24 - Complete Season 1-8 + Redemption (New Packaging) [DVD]

24 was utterly groudbreaking television. First screened in 2001, nearly a month after the 9/11 attacks it ran for 8 seasons through 2010. It is the standard by which all other US action adventure shows are measured. The innovations it brought in including the use of a running clock and split screen are iconic. The DVD boxed set of the complete seasons 1-2 + Redemption is primarily the shows with only a very limited selection of extras. It does not include the bonus discs on which many of the extras were housed.24 began at its best, the first 12 hours of the first season are still absolutely mesmerising. The hero of 24 Jack Bauer played by Kiefer Sutherland is at his best at the start of the saga with the threat of a terrorist attack against a black Presidential hopeful, the backdrop of a bomb on a plane, and his daughter missing. In the low light of pre-dawn LA, the action is so gripping. The revelation that no-one can be trusted makes adds tension to every moment. The prospect of a conspiracy within the specialist Counter Terrorist Unit makes everyone suspicious. In that environment only Jack can be trusted but every action he takes puts the interests of his daughter first rather than his country, he is a family guy who would do everything for them even on a day when the Presidential contender could be assassinated.Jack's attempts to save the day while also saving his family are excellent adventure. He is an archetypal lone wolf hero, prepared to take anyone on to make sure everything succeeds. He is a highly physical character very happy to bend the rules to serve the greater good including using lethal force so very often. Morally Jack is really challenging. Even in season 1 Jack advances some of the short term goals of his enemies and is used as a tool in a fiendishly complex terrorist plan.Jack is very often on the back foot, fighting against a superior and deadly opponent. In season 1 that is represented by the bad guy having complete visual access to his every move. When it turns out someone he and his wife trust is in league with the enemy it is a great twist.Bauer develops over the various seasons from that excellent start. His hard life takes its toll on him. He variously finds himself a complete outcast or in charge but mainly fights from a position of weakness. The decisions he takes a pretty shocking at times. He fights hard meaning he kills bad guys but it also means he is ruthless even with his own people. The end of the story arc featuring Ryan Chappelle is heart-rending. There is a sense that as early as season 3 24 jumped the shark when Chappelle is killed. It is an absolutely shocking moment and really quite hard to take. It is a blatant example of why we do not negotiate with terrorists. Chappelle is not the only person who suffers a shockingly brutal end when it does not seem appropriate. The death of Curtis Manning is utterly unneccesary because it does not even accomplish the end goal.Bauer's ruthlessness means he is often very alone. Love creeps into his life every now and then. It starts off with his wife who he loves dearly. She is an archetypal homemaker, somewhat dowdy and not especially interesting but she represents all Jack wants in his life along with his daughter. Other women feature in Jack's life. Most of them end up suffering. Perhaps the one who doesn't suffer too much is Kate Warner in season 2. Played beautifully by Sarah Winter she seems to be the perfect woman for Jack but the pain he is in means it unfortunately does not last. Other women such as the ugly Audrey Raines or kickass Renee Walker never seem likely to be able to mend Jack.The only women in Jack's lives who seem to be able to have coping mechanisms are his daughter Kim and colleague Chloe who becomes his most trusted confidente. Kim is a fascinating study in Hollywood beauty. As the damsel in distress in season 1, Elisha Cuthbert is mind-bendingly beautiful. Through later seasons the glamour has faded dramatically. Cuthbert never made the breakthrough into stardom her season 1 appearance may have suggested.Chloe is one of the few comedic characters in 24. It is unclear what her role is early on, she appears to be a PA but she later turns out to be a mastermind analyst. Her bad temper and regular facial expressions turn in pretty much all the laughs 24 has to offer. The moment when it appears Chloe, Jack, and Bill Buchanan appear to be forming their own version of the A-Team is hilarious but it does not last long.Nothing lasts long in 24. There are so many main cast actors through the various seasons. Some of them are awesome and it is a real shame for instance that there was not much more of George Mason played by Xander Berkeley in possibly the most charismatic performance the show offers. He is also a real hero.The reason there are so many cast members through the seasons is the very high body count. Working for CTU is a very risky proposition, most end up dying. The body count for everyone in 24 is high. Terrorists succeed in killing thousands of people. The escalation of body count becomes a bit laughable and is a bit unnecessary as it is not deaths that add to the tension but the unknown. 24 never really captures again those perfect first 12 hours but the other 7+ days are all good fun anyway.While many characters disappear quickly, a few manage to last for a while. Of note is Senator and later President Palmer played by Dennis Haysbert. Some social commentators have suggested President Palmer's existence made it easier for the American public to accept President Obama. Palmer is not a particularly charismatic President, Haysbert's bass voice makes it hard to inject a lot of emotion. He also appears completely unrelated to his children or to his brother as they look nothing like him. Still, Palmer is a solid archetype of the American President. When he commits to torturing his own Defense Secretary and then shows no guilt when admitting it, a change in the morality of 24 is heralded.The morality of 24 is really quite challenging. What is the righteous action? The right action sees the security and prosperty of millions safeguarded against the threat from a small handful of terrorists. To achieve that right action, Jack and associates torture, steal, lie, and even kill others fighting for the same cause. On each occasion Jack's justification is "I had no choice". He did have a choice. On balance he probably does do the right thing most of the time but for instance with Curtis Manning there is no question he makes the wrong call despite Bill Buchanan proclaiming it correct and Jack having no choice.As America changed through the 2000s and the lessons from the Iraq war came to light, so do the implications of Jack's actions. He is hauled before a senate hearing to account for the brutality of his work and its blatant disregard for due process or human rights. When he is paired with FBI agent Larry Moss, the two represent conflicting world views. In the real world Moss is right. In the world of 24 the hero Jack gets the plaudits.Jack's morality is not especially fair. His actions against Tony Almeida in season 7 are despicable. Jack would have done exactly the same thing and pretty much did so in seasons 1 & 2 as well as the end of the storyline arc with Nina Myers. Tony is a thoroughly likeable guy despite his early gruff appearance. Despite the similarity of Jack and Tony's intentions and actions, Jack has no trouble in making sure Almeida suffers for doing exactly as Jack did.Jack's morality makes 24 really interesting. He is a hero, he saves the day a lot of the time, he does things others would not dare to achieve the greatest good for the greatest number of people. He is an utterly dishonourable friend who cannot be trusted and is prepared to ensure those around him pay the ultimate price. Fascinating.The villains of 24 come in all different shapes. Post 9/11 and with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars raging it could have been assumed that the villains of 24 would largely be Islamic terrorists given they pose the clearest danger. Instead, 24 draws villainy from a range of sources. Occasionally they are pure Islamic terrorists but even then the villainy is often a bit more subtle. This is never clearer than in the case of Hamri al-Assad in season 6. Played by Alexander Siddig he brings the unknown back to 24 really effectively. al-Assad is a terrorist but hoping for a future of peace. He has blood on his hands including blood of American troops in Iraq so trusting him is hard yet the plot unfolds to put him close to the President. Not knowing which way he will go is great, helped by Siddig's pitch perfect performance within type as someone potentially cleverer than his adversaries including Jack.Typically the various seasons follow the same formula for Jack to overcome, mainly involving the reveal of ever more villainous bad guys as Jack despatches the first wave. To some extent it is a bit like a computer game with Jack clearing a level each season. The bad guys generally fall into two categories - enemies within and enemies without. The enemies without are the ones posing the danger, possessing all sorts of horrendous weaponry and sometimes they are really successful. During the eight days of 24 the US takes more casualties from terrorism than anywhere in the world has had since WWII. The enemies within though are typically the more dangerous.Enemies within create uncertainty because it is never quite clear who can be trusted. Perhaps the most deadly enemy within is Christopher Henderson in season 5. In order to show how deadly he is, several well-liked characters are killed off which is a bit of a shame. Henderson is a great foil for Jack though because it means Bauer is up against someone with the same skill level and knowledge as himself. Played by Peter Weller he is a gruff and believable adversary, almost an image of what Jack could become should he ever fall from the righteous path.Other enemies within are a bit less believable. It is pretty obvious who the antagonist really is in season 6 as soon as James Cromwell appears on screen. He always plays the same character and does so again here. He is utterly cruel though, exploiting Jack's weakness but his motivations are hard to follow given he is supposedly about legacy yet he throws away every chance at making sure his legacy survives.The motivations of the various characters bob about a bit. In part this adds to the uncertainty and the feeling that anything can happen. It is rare to be able to predict the unfolding of events which makes the telling of 24 so exciting. It does though mean that characters can end up doing implausible things. Part of the reason for the changes is that the team generally were writing the season as it unfolded rather than having a long-term plan. Using a large number of different directors means changes in pacing and impact in different episodes but that all adds to the uneven and real feel.The style of 24 is so clearly defined. CTU looks awesome, the dark in the background offering a sense of the lurking danger. Of course CTU is highly secured yet is inflitrated and blown up repeatedly. Still, the look of the place is great including the glass box upstairs where the head of CTU sits. Part of the style is also shown through the flow of dialogue. Characters in 24 generally speak very quickly, especially those on the side of good. They bark out instructions and answers with great precision in a rapid-fire style. Villains tend to speak more slowly and enunciate more.The rapid barking generates a sense of urgency, the characters have no time for idle words. They do not have time for niceties so the good guys are generally not all that nice ot each other. The management style is particularly amusing. The best exponent of management at CTU is Tony Almeida. When he barks out an order for an underling to perform some computer-based task quickly then stands over them to watch them do it, the inefficiency of his management is unintentionally hilarious.Almeida is one of the few characters to have any romantic development. He's an unusual choice for romance given his strange look and unsexy gurning but that also adds to the feel of the show. His relationship with the interesting looking Michelle Dessler is pretty sweet. Actor Reiko Aylesworth has part Japanese heritage which explains her eye-catching appearance when combined with excellent hair.Other parts of the 24 style have also become iconic. The ringtone used by seemingly all the CTU agents has now fortunately disappeared from common use as it became over-exposed. The sound associated with the clock countdown however is utterly unforgettable. Perhaps the most impressive sound decision on 24 is to avoid over-burdening the ears. There are moments of stillness, especially at night. The quiet is much more impactful than the explosive. The absence of music adds to the believability of it all.24 is interesting in its politics. Naturally the show fits more with the Republican mindset than the Democratic one yet the good Presidents are Democrats. The bad Presidents are Republicans. None is worse than Charles Logan played by Gregory Itzin as an evil version of Nixon. 24 stretches the political reality by featuring two black Presidents and a woman President. Now that a black President is heading towards the end of his second term it does not seem particularly groundbreaking but 24 offered a more open-minded America than had been the case previously.America is the location for pretty much all the 24 action. For some reason terrorists are obsessed with trying to cause carnage close to CTU in Los Angeles. The typically urban setting for the action gives it a closer feel than some distant war might otherwise. 24 does leave the country occasionally including heading to Mexico to take on the Salazar gang in a sequence that leads to the end of the Nina Myers storyline.24's biggest journey outside of LA is to Africa in the film Redemption. Redemption is part of the set offered here. It is really unimpressive. That it took place during the Hollywood writers strike is evident. It is good to have Redemption as part of the collection because it helps complete the 24 set but despite sterling work from Robert Carlyle it carries none of the tension or excitement of the main series.Ultimately it is the tension and excitement that made 24 so good. It is a bit of car crash at times and the plot does not always make sense but it is always gripping. The machinations of the characters keeps the viewer on edge. It is never clear exactly how far Sherry Palmer is prepared to go for instance or whether noble Aaron Pierce will make it through the next season.The show has many memorable characters, too many to go into detail but three CTU agents do stand out. The short arc for Edgar Stiles is one of the few sequences played for emotion in a show where human life is disposable. Pretty Nadia Yasser is the positive representation of an American-Muslim. Miles O'Brien is the funniest guy in the show with sarcastic one-liners, he is unsual for having a English accent and not being a villain.The extras on the DVDs are pretty disappointing. There are no extras of note on most of the seasons with just deleted scenes and the occasional commentary on offer. The last two seasons though do have extras with a couple of particularly good extras on season 7. The Untold Story of season 7 is particularly interesting showing the difficulties after the show began to receive criticism in season 6.The packaging is two solid large boxes each containing 4 seasons plus a slim dvd case for Redemption. The boxes and case fit inside one big package that does stand out a bit on a shelf of DVDs.24 changed television. It is an incredible action adventure filled with suspense and uncertainty. It exists in a world where it is hard to know who to trust and any episode could change a viewer's perspective completely. The box set offers the prospect of watching seasons in full without the agonising wait for next week's viewing. There may be better US television shows but 24 stands as testament to a decade of the American psyche lived through the heroic form of Jack Bauer.

If you have never seen 24 before (where have you been?!!) the basic premise is that the show is set around the 24 hour clock (with 24 episodes as each hour) with each series taking place over an entire day in real time. Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is the man who is often faced with a crisis which usually involves a threat to the US, racing against the clock our hero has to save the day in 8 nail biting seasons & 1 feature special (24: Redemption). After numerous awards and achieving the record of longest running espionage thriller on TV, 24 finally concluded in 2010. This box set available here on amazon features all these seasons & the special.SEASON 1:The Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) in LA learns of a plot to assassinate Presidential candidate David Palmer & Jack Bauer is trying to save Palmer's life whilst saving his own family from danger.SEASON 2:Set 18 months after the events of Season 1, Jack returns to CTU to assist President Palmer in foiling a plot to deploy a nuclear bomb in the US.SEASON 3:3 years later after Season 2, Jack has to stop a virus from being unleashed in American cities.SEASON 4:Another 18 months later, Jack must save the lives of the Secretary of defence & his daughter from terrorists & further plots against America.SEASON 5:18 months later & Jack is forced to return after several of his friends are murdered & he is framed. In foiling a plot to steal nerve gas Jack discovers just how deep the conspiracy really goes.SEASON 6:20 months later & Jack is back as the US is under attack & helps to foil a nuclear attack.24: Redemption:Due to the writers strike Season 7 was delayed and a feature length episode was made instead. Set 3 and a half years after Season 6, Jack is now in Africa & finds himself caught up in a military coup. Redemption is basically a prequel to set up events which are concluded in the following season.SEASON 7:A couple of months following Redemption, this season sees Jack now in Washington facing a hearing over his past actions. When a face from the past threatens the peace, Jack is relied on once more.SEASON 8 - The Final Season:Set in New York, 18 months later, Jack is called upon to assist in foiling a plot to assassinate a middle-eastern president on US soil.All of these seasons often have cliffhanger endings, unexpected twists & plenty of action. In terms of the story, I believe after season 5 things started to get a little repetitive and the show lost its edge a little. The DVD's here offer each season in ordinary sized plastic DVD cases, with a seperate case for the bonus features.My one complaint with this set is that only the broadcast version of 24 Redemption is included in this set & not the 2 disc edition which also included an extended version & bonus features. With it being a special I preffered the extended cut as it doesn't show the digital clock on screen as usual & makes it feel more like a special movie than an extra episode.Also Season 8 doesn't really give much of a conclusion to the story as one would hope for in the final season. Hopefully a theatrical film will sort that out but it would be a crying shame if it never gets made and the series never gets the ending it deserves.All in all this is one box set worth owning. If nail biting, edge of your seat drama is what your looking for then look no further!! 24 the complete series dvd gets my highest reccommendation.

Good

Very good movies and very good quality to watch all day and night for anyone