DVD Review: 24 Season 8

It’s the final season, so you know that anything goes for Jack Bauer. Season 8 of 24 unfolds Day 8 for the viewers. The goal? Prevent the assassination of a Middle Eastern leader who is on an important peace-making mission.

What’s really disappointing with this release is the lack of special features. While the deleted scenes and the scenemaker features are enjoyable, they’re just slim. You won’t even find commentaries on any of the episodes. However, if you haven’t purchased the previous seasons before, you might find it more gratifying to pick up the complete collection (24: The Complete Series) which sweetens the pot with more extras such as the Season 8 Wrap Party and Comic Con 2009 Panel features (just to name a few!).

But getting back to the show, I’ve always found the format of 24 to be interesting. Every episode a 1 hour period, every season adding up to a full day. If you had told me 8 years ago that this would work I would have looked at you like you’re crazy, but it actually worked quite well in 24‘s case. We didn’t have a single season that was filled with a good 8 hour rest.

With Season 8 there was some repetition, but the originality far outweighed any feelings of déjà vu. Even after 8 seasons this series still had some tricks up it’s sleeves… I won’t reveal the ending in case you’re reading this and haven’t tuned into the series yet… But if you haven’t seen the episodes yet, you’re lucky that you can watch them marathon-style now.

So what happens now? Our eyes turn to the big screen to see Jack Bauer once more. The show’s producer, Howard Gordon, said that the movie could be out as early as 2011 depending on how things come together. As of last March, the film script was in it’s final stages of development. One thing is for sure though, you’re going to want to make sure you’re caught up and refreshed on 24 so you can fully appreciate the film.

Grade: A-
Review By: Emma Loggins

24 on Amazon: 24: The Complete Eighth Season