Critical reaction to 24

[2] The premiere episode was cited by The New York Times as a "Critic's Pick" by Caryn James, who noted that it was "a drama sleek, suspenseful and absorbing enough to overcome its blatant gimmick".

Time also noted that "The show takes to the next level the trend of serial story "arcs," which began with '80s dramas like Hill Street Blues and Wiseguy and which continues on The West Wing and The Sopranos."

"[This quote needs a citation] Entertainment Weekly reported that the writers had "concocted a horrendously topical terrorism story line for their emotionally damaged, trigger-giddy protagonist to tackle.

One reviewer said, "Kim's story arc, as she runs from an overheated domestic situation to an escape from the police to a loony's basement bomb shelter—and worse (almost getting eaten by the aforementioned cougar)—operates almost as the comedy relief for an otherwise unrelentingly grim litany of violence and political turmoil that fills the other major plotlines.

Again, she's caught up in serial dangers, so that her box is always about to break out into chaos: dashing about in her tight little top, she's always in dire need of Jack's help (that said, she does eventually come into her own, and proves wholly capable of the sort of "red meat" violence for which her father is infamous).

The show would then be called 12 and its hero, Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), could save the country from an apocalyptic terrorist attack in a 12-hour day—eliminating the need for some of the sillier side plots delaying the denouement.

"[21] PopMatters said that, "24 now seems an efficient thrill machine that repeatedly threatens to veer off in cockamamie plot torques: in taking such risks, it's not always perfect, but it is consistently admirable and frequently excellent fun."

"[23][better source needed] USA Today said of the back half of the season, "Here's the good news, and not a minute too soon: Returning tonight after a month's absence, 24 has rediscovered its footing and is preparing to shock, thrill and hook us with some of its best twists yet.

Mr. Devane, a craggy television war horse who seems to have played every Kennedy except Rose, is more of a distraction than an asset" and Kim Raver as "generically pretty but has nothing special to bring to the role of Audrey".

They've managed not to nominate Penny Johnson Jerald, Sarah Clarke, Xander Berkeley, Dennis Haysbert, Reiko Aylesworth and Carlos Bernard, and now they've decided to omit Shohreh Aghdashloo and Mary Lynn Rajskub among others."

[citation needed] The New York Times reported that the fifth season "provides an irresistible blend of iPodish computer wizardry and "Perils of Pauline" cliffhanger suspense" and that it is one of the few shows "that are sophisticated and also have a childish appeal".

[32] USA Today called the four-hour premiere "extraordinary" and the fifth season as the series at its "fast, furious, exaggerated best, filled with well-drawn subsidiary characters and rapid-fire surprises, all held in place by Kiefer Sutherland's great, under-sung performance as Jack.

[weasel words][36][citation needed] The New York Times called Logan's administration as "the government on TV, that is, which is in turn a projection of our very worst fears.

[43] Co-producer David Fury has gone on record to admit that the production team made several mistakes in the long-term plotting of direction of Season 6; this played a large part in their decision to end the "Suitcase Nuke" plotline early and dedicate the final seven episodes to a different storyline.

[47] Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times praised the film, acknowledging the producers taking on board the criticism and moral issues regarding the use of torture, and stated that a group of innocent young children running for their lives "instantly ratchets up a story's emotional level.

[weasel words][citation needed] Producers re-tooled the show over break, relocating the series from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., closing the Counter-Terrorist Unit, and, in the most controversial move, bringing fan favorite character Tony Almeida back from the dead.

The New York Times compared the opening of Season Seven to "being in a bar with a football superstar, eagerly awaiting tales of gridiron glory, only to have to listen to him drone on and on about the hypocrisy and injustice of steroid testing.

The same elements — terrorists, counterterrorists (and, almost inevitably, a mole working for a high-level conspiracy), innocent bystanders and the president — are tumbled and reconfigured each season around the indispensable Bauer.

And Logan was a terrific monster, the physical incarnation of all that Jack and 24 fought against for so long: political corruption and cowardice, narcissism and megalomania, ruthlessness and stupidity.

I'll remember the legacy of 24 as an action drama that redefined what serialized television can do and provided many shocking twists and turns along the way—the biggest one being the very real impact the show had on American foreign policy.

The series enlivened the country's political discourse in a way few others have, partly because it brought to life the ticking time-bomb threat that haunted the Cheney faction of the American government in the years after 9/11.

"[73] Another episode of this season also portrays two Muslim American citizens aiding Jack Bauer with the intention of seeking retribution for the previous attacks by terrorists that day.

In response to this criticism, FOX sent a statement to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, expressing that "Over the past several seasons, the villains have included shadowy Anglo businessmen, Baltic Europeans, Germans, Russians, Islamic fundamentalists, and even the (Anglo-American) president of the United States.

During the same season, Omar Hassan, the President of the fictional Islamic Republic of Kamistan, was trying to broker a peace treaty with the US when he was killed by opposing factions inside his own administration.

Stephen King, an admitted fan of 24, wrote,[84] People affiliated with 24, as well as many of its fans, have responded to this criticism by stressing that the show is fiction and therefore is not required to portray torture and interrogation realistically,[85] but in February 2007, The New Yorker magazine reported that U.S. Army Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan (dean of the United States Military Academy at West Point), accompanied by three of the most experienced military and FBI interrogators in the country, met with the producers of 24 to criticize the show for misrepresenting the effectiveness of torture as an interrogation technique, saying it encouraged soldiers to see torture as a useful and justified tactic in the War on Terror, and damaged the international image of the United States.

[88] The panel event, which was first conceived by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's wife, Ginni, was moderated by talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.

He specifically identified former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Republican political strategist Mary Matalin as enthusiastic fans.

Furthermore, journalist James Poniewozik pointed out the show's use of plotlines—such as an invasion of a Middle East country based on fabricated evidence of WMD stockpiles and a "chilling" depiction of Muslims rounded up into detention centers—favored a more liberal view.

Female characters are generally portrayed as physically and emotionally weak, and often rehash archetypes such as "the innocent damsel in distress, the evil seductress and the mad woman"; at the same time the show also exaggerates male stereotypical behavior, which has been described as hypermasculine (almost always valuing direct action instead of reflection).

In order to have the cellphone's caller ID show "Mom", producers chose to use a real phone (belonging to a member of the props department), rather than build a fake display.