I give you my word, I have just been Bauered

I have recently spent roughly 17 hours of my life living in a land where one is free to do anything, you want to come back from the dead? Check. Want to acquire WMDs to destroy the world as we know it? Check. Want to destroy a country? Check. Want to make your daughter Secretary of State? Check.

You see, I spent the last weekend catching up on Season 7 of 24. Another marathon session with Jack Bauer confirms the following:

'tis said Jack Bauer refused a syringe at a blood bank. Instead, he asked for a gun and a bucket. And that 9/11 only happened because Jack Bauer was on vacation. He'll never go on vacation again. All I can say is, Jack Bauer can:

1. kill at will (do you think he is the dubble-woh-sevan of America?)
2. taken out of a Senate hearing with consummate ease
3. whomever he thinks is necessary
4. the President of the US of A assurances at will, and the President will ignore everyone else and go with Jack's decision, just because he "gave his word"
5. every order given by commanding officers
6. be given access to classified information at the drop of a hat even though he doesn't have clearances
7. doesn't have to eat
8. get his friends classified jobs, just because he wants to work only with them, and most importantly,
9. justify all of the above!

The list is endless and so is the fun. Do not, for one instant, be fooled into thinking the Prez of the US of A is a puppet in Jack's hands whenever America faces a crisis. The Prez can also do the following:

1. appoint her own daughter as the Secretary of State without having to consult anyone and opposition parties are not even mentioned
2. every time there is a set back to National Security, she can look at the bearer of the news and say, "How can this happen? I don't care how its done, I want the person who did this be found immediately!" - I counted her saying this atleast twice every episode
3. stand by her guns and ignore all advisers, security analysts and common-sense, just because Jack said so (refer point d under things Jack can do above)
4. the first gentleman can be conned by any dimwit and end up being kidnapped. No points for guessing the IQ of the first gentleman

While all this is fun, the blokes intending to wreak havoc on USAland are no better:

1. they will let Jack infiltrate their gang in a matter of minutes and entrust him with the most critical part of the assignment, which Jack will screw up anyway
2. they get double crossed easily
3. they know the names and addresses of relatives of all government agents (how's that for doing their homework)
4. they all end up dead
5. they all end up dead, but a select few can be revived from death to make a comeback that leaves many more dead!
6. they have names like Dubaku (I cracked up when I heard the guy's name, how can a dubaku be scary?)

I'm not sure how many have seen the latest season of 24, I don't want to spoil it for anyone, so all I can say is nobody is safe, it's safer to stay indoors and lock all doors and windows :).

While watching it, another thought came to mind. The show takes place in America, where the counter terrorist agents have access to roughly the following methods of surveillance (give or take a few):

1. satellite which provide coverage of any place in a few seconds with HD clarity as if taken from a helicopter around 500 meters above the ground
2. surveillance cameras (even if they are private surveillance cameras, they are mysteriously linked to Uncle Sam's offices)
3. traffic cameras
4. infrared cameras from satellites to track heat signatures

This got me thinking. If the show were to be shot in the UK, all the satellite technology in the world would be redundant. All the agents would need is access to surveillance cameras. There are millions of cameras in this place. There was a report I read recently that every Londoner, on average, gets photographed by 300 cameras. Add to this, the proposal to have road cameras that can track every journey made by every vehicle in the UK using a network of number plate recognition cameras, blokes like Dubaku don't stand a chance!

Despite all that, there is something about that show that is gripping. You know Jack is going to kick ass in a way said ass has never been kicked before, but you still hang around to see it happen. It takes exhaustion to overcome you before you decide to switch off the TV and hit the sack, only to get up bright eyed and bushy tailed the next morning and hitting the couch with a vengeance to make up for time lost resting tired eyes.

The suspense is built up in the beginning of each show, right upto the half way mark, stalls midway and builds up towards the end and boy!, does it finish with a bang or what, leaving you gasping for air and can't wait to watch the next episode.

From having watched all seven seasons (5 of which were watched over a 4 day period), I can say the best way to watch it is continuously. If you watch it on TV, the commercial breaks will kill the tension, so will waiting for a week to get the next episode.

Having said that, I think the producers should start thinking beyond WMDs and nukes to spook people, mass alien infiltration anybody?

P.S.:

Did you know that Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.