So Long Jack

There was no two hour retrospective before the show and there was no appearance on Jimmy Kimmel after it. I didn't see newscasters talking about how Monday night was the official end of "24" and aside from a few mentions in magazines here and there, the show basically left the air with a medium bang and a bit of a whimper (if you saw the show you know what I mean). As a fan of the show I felt in my heart of hearts that the show wasn't living up to the expectations I seemed to have for it at the start of every season. Sure there were highlights every now and again and last season did give me higher hopes for this season but alas it wasn't to be and this could very well have been the last time we see Jack Bauer running (and screaming... and torturing) on the small screen; and it's not necessarily a bad thing.

Now don't get me wrong, I think "24" definitely changed the way in which television shows of this nature were shown. From it's multiple scenes to the fact that events occur in real time, "24" was a very timely show (pun intended). Premiering within days of the events of 9/11, Jack Bauer came to encompass the good guy that many people hoped was actually out there fighting terrorism. He was steadfast, determined and ready to break rules (consequences be damned) to ensure that the United States was kept secure. Some would argue that it was the example set by the character that led to so many instances of torture or rule-bending in Iraq and Afghanistan but I beg to differ. If people weren't already of that nature to begin with, it would certainly take more than just a character on a show to make people believe that torture and gunplay was the only course of action in dealing with enemies.

Perhaps it's a means to an end and perhaps it's just a show. To me that's what it always was. I never tried to apply logic to everything I saw. After all, if I were to take the show to be the gospel truth about what life is like in America's intelligence agencies then God help us but we've got a lot of traitors and sleeper agents roaming in our midst. But in the end it's just a show and that's what we need to remember. After the conclusion of "Lost" I read much of the fan reaction on the internet and it ran the gamut of honest observation to inane and banal idiocy. People were crying out that the show 'cheated' fans and left too many questions unanswered.

To me that is the hallmark of truly thought provoking television. If you are given everything in a nicely wrapped package then why even have questions to begin with? You know that by the end the answers will be revealed. By having some questions left unanswered it's almost like allowing a viewer to determine the true ending on their own. While it wasn't as good (or mildly ambiguous) an ending as "Lost", "24"'s final moments were about what I expected with Jack Bauer, the one true hero in the world of the show doing what he's always done; fighting for the truth and his ideals. He's the "Superman" of the post-9/11 era who fights for truth, justice and the American way with a Sig Sauer P228 by his side. I'll miss seeing him next season but I'll rest easy knowing that he'll be out in TV-land defending America.