24 - Season Three
Picture: B-
Sound: B Extras: B+ Episodes: B
Jack Bauer and his Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) are still
in the thick of things with 24 – Season Three, this time facing a new
crisis with the President and a new threat from drug dealers and biological
terror. As before, twenty-four episodes
take place over the course of a single day, the 24 shows that comprise the
entire season. Though the show continues
in fine form, it was more involved in plot this time around. Though it is as suspenseful as previous
season were, Bauer is more damaged this time around and it is more of an all
around action season.
Elisha Cuthbert is more of a known entity, thanks to her
underrated work in The Girl Next Door (see my review of the uncut version
of the film elsewhere on this site). I
had hoped she would have more of a role in this season, especially working in
her father’s unit, but Keifer Sutherland is the star and as Bauer continues to
do some of the best work of his career.
It does prove Miss Cuthbert can do a more conservative role, and I
believe she is a better actress, if only she gets the chance to prove it.
This is a remarkable show in that it never falls victim to
the weekly grind of moist television series, its writers (Robert Cochran, Duppy
Demetrius, Howard Gordon, Evan Katz, Michael Loceff, Steven Kronish, Joel
Surnow, Virgil Williams) are penning some of the best teleplays in TV and that
makes it another high-quality hour-long Fox drama that has everyone talking
with storyline twists that really work.
Fortunately, this one is a hit, their biggest and best since The
X-Files. It helps that the show is
in an upswing, which makes it all the more fun to watch. You will want to start at the beginning just
the same with Season One, because everyone deserves to enjoy all this
hard work paying off.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 images for this third
set is the clearest and best yet of the three boxes issued so far. The digital is the smoothest and seamless
yet. Video Black is also a bit better
than box two, and much better than one.
Like the second set, this third box offers aggressive Dolby Digital 5.1
AC-3, both of which are better than the 2.0 Pro Logic surround in the first
box. Good bass continues to show
integrated presence and the soundfield much more naturalistic. With the show a hit, more effort and money
is being put into it and the result is continued improvement in fidelity and
performance.
Extras here include a minimum of five deleted scenes and
an audio commentary on one episode on each of the first six DVDs, leaving the
seventh devoted to supplements. Those
45 deleted scenes are repeated on the last disc with commentary options, twice
as much as Box Two, and are activated when a “24” logo appears. Unlike Box One, Three repeats Two in having
chapter stops on all the episodes.
Other extras on DVD 7 include three behind the scenes featurettes and a
multi-angle study of the Midnight Shootout in episode twelve. There is also a teaser and promo piece for
Season Four, which we will look at when the DVD set arrives.
- Nicholas Sheffo
