Prison, politics just another day in the life of Jack Bauer
By Tom Jicha
South Florida Sun-Sentinel TV/Radio Writer
Posted July 31 2006
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Pasadena, Calif. · Mortal political enemies have become the strangest of bedfellows when it comes to 24. Consider Barbra Streisand and Rush Limbaugh: The icons of the left and right agree on almost nothing, but both love Jack Bauer.
Kiefer Sutherland, Jack's alter ego, thinks the secret is that the Fox thriller gives both sides reason to believe Jack is one of them.[/FONT]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
"I remember Joel Surnow, the writer, saying it's really quite amazing to have the right adopt the show the way they have and also have Barbra Streisand and so many others on the left also adopt the show for themselves," Sutherland said. "We've managed to run this neutral political ground while having very strong political aspirations within the context of the show."
Sutherland said there is no disputing that
24 is political. It's just not clearly partisan, allowing people of all persuasions to see what they want.
Jack spent last season thwarting an apparently Republican president -- a ringer for Richard Nixon -- in his conspiracy to ignite a civil war in Russia. The left viewed this as a repudiation of hawks and international adventurists (think neo-cons) on the right.
Jack's tactics, including torture and murder to protect America first and worry about the legal niceties at a less perilous time, are cheered by conservatives. That this approach appalls the American Civil Liberties Union is a bonus.
Sutherland was purposefully coy while doling out morsels of what to expect during the season that starts in January. However, he did allow this would be the most political season yet, without a hint at which side of the aisle will embrace the plot more enthusiastically.
"This year there's a couple of statements that are very political. The writers chose to address a really interesting situation."
When last seen, Jack was on a slow boat to China, abducted to answer charges that he murdered a diplomat during a daring rescue mission at the Chinese consulate. Sutherland wouldn't reveal whether Jack will still be imprisoned in Asia when the story resumes.
24 is renowned for having characters get from place to place at warp speed, even in congested urban settings. However, it would be beyond the realm of credibility for Jack to get back from China within the show's conceit of everything happening in one day. Half the season would have to be played out on a plane. "If I was in China, I'm probably going to stay there for the day," Sutherland said.
He did drop a teaser about a possible solution -- a season unspooling on separate fronts. "Whether there will be two storylines and one's operating from China, I don't want to reveal."
Sutherland is as adept at playing to liberals and conservatives as his writers. One moment he sounds like a hard-line right winger, praising Jack's excesses and the real-life operatives who are doing many of the same things.
"I think we have a lot of people like Jack Bauer. Obviously this is a TV show and it is told in a very fantastical way. But I think that in every law enforcement agency in the United States and in the special forces we have men and women who do a lot of the work, incredibly hard work, combined in this one character. We hear about things that happen. Luckily, we do not hear about so many things that have not happened as a result of these people's work."
The audience embraces Jack's excesses, Sutherland feels, because of a perception that right and justice don't prevail as often as they should. "He does a very unique thing that I think people are appreciating. He cuts through bureaucracy and gets to the point. How many times in a public trial have we seen what seems to be obvious get turned around, convoluted and derailed?"
At the same time, Sutherland says Jack isn't as pleased by what he does as some of his fans are. "One of the things to remember about the character is that Jack wears the burden of those things, whether it's killing or torture. There's a little piece of him that gets taken away every time. This is not how he likes to conduct his business."
It's also not how Sutherland likes to see Jack conduct himself. "You have to remember this is a TV show. By no way, shape or form am I saying we should abandon due process and civil liberties. These are the great qualities of this country that make the United States the special country it is."
The clever way the series manages to walk the slippery political tightrope is one of the things that makes
24 the special show it is.
