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HE'S survived being tortured, poisoned, electrocuted, stabbed and shot. But time has finally run out for Jack Bauer. The special agent hero of 24, played by Kiefer Sutherland, will be seen on television for the last time later on Monday (Tuesday morning, Singapore time) when the landmark action series wraps up after eight seasons, 192 episodes and countless terrorist plots foiled.
In the nine years since the first season debuted in November 2001, the show has been hailed as a landmark in US television which paved the way for other unconventional dramas such as Lost and Heroes which aired elsewhere. '24 is so much more than just a TV show - it has redefined the drama genre and created one of the most admired action icons in television history,' said Peter Rice, Chairman, Entertainment, Fox Networks Group earlier this year.
The show format broke new ground by playing out in real time: each season represented a single day, spread out over 24 hour-long episodes. That in itself was unheard of at the time, according to co-creator Joel Surnow, because conventional wisdom decreed that audiences were unlikely to stay hooked for the entire run. 'You can't syndicate it, and you can't ask audiences to watch all 24 episodes,' Surnow told USA Today in a recent interview. 'But people got so connected to the show, they watched all 24 episodes of the season.'
The ticking clock dimension of each season's storyline also paralleled the ongoing legal debate over 'enhanced interrogation techniques' sanctioned by the Bush administration during the years after 9/11.
For conservative admirers of 24, Jack Bauer's readiness to subject terrorism suspects to torture, provided a useful cultural reference point. Former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo, who drafted the legal memos which advised on the use of techniques widely regarded as torture, even cited 24 in his book, War by Other Means. 'What if, as the Fox television programme 24 recently portrayed, a high-level terrorist leader is caught who knows the location of a nuclear weapon?' Mr Yoo asked.
Even Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia referenced the show during a legal symposium in 2007. 'Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles - he saved hundreds of thousands of lives,' Justice Scalia said. 'Are you going to convict Jack Bauer?'
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