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The Movie:  (Note: As with prior "24" reviews, I will attempt to spoil as little as possible for those who waited for the DVD in order to see or complete their viewing of the season.) It just never seems to stop for federal agent Jack Bauer. First, he managed to save candidate David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) from assassination. It wasn't over. Soon after, Jack was called to prevent the detonation of a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles. A few years later, Bauer was once again in Los Angeles to stop the release of a deadly virus. The fourth season also dealt with terrorism, but the plot kept twisting, revealing a new crisis for Bauer to handle each time. It's wasn't a flawless season or the show's best outing, but I still think it was another strong effort from everyone involved. As season 5 opens, a character who has been at the core of the series is dispatched in shocking fashion (and they wouldn't be the last one to go as the season progressed), bringing Jack - who had been in hiding (not to give away any further details about the close of season 4) - back out into the open. Soon after the opening, Jack finds out that he has been framed for murder, forcing him to go on the run to clear his name, while also trying to stop Russian terrorists from starting a nerve gas attack on Los Angeles. As Bauer pushes further in his attempt to try and stop the attack, he finds out that high-ranking members of the government are involved. Returning are, among others, fan favorite Chloe O'Brien (Mary Lynn Rajskub), Tony Almeda (Carlos Bernard), President Logan (Gregory Itzin) and Audrey Raines (Kim Raver). The highlight of the new characters is Martha Logan, the unstable first lady. Jean Smart, best known for her comedic roles, offers an emotional, intense performance that deserves awards notice. Other new characters include CTU supervisor Lynn McGill (Sean Astin, of "Lord of the Rings") and Henderson (former "Robocop" star Peter Weller), a shadowy figure from Jack's past. The fifth season of "24" continues the elements of the show that has made it popular. Successfully boasting a real-time format, the show links crisis-to-crisis in a way that often makes the nearly hour-long program rip forward with remarkable tension and urgency. As always, "24" takes some serious leaps of logic, but the show's plot holes don't seem quite so apparent this time and the flow of the show remains smooth throughout the season. As is often the case for "24", I felt that the performances (Sutherland continues to succeed in what is certainly one of the best roles of his career; operating with a remarkably consistent level of intensity, Sutherland makes Bauer riveting to watch) and pacing of the series were able to get past most moments that were a bit much. There are a series of television shows that work better on DVD than on television, and "24" is one of them. While commericals are understandably necessary and "24" does work well on TV, the show's flow is still interrupted by ads when broadcast. On DVD, the show's rapid pacing is never broken, and the series, in my opinion, plays better. The fifth season of "24" is an improvement on the prior season and a tight, tense effort that definitely hooks the viewer in. Season 5 97. 5- 1 15 Jan 06 Day 5: 7:00 AM-8:00 AM 98. 5- 2 15 Jan 06 Day 5: 8:00 AM-9:00 AM 99. 5- 3 16 Jan 06 Day 5: 9:00 AM-10:00 AM 100. 5- 4 16 Jan 06 Day 5: 10:00 AM-11:00 AM 101. 5- 5 23 Jan 06 Day 5: 11:00 AM-12:00 PM 102. 5- 6 30 Jan 06 Day 5: 12:00 PM-1:00 PM 103. 5- 7 6 Feb 06 Day 5: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM 104. 5- 8 13 Feb 06 Day 5: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM 105. 5- 9 20 Feb 06 Day 5: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM 106. 5-10 27 Feb 06 Day 5: 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM 107. 5-11 6 Mar 06 Day 5: 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM 108. 5-12 6 Mar 06 Day 5: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM 109. 5-13 13 Mar 06 Day 5: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM 110. 5-14 20 Mar 06 Day 5: 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM 111. 5-15 27 Mar 06 Day 5: 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM 112. 5-16 3 Apr 06 Day 5: 10:00 PM - 11:00 PM 113. 5-17 10 Apr 06 Day 5: 11:00 PM - 12:00 AM 114. 5-18 17 Apr 06 Day 5: 12:00 AM - 1:00 AM 115. 5-19 24 Apr 06 Day 5: 1:00 AM - 2:00 AM 116. 5-20 1 May 06 Day 5: 2:00 AM - 3:00 AM 117. 5-21 8 May 06 Day 5: 3:00 AM - 4:00 AM 118. 5-22 15 May 06 Day 5: 4:00 AM - 5:00 AM 119. 5-23 22 May 06 Day 5: 5:00 AM - 6:00 AM 120. 5-24 22 May 06 Day 5: 6:00 AM - 7:00 AM The DVD VIDEO: The fifth season of "24" is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen by Fox. The picture quality is excellent, as I thought image quality was certainly better than what I viewed during the show's basic television broadcast. Sharpness and detail remained very pleasing, as the picture remained bright and crisp, with good fine detail and consistent definition. The picture did show some minor shimmering at times and some mild-to-moderate grain, but I didn't see any instances of edge enhancement. Some traces of pixelation were noticed, but these weren't too distracting. The show's largely subdued color palette seemed accurately rendered, with no smearing or other faults. Black level seemed solid, while flesh tones appeared accurate. SOUND: "24" is presented by Fox in Dolby Digital 5.1. The show's soundtrack is mainly dialogue-driven and somewhat front-heavy, but surrounds do kick in for some action sequences and to provide some reinforcement for the show's well-done score. Audio quality was excellent, with crisp and clear dialogue, well-recorded effects and a dynamic, full-sounding score. EXTRAS: Disc 1: "7:00AM-8:00AM": Commentary by Kiefer Sutherland & Jon Cassar, Commentary by Jon Cassar & Howard Gordon, "10:00-11:00AM": Commentary by Jon Cassar & Howard Gordon Disc 2: "12:00PM-1:00PM": Commentary by David Fury & John Allen Nelson, "2:00PM-3:00PM": Commentary by Evan Katz & Brad Turner Disc 3: "3:00PM-4:00PM": Commentary by Tim Iacofano & Julian Sands, "4:00PM-5:00PM": Commentary by Jean Smart & Greg Itzin, "5:00PM-6:00PM": Commentary by Matt Michnovetz, Duppy Demetrius, and Nicole Ranadive Disc 4: "9:00PM-10:00PM": Commentary by Jon Cassar & Joseph Hodges Disc 5: "12:00AM-1:00AM": Commentary by Howard Gordon & Mary Lynn Rajskub Disc 6: "3:00AM-4:00AM", Commentary by Manny Coto & Jude Ciccollela, "6:00AM-7:00AM": Commentary by Bob Cochran & Greg Itzin The fifth season sees no shortage of supplemental features, as the set offers just about as many commentary tracks from members of the cast and crew as the prior season sets. The commentary tracks are informative and insightful, giving a good overview of how the series operates on a day-to-day basis, focusing on such issues as shooting on location, production design, casting, scheduling and other production concerns. The tracks offer a nice array of crew members, all of whom give a detailed and insightful discussion of their role on the show. A short prequel (which doesn't really offer much information) to the sixth season is available on the final disc. A short trailer for season 6 is offered here, as well, although a longer trailer for the sixth season that's available online offers more information. "Unsung Heroes" is the main extra on the final disc, and the 40-minute documentary is essentially a class on cinematography, with the entire camera team for the series providing a technical, step-by-step explanation of their tasks on the set. This is a fantastic and fascinating look at every aspect of the show's cinematography. "Logan's Retreat" is a short featurette with the show's production designer and others discussing the design and construction of the set. The deleted scenes available on the other discs (38 minutes in total) can be viewed here with optional commentary from exec producer Stephen Kornish and editor Scott Powell. "100th Episode Reel" is a highlight reel for the series. Finally, we get a promo for an upcoming book that takes a look behind-the-scenes of the show. Final Thoughts: Fox's DVD presentation of "24"'s superb 5th season provides very good audio/video quality for the episodes, as well as a terrific collection of bonus features. Recommended, although those previously unfamiliar with the series may want to consider starting at the beginning. |