No Stopping The Clock
Jack Bauer has joined Jack Shepherd and Christian Troy in the big series in the sky.
Three of my favorite TV series of all time 24, Lost and Nip/Tuck now have shut their sets for good, and they will leave personal time slot openings for new shows or more sports watching on my 2011-11 TV season calendar.
Ironically, the final day of the series 24 — because one can hope that reports about a movie with Kiefer Sutherland’s dogged agent are true — on May 24, didn’t go one-on-one with another No. 24, Kobe Bryant. Due to the scheduling folly or wisdom of David Stern, the Los Angeles Lakers and “Black Mamba” didn’t have to match up against the final two Bauer hours.
That gave my son Alex and I a final chance for mostly unencumbered indulgence (yes, we did check in on the Celtics-Magic and Flyers-Canadiens) in the escapism, the on-screen torture and violence, the implausibility of the plot lines, and the trademark countdown clock that marked 24 as a ground-breaking series. We’ve shared Jack’s battles against Habib Marwan, Cheng Zhi, Phillip and Graem Bauer, Jonas Hodges and Alan Wilson, and now Charles Logan (again) and the Russians during 24’s final season set in New York.
The series finale of 24 also continued the clock ticking down on Alex’s time before he moves on to college this August. Executives at Fox, ABC and FX ended the runs on the characters that entertained me over the years, but as a father I can’t stop the clock on Alex’s departure. I’m certainly going to miss him kicking around the house and our time together watching Lost, the Yankees, the NFL Sunday Ticket and 24.
Instead, many of our emails and phone conversations will no doubt center on the other No. 24 — my son has become a big NBA fan this season — and hopefully serve as a bond and bridge from Mamaroneck to Baton Rouge.
I look forward to those correspondences, just as I fondly remember the eight seasons of “Bauer Power,” the last five of which Alex and I spent together with Jack on almost every one of those Monday nights.