‘24′ Absurd-o-Meter
Fellow readers I give you the, 24 Absurd-o-Meter from the New York Magazine’s blog called The Daily Intelligencer.
What they do with the Absurd-o-Meter is:
…each week count down the most incredibly ridiculous (ridiculously incredible?) plot points in the last hour of Jack Bauer’s crappy day.
Some of them are pretty funny, and pretty snarky like:
There is apparently no traffic — in L.A.! — soon after a nuclear explosion. Carping about the lack of traffic on 24 is always easy, but still: It only took fifteen minutes for Jack to get a car delivered with all the chaos that’s going on? Never mind, Enterprise: CTU will pick you up.
What do you think? Do you like it?
I would say that I’m pretty snarky in the Countdown, but overall I love 24, and have nothing whatsoever against it. What I’m wondering is do you think they are doing this in the spirit of the show…or do they hate the show and want to make as much fun of it as they can?
January 25th, 2007 at 9:27 am
It’s true that you do have to suspend reality at least a little while watching 24 (and pretty much every other show on TV). When I first started watching I hated it because of stuff like that, but now I embrace it. CSI is the worst, I can barely fight through an episode of that.
ps- I was thinking about the cell phones in the White House bunker and figured that the Secret Service is smart enough to realize that when they go down there they’ll need to use them and have taken certain unknown measures to make sure their cells work down there.
January 25th, 2007 at 9:27 am
The article suggests an interesting question at the end. What must Thanksgiving at Phil Bauer’s place look like?
Graem: Dad, would you pass the potatos?
Jack: I want to know why you want the potatos. Tell me, or I’ll hurt you.
Phil: Don’t worry, Jack, I’ll get the manservant to bring in more potatos.
Graham: Why’re you always such a jerk, Jack? First my wife, now my potatos!
Jack: WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!
Graeme: Hold, on, I’ve got a call coming in…
January 25th, 2007 at 9:33 am
HAHA!
Good one Willy.
Phil: Jack! Take that Turkey off your brother’s head right now! You’re smothering him.
Aaron.
January 25th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
I think its in the right spirit - the somewhat implausible plot twists are part of the show’s attraction. Lets face it, if there weren’t some moments of incredulity it would be scary as hell.
About the traffic - I always thought that a nuclear detonation sent an electromagnetic pulse that stopped stuff like car engines (and helicopters) from working. In which case there’d be zero traffic. Maybe they were out of range.
January 28th, 2007 at 5:08 am
Jack: mmm! this is great…. is there any more Gravy?
Graeme: oh I just used the last of it, sorry
Jack: DAMN IT!!