TV Show Review: 24 - Season 7

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Action and thrills in the new season

Cons: Still relying on familiar plot elements

The Bottom Line:

Clock ticking again

Familiar elements but

The suspense is still real

Season 7 of 24 Once Again Delivers the Thrills

I think fans of 24 pretty much agree that season six was the weakest of the lot.  When season seven was delayed by the writer's strike, the cast and crew decided to use the extra time to fix the problems and make sure the new season was back to being excellent.  They even raved about how fresh and different the show was going to feel.  I'm not quite sure it was as fresh as advertised, but it was certainly back to excellent.

Reckoning time has come for Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland).  With CTU (Counter Terrorism Unit) dismantled, Jack has to answer for his actions to a Senate hearing.  But the hearing has just started with Jack is pulled out and taken to FBI headquarters in DC.  There he learns that former CTU agent and friend Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) is a terrorist.  And he's working with others planning an attack for that very day.  Teaming up with FBI agent Renee Walker (Annie Wersching), he sets out to stop the unfolding events.

Meanwhile, President Taylor (Cherry Jones), the US's first female president, is trying to deal with the unfolding events and the revelation that there are people in her own administration working against her.  Can her administration survive the day?  Can Jack stop the terrorists?

Among the praised changes for this season were the DC location and the fact that there was no more CTU.  I hate to break it to them, but they just substituted DC for Los Angeles and the FBI for CTU.  They may have had other names, but beneath the window dressing, the show was the same.

That included several "twists" that I saw coming a mile away.  Yep, the old familiar formula was in place at times.  However, there were other times I called something and turned out to be wrong.  So not every familiar twist was in place.

Furthermore, it honestly doesn't matter whether I can call a plot point or not.  I still get caught up in the action and don't want to turn the show off.  My heart was literally racing multiple times over the course of the season, including a well executed (if illogically set up) plot piece near the middle of the season.

For the first time in the run of the season, I felt this was the cleanest season.  Usually there are one or two plot threads that seem to go nowhere or are just filler.  Here, everything played into the overall story.  Everything was well thought out and executed to give us a cohesive whole.  That even holds true for a plot twist I thought was forced on the story.  They explained it eventually.

As always, the acting on the show is outstanding.  There is not one weak performance in the lot.  A special shout out goes to this season's best duo, Janeane Garofalo and Mary Lynn Rajskub as competing computer experts Janis and Chloe.  Fans of the show are already familiar with Chloe's almost anti-social personality.  Janis is just like her.  But the two play off each other for amazing comic relief.  It's not over done, but just right to lighten things up in a few episodes.

Considering the current political climate, the show stopped to ponder torture a few times.  Considering that has been a hallmark of the series since season 1, I found the discussions interesting.  Or I would have if most of them didn't end with Jack torturing someone.  (Frankly, I do wonder why Janeane Garofalo signed up for this show since it quite obviously has a political worldview she quite obviously disagrees with.)

Fox is rushing out this six disc set.  As a result, we are not getting the extra disc full of bonus material we've gotten used to over the years.  Although, honestly, I'm not sure what else there is to tell us about the making of the show after those previous sets.  We do still get twelve audio commentaries, deleted scenes, and a featurette on the villains and making one of the scenes.  The episodes themselves are presented in widescreen and full surround sound.

Fans of 24 can rejoice in knowing that season seven is back to form.  Grab this set and get ready for more pulse pounding action with Jack Bauer.