Monthly Archives: October 2013

24, The Longest Dead Series Discussion of Our Lives: Season Two

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“DOING IT ALL FOR THE NUKE-IE”

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24 is a groundbreaking and important television series. Beyond the thrills, kills, twists and tragedies is a show that reached a new level of serialized storytelling and set the bar for action and suspense on network television. Lasting for 8 full seasons–192 Episodes plus a TV movie–24 is one of the longest-running shows of the past 15 years. Others, like Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, Smallville, all three CSIs and three of four Law & Orders, may have run longer, but the argument can be made that none of those shows are equally as worthy of contributing to the debatably labeled and vaguely-defined “Third Golden Age of Television Drama” that began with The Sopranos in 1999 and is now fading with the end of Breaking Bad and the impending finale of Mad Men. Perhaps 24 doesn’t quite reach the dramatic heights of those shows, or others like The Wire and Deadwood, or even The Shield, Lost or Battlestar Galactica, but it was always a strong awards and ratings contender and it was just so addicting and fun to watch.

Please join us—Patches, Zach, Jeff and MegaMix—as we take a look back at this series, discussing one season every month until the premiere of the new 12-episode miniseries 24: Live Another Day in May 2014.

This month’s discussion is focused on Season 2 of 24, which premiered in October of 2002.

It contains SPOILERS for the entire series of 24 and strong language. Parental discretion is advised. Discussion occurs in real time.

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Patches
24 premiered just two months after the 9/11 Attacks. Although 24’s first season was closer to a family drama than the espionage drama/thriller it would become, no other show on television has become more closely associated with the War on Terror.

And it makes perfect sense. When confronted with a tragedy, especially such a shocking one, it’s only natural to seek comfort and strength. As the nation grieved, those traits propelled President George W. Bush to approval ratings as high as 90%.

Seasons 1 & 2 proved that Jack Bauer had those traits as well. He loved his family, loved his country, and would do anything to protect both. Simply put, Jack Bauer was exactly the person America wanted on September 12, 2001.

Although 24 was frequently criticized by civil libertarians and Islamic organizations for perceived Islamophobia, I think 24 generally did a good job dealing with Islam and terrorism. Continue reading →

Fighting for Freedom

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Recently, I published some thoughts on America’s relationship with its soldiers, both past and present. If you haven’t checked it out, I would advise doing that first, lest this post seem unnecessarily harsh.

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Every Memorial Day, every Veterans Day, every Fourth of July, every possible moment of patriotism, we thank our brave soldiers and veterans for fighting for our freedom. Like I’ve said before, I think there’s better ways of serving your nation than killing or dying for it, but I still wholeheartedly agree with all the praise.

…Until the “fighting for our freedom” part.

When was the last time we actually fought for our freedom? When was the last time the United States fought a war in which our liberty or our way of life was in true peril?

The American Revolution, War of 1812, and the American Civil War are no-brainers. However, things get pretty shady after that. Continue reading →

Veneration & The Military

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One of the biggest surprises of my trip to London last year was the integration of British military history into the rest of English society. Statues and monuments are everywhere in London. It seemed like every park, abbey, church, and public square somehow reflected upon Britain’s military past. Leaders like Slim, Churchill, Montgomery have several statues and were seemingly buried in multiple places.

If you want to experience military history in the United States, you go to Washington D.C. or one of the many battlefields scattered across the nation. London’s version of Arlington National Cemetery seemed to be every church, including St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.

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Interestingly, statues in Edinburgh praise literary and scientific accomplishments. Weird…

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London also highlighted some interesting gender distinctions in military remembrance. Continue reading →

Tom Clancy & I

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Tom ClancyI don’t worry much about death. It’s probably a product of youthful stupidity and invincibility, but I figure we’re all going to die, so it’s not worth worrying about. In fact, it’s kind of a cosmic near-impossibility that we exist at all. That’s cause for celebration, if anything.

That didn’t stop me from nearly breaking into tears this morning when I found out that author Tom Clancy passed away yesterday.

Tom Clancy wasn’t the greatest American author or our greatest living author. He never claimed to be either of those things. He was, however, my most important author.

I read The Hunt for Red October in sixth grade. By the time I left middle school, I had read the rest of the Jack Ryan series, much of it twice. When we went to a relative’s cabin for my family’s only summer vacation, I put down the 1,028 page The Bear and the Dragon, Clancy’s last great novel, in just three days.

It’s not a coincidence that I began earning better grades around the time I started reading Clancy’s techno-thrillers. Tom Clancy didn’t teach me to read, but he did teach me to love reading.

IMG_0549So, Clancy won’t live to see me complete the hardcover collection I began last year. He won’t live to see me finish a second read-through of his novels to see if they hold up against the ravages of time. He won’t be around when I catch up with his most recent, co-written novels. I’ll never meet him and experience the ecstasy of meeting an author who dramatically impacted my life, like when my friend Kelly met Neil Gaiman.

But I suppose none of that is very important. What’s important is that I wouldn’t have the interests, hold the job, or be the person I am today without Tom Clancy.

My greatest goal in life is that someone – anyone – can say that about me when I die.