liberty and condone 10 year olds at play making "Natural Born Killers" look like a quaint little period piece, what do we expect? Oh, and by the way, it is, let's not forget, FOX. :)
So disturbing that programs of this ilk are applauded. We are truly lost.
While I loved the episode, I was a little taken back a few episodes ago when Jack started slapping Donna Walsh around. Maybe it's me but torturing a terrorist didn't bother me in the least, but slapping a female was a bit too much.
Oh come on! the same thing happened the night before on The Tudors. Just shows human beings don't change much--just the critics.