A year and a half has passed since we last saw Jack Bauer kicking ass and taking names on 24. The (in)famous writer’s strike of early 2008 plagued the show’s production, pushing season seven back an entire year. In the meantime, I’ve entertained myself with various comedies — laughing out loud at the antics of The Office, discovering the deadpan humor that’s the trademark of Curb Your Enthusiasm and re-living time and time again the glorious insanity of Arrested Development. But all the while, in the back of my mind, I was counting down the days until 24 would make its return to the airwaves.
To bridge the large gap between seasons 6 and 7, producers decided to film 24: Redemption, a two-hour event premiering Nov. 23. In essence, Redemption is both a refresher on the status and whereabouts of Bauer as well as a prequel to the upcoming season, which begins in January. And, not surprisingly, the self-labeled “television movie” marks a triumphant comeback for the series. After a dismal sixth season in which the writers couldn’t seem to make up their minds — devoting half the episodes to the recapture of five nuclear warheads and the other half to a tussle with the Chinese about a computer chip — the show couldn’t go anywhere but up.
Redemption finds Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) on the run — not an unusual sight to hardcore fans of the show. At the close of the previous season, we left Jack staring out onto the ocean, contemplating what would lie ahead in the future. Turns out he would embark on a quest for self-fulfillment and peace — a quest spanning three continents, as we learn in Redemption. Simultaneously, Bauer is also on the run from the law — because of potentially unethical torture practices he exacted on terrorists in the past, the Senate wants him to appear in front of a hearing. But, ever the rugged individualist, Jack is determined not to go.
That’s because he’s finally settled down a bit in the fictional country of Sangala (you, the viewer, are just supposed to assume this country is made up — personally, I thought they might have just been mispronouncing Senegal). He’s reunited with his old friend Carl Benton (Robert Carlyle), who founded a school for rescued child soldiers in the country. In fact, Redemption opens up with a short bit about a young Sangalese (Sangalian?) boy kidnapped in the dead of night and drafted into the child militia. Yep, Jack’s done it again: Just when he’s beginning to find peace with himself in a remote African nation, he gets wrapped up in a military coup. As it happens, the vicious Colonel Ike Dubaku (Hakeem Kae-Kazim) is rustling up a child army to take down the current leader in Sangala and impose his own dictatorship.
Back in America, it’s Inauguration Day. Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones) is about to officially become the first female President of the United States. Coincidentally, 24 featured a black male president in earlier seasons — does the show possess some sort of oracle tendencies? Does this mean we’ll be seeing Hillary inducted in the next four to eight years? Just speculating. In any case, Taylor’s special day suffers a major blow when, just before the inauguration, she’s informed about the imminent revolt in Sangala by her corrupt predecessor Noah Daniels (Powers Boothe).
It’s evident that the show’s going in a new, better direction for round seven. Having a female in the White House and having part of the show set in Africa will be interesting twists. Sure, fans of 24 are no strangers to seeing Jack globe-trot — recently, he’s traveled to Asia and the Middle East in the name of liberty and justice. But a military coup in Africa is new territory. While 24: Redemption isn’t as gripping as I’d hoped — but don’t worry, there are still some great action scenes — it certainly succeeds in setting up some key plot points for the upcoming season. Stay tuned to see if Jack decides to save a group of orphans from Dubaku’s clutches by delivering them to the U.S. embassy — in exchange for finally succumbing to the Senate subpoena that he’s been running from. Oh come on, now. It’s Jack Bauer.
Is there really any decision to be made?
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