24 Will Be Missed...

Tick...tick...tick...tick...from it's very first season, 24 broke the conventions of television drama - and every single protocol in the CTU handbook! In tv land, the good guys don’t die: they're saved in the nick of time. But on 24 no-one was safe. It kept viewers on the edges of their seats because they really didn’t know what was coming at 'em next. On 24 anything could happen...well, anything except the death of Jack!
24 was different from the norm — at times politically incorrect. It's heroes, particularly Bauer, were even depicted using "enhanced interrogation techniques." Sometimes the only way for Jack to save the day was through his ability to extract information using some form of torture.
Fox announced this season would be the last. I've loved 24 from the start and will be sad to see it go. I watched every episode of every season "in real time", then re-watched it all on DVD. But it's probably a good time to wrap it up. I mean: how many moles can infiltrate CTU before they figure out they need to tighten their screening process? How many White House staffers can betray the President before it gets to be part of their job description? And there surely must be a limit to how many times you can be presumed dead before you actually do get that way. Last season Jack Bauer cheated certain death from exposure to a deadly pathogen, only surviving with an experimental treatment involving his daughter. Stuff like that takes a toll. He is human after all. Well, okay, superhuman, but still, even a superhuman can only take so much!
I will miss Jack. I really hope the rumoured movie does happen: Jack Bauer is just too good a character to farewell forever. And there's a need for characters like him – not perfect, but with the kind of honour and devotion that leads them to risk all to keep their fellow countrymen safe.
Heroes like Jack Bauer really do exist. Not the superhuman type that single-handedly takes out dozens of trained killers and survives deadly nerve agents, but the kind of character that battles evil forces out there in the shadowlands and puts a greater cause ahead of their own personal wellbeing.
Even with the outrageous plotlines and superhuman qualities of Jack Bauer, 24 has sparked thought and debate with some real-life scenarios: biological warfare, assassins, child soldiers, 'dirty bombs', terrorists - all realities in our often grubby little world.
For the issues the series has tackled, and the pure entertainment value, 24 will be missed. Dammit!