Customer Reviews

24 Season 7

5 star:		(145)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

I have watched every season of 24 the same way: wait for it to come out on DVD, start it on Friday night, and finish all 24 episodes by Sunday night. I end up exhausted, sore, and somewhat addled, having missed -- like Jack -- a few critical phone calls, several meals, and almost all emotional connection with my fellow human beings . . . but with at least some sense of how poor Jack must feel when he punches out at the end of a workday only a superhero can handle. It's really the only way to do it.

Season 7 was a rollicking good time, restarting the adrenaline drip that ran somewhat dry last season. I'm a big fan of Cherry Jones and am still grousing about how she lost the movie role in "Doubt" that she so sublimely played on stage. With the shadow of Mother Aloysius hanging over things, I spent the first few hours wondering whether Ms. Jones was miscast as Madame President. Where was the edge, the certainty, the petulance? But after a couple of terrorist attacks the cussing started, she was in her groove, and we were finally treated to a President whose grim grit even a testy nun could respect.

It's hard actually to discuss the story arc of a season of 24 without running into the spoiler alert problem. Suffice it to say that season 7 is in a new town with some new characters and some returning friends and foes. But the grander messages carry on from earlier seasons. Terrorists never sleep, so neither may heroes. There are many good people in government, but they just can't seem to keep the hatches battened down on their security systems, their classified information, and the whereabouts or plottings of their families and friends. Moral dilemmas will never be resolved, as the need to protect our way of life and our system of laws can only be served by violating our way of life and our system of laws. The people who opt to abide by the law are a lot more frustrating - and more boring - than the heroes who throw the law out the window to save our ability to have law. Terrorists never, ever display compassion. Heroes pick and choose. There is a conspiracy behind everything, and no matter how far up the chain you go, there is always someone higher and nastier and better dressed. Jack may seem easy to fathom, but he's complex. Very complex.

Lordy, I love this show.

The big flaw to me in season 7 was Jack's little problem with his nervous system and the magic hypodermic. Since everyone knows that Kiefer Sutherland is under contract for at least one more season, just how are we expected to get on the edges of our seats wondering if he's going to make it? SPOILER ALERT: He's going to make it.

But one thing 24 proves is that with enough well-designed and well-photographed bombings, conspiracies, chases, shootouts, car wrecks, whizbang technology gadgets, and dramatic confrontations both loud and soft, the audience will hang in through any amount of untenable doings.

Did I say how much I love this show?

Just got finished watching this on TV and yes I am one of those "stupid people" who will go out and buy this tomorrow. And I will watch it again as soon as I do because that's just how great this show really is. I cant understand why people who are supposed to be such big fans of the show are actually angry they are releasing the dvd early. Wouldn't that be what you want?

But anyway...on to the show....

24 Season 7 will go down as one of the premiere seasons in the shows history. Maybe, from start to finish, the best since Season 1. After a lackluster Season 6, I think it was safe to say that the writers and producers of the show had a clear opportunity to start over and start fresh. And they did. What we got was a smart, tight, and extraordinarily acted season with the same raging action and plot twists but still with a different feel to it. By relocating out of L.A and into D.C. we got the chance to see Jack Bauer out of his element for the first time. At first I was skeptical of this, as many were. But after the first episode of the season I realized that my skepticism was for nothing. The move to D.C. was perfect and it brought so much to this season. And as we progressed from twist to twist, from villain to villain, the one thing that stayed apparent was that this season was absolutely brilliant. Nothing will ever compare to the originality of Season 1. And the show's creators know that. But they weren't trying to replicate that. Instead they were trying to bring us a season that we will remember, instead of tossing away like we did with season 6. Season 7 was a triumph and it's just another example of why we keep watching.

I've noticed all of the reviews mainly focus on the season itself and not the essentials of the whether the blu-ray transfer of this season was good or not. So I've decided to add my two cents in. And remember everyone we are all entitled to our opinions so feel free to disagree. O.K. First of all I think season 7 was pretty good. I would give it 4 stars overall. It was better than the mess of season 6 and came close to the greatness of season 5. Of course nothing has come close yet to season 2 in my opinion. That was the standard that will be used to measure all action series for years to come. Anyway, yes there were some uneven moments and plot holes this season at times but when you look at the big picture after watching the entire show the writers explained it well enough to satisfy my curiosity. The acting was great as usual with plenty of new characters getting a chance to flex their muscles and of course Jack barking his way through the day as usual. I liked the dialogue between him and agent Renee Walker and how Jack finds some of his humanity in the process by the time the show draws to an end but Renee ends up somewhat losing her's. Those who have seen the finale know what I mean. And I can't say enough about Jon Voight. His acting was superb. I felt the show really hit a new gear when he took center stage as the main enemy. And yes there are a few moments where the story will make you scratch your head but in the end the writers do a good job of tying everything up and entertaining you in the process. For example, who cares why Jack is fighting someone when you get to see him kill a guy with a screwdriver through the chest and then use that same screwdriver to start-up a truck. A true classic Jack Bauer moment :) You'll even get to see Kim become a mini jack near the end. Overall a satisfying season that did more things right than it did wrong.

Now on to the transfer. This is where my 3 star review comes into play. The blu-ray version is only slightly above the standard edition in picture quality in my opinion. On several occasions I noticed grain and bland or washed out colors. The blacks and grays were decent but didn't have that pop that I know blu-ray can produce. However, on a few scenes the picture quality was noticeable better than at other times. It seemed almost that fox didn't have their high def cameras working right on some of the episodes. Overall I would give the picture quality between a 7 and 8. The audio also is not quite what I was hoping. The dts master audio mix is a definite step up from dolby digital but for a show like 24 I was surprised that my system didn't get a better workout than it did. The audio mix is extremely front channel heavy with very little going on with your surrounds. This is a real missed opportunity on the part of fox since something is always going on behind the scenes with each set on 24. I wanted to hear the conversations and computer analysts typing away in the background with fbi headquarters or the grinding of hydraulics in the background as Jack and company stake out the loading docks. I just didn't hear any of that. And I feel that my ht is a pretty good set up (cost me about $3000) so I know that the mix could have been so much better. As a contrast I just finished watching Taken on blu and that was a audio mix done right. Anyway if I had known the mix would end up being so front channel heavy and the picture quality not popping as much as I had hoped I would have just went with standard def. Of course to each his or her own.

Like most fans, I was disappointed in Season 6, but willing to give 24 another try based on its past greatness. Season 7 surpassed my expectations.

While 24 is an action show, its best moments for me are the pivotal ones in the lives of the characters we care about so much, especially Jack. (Like, in Season 2 Jack talking with Kim while flying the plane, then Mason showing up and talking to Jack about what Jack should really be doing with his life; or, in Season 3, Jack and Nina's final confrontation; or in Season 5, our last visit with David Palmer.) There are several such memorable moments in Season 7.

This season benefits from a great cast, including some returning favorite characters (Tony, Chloe, Agent Pierce, and a couple others) and some great new ones (FBI Agent Renee Walker, super talented & resourceful and a possible love interest for Jack in Season 8 - if he lives that long), and uber bad guy Jonas Hodges, played to a tee by Jon Voight.

Season 7 borrows the more successful plot elements from previous seasons, and does them well in a new context. Jack, once again, is working on the outside, with the help of Chloe on the inside. Jack, once again, must infiltrate a group of bad guys by pretending to be one of them, and must pretend to kill someone he - and we - care about to convince them of his loyalties. There's a well-placed mole, feeding intel to the bad guys and keeping them a step ahead of our hero. There's a Sherrie Palmer-like character in the President's daughter, and, finally, once again, a President with principles - like David Palmer.

I am hoping the writers try some different plot elements next year instead of rehashing the same formula. Stop making Jack prove he's a good guy - sheesh, he's saved the world 6 or 7 times over, you'd think people would have learned by now. Give him some real resources and the unconditional faith of the leaders he serves.

But, after the disappointing Season 6, the writers did a fantastic job, and Season 7 brings the comforting feeling of the old 24 magic. Most fans, I think, will easily forgive the writers for reusing some past plot points. And while not all seasons of 24 portray their villains as 3-dimensional characters with plausible motivations, Season 7 gives us a nicely fleshed out villain in Jonas Hodges, and another guy who's pretty bad reveals his true motivations to Jack in Episode 24, and it's pretty plausible and satisfying.

In the end, despite the terrorist threats to the nation, and all the great action and stunts and car crashes, Season 7 is more intimate - it's about Jack facing his demons and about other characters we've long known dealing with theirs. And as a bonus (I hope this isn't too much of a spoiler), Kim's reappearance sets things right with fans - she doesn't wind up in any cougar traps - far from it - and she makes a positive contribution when it counts most. In my view, everything wraps up perfectly in Episode 24. The writers don't explicitly show the actual resolution to certain things, like what Renee is about to do when we last see her, or what will happen after the very final scene. But they show enough to make it clear how things turn out. And it is very satisfying.

If you have not seen 24 Season 7 yet, I envy you for the treat you're in store for.

I've watched every episode when it aired on TV, including the season finale, and absolutely loved that I could go out and purchase the entire season on DVD the very next day.

The market demand for TV entertainment is changing, and Fox and 24 are leading the way in meeting the demand. New episodes every week, DVD quality episodes streaming online the next morning, and the DVD set released the day after the season finale -- well done.

I thoroughly enjoyed season 7. This review, is of the Blu-Ray disc and not the content of the season.

In short, the Blu Ray image quality wasn't much better than what I had just been watching on Fox HD during the season. The image was still grainy, the colors not sharp, and the blacks not deep (and actually very fuzzy). I'm watching on a Sony KDL 42V4100 LCD TV. Compare to other Blu Ray discs (Iron Man, Quantum of Solace, The Dark Knight..) and you will think you're watching an up-scaled DVD. If you MUST have blu ray quality, buy this if it makes you feel good inside. In reality, I don't think you get much extra quality for spending over the DVD price.

After a lengthy hiatus, Jack finally has another really bad day. I don't know how many more times Jack gets himself out only to be pulled back into the counter-terrorism gig, but 24: SEASON 7 demonstrates that there are still legs on this thing. In the show's internal continuity, four years have elapsed since the events in Season 6, and in the interim Jack had roamed from place to place in search of some kind of inner peace. Except I'm guessing that wasn't ever gonna work out.

The damnable writers' strike of 2007-08 delayed Season 7 for one year - which, as it turns out, was a blessing in disguise for the writers of 24 as they'd been stuck for ideas - and it wasn't until the 24: Redemption television movie came out that I finally became convinced that there really was gonna be a seventh year. I frankly thought 24 was done. But here's Jack Bauer again, scarred and wracked with guilt, his methods condemned, still saving the world.

As mentioned, four years had passed, and things haven't stayed the same. There's a new American President, a woman. CTU had been shut down, its tactics questioned and its operatives scattered. In Washington, D.C., Jack Bauer is on the verge of being indicted for past acts of brutality. But then a daring, broad daylight kidnapping puts Jack's trial on hold as the FBI seeks his expertise. Especially since one of the kidnappers is identified as Jack's old friend Tony Almeida, who isn't quite as deceased as everyone had assumed. From there, things quickly worsen.

I think it's a boost in the arm, switching things up, moving to D.C. and taking CTU out of the equation and putting in the FBI as Jack's new intel and tech support - although one character would refer to the FBI agency as "CTU Lite." This introduces a running theme (and a hot button topic), that of Jack's ruthlessly doing whatever it takes to achieve his objective versus the FBI's strictly by the book methods. There's a new supporting cast brought in, with FBI agent Renee Walker impacting Jack the most. Agent Walker, in some ways, demonstrates how someone, under extreme duress and in light of horrific circumstances, can be swayed into adopting Jack's perspective. Her boss and friend cautions her: "Renee, we're FBI, not CTU. We honor the law." But how do you hold back when the price of idealism is possibly thousands of murdered lives? The most startling thing for me, though, may have been when Janeane Garafalo shows up as an FBI computer analyst. Talk about wonderful counter-casting.

Season 7 basically unfolds in three stages, starting out as a follow up to 24: REDEMPTION as Jack and the FBI go up against the murderous warlord of Sangala. 24 still reeks of extreme paranoia and pervasive conspiracies, so it shouldn't be a surprise when Jack and Walker learn that things go much deeper than the Sangalan plot. There are layers and layers of duplicity.

In another front, there's good focus on the President, effectively portrayed by Cherry Jones, as the American government once again falls under siege. There are sub-plots involving the suicide of her son and the alienation of her daughter. And, as usual, you never quite know who you can trust in the White House, in that most elite inner circle.

It's pretty cool that Carlos Bernard is back, which means that Tony Almeida is back, or rather a darker, even more smoldering version of Tony. But it's almost like old times seeing him and Jack side by side again. They're eventually joined by other familiar faces, including one of my old favorites, Glenn Morshower, as straight-shooting Special Agent Aaron Pierce, the only guy other than Kiefer to have appeared in all of the seasons so far.

Political intrigue, deadly espionage, riveting human drama, that blurring of ethics. 24 continues to be one of the best - if not THE best - thrill rides on television. That ominous beat we hear each time we glimpse the digital clock counting down, it's still pulse pounding to me. As the episodes progress, I fall in line with the pervasive mood of the show, and I trust no one and I constantly look for twists because there are plot reversals everywhere. We're still treated to storytelling that is complex and both plot and character driven, and the series still rides on the strength of its technical merits. And, except for Jack, each character in the show is expendable. Key players bite the bullet. Jack's actions provoke debate even as he remains the best guy out there to clean up the mess.

24: SEASON 7 comes in six discs, with a cast & crew audio commentary on a whopping 12 episodes: "8am-9am" (Producer/Director Jon Cassar & actor Carlos Bernard); "10am-11am" (Producers Manny Coto & Brannon Braga, & Carlos Bernard); "12pm-1pm" (Producer/Director Jon Cassar & actor Annie Wersching); "4pm-5pm" (Producer David Fury & actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim); "5pm-6pm" (Producers Manny Coto & Brannon Braga, & Annie Wersching); "7pm-8pm" (Producer/Director Brad Turner & actor Tony Todd); "8pm-9pm" (Producer/Director Brad Turner, Composer Sean Callery, & actor James Morrison); "9pm-10pm" (Producers Evan Katz & Juan Carlos Moto, actors Annie Wersching & Bob Gunton); "1am-2am" (Producer Howard Gordon, Carlos Bernard, & Jeffrey Nordling); "5am-6am" (Producer Evan Katz, actors Mary Lynn Rajskub & Glenn Morshower); "6am-7am" (Producers David Fury, Alex Gansa, and actor Glenn Morshower); and "7am-8am"(Producers Howard Gordon & Jon Cassar). It's always fun soaking in the actors' behind-the-scene commentaries, but I'm wondering how come Kiefer didn't drop by for a few words?

Other special features include: 14 deleted scenes with optional commentary from Producers Stephen Kronish & Paul Gadd (including an emotional 6-minute scene with Kiefer and a familiar face); "The Fimucite Festival Presents: The Music of 24" - Composer/conductor Sean Callery and the Tenerife Film Orchestra & Choir perform the score from 24 live at the Guimerá Theater in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands (13 minutes long); "Hour 19: The Ambush" - we follow the f/x crew as they prep to blow up a building near the L.A.X. area (12:45 minutes); and "24-7: The Untold Story" - the show's writers reflect on the disappointment of Season 6, on the need for the show to reinvent itself, and then on the long, strenuous struggle to come up with a working story for Season 7 (almost 16 minutes long).

Some things to look out for and maybe even savor:

- First and foremost, Jack just being Jack, getting the job done, inhabiting that grey moral area; Kiefer Sutherland rules all

- Tony Almeida alive and very much in the thick of things

- The ongoing Ugly Chick Cyber War between Garafalo and Mary Lynn Rajskub

- Yet another indecisive turnip for an American Vice-President (I don't know, 24 seems to enjoy featuring VPs who hem and haw)

- If you're a fan of POPULAR, then nostalgia might kick in as Carly Pope shows up for a few episodes; oddly enough, her character's name is still Sam

- One of the no-nonsense bad guys looks like a leaner, meaner Tracy Morgan

After the grisly maiming of 24 in season six, Jon Cassar and Howard Gordon brought Jack out of the civics lessons of S.6 and brought them back to the level of intensity and GRAVITAS to 24.

I think that Season Seven, while being very good, suffered from an unfortunately rushed finale that gave a lot of fans pause, considering how dragged out some of the other last few eps of the season felt. It's hard not to see Jack in all-out action, and that's where the season started to feel a little lethargic. But in exchange for Jack being on the sidelines for a bit, we did get a GREAT plot twist that I will not give away for those who don't watch the show near the end that gave a certain important character even more to work with.

The themes of the season are two-fold: Betrayal being the big theme, and the most civic-minded one - how does one condone the 'enhanced interrogation' techniques that Jack and other agents use to acquire life-saving information. The second theme seems to get thrown under the bus for a few eps, but then comes back nearer the end as FBI Agent Renee Walker, who, at first dealings with Jack, is an obvious opponent of torture, sees what she may have to become in order to protect the greater good.

What makes Jack a great action hero is that in those moments where dozens, hundreds, thousands, or in a few cases for Jack, millions of innocent lives are on the line, he knows that he has to do whatever it takes to save those people, and sometimes that requires a proverbial twist of the thumbscrews. What makes Jack a great character is that while he says that he doesn't regret those moments, he knows that there's a line that shouldn't be crossed.

There have been people who maintain that this show is an outline for the justification of torture in extreme scenarios, and I think that it's high time that those good folk shut up and enjoy the OBVIOUS hyper-realism of 24. Look at Jack Bauer for a few minutes. He's literally died twice (possibly three times) during the run of the show (S2 when his heart stopped due to being tortured himself and S4 where they had to fake his death in order to prevent his murder). This show runs so far off the rails of conceivable realism that we cannot use this program as a microcosm of society's faults and triumpths. It's a great, pulse-pounding, thrill-a-minute action show.

Remember in DIRTY HARRY when Callahan shoots the Scorpio killer and then steps on his wounded leg in order to extract information? Remember how good that felt because Harry's the good guy and the Scorpio's the bad guy? It's not supposed to be real. It's supposed to be entertainment. Get off the "24 CONDONES TORTURE" kick. Seriously. It's tired.

Take 24 for what it is: Great entertainment.

Except for Season 6. That was not good.

I was really angry when 24 was delayed because of last year's strike. I was wrong. the 24 writers were given time to think about the Season 6 misstep and write a season full of redemption. Folks Jack is back !!!! This season may be the best season ever. I had previously thought that season 4 & 5 were the best. But season 7 is turning out to be full of action, excitement, lots of twist. The producers made an excellent choice for the new President - Cherry Jones and there villians are good too. the actor that played Candyman and the always entertaining Jon Voight is having a stellar career as an older actor. I love Jack's new FBI female partner. Great show !!!! The best on TV...

This was one of the best seasons yet. Although almost everything they do anymore has been done before in previous seasons I still love the show and the characters. This season kept me glued to my seat and wanting more. They keep adding new blood as well as paying homage to the past characters. I can't wait until season eight.

I loved that it was released the day after the season finale. I hope this is a trend that continues. I hated waiting to get my 24 fix.

The packaging was great. I love the slim design and the discs were easy to get out and were organized well. Much better than the bulky sets of the past.