24

TV has changed a lot from when I was a kid. TV didn't have a big place in my life growing up - my dad had a disagreement with the cable company when I was like, 10, and so he just canceled it. But the TV that I did watch consisted of shows like Doug, Full House, Family Matters, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Clarissa Explains It All, Salute Your Shorts, What Would You Do?, and Saved by the Bell. In those shows, some situation would be proposed/set up, the characters would interact for 20 minutes, and that was it. The next day, it was a clean slate. Rinse. Repeat. But now, in my limited experience/following of television, TV has really come to a whole new level of artistic and comedic excellence.

In shows like The Office, Scrubs, and My Name is Earl, the characters evolve, the writing is excellent, and the jokes are so funny and so copious that my sides split. I've heard good things about a ton of other shows too - it seems like television has really matured in terms of sophistication, spanning entire seasons with contiguous plots and compelling, hilarious storylines that draw you in and invite you to participate in the story. I guess you could that soap operas have been doing this for a long time, but... I don't want to offend old-school soap opera fans, so I'm not going to go there. I have been very impressed with the new developments in comedic television, but for me the most engaging (addicting?) show currently running is not a comedy, but a drama: it is 24.

If you've never seen or heard of the show before, I would simply describe as one of the most intense, engaging stories that I have ever heard/seen. (Brian just touched on this.) It is packed with explosions, gunfights, and intense action, but this is not it's only selling point: one season splits into 24 episodes, each chronicling an hour of a day containing some catastrophic national emergency. The story is not only action-packed, but is laced with endless layers of compelling intrigue and a cast of neurotic, over-worked employees of the CTU, an organization formed to combat terrorism.

I just finished the 4th season on DVD, and it was a riveting, emotionally draining odyssey - a tragic story about people forced to make decisions that no one should be forced to make.
I don't want to spoil it for you if you haven't seen it, but I would recommend not starting if you don't have a lot of free time, because you won't be able to stop. But I did want to share a couple of my thoughts about why I find the show touches a chord somewhere in my heart.

One thing that strikes me about the show is predictability. Now, I definitely don't mean in terms of the plot twists, but rather because the characters' determination to do what is "right," in this case stop whatever it is that the terrorists are trying to pull. This end is to be accomplished no matter what the cost to their own lives. Each season is built around a nuclear bomb or a deadly virus, or some other emminent threat to the American public, and for the members of CTU this threat supercedes all other personal concerns and convictions.

This statement is often flexible in the lives of the secondary characters, which leads to much of the suspense of the plot, but the one man for whom this is unwaveringly true is the protagonist of the series, Jack Bauer. He is the most compelling character, primarily because of his convictions, or more accurately his conviction: complete the mission, at any cost. His commitent to this end is unflinching, but in all other areas, he coldly lays aside all his other considerations. If stopping an atomic bomb meant torturing his father or abandoning a friend, he would do it without thinking. One of the most disturbing parts of the show is that no one's word means anything - promises are quickly forgotten when they no longer align with the nation's "best interests."

Someone once told me that they felt sorry for Jack, and I initially recoiled at the idea. But as I've reflected back on it, I've begun to change my mind. He reminds me of Abraham, asked to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Abraham was asked to make a decision that no man should never have to make, and in the end, just as the knife was to fall, GOD removed the burden from his shoulders and blessed him for his faithfulness and obedience. But for Jack, there is no remission - in every situation he faces, he is forced to choose from two wrong answers, and he dies on the inside. In his world, the ends justify the means, even though it means giving up everything that he has ever known and loved. What good is it to save the whole world, but lose your soul?

In my darkest dreams, I've been faced with the scenario of a masked killer who has forced his way into my home, and is forcing me to choose which of my parents should die. As I wake up in a cold sweat, I realize that that's just not right. It's not fair. But the truth is that in this world, we are faced with these kinds of decisions. This reality speaks deeply of this truth: this world ain't right. The place is not my home - I am a pilgrim, sojourning through a desolate wasteland filled with suffering and brokenness.

24 is a modern tale of brokenness, a story filled with characters struggling with the depths of evil that stretch from the ends of the earth to the depths of our souls. My soul finds hope in this: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." See you soon.

Some bright morning, when this life is over
I'll fly away
To that home on God's celestial shore
I'll fly away

I'll fly away, oh Glory
I'll fly away, in the morning
When I die, hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away

When The shadows of this life have gone
I'll fly away
Like a bird from these prison walls I'll fly
I'll fly away

Oh how glad and happy when we meet
I'll fly away
No more cold iron shackles on my feet
I'll fly away

Just a few more weary days and then
I'll fly away
To a land where joys will never end
I'll fly away
(Alison Krauss, I'll Fly Away)