24: Season 3 (2003)

"I know I need a shave but then the intensity won't be as... INTENSE!"

Genre: Action Drama Mystery Thriller Series

Starring: Kiefer Sutherland (To End All Wars; A Few Good Men), Elisha Cuthbert (House Of Wax; The Girl Next Door)

Created By: Robert Cochran, Joel Surnow

Overview: In this installment, set three years after Season 2's very long day, terrorists threaten to release a deadly hyper-infectious virus should their demands not be met.

Acting: Look, I'm not going to say it's brilliant, it is Fox after all. HBO always will have the bar raised in the Acting category, but Kiefer does the best job of the bunch, without a doubt (he alone bumps it up a full point). He's amazing. I won't blame the actors for the obvious constant directorial faults, so much so that it affects the whole mood of the thing. After all is said and done though, good stuff.
Rating: 8

Cinematography: Three seasons in and they don't mess with perfection. The whole format of the split screen boxes is very unique, and quite obviously works. The action is pretty good and the odd explosion is a nice touch. Visually, this show is very exciting, and though the angles and panoramas aren't all art and brilliance, it's consistently interesting to look at, and nigh perfection for the mainstream crowd.
Rating: 8

Script: Writing. Ugh. My biggest beef is that certain lines of dialogue are spoken, resaid, and reworded over and over to make sure that the viewer remembers what happened last show. I guess that's necessary, but saying the same thing in the same episode? Filler. Motives and politics are clear and though there's often useless stuff that happens along the way sometimes... We can't help but understand.
Rating: 7

Plot: There are a few gaping plot holes: Jack kicks a heroin habit inside 3 hours, crack Delta Assault teams are mowed down by 2 guys when it's convenient, twists involving babies in the office and a constant breaking of ingrained protocol. These are glaring, but the fact that chasing down one guy leads to another higher up, leads to an old enemy, then someone you'd never expect to ends up dead, the intrigue keeps going on and on. It's a good story, and though it could be better, it's definitely entertaining.
Rating: 8

Mood: Understandably, the acting and the plot take away from the overall mood that could have been, and the suspension of disbelief is a little too frequent from time to time. They don't show enough of how being tired affects their decision, how they get ugly as the day progresses. The action is always intense, everything is INTENSITY all the time. Maybe a little too much, you know? Even though there's all those problems, I still can't help but like it.
Rating: 8

Top of the line wetwork ops and they couldn't get a contractor with a level when they built HQ?!

Overall Rating: 78% (Exciting until the Early Hours)

Aftertaste: I like Season enough to watch Season 4. I like it enough to tell people I enjoy it. Do I like it enough to watch it week after week on schedule? No. I'll wait for DVD.
Kiefer. One word: It's the best.