24: Day 7: 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM/Season 7-Eps#!

[Felon]

You must have missed the shows beginning where Jack was being questioned. He was the one saying that CTU's tactics should be out in the open, held accountable to the people.

But see, what's really being said by Jack (or through Jack), isn't that CTU should put an end to torture tactics if that's the will of the people, but rather that the people who make all that fuss about violations of civil liberties need a healthy dose of reality rubbed in their face so they'll realize that their pie-in-the-ksy principles against jamming a Bic into someon'se ear just don't work. Bic in the air or the lives of countless thousands, millions, billions--whatever.

And that's what's happening with the straw-man potrayal of the FBI agents. They're objecting to hardball tactics initially, then when an actual situation puts them to the test, they reluctantly cave in when Jack's methods are inevitably proven to be the only viable course of action. There are two kinds of people in 24: rhetoric-spouters with their heads in the sand, and people like Bauer who live in the real world and are stuck with the thankless job of potecting those namby-pamby sheep.

 

[Darkwolf71]

But see, what's really being said by Jack (or through Jack), isn't that CTU should put an end to torture tactics if that's the will of the people, but rather that the people who object to violations of civil liberties need a healthy dose of reality rubbed in their face so they'll realize that their pie-in-the-ksy principles against jamming a Bic into someon'se ear just don't work.

And that's what's happening with the straw-man potrayal of the FBI agents. They're objecting to hardball tactics initially, then when an actual situation puts them to the test, they reluctantly cave in when Jack's methods are inevitably proven to be the only viable course of action. There are two kinds of people in 24: rhetoric-spouters with their heads in the sand, and people like Bauer who live in the real world and are stuck with the thankless job of potecting those namby-pamby sheep.

If you want to interput it that way, that's fine. I'll point out though that so far the only FBI agent who 'caved' to Jacks methods was the very agent who wanted himm on the case to begin with. I suspect she was already at that place and it was seeing Jack in action that encouraged her to act in kind, not that she was suddenly convinced of the error of her ways.

 

[Felon]

If you want to interput it that way, that's fine. I'll point out though that so far the only FBI agent who 'caved' to Jacks methods was the very agent who wanted himm on the case to begin with. I suspect she was already at that place and it was seeing Jack in action that encouraged her to act in kind, not that she was suddenly convinced of the error of her ways.

This is the show's, what, seventh season? Eighth? In all of that time, has there been anyone who objected to "extreme interrogation" methods who wasn't ultimately proven to have feet of clay? How many sheltered bureaucrats have come in to tell Jack that he can't keep violating civil liberties, and then later in the episode they either pay for their naive rhetoric with their lives, or are brought around to Jack's way of thinking? Did you see Redemption? If so, do you remember that United Nations worker that kept mouthing off to Jack about what a thug he was, only to show himself for a spineless, selfish weakling once the bad guys showed up? This show has never played both sides of the fence, and I wouldn't be on that changing, because in the eyes of the producers, 24's unilateral perspective is a feature not a bug.

Jacks says quite boldly in this season's first episode that he has no remorse for anything he's ever done. This is a guy who's gone rogue in virtually every season, commited various felonies, assaulted civilians, fellow law enforcement agents, and pretty much anybody who gives him lip (remember him choking C. Thomas Howell for the crime of schtuping his daughter?). Yet, he's never put to task for it by the powers that be. Because we all owe him our ungrateful lives.

But that's OK, IMO. 24 is a tremendously entertaining action thriller. It has a lot of polish for a TV show. But it also has an image of being savvy and sophisticated and realistic that is largely undeserved. I'm sure we can all think of plenty of contrivances that have been drawn up from the well time and time again, to the point where we just have to manually switch off suspension of disbelief.