20th Century Fox Entertainment
Release date: May 19, 2009
MSRP: $49.98
Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Carlos Bernard, James Morrison, Elisha Cuthbert
Every now and then I tune into 24. I am not a huge fan as I generally notice continuity flaws (Stuff like getting across L.A. in 18 minutes, being told it will take 2 hours to get data and have it in half that) and it messes up the 24 hour gimmick. Still, I do enjoy the mayhem and bravado so I check in from time to time.
I had the unfortunate experience of attempting to watch season six. What I saw, quite simply, sucked. It sucked big time. Not only did I decide not to return, but I thought there was a pretty good chance the show itself would not return.
I am happy to say season seven is a step up from six. While not 24 in it’s prime form, it does move well and the action is good. I have to say I thought that there was too many villians. It seemed like one popped up every few hours. I understand the pressure of making every ep as exciting as pos, but I would like to see the show do more to slowly build things up.
Jack has recently returned from raising hell in Africa (24: Redemption) and now is dealing not only with his potential legal issues, but is also attempting to keep America safe from terrorists. Season seven looks at the what happens to former CTU members after it was disbanded, what happens to Jack in regards to the congressional investigation. Whose side is Tony Almeida really on? Can FBI agent Walker and Jack work together, or will his win-at-all-costs attitude prove to be too much?
After six seasons, you would think the terrorists would simply walk away the minute that Jack shows up. But they persevere and stay focused on their dastardly missions. You have to give some credit for their sticktoitness. Without it, we would not have much of a show.
Video:
The picture has a ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen and looks great. I did notice some digital noise here and there, as well as some compression artifacts during a couple action scenes. But the overall quality is very nice and make this feel like a cinematic experience.
Audio:
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and it fully utilizes the system. The action sequences rumble and thunder around you and the tense moments are made all the tenser by the moody background music. The mix is outstanding and will leave you feeling like you are in the middle of it all.
There is also a Spanish 2.0 mix as well as subtitles for English, Spanish and French.
Extras:
We are offered a solid amount of goodies. We get twelve commentary tracks, about thirty minutes of deleted scenes and three featurettes. For me, the most interesting is 24-7:The Untold Story, this clocks in around 15 minutes and talks about the issues that that writers strike created as well as some frank talk about the pressures they faced after the criticisms ganered for season six.
Fans of the series will certainly be entranced by season seven. Pretty much everything that makes this show interesting is here. The crew clearly learned from the mistakes of season six and cleaned up the scripts as well as having brought in a pretty solid supporting cast. While not a huge fan of the series overall, I have no problem recommending season seven for your perusal.
Order season seven of 24.
Jeremy Lynch
For more reviews from myself, and the rest of the Crimespree crew, check out the index of reviews.
