24 Season 6 is bad television. It marks the first time the show has tanked, and it does so on a bevy of levels. The characters, the acting, the overall story and writing. All bad.
Day 6 starts 20 months after the previous day. Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is returned from a Chinese prison for an artificial reason. The show dropped the ball from jump, missing the opportunity to have the season set in China. Jack escaping with the help of some guards, new streets and scenery, a dalliance with an attractive foreign agent. It would have been amazing.
Instead, we get a retread of themes, plots, and subplots that we have seen (and seen better) before.
Let’s start with the good.
I liked the tandem of villains; Abu Fayed (Adoni Maropis) and Dmitri Gredenko (Rade Šerbedžija). Each one is cool in a bad guy sort of way. Gredenko has an interesting depth – he’s a former Russian militant whose endgame is creating a war between the United States and the Islamic states for the benefit of Mother Russia.
We also get the return of great CTU agents Chloe O’Brian (Mary Lynn Rajskub) and Bill Buchanan (James Morrison). The always fun Powers Boothe portrays the Vice President. Kal Penn is here for some reason, but its Kal Penn so I’ll take it.
That’s it for the good
DB Woodside reprises his role as Wayne Palmer – though this time he’s the president. One of many ridiculous ideas. His cabinet is plagued by dubious sorts that want to hijack his presidency. Done before. And also begs the question – why would you hand pick cabinet members that hate you?
Peter MacNicol plays chief of staff Tom Lennox. I love MacNicol from Ally McBeal and Ghostbusters 2. He’s great here though the character is a bit of a cartoon. Karen Hayes (Jayne Atkinson) returns as another staff member, and one who opposes the flamboyant tactics and racism of Lennox. Yawn.
Morris O’Brian (Carlo Rota) and Milo Pressman (Eric Balfour) return for no real reasons.
The most egregious component of Day 6 is the inclusion of Jack’s so-called family. James Cromwell plays Jack’s father, Phillip Bauer. Graem (Paul McCrane) is his weasel brother. The beautiful Rena Sofer plays Graem’s wife, and Jack’s hinted at affair. There’s also a teenage son that acts like he’s 10 and is secretly Jack’s offspring. Double yawn. It all sucks.
The writers should be fired.
Plot holes, deus ex machina, too much drama. The writers took all that went great in Season 5 and tanked it. The scenes are too long and too slow. There are lots of subplots and side characters that do nothing and go nowhere. It’s as if they forgot it takes place in a single day. Watch and see what I mean.
Thankfully, the series goes through a reset at this point. Going forward some new settings and ideas keep things fresh. 6 is a dud but its needed to complete the series.
SEASON RANKINGS
5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 6
