| Special
Features: |
Commentaries, deleted scenes, making of, deleted scenes,
music of, in-depth episode profile
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| Review:
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For 7 seasons now, 24 has been on Fox, and consistently
remained one of the network’s top shows. Kiefer Sutherland
stars as secret agent Jack Bauer, and has found what could
very well be the defining role of his career. ***
The story behind 24 is simple enough. Secret Agent
Jack Bauer deals with numerous threats, from terrorists
to traitors. The show plays out in a “real time” format,
with each episode taking approximately one hour to fold
out. As a result, a season is 24 episodes, occupying an
entire day – no more, no less. ***
When this show hit the airwaves, it became a sensation
overnight. Several fans likely lost faith in the show after
a few seasons, after which each season just kept trying
to be more over-the-top and20better than the last one. The
real time gimmick, which was once so innovative, also tended
to drag the show down and ultimately work against it. ***
Fortunately, the seventh season is a big-time comeback.
The locale of the action changed, and perhaps most importantly,
the show went back to its roots. This season isn’t trying
to be over-the-top and better than its predecessors, and
it’s a stronger season as a result. That said, the seventh
season is arguably 24’s best and most memorable yet. It’s
hard not to recommend the seventh season on Blu-Ray. ---
Image and Sound:
Because of its gritty filming style, 24 isn’t really
the kind of show that is going to look like a million bucks
in 1080p. That said, though, the show actually does look
pretty damn good on Blu-Ray. Detail is strong throughout,
and even in dark and night scenes (which this show has a
lot of), detail remains consistent, and the blacks don’t
crust the detail. The image is a bit softer than some other
modern shows broadcast in HD look, but this presentation
met my expectations and then some. The lossless audio track
is the true star of this Blu-Ray set – everything from dialogue
to gunshots sounds perfect, loud, and detailed. Ultimately,
I can’t imagine the show looking or sounding much better
than it does here.
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| Special
Features: |
In addition to commentaries for every episode (with
Kiefer Sutherland mysteriously MIA), there are a quite a
few behind-the-scenes featurettes in the set. One covers
the music of the show, another focuses on the making of
the show, and deleted scenes. It’s not the best collection
of supplements, but it’s above average for a TV show on
a home video format.
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