24: Live Another Day Cast Photos

Just watch stargate and the dark knight, he’s been president twice, not so weird haha

I wholeheartedly agree that Season 6 had flashes of occasional brilliance but was royally botched in the execution of the story, the first eight episodes worked like gangbusters, but once the whole Bauer family psychodrama kicked into high gear in the ninth episode, it all went awry from which it never recovered, having Graem be Jack’s evil sibling (a cliche if ever there were one!) was a catastrophic misstep which led them down the wrong path and both the season in the short-term and series in the long-term suffered accordingly.

It’s worth noting that filming on Season 6 didn’t begin until late August 2006, a full month later than usual, so I’m wondering if there were story problems behind the scenes before a single frame was shot. Kiefer mentioned in an interview with The Guardian (dated July 3, 2006) that the sixth season would see Jack as the hunted and not the hunter, but that storyline never materialised in the eventual season, and I distinctly remember Kiefer further stating in a televised interview with Sky Television prior to the U.K. broadcast of Season 6 that elements of the movie plot had been used for the sixth season, so reading between the lines, it looks (at least from the outside) that there were problems with that season from the outset… a real pity too, it had all the ingredients for one hell of a season, alas…

Actually, the 24 writers insisted that Tony’s arc was plotted well in advance. This is especially true for Day 7 when they had far more time as a result of the writer’s strike. ‘Agreeing to disagree’ isn’t good enough when you have put forward an argument that has been challenged.

What exactly would you have preferred they do? I’m not entirely sure the alternate is preferable. The idea that Tony should have been “Jack 2.0” and ultimately brush aside and be unaffected by what he suffered on Day 5 is a far greater disservice. 24 spends much of its time focusing on the fallibility of the characters, the consequences of their actions, and the impact that tragedy has on them. Even Jack is not immune as evidenced in the second half of Day 8 when he becomes distinctly ‘Tony-like’ (which is a *wonderful* and sumptuous parallel that goes unnoticed by many ‘fans’).

You’ve also got to account for the transformative effect Michelle’s death would have had on him over the span of several years. As I said, he likely found out about Michelle’s pregnancy *after* she died. Faking his death, dropping off the grid, finding out she had been pregnant, slowly discovering who had been responsible for her death, as well as being subject to David Emerson’s propaganda all would have contributed to the cynical and vengeful disposition Tony demonstrates on Day 7.

I sympathize if you had wanted Tony to turn out good. I had been rooting for him as well up until his betrayal. I desperately wanted to know why he’d aligned himself with the bad guys. Then, in the finale, I saw him standing over Wilson and yelling in despair, “You killed my son! My son! And now, I’m gonna kill you”. I finally understood him. I didn’t agree with him. It isn’t what I wanted. But I understood. Just because it isn’t what you ‘wanted’ does not automatically invalidate the value it ended up having nonetheless.

I’m not sure there’s much else I can say in defense of the writers for what they did to Tony. In spite of all the criticism I’ve heard, I still believe it was an appropriate decision that made complete sense (especially within the thematic framework of Season 7). It did nothing to tarnish my perception of Tony. Indeed, I believe it made him a more interesting character by drawing and capitalizing on interesting ideas first raised on Day 3. He inarguably becomes Jack’s equal without being “Jack 2.0”. This is surely a much better outcome, and I will defend it to the ends of the earth.