Hello, readers!
I'm starting to write this at 1:25 A.M., over seventeen hours into this endeavour.
As some of you may recall, one and a half years ago I accomplished what every fan of 24 (2001-2010; 2014) has dreamt of at least once: my best friend and I watched a season of the series in its purest form. In real time, as a 24-hour marathon from midnight to midnight. Once this was done, I thought of something even crazier: what if we did the same with the rest of 24's seasons - while keeping in the real time frame for the entire time?
You see, while one season of the series always lasts exactly 24 hours in the show's timeline, the time jumps between seasons are quite vast. For example, season 2 takes place 18 months after season 1. Therefore, we're watching the second season now, 18 months after marathoning the first one. Here are some insights into our marathon, some about the experience and some about the series itself, written during many of our 4-minute breaks throughout the process!
10. 08:00 - 08:00 is easier than 00:00 - 00:00
Whereas the first season of 24 takes place from midnight to midnight, the time frame in season 2 is from 8:00 A.M. to 8:00 A.M. - and while this wasn't without its challenges, it sure is an easier marathon to do than the season 1 midnight run. With 00:00 - 00:00, you've been up for an entire day when you start watching, after which you must stay up the entire night and still the following day. Man, we were inches from falling asleep during the several last episodes back then. With 8:00-8:00, you wake up early after a (hopefully) good night's sleep, after which you spend the day watching TV, and then stay up the night after which you can go to sleep in the morning when it's all over. So, timeline-wise, this ordeal wasn't as brutal as our first one.
9. Jimmi Simpson is a hellishly underrated actor
I didn't remember that Jimmi Simpson, possibly the most underrated actor in Hollywood, had appeared on 24 too, in addition to all the other eccentric supporting roles he's done in every television series ever made. Between bringing comedic undertones to serious shows as the weird hacker Gavin Orsay in House of Cards and oddball billionaire Logan Pierce in Person of Interest, and bringing his unique comedic chops into the world of sitcoms with his hilarious guest role as Pete Durkenson in How I Met Your Mother and his hysterical recurring role as Liam McPoyle in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (not to mention the time he actually got serious and dramatic on Westworld), the dude is absolutely amazing.
It was nice to remember that he's been on 24 as well - it might be the least memorable of the many roles I've seen him in, but he still played the part well and added to the greatness of the show's sophomore season.
8. We're getting better at this
As I seem to recall, my stomach was hurting like hell for the entire last 6 hours or so of the first 24 marathon, not to mention the headache for staying up so late whilst staring at a screen (that being said, no regrets). Anyways, I'd believe that the significantly less painful feel of the season 2 marathon can be attributed to more than just the fact that the 8:00 timetable is more user-friendly.
It also has to do with how we've experienced this ordeal once, and naturally the second time around is a bit easier. The first time, we had to take three longer breaks where we deviated from the schedule slightly and had to play catch-up; this time there was really only one of those. By the time we get to season 4 or 5, I think we'll have this system worked up to a point of perfection.
7. Sherry Palmer is the Antichrist
How can it be, that in a series full of actual terrorists, the most hateable individual character is a meddling politician? Sherry Palmer, played in an admittedly fantastic performance by Penny Johnson Jerald, is truly one of the most despicable fictional characters ever created, and the sheer scale of her incredibly upsetting shenanigans from season to season never ceases to amaze the viewer - even when watching the series for a second time. Jesus, what a colossal nuisance she is.
6. My mother was right about a few things (but so was I)
"My God, you're insane" is the most typical comment I've gotten when excitedly talking about this 24-adventure of ours. And no one has questioned the sanity of our project more than my dear health-expert mother. Ironically, it's things I've learned from her that have helped make both marathons much more bearable - the core values of nutrition, exercise and rest have been drilled so deep into my brain that there's no way I'd plan a marathon like this without making sure that there's plenty to eat in a fitting rhythm, there are breaks to catch some fresh air in between, and the marathon is preceded (and succeeded) by a bunch of sleeping.
So, I have to give my mother credit for making sure I'm caught up on these things - although I'd also like to point out to her that despite her loving warnings we have survived both marathons in good health and are showing no regrets! Anything's possible if you put your mind to it, I suppose.
5. Once again, a magical experience
As I'm writing this part, it's 4:25 A.M. - I checked the clock just a few minutes ago before the 'commercial break' started, and for a split second, my tired brain went "Whoa, it's so late, we should probably go to sleep and continue tomorrow'. Then I remembered the whole concept of what we were doing.
This tired thought aside, the experience of watching 24 in real time has once again lived up to my expectations. Being constantly in the same time of day as the characters, experiencing tiredness as they do when the season progresses, and experiencing the flow of events in the right pace (not to mention the extra-feel of realism when considering that the events of season 1 happened just as long ago for the show's characters as how long it's been for us from when we watched it), really makes the experience unique.
4. Has 24 aged well? Yes and no
This is a tough one - watching a series that deals with a variety of serious and sensitive topics, and was made some 20 years ago, a viewer like me is bound to analyze how well it holds up today. What I found was a two-sided coin - some parts of the series have stood the test of time remarkably well, while others haven't.
On one hand, many of the terrorists in this series about counter-terrorism are of the stereotype-enforcing Muslim variety that western media has seen unfortunately plenty of, not to mention the instances where the series romanticizes law enforcement using brutal force outside their confines in order to get results, sometimes to the point of seemingly condoning torture. On the other hand, for an American series from the early 2000's, there's a remarkable amount of stereotype-defying characters as well, from respectably involving Muslim characters who aren't fundamentalists into the story, to also having plenty of villains of the more domestic kind. And while the series does often get a bit excessive with fantasies of agents saving the day by going rogue and violently breaking a shit-ton of rules, it at least takes the difficult moral dilemmas into account instead of being black-and-white - if there's one lesson that 24 presses on hard, it's that there are some seriously difficult decisions and ethical dilemmas that go into this world.
Also, kudos to the writers for making season 2's endgame about stopping the U.S. government from going to war with Middle Eastern countries under false pretenses - remember, this came out in 2002. A move like that is bold as hell, and I'm delighted in imagining the feathers it must have ruffled in the Bush camp back in the day.
3. Committing to a bit truly is my religion
I've been thinking about this one a lot lately. Between hijinks like presenting my annual Christmas presents to my brother in an annually escalating spectacle-fashion (this year I sent him on a wild goose chase following clues all over our childhood neighborhood), reading the entire Bible for fun and making a ranking of its 66 books, and doing these marathons, various high-concept recreational activities are a big thing in my life. I wasn't really able to put it to words, until I saw the Community episode where Jeff (Joel McHale) discusses with Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) about how weird he finds their level of 'committing to a bit', but how much he has ended up respecting it.
I always saw myself in those two, and the idea of committing to a bit may be the key. For whatever reason, the act of putting huge amount of effort into leisurely activities that by no means require such effort but can make of epic memories when blown ridiculously out of proportion, gives me immense joy time and time again. I suppose that's why I keep planning elaborate pranks for my roommate, why I watched and ranked all of the Netflix Original Christmas Movies, why I once participated in our student organization's hide-and-seek night and won by meticulously disguising myself as a bystander and hiding in plain sight with a hired accomplice, and why I'm sitting here at 06:51 writing about what it's like to spend 24 hours watching 24 unfold in real time for the second time.
2. Grateful to have a friend like this
Yeah, doing something like this twenty-four-a-thon alone would just be sad. Doing it with a friend is awesome. People who happily go along with nerdy high-concept shenanigans such as this one don't exactly grow on trees, so I'm extremely grateful to have the company. As proved by the bromance between Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) and David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert), it really pays to have good friends around.
1. The big picture
I'm starting to think we can really pull this off. By 'this', I mean keeping with the timeline and watching the entire 24 franchise - all eight seasons, plus TV movie 24: Redemption, reboot season 24: Live Another Day, spin-off season 24: Legacy, and the few canon clips in between, all in real time. It will definitely require some scheduling in the coming years, but the good news is that one of these only comes along every few years, and we only have to be exact to the month, not the date (because 24 itself doesn't give out specific amounts of days, but rather informs that a season takes place "18 months after" or "2 and a half years after" the previous one).
Next up is season 3, which takes place three years after season 2, so we'll watch it in January 2025. By the time we're finished with 24: Legacy, it'll be 2042. Our lives will be very different then, but I like to keep up hope that we'll come back to this tradition every few years when it's time - or at least try our very best. If we end up succeeding in the entire process, I'll have to find a way to notify the people who made 24 about it, as I'm pretty damn sure we're the first and only people who have watched the entire series like this and it might make for a cool news story some day.
For now, it's a three-year break, and then following our specific schedule one step at a time.
Thank you for reading! I'm gonna post this and go catch some sleep now.
No comments:
Post a Comment