Is Tony Dead? No, Not That One. This One.
Sifting through the weekend reports from ComicCon, I came across a bit of news from the 24 panel there. OK, so first question: 24 presents at ComicCon why? Maybe we can take it as an admission that the show has become so implausible it should best be treated as science fiction. That, at least, is the conclusion I draw from the news, which is that Tony Almeida may not be so dead after all.
My gut said: That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I mean, after all, we essentially saw Tony die in Jack Bauer's arms. But then my head said, Well, maybe there's a good explanation. Let's see what the producers had to say:
"Tony's death wasn't satisfying," executive producer David Fury said after the session.
Let's check the gut again. Nope! Still stupid! Note that Fury--a Buffy/Angel/Lost alum whose work I generally like--didn't say "Tony's apparent death." He said "Tony's death." Since this show is not Buffy, you still only get one death. Not satisfying? Hey, I'm sure mine won't be, either. Pretty sure I won't get a do-over, though.
People in the drama business like to talk about a little something called "stakes": the notion that viewers become invested in characters because they make actual sacrifices and risk actual dangers. When death on a TV show becomes essentially reversible--unless you actually see someone dismember the corpse and burn the parts--it kinda tends to undermine them. And on a show like 24, when the stakes for the characters go away, the stakes for the show are very high.
Edgar, though--they can resurrect him anytime.
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1
Hmmmmmm, perhaps Tony's identical twin brother Tommy who works for the FBI in New York will move to CTU in LA. Yeah, thats the ticket.
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2
Tony being dead is seriously unsatisfying, but I agree, James, that you can't bring him out without jumping over Kim Bauer's cougar, in the proverbial sense.
24 is a huge mystery next season though - no show fell farther from the heights of two seasons ago to the depths of last season. Can they reboot it? How do they keep the stakes high (but believable)? Is Charles Logan alive? (Now there is an unexplained cliffhanger...)
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3
@chad: From the TCA (and ComicCon) reports, they discussed having started, and ditched, a story set in Africa, and say they're now 98% sure that season 7 will take place in Washington, DC. But that they've already 86'ed one plan--and haven't 100% decided on the backup plan yet--makes me worry.
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4
To give them *some* credit, according to them, Fox 86'ed the Africa plan. Not that it matters to me since I (wisely, I believe) ditched "24" some time ago.
And I'm still a little bitter about Fury's condescending attitude towards some "Buffy" fans in the early days of the Spike wars. Petty, I know, but still.
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5
24 needs to reclaim its credibility among viewers, not do something to completely lose what little credibility it has. This means NOT bringing zombie Tony back. This means NOT using ridiculous plot devices. It means getting back to Jack Basics and giving us a real, compelling storyline to follow. I stopped watching 24 this past season, after never missing a SINGLE EPISODE EVER. I just couldn't stand to watch it. I will give it another shot next season, but only for a few episodes if things don't improve.
- poniewozik Loved the season. Mrs Tuned In wd have put u on the main list RT @boredtodeath Thank u for incl us in Time's Top 10. We'll take hon mention. - 9 hours ago
- poniewozik @carr2n Virgin is the best, LAX-JFK - 9 hours ago
- poniewozik Did NPR interview abt multiscreen multitasking. After, automatically reached for iPhone in pocket. Like don draper wd have for cigarettes. - 11 hours ago
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