A Postmortem Review Of "24: Live Another Day"

By Elana Goodwin on July 18, 2014

Bauer Out.

FOX’s 12-episode miniseries of hit show “24″ as “24: Live Another Day” aired its finale Monday July 13, bringing another chapter in the life of former CTU Agent and currently wanted man Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) to an end.

Photo Credit: schmoesknow.com

The last episode of the season brought with it major action, major carnage, and some major game-changing plot twists, all of which the original ”24″ was known and lauded for. (Disclaimer: no spoilers about the final episode.)

“24″ premiered in November 2001 and was on the air for an action-packed eight seasons (in addition to the 2-hour TV movie “Redemption” between seasons six and seven) before its series finale in May 2010.

Kiefer Sutherland, who plays Bauer, won a Golden Globe in 2002 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series: Drama, and ”24″ won an Emmy in 2006 for Outstanding Drama Series.

Fans were overjoyed when it was announced last year that “24″ was being revived in the form of a 12-episode miniseries to take place in 2014 in the form of “24: Live Another Day.”

Sutherland stated after the announcement that:

“The response to ’24′ is unlike anything I have ever experienced as an actor before … To have the chance to reunite with the character, Jack Bauer, is like finding a lost friend … My goal is to knock your socks off [with this season].”

While some critics were unimpressed with “24: LAD,” like Hank Stuever of the Washington Post who wrote that “this time it is far less potent,” and Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jansen who said “despite the high-grade action, the premiere is more a showcase for everything that was bad about ’24′ than a reminder of everything that was good,” the overall critical and audience response to the show was overwhelmingly positive.

Mary NcNamara of the Los Angeles Times said, “it’s always good to see an old friend, and an old pro in action; ‘Live Another Day’ gives us both.”

Times’ James Poniewozik wrote that 24′s success ”came partly because it adapted its thriller format to the current concerns of the moment each season.”

“If you want a ’24′ very much like the show that went off the air in 2010, it will please you,” Poniewozik wrote. “If you’ve forgotten much about the show in the intervening four years, it might surprise you.”

Regardless of what is being said about “24: Live Another Day,” it succeeded spectacularly on several accounts.

Firstly, it brought “the gang” back together. “24: LAD” saw beloved characters from “24″ reprising their roles as CTU intelligence analyst Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub), Jack Bauer’s past love Audrey Raines (Kim Raver), and former Secretary of Defense turned President James Heller (William Devane)–besides, of course, Sutherland’s Bauer.

Though the number of familiar faces from the original show weren’t many, loyal fans understood that because of the many characters “24″ had killed off over its many action-packed seasons, getting three members of “the gang” was pretty good, all things considered.

Secondly, it provided viewers with blasts from the past. Remember when Jack was kidnapped by the Chinese at the end of season five and then tortured in a Chinese prison for over a year and a half, only being released at the start of season six? And then how Audrey went to China looking for him and was kidnapped and tortured too? Well, turns out that whole saga came back to the forefront in a big way, when their torturer, former Chinese national Cheng Zhi, showed up in “24: LAD,” in a bloody arc of chaos and carnage.

Photo Credit: digitalspy.com

Lastly, it gave the people what they wanted: more of Jack Bauer and him doing his thing, saving the world. Jack was recently named the #1 greatest action hero on TV in the greatest action heroes issue of TV Guide Magazine, winning over other big name heroic figures like Wonder Woman, The Lone Ranger and MacGyver to land first place.

Sutherland told the magazine that “Jack is heroic for the reasons he’s always been — he’s completely committed, he’s got enormous integrity and he still slams through windows and doors to protect what he believes in.”

The finale left Jack’s future somewhat up in the air but “24: LAD” executives have been quick to tell fans not to close the book on him just yet.

“All it takes is a story that fires us up. That’s what got us excited about doing this season,” said showrunner Manny Coto. “I think what would draw us back if that were ever to happen — and that’s definitely up in the air — would be we, or somebody, presents an interesting take on Jack. On Jack’s character, and where he is, which would suggest a great season.”

Could there be a “24: Live Another Another Day” on the horizon? Damn it, let’s hope so!

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