Saturday, June 30, 2007

24 Season 7: The First Episode Script Synopsis

WARNING: The following post may, and probably will, contain spoilers.

Things are popping up in the 24 news world. Loyal reader Jonk has pointed me to a television forum that has a synopsis of the first episode for season seven (look for Post #4334). Apparently news from previous seasons have ended up on the forum and 90% of the time, that news pans out to be true.

Now I've just read the synopsis, and here's what I think (WARNING: Even though this is rumored material, I wouldn't read past here unless you're okay knowing about next season):

The show's producers knew that they had to change 24 up. In fact, please recall that they were going to "reinvent" the show. How'd they do it? Here's a synopsis of the synopsis:

  • The location is in Washington D.C., not L.A.
    That means that instead of smog in the backgrounds of shots, we'll have the Capitol building (which is mentioned). Jack is still driving around, even though DC has a pretty good mass transit system, but this time the size of the city won't be overly daunting for time travel. This also puts us REALLY close to the White House, which is always a good thing in the 24 world.
  • Jack no longer works for CTU
    I guess he was finally done with death and working with the government. So now, he works for a defense contractor – who may, or may not, be selling arms to Muslims and/or rogue African nations. What a stretch this will be from the job he had with Heller in season five.
  • Jack's boss and another defense contractor hate each other
    There's your first sign of a bad rub. Jack's boss thinks this other dude is setting him up and sends Jack to figure out what's going on... because Jack's new job is as an Investigator? Unfortunately, even his own boss wants him dead and sends people to kill Jack. So there's a shoot-out, in the streets of DC. Good thing Jack still carries a weapon around... in DC... when he's probably constantly talking to lobbyists and senators.
  • Jack's got a new chicky
    They're totally doing it in the first episode (at least its not 60 year olds), too. Then he leaves and she pulls the ole "I'm sleeping with you only to get information for my employer," routine. But Jack was playing the, "I know exactly what you're doing, so I'm giving you fake information but making you think that I'm giving you real information... ha ha ha, you dumb bitch... you're a bad lay, anyway," routine. Backstabbing by a lover, this is totally a new twist in 24 (see Nina in season one, see Invasion Chick/Hornball in season six).
  • Chloe and Morris aren't at CTU anymore
    They're now at Division. With child (Gwenyth). I don't really understand this move. Why do you promote two employees who were constant sources of mess ups at CTU? We all know the place was understaffed, so when enemies hacked into the CTU computers, there's only a handful of people to blame. Chances are, the whiney chick who hates Division and the alcoholic will be blamed first. Oh, but get this, in the first episode, Division gets hacked! That's quite the track record they bring with them to DC. And the only reason the writers gave the baby a name is because there will be some story line with her involved.
  • The rumors of a female president are true
    It's only fair. The show has had both a white and black male president. It's time for some estrogen in the White House. Let's also make her despise her husband and make that into a major story line. We've never seen the President and their First Mate ever have problems (see David Palmer vs. Sherry, see Grizzly Logan vs. psycho).
  • Old faces return
    It's been said that Bill and Karen will return in episode two.

Talk about reinventing 24. Reading the synopsis, I almost had no clue as to what the show was. It sounded SO DIFFERENT than previous years. Yes, that's sarcasm and I'm laying it on pretty thick.

Honestly, this sounds like the same song in a different pitch. The writers can't seem to ween themselves away from the Middle East, the White House, backstabbing plots, computer hacking troubles, shoot-outs in the middle of the street with non-authoritative figures, or anything else we've seen in other seasons of 24. Do the writers think that merely changing the city and making the president a woman reinvents the show? Wow. Hardly in my book.

I'll try to withhold judgement until I actually see the first episode in January. But if this pans out to be true, then I'm already down on the season and what FOX has done to make the show better. Aka, nothing.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

First of all, Jack worked for heller in season 4.

ANYWAY, this is really some reinvention! Instead of LA, we get LA with DC stock footage in the background (yeah, like they're gonna shoot it in DC...) and instead of working for CTU, Jack works for some stupid company and does THE SAME stuff. Also, I don't get this whole "there's no CTU" thing. If there's gonna be Division, then that's basically the same thing, right?

And I think I remeber reading a quote of of the creators saying that Jack's job won't have anything to do with the government. Now, how does that apply to working in DC for a defense contractor?!

I already hate any and all future storylines with Chloe, Morris, and their kid. Why do they have to bring back the two worst characters and? And why can't the baby just be at home with a babysitter all season? Does Chloe hide it under her desk like she did in season 3?

Seth Gunderson said...

Thanks for the correction, Ivan. I guess seasons 4-6 are all starting to blur together for me.

But yeah, this is pretty underwhelming in the reinvention department. Le sigh.

Jonk said...

Fortunately, this might not be true. It's been refuted further on in the discussion at Television Without Pity. At this point, it is probably safe to assume nothing either way.

Seth Gunderson said...

Thanks Jonk. True or not (I'm glad I said it was rumored), what's sad is that we could all see this as being very plausible by those who create 24.

bh said...

Ain't it Cool News has a link to this TV Guide story. Apparently, a good portion of season 7 was to take place someplace in Africa, but Fox overruled the producers on that, and now Team 24 is starting over from scratch on season 7's story. The best part? Having to start over completely is only going to delay production about 3 weeks.

Here's the link (sorry, i don't know how to use HTML if blogger doesn't give me buttons):
http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/Exclusive-24-Plot/800018254

bh said...

Sorry, again, my URL pasting didn't go so well. I've cut the URL into three pieces, in case anyone wants to visit the story.


http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/
TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/
Exclusive-24-Plot/800018254

Seth Gunderson said...

Bryan... that link is solid gold. I'll be sure to blog that soon. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I heard season 7 will be a prequel to series 1

Anonymous said...

I'm a long-time fan of 24 and just discovered your blog.

I like your blog very much, and have to agree. Sounds horrible. 24 has really went down the drain and continues getting worse every season.

Anonymous said...

Watch 24 season 7 episode 1 online at http://sowonder.net/broadcast/?d=24_Season_7_Episode_1
(hq video)

Lee said...

season 7 was the best. they keep keeping is guessing whats going to happen next. Loved the twist