24: Live Another Day

Great show, I received the series on time and as described and am enjoying it.

Some ideas are just too good to die. That’s why, four years after 24 ticked out its final second, it came back. No, we didn’t get a full 24 hours (although a full day is still covered). Instead, 24: Live Another Day consisted of 12 episodes. This show still knows how to get your blood pumping. Just like it’s been four years for us, it’s been four years for Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland). During all that time, he’s been in hiding, trying to avoid the Russians who are out to get revenge for his behavior in season 8. However, he resurfaces in London, and his first act is to break Chloe O’Brien (Mary Lynn Rajskub) out of CIA custody. Chloe has become a wanted hacker, disillusioned with the government and fighting to reveal the secrets they are trying to hide. Jack needs Chloe’s skills and her new friends in his effort to stop a terrorist plot. Yes, even on the run, Jack has managed to get intel about Margot Al-Harzi (Michelle Fairley, a terrorist who is plotting to take over drones and kill President Heller (William Devane). Heller is in London at the moment, to sign a drone treaty, along with his daughter Aubrey (Kim Raver), who Jack still loves, and Aubrey’s new husband Mark (Tate Donovan). Of course, breaking Chloe out of the CIA doesn’t go unnoticed (especially with Jack’s lack of subtly). Soon he has CIA location chief Steve Navarro (Benjamin Bratt) overseeing his capture with agent Kate Morgan (Yvonne Strahovski) hot on his trail. Only Kate isn’t so sure Jack is the man they should be hunting. Can he gain any allies in his efforts to stop the terrorists? What will happen before the last second ticks out? The producers claimed that this season was going to be different because it was shorter. Heck, they famously promised that the show was going to dump us in the middle of the action. I will admit the premier episode was definitely more ramped up than some of the old premiers, but they still took the time to explain all the new relationships and the set up for the season. There was just more action going on in the background. I will give the producers this – I don’t think there were any wasted sub-plots this season. You know, the sub-plots we never cared about but were there to fill up time as characters moved from one spot to another. While one or two sub-plots seemed unimportant, they eventually tied in better to the overall story than the sub-plots did in the full seasons. However, there are clichés on 24, and many of them were still evident. If you watched this without knowing there had been four years in real time between season 8 and this run of episodes, you wouldn’t know by any fresh plot twists. But you know what? That truly doesn’t matter. As the season progressed, I was on the edge of my seat multiple times with my heart racing and the blood pumping hoping Jack could manage to save the day yet again. The show has always been a thrill ride, and this season is absolutely no exception. And there were one or two twists I didn’t see coming. And the acting is still top notch. Four of the actors from the show returned (although it has been a couple of seasons since we’d seen now President Heller and Aubrey). They slipped right back into their characters as if no time had passed. The cast of new actors were absolutely wonderful as well. I do have to give a special shout out to Yvonne. I loved her on Chuck, and it was great to see here again here. This season is available on either DVD or Blu-Ray. Either way, you get all twelve episodes in wide screen and full surround. Both sets include deleted and extended scenes as well as a featurette on shooting in London, one on how they used headlines to shape the season, and finally one on filming while staying green. If you buy the Blu-Ray set, you also get an extension to the season. With the price difference between the two sets not being that great, if you have a Blu-Ray player, that’s definitely the set to go with. There are rumors that the producers are open to doing another event series like 24: Live Another Day. With how they left Jack, I’d say they absolutely need to do that. If it does happen, I’ll be back on the 24 roller coaster for every second.

24 Live Another Day is far exceeding previous series. Story develops with a breathtaking quickness. Succession of marvelous unexpected twists holds you in tense all along the scenes. Who is a real mastermind behind the every plot? What is his final purpose? You can’t take your eyes off even a second from the screen. Location in London and the existence of British Prime Minister gives fresh flavor to this episode. Meeting again scene of Audrey and Bauer is heartbreaking. End scene hints possibility of the sequel. Russian speaks to Bauer,” I would say you’re going to enjoy Moscow…But you’d know I was lying.” Chloe explains her feelings to Belcheck, “ I owe Jack. I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for him.” Belcheck says, ” Then we have that in common.” Episodes contain many talks about friend. Bauer replied to Belcheck he didn’t have any friends, when Belcheck asked Bauer about Chloe being Jack’s friend. Chloe talked to Bauer, “ You were my friend, if you wanted my help, you should’ve just asked.” On other time, Chloe pointed out she was the only friend he had left, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Bauer acknowledged, “ You were right about being my best friend.” Bauer expostulates with Kate on revenge. He took as much revenge as any man could possibly. He thought it would ease the pain, but it didn’t. Somewhere in our heart, we have to really accept that. And then we can begin to forgive ourselves. Bauer admonishes Chloe saying she can’t bring back the one she lost. But she can honor their lives by helping others. It’s the only way up forward…The privilege cuts are worth viewing.

You know, I had my doubts about this from the beginning, and I had a little trouble wrapping myself around Chloe's Goth look, but before long the old 24 magic was back! I got pulled into this series (on DVD-I couldn't stand to watch it on regular broadcast TV with all the commercials and then waiting for the following week to see what would happen) and once again, nobody does it better then Team Jack Bauer! If you're a fan, you're going to love this-Jack is anything but diplomatic, and I loved every second! As always there's plenty of twists and turns, and you'll be on the edge of your seat to see what happens next, and how it'll all play out. It's great to see William Devane back, this time as the president of United States, and of course his daughter Audrey. If you're an avid fan of espionage shows, like me, you'll be delighted to see supporting cast members from the series CHUCK and MI-5, along with a lot of other cool characters-both good and bad. There's the potential at the end for Jack to return, and I sure hope that happens! How does this stack up against the other seasons of 24? Even though it's a 12 hour "miniseries", I'd rate it up there with the best of them! Hopefully you'll purchase this, and if you do, be prepared to lose some sleep because, like the best of 24, you can't watch just one!

Me encantó que el Blu-ray si reproduce el DVD y que la calidad es muy nítida. También lo probé en un multi región y funcionó sin problema.

Jack Bauer nous a quitté depuis trop longtemps mais il est de retour... Nous n'avons rien perdu pour avoir attendu, il revient en très grande forme, et même si cette demi-saison (Et oui, c'est du 12 heures chrono cette fois!) nous donne l'impression qu'il manque 12 épisodes sur les 24 dont nous étions jadis habitués, le spectacle est au rendez-vous, on ne s'ennuie pas une seconde, et on en redemande... Les Blu-rays sont resplendissants, un coffret qui va faire date. Jack tu reviens quand tu veux.

Rezension zur UK-3er-Bluray !! ...und jetzt wo die deutsche Version endlich erscheint, vermischt amazon leider mal wieder die Rezensionen zu allen Versionen der Staffel. Die deutsche Version kommt mit den identischen Extras und ist frei und UNCUT ab 16...trotz der doch recht brutalen Szenen hier und da. Jack is back...und wie. Rücksichtsloser, härter und unbarmherziger als jemals zuvor. Vier Jahre nach den Ereignissen in Staffel 8 wird in London zur Hetzjagd auf ihn geblasen. Doch Jack weiß sich zu wehren und ist natürlich nicht ohne Grund aus der Versenkung hervorgekommen. Es gilt einen Terroranschlag auf den Präsidenten der Vereinigten Staaten zu verhindern. "Live Another Day" bietet genau das, was man als Fan erwartet: Jack Bauer in Höchstform...die Jahre der Einsamkeit haben ihn noch mehr verändert. Kiefer Sutherland liefert wie immer eine Top-Leistung ab. Sieht man sich den Charakter in den ersten drei Staffeln und jetzt an, so ist dieser kaum wieder zu erkennen. Extrem rücksichtslos und teils ohne jede Gefühlsregung agiert Bauer bei seinen Ermittlungen und Handlungen. Ist natürlich auch logisch nachdem was er alles durchmachen musste. Aber auch abseits des Hauptcharakters gibts perfekte Actionunterhaltung (jede Menge blutige Shoot-Outs, Explosionen und Verfolgungsjagden), tolles Setting (London mit seinem kühlen Look bietet einen schönen Kontrast zum z.B. warmen L.A.), wie immer perfide Folgencliffhanger, den genialen Splitscreen und die gewohnt superbe musikalische Untermalung von Sean Callery. Natürlich muss man sich auch wieder mit den nicht so gelungenen Eigenheiten der Serie anfreunden. Da wäre der schon übliche Verräter in den eigenen Reihen, jede Menge an Folter, die Tatsache, dass außer Jack meist niemand weiß was gespielt wird oder zu tun ist und diesmal gibts ein richtig sinnloses und aus meiner Sicht überflüssiges Opfer auf seiten der Guten...ohne zu viel verraten zu wollen, aber das musste doch am Ende der Staffel nun wirklich nicht sein. In Sachen Gewalt wird nochmal mächtig an der Schraube gedreht. So gibt es einige brutale Szenen, welche wohl nichts für zarte Gemüter sind. Besonders eine Szene im Staffelfinale (ich sag nur Samuraischwert) bleibt wohl eine Weile im Gedächtnis. Neben Sutherland als Bauer gibt es noch ein paar andere bekannte Gesichter in dieser Staffel. Da wäre natürlich als erstes Mary Lynn Rajskub als Chloe zu nennen (gewöhnungsbedürftiges Aussehen in dieser Staffel), dann kehrt Kim Raver als Audrey zurück und William Devane ist als James Heller mittlerweile Präsident der USA. Zu diesen gesellen sich Benjamin Brett ("Blood In Blood Out", "Miss Undercover"), Yvonne Strahovski ("Chuck", "I, Frankenstein"), Michael Wincott ("Robin Hood: Prince Of Thiefs", "The Crow") und die vor allem aus "Game Of Thrones" bekannte Michelle Fairley. Da die Serie ja in Deutschland auf Bluray und DVD noch auf sich warten lässt (Stand Dezember 2014), habe ich wieder mal zu einem UK-Import gegriffen. Es gibt alle 12 Folgen auf 3 Discs ungeschnitten. Diesmal werden eigentlich nur 12 Stunden gezeigt und in der letzten Folge der Staffel gibts dann noch einen eigentlich unbedeutenden Zeitsprung von 12 Stunden, vielleicht damit man die Serie nicht gleich umbenennen musste. Die englische Tonspur liegt in 5.1 DTS-HD MA vor und klingt brachial gut...perfekte Räumlichkeit, super Bass und die Dialoge sind immer verständlich. Bild zeigt nur ab und an Schwächen in dunklen Szenen...leichte Unschärfen, ansonsten aber alles perfekt. Englische Untertitel sind vorhanden...allerdings für Hörgeschädigte, d.h. es werden auch Geräusche ect. beschrieben. Auch ein paar andere UT wie norwegisch, schwedisch und spanisch gibt es...allerdings weder deutsche Tonspur noch dt. UT. Die Ersterscheinungen der Bluray kommen mit einem Pappschuber. Die Extras sind kurz, aber interessant: - Solitary (7:26 min) - When Reality Becomes Fiction (6:43 min) - Deleted / Extended Scenes (13:19 min) - Green Production (5:16 min) - Destination London (3:22 min) Besonders "Solitary" ist zu empfehlen...es gibt ein Wiedersehen mit einem alten Bekannten und DAS wäre wirklich eine tolle Story für die nächste Staffel...so es denn eine geben sollte, was ja wegen der nicht so grandiosen Einschaltquoten in US eher unwahrscheinlich ist...ich hoffe jedoch es gibt noch Nachschub, auch wegen des wie immer fiesen Cliffhangers am Ende der Staffel. Fazit: Diesmal nur ein halber Tag, aber der hat es richtig in sich. Die Action erreicht schon fast Kino-Niveau, die Gewalt ist extrem hart, die Handlung schreitet schneller voran als üblich und es kommt auf jeden Fall das gewohnte "24-Feeling" auf...man muss einfach noch eine Folge schauen!! Ich hoffe wirklich es geht weiter...

Que se puede decir?? Que por fin ha vuelto!! Jack is back!! Es, a mi entender otra temporada más de una de las mejores series de la historia. Yo tuve la suerte de poder verla entera y seguida. Pase 9 días enteros viendo la serie de forma continua hasta que finalice. Resultado?? Simplemente espectacular. Sensación? Frustración. Porque? Porque había acabado. Ya conformado con esto y unos años después aparece 24 live another day!! Mi primera sensación fue de alegría y ansiedad por verla pero, justo después, escepticismo y un poco de miedo. El motivo era que una serie tan grande como 24 no podía quedar en mal lugar por una secuela. Pero nada de eso!! El nivel se mantiene en todo momento. Live another day es simplemente 24 en estado puro. Estamos de acuerdo en que la agresividad de jack, en cuanto a torturad, fue disminuyendo ya a finales de la temporada 7 a petición expresa de estamentos gubernamentales ya que daban una imagen, tal vez, demasiado dura. Pero eso es lo de menos, sin ese derroche de agresividad seguimos manteniendo el nivel y la esencia de 24. El blu ray se ve perfecto y, como siempre amazon responde rápido y bien. El final de la serie abre otra incógnita.... Habrá temporada 10?? Sin duda todo es posible.

I'm an avid 24 fan and thoroughly enjoyed the latest series 'Live another Day' The shortened 12 episode format worked well, saving a significant amount of unnecessary filler. Some of the story lines have been far fetched over the years, although I'm not sure they couldn't happen at any point and dare I say it, some have also been a tad repetitive (a mole.....again?) But.....I still love it, it's one of the most fast paced, action packed programmes on the TV. The quality of the casting and acting is beyond superb and in my opinion, always has been. Even the frequently derided series 6 has some amazing, iconic scenes. One of the most memorable is the penultimate scene with Sec of Defence Heller & Jack Bauer. In 24LAD, Heller is now President and yet again the acting is of an incredibly high standard this season by all the cast members but the stand out performances are William Devane (Heller) and Kiefer Sutherland (Bauer) The final episode has some amazing scenes (credit to the production team & writers) which I can guarantee will generate emotion - even if not the normal emotions you have come to expect watching 24! For those of you who are also avid fans of the show, you will be aware of the tradition that the 24 team have had producing prequels and sequels in between series. This year is no different. According to the official FOX press release the BluRay has an extra feature. 24: Solitary, The Shocking Story Extension to Live Another Day. However, the run time for the BluRay is listed as 574 minutes versus the DVD's 571 mins. Once they've done the opening titles, the 'previously on 24' and the closing credits, I'm not sure there's a huge amount of time left for any shocking story extension! Hasn't stopped me from pre-ordering it though ;-) Oh and in case you're interested, Prequels have been made for Seasons 4, 5, 6, and 7(aka Redemption - film on DVD) And Day 6 Debrief - Most were only available on the Region 1 (US) DVDs but they are all (apart from Redemption understandably) on YouTube