The Return of Jack Bauer

Part of: Bauer Power

Jack Bauer’s back, baby! In a cold, cruel world, one man stands up to fight the good fight, to rid the world of terrorists, and to live out another one of the longest day’s of his life...

Jack Bauer!

FOX got the series off to what has become it’s standard method, two nights in a row, two hours a night. And, sure, it’s exciting, but it may have seen better days too. Every season 24 ends with some incredibly fantastic ending, something that makes me want to know what happens next. But, I never really find that out. Sure, they’ve started to put out little shorts with the DVD sets, but that doesn’t really cover it. The prime example of this is the end of season two: David Palmer is attacked with some sort of virus at a rally and goes down. Is he dead? Is he alive? What was the virus? What’s going on? The series picks up two years later and it turns out that there’s no problem at all, he’s just fine, his hand is a little disfigured but that’s it. Huge letdown.

And what about last season? Jack is taken to China. What happens there? What was the torture like? Who knows, he’s back within five minutes of the beginning of season six. Some would argue that it’s okay, because clearly what happened to Jack was terrible. Look at his hand, it’s scarred (just like David Palmer, surely they could’ve chosen some other part of his anatomy), and his hair is long, and he refuses to speak. He’s clearly been affected mentally by this horrible turn of events. He should be affected mentally, it should be a huge problem, and something really, really difficult to come back from. He’s practically catatonic at the beginning of the episode. 

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Article Author: Josh Lasser

Josh Lasser, formerly known as "TV and Film Guy," and complete with a Masters Degree in Critical Studies in said areas, gives his opinions on TV, Film, and Entertainment in general. All of which he does in a shameless attempt to try to get paid to do the exact same thing. …

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  • 1 - Victor Lana

    Jan 17, 2007 at 10:57 pm

    24 is a fiction and we can never forget it. In fiction Odysseus can swim the seas and fight sea monsters. Anything is possible and we suspend our natural disbelief.

    With that said, Jack Bauer is an iconic figure much like these other fictional heroes. He is more John McCLane (Die Hard) than Superman. He bleeds, suffers, and makes mistakes. But when the chips are down, you want Jack Bauer in the mix.

    Over six seasons we've seen Jack take a great deal. Some of it is over the top, but much is in keeping with his character history. His training included withstanding all sorts of pain and torture. Thus, those 20 months in China are not necessarily unbelievable.

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