24 - Seasons 1 to 8 DVD Box Set

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Watching US TV today, it’s easy to forget just how innovative 24 was upon its first transmission. A drama shown in real time, where an hour of investigation matches with an hour of us sitting on the sofa, watching intently. It was genuinely ambitious, particularly for network TV, and it’s truly remarkable that the show not only delivered, but consistently delivered for so many years to follow. It’s the longest-running, most critically acclaimed TV thriller of all time - and it’s an honour that’s absolutely deserved.

24 stars Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, a ruthless agent of Los Angeles’ Counter Terrorism Unit, an agency tasked with fighting terrorism but infiltrated with moles, spies and rogue agents all set on undermining the investigation. Bauer himself is, simply put, a badass - no stranger to violent interrogation and bending the rules to suit his own needs. He gets things done, that’s why we love him, but he gets things done in his own, unique style - much to the dismay of every other CTU employee and government bigwig.

Matched with the high-octane, action-packed adventuring, there’s some shockingly intelligent writing at play here, that at times rivals The West Wing with its account of White House decision making. It’s testament to the greatness of the show that you can be watching Jack chase after a fleeing suspect, and still wish you were back in the conference room, discussing the ethics of military retaliation.

The frightening thing is that 24 sounds like a gimmick. The notion of real-time, the ticking clock, the split-screen techniques - it sounds like style with no substance, a lack of depth and character. Nothing is further from the truth. What the show stands up on, above all else, is storytelling that moves in unpredictable ways, building to cliffhangers that get more and more nail-biting as the series continues. Even more surprisingly, 24 doesn’t play all its cards with season one - seasons three and four, for example, stand out as some of the best episodes ever made, with call-backs to long-standing characters and double bluffs, triple bluffs, that keep you guessing. Whatever you think is going on, chances are you don’t know the half of it - and when that rug is pulled from under you, that’s what makes great TV.

This box set contains the entire 24, from Jack’s first hunt for moles right through to the case that could well be his last, along with the feature-length 24:Redemption, a TV-movie that hints at just how great a cinema outing for Jack could be. For now, though, this set is the perfect way to get in to a show that, for better or worse, changed TV.

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