For eight seasons between 2001 and 2010, Fox's 24 garnered critical
accolades and became one of the most watched and discussed shows in
primetime. In an innovative premise, the show's hour-long episodes
were meant to represent a real-time hour of the story, so that each
twenty-four-episode season depicts a single day in the life of its
characters. Influential as a popular hit, 24 was also closely
linked with the "culture of fear" that dominated the post-9/11
period. In this insightful study, author John McCullough
demonstrates that the series was not only unique and trendsetting,
but also a complex creative response to its historical context. In
three chapters, McCullough looks at 24's form, style and
overarching themes and meanings. He argues that although the series
is driven by the political and cultural shifts brought on by the
War on Terror, it is routinely out of step with real history. Using
Linda Williams's distinction between the melodramatic mode and
melodrama as a genre, McCullough explores 24's use of the
action-adventure and spy thriller forms with particular attention
paid to the series' hero, Jack Bauer, who is depicted as a tragic
hero perpetually in search of a return to innocence. Ultimately,
McCullough finds that the series' distinction lies less in its
faithful re-creation of the history of the WOT than in its
evocation of the sense of crises and paranoia that defined the
period. McCullough also analyses 24 as a response to television
culture in the "post-network" age, characterised by reality TV's
populist appeal and visceral content, on the one hand, and
sophisticated boutique cable programming ("quality TV"), on the
other. McCullough demonstrates that 24 engaged not only with the
most pressing issues of world history and the geopolitics of its
time, including terrrorism, neoliberalism and the state of
exception, but, on the strength of its form and style, also
represents significant global trends in television culture. Fans of
the show and media history scholars will appreciate this thorough
study.
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