(12:00 A.M. - 1:00 A.M.)
Review/Commentary
Reviewer: D
This guy Marwan has an endless supply of dirty tricks up his sleeve and has always been able to pull one out just when he needed it. But who would have guessed that his dirtiest would end up being nothing less than – gasp! – the Constitution of the United States!
It was only a matter of time before the terrorists got wise to the fact that American jurisprudence can gum up the works faster than any number of moles, diversions or obfuscations. And by having Marwan call in an “Amnesty Global” lawyer (gosh, I wonder what organization they’re implying…), the writers of ‘24’ heighten a basic question that is woven into the fabric of the show – how much is too much? Jack is constantly straddling the line of legality and thanks to the bald (legal) eagle’s interference, Jack is forced to take a big fat step over that line here. Did you recognize Harry from “Sex in the City?” I bet he wishes he was back humping Kristin Davis rather than defending scumballs at CTU… I can’t help but wonder (imagine this said in Sarah Jessica Parker’s voice to fully appreciate the reference): Will cracking some knuckles finally cause the powers-to-be to crack down on Jack? [*Speechless at the reference to one of the worst shows ever to disgrace television screens.* I think you’re fired again, D. - J]
This episode-ending interlude also brings to the fore a hot-button topic in the American zeitgeist, which involves the basic conflict between human rights and national security in this post 9/11, post-Abu Ghraib world. Opinions on this conflict get pretty overheated and ‘24’ exploits this heat to its fullest, just like it did by hinting that your friendly Muslim neighbor might be a terrorist and your local defense contractor might be selling secrets to the bad guys. And you thought this was just a show where they blow shit up, didn’t you?
I don’t want to get into any lengthy diatribe on the political ramifications of Jack’s tactics (or, as J has cleverly dubbed them, Jacktics) but it was interesting to watch “Medium” right after “24” this past Monday. In that show (where a woman with psychic powers helps an Arizona D.A. solve and prosecute crimes), the psychic’s husband kept asking her, “Are you sure?” It was a capital murder case with the stakes being that a man would be put to death based on her guidance. Lethal injection is one of those sentences that is really hard to reverse after it’s been carried out.
Anyway, it made me think about ‘24’ and Jack and Prado and the crisp snap of Mr. Prado’s fingers. I’ve seen some bloggers say that Jack’s actions are warranted because he only tortures people whose reticence may result in the terrorists causing more harm. But how does Jack KNOW this? Often, he has as much information to go on as that chick in “Medium:” vague facts and a lot of hunch. Prado could have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong thing – that is, snuffing somebody on the terrorist watch list.
You can call me a liberal panty-waist for even bringing all of this up (go ahead, I just did!), but it’s obvious that the people behind the show want you to be thinking about this too. They’ve already shown the torture of two innocent people, one who was completely innocent (CTU staffer Sarah or whatever her name was) and one who at this point is only tangentially implicated in the terrorist plot (Paul). You may say that the show is showing where it stands on the whole deal by making Sarah such an idiot (note to self: don’t get into a Human Resources debate in the middle of a national crisis) and still being somewhat unclear on Paul (sure he saved Jack’s life, but he’s still kind of a dweeb and may kick the bucket before the 24 hours is up). But if I can read coming attractions (and I’m notoriously bad at this), both Audrey and the new President are going to be a little pissed off by these particular Jacktics, which should help set up a possible “rogue” Jack situation. And we all know, there ain’t no better Jack than a marginalized, disavowed, working-without-supervision Jack.
It’s best to keep some perspective about ‘24’ and its relevance to real life. It’s just a TV show, after all. A damn good show but still fiction. Just remember, Kiefer Sutherland is not actually a federal agent of any kind; he’s really a cowboy.
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