Within the next few days my two favorite shows of all time will be coming to an end. I watched TV as kid like everyone but I never followed a primetime show until the late 90's with the X-Files. . I saw some sitcoms as well, through reruns I am sure I have seen every episode of Full House or Home Improvement they were just shows that were on TV at a convenient time. The X-Files was the first TV show that was appointment television for me week in and week out, but it's not a show I watched from start to finish, I started around the 3rd season and stopped caring around the last one well after it fell apart. That finale was way overdue, there was no sadness involved, it was more like "its about time its over".


A tale of two Jacks.

I started to watch more and more shows  on and off around that time. Then came 2001 and the previews for this crazy new type of show, an action show that will be in real time. It had Keifer Sutherland in the lead role, I love action, so I was definitely all in.  It's kind of weird that 9/11 happened right before the show started, especially cause the first episode was about a plane hijacking. It was a scary time for our nation and in that moment came this show that was about the greatest terrorist killing hero in TV history, it was oddly perfect. The first season wasn't about terrorists at all actually, it was a more personal story for Jack Bauer. That season set up the formula that the show would use for it's entire run. The real time, multiple storyline setup was unlike anything I ever saw. Literally every episode lead into the next one. So many dramas had stand alone episodes, this is a show that demanded the viewer to never miss one episode. At the time it was almost a radical idea but soon nearly every drama would follow suit.


Thats his brother, what do you think he does to people he is not related to.

24 is simply the most intense, suspenseful, bad-ass show ever put on TV. It had action that would rival hollywood. It had scenes that I would have never thought possible on network television. It has the biggest cojones of any show, it would do the unthinkable on a regular basis. I still remember the season 1 finale like it was yesterday, that final scene is one of the most haunting, jaw dropping scenes I have ever seen. At that moment I knew for sure that this show would be something special for a long time.



But above all it worked cause of Jack Bauer. I don't think there has ever been a drama show that is more dependent on one man. The cast outside of Bauer is like a revolving door (of death), literally NO ONE from the first season except Bauer is in the last one. The only character outside of Bauer that is a show regular is his Otacon, Chloe, I am glad she is still around cause it gives us someone else to care about. While you could argue that is the biggest flaw of the show, it might also be the whole point of the show. Jack Bauer is meant to be a lonely sad man that sees everyone around him die, but he keeps on fighting cause it's the right thing to do. He is a legendary hero, up there with the all time great movie heroes. I hope there are some real life Jack Bauers out there, but there probably isn't cause if there were we would have Bin Laden's head like 7 years ago.


There is a lot of dead people in this picture.

24 became MY show, it was the one show I would watch every episode. I remember having to record episodes on a VHS back in the day before I got Tivo. As a show 24 started off on fire. The first two seasons were amazing and 24 had a ton of buzz around it. The third and fourth season started to get a bit predictable but it was still must see TV. Then came season 5 which was to many the best season the show had. It one the Emmy for best drama that year, Keifer won for best actor and a bunch of the cast was nominated as well. That season was epic, I still remember shaking from the excitement after seeing the episode where CTU gets hit with gas and Edgar dies. I remember my jaw dropping further than it ever has at the revelation of the big bad guy, none other than the President of the U.S., the evil bastard Charles Logan. The start of the season where nearly every main character died, it was insanity. It was as if the show knew it had to shake things up and it did so in spectacular fashion.

Sadly season 6 turned out to be the worst season in the shows history. It was so weird to go from the very best to the worst just like that. I still don't get what happened, it was kind of sad cause during that season I knew it was the beginning of the end for the show. In 2008 we had the writers strike and 24 was canceled for the entire year. To go from a horrible season, to an entire year off, it killed it. 24 left the spotlight, the show would never be at the same level of popularity it was before. Season 7 finally came and it was definitely better than 6 but overall it was just good, not great. At the start of this last season we heard rumors that this would probably be the last one, but there was no official decision at the start of filming. Season 8 started off horrible, worst than 6. I wanted the show gone, I did not want to see it go out like this, a wounded animal that should be put out of its misery. Then the decision came that this season would be the last one, at that moment it seems like the writers were rejuvenated. The last half of this season is maybe the best stretch of episodes this show has ever had. Now I don't want it to end, where was THIS show the last few years. I am so glad to see it go out in a blaze of glory. I am not that emotional cause for one 24 isn't really an emotional show in the normal sense, it has plenty of emotional storylines  but the show is sort of cold, like a dad that doesn't show much love but you know he loves you. Also there is a movie coming out so I know its not the real end.



Lets go back in time. 24 is in it's 4th season I believe it's 2005. That year I think ABC had the Super Bowl, the network was in the crapper, it was last place, it was like NBC is now. So they heavily promoted some new dramas during the Super Bowl, one of them was LOST. The promos showed this mysterious show about people crash landing on an island but the island wasn't normal. The show had the guy that played Merry in LOTR as a cast member and I remember the commercials focusing so much on him. It was like "The guy from Lord of the Rings stars in LOST, coming soon." It's crazy to think that he will now be known more as Charlie than Merry. I love sci-fi, this show looked like something I would love and so I decided to watch it. The rest is history, LOST became my other show, another show I could not miss one episode of.


"Where are we?"

LOST unlike 24 is all about the ensemble cast, a massive cast of about 12 or so characters. Each one with a backstory that would be explored through the shows patented flashbacks. Each week the mystery grew deeper and deeper, what the hell is up with this island. The first season was incredible, I never saw a show with such a large cast of rich characters, almost all of them were excellent. That first year it won the Emmy for best drama, the buzz around it was gigantic. The show has it all, drama, romance, adventure, comedy, thrilling, suspenseful, and of course mystery.

Season 2 started to open up the show a bit to more fantastic ideas, to a more sci-fi route. The problem is that it felt as if it were dragging it's feet. You got the sense that the show was directionless, a show like this where it is very important to get answers that is a scary feeling to have. This extended into the first half of Season 3 as well which I feel was the series low point. The flashbacks had shown all that they could show. The show started to get a bit stale. Then midway through that season came the decision by ABC to give the show an end date, season 6. Once the writers knew how long they had to tell the story, the show went into hyperdrive. The last half of season 3 is some of the best TV I have ever seen. Season 4, in my opinion the best season of the series, was nearly perfect from start to end.



The real game changer came in the season 3 finale where I feel the show had a moment so surprising that it has to go down as one of the most important moments in TV history. It was the game changer the show needed, since that moment it has been a rollercoaster ride, an awesome rollercoaster ride that I never want to end. But it has to, here is a show that is leaving on top of the world. Sure the ratings have been down because it is such a demanding show for the audience, new viewers will undoubtedly be lost. The fanbase has remained as passionate as ever, the show has been a critical darling it's entire run. When I look back at the entire story, all six seasons, I will have to say it is the best TV show I have ever seen. It did what every other show like it failed to do, actually end on their terms. I can't help but to compare it with the X-Files. Both are shows that established a huge mythology built around mystery. Both promised lots of answers. The X-Files totally lost its way and ended as a mess. LOST will end perfectly, with the whole story arc completed.



While the mythology is a big part of the show the show is not about that, the show has always been about the characters. It is a character driven drama, an extremely powerful one as well. It touches on all sorts of subjects but at it's center is the debate between science and faith. It's such a deep show, I have never cared so much about TV characters. I love 24 cause I am an action fan, I love how bold that show is but I can't say it is better than LOST. This show ending will make me sad, I will flat out say it, I will probably be crying at the end of the finale, I am man enough to admit that. Another awesome part of the show is that I got my whole family into it so we are having one huge LOST party on sunday night. Sunday feels like the Super Bowl, it's such a big event, I can't wait.


On back to back days the only two shows I have ever seen from beginning to end, never missing one episode, come to an end. I love movies, other than gaming that's my thing, these shows have showed me that TV can be every bit as powerful as a movie. Sometimes even more so cause a television show becomes part of your normal life. A movie comes and goes in two hours, a show is a normal part of your schedule for years. You invest over a hundred hours into these characters and their stories. I have never experienced a finale in the way I am about to cause I never invested in a show until these two came along. So sad to see them go... but hey I get Mario! :)