Topic: 24

[gonz]

"The following takes place between midnight and 1 a.m..."

I've just seen the 2nd episode of Fox's tremendously hyped new show, 24, and I'm hooked.  This is a really addictive show, Fox's best since The Simpsons and The X-Files.  It stars Keifer Sutherland as a government counter-terrorism agent embroiled in a complex conspiracy to assassinate a presidential candidate.  The show gets its name from the fact that each episode occurs in real time, one hour in the life of the characters.  Therefore the entire season takes place in one day -- 24 hours.  The really cool thing about this show is that it keeps you guessing -- you truly don't know whom to trust.

24 is directed by Stephen Hopkins, fairly reliable director of commercial successes Judgment Night, Blown Away, The Ghost and the Darkness, Lost in Space, and most recently Under Suspicion.

This is one to watch.

[CrUzSACK]

It stars Keifer Sutherland as a government counter-terrorism agent embroiled in a complex conspiracy to assassinate a presidential candidate.  The show gets its name from the fact that each episode occurs in real time, one hour in the life of the characters.  Therefore the entire season takes place in one day -- 24 hours.  The really cool thing about this show is that it keeps you guessing -- you truly don't know whom to trust.

This is one to watch.

Uy, have not heard of this one til now! Thanks, gonz. It sounds like a good one.  Who are the other stars aside from Keifer?  Hope AXN gets this on cable soon para mapanood naman namin dito!  

[gonz]

Who are the other stars aside from Keifer?  Hope AXN gets this on cable soon para mapanood naman namin dito!  

Hi CrUzSACK -- just click on the links in my post above to go to 24's official web site, http://www.fox.com/24.

[kakabanas]

"The following takes place between midnight and 1 a.m..."

I've just seen the 2nd episode of Fox's tremendously hyped new show, 24, and I'm hooked.  

This is one to watch.

That makes the two of us!  I gave up Smallville for 24 last week (premiere) and I have no regrets. I only have one VCR and that goes to Buffy.  Last night's 24 episode was full of thrills and suspense. I can't wait to see next week's episode  and the rest of 22 hours left. I hope more people watch it so they don't cancel it. There are a lot of interesting characters and plots and the way they are being connected and developed, looks like the audience will be in for a big surprise every hour.

THIS IS QUALITY TV !

[kakabanas]

Golden Globe nomination :

59th Annual Golden Globe Awards nominees

Television:

Drama Series:
24, Fox
Alias, ABC
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CBS
Six Feet Under, HBO
The Sopranos, HBO
The West Wing, NBC


I hope 24 wins. That might make people give it a chance and discover it. Unfortunately, Tuesday has become the must-see tv night, and 9:00 PM the bloody battle field hour of television. There's 24 on Fox, the resurgent, still good NYPD Blue on ABC, Fraser/Scrubs on NBC, Smallville in WB and Buffy The Vampire Slayer on UPN. We need more VCR !!!!

The event that took place from 5:00 AM to 6:00 AM was really gripping and a couple of secrets and mysteries revealed. There are 18 hours more left, I can only imagine what else could possibly happen.

And being the holidays and all, the next episode won't be shown until January ... aaaaaahhhhhh !!!!!

[gonz]

"The following takes place between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on the day of the California presidential primary."

The first season is 1/3 over, and I am left gasping for breath every Tuesday night.  What an amazing show!  Constant yet logical plot twists, tremendous foreshadowing, an ominpresent sense of unbearable dread is palpable in every scene.  Only The Sopranos, or the best of The X-Files, has ever gripped me as tightly as this show.

Congratulations to Keifer Sutherland for bagging the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Leading Role -Drama for his work in 24.  I hope this show gets brought over to the Philippines, so the rest of you can experience it.  The inevitable DVD compilation is definitely on my wish list!

Hey, k -- I've started digitally capturing the show to Video CD on my iMac, so that I can watch each episode again as soon as the live airing ends!  

[sardaukar]

I heard about this show, I'm not sure where (perhaps on E!) and I was a little intrigued by the concept of a "real time" show. But I was also wondering how something that happens in real time can be very exciting and expand that to an entire season showing 24 hours of real time. Shows (TV and movies) normally jump in time to move the story along. And off the top of my head I can't imagine an entire day being sustaining enough for an audience. Must be quite a day! I'm glad to hear that it is a very interesting show and I can't wait for local cable channels to pick it up.

[kakabanas]

"The following takes place between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on the day of the California presidential primary."

The first season is 1/3 over, and I am left gasping for breath every Tuesday night.  What an amazing show!  Constant yet logical plot twists, tremendous foreshadowing, an ominpresent sense of unbearable dread is palpable in every scene.  Only The Sopranos, or the best of The X-Files, has ever gripped me as tightly as this show.

Congratulations to Keifer Sutherland for bagging the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Leading Role -Drama for his work in 24.  I hope this show gets brought over to the Philippines, so the rest of you can experience it.  The inevitable DVD compilation is definitely on my wish list!

Hey, k -- I've started digitally capturing the show to Video CD on my iMac, so that I can watch each episode again as soon as the live airing ends!  

I agree best friend g. I can't take my eyes off TV and I dread every commercial interruptions. Last night's episode was a blast. I loved how the three mothers (Bauer's wife, the presidential candidate's wife .. and Jamie) did everything to protect their kids. One would sacrifice herself, one would go to great lengths and one would kill herself to protect their sons and daughters. It's not just pure action ... there's a lot of drama, intrigue and suspense. There are still a lot of secrets hidden (the black mother has a bagful of them I think.).

I am beginning to have an idea who's behind all the assassination plot though ... but it's just a wild  guess.

I hope FOX or FX cable will start running a marathon so I can record all episodes sequentially. I want to have a copy of the show myself... DVD or VHS.

Gripping ! I never thought TV could be this good.

[kakabanas]

I heard about this show, I'm not sure where (perhaps on E!) and I was a little intrigued by the concept of a "real time" show. But I was also wondering how something that happens in real time can be very exciting and expand that to an entire season showing 24 hours of real time. Shows (TV and movies) normally jump in time to move the story along. And off the top of my head I can't imagine an entire day being sustaining enough for an audience. Must be quite a day! I'm glad to hear that it is a very interesting show and I can't wait for local cable channels to pick it up.

You'd be amazed how the show kept all the suspense, action and drama for an hour ... and still have a lot more of them left for the hours to come. It is an intelligent show, well acted, directed and written. And aside from the big story (assassination plot to kill a black presidential candidate), there are subplots that are going on at the same time involving people around the FBI agent and the candidate. All these subplots tie in together as hours go along, as surprises are revealed every hour. And the fact that all of these things happen in real time makes for an exciting TV viewing. We all kept saying a lot can happen in a second ... this is one proof of that.

[DViant]

In you opinion is 24 worth downloading for 4-5 hrs? While I was in the US last year I heard about the concept of it but I really didn't know what's it about.

[kakabanas]

In you opinion is 24 worth downloading for 4-5 hrs? While I was in the US last year I heard about the concept of it but I really didn't know what's it about.

If you ask me and g, we would both say YES.

[gonz]

In you opinion is 24 worth downloading for 4-5 hrs?

As best friend k says, a resounding "Yes!"

However, just want to clarify that I'm not dowloading it -- I've got a cable box hooked up to my iMac via an RCA-to-USB digitizer (XLR8 Interview).  It's a nifty gadget that lets me capture analog video from most any source (TV, cable, handycam) to my Mac at 320x240 and 30 fps. Good enough for VCD mastering.  Cost me just $15 too!  

So I "tape" the show to my Mac, then convert the QuickTime video to mpeg-1, which I then burn to VCD.

Hmm...sounds almost as complicated as the show itself!  

[erniea]

$15 for the converter?!? I want one too!!!!  

[gonz]

$15 for the converter?!? I want one too!!!!  

I lucked out, Ernie -- I got it dirt cheap at the PhilMUG auction that preceded my departure from Manila.

Welcome to PinoyDVD, btw!  

[DViant]

As best friend k says, a resounding "Yes!"

However, just want to clarify that I'm not dowloading it -- I've got a cable box hooked up to my iMac via an RCA-to-USB digitizer (XLR8 Interview).  It's a nifty gadget that lets me capture analog video from most any source (TV, cable, handycam) to my Mac at 320x240 and 30 fps. Good enough for VCD mastering.  Cost me just $15 too!  

So I "tape" the show to my Mac, then convert the QuickTime video to mpeg-1, which I then burn to VCD.

Hmm...sounds almost as complicated as the show itself!  

What software do you use to encode the video feed?

[gonz]

What software do you use to encode the video feed?

I use Srata Videoshop 4.5 to capture the TV feed to QuickTime.  Then I use Roxio Toast Platinum's built-in QuickTime-to-MPEG converter to encode to MPEG-1.  Quality is okay.

I could probably get better quality using Terran Interactive's Media Cleaner Pro 5, but then Cleaner Pro uses the Heuris MPEG engine to export, which unfortunately outputs MPEG-1 files that Toast does not recognize as standard MPEG streams.  Thus Toast refuses to burn the MPEG file to VCD.  To avoid any more compatibility problems, I simply rely on Toast's converter. It's decent enough.

[kakabanas]

I use Srata Videoshop 4.5 to capture the TV feed to QuickTime.  Then I use Roxio Toast Platinum's built-in QuickTime-to-MPEG converter to encode to MPEG-1.  Quality is okay.

I could probably get better quality using Terran Interactive's Media Cleaner Pro 5, but then Cleaner Pro uses the Heuris MPEG engine to export, which unfortunately outputs MPEG-1 files that Toast does not recognize as standard MPEG streams.  Thus Toast refuses to burn the MPEG file to VCD.  To avoid any more compatibility problems, I simply rely on Toast's converter. It's decent enough.

I suppose you remove commercial interruptions ? If they don't release this on dvd, I might copy your vcds so I can have my own too.   But I think there is a big chance they will.  

[NY152]

In you opinion is 24 worth downloading for 4-5 hrs?

Since I'm done with all the FRIENDS, Roswell, Buffy, Smallville, Alias, and Enterprise episodes so far, I've been looking for 24 to download on Morpheus, but I've only found one episode.

Where did you find it?

[gonz]

I suppose you remove commercial interruptions ? If they don't release this on dvd, I might copy your vcds so I can have my own too.   But I think there is a big chance they will.  

Yup, I edit out the commercials.

I agree, pero the DVD release may be a few years down the road.  It's nice to have something to tide one over in the meantime.  

[CrUzSACK]

Did anyone see the teasers for 24 today on RPN 9?  Coming soon na raw...

[sardaukar]

Did anyone see the teasers for 24 today on RPN 9?  Coming soon na raw...

Hey really? I didn't catch that. That's excellent! Thanks for the heads up CrUzSACK!

gonz and kakabanas, how were the last 8 or so episodes? Still living up to the first ones? Hope so! (Hopefully the last 5 episodes aren't of him sleeping. I assume it's been a very long day. ) I'm excited na to catch this show.

[sardaukar]

Saw the plug last night. The show will start on June 17 at 9pm on RPN 9.

Can't wait.

[utoy]

I thought Fox already cancelled this show or have they?

[kakabanas]

gonz and kakabanas, how were the last 8 or so episodes? Still living up to the first ones? Hope so! (Hopefully the last 5 episodes aren't of him sleeping. I assume it's been a very long day. ) I'm excited na to catch this show.

Aside from the annoying accent of a "special guest star" and the stupid kids of of both Jack and the Senator, it was worth all the the 24 hours I spent watching it. I'm not gonna give the ending ... but Jack Bauer and Senator Palmer's fates in the end were the same, except the other one ended up grieving.

And the traitor was not someone I was expecting. Great twists all in one day.

[kakabanas]

I thought Fox already cancelled this show or have they?

The show was renewed for next season. Kiefer Sutherland stays ... and Fox is keeping the real time format.

I read in USA Today sometime ago that they are planning to release the dvd before the new season starts.

[utoy]

it's going to be on tonight at 9.

[gonz]

The show was renewed for next season. Kiefer Sutherland stays ... and Fox is keeping the real time format.

Interesting...if the show runs several seasons, Jack Bauer will hold the all-time record for most convoluted, sleep-deprived, hostage-drama-filled, evil-people-from-my-covert-past-ridden, completely bad days.  

Tell you one thing...after what happened to them in season one, I'd be very surprised if Jack's family would dare stick around him for the coming seasons.  He's a severe trouble magnet.  "Enough of this, I'm outta here!"  

I wonder if season two will begin right where season one ended (rather than a few months or years down the road).  Considering the season one finale, it would be logical.  But that would mean two straight days without sleep for Jack.

I'm surprised that Fox renewed the show, considering that the ratings weren't so good for the back half of the season (or so I'd heard).  One NY talk radio DJ called 24, "the best show that nobody watches."

I read in USA Today sometime ago that they are planning to release the dvd before the new season starts.

Hey, a fast DVD release, pretty cool.  A buddy of mine seems to have set his sights on the DVD, but I'm not so sure now that I'll pick it up.  I still consider it a great show, but I don't think I'll get much out of watching it a second time.  Unlike, say, The Simpsons, which I can watch over and over again (when is The Simpsons season two coming out, anyway?).

[kakabanas]

Interesting...if the show runs several seasons, Jack Bauer will hold the all-time record for most convoluted, sleep-deprived, hostage-drama-filled, evil-people-from-my-covert-past-ridden, completely bad days.  

Tell you one thing...after what happened to them in season one, I'd be very surprised if Jack's family would dare stick around him for the coming seasons.  He's a severe trouble magnet.  "Enough of this, I'm outta here!"  

I wonder if season two will begin right where season one ended (rather than a few months or years down the road).  Considering the season one finale, it would be logical.  But that would mean two straight days without sleep for Jack.

I'm surprised that Fox renewed the show, considering that the ratings weren't so good for the back half of the season (or so I'd heard).  One NY talk radio DJ called 24, "the best show that nobody watches."

[size=10]spoiler alert[/size]
I'm giving it three seasons at most. It is very difficult for the audience to find it since it is in the most competitive night on television (NYPD Blue, Smallville, Frasier, Buffy). And after they figured out the brains behind all the plots, what's next ? Part of what made it interesting and intense are the revenge idea ... the hidden connection between Bauer and Palmer ... and their families thrown in the mix ... rape , kidnapping, amnesia, lots of killing  ... a flawed man that you'd actually  root for even if he kills.

I wouldn't mind if they get rid of (the stupid) Kim .. and Palmer's son .. two of dumbest characters in the show. Unfortunately, they are coming back.

Season two will start one year after the incident according to an article in Entertainment Weekly. All major characters will be back .. and all questions left unanswered will be dealt.

I am surprised as well that it got renewed. I think Fox is trying to salvage its image (Temptation Island, Who Wants to Marry A Millionaire, etc.) now that it lost its former prestigious shows (The X-Files, Ally McBeal).  I think it is an honorable thing to do .. doing some public service by giving people a quality show to watch. But I'm pretty sure they'd pull the plug anytime once the production cost becomes unbearable with not much money coming in from advertisers. The adjustment in the Nielsen's ratings could give it more life though but I'm not keeping my hopes up even if I had grown to love the show.

[flyderman]

Good thing I've read this thread a few months ago, because as soon as 24 aired here (2 weeks ago), I was able to take notice and had the desire to try it out.  So I recorded the pilot (btw it's every Monday 9pm RPN 9, and yes it used to be the slot for The X-Files), forgot about it till sunday night, and when I did get to watch it, I always make it a point to record every episode!  Very gripping indeed.

Last night was the 3rd episode, though I have yet to watch it.  Maybe tonight, woohoo!

Thanks for the heads up!

[kakabanas]

Update on 24, the second season ... it's got some spoilers so read at your own risk


http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2002-07-21-fox_x.htm