24: Season 7

24, SEASON 7 (DVD)

Release Date: Oct 19th, 2009
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 17 hours, 16 minutes

Cast: Kiefer Sutherland, Annie Wersching, Cherry Jones, Sprague Grayden, Carlos Bernard, Jon Voight and Tony Todd

Heroes are a complicated bunch. Persecuted for the high morals, they hold steadfast to their principals, they rarely falter and when they do, they punish themselves severely for it. They do what it takes to get the job done, because after all, they stepped up when no one else would or could. Federal Agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) is no different although he doesn’t wear a cape and his underpants are firmly worn on the inside.

24 takes place in a post 9/11 world with terror plots, bombings, hijackings and threat of nuclear and chemical attacks are fought against by the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) which Jack Bauer is part of, more or less. Jack does what it takes to keep citizens safe and his tactics for extracting information from suspects and those being held for questioning have landed him with a subpoena to appear at a court hearing which is where Day 7 starts.

When Agent Walker (Annie Wersching) arrives at the hearing and informs the judge that Bauer is needed on an urgent matter by the CTU, he is whisked off to a briefing and informed that his old friend Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard) is alive and working with a terrorist group in a plot against the president. When Bauer and Walker track him down, Almeida reveals he’s working undercover to gain information about US officials cooperating with the corrupt African leader, General Benjamin Juma (Tony Todd).

This all happens while US president Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones), her daughter Olivia (Sprague Grayden) and her staff at the White House are held hostage by General Juma and his men. Hearing of the situation, CTU, together with Jack try to intervene before Juma shoots any more hostages.

In the immediate aftermath of the hostage situation and the killings in the White House, Olivia is determined to track down the man responsible. When she finds out that Jonas Hodges (Jon Voight) was behind it, as well as her brother’s murder (Redemption, TV movie between Seasons 6 and 7), she hires someone to get the job done. By the time she thinks it through and decides to call it off, it’s too late and her actions could implicate the White house in another scandal, bringing down the administration.

As CTU try to intercept a shipment of bio-weapons Jack is infected, but his efforts save a lot of people from being infected in a subway attack. While Tony turns out to have been playing them all along, Jack is forced to come to terms with his fate, not knowing his estranged daughter Kim has volunteered her stem cells for an experimental treatment which could save his life. Jack finds solace in the words spoken to him by Muhtadi Gohar, a leader at a mosque whom he had earlier interrogated who now visits him in hospital.

Season 7 of 24 is my first introduction to the series and while I might have missed 144 episodes previously, it doesn’t feel like it. The stories move very quickly and before you realise it, you’re caught in the action and the minutes fly by. 24 is more than just action though, behind the guns and explosions is a show which explores the maxim “the ends justify the means”. While others implore him to use a Kantian approach in getting the job done (the Categorical Imperative as stated by 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant, “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”), Bauer feels a Utilitarian approach as put forward by the 19th century British philosopher John Stuart Mill, which dictates that actions taken should be weighed up on the happiness they bring about, is often the best way forward. The action which brings about the most happiness to most amount of people, in this maxim, would be the one morally permissible. The ends thereby justifying the means. A complicated hero indeed.

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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