Quote from waggie945:
Believe it or not, the show doesn't even show up in the Top 20 of last week's ratings.
That is amazing. So much crap on TV getting huge ratings. And this show. so well written and so interesting can't keep up with American Idol? And all the other brainless garbage?
Even Law and Order which used to be OK is so watered down with so many different variations. On 4 or 5 times a week and still gets better ratings than '24'?
Maybe people are (unfairly) not watching because they think they can't "keep up". (which is only partly an issue).
Anyway, it is a sad comment on what sells to American viewers.
Quote from goldenarm:
This show is getting WAY over the top! The murder of Ryan Chappelle was absolutely shocking! My heart can't take the strain anymore...
The murder of Ryan Chappelle was maybe the most shocking and most interesting plot twist of all time on TV.
The murder, the cause, and the means could be discussed in law schools as to the "greater crime" issue. It is a great subject for an ethics class, As well as for discussions involving political science, law enforcement, history, and of course as a moral issue for debate.
Decision making at the very highest levels of government have always been extremely hard to make (and very easy to criticize).
Truman's dropping atom bombs on Japan and the murder of Chapelle seem a bit similar (but also very very different....sheer numbers of victims somehow attenuate (in some respects) the horror of state sponsored murder. The up close and VERY personal circumstances of Chappelle's murder make it so much more emotional...even for us...the viewers.
I could not believe what I was watching. The scene brought out empathy for both the victim and the killer better than almost any scene I have ever seen in any movie ever. Certainly more than in any TV show ever.
Aside from the murder of Chappelle..we have the President's wife committing murder (of a completely different sort with completely different motivation) and the circumstances behind it. The "blackmailing" of the President to cover up her crime. All of it seems so "over the top" as Goldenarm put it. But the entertainment value (and the fine writing, so as to not make it all "comic book" like, but rather almost believable) makes this show exist on it's own unique level. No tv show, (IMO) has ever come close.
"24" is certainly in a class by itself.
This past Sunday "24" was on opposite "The Sopranos". These are the only two shows I watch (or make an effort to watch) on television. Luckily I knew I would be able to catch The Sopranos on several other occasions over the week. Not so with "24" (don't understand why they no longer have an "encore" showing like they used to).
But even if all things were equal, I would have chosen "24" over the Sopranos.
Chappelle is now dead on "24". The actor who played him is alive and well on The Sopranos (the priest). For now. Looks like he's had the hots for Carmella

Can't be a healthy thing for him.
Peace,

RS