You know, when I watch “24,” I usually make fun of it, and I don’t get any satisfaction from doing that. But it’s different from other downhill-progressing shows, because every season represents a completely fresh start. Because each season is a single day, “24” Season 8 (set for a January launch on Fox) wouldn’t have to reference ANY of the previous seven seasons/days; it could simply concentrate on being really good.
The “24” novels, of which there are now 10, understand this. The latest is “Head Shot” (May 2009, Harper Fiction) where author David Jacobs takes Jack (and take note: ONLY Jack among the ol’ CTU gang, although he does communicate — dysfunctionally, of course — with Chappelle via phone) into the Rocky Mountains for a deliciously pulpy mystery peppered with distinct locations (Old, abandoned mine shaft? Yes, please.) and extreme violence. I wasn’t thrilled by Jacobs’ style at first (I’m not a fan of televised violence, but it’s easier to take in book form), but I was won over.
The thing that Jacobs especially gets right is getting Jack out of the city. In Season 7, “24” “shook things up” by moving Jack from his familiar Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., but I didn’t really feel the difference — D.C. felt like just another big city, because “24” is so fast-paced that it doesn’t spend time establishing the setting. (Season 8 will take place in New York City — such a distinct locale in “Law & Order” and “Gossip Girl,” it could also jazz up “24” — and if the show gets the Big Apple wrong, that’ll be particularly tough to take.)
Taking his sweet time is another thing Jacobs does right. He overwrites sometimes, but it would be hypocritical of me to complain about that because I’ve always argued that “24” should slow down a bit. Season 1, still the best “day,” was a little bit slower than every “day” since (Remember how the Kim kidnapping took several hours? I actually liked that.).
And here’s the most important lesson “24” the TV show could take away from this and other “24” books, all of which are standalone yarns dreamed up by individual authors: It’s about the story. Every season, “24” is a character-driven show, and it never should’ve been that. It should be a hard-boiled, hard-hitting mystery/adventure that doesn’t get derailed by a potential love interest or an emergency with an estranged daughter.
Jack — doing his job, and doing it well (and doing it in 24 hours that feel like a genuine 24 hours) — is all the character we need. I learned that from a book.