Customer Reviews

24: The Complete Eighth Season

5 star:		(112)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I may be in the few when I say this, but I don't think this show ever qualified as "past its prime." It seems like a lot of the reviews coming out from papers, magazines, even fans revolved around the fact that the show ended on a good note, HOWEVER --note the asterisk-- (*it's not what it once was). Yes, there were recurring themes. Yes, we've gone through the whole nuclear weapons story before. Yes, some things were more predictable than they used to be. But I, for one, loved watching Jack Bauer and Chloe O'Brian evolve. I loved watching Charles Logan try and wiggle his way back into the good graces of Americans. I loved watching where the shattered life of Tony Almeida led him in Season 7. I think, reasonably so, a lot of people considered the shark jumped after Season 6. I did, too. But I continued watching, and I thought Seasons 7 and 8 were two of the strongest the 24 crew put together.

**Spoilers Below**
Since I can't rate the product yet, the five stars is for Season 8 itself. It's more of a 4 1/2, but I think they've earned the benefit of the doubt with consistently great work. This season got off to a slow start, much in the same way Season 3 did. Annie Wersching's portrayal of a darker, hardened Renee Walker dominated the early season episodes as a plot was methodically developed. By the twelfth episode, 24 hit its stride in vintage form. The twists and turns were as drastic as ever, and following the assassination of President Omar Hassan of the I.R.K., the show took on an angle it never had before (or at least an altered version of Season Five's anti-terrorism treaty).

The blood stained peace treaty among a trio of nations was a different kind of plot for the show, especially since it ironically made Jack Bauer the biggest, not to mention the only legitimate threat in the final third of the season. Noteworthy: You DO NOT kill Jack Bauer's girlfriend. Apparently the Russians didn't hear that from the Chinese (Audrey's alive but status unknown), who in turn didn't hear it from Nina Meyers. I thought it all made perfect sense, because Jack was finally in a good state of mind at the beginning of the season. He was finally getting his life together, he finally stopped playing mind games with his female counterpart. And then Renee Walker gets killed... in Jack's apartment. Jack summed it up best while torturing Pavel. "Why couldn't you just leave us alone?" You have to look back on 8 days of professional, and personal, sacrifices Jack has had to make and wonder how it even took him this long to boil over.

Jack became the anti-hero, stopping at nothing to eliminate the participants in a treaty based on crime and deceit. For all he's sacrificed for his country, the United States turned its back on Jack Bauer for what they envisioned as "the greater good." So when justice by law was refused, Jack took justice into his own hands. What ensued was a bloody mess created by a man who had been betrayed by nearly everyone (NEARLY--thank you, Chloe).

Though many would have preferred Bauer to go out in a blaze of glory, gun in hand, I thought the ending was appropriate. For all the times Jack had been spared, whatever the reason, it was only right that the man with 9 lives was granted a 10th. Taylor, in good conscience, couldn't sign the treaty. I'd like to think the video Jack intended for Kim was a tipping point for the President, thus making Jack his own hero, once again. But like the Chinese said at the end of Season 5: "you're too valuable to kill." One more time, Jack was given a pass.

- My only problem with Season 8 is the Dana Walsh story, and I don't think I'm in the minority here. I was somewhat relieved she became a mole, but it also discredited much of her story earlier in the day. If she had no problem killing Kevin's parole officer, I don't see why she would have a problem killing Kevin. Yes, she had to maintain her cover, and yes, she was on camera when he visited her at CTU, but why not when he and Nick came to her apartment? I'm just a little cloudy as to why Dana was letting those guys push her around. The fact that she was a mole explained further her change of identity, but there were still several holes in her story (not to mention how she got away with wearing a cocktail dress to work.)
- As opposed to many fans this season, I had no problem whatsoever with Brian Hastings. Mykelti Williamson was given a very unoriginal role, because we've seen the kind of stubborn, oblivious CTU/Division/Homeland Security directors before on many occasions. However, outside the fact that he looked like a football coach with his earpiece and hunchback way of treading CTU, I thought Hastings was always an interesting, even comical character on screen.
- A couple people mentioned in earlier reviews that they found it difficult to take Freddie Prinze, Jr. seriously. I couldn't agree more. He had a steep hill to climb from the reputation he's made for himself since becoming an actor. However, I thought if there was any character in any season of 24 he could've played, Cole Ortiz was the perfect fit; the straight and narrow, by the book, "boy scout" if you will, field agent. Though he's certainly not looking at a Primetime Emmy nod for his performance, I thought he did an excellent job with the role.

24 still had tricks up its sleeve after 8 seasons. It had some repetition, but still much more originality. It still presented shock value and still produced likable characters. Season 6 may have been sub-par, but was it sub-par as a TV show or was it sub-par by 24 standards? I really think S6 was wrongly tapped as the show's dip into mediocrity. It was just an isolated miss, in my opinion. Honestly, I think the show went out as good as it came in. Now we turn our attention to the big screen.

Season 8 | Grade: A-

I came into this season expecting it to be the last. Fox had long maligned the fact that '24' was very expensive to make. They also cited lagging ratings (mostly due to the lackluster season 6 leaving a bad taste in viewers mouths and the WGA strike making the show almost irrelevant.) as a reason to ax the show. And besides, the concept was becoming a bit outdated. Even the tenor of season 8, with the world standing on the brink of an historic peace agreement, signified that 24 was coming full circle. The idea that peace could exist in a world of espionage and paranoia such as the one 24 dwelled in, was a big step toward a brave new world. The kind of thing you see when a show wants to go out with a bang. I was ready for it to end and am sad to see it go. The Machiavellian exploits of Jack Bauer have been must see television from Day One (November 6,2001) in my household. On Tuesdays at 9pm (Seasons 1-3) and Mondays at 9pm (Seasons 4-8), no one was allowed to bother me. I loved this show. As for season 8;
The first half really was tough to swallow. After seeing Doug Hutchison on Lost as a hippie running the Dharma Initiative, I really had trouble buying the Russian Merc angle. His accent was horrible. Davros really bothered me. Strike 1. Katee Sackhoff's character Dana Walsh was one of the most annoying main character in the history of the series (Marilyn Bauer really bugged me). Brian Hastings was a major tool. ANd I am sorry, I just can't take Freddie Prinze, Jr. seriously. Not all of the casting was bad, though. We did get Michael Madsen, Jurgen Prochnow, and David Anders this year. But for not nearly enough time. These actors were too good for the short arcs and cheap exits they made, especially in Anders case.
The plot was pretty straight forward until the fuel rods came into play. Then I was slightly annoyed. Arabs with Russian supplied nukes? AGAIN?! The stench of season 6 began to waft upward.
But, then, Omar Hassan died and the Russians took center stage and committed the worst mistake ever; killing girl Jack (Renee). Jack went off the deep end. And the series really caught fire again. Those last seven episodes of Jack acting as judge, jury, and executioner really made me think a ninth season would not be all that bad.
In the end, everyone stood accountable for their mistakes. And Jack was given time to run. The final goodbye with Chloe was poignant. The long last look up was, too. And then the clock reached zero on one of the more ground breaking and innovative series of this or any generation. It was so ground breaking, it could only copy itself (and did so a lot in season 8).
Now that this show is done, I am done with network TV. Really, how could anything top this show and Lost? So, it's the end of an era. Thank you, 24, for making it enjoyable.

A quick note: the following review contains only minor spoilers concerning returning characters and storylines and does not disclose any major revelations.

Previously on 24: For 7 seasons the thriller genre was redefined and the bar for drama and suspense was raised to a new high, and not just for television. The brilliant, subversive and fearless writing staff, the deep cast of memorable characters, the always atmospheric scores of Sean Callery, and the inventive real-time format made for the greatest thrill ride in television history. 24 was not always flawless, in fact, there were moments that threatened to destroy its legacy (see season 6 for an example), but for the most part, 24 ranged from great to masterful (see season 5). So naturally, us fans, who already had ridiculously high standards for our beloved series expected pure, unrelenting excellence from its 8th and final season...

Day 8: The POTUS is working with the president of the fictional middle-eastern country Kamistan (think Iran) at the UN to put forth an unprecedented peace agreement. Jack Bauer, now healthy and watching cartoons with his granddaughter is pulled back into the action when an old informant literally knocks on his door. All he has to do is survive one last day...

The change of setting to New York City was a wise choice. Not only does it make sense for a rogue agent like Bauer to be on the move, major changes of any kind seem natural for a show that focuses on its characters literally one day at a time. Also, after so many years in LA it would have seemed stagnant to have stayed in DC or to have returned to the show's original location. There isn't nearly as much on location work as I expected but the CGI backdrops are, for the most part, very well done and the new setting adds a nice refreshing quality to the series (much like DC did in season seven).

Though many fans were critical of the season's slower, season 1 style start, it allows the time for the stage to be set before the plot really takes off. Yes, season 5 started off with a bang and never let up, but it isn't necessary for every season to do the same. The Hassan family is a perfect example of how to not rush a storyline. President Omar Hassan gets the screen time that is usually allotted to the American president. This ends up being well worth it. His arc as well as the arc of his family and the peace treaty ends up being one of the most well written storylines in the entire run of the series. It is riveting, fearless, complex and in typical 24 fashion, it is edgy, unabated and is not prone to sappiness or contrived revelations. Again, like most of the season, it starts off slow, but it consistently heats up and eventually catches fire.

The threat that propels the first half of the story is pretty familiar, as are the villains. The difference is that the threat comes together after several episodes of building towards it rather than just out of thin air in the first hour, and the villains actually have some political motives and larger intentions rather than just being driven by the desire to destroy. These two things may sound minor but they are absolutely key in separating the threat/villains of Day 8 from the very, very similar ones of previous years. Hint: all the other evenly numbered seasons.

Season 8 sees the return of CTU, which in a way, feels like a regression. But it does provide a familiar, nostalgic feel for the final season, and more importantly it allows for Chloe O' Brien to once again be a series regular. The new CTU is visually impressive, making CTU LA look like a concrete garage, though its return does unfortunately come with some recycled subplots and generic characters. Brian Hastings, the new director isn't nearly as terrible as most fans claim he is, but he is very bland and could never be mentioned in the same sentence as George Mason or Bill Buchanan. Freddie Prince Jr. is actually surprisingly decent as Cole Ortiz, the head of field ops. Yet none of the new editions are even half as memorable as past CTU alumni like Tony Almeida, Michelle Dessler, or Curtis Manning.
The Dana Walsh story is without a doubt the biggest flaw of season 8. An irrelevant subplot about a CTU analyst fending off blackmailing rednecks from her past sounds like an obvious bad idea but somehow it ended up with a disturbingly large amount of screen time. Ultimately, if you're incredibly patient, her story gains some momentum but it never redeems itself (going from annoying to unoriginal) and will always be analogous to the Kim's wacky adventures in season two.

As mentioned above, Chloe is once again a series regular, and not only does she get plenty of screen time, she also gets a good amount of character development and unlike some of the previous seasons, she's allowed to once again take center stage... where she belongs. Basically, season 8 is a great day for Chloe fans, second only to season 5.

24 has always done a brilliant job of adding interesting twists to their recurring characters in each new season; Renee Walker's return season 8 is no exception. Since the events of Day 7, when she was pushed from an honest, law abiding agent to a Bauer-esque renegade, she has fallen into a very dark place. In season 8 she is broken, vulnerable and at times, borderline psychotic. This makes for a string of shocking episodes reminiscent of those classic hours in Days 1 and 2 when we found out for the first time just how much of a loose cannon, badass Jack Bauer really is. Her involvement also adds a great deal of emotional depth to the season as her relationship with Jack starts to evolve.

President Taylor returns as well, though, for the first part of the season she is pushed to the background. Though it seems strange at first, it ultimately makes perfect sense... it allows the necessary room for the Hassan storyline to develop which sets the stage for later episodes, when the spotlight shifts to Taylor, setting up one of the season's most riveting stories, with a tremendous performance by Cherry Jones. It may take a while to heat up but her story arc in Day 8 ends up being right there with the best of 24's presidential storylines, and in a series that featured both David Palmer and Charles Logan, that's really saying something.

Speaking of 24's former presidents, Day 8 also sees the return of Logan, and this time its not just for a three episode long subplot. Gregory Itzin is outstanding once again and his presence alone takes the season to another level. His return is full of all the twists, drama and electric standoffs you could hope for. It doesn't matter how high your expectations are for the Charles Logan story, you will not be disappointed.

Some have criticized season 8 for not adding enough depth to Jack's role in the season's first half. Yes, even Jack going through the motions would make for a decent season, but it would be a real stretch to say that this is the case here. At most it could be said that Jack is a touch removed from the first half of the day's events, but part of this is because Jack really doesn't want to be involved in the first place; that is what adds depth to his involvement. He now has something to live for and it is interesting to see how that impacts his desire to plunge back into his old save-the-day lifestyle. It's also important to realize that much of Bauer's story arc in Day 8 is directly tied with the return of Renee. After Day 7 Jack was pulled out of his former world by his daughter, who saved his life and his new-born granddaughter, and aside from his loyalty to Chloe, it is only because of Renee that he ventures back into that world, and throughout the day it is mainly her presence that keeps him there. And to anyone that does feel that Jack is not featured to his full potential in the season's first half, you needn't worry. The last half of Day 8 is without doubt the most intense Jack Bauer story line we have seen. It is Bauer completely off the chain, held back by nothing and no one, literally going against the entire world. It is shocking and spellbinding, even by 24 standards. A hell of a way to end the series.

Another positive quality of Day 8 is the feeling of renewed creativity. There is an energy to this season that is reminiscent of the early days. There are far less of the stale, predictable interrogation scenes and more opportunities for Jack to use intellect and creativity to track down suspects and get them talk. There are more moments that feel fresh and exciting rather than run of the mill. Yes, there are some predictable twists and a few revelations that seem a bit too familiar. But there are still moments when even the most seasoned 24 fan will be left shocked and speechless, still plenty of story arcs that will keep you just as addicted as you were to season one, and there are still enough 24-style emotional powerhouse moments that will leave you floored again and again. Even during some of the moments when you see what's coming you will be thinking "Yes, this is the 24 I know and love!" way more often than you'll be thinking "I've seen this before." And even when you are thinking the latter you will at least have to give credit to the writers for finding an entirely new twist to put on it. Sure, there are many exceptions which I will leave to you to find yourself but they aren't nearly enough to put a damper on the entire season.

The scores of Sean Callery are also a must-mention. The music of series has always been an immensely crucial aspect of the 24's atmosphere and intensity. Day 8 is no different. The scores are as atmospheric and fitting as ever.

So, how does Day 8 work as an end to the series? Well, unlike other shows, 24 seasons work mostly as stand-alones. For this reason it is hard to judge #8 as a final season. The series finale may not quite have the emotional stopping power of the season 1 finale or the explosiveness of the season 5 finale but it is still epic and amazing all the way through. Classic 24 without a doubt. And though there may be a lot of differing opinions about whether or not it was a truly fitting end to the (television) adventures of Jack Bauer, no one can deny that the final few hours of the series are 24 at its very best. And for me, that alone is satisfying enough. The bottom line is that #8 lives up to the standards of quality and groundbreaking originality set by the previous years and though other seasons are debatably better, #8 is no more than a notch or two lower. Despite its many flaws, Jack Bauer's final day of mayhem is definitely in the upper echelon of 24 seasons.

Like most of you, my wife and I will certainly miss our Monday night '24' shows. We've been watching them for some 6 years now. Got into it in Season 3 and then caught up with the first 2 seasons via the DVD's. Man tonight (5/10) was sure intense and we can't wait for the showdown with Logan coming next week. This show has been a real addiction. Nothing better on TV and I don't believe anything will ever top this show. The bar is too high. Wouldn't it be nice if somewhere in this country their really is a person similar to Jack.

The last televised season of "24" is among its best.
Despite the fact that some of the plot triggers and devices that set things in motion have been exhausted more than a few times in previous seasons, season 8 manages to be relentless, gripping, emotional, thought-provoking and, most of the time, realistic and believable.

After two unremarkable seasons, the creators of "24" manage to masterfully pull it all together again, for the last time.
The result is a solid season that avoids the pitfalls that made parts of the latest seasons laughable - namely preposterous characters and plot lines, like the terrorist father of Jack and the miraculous resurrection of Tony in seasons 6 and 7, respectively.
In here, the impression that the writers have come up with unnecessary events just to keep the episodes coming and justify the name of the series is almost non-existent; the general effect created can be best described as "give me more before it ends".

Possibly the best achievement of season 8 is the creation of the character of President Hassan (portrayed by Anil Kapoor), a leader of a foreign nation that develops to be one of the most memorable and admirable characters of the show. Kapoor manages to pour depth and complexity to his character in a relatively small number of episodes in a series that has become more action than character driven over the years.

Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer is excellent as usual. He has had several seasons to grow and improve, and though he has played Jack for such a long time, Sutherland is not careless or tired but focused and resolute and the viewers will still find it intriguing and exciting to see how Jack would react to the impossible situations brought to his doorstep time and again.
Wait for the revenge attack he embarks on in the third part of the season and witness one of the most violent, bloody and angry campaigns he has ever engaged in the show - and prepare to enjoy every minute of it.

For the last time on Television, get ready for the wild ride of "24". It will be missed.

I liked all the seasons of 24 and I will get the DVD so I can see the continuous day as opposed to weekly.

But what about the dead guy that Dana shoved into the build in bookcase in the conference room? He must be pretty ripe by now.

24 has been far and away my favorite television show since it's inception. I've stuck with it during it's highs (Season 5) and "lows" (Season 6). To me, the first 7 seasons of the show were without question the best television ever. No matter how many times CTU was attacked or how many moles were revealed in the government I never thought it was anything less than brilliant. Which is why Season 8 bugs me even more than I thought a bad season of 24 could.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Gripe #1: The Jack-Renee romance.

Usually in 24 I've been able to separate whether I thought a story was good from my emotional reactions to it. Case in point, I didn't and still don't like what they did to Tony in Season 7 but I thought it made perfect sense to do it and so I thought it was great. And in Season 5 when several main characters were killed off, it bugged me but I felt those losses only added to the plot. No such luck with that reaction here.

This story did absolutely nothing for me. Seeing as we as an audience only knew Renee since the start of Season 7, so I didn't spend 3-4 seasons yearning for the 2 of them to hook up. And the way the writers handled it was beyond over the top. The way things played out, I'm supposed to believe that the 2 of them met each other at the start of Season 7, worked with one another for that 1 day, had nothing romantic occur between them, not see each other for 6 months-1 year, meet up again with Jack seemingly (and perhaps obsessively) in love with her (even though she has gone bonkers), commit to some sort of relationship very quickly, wind up in bed 8 hours later and have Jack throw his entire life away after she was killed. Up until they slept with each other I was okay with the quality of the story even though I thought it was moving a little too fast. But that happened and I thought it was WWWAAAAAAAYYY too "Grey's Anatomy" for 24. And to top it off, she dies 20 minutes later and Jack goes insane to avenge her, becoming extremely unlikable while doing so. The fact that Jack (who lost his wife and mother of his child and came out the other side about as well as somebody could in that situation) killed, tortured, threatened, assaulted and screwed over so many people in the name of someone he knew for not even 2 days was beyond absurd. And also it wasn't as though it was taking an emotional toll on him either, he did all of that without hesitation and seemingly no regret.

Nothing they did in their "romance" was believable, imo. All of it just seemed like a cheap attempt to A) pander to the audience by hooking Jack up with "Female Jack" (as I'd seen Renee glowingly called several times) or B) exaggerate the story as much as possible to make the final season bigger than they possibly could have had they taken things slowly. I personally believe it to be the latter, if anything.

Gripe #2: The complete refusal to acknowledge anything that happened in prior seasons (This rant won't be quite as long the previous one, luckily).

I can sum up this gripe with one question, where was Tony??? Seriously, they revived a beloved character at the start of last year, made him go completely off the deep end while seeking personal revenge but while doing so, revealing a much larger threat that had the writers chosen to follow through with, could have been a very epic way to wrap up the series. But they didn't. Instead Tony is in jail or perhaps dead and the culprits behind the actions in Season 7 just vanished without a word. Just like Season 2 into 3 except worse, at least there we were given a shoddy one line explanation as to what happened to those people.

And a side note to this gripe, where were some of the other characters from past seasons? Morris O'Brian? I know he wasn't very well liked in Season 6, but that's another story. Aaron Pierce? The only character other than Jack to appear in each of the first 7 years? And Kim Bauer? The story that made up the first few episodes between her, her daughter and Jack seemed very natural and sweet, but they dumped it completely in favor of Jack-Renee. Ew.

Gripe #3: The Russians? Seriously?

After Hassan was killed I was convinced that that was when they would call back the Season 7 conspiracy, but no. The Russian government was behind everything for some very vague reasons. And Suvarov was behind it all. That did not vibe with his character in the past, it just seemed like another cheap attempt to make things epic. Which also ties into another complaint (Another complaint? Yay! ;)). There was no big bad this year until Suvarov. No Henderson or Salazar or Jonas Hodges. Just Suvarov for 2-3 episodes.

Quick gripes: They ruined Logan for me. He became a cartoon only interested in repairing his reputation, rather than genuinely trying to help like Season 6 (another example of gripe #2. Or was it #3?).

The Dana Walsh story was too goofy. It did actually lead somewhere but it took too long to get there.


Now to the good, despite how little I will focus on it, there was a lot of. The peace agreement was one of the better stories they have come up with, imo. It was interesting all the way through and both Hassan and his wife were terrific. As was the deception within his government. Taylor was great as she was in Season 7, and although she went along with Logan too easily toward the end, I found that much more believable than what Jack was doing. Chloe was great as usual, it's been great how she's been the same annoying girl for years but never wore out her welcome, imo. Also, I thought the middle episodes were absolutely outstanding, although since I thought they were going someplace else they may not appeal to me as much now.

Well, that's it (finally!). As much as I didn't like this year I didn't find anything disgraceful in it. It just wasn't as good as other seasons in my opinion. I hope other people enjoy it as much as the other years and I'm still looking forward to a 24 movie. Thanks 24 cast and crew, for many great years of entertainment!

The first five seasons of 24 remain, in this reviewer's opinion, the gold standard of the series in terms of intelligence, creativity, casting and emotional resonance; arguably the most riveting television ever. I gave them all five stars. These were very much the product of writer, co-creator and self-described Hollywood right-winger Joel Surnow and were adept at reversing liberal expectations, for example providing a villainous-and black- First Lady, and imposing agonizing choices on their protagonists. When Surnow's full time commitment ended following the masterful fifth season the franchise shed a dozen or so IQ points. But 24 still scored as more entertaining than your average fare thanks to the compelling format he devised with Robert Cochran and the always reliable Kiefer Sutherland.

Critics and many fans considered Season 6, featuring Jack Bauer's pathological family, a misfire. The chastened producers were determined to right the ship and the first half of Season 7, set in Washington DC, re-captured some of the old magic (Surnow agreed to return as exec-producer for the fist eight episodes) before entropy set in and the show collapsed into terminal silliness (those ridiculous missiles!).

Season 8, now re-located to New York City, starts lethargically but generates considerable electricity as it builds. CTU resurfaces in a whiz-bang setting and Sutherland contributes a driving performance, some say to the point of stepping out of character and damaging the Bauer brand in his character's quest for vengeance. The season makes little use of NYC exteriors but that doesn't much matter as the bulk of the action plays out in U.N. offices, murky parking structures, warehouses and behind the tinted windows of SUVs. Demands are placed on the viewer's credulity (the early seasons sold these improbabilities better) and plot warhorses stampede again, e.g. 'the mole', but you'll end up glued to the screen over the final ten episodes. Get ready for '24: The Movie'.
So,

S1-5 *****
S6 ***
S7 ***
S8 ****

So I was reading some of the reviews and I am thrilled to know that I'm not the only one who hated everything about Dana Walsh. The beginning story of her and Kevin? That was not needed at all. It wasn't strong enough and I couldn't help but think about one thing: Dana, you're a CTU Agent. You have too much pull to let some two-bit low life back you up into the corner.
That right there let me know that something fishy was going on. However, all of that wasn't needed.
And um...when the hell do they plan on finding that dead PO in CTU? Did they forget about that?

I really wanted President Hassan to make it and my heart nearly broke in two when they found him dead. But wasn't that scene played out exactly like in Season 3 when they were trying to find that guy responsible for the virus? Yep.

I found a lot of this season's ideals repetitive and so it was much harder to watch the first half than the last. After that, this show rocked! I was on the edge of my seat the rest of the way. After Renee got shot, I thought, "This is it. Jack's about to lose it." I was right. But I wasn't expecting his ass to go THAT hard... Just when I thought I knew what Bauer was capable of, he has amazed me once more when he went rogue and killed all of those Russians(with the exception of the Russian President he almost sniped). Everybody was after him and he was after everybody and I just loved it. What a way to end the show.

Damn...if only they could sneak another season in.

Oh well. Nothing left for them to do but take it to the big screen.

Good season. Not the best, but definitely one of the strongest.

4 stars only. Blame it on the Dana Walsh saga.

Let me qualify by saying that I have been a fan of "24" since it first premiered in November of 2001. I have watched the show religiously and have all of the DVD sets. Anyone who knows me and wasn't into "24" soon found themselves addicted to this insensate wargasm of pure adrenaline. That being said, as many other reviewers have said, the cracks were beginning to form. Indeed, when one analyzes the show from start to finish, one will find that show operated in spurts -- vacillating from truly great and memorable to contrite and contrived. For instance, Day 1 was simply fantastic, Day 2 was an excellent evolution which emphasized action, Day 3, however, was painful and convoluted. The writers then readjusted themselves and came back with Day 4 which was a wonderful reinvention of the show. This ultimately led into my second favorite season (next to Day 1) of Day 5. Building off this remarkable year, the writers began with the best 4-hours the show ever produced: the Day Six premiere. However, the show once again began to loose steam until, finally, Day Six became the WORST season ever produced. Due to the Writer's Guild Strike in 2007-2008, the writers of "24" were able to take a much-needed break and reassess the state of the show and once again, reinvented it. I, personally, cared for only parts of Day 7 but felt it was infinitely better than both Days 3 and 6 (the low points of the show). Then came Day 8 which appeared to be a true return to glory.

From the start of this season, it was truly something monumental. The story was wonderfully topical, the characters were the most honed-in and refreshing they've ever been, and the villains were (with the exception of the lead Iranian terrorist who felt did not even touch prior Islamist villains on the show like Sayyid Ali and Marwan) excellent. Everything about this season screamed that "24" had returned to its former glory. As a fan hoping for the show to repay me for two abysmal seasons, I was hoping this was the start of what would lead to at least two more great seasons, which would allow the series to end on an even 10 seasons. However, the writers (understandably) chose to end this season on top. I do not begrudge them that decision -- particularly since it HAS BEEN CONFIRMED that "24" is being made into a film series -- but this does not excuse them from writing a proper series finale.

The entire season -- particularly the back episodes which introduced Michael Madsen's character and, more importantly, my favorite character in the show (aside from Jack, of course): Charles Logan -- was simply fantastic. However, by the finale there were several plot threads that needed to be tied up WELL. A good series finale always has a sense of closure to it and there was absolutely NO CLOSURE to this finale whatsoever. It literally ends with the same sense of "to be continued" like Day 4. In fact, it was an almost identical ending with Jack walking off into the sunset, into a life of anonymity. I did not want this as a fan of the series. I understand that there's only so much they can do if the series is continuing in films. However, after dedicating almost a decade to this otherwise awesome show there are many questions that need to be answered ends in need of tying up. For instance:
1) Why didn't Logan die?
2) Why didn't Jack go through with his plans to kill Suvarov?
3) Why didn't the writers complete Taylor's Tragedy by having the forced peace come into existence?
4) What the hell happened to Michael Madsen's character?

This finale had no closure, it was simply to be continued and that's unfortunate because I was hoping for some form of closure and for the world to be much darker by the end, to better set up for the films. All in all this is one of the greatest series of all time, Season Eight was a great year, and the finale would have made a great SEASON finale but it made for an otherwise totally unsatisfactory SERIES FINALE.

Thank you.