Posted on 05/26/2007 8:32:53 AM PDT by jriemer
Last Monday, I watched the 24 Day 6 season final episode and felt completely let down by the creative team behind the show. At the end of six seasons, Jack Bauer is sadly gazing out over the ocean, tail between his legs and apparently defeated for the first time in his life. Does the 24 team really expect us to believe that one conversation with Audrey’s father could undermine his drive more than confronting six seasons of terrorists, bureaucratic infighting and countless scrapes with death? There has to be a better way to end a program and keep the fans wanting more.
So, I decided to do something about this problem. Here is a possible ending that maybe more in tune with what at least I have come to expect from 24. (Please be aware that I am not a Hollywood screenwriter; however, I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.)
===
CLOCK - 5:48 A.M.
Former Secretary of Defense JAMES HELLER is in the sitting room of his Pacific Palisades home, dealing with the stress of the day and his daughter’s recovery. JACK BAUER arrives silently in the house, his wet clothes still clinging to his body.
JACK (shouting): “Where is she (AUDREY RAINES)?”
HELLER sits in his overstuffed chair, barely acknowledging JACK
JACK raises his gun when HELLER refuses.
JACK (angry): “Don’t think I won’t kill you to get AUDREY. I watched my father die and didn’t feel anything because he was was dead to me long ago.”
HELLER is unemotional and unmoving.
JACK: “The only thing I have ever done is what you and people like you have asked of me,”
HELLER has no response
JACK; “Why didn’t you try hard enough to get me out of China. You had the one with the power to accomplish it. You’re all about control and you’re angry at me because AUDREY went to China to find me, against your wishes. You don’t understand that kind of loyalty.”
CAMERA starts slow pan around room while JACK is speaking from HELLER to JACK. There are only two doorways into the room. One behind JACK and the other is to HELLER’s left. Both doorways are open and empty HELLER (breaking silence): “What do you know about loyalty?”
HELLER shifts his stare off JACK to something to his right
JACK: “I want my life back and I want it now, AUDREY is all I’ve got.”
HELLER: “Apparently now you will have neither”
UNIDENTIFIED MAN fires a taser in JACK’s left back. JACK's pistol drops to the floor and he slumps into an overstuffed chair to JACK’s right.
JACK starts to recover from the taser shock, tries to stand and falls back into the chair.
HELLER (completely different tone of voice): “Why don’t you accept the truth? You can only destroy. It’s your nature. If AUDREY recovers from what has been done, she cannot love you. You are only a killer.”
JACK (straining voice): “I’ve always done what people like you have asked me to do.”
HELLER: “Maybe you killed for others, but not for me.”
JACK’s clothing is not wet. He still is trying to get out of the chair
HELLER (stands up from his chair, walking slowly over to JACK): “JACK, you are correct. I AM about control. Something you don’t understand.”
The lighting in the room gradually dims.
MAN: “Do we try again?”
HELLER (speaking to MAN, his voice slowly changing tone): “So much promise… wasted… again”
MAN nods.
An explosion rips through a wall of the sitting room. Two silenced shots kill HELLER and MAN. JACK’s starts a very slow morph to the long hair, beard and jumpsuit worn in episode one while HELLER and MAN fall to the floor. Five men in special operations gear enter room from the freshly blown hole in the wall. The room no longer resembles HELLER's sitting room and now is a dank concrete cell with a flickering fluorescent light overhead.
OPERATIVE #1: Two hostiles down.
OPERATIVE #2: Copy.
CAMERA: The images of HELLER and MAN blur and are replaced with CHENG and another Chinese man.
OPERATIVE #3: The target has been identified.
JACK has completely reverted to his appearance from episode one when he was released from Chinese custody. OPERATIVE #1 approaches JACK who is restrained in the chair and OPERATIVE #1 removes his helmet.
OPERATIVE #1 / CURTIS MANNING: “JACK, it’s me. We’ve got to go now.”
JACK (bewildered): “You? … AUDREY?”
CURTIS: “She’s OK. We have her. CTU needs your help back home.”
OPERATIVE #2 cuts off JACK’s restraints. JACK, CURTIS, and OPERATIVES exit through hole in wall.
CLOCK – 6AM
ping
I just saw it as all that stress and crap he’s been through over the course of his adult life piled on top of him at one time in that scene after dealing with Audrey’s dad.
I like it........It was all a dream, zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Now, can I have my time back that was invested in this wasted season? This is the first time I’ve watched 24 on its scheduled night. Previously, I’d wait until the DVD was out and have myself a weekend of nothing but 24. Guess I’ll return to that strategy for next season.
I disagree totally.
I watched for the last three years, but bailed when Jack jumped the shark, about two months ago.
Putting the entire country at risk as well as jeopardizing relations with ambiguous "friends", in order to save his girlfriend finally broke my suspension of disbelief.
He "got" the president's blessing to boot...
It stopped being entertainment and became third rate soap opera.
Better?
How exactly?
The promos leading up to the last eposide promised a shocking ending to the season. Where was it? Jack’s dad was dead with 30 minutes remaining in the program, the Russians and Americans are friends again and CHENG is weakly promising that the Chinese will retailate for his arrest.
Putting the entire country at risk as well as jeopardizing relations with ambiguous "friends", in order to save his girlfriend finally broke my suspension of disbelief. He "got" the president's blessing to boot...
I agree that the story this season was weak. How would you have made the season better?
I couldn't agree more.
OUTSTANDING!!
Good on you.
A much superior ending with lots of “play” to go anywhere.
Your treatment is only about 50 million times better that the weak tea that the alleged “pros” fed to us.
My best regards,
G.Reader
Jack looking longingly to the pounding surf below does not make for a “shocking ending” in my book.
The whole last ‘hour’ appeared to be thrown together to just get out of this disaster season. Come on, the Chinese sub was identified to be in the western pacific — last time I checked my atlas, ‘abandoned’ oil rigs 6 miles off the shore of California was the EASTERN Pacific!
Like I said, it was all a dream (nightmare) that is thankfully over.
I wouldn't be all that sure that Jack's dad is dead. He was only a few yards from an escape boat.
I think an episode taking place in Afghanistan that doesn’t involve ticking time bombs would be a good change to the storyline.
Oh, yeah. He’s definitely not dead.
The writers made a big mistake when they killed all the best characters. The show is not the same without david palmer, tony almeida and nina myers. I think they blew it and the show wont last long with the current cast.
At this point the second most important character I think is that Chloe. We sure have come a long way.
Maybe next season they should do a prequel about jack first arriving at CTU when david palmer was a senator, etc..
“He’s definitely not dead.”
And Cheng gave him the component. I was puzzled when that happened until I saw the escape boat fiasco...
I want your ending!
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