24 Hours that Seem to Never End

I'm not sure how "middlebrow" 24 is any more. I think it was the critic's darling in the early days because it did something unique with the weekly drama television format. I think Kiefer Sutherland's biggest draw as an actor is that he's Donald's son, but he worked out well as an all-American version of James Bond.

The last couple of years of 24 have not lived up to the first few. And this season, I find myself getting sick of it. The most irritating part is the sub-plot with Katie Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica as a "CTU" agent with a fake identity. Granted, if you describe any part of the plots of any of the seasons of 24, it would probably sound preposterous, but this season's Sackhoff sub-plot takes the cake. Willing suspension of disbelief only goes so far.

TV as an art form is an incredibly iffy proposition. I remember reading an interview with David Lynch when he was working on Twin Peaks in which he said he was interested in TV because of the challenge of fitting the story into the 10-or-15-minute tableaux between commercials. The best dramatic TV series treat the entire season - or the entire series - as a novel on a grand scale (not a "novel for television" - that's a different animal). Something with a large cast of characters, all of whom have unique personalities, going through a complex set of circumstances, and reacting in a way we can understand. It's really the universal approach to storytelling, and 24 is losing it.