INSTIGATING LOGIC
The following was written between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.
By JARED PUTNAM Union Sentinel Editor

If the title of this editorial sounds familiar, there is a good chance that you are at least familiar with Fox's award winning drama 24, which earlier this week aired the first four episodes of its sixth season.

Although it is one of very few shows which can make the claim, 24 has practically transcended the status of being just a tv show, reaching the level of pop-culture phenomenon. As I logged on to AJC.com, Sunday afternoon, I was not surprised to see "TV show 24 returns tonight" listed as the top item on the the site. After all, 24 won the Emmy for best drama and has cultivated as devoted a fanbase as anything else on television.

I can't help wondering if the show would still be the hit that it is if it wasn't airing in a post-911 world where terrorism is never far from the forefront of the news, but nevertheless, this would still be a heavily watched hour of television.

Even though 24 has a legion of fans from all demographics, it is at its core a man's show. Nowhere else on television are you as guaranteed to see someone get shot, blown up, tortured for information, or more then likely, all of the above, in a single episode.

Some of the popularity of the show can also be attributed to shock value. This is the same program that assassinated one fictional ex-president, killed another while he was still in office, and revealed another to be a traitor to the country. Last season 24 also surprised viewers by killing off several of its veteran, fan-favorite characters.

But in all honesty, these characters are expendable, because at the end of the day (no pun intended), the show is about one man, Counter Terrorism Agent Jack Bauer.

What more can you say about Jack Bauer? If Sylvester Stallone and Chuck Norris were the heroes of the 80's, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Steven Segal were the heroes of the 90's, Jack Bauer is the hero of the new millennium. Notice that I say Jack Bauer, and not Kiefer Sutherland, because Kiefer might as well just go ahead and change his name to Jack Bauer. When you play a character that apparently does not need to eat, sleep, or use the bathroom within a 24 hour period of time, it is going to be hard to step out of that shadow.

Still, 24 manages to keep from ever getting too over the top. However, if there is any one unrealistic area of the show, it is probably the fact that anyone in their right mind would continue to question, second guess, or attempt to circumvent Jack Bauer at this point. Hey, if I was part of CTU, Jack could tell me, "You have to shoot that Golden Retriever now, he's the mastermind behind these bombings."

I'd shoot the dog, no questions asked.

There's also the little issue of the unhealthy number of moles that seem to find their way into government organizations like CTU. Honestly, have they never heard of a background check?

But aside from those minor gripes, 24 is a fun ride, especially in an era where so many people seem to mold their schedules around their favorite prime time shows.