24 - Season 1 [DVD]

I think everyone must be familiar with the idea behind this series, even if they haven't seen it. 24 hours, real time etc. The point of this review is to give a brief introduction to 24 and what to expect (hopefully without spoiling it) and my thoughts on this first series.This first series of 24 starts with Agent Jack Bauer (played brilliantly by Kiefer Sutherland) assigned to protect a presidential candidate from assassination. By the end of the first episode, his daughter has been kidnapped and there may be people in the Counter Terrorist Agency he works for involved in the conspiracy. The story takes place over 24 hours and follows many twists and turns as Jack struggles to protect his family and the politician, many times landing himself in trouble and coming under harsh criticism from the FBI and his colleagues at CTU. To elaborate further would spoil the series and if you really want to know exactly what happens then there are plenty of other reviews that will tell you.I haven't seen the subsequent series, so this review will not be a comparison. The following are my opinions on this series as a standalone product. Firstly, the acting is excellent. Even if the supporting cast were weak, which they most certainly aren't, Kiefer Sutherland portrays Jack Bauer in a powerful way that makes us sympathise with his struggles and not want to take our eyes from him for a moment. The awards and respect he has won for this part are entirely deserved. The series as a whole is excellent, gripping the viewer and putting them in a position where they absolutely have to know what happens next at the end of each episode! The attention to detail is impressive too. With the exception of obvious breaks for commercials, there isn't a minute goes by without something happening that's important. Is there any other TV series or even major hollywood film that can claim something like that and stretch it to 24 hours?Simply put, this series is much more than addictive. It is one of the most well-made, thrilling and entertaining TV series to be shown on TV, ever. The one area this DVD set falls down on is the extras. But when you've got 24 hours of footage to get through, you really don't care! Enjoy!

When 24 first hit British TV screens early in 2002, word had already spread from America that this was one show not to be missed. And so it proved. With its combination of fast-paced storylines, top-notch acting from, amongst others, Kiefer Sutherland, and innovative split-screen action, 24 became the contemporary equivalent of Twin Peaks, the one show you just had to see.The storyline centres around a terrorist plot to assassinate a Presidential candidate, played by Dennis Haysbert, with each of the 24 episodes unfolding in 'real-time', (although stripped of the gaps left for US advertisements, the actual running time of each episode is more like 40 minutes). Sutherland's character, Jack Bauer, heads a crack-team of counter-terrorist agents out to foil the plot. Over the course of the day, as the tension, (and body-count), grows, various plot strands become increasingly intertwined, leading to the final, thrilling denouement.Fox have commemorated this magnificent show by producing a smart looking box-set, with a slip-case that removes to reveal a fold-out container, packed with images and 24 logos. All six of the discs are inside this one pack, along with a full-colour booklet that has snippets of information about the show.So what about the quality of the discs? The animated menus are superb, showing brief, chronologically arranged, clips from each of the four shows on the disc. Select an episode and you are taken to its menu, from where you can play the episode or navigate around its various chapters. A very slick looking, fast moving set up! (By the way, if you do nothing on the episode menu for about ten seconds, you'll hear a slightly unnerving message!)Once you've selected the episode you want to see, you're met with an excellent, high-quality 16x9 Anamorphic Widescreen image, which really makes full use of the show's visual strengths. The sound, although only a basic stereo surround, does a good job. All the dialogue is clear and the many explosions, gun shots and other effects ring around nicely! In truth, a 5.1 soundtrack would have added to the package, but the lack of such a feature shouldn't put you off. One slight criticism of the discs is that, having watched an episode, you are automatically taken back to the menu screens, rather than having the facility to watch all four episodes on the discs 'back-to-back' with no interruptions.As for the extras, all I can say is don't get too excited. The alternative ending, (which I will describe as 'happy' in contrast to the 'sad' ending transmitted on TV), shows that the directors made the right choice of conclusion. The alternative lacks any sense of the dramatic punch packed by the original ending. The Season 2 preview is also a huge disappointment. It consists of Kiefer Sutherland talking about how dramatic Season 1 was, and promising us more of the same next time round. This would have worked better as an introduction on disc one, as it tells us next to nothing about the second series.The lack of extras aside, this set gives you the perfect memento of one of the greatest TV series to ever be made.