Ashley:
Disclaimer: I’ve never seen the original 24. I’m not much of a TV person, so I miss a lot of “major” shows (Breaking Bad, Lost, Scandal, etc.) and 24 was one that I just never got around to watching. As such, I came to the first two episodes of 24 Legacy completely unaware of what I was about to experience.

You’re quickly introduced to the star of the show, Eric Carter, played by Corey Hawkins. At first I thought Hawkins looked a little young for the role, but after two episodes, I now think he just has a young face. He effectively conveys the gravitas necessary for the show, and already has demonstrated a great deal of complexity for his character.  He and his wife are having issues, deciding whether to have children and adjusting to a life of new names and new jobs.  We learn that Carter’s team was effectively Seal Team 6 for this fictional universe, killing the Bin Laden stand-in, Bin Khalid.  The architect of the raid is Rebecca Ingram, who has left the CTU to support her husband, Senator John Donovan, in his bid for President. Carter pulls her back in when Bin Khalid’s men attack his home and inform him that the rest of his team, minus Ben Grimes, are dead. Carter and Ingram race to find Ben, who has something Khalid’s men want badly enough to kill for.

The show caught me at the attack at Carter’s house.  From that point, the action does not stop, and even the exposition scenes are fraught with tension.  However, the second episode (if you happened to be following along on Twitter) is where I really got hooked. As is the nature of the “everything takes place in real time” plot device, the show just throws you back in and every character gets in more and more trouble as the episode goes on. 24 Legacy isn’t afraid to get real either, briefly but deftly touching on racial issues and bias in the police force, before carrying on with the story.  That said, one major Muslim character,  Nilaa Mizrani is **spoilerspoilerspoiler** revealed as the culprit behind a leak and accused of supporting a terrorist cause.  Now, more than ever, we could use a Muslim character painted in a good light, and so I was saddened to see this. Hopefully, Nilaa clears her name or finds redemption over the course of the season.

The show throws a lot at you in the pilot, but in the second episode you start putting things together and seeing the threads connecting the storylines.  It’s an enjoyable ride all the way through, although I’m not sure if I can handle this intensity for an entire season!

4 out of 5 Clocks Winding Down

Ron:
I was a huge fan of 24. I have every season on DVD. I made my part time job schedule around the show. It was essential viewing, and my friends and I would break down every bit of minutiae and debate about what was coming next. So when I heard that 24 was coming back I felt…well…mildly interested.

It’s a much different world than it was 15 years ago. When 24 came on a lot of people (myself included) needed that lone wolf who loved his country so much he would sacrifice everything he had to save it. The guy who just kept coming, the spirit of American resolve. Even when the show called into question his tactics to get the info needed they did it in a way that questioned the patriotism of those who would oppose him. It was very cut and dry, full on jingoism. It made us feel better.

Since then a lot of people (myself included) have taken time to re-examine our response and found it wanting, so 24 coming back is not nearly as exciting to me. Military experts said torture was not only ineffective, it emboldened the enemy. The military actually went to the producers of 24 and asked them to cut it out with the torture because it was having an effect on the military personnel, like a much more horrifying version of the CSI Effect. That being said I felt compelled to watch the show, to see if it acknowledges that while a lot of Americans are still living in fear there are also many of us who have shunned that mindset. Where would this show go?

After 2 episodes it feels like the exact same show. We can’t trust the bosses at CTU (and seriously, why in the hell does the government keep CTU around? All they do is hire sleeper agents and incompetent, possibly traitorous bosses. Instead of cutting the NEA or the EPA why don’t we close up CTU? Surely the NSA/FBI/CIA/WTFOMGBBQ can do what they are doing at CTU), Muslims are bad, Russians are bad, and only a lone wolf can save us as long as someone at CTU is breaking the law to help them. It’s the 24 formula, and I don’t know how long it is going to keep me around. I definitely wasn’t on the edge of my seat so far.

I’m still mildly interested and I’ll keep watching to see where they go with this but the emotional investment is not there. I give the show 2.5 “THERE ISN’T TIME!”’

Random notes/observations:

• In 24 World, Middle Eastern terrorists must go to the same school of marksmanship as Stormtroopers.
• Russians and Muslims and Gangbangers! Oh My!
• I see Professor Nabokov got his mail order Russian pedophile starter kit.
• Our main protagonist may be black but at least we have a clean cut white guy fighting terrorism in our high schools. Or at least we did…
• No matter what universe he is in, Jimmy Smits will eventually run for President. This time he is John “DON’T CALL ME SANTOS/BAIL ORGANA” Donovan.
• Donovan’s Hispanic uncle was standing in the background with his arms crossed just like Richard Nixon. I will be waiting to see if something comes of this.
• Gerald McRaney is incapable of looking happy.
• I just know Jimmy Smits is gonna break my heart in this show somehow. He can’t be THAT good of a human in every show and movie he is in.
• Yay! We have a good Muslim too! Or do we…
• Teddy Sears always looks like he is about to punch something.
• I don’t know what they make manhole covers with in 24 World but apparently they are a lot lighter than in our reality.
• I got a real Lady MacBeth vibe from Aisha, and that was before she called the Dominicans. I feel like they are setting her up as the new Sherry Palmer
• Still haven’t seen anyone need to eat, sleep, or use the bathroom, but at least we made time for an underage Russian sleeper agent to give a BJ to Prof. Nabokov. Oh, and Black Bauer used a seat belt, so progress?
• Speaking of Black Bauer, good on the show to acknowledge that he is black and how that would affect his interactions with the police. That is a big step forward in awareness for you all. Seriously.